Weather forecasts

[Carl Karasti]

A while back, just before the Baird Lake field trip, I had posted some weather info predicting that it would be a nice day for an outing. I received a couple of requests wondering where I had found the graph display I posted. I just remembered that I've never gotten around to sharing about this, so ....

I get ALL of my weather forecasts and info from the National Weather Service, primarily out of the Duluth office. This is, in my opinion, by far the best source for anything weather related. I totally avoid the hype and drama dished out by commercial or independent sources – all of whom base their products on official NWS data, forecasts, forecast discussions, etc. but then add their own interpretations, spins, hype and drama, often along with advertising, none of which I am at all interested in. By the way, if the NWS gets decimated and we end up with privatized weather forecasting, this is exactly what we will all be stuck with.

First of all, I do not use any app, I prefer to view all of the info I'll suggest on my computer using a web browser (Firefox). If I do view weather info on my iPhone, I use a browser (Safari), not an app. On my computer browser I have one page that is always open with several tabs to display several forecast pages that I like to have quick, easy access to. My iPhone Safari browser always opens to my most recently viewed weather page display and I can then easily switch over to any other bookmarked display that I frequently consult.

Here is a link I set to be specifically for Ely:

https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-91.858&lat=47.903

Notice that there is a lot of information displayed on the page and that there are a lot of links to other pages. One of the graphics is a map that shows Ely in the center with a green square delineating the specific Spot for this Spot Forecast.

You can use this link if you are in Ely or you can customize it for any location in the USA either by using the little text box in the upper left corner – just enter a zip code or a City, State — or you can click on the map to move the green square to your preferred location. You can zoom the map out to show more area to facilitate doing this and the map will zoom back to its default scale as the page refreshes.

Notice near the top of the page (above the 5-day graphic forecast images) there is a link "3 day history" that I like to use to see what various data has been recorded at the nearest official location – the Ely Airport in this case for the Ely area. It's useful to see what the conditions have been in recent days, like high and low temps. Did it freeze last night? Look it up. Unfortunately, this system can often be down, partially or, rarely, totally and sometimes there are many missed readings so there are significant gaps in the record. But it's still interesting and useful.

Below the 7-day detailed forecast text, there is a section "Additional Forecasts and Information" that offers several links to additional pages, one of which is Hourly Weather Forecast. This is the link to the graph page I had shared a screenshot of before the field trip. There is also a small image on the page of this graph display that links to the same page.

On the graph page, there is a "Show menu" link at the top right of the graph that opens a number of settings that can be used to customize what is displayed in the graphs. I do adjust these settings seasonally, primarily Summer and Winter. I always have one tab open to display this graph page in my browsers, so refreshing the page preserves my custom settings of the season.

There is a small image of the current radar display that can be clicked click on to bring up a full size radar display that can be viewed as a loop or still image. There are several options that can be used for displaying the radar and each option can be customized in various ways. I have one version bookmarked and always open on my computer, and two different customized versions preserved as saved tabs to open on my phone browser.

There is a small image of a satellite view that can be clicked on which will bring up a page with many satellite view options. Some are quite interesting and helpful, others are just .... strange and only useful to serious nerds who understand them. I actually just have an Eastern Conus satellite view tab that is always displayed/saved as I have customized it – only sometimes change the number of images shown in the loop. It shows a somewhat realistic view that includes a lightning display. To keep life simple, here's a bookmark you could use:

https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES/conus_band.php?sat=G19&band=EXTENT3&length=48&dim=1

For those of you who are on Facebook, it is interesting to also Follow the "US National Weather Service Duluth Minnesota" page where they frequently post additional local weather info including forecasts and history data, analysis of weather phenomenon, answers to questions from curious folks (including me). They are also always happy to receive comments sharing things such as precipitation data and observations of various phenomena, including images. There are good, friendly, helpful folks working at the NWS in Duluth. Because this is a Public page, it might be possible that non-Facebook users can also view what is on their page – I don't know because I'm on Facebook and always logged in. Here's a link to their page:

https://www.facebook.com/NWSDuluth

So, all of the above serve as my primary sources for good, timely weather information that serves me very well – without the clutter, confusion and hype of other sources that are all trying to sell you something, and relying on selling your eyeballs to advertisers that pay their bills to keep them online.

Besides all of the above, there is a LOT more weather stuff available, a tiny bit of which I have bookmarked and consult from time to time for various reasons. A person could literally spend a lifetime just trying to read all the stuff that NOAA provides about weather and climate, although recent politics has unfortunately begun to put a bit of a dent in some of what was once available. On my computer, I have one folder with a LOT of bookmarks, including subfolders with more bookmarks, that are all weather and climate related, including hydrology (streams and lakes), droughts, tornadoes, lightning, historical records, air quality, wildfire smoke sources and spread, weather science, clouds, auroras ....

Beyond all of this, you can just start clicking on links and follow them down any number of rabbit holes filled with an overwhelming amount of data and details about weather and climate.  Have fun exploring and getting smarter.

Bonus:

By the way, if you're not familiar with this, it's an interesting resource to explore, learn from and be entertained by.

earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions
https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/overlay=temp/orthographic=-82.65,40.30,790
This will open to the view displayed on my screen when I copied the link.
You can zoom in or out to view the whole of Earth or closeup details of various phenomena.
This all started out as a wind display and has evolved to include a whole lot more, not only at ground level but at different levels (designated by air pressure) and out into the ocean.
Click and drag to turn Earth to show any view of it. (Touch and drag on phone?)
Click on the "earth=" icon in the lower left to access various phenomena settings and ... play with them to see what you can see.
With that dialog open, click on "about" for some helpful info about what is offered.
Click anywhere on the view of Earth to display a bit of data at that geographic point.
This all applies to my experiences of viewing this page on my computer. I have not been viewing this on my phone so I don't know how well that works or what is displayed.

Carl Karasti

PS Here's a graphic posted on Facebook by the Duluth NWS this morning about where to expect fog this morning and Wednesday morning — one example of the "extras" they provide there:

 

[ALLEGRA DENGLER]

Hi Carl.  

I tried to move the green square to my location but it wouldn’t move, just the whole map moved.  Is there any trick to getting the green square to move?

Thanks-

Allegra