The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Thursday, September 04, 2008

Hanna and Ike and Josephine... oh my!

It's Sky Watch Friday post time!!(Please visit Tom, Klaus, Sandy and Imac's SKY WATCH BLOG (click here or on the logo) to participate in Sky Watch Fridays. It is so interesting to see skies all over the world!!! I highly recommend it!) For my sky shot, I have decided to post my sky from yesterday morning. I was intrigued by the wispy cirrus combined with the cirrocumulus patchiness that seemed to cover my entire sky yesterday morning, and as the sun rose into the sky, it actually formed a mackerel sky pattern.Remember, yesterday, I posted the strandy cirrus which fed into the cirrocumulus? I think, above we are actually looking at more of a combination of cirrocumulus and altocumulus, as some are less translucent and seem to have a bit of a grey shadow... most likely as the temperature fluctuates and they lose heighth.

Cirrocumulus clouds are high-altitude cloud, usually occurring at 16,000-40,000 feet. By appearance, the cirrocumulus is a small, white patch or tuft without a gray shadow. It occurs in patches or sheets along with other cirrocumulus. These often are organized in rows like other cumulus, but since they are so small, cirrocumulus patches take on a finer appearance, sometimes referred to colloquially as "herringbone" or "mackerel".

The cirrocumulus is distinguished from the somewhat similar altocumulus in several ways, although the two cloud types can occasionally occur together with no clear demarcation between them. Cirrocumulus generally occur at higher altitudes than altocumulus, and thus the "cloudlets" appear smaller as they are more distant from observation at ground level. They are also colder. Cirrocumulus clouds never cast self-shadows and are translucent to certain degree. They are also typically found amongst other cirrus clouds in the sky, and are usually themselves seen to be transforming into these other types of cirrus.

TROPICAL UPDATE:
TD GUSTAV
Tropical Depression Gustav still very saturated as he moves over the central part of the United States, dumping buckets and buckets of water. Tropical systems this year seem to just be full of it, and they just keep going... and going.... and going...


TS HANNA
The impressive Tropical Storm Hanna has done her loop-dee-loop down by Haiti and is now making that north northwestward movement that mostly all the models forecasted. She now has her sites set on the Carolina coast line. She may not look very impressive... but...
LOOKS CAN CERTAINLY BE DECEIVING. HANNA HAS NOT BEEN PRODUCING VERY MUCH DEEP CONVECTION... AS THE UPPER-LEVEL LOW TO ITS WEST CONTINUES TO IMPOSE STRONG SOUTHERLY SHEAR. NEVERTHELESS...HANNA HAS A LARGE AND ROBUST CIRCULATION
Hanna is expected to make landfall on the South/North Carolina coast as a hurricane sometime Saturday. The coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas are under a hurricane watch in anticipation of Hanna's arrival.


HURRICANE IKE
Ah, the impressive Hurricane Ike... though convectively asymmetrical, packing a powerful punch, having quickly ramped up overnight to a very dangerous category 4 hurricane. Hurricane Ike's pressure dropped 61mb in 24 hours, going from a strong Tropical Storm to powerful category 4 hurricane in just one day. What a difference a day can make. Not just that, but it looks like Ike is wanting to seriously follow in Hanna's footsteps, with the current trajectory taking her close to the same course. Of course, as we have learned... ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! Unfortunately, even the models feel that way, taking Ike anywhere from the Gulf of Mexico, potentially making a Gulf Shore landfall, to the east coast of Florida, making an easy chase for Jeff, or perhaps, following Hanna still on up to the Carolinas, or even possibly carrying him out into the wide expanse of the Atlantic as a fish. All eyes on Ike... after we're finished watching Hanna, of course. The official forecast being that...
IT IS STILL TOO EARLY TO SAY WHAT LAND AREAS ARE LIKELY TO BE IMPACTED BY THIS HURRICANE.


... and we have...
TS Josephine
Then, on Hurricane Ike's trail is Tropical Storm Josephine, a relatively strong tropical storm, is expected to hold its own under the current shear environment for a spell and then as shear weakens over time, intensification is expected, eventually putting Josephine in the position Ike will have been a few days prior, which is right over the area Hanna is just now leaving. If you have vacation plans in the Bahamas anytime soon, bring your galoshes.


That's all I've got for the Tropics... whew.

Have a wonderful day!
~Dewdrop

45 comments:

  1. Our clouds are pretty similar today. But yours have that cool vortex like the center. Happy skywatching. I love coming here for skywatching.

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  2. great capture fo the clouds. Looks like its going to be a bad year or good year maybe in your case for hurricanes.

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  3. Well done, Miss Dewdrop! I like your Sky Watch photo. With all the storms coming in on each other's heels, that may be the last blue sky you see for a while... or maybe not. Mother Nature is, as we have learned, a bit unpredictable, even with all the scientific tracking available.

    I'd rather come here and read your take on the weather than to watch it on TV!:)

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  4. Those are Dew-riffic cloud shots. I hope you don't get hammered by one of the coming storms.

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  5. Nice photos.

    Yes, Lions and Tigers and Bears, O my.

    Nice title.
    Great information.

    Come visit,
    Troy and Martha

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  6. WOW! I love that first photo! Puffy clouds:) And thanks for those info!
    Mine is HERE if you have a time! Thanks! Happy SWF!

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  7. Busy days with all the hurricanes:) Great post!

    Petunia's SWF post

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  8. I keep watching for mackerel clouds over central Ontario...something I'd never heard of until a few weeks ago...but so far none.

    Sounds like Hannah is going cause problems on the east coast!

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  9. Great skies and wow on the weather, hope theres not too much damage or peeps hurt.

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  10. Dew: It's great to get all these clouds for you post, nicely done. Keep watching those hurricanes.

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  11. Great picture, but also like all the information you always give. Who comes after Josephine? Kate? Kelly?

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  12. Great cloud pictures! Those hurricanes sure are scary...I live in south florida and I have been checking all of the updates!! Have a great friday!

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  13. the first shot is my fav

    I hope have time to stop at my SWF post : in here and here Thanks

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  14. What a great photo. I hope that all these tornadoes do not effect any of the bloggers!

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  15. You have so much drama going on in your skies with all those storms.
    Love the sun glowing through, it stirs something just on the edge of memory.

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  16. You have so much drama going on in your skies with all those storms.
    Love the sun glowing through, it stirs something just on the edge of memory.

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  17. Great job! We are feeling the effects of Gustav even all the way up in Rockford, Illinois.

    Possible it will blow some odd birds our way...

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  18. talk about art int eh sky - that combination of cumuluses was a great shot!

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  19. Beautiful photos of the clouds! Your information is so helpful and informative! Well done as usual!

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  20. I love that first shot - a modified bulls-eye in the sky. Very cool.

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  21. You're busy this week! Beautiful clouds.

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  22. Fantastic photos for sky watch friday as much as hurricanes and storms can be scary to be in the middle of, they do provide lots of interesting views on the horizon.

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  23. I always called them 'sheep' clouds. I guess for obvious reasons. Thanks for the technical cloud name lesson. Pretty range of blues between the clouds.

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  24. Love the top one. Need to post some pictures I took when Fay passed by.

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  25. Interesting time for meteorology, isn't it? I like the image the clouds make in the first one, which echoes the hurricane theme.

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  26. Wow! Nice one! Hmmm that photo looks like there's a "mothership" hovering up there!

    Skywatch Friday: Universal Sky

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  27. as always, very nice shot!

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  28. Where to start...FANTASTIC shots of clouds. I love them!! I never tire of looking at the sky -- day or night. Secondly, the EnigmaMom resides in SW Florida. Having these stormed lined up like shotgun shells in a firearms magazine is a little unnerving. Thanks for sharing! Mind is up, too. Hope you will stop by and say hello!

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  29. Interesting sky and post!

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  30. That first picture reminds me of an Eye of the Hurricane. I'm ready for this season to be over.

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  31. You always have the perfect sky watch and information

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  32. looks like a whirlpool in the sky! beautiful!

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  33. You know much more about the clouds than I could ever hope to, but your photos are beautiful! :-)

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  34. Love how in the first pic the clouds seem to be creating feathered trails around a pulse of light! Glorious!

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  35. GREAT SHOT OF THE CLOUDS AND THE INFORMATION. It's scary to know of those hurricanes.

    Mumbai Skywatch

    Happy Skywatch Friday

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  36. Fantastic images and in deoth an always.Stay safe.

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  37. Always good info and shots. Thanks for share knowledge.

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  38. Great sky and important informations!
    Well done!

    Santilli

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  39. The first shot is great!
    And thanks for sharing your information!

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  40. Excellent Sky Watch post Dew.....
    Always a pleasure to call by here no matter what day of the week it is..

    Tom :O)

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  41. Thanks to everyone who complimented the sky shot I posted, and thanks for complimenting the information share. I hope you enjoy reading about that stuff. I try to break it down and make it real. I'm so glad all of you stop by... so many repeats. I try to visit everyone who visits me, but I have been having trouble with my computer locking up, so it has become troublesome. If I haven't visited, that is why. Sorry!

    Tommy, I don't want hurricanes to make horribly destructive landfalls. I just appreciate the beauty of them when they do. I hate to hear of the awful consequences of these incredible storms.

    Wow, Pat... better than tv?! Awww shucks.

    Thanks, Troy. I thought it was catchy.

    YEGTG, Hope you get your mackerel sky!

    Imac, Prayers against harm and damage...

    Dirk, After Josephine, we have Kyle and then Laura. They alternate male and female names.

    Whitney, Get ready and keep a watchful eye.

    Arija, memories?

    Birdfreak, yeah, a little wet there, huh?

    Nancy, sheep clouds... I like it.

    D Herrod, yes, you do.

    Wren, yes, very interesting.

    Enigma, I don't tire of it either. Be vigilant... looks like Ike could be headed your way.

    Such beautiful ways y'all have had to describe the shot. Thanks.

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  42. Oh my, there really is an eye!!! I enjoy skywatching and I thank you for sharing this!

    Sorry to have dropped by so late, but its still Friday from my part of the globe. Visiting from Vienna Daily.

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  43. What's to say but thank you for the education!

    Hannah is quite the lady. Let's hope Ike knows how to behave...

    Hurricane season always take me back to Hemingway and The Old Man and the Sea....

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Dew comment, please...