Things I Like To Know

Excess Information...

I think that I've mentioned here before that I'm a bit of what I call...a "weather nerd."

In fact, if I were 18 again, I think that I would seriously consider going to college to become a meteorologist--what with the opportunities and careers offered by the Weather Channel to pop culture idols like Jim Cantori and all of the "Weather Chicks."

I currently subscribe to an e-mail weather alert system run by NOAA (that would be the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) which keeps me standing on my tiptoes from June to October each year, ready to run like hell away from the next major media event Hurricane if and when it decides to visit us here on the Georgia coast.

Here's a sample of what they sent me this morning:

000
ABNT20 KNHC 080855
TWOAT
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL

530 AM EDT TUE AUG 8 2006

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

A WELL-DEFINED AREA OF LOW-PRESSURE CENTERED ABOUT 1075 MILES EAST OF THE WINDWARD ISLANDS IS MOVING WESTWARD AT ABOUT 15 MPH. ALTHOUGH OVERALL ORGANIZATION HAS CHANGED LITTLE...ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS REMAIN MARGINALLY FAVORABLE FOR A TROPICAL DEPRESSION TO POSSIBLY FORM DURING THE NEXT DAY OR SO.

A NEARLY STATIONARY NON-TROPICAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS LOCATEDABOUT 725 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE AZORES. SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORMACTIVITY REMAINS DISORGANIZED AND DEVELOPMENT...IF ANY...IS EXPECTED TO BE SLOW TO OCCUR.

A TROPICAL WAVE INTERACTING WITH AN UPPER-LEVEL LOW IS PRODUCINGA LARGE AREA OF CLOUDINESS AND SHOWERS OVER HISPANIOLA...EASTERN CUBA...THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS...AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS. UPPER-LEVEL WINDS ARE UNFAVORABLE FOR ANY SIGNIFICANTDEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM AS IT MOVES WESTWARD AT 15 TO 20 MPH.

ELSEWHERE...TROPICAL STORM FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGHWEDNESDAY.

FORECASTER BROWN/STEWART


For all of the uninformed members of the general public...I will use my expertise to translate:

The GOOD NEWS is that nothing is happening in the tropics, and the bad news is that it took the pointy headed government weasels that long to manage to say so...

Know what I mean?