SLOweather

Time for a break from Katrina for a bit…

One of the more useful weather devices we’ve had around here is a LaCrosse projection weather station in the bedroom.

Unlike the Davis Vantage Pro 2 that feeds data to our SLOweather web site, the LaCrosse is a stand-alone unit with no computer interface. To tell the truth, I rarely look at all of the weather info displayed on the LCD display.

What this unit does is alternately project the time and outdoor temperature in red digits onto the ceiling. No more do we have to crane our necks around to look at the headboard clock. A glance at the ceiling shows the time and outdoor temperature. Very easy, especially in the middle of the night.

There is a battery-powered outdoor temp sensor that feeds the temperature to the inside unit.

We’re sitting here in California watching the satellite feed from WWL TV in New Orleans. They are running a tape feed from a helicopter tour of just some the hurricane damage.

I’ve been trying to follow the narrative of the flight path on Street Atlas as they show the video. Originally I characterized it as looking out at south SLO from our home in the Irish Hills toward the airport and seeing everything up to its eaves in water.

I was wrong. Times a thousand maybe…

It’s impossible to wrap my mind around the extent of the flooding and damage. Devastating does not begin to cover it.

=========== DCPP Weather Forecast for Tuesday 08/30/05 ============

SEA/SWELL:

This afternoon’s 6 to 8 foot northwesterly (290°) sea/swell
(with a 5-11 second period) will decrease to 5 to 7 feet on
Wednesday and further lowering to 4 to 6 feet (with a 7-11
second period) on Thursday. This northwesterly sea/swell
will continue to fall to 3 to 5 feet on Friday.

Another increase in northwesterly winds will develop along
our coastline on Saturday. These winds will produce a 5 to 7
foot northwesterly (290°) sea/swell (with a 5-9 second period)
on Saturday afternoon, building to 6 to 8 feet on Sunday and
Monday.

A 1 to 2 foot southern hemisphere (220°) swell (with a 16-18
second period) will arrive along our coastline on Saturday,
peaking on Sunday at 2 to 3 feet (with a 15-17 second period).

ATMOSPHERIC CONDITION:

Thermal low pressure is developing in the Great Central Valley
of California as high pressure builds inland to the north.

Clear and sunny skies have developed throughout our area this
afternoon. Clear skies and generally decreasing winds will
allow for warmer coastal temperatures this week. The weather
today is a quick glimpse of Autumn when the coast has warmer
temperatures and less fog. Generally, temperatures today
will be in the 70s at the coast and the 90s in the interior.
The nice coastal weather will continue through tomorrow.

The marine layer is forecast to return along our coastline
on Thursday and Friday.

DIABLO CANYON AIR TEMPERATURES:

Diablo Canyon Meteorological Tower Air Temperature Data

Yesterday’s Today’s Tomorrow’s
Min Max Min Max Min Max
53.6 63.1 54.2 70.9 54.0 71.0

Diablo Canyon record temperatures for this date:

Min Year Max Year
50.7 1973 87.6 1984

PG&E San Francisco Met Office predicted temps:

Inland Temperatures, Paso Robles

Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue
48 95 49 90 50 90 50 93 48 94 46 92 49 91 52 90

Inland Temperatures, San Luis Obispo

Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue
48 94 48 78 53 78 52 80 51 78 51 76 53 78 53 78

WINDS:

Today’s moderate to fresh northwesterly winds will become light to
gentle on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Increasing northwesterly winds will develop over the weekend.

DIABLO CANYON METEOROLOGICAL TOWER WIND DATA:

Today’s winds:

Max peak winds: NW 31.3 mph at 13:30
Max sustained wind: NW 26.2 mph at 13:30

Yesterday’s Winds:

Max peak winds: NW 45.0 mph at 16:15
Max sustained wind: NW 33.6 mph at 15:45

SEAWATER TEMPERATURES:

Intake seawater temperatures will range between 53 and 56 degrees
through Wednesday. increasing on Thursday and Friday.

OCEAN CURRENTS:

A southerly (offshore) current will continue through Wednesday.

SEAWATER VISIBILITY:

Seawater visibility was 27 to 29 feet at the Diablo Canyon Intake.

==========================================================================
24-Hour Ocean Condition Outlook for Tuesday 08/30 to Wednesday 08/31

SEA/SWELL DIR. NW HT. 6-8 PER. 5-11 this morning
Remaining at: DIR. NW HT. 6-8 PER. 5-11 this afternoon
Remaining at: DIR. NW HT. 6-8 PER. 5-11 tonight

WINDS: DIR. NW SPEED 5-10 this morning
Increasing to: DIR. NW SPEED 20-25 + 30 this afternoon
Decreasing to: DIR. NW SPEED 10-15 tonight
==========================================================================
48-Hour Ocean Condition Outlook for Wednesday 08/31 to Thursday 09/01

SEA/SWELL DIR. NW HT. 5-7 PER. 5-11 Wednesday morning
Remaining at: DIR. NW HT. 5-7 PER. 5-11 Wednesday afternoon
Remaining at: DIR. NW HT. 5-7 PER. 5-11 Wednesday night

WINDS: DIR. VAR. SPEED 5-10 Wednesday morning
Increasing to: DIR. NW SPEED 10-15 Wednesday afternoon
Decreasing to: DIR. NE SPEED 5-10 Wednesday night
==========================================================================

Extended Ocean Condition Outlook:

Increasing northwesterly winds and sea/swell on Saturday and Sunday.

==========================================================================

The 24 – Hour Ocean Data From The Diablo Canyon Waverider Buoy
(http://cdip.ucsd.edu/cgi-bin/csh_descrip?076)

MONTH DAY TIME SIG.HEIGHT PERIOD SWELL DIRECTION SST
(PST) (FEET) (SECONDS) (TRUE) (DEG. F)
———————————————————————-
08 29 0647 4.3 7 289 59.1
08 29 0947 4.9 7 293 56.1
08 29 1247 5.0 8 286 60.3
08 29 1547 5.2 8 291 58.1
08 29 1847 5.7 8 291 58.6
08 29 2147 6.1 8 296 58.8
08 30 0047 5.9 8 293 57.6
08 30 0347 5.3 8 292 56.8
08 30 0647 5.1 9 288 59.4
08 30 0947 5.7 11 286 54.0
08 30 1247 6.6 9 291 57.0

DCPP Ocean Lab Waverider Buoy Energy Spectral Analysis

mo day time sig.ht. sig.per. energy (cm.sq.)
(cm) (sec) 22 20 17 15 13 11 9 7
———————————————————————–
08 29 0647 132 7 1 11 24 173 52 39 77 415
08 30 1247 200 4 2 3 18 69 144 570 546 527

Daily Swell Inspection Program

NAME DAY TIME HEIGHT PERIOD SST
(PST) (FEET) (SECONDS) (DEG. F)
# 35 Bering Sea 30 1200 5 7 49.0
# 66 South Aleutians Islands 30 1200 11 8 57.2
# 01 Gulf of Alaska 30 1200 10 9 56.0
# 06 600 miles NW of Eureka 30 1200 5 9 67.0
# 29 Point Reyes, Ca 30 1200 11 11 53.8
# 42 Monterey, Ca 30 1200 6 9 59.0
# 28 Cape San Martin, Ca 30 1200 8 12 57.0
# 50 DCPP Wave Rider Buoy, Ca 30 1247 7 9 57.0
# 63 Harvest Buoy 30 1200 9 9 59.4
# 47 Tanner Banks, Ca 30 1200 no reports today.
# 01 NW Hawaii 30 1200 no reports today.
# 02 SW Hawaii 30 1200 no reports today.
# 51 Christmas Island 30 1200 no reports today.

NOTE: Height (Significant Swell Height) is the average height of
the waves in the top third of the wave record. Maximum wave heights
may be up to TWICE the height in the data shown in the above table.

Maximum wave height at the Diablo Canyon Waverider Buoy over the last
24 hours:

MONTH DAY TIME MAX WAVE HEIGHT PERIOD
(PST) (FEET) (SECONDS)
08 29 0624 6.0 13
08 30 1334 9.8 9

Precipitation at the DCPP Ocean Lab:

Sunday 15:00 through Monday 15:00 0.00 inches
Monday 15:00 through Tuesday 15:00 0.00 inches

Precipitation this rain season: 0.01 inches

Ocean Lab Barometer: 29.86 in or 1011.3 mb +0.0 mb (Steady)

Sunrise and Sunset:

Today’s Sunrise 6:34 AM Sunset 7:32 PM
Tomorrow’s Sunrise 6:35 AM Sunset 7:31 PM

12h 58m of daylight

Tides:
Low Tide High Tide
AM PM AM PM
30 Tuesday 2:49 0.1 2:09 2.9 9:42 4.1 8:05 5.5
31 Wednesday 3:24 0.0 2:46 2.7 10:06 4.1 8:45 5.6
1 Thursday 3:54 0.0 3:20 2.4 10:27 4.2 9:20 5.7
2 Friday 4:21 0.0 3:53 2.2 10:47 4.3 9:54 5.6
3 Saturday 4:45 0.2 4:27 1.9 11:07 4.5 10:27 5.5
4 Sunday 5:09 0.4 5:03 1.7 11:28 4.6 11:02 5.2
5 Monday 5:31 0.7 5:42 1.6 11:49 4.8 11:40 4.8
6 Tuesday 5:54 1.1 6:25 1.4 —– — 12:12 5.0
========================================================================

This day in weather history

1776 – General Washington took advantage of a heavy fog to evacuate
Long Island after a defeat. Adverse winds kept the British
fleet from intervening. (David Ludlum)

1839 – A hurricane moved from Cape Hatteras NC to offshore New
England. An unusual feature of the hurricane was the snow
it helped produce, which whitened the Catskill Mountains
of New York State. Considerable snow was also reported
at Salem NY. (The Weather Channel)

1987 – Eight cities in California and Oregon reported record
high temperatures for the date, including Redding CA
and Sacramento CA where the mercury hit 100 degrees.
(The National Weather Summary)

========================================================================

If you have questions about this forecast please contact John Lindsey
at – e-mail: jcl5@pge.com, phone: 545-3191, pager: 3191. Some of the
information in this forecast is provided by Pacific Weather Analysis.
A recording of this forecast can be reached at 805-545-3768. This
forecast is only valid for the Diablo Canyon coastline (about 1/2
miles north, south and west of the Power Plant).

On the chance that someone finds this through a blog search, there is currently live coverage from WWL TV CBS in New Orleans on C band satellite, satellite T6, transponder 10.

The WWL streaming video feed is here.

As I understand it, WWL studios have been evacuated and they are broadcasting from LSU.

Here’s the WWL TV text blog of updates as they come in.

A few random excerpts:

2:41 P.M. – Jefferson Parish officials say schools could reopen by Dec. 1.

2:07 P.M. – (AP) — A top casino executive is calling on the Mississippi Legislature to enact emergency legislation to keep the state’s coast gaming industry alive.

2:01 P.M. – Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard says there is no plumbing and the sanitary situation is getting nasty. He told WAFB-TV that he is carrying around a bag for his own human waste.

Some of the most topical hurricane news is on the website of WWL TV in New Orleans.

The Jefferson Parish President says that residents will probably be allowed back in town in a week, with identification only, but only to get essentials and clothing. They will then be asked to leave and not come back for one month. A Louisiana parish is like our county.

Wow…

SEA/SWELL:

Note: For the second time in less than one year the National
Data Buoy Center in Hancock County, Mississippi
has been taken offline. The first time was because of
Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and today due to Hurricane
Katrina. Data from NOAA marine buoys in the Pacific will
not be available. One of the NOAA marine buoys in the
Gulf of Mexico yesterday reported wave heights of over
40 feet.=20

Today’s 2 to 3 foot southern hemisphere (220=B0) swell (with a 13-15
second period) will decrease to 1 to 3 feet (with a 12-14 second=20
period) on Tuesday and further fall to 1 to 2 feet (with an 11-13
second period) on Wednesday.=20

A cold upper-level trough off the Pacific northwest will move=20
inland today accompanied by falling pressures inland and
intensifying high pressure off the west coast. This condition
will produce strong northwesterly winds along the California
coastline. These winds will produce 6 to 8 foot northwesterly
(290=B0) sea/swell (with a 5-9 second period) along the Diablo=20
Canyon coastline late this afternoon through tonight, decreasing=20
to 5 to 7 feet on Tuesday and further lowering to 4 to 6 feet
(with a 7-11 second period) on Wednesday. This northwesterly=20
sea/swell will further lower to 3 to 5 feet on Thursday and
Friday.=20

A 1 to 2 foot southern hemisphere (220=B0) swell (with a 16-18
second period) will arrive along our coastline on Saturday,
peaking on Sunday at 2 to 3 feet (with a 15-17 second period).=20
=20
ATMOSPHERIC CONDITION:

Mostly clear and windy weather will develop this afternoon
after the marine layer is mixed out. Paso Robles reached=20
106 degrees yesterday, but cooler inland temperatures are on
the way as a cold upper-level trough moves inland. Inland
temperatures should only reach the low 90’s on Tuesday
through Sunday.=20

A weak offshore flow should produce mostly clear and warmer
temperatures along our coastline on Thursday and Friday.

DIABLO CANYON AIR TEMPERATURES:=20
=20
Diablo Canyon Meteorological Tower Air Temperature Data=20
=20
Yesterday’s Today’s Tomorrow’s=20
Min Max Min Max Min Max=20
54.5 60.7 53.9 60.0 53.0 60.0=20
=20
Diablo Canyon record temperatures for this date:=20
=20
Min Year Max Year=20
49.4 1973 70.8 1984
=20
PG&E San Francisco Met Office predicted temps:=20
=20
Inland Temperatures, Paso Robles=20
=20
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon
55 100 54 92 54 91 54 91 54 92 54 93 54 93 54 93 =20
=20
Inland Temperatures, San Luis Obispo=20
=20
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon
53 75 52 74 53 76 54 78 54 78 54 80 54 80 52 79=20
=20
WINDS:=20

Strong northwesterly winds will develop this afternoon, decreasing
on Tuesday. Northwesterly winds will further decrease on Wednesday
and shift out of the northeast (offshore) on Thursday and Friday.
=20
DIABLO CANYON METEOROLOGICAL TOWER WIND DATA:=20
=20
Today’s winds:=20
=20
Max peak winds: NW 13.4 mph at 07:15
Max sustained wind: NW 8.7 mph at 07:15
=20
Yesterday’s Winds:=20
=20
Max peak winds: NW 32.7 mph at 16:15
Max sustained wind: NW 27.3 mph at 16:00
=20
SEAWATER TEMPERATURES:=20
=20
Intake seawater temperatures will range between 54 and 56 degrees=20
through today, decreasing to 52 to 54 degrees on Tuesday and =
Wednesday.
=20
OCEAN CURRENTS:=20
=20
A southerly (offshore) current will continue through Wednesday.
=20
SEAWATER VISIBILITY:=20
=20
Seawater visibility was 24 to 26 feet at the Diablo Canyon Intake.=20
24-Hour Ocean Condition Outlook for Monday 08/29 to Tuesday 08/30
=20
SEA/SWELL DIR. NW HT. 2-4 PER. 5-9 this morning=20
Increasing to: DIR. NW HT. 4-6 PER. 5-9 this afternoon
Increasing to: DIR. NW HT. 6-8 PER. 5-9 late this =
afternoon=20
Remaining at: DIR. NW HT. 6-8 PER. 5-9 tonight=20

(Combined with: DIR. SW HT. 2-3 PER. 13-15 all day)
=20
WINDS: DIR. NW SPEED 10-15 this morning
Increasing to: DIR. NW SPEED 25-30 + 40 this afternoon=20
Decreasing to: DIR. NW SPEED 20-25 tonight=20

48-Hour Ocean Condition Outlook for Tuesday 08/30 to Wednesday 08/31
=20
SEA/SWELL DIR. NW HT. 5-7 PER. 5-9 Tuesday morning=20
Increasing to: DIR. NW HT. 5-7 PER. 5-9 Tuesday =
afternoon=20
Remaining at: DIR. NW HT. 5-7 PER. 5-9 Tuesday night=20

(Combined with: DIR. SW HT. 1-3 PER. 12-14 all day Tuesday)
=20
WINDS: DIR. NW SPEED 5-10 Tuesday morning
Increasing to: DIR. NW SPEED 20-25 + 30 Tuesday =
afternoon=20
Decreasing to: DIR. NW SPEED 10-15 Tuesday night=20

Extended Ocean Condition Outlook:=20
=20
Decreasing northwesterly winds and sea/swell on Wednesday.

=20
The 24 – Hour Ocean Data From The Diablo Canyon Waverider Buoy=20
(http://cdip.ucsd.edu/cgi-bin/csh_descrip?076)=20
=20
MONTH DAY TIME SIG.HEIGHT PERIOD SWELL DIRECTION SST=20
(PST) (FEET) (SECONDS) (TRUE) (DEG. F)=20
=
———————————————————————-
08 26 0647 2.4 10 199 55.8
08 26 1847 2.6 5 295 60.1
08 26 2147 2.7 5 291 61.3
08 27 0047 2.5 9 209 59.7
08 27 0347 2.9 5 293 57.6
08 27 0647 3.1 6 291 56.3
08 27 0947 3.2 5 295 55.9
08 27 1247 3.4 5 300 58.1
08 27 1547 3.3 5 296 58.5
08 27 1847 3.0 6 291 57.0
08 27 2147 3.3 17 198 57.9
08 28 0047 2.8 15 208 58.1
08 28 0347 3.2 15 210 59.9
08 28 0647 3.3 15 208 59.4
08 28 0947 3.4 15 209 54.5
08 28 1247 3.8 15 209 59.2
08 28 1547 3.8 15 205 55.2
08 28 1847 3.6 15 213 56.5
08 28 2147 3.9 15 213 58.1
08 29 0047 4.0 15 218 58.3
08 29 0347 4.0 15 210 61.2
08 29 0647 4.3 7 289 59.1

DCPP Ocean Lab Waverider Buoy Energy Spectral Analysis=20
=20
mo day time sig.ht. sig.per. energy (cm.sq.)=20
(cm) (sec) 22 20 17 15 13 11 9 7 =

=
———————————————————————–
08 25 1247 81 4 0 1 7 28 25 26 52 =
127
08 29 0647 132 7 1 11 24 173 52 39 77 =
415

Daily Swell Inspection Program=20
=20
NAME DAY TIME HEIGHT PERIOD SST=20
(PST) (FEET) (SECONDS) (DEG. F)
# 35 Bering Sea No reports
# 66 South Aleutians Islands No reports
# 01 Gulf of Alaska No reports
# 06 600 miles NW of Eureka No reports
# 29 Point Reyes, Ca 29 0600 8 7 54.0
# 42 Monterey, Ca No reports
# 28 Cape San Martin, Ca No reports
# 50 DCPP Wave Rider Buoy, Ca 29 0647 4 7 59.1
# 63 Harvest Buoy 29 0600 6 5 60.3=20
# 47 Tanner Banks, Ca No reports =20
# 01 NW Hawaii No reports
# 02 SW Hawaii No reports
# 51 Christmas Island No reports
=20

NOTE: Height (Significant Swell Height) is the average height of=20
the waves in the top third of the wave record. Maximum wave heights =

may be up to TWICE the height in the data shown in the above table.=20
=20
Maximum wave height at the Diablo Canyon Waverider Buoy over the last
24 hours:=20
=20
MONTH DAY TIME MAX WAVE HEIGHT PERIOD =20
(PST) (FEET) (SECONDS)
08 26 0234 4.8 9
08 27 1234 5.0 7
08 28 2124 5.7 13
08 29 0624 6.0 13

Precipitation at the DCPP Ocean Lab:=20

Friday 15:00 through Saturday 15:00 0.00 inches
Saturday 15:00 through Sunday 15:00 0.00 inches
Sunday 15:00 through Monday 15:00 0.00 inches
=20
Precipitation this rain season: 0.01 inches=20
=20
Ocean Lab Barometer: 29.91 in or 1013.0 mb +0.0 mb (Steady)=20
=20
Sunrise and Sunset:=20
=20
Today’s Sunrise 6:34 AM Sunset 7:34 PM=20
Tomorrow’s Sunrise 6:35 AM Sunset 7:32 PM=20
=20
13h 00m of daylight=20
=20
Tides:=20
Low Tide High Tide=20
AM PM AM PM
29 Monday 2:06 0.2 1:21 3.2 9:14 4.0 7:18 5.4
30 Tuesday 2:49 0.1 2:09 2.9 9:42 4.1 8:05 5.5
31 Wednesday 3:24 0.0 2:46 2.7 10:06 4.1 8:45 5.6
1 Thursday 3:54 0.0 3:20 2.4 10:27 4.2 9:20 5.7
2 Friday 4:21 0.0 3:53 2.2 10:47 4.3 9:54 5.6
3 Saturday 4:45 0.2 4:27 1.9 11:07 4.5 10:27 5.5
4 Sunday 5:09 0.4 5:03 1.7 11:28 4.6 11:02 5.2
5 Monday 5:31 0.7 5:42 1.6 11:49 4.8 11:40 4.8
6 Tuesday 5:54 1.1 6:25 1.4 —– — 12:12 5.0

This day in weather history

1962 – Hackberry, LA, was deluged with twenty-two inches of rain
in 24 hours, establishing a state record. (The Weather Channel) =

If you have questions about this forecast please contact John Lindsey
at – e-mail: jcl5@pge.com, phone: 545-3191, pager: 3191. Some of the
information in this forecast is provided by Pacific Weather Analysis.

A recording of this forecast can be reached at 805-545-3768. This
forecast is only valid for the Diablo Canyon coastline (about 1/2
miles north, south and west of the Power Plant).

Hurricane City

Here’s the WWL TV webpage from New Orleans. It’s slow to load, but has lots of local information. I couldn’t get the streaming video to run, though.

Looks like New Orleans is really getting hit hard.

This could be the biggest hurricane to hit the US mainland since Andrew in ‘92.

Here’s the story from today’s Tribune.