Paul Douglas
Meteorologist at The Minnesota Star Tribune
Co-Host at WCCO-AM (Minneapolis, MN)
Meteorologist, serial entrepreneur, dreamer. Founder: “Praedictix” weather-tech in MSP. Author: “A Kid’s Guide to Saving the Planet”. Optimistic most days
Articles
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6 days ago |
startribune.com | Paul Douglas
By Paul Douglas It may warm up. Then it'll cool down. Might rain. Could hail at times. But expect one constant. There WILL BE WIND. By my count winds have gusted over 30 mph at MSP for 30 days since March 1. A full month of blustery. Until I can put a small, tasteful wind turbine in my backyard, it's annoying. When will winds finally die down? When the temperature differential lessens, the wild back-and-forth swings between warm and cold.
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1 week ago |
startribune.com | Paul Douglas
By Paul Douglas Local TV meteorologists interpret National Weather Service warnings and communicate time-sensitive information to viewers. They don't issue their own warnings, which might quickly devolve into confusion and chaos. Research shows when consumers get conflicting severe storm information they are more likely to do nothing, and not take evasive action. I can disagree with the NWS and issue my own seven-day forecast. I can interpret the data and models differently.
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1 week ago |
startribune.com | Paul Douglas
Earth's atmosphere is warming, but the observed warming is uneven, or "lumpy."In Weatherwise magazine, Toby Nahum Carlson describes an emerging "warming hole" over the Upper Midwest: slightly lower spring temperatures and above-normal rainfall. This may be a "new permanent aspect of global circulation patterns," triggered by persistent above-normal ocean surface temperatures over the tropical southern Pacific Ocean. Who cares?
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1 week ago |
startribune.com | Paul Douglas
By Paul Douglas Words matter. Let the record show I'm as guilty of this as anyone else. So often I lapse into "a threat of rain" or a "risk of thundershowers." Considering more than half of Minnesota is still in drought, a few good soakings in the coming weeks would be glorious. "An opportunity for mud!"Columbia's International Research Institute is predicting lingering drought from May through July from the Pacific Northwest to the Great Plains and Mid-South.
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1 week ago |
startribune.com | Paul Douglas
By Paul Douglas At least in the metro area, boats are in the water in mid-April. Another seven-month boating season this year? Probably. With a sun angle similar to Aug. 28, air near the ground is warming rapidly, while the upper atmosphere is still chilly. Resulting instability can spark intense thunderstorm updrafts capable of severe weather, especially in May and June. What makes me nervous? Hail larger than a golf ball is a tip-off that a T-storm may be capable of a tornado.
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European model (ECMWF) temperature outlook for MSP, which by the way also uses NOAA/NWS weather balloon data to initialize. They all do - forecast accuracy will suffer with fewer twice-daily upper air observations https://t.co/qycsNRhydM
Stating the obvious: another lousy winter for Minnesota snow lovers. I just took out my driveway stakes - looking at the maps I suspect slush season is pretty much over
Here's how your area fared with snowfall this season, compared to a 14-year climatology. Greens=Above Normal Browns=Below Normal #snOMG https://t.co/ESQ9JaPE53
At least 13 radiosonde (weather balloon) sites reducing or eliminating daily launches due to staffing cuts at local NWS offices. What can possibly go wrong
Updates to the NWS Upper Air Network: As of April 3, Bethel, AK, moved to once-a-day (12 UTC) balloon launches. I'm told that McGrath, AK, could suspend flights in May, while Yakutat, King Salmon, and Annette Island, AK, could go to one flight per day in the next couple months. https://t.co/7Fm2IcWMXJ
