WX-MAN’s Musings

White Caps on Lake Erie, originally uploaded by Brian.Neudorff.

I’m in Erie for a wedding on New Years Eve. We are staying with some friends in Lake City this morning there was a little snow. More snow back in Rochester. Here is a pic of white caps on Lake Erie.

As of Noon the NWS in Buffalo, NY issued a High Wind Warning.

The image is from our Storm Predictor for wind speeds at 1 a.m. Christmas morning. Winds could be sustained from the west-southwest at 30 to 40 mph. Gust could reach 50 to even 60 mph.

If you are like many who have outdoor Christmas decorations and don’t want to spend Christmas day trying to find that inflatable snow globe or Santa then I would recommend that you either bring them in or make sure they are secure enough to withstand 50 to 60 mph wind gusts.

These will wind will be associated a Midwestern storm that will push northeast today over Lake Huron and into southern Ontario and the Saint Lawrence Valley tonight before it exits across the Canadian Maritimes Christmas day.

The position of the storm track and its intensification today and tonight are favorable for us seeing strong gusty winds across western New York.

It appears now that the winds will be at their strongest between 10p.m. Christmas Eve until 4 a.m. Christmas morning. This should not cause you to many problems during the daylight hours of Christmas. Again, just make sure your outside holiday decorations are secure and if there is doubt take them down and put them away so your not looking for them across the neighborhood Christmas day.

It’s Christmas Eve and time for Santa’s big ride. If you want to track Santa on is journey just click the image…

I love this site. I have worked every Christmas eve since I have been in TV. I use this site to show where Santa is. I remember being a Kid and watching the TV weather and they would show the location of Santa. It was also good to get Kids to go to sleep. So if you’d like to track Santa you can go to the NORAD Track Santa Site:

With technology you can also follow Santa on Twitter. He also has this website: Welcome to the North Pole.

On Christmas Eve you can track Santa from your cell phone using Google Maps for mobile. If you have an iPhone, T-Mobile G1, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, or Nokia phone with Google Maps, just search for “norad santa” to see Santa’s location. (Note that you’ll have to resubmit your query whenever you want to update Santa’s location).

If you have a supported phone but do not yet have Google Maps, download it for free.

Across most of the United States people have already pulled out their shovels and snow blowers as winter weather storms returned for another season. Winter is here, and it began right on schedule–December 1. That’s right. That’s the official start of the winter season and how official weather records are kept. Weather-wise, winter does not begin on December 21, as many calendars claim.

What most people usually refer to as winter is what’s really known as astronomical winter. This type of winter starts at the winter solstice, winter officially arrived at 7:04 a.m. EST Dec. 21, 2008. The Winter Solstice is the day when the distance between the Tropic of Capricorn and the sun is the shortest. Because of the earth’s tilt, the Northern Hemisphere is leaning farther away from the sun than at any other time during the year. This makes the Winter Solstice the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere.

What many people don’t know is that there’s another kind of winter called “meteorological winter,” and the further north you live the earlier it arrives. For meteorologist and other weather observers, meteorological winter is the three month period of December, January, and February. In northern locations, meteorological winter begins long before the winter solstice. Meteorological winter is based on sensible weather, like when snow and ice fall, while astronomical winter is based on the position of the Earth in its orbit around the sun. The start of astronomical winter is the same everywhere, but the start of meteorological winter changes depending on how far north you live.

So, don’t think winter arrived December 21. It’s been here. It started right on time on December 1. Just ask the millions of people across the USA who’ve had to dig out of several inches of snow, drive on snow and ice covered roads and had to stay warm during very cold days.

If we see some clearing, which might be tough for some of us, and you look at this month’s full moon. You will see the biggest and brightest full moon of 2008.

Although a full moon happens every month, the one that rises tonight will appear about 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than the other full moons seen so far this year.

The Moon’s orbit is an ellipse with one side 31,068 miles or (50,000 km) closer to Earth than the other: You can see that here in this diagram. In the language of astronomy, when the moon is at its farthest point away from the Earth it is called “apogee” and when it’s at its closest point to the Earth it is called “perigee.” Tonight the moon becomes full just 4 hours after reaching perigee. It will pass by 221,595 miles (356,613km) away, which is about 28,000km closer than average. that is why it will be 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than the other full moons seen so far this year.

The next time we get a full moon this close to Earth and this big and bright will not be until November 14, 2016.

The best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. Tonight, why not let the “Moon illusion” amplify a full Moon that’s extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset may seem so nearby, you can almost reach out and touch it. (again if weather permits us to see it)

Tonight’s full moon is also notable for rising to its greatest height in the night sky for the entire year, lying almost overhead at midnight. This is because we are approaching the winter solstice, on December 21, and thanks to the tilt of the Earth the Moon appears at its highest, as the Sun is at its lowest.

Of course the moon is responsible for the tides with a perigee Moon we experience extra-high “perigean tides.” According to NOAA, in most places, lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters only a few centimeters (an inch or so) higher than usual. Local geography can amplify the effect to about 15 centimeters (six inches).