Newsgroup sci.geo.meteorology 29701

Directory

Just curious if anyone has missed the GREAT model images that Duke Power
/UNCC had and have now been removed!! Just when things were getting
great on the Net soneone pulls the plug.I realize how much some sites
take on hits per day but removing great data such as these only hurts
the cause out here in WxLAND and without other universities taking on
the demand that people out here on the Net want, where is the future of
weather data going from this point?? These are great days for myself as
well as others I'm sure, who seriously want and need the free data that
exsist out there and hope others will voice their concerns over these
matters here..UNCC/Duke..we really miss those images!!:)But thanks
guy's!
						Thanks
						Tim Vickery

"Richard P. Johnson"  wrote:
>>Michael Dworetsky wrote:
>>> 
>>> It is apparently true that a high altitude aviator or aeronaut should be
>>> able to see stars in daylight.  I refer to altitudes much higher than
>>> airliners.  I can recall that in the 1950s an autobiography was published
>>> by a female jet test pilot, with the title _The Stars at Noon_.  Sorry, I
>>> can't recall the author's name.
>>> 
>>The author is Jacqueline Cochran and it was published by Little Brown. 
>>The Dynix is 167861.
Somewhere  I remember reading that  WW2 Japanese pilots ( a select
few) where somehow trained to locate stars in daylight.  The book also
said that if you were at the bottom of a 50 foot well, that it was
possible to see the stars if you looked straight up since apparently a
lot of the scattering is reduced from that perspective.  Anyone care
to comment?

In response to the question "Why is it that towns on the lee of lakes 
Ontario and Erie have such staggering snowfall amounts". There are many 
reasons of course. James Acker's response was correct. However I would 
like to add to it if I may. The lee sides of Lakes Ontario and Erie 
generally get heavy amounts of snowfall. There are more reporting 
stations and a bigger populations in these areas. This could explain why 
it gets more "press". There is also another reason. Lakes Ontario and 
Erie are oriented lengthwise east to west. The prodominate wind flow in 
the area of the lakes is also east to west. This allows the air moving 
across the lake to actually spend more time over the warmer water. Thus 
producing heaver lake effect snow. Not generally so with lakes Huron and 
Michigan. Lake Superior is "somewhat" east-west oriented but I'll bet if 
 we looked at the predominate wind flow in the area it would be 
Northwest. Leading to less time for the air to be over the Lake. There 
are other reasons for all this, such as depth of the lakes and lake 
teperatures.....I could go on and on. But I think you'll get the idea. I 
also don't mean to take away from Upper Mich. THey also get there fair 
amount of snowfall.
Todd Lericos
TLericos@imcbbs.imcnet.net

Super-User wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> I am interested to find software for analyze data from a balloon
> sounding.
> Where can i found it?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Elena
Elena,
Try a location of the WWW called "The WeatherNet". I don't know the 
address of hand. Just do a web search. In there web page is a software 
archive. Look for a program called RAOB.
Todd Lericos
TLericos@imcbbs.imcnet.net

I am interested in locating a Web site that has historical
upper air soundings that pretain to severe meso-scale events
that have occured over the last 5 yr's to study what those particular
soundings look like before and after an severe wx event.All help greatly
appreciated!
					TRV

Blizzards that form in North America usually occur in Upper Plains(US) and
Saskatchawan(Canada).  Blizzards usually form when they ride a trough in
the
jet stream and encounter polar air.  A "true" blizzard is described as
winds of 30
MPH or more, temps of 20F or less, with snow accumulating 1 IPH (Inches
per hour). 
EZski3@aol.com 

Heat Index runs on a set scale according to the human flesh. Kind of like
Wind Chill.  At 20% humidity and 75F it feels like 72F.  50% humidity with
100F feels like 120F.

John O'Reilly wrote:
> 
> 
> Somewhere  I remember reading that  WW2 Japanese pilots ( a select
> few) where somehow trained to locate stars in daylight.  The book also
> said that if you were at the bottom of a 50 foot well, that it was
> possible to see the stars if you looked straight up since apparently a
> lot of the scattering is reduced from that perspective.  Anyone care
> to comment?
Don't know about the Japanese fighters but the well story is an old
wives tale.  No matter how deep the well you'll not see the stars with
any more contrast against the sky than if you weren't in the well.  Does
anyone know the origin of this myth?  The only thing I can think of is
very bright starlike objects such as Venus can be seen in daylight if
you know exactly where to look.  Did someone see Venus from a well
simply because it happened to be in the only piece of sky visible from
down in the well?  It would have to happen much farther south than
Europe or most of America and I think the story goes back several
centuries at least.
Rick

I need a chart of times of sunrises and sunsets for the next few weeks.
Where can I find it? 

          +---------------------------------------------------+
         +---------------------------------------------------+| =
         |                                                   ||
         |                                                   ||
         |                C O N F E R E N C E                ||
         |                                                   ||
         |              A N N O U N C E M E N T              || =
         |                                                   ||
         |                      A N D                        ||
         |                                                   ||
         |            A D V A N C E  P R O G R A M           ||
         |                                                   ||
         |                                                   ||
         |                I S E S S   1 9 9 7                ||
         |            =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D            ||
         |                                                   ||
         |                                                   ||
         |         Second International Symposium on         ||
         |          Environmental Software Systems           ||
         |         ----------------------------------        ||
         |                                                   ||
         |       http://cfc.crle.uoguelph.ca/isess97/        ||
         |                                                   ||
         |               April 28 - May 1, 1997              ||
         |                                                   ||
         |               Delta Whistler Resort,              ||
         |         Whistler, British Columbia, Canada        ||
         |                                                   |+
         +---------------------------------------------------+
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
News from ISESS 1997
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
  * C o n f e r e n c e   S t a t u s   S u m m a r y
    * The advance conference program has been set in late December
      1996. Consult the program below to see which papers will be
      presented.
  =
    * Registration is now possible; see registration details below
      or consult our registration page on our conference home page.
    * IMPORTANT: To register, print off the registration page and
      send it to the conference registration office along with your =
      payment. You will receive a notification and a receipt as =
      soon as the payment has been processed.      =
      THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER MAIL COMMUNICATION.
      All communication prior to the conference will be done by an
      EMAIL list on which you will be registered if you give us
      your email on the registration form. We plan to send out a =
      final conference program about 4 weeks before the conference.
      The full conference package will be provided at Whistler.
    * Make your hotel reservation with the Delta Whistler directly.
      Indicate on their WEB page (or call or fax them) that you are
      ISESS 1997 participant, in order to receive the conference =
      hotel rate. You must have registered for the conference =
      before you can make a reservation with the hotel.
    * Travel details from Vancouver to Whistler can be found on =
      our home page too. There is a regular cheap shuttle service
      from Vancouver airport.
  * C o n f e r e n c e   A d v a n c e   P r o g r a m =
    (see below)
  * C o n f e r e n c e   R e g i s t r a t i o n   D e t a i l s
    (see below)
  * C o n f e r e n c e   A i r l i n e
    Air Canada, the official ISESS 1997 conference airline, offers
    special fares for ISESS 1997 delegates. In order to receive the
    special fare, just consult your local travel agent and indicate
    that ISESS 1997 has Air Canada as official airline. Give your
    travel agent the following event reference number:
                          CV 972 131
    Air Canada provides this offer world wide, along with its =
    international partners (like United and Lufthansa).
  * W H I S C E I  -  The Whistler Short Course on
                      Environmental Informatics
    Several universities have combined their teaching efforts in
    a multi-disciplinary, international joint university course.
    This course is run before, in parallel and after the =
    conference. Students will also participate at the conference.
    In principle, this course is open to everyone, also to further
    faculty and to industry and government institutions. The course
    gives an overview on environmental informatics principles,
    problems and applications. If you are interested in this =
    course, please contact us (David Swayne or Ralf Denzer) =
    directly.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ISESS 1997 Scope
-------------------------------------------------------------------
  Due to increasing practical needs, the software support of
  environmental protection and research tasks is growing in
  importance and scope. =
  =
  ISESS 1997 is the following of a very successful conference
  which was held at Penn State University, Malvern, PA, USA in
  1995. This conference was the first international conference =
  on Environmental Informatics co-sponsored by the International
  Federation of Information Processing (IFIP) and the German
  Computer Society (GI).
  =
  The purpose of the symposium is to present and discuss =
  the progress and actual trends in this area in terms of =
  methods, tools and state-of-the-art applications.
Topics and methods
------------------
  Topics of ISESS 1997 include all application areas of
  environmental protection and all informatics methods =
  thereof, like
  Applications                    Methods
  ------------                    -------
  Monitoring                      Measurement networks
  Waste management                Remote sensing
  Water resources                 Digital image processing
  Impact assessment               Information systems
  Public information systems      Modeling and simulation
  Global change                   Visualization
  Ecosystem research              GIS
  Chemical databases              Spatial databases
  Process control                 Distributed systems
  Ecological management           Knowledge based methods
  Ecobalances                     System integration
  and many more.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A D V A N C E   P R O G R A M =
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Keynote Lecture I
-----------------
  Atmospheric Environmental Information - An Overview with =
  Canadian Example
    Ann Mc Millan, Atmospheric Environment Service, Canada
	=
Ecological and Agricultural Applications I
------------------------------------------
  Integration of a Nonpoint Source Pollution Model with a
  Decision Support System
    Luis F. L=E9on, University of Waterloo, Canada
    D. C. Lam, Environment Canada, Canada
    D. A. Swayne, Univ. of Guelph, Canada
    G. J. Farquhar, E. D. Soulis, University of Waterloo, Canada
  The Wildlife Management System of Schleswig-Holstein -
  A GIS based tool to monitor Game and endangered species
    Peter Fischer, Universitaet des Saarlandes, Germany
  =
  Subpixel mixture Modeling Applied for vegetation Monitoring
    Sonia Bouzidi, INRIA, France
    J. P. Berroir, I. L. Herlin, INRIA, France
Object-Oriented Systems
-----------------------
  =
  Groundwater Modeling Using the Random Walk Method on Top
  of Distributed Object-Oriented-Systems
    Andreas Matheja, Franzius Institut, Uni Hannover, Germany
    H. Krabbe, Freiberg University of Technology, Germany
  Applying the Object-Oriented Paradigm to Integrated
  Water Resource Planning and Management
    Jacek Gibert, CSIRO, Australia
    Shiroma Maheepala, CSIRO, Australia
  Object-Oriented Specification of Models and Experiments
  in Traffic Simulation
    Holger Mueggegge, University of Hamburg, Germany
    L. M. Hilty, B. Page, R. Meyer, University of Hamburg, Germany
Environmental Information Systems I	=
-----------------------------------
  A case study of a data management strategy and an environment
  information system for a large interdisciplinary science
  research program
    Anne Roberts, Institute of Hydrology, Great Britain
  Design and Prototype of an Information System for Regional
  Ecobalances
    Roman Lenz, Fachhochschule Nuertingen, Germany
  Using Active Database Behaviour for Monitoring =
  Environmental Data
    Johannes Gutleber, Austrian Research Center Seibersdorf
    Gerald Schimak, Austrian Research Center Seibersdorf
Decision Support
----------------
  An Environmental Impact Assessment Model for Water =
  Resources Screening
    M. A. Yurdusev, Newcastle University, Great Britain
    D. G. Jamieson, Newcastle University, Great Britain
  Great Lakes Toxic Chemicals Decision Support System
    W. G. Booty, National Water Research Institute, Canada
    D. C. L. Lam, T. Tseng, Environment Canada, Canada
    I. Smith Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy, Canada
    P. Siconolfi, ES Aquatic Inc., Canada
  Spatially Distributed Parameter Approach for A Watershed-Scale
  Nonpoint Source Pollution Modeling Coupled with GIS-RDBMS
    Jaewan Yoon, Old Dominion University, USA
	=
Modelling and Simulation I
--------------------------
  Distributed Individual-based Environmental Simulation
    Mark Scahill, University of Kent at Canterbury, Great Britain
  Monte-Carlo Simulation of Rain Water Harvesting Systems
    Vikram Vyas, Ajit Foundation, India
  The implementation and visualization of a large spatial
  individual-based model using Fortran 90
    David. R. Morse, University of Kent, Great Britain
    Tim Hopkins, University of Kent, Great Britain
Knowledge Based Systems
-----------------------
  Knowledge Based Systems for Water Demand Management
    M. Luay Froukh, Newcastle University, Great Britain
  Development of an Environmental Flows Decision Support System
    W. J. Young, CSIRO Division of Water Resources, Australia
    D. C. Lam, National Water Research Institute, Canada
    V. Ressel, University of Agricultural Sciences, Austria
    I. W. Wong, National Water Research Institute, Canada
  Conserving Resources Through Better Planning
    Oliver Vornberger, Universitaet Osnabrueck, Germany
    Frank M. Thiesing, University of Osnabrueck, Germany
Keynote Lecture II
------------------
  The Development of Computer Based Watershed Management Systems -
  The RAISON Perspective
    D.C.L. Lam,  Environment Canada, Canada
    Gary S. Bowen, Environment Canada, Canada
    C. I. Mayfield, University of Waterloo, Canada
Modelling and Simulation II
---------------------------
  Large Scale Simulation/Optimization Modeling for Water
  Resource Allocation in East-Central Florida
    Carol Demas, University of Florida, USA
    P. Burger, D. Munch, St. Johns River Water Management, USA
    K. Hatfield, D. Hearn,  Univ. of Florida, USA
Modelling and Simulation II
---------------------------
  Individual-oriented modeling and simulation to analyse
  complex environmental systems
    Rolf Gruetzner, Universitaet Rostock, Germany
	=
  A Guidance System for Choosing Analytical Contaminant
  Transport Models
    Lu-chia Chuang, Univ. of Houston, USA
    Theodore G. Cleveland, University of Houston, USA
Environmental Software Tools
----------------------------
  Environmental Software and Management Questions -
  Is the Cart before the Horse
    Robert M. Argent, University of Melbourne, Australia
    R. B. Grayson, University of Melbourne, Australia
  General Purpose Computer-Aided Engineering Tools for
  Environmental Software Systems
    Chris Hendrickson, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
    J. Garrett, Arpad Horvath, Satish Joshi, Octavio Juarez,
    Francis C. Mc Michael, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
  Knowledge-based decision support for environmental assessment
    Keith M. Reynolds, Corvallis Forestry Sciences Laboratory, USA
    Michael Saunders, Penn State University, USA
    Bruce Miller, Rules of Thumb Inc., USA
    Scott Murray, ESRI, USA
    John Slade, Knowledge Garden Inc., USA
Tutorial I
----------
  Base Technologies for Distributed Environmental Information =
  Systems
    Ralf Kramer, Forschungszentrum fuer Informatik, Germany
Tutorial II
-----------
  A Distributed Systems Approach to Ecological Modelling
    David. R. Morse, University of Kent, Great Britain
    I. C. A. Buckner, V. Jhurree, Great Britain
Modelling and Simulation III
----------------------------
  Integrating Simulation Models into the Environmental Information
  Systems - Model Analysis
    Thomas Clemen, Universitaet Kiel, Germany
	=
  Hierarchical Clustering Algorithms for Atmospheric =
  Back-Trajectories, with Application to Long Range =
  Transport of Air Pollution
    J. D. Mac Neil, University of Guelph, Canada
    L. Barrie, Atmospheric Environment Service, Canada
Geographical Information System Applications
--------------------------------------------
  Information System for Conservation in Veracruz, Mexico
    Lorrain Giddings, Instituto de Ecologia, A.Cs., Mexico
    Carlos Chiappy, Margarita Soto, Lilia Gama, =
    Instituto de Ecologia, Mexico
  An Approach for Hypermap-based Applications
    Maria Nelson, University of Waterloo, Canada
    P.S. Alencar, D. D. Cowan, T.R. Grove, C. I. Mayfield,
    University of Waterloo, Canada
Keynote Lecture III
-------------------
  Environmental Management Information Systems for =
  Production and Recycling
    Lorenz M. Hilty, Universitaet Hamburg, Germany
    Claus Rautenstrauch, University of Konstanz, Germany
Industrial Environmental Information Processing I
-------------------------------------------------
  Integrated Environmental Impact Modeling for Computational
  Building Design Evaluation
    Ardeshir Mahdavi, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
    Robert Ries, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
  The EH & S cooperation developing a new product safety =
  database for improved business process support in =
  environmental and safety affairs
    Andreas Schuh, BASF AG, Germany
Meta Information Systems
------------------------
  Data and Metadata Management in Distributed Environmental
  Information Systems
    Ralf Kramer, Forschungszentrum fuer Informatik, Germany
    A. Koschel, Ralf Nikolai, FZI, Germany
    Gergely Lukacs, Technical University of Budapest, Hungary
    Thomas Heinemeier, Joint Research Center, Italy
  Intelligent Guiding to User Services in Earth Observation
  and Environmental Systems
    Matthias Zingler, European Space Agency ESA/ESRIN, Italy
Poster Session
--------------
  A Case Study of REMTEC: the Site remediation treatment =
  technology database
    D. S. Brendon, Water Technology International Corp., Canada
    R. Booth, C. Wardlaw, Water Technology =
    International Corp., Canada
  Air Quality Information System =
    Hossam Allam, Centre for Environment and Development for
    the Arab Region and Europe, Egypt
  A Software System for Emergency Rescue Services
    Viktor P. Belogurov, Ukrainian Scientific Center for =
    Protection of Water, Ukraine
	=
  A flexible real-time flow forecasting model
    David Wilson, Hydro-Electric Commission, Australia
    Roger Parkyn, Hydro-Electric Commission, Australia
  Simple Grid Mapping Software for Resource Management =
  and Education
    Aquiles Negrete Yankelevic, Instituto de Ecolog=EDa, Mexico
	=
  A Time Series Database for Environmental Data
    Guy Halliburton, National Institute of Water & =
    Atmospheric Research, New Zealand
	=
  A computer aided learning tool for an urban sewer =
  system simulator
    Debebe Aschalew, Free University of Brussels, Belgium
    W. Bauwens, Free University of Brussels, Belgium
    L. Fuchs, ITWH Hannover, Germany
  Using Computer Based Training to Aid in the Application of
  Environmental Assessment Legislation - Canadian International
  Development (CIDA) Case Example
    Peter Croal, Environmental Assessm. and Compliance Unit, Canada
	=
  The World Wide Web as a Two-Way Information Source
    Bruce MacDonald, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada
    David A. Swayne, University of Guelph, Canada
    Ralf Denzer, Andreas Hess, Dirk Jessberger, =
    HTW des Saarlandes, Germany
Industrial Environmental Information Processing II
--------------------------------------------------
  Development of a Pollution Prevention Tool for Design of
  Continuous Chemical Processes
    D.W. Pennington, Hong-Kong University of Science and =
    Technology, Hong Kong
    P. L. Yue, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, =
    Hong Kong
  Application of Fuzzy Petri Net Simulation for Environmental
  Integrated Controlling of Product Networks
    G. Siestrup, Universitaet Bremen, Germany
    A. Tuma, H. D. Haasis, University of Bremen, Germany
Environmental Information Systems II
------------------------------------
  Automation of Information Support for Environmental Management
  in the Republic of Bashkortostan
    V. E. Gvozdev, Inst. for Applied Ecology and Natural =
    Resources Use, Russia
    S. V. Pavlov, R. Z. Khamitov, Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia
  Environmental problems - a transnational solution supporting
  cooperation of all relevant social forces
    Josef Burgard, Siemens Telekooperationszentrum, Germany
    J. Schweitzer, DFKI, R. Denzer,  R. Guettler, HTWdS,
    R. Pfannkuche, SNI, Germany,
    B. Hoffmann, U. Kleffner, Stadtverband Saarbruecken, Germany,
    R. Momper, Ville de Saargemuines, France,
    C. Marchionini, Argopol, France
    H. Humer, G. Schimak, ARCS, Austria
World Wide Web Applications
---------------------------
  Inside an Environmental Data Archive WWW Site
    Sarah Jennings, Univ. of Tennessee; Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US=
A
    Jon W. Grubb, Teresa G. Yow, Anthony W. Smith, Oak Ridge
    National Laboratory, USA
  Management of Distributed and Heterogeneous Sources of
  Information for Environmental Administrations
    Wolf-Fritz Riekert, FAW Ulm	Germany
    Margit Gaul, Gerhard Kluegl, Gerlinde Wiest, FAW Ulm, Germany
    Inge Henning, MfU Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
  Set-Up and Evaluation of DAIN - Matadatabase of
  Internet Resources for Environmental Chemicals
    Kristina Voigt, GSF-Forschungszentrum, Germany
    J. Benz, Universitaet-Gesamthochschule Kassel, Germany
Ecological and Agricultural Applications II
-------------------------------------------
  Srap model of agrochemicals transport from farmland
  with storm water
    Volodimir Z. Kolpak, Ukrainian Scientific Center for
    Protection of Water, Ukraine
    V. A. Barannik, Ukrainian Scientific Research Center for
    Protection of Waters, Ukraine
  Integration of Constraint Reasoning and Simulation Modelling
  to solve Forest Harvest Scheduling
    Junas Adhikary, Simon Fraser University, Canada
    Gunnar Misund, SINTEF Oslo, Norway
  Soil Prediction on a low Budget ? - Ask the Expert!
    Martin Ameskamp, University Kiel Germany
Keynote Lecture IV
------------------
  Neuro-Fuzzy Methods for Environmental Modeling
    Martin Purvis, University of Otago, New Zealand
Best Papers of ISESS 1997
-------------------------
  Re-engineering the German Integrated System for Measuring and
  Assessing Environmental Radioactivity
    Ernst-Erich Doberkat, ICD - Abt. Softwaretechnik, Germany
    Fritz Schmidt, IKE, Germany
    Chritof Veltmann, Informatik Centrum Dortmund, Germany
  Modelling Ecological Change on Set-Aside arable land using
  a GIS approach
    Ruth D. Swetnam, The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, =
    Great Britain
    Les G. Firbank, Noranne E. Ellis, Mark O. Hill, The Institute
    of Terrestrial Ecology, Great Britain
  GIS-based risk assessment of water supply intakes in
  the British Uplands
    J.A. Foster, University of Leeds, Great Britain
    A. T. McDonald, S. M. MacGill, University of Leeds, England
    I. Mitchell, Yorkshire Water Service Ltd., England
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ISESS 1997 Organization
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Organizing Societies
--------------------
  * German Computer Society
    TC 4.6 Informatics Technology in Environmental Protection
  * University of Guelph
  * Austrian Research Centre Seibersdorf
  * Hochschule fuer Technik und Wirtschaft des Saarlandes
  * Environmental Informatics Institute
Conference chair
----------------
  Prof. Dr. Ralf Denzer
  German Computer Society
  Germany
Conference co-chairs
--------------------
  Prof. Dr. David A. Swayne
  University of Guelph
  Canada
  Dipl. Ing. Gerald Schimak
  Austrian Research Centre Seibersdorf
  Austria
Program chair
-------------
  Prof. Dr. Bernd Page
  University of Hamburg
  Germany
Special program chair for agriculture, forestry and ecology
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Prof. Dr. Roman Lenz
Fachhochschule Nuertingen
Germany
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Conference location
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 ISESS Whistler 1997: A conference on environmental informatics
 with a venue that you'll not forget.
 Whistler Mountain and its companion Blackcomb form the backdrop
 for arguably the premier ski and outdoors alpine recreation
 location of North America, loacted just 105 kms North of Vancouver
 (rated amongst the 10 most beautiful cities in the world). =
 The route to Whistler uses the breathtaking Sea to Sky highway =
 North from the city.
 The conference venue is the elegant Delta Whistler Resort. Special
 conference rates have been negotiated (CDN$ 109+tax). Arrangement
 for computers and connections to the internet are available right
 at the hotel.
 Transportation from Vancouver airport to Whistler is very
 inexpensive and frequent.
 For information about Whistler, see http://www.whistler.com/. =
-------------------------------------------------------------------
International program committee
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Program committee members
-------------------------
  Dr. Dave Abel
    CSIRO, Division of Information Technology
    Australia
  Mr. James Alpigini
    Lockheed Martin Communication Systems
    USA
  Prof. Dr. N. Avouris
    University of Patras
    Greece
  Dr. Gerd Buziek
    University of Hannover
    Germany
  Prof. Dr. George Burns
    Glasgow Caledonian University
    United Kingdom
  Prof. Dr. D. D. Cowan
    University of Waterloo, =
    Computing Science Department
    Canada
  Prof. Dr. Ralf Denzer
    Saarland State University for =
    Technology and Business
    Germany
  Prof. Dr. E. E. Doberkat
    University of Dortmund
    Germany
  Prof. Dr. Rolf Gruetzner
    University of Rostock, =
    Faculty of Computer Science
    Germany
  Prof. Dr. Giorgio Guariso
    Politecnico di Milano
    Italy
  Prof. Dr. Oliver Geunther
    Humboldt-University
    Germany
  Prof. Dr. Reiner Guettler
    Saarland State University for =
    Technology and Business
    Germany
  Dipl. Ing. Wernfried Haas
    Joanneum Research
    Forschungsgesellschaft mbH
    Austria
  Prof. Dr. Hans Hagen
    University of Kaiserslautern
    Germany
  Dr. Andreas Jaeschke
    Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe
    Germany
  Dipl. Ing. Erwin Knappitsch
    Federal Environmental Agency, Vienna
    Austria
  Prof. Dr. D. C. L. Lam
    National Water Research Institute, Burlington
    Canada
  Dr. Roman Lenz
    GSF Research Center for =
    Environment and Health, Munich
    Germany
  Dr. Anton Mangstl
    Zentralstelle fuer Agrardokumentation =
    und -Information, Bonn
    Germany
  Prof. Dr. Colin Mayfield
    University of Waterloo
    Canada
  Dr. Ann Mc Millan
    Atmospheric Environment Service, Downsview
    Canada
  Prof. Dr. P. Herbert Osanna
    T.U. Vienna
    Austria
  Prof. Dr. Bernd Page
    University of Hamburg
    Germany
  Dr. David Peters
    Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service
    Australia
  Dr. Werner Pillmann
    Oesterreichisches Bundesinsitut =
    fuer Gesundheitswesen
    Austria
  Dr. Theresa-Marie Rhyne
    Lockheed Martin, =
    U.S. EPA Scientific Visualization Center
    USA
  Dr. Philip K. Robertson
    CSIRO, Division of Information Technology
    Australia
  Prof. Dr. David Russell
    PennState Great Valley
    USA
  Dipl. Ing. Gerald Schimak
    Austrian Research Centre Seibersdorf
    Austria
  Dr. Hubertus Schmidtke
    Scherrer & Assoc.
    Switzerland
  Dr. Thomas Schuetz
    Federal Enviromental Agency, Berlin
    Germany
  Prof. Dr. D. Swayne
    University of Guelph
    Canada
  Dr. William J. Walley
    Aston University
    United Kingdom
  Dr. Matthias Zingler
    ESA/ESRIN
    Italy
 =
German Computer Society, TC 4.6 liaison
---------------------------------------
  Prof. Dr. Bernd Page
    University of Hamburg
    Germany
IFIP WG 5.11 liaison
--------------------
  Prof. Dr. Giorgio Guariso
    Politecnico di Milano
    Italy
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Further information
-------------------------------------------------------------------
  Further information can be obtained from:
  David A. Swayne
  Department of Computing & Information Science
  University of Guelph
  Guelph, Ontario
  Canada, N1G 2W1
  dswayne@snowhite.cis.uoguelph.ca
  Gerald Schimak =
  Austrian Research Center Seibersdorf
  2444 Seibersdorf
  Austria
  schimak@zdfzs.arcs.ac.at
  Ralf Denzer
  Hochschule fuer Technik und Wirtschaft
  des Saarlandes
  Goebenstr. 40
  66117 Saarbruecken
  Germany
  denzer@htw.uni-sb.de
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Actual information
-------------------------------------------------------------------
  A version of this conference announcement including links to the =
  organizers, information about ISESS 1995 proceedings, links to =
  information about Whistler, links to the hotel, links to =
  transportation and actual NEWS about ISESS 1997, =
  is maintained at:
    http://cfc.crle.uoguelph.ca/isess97/
  For ISESS's publications please have a look at =
    http://www.chaphall.com/chaphall.html
  or email to: =
  needtoknow@chall.co.uk (for information only)
  musthaveuk@itps.co.uk  (UK orders)
  musthave@itps.co.uk    (rest of world orders)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Conference Offices for ISESS 1997
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Registration Office
-------------------
  (send registrations ONLY to this address)
  Environmental Informatics Institute
  P.O. Box 11 15
  69251 Gaiberg
  Germany
  Fon +49 (6223) 970235
Canada Office and Conference Secretary
--------------------------------------
  (direct all other communication to this address)
  Mrs. Linda Robson
  Department of Computing & Information Science
  University of Guelph
  Guelph, Ontario
  Canada, N1G 2W1
  Email linda@snowhite.cis.uoguelph.ca
  Fon   +1 519-824-4120 ext. 3760
  Fax   +1 519-837-0323
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Registration Guidelines for ISESS 1997
-------------------------------------------------------------------
   * Conference Registration
     Register with form below; registrations with payment =
     received at our conference office before March 1 will be =
     subject to the reduced early conference fee. For member rates,
     we need your membership number. Registration is only possible
     in written form, with your signature and along with payment. =
     Email registration is invalid.
   * Hotel Registration
     The Delta Whistler will keep rooms for conference participants
     due March 26, 1996. You must have registered for the con-
     ference first, in order to have a guaranteed conference rate.
     Rooms are subject to availability but before March 26, the =
     Delta Whistler offers all its rooms to ISESS 1997 delegates.
     After that date, rooms may be sold out. Register on the Delta
     Whistler registration page AND indicate under comments =
     "ISESS 1997" in order to get the conference room rate.
     Fon  +1 604-932-1982, =
     Fax  +1 604-932-7332, =
     Toll Free: 1-800-268-1133
     E-mail:delta@whistler.net
      Mail: 4050 Whistler Way, Whistler, B.C. V0N 1B4
   * Transport
     Information on transport from Vancouver to Whistler can be
     found on the Whistler home page.
      http://www.whistler.net/resort/the_valley/getting_here/index.html
      The least expensive is by bus
       Perimeter Transportation Ltd. +1 604-266-5386 =
	from Whistler +905-0041 =
	Daily departures to Whistler from
	Vancouver International Airport. =
     Departs Vancouver Airport Daily: *9:30am; 11:30am; 1:30pm; 3:30pm; 5=
:30pm;
     7:30pm; 10:30pm =
     Departs Whistler: ** 6:00am; 8:00am; 10:00am; 12:00pm; 2:00pm; 4:00p=
m =
     Rates: Adult - $42.80 Cdn. one way, Children 5 - 11 - $21.40 Cdn. on=
e way,
     under 5 - FREE (all prices include 7% Goods and Service Tax).
     Budget Rent-a Car is the preferred car rental agency of ISESS97.
	Car rentals are available world-wide through the Budget network.
   * Leisure before and after the conference
     You may book all activities when in Whistler. The Delta has =
     its own ski & rental shop. During the conference, this is =
     still ski season and the golf season in the valley is usually
     opened on May 1. Subject to weather conditions, mountain =
     biking and more activities are possible.   The Delta Whistler =
     is only about 75 meters from the base of both mountains, so
     transportation is not an issue while you are at the conference.
     Whistler-Blackcomb Resorts Office:
     Fon  +1 888-284-9999
     email resorts@whistler.net
   * SUMMARY: You find all information necessary for registration
     and travel if you visit our home page - we have set the links to mos=
t
     of the whistler web regarding reservations, activities and transport=
=2E.
    =
             http://cfc.crle.uoguelph.ca/isess97
  =
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                           - cut here -
--------------------------------------------------------------------
              ISESS 1997 Conference Registration Form
              (Please PRINT this form, fill out, SIGN
       and SEND to the registration office along with payment)
 E M A I L  R E G I S T R A T I O N  I S  N O T  P O S S I B L E
1. Terms and Conditions of Payment
For your convenience, we offer different payment methods for North
American and European participants. Delegates from other parts of
the world shall use the North American payment method. SORRY, WE
CAN NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS.
Payment must be
   * a cheque in Canadian dollars on a North American bank payable
     to "Environmental Informatics Institute" (see CAN-$ fees =
     below) for participants from North America and Non-EU citizens
or
   * a Euro-Cheque in DM payable to "Environmental Informatics =
     Institute" (see DM fees below) for EU citizens
Payment must be received at our conference office by the early
registration date MARCH 1, 1997 in order to receive the early
conference rate. Cancellations are subject to a CAN-$ 100 =
administration fee. No refunds will be made after April 1, as for =
each participant the necessary resources will have been allocated =
by that date. Membership rates only apply if you give us your =
membership number. Registrations must be sent to:
        Environmental Informatics Institute
        P.O. Box 11 12
        69251 Gaiberg
        Germany
The conference office will reply with an aknowledgement letter and
a receipt of payment. Please give us an email address, as all =
communication before the conference will be done by email (final =
programme, last update before the event, etc.). In order to avoid =
energy and transport, we will NOT send a final conference package =
to registered delegates. The conference package will be provided at
Whistler. All necessary information can be found on our home page
and on the hotel and Whistler home page. Check our home page from =
time to time to find updated information under the "news" section.
The conference fee includes one copy of the conference proceedings
and the preprints, break refreshments and conference banquet. In =
the flat student rate, proceedings and conference banquet are =
excluded. Additional banquet tickets may be purchased at the Delta =
Whistler reception on arrival.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Personal Record
Academic title:
First name:
Name:
Institution:
Address:
Town:
ZIP:
Country:
Email:
Telephone:
FAX:
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Conference fee (please mark the fee applying to you)
   * Member of GI or IFIP 5.11
     Give membership-#:
     Early rate (payment received at conference office before =
     MARCH 1, 1997): CAN-$ 625,00 or DM 750,00
     Late rate (after MARCH 1, 1997): CAN-$ 750,00 or DM 900,00
   * Non-Member
     Early rate (payment received at conference office before =
     MARCH 1, 1997): CAN-$ 700,00 or DM 840,00
     Late rate (after MARCH 1, 1997): CAN-$ 825,00 or DM 990,00
   * Student (not including PhD students and not including students
     presenting a paper)
     Attach a certification showing that you are student.
     Early rate (payment received at conference office before =
     MARCH 1, 1997): CAN-$ 250,00 or DM 300,00
     Late rate (after MARCH 1, 1997): CAN-$ 350 or DM 420,00
--------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Signature
I hereby register for ISESS 1997 and agree to the terms and =
conditions of payment as stated above.
Signature:
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Jay Reynolds Freeman wrote:
> 
>     One can do interesting astronomy, or at least astronomy-related
> work, from a window seat of a jetliner.  There are several ways to
> detect the curvature of the Earth.  The easiest is to use liquid in
> one of those thin-walled clear cups as a level, and sight across it.
When you use this type of a level, be sure that the force due to the
aircraft's accelleration is negligable compared to the force of gravity.
Dan

                     NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY
                          DECEMBER 1996
1st-7th...A Northeaster hit the region with up to 18 inches of snow
in the Berkshires on Friday.  A similar rush of cold air quickly
changed the pattern, causing the first major snowstorm of the
season.  Forecasters had predicted rain.  Then cold air filtered in
from Maine, and that created a monstrous mess.  The quick-moving
storm dumped snow and sleet for much of the day, caused fender
benders and power outages and shut down Logan International Airport
for 90 minutes.  Accumulation ranged from 17.6 inches in the
Berkshire town of Worthington to 8.7 inches in Marlborough and 3.3
inches in Boston.  Commuters were among those most caught off
guard. 
8th-14th...Another round of up to 6 inches of rain drenched parts
of California Tuesday, swelling creeks and rivers even higher after
days of storms.  Light snow fell across western New York and
heavier snow moved into Colorado's Rockies.  Flooding was
widespread in California's Sacramento Valley, where winds gusted to
50 mph as a second storm system moved into the area.  Flash
flooding forced voluntary evacuations in low-lying parts of the
Santa Cruz area, about 60 miles south of San Francisco.
The storm system already has dumped up to a foot of snow in higher
elevations of the Sierra Nevada and up to 18 inches at California's
Mammoth Lakes ski resort.  
   Rain fell along much of the East Coast on Friday.  The bulk of
the rain in the East stretched along a cold front from North
Carolina along the Appalachians and the coast into central New York
state.  Locally heavy rain included 1.45 inches from midnight to
midmorning at Washington's Dulles International Airport.  That rain
also was moving through New England, and 2 to 4 inches of snow was
possible at higher elevations of New Hampshire, Vermont and upstate
New York.  In the West, strong westerly wind carried moist air
inland from the Pacific.  Showers were scattered from northern
California across Oregon into Washington.  
15th-21st...Snow and rain showers broke out along another cold
front that stretched from the Ohio Valley across Louisiana into
Texas.  Six inches of wet, sticky snow fell across sections of
southern Illinois, although only freezing rain had been forecast,
and several schools were closed in the region.  As much as 8 inches
fell at Zeigler, IL, a small town near Carbondale.  Indiana also
was surprised by 2 to 4 inches of snow across central and southern
counties, with as much as 6 to 7 inches near Vincennes.  Farther
south along that front, Hot Springs, AR, reported 1.37 inches of
rain in 24 hours, and Natchez, MS, picked up 2.13 inches from
midnight to early afternoon.  
   A snowbound cross-country bus passengers whooped and hollered
for joy Wednesday as westbound Interstate 94 began opening up to
traffic after a two-day blizzard.  The blizzard was part of a sharp
wedge of arctic air driving southward across the nation.  Farmers
and ranchers worried about their cattle.  "They shiver, they got
snow on their backs.  They are cold. I know I'd be cold if I had to
stand out there all day and all night," said Mark Koenig of Carson,
ND.  Fellow Carson farmer Dan Stewart said there's no romance to
life on the open range when blizzards blow.  "This is when survival
and protecting what feeds you and your family is most important,
and what you look like and all those glamorous things are the last
thing on your mind," Stewart said. 
   A quick-hitting storm dumped 30 inches of snow on parts of
upstate New York on Fruday.  The South prepared for another chilly
night.  Snow fell near the Great Lakes and on parts of the
Northeast, with gusty winds dropping visibility to near zero at
Buffalo, NY.   
22nd-28th...Snow tapered off on Monday over California's Sierra
Nevada, where more than 8 feet fell during the weekend, while
thunderstorms moved into the Mississippi and Ohio valleys.
Farther north, a low pressure system pushed Pacific moisture into
Washington, with moderate snow in the Cascades and Blue Mountains. 
Moderate to heavy snow also was likely through the mountains of
Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.  Moist air being pumped northward into
the Mississippi and Ohio valleys by a developing low pressure
system combined with above-normal temperatures to produce scattered
showers and thundershowers.  
29th-31st...Up to 2 feet of snow and heavy rain hit the Northwest
on Sunday, blocking highways and downing power lines, while high
winds knocked out power in parts of California and Nevada, and even
blew over semi-trailer trucks.  The second major storm in the
Northwest in less than a week was produced by a low-pressure center
moving in from the ocean.  Washington's Whatcom County, on the
state's northwestern corner, was hardest hit by snow, with up to 2
feet by afternoon.  Heavy snow also fell in the Cascades, blocking
major east-west highways.  Seattle reported 7 to 10 inches of snow
overnight, on top of 6 to 12 inches already on the ground from
Thursday's storm.  Heavy rain fell over parts of southwestern
Washington and western Oregon, where Astoria received 2.13 inches
in 24 hours, and flood watches and warnings were posted for the
region.  Up to 2 inches of ice collected in parts of Oregon.
High wind also hit the coast, toppling dozens of trees and closing
several highways in Oregon.  Wind gusted to 98 mph at Netarts, OR.
Wind gusts near 90 mph knocked over three large trucks on highways
near Reno, NV, and caused power outages affecting 16,000 people.
Gusts of 130 mph were reported in nearby Lake Tahoe.  The storm
also dropped snow above 7,300 feet in the Lake Tahoe area and rain
elsewhere, raising the potential for flooding on rivers in northern
Nevada.  Heavy rain and wind gusts of 62 mph made for miserable
conditions in San Francisco.  North of the city, Sonoma County
received 4.4 inches of rain by noon; power outages in the region
affected 17,000 customers.  Across the South, thunderstorms were
scattered from Louisiana into Mississippi and Alabama.  Wind gusted
to 60 mph during thunderstorms in southern Mississippi.  Patterson,
LA, reported 4.41 inches of rain in 24 hours.  A few showers and
thunderstorms also spread into the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic
Already battered by two winter storms, then deluged by rain and
melting snow, a soggy Northwest braced for another storm system
Tuesday that threatened wind gusts up to 80 mph and more flooding. 
Washington state Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn said insured
damage to businesses and homes likely will top $125 million.  Some
estimates put the eventual total at nearly three times that amount. 
Fifteen counties - virtually the entire west side of Washington
state - have been declared in a state of emergency by Gov. Mike
Lowry.  About 150 National Guard members were dispensing 180,000
sandbags and deploying 20 or 30 humvees to help local emergency
workers get around.   A one-two punch of snowstorms dumped about 2
feet of snow in Western Washington since last Thursday and then
hammered Washington and Oregon with rain.  Mudslides and avalanches
blocked roads and stranded holiday travelers until Monday, when
rain began flushing away the snow and causing flooding in many
areas.  An intensifying Pacific weather system headed ashore
packing winds of 40 to 50 mph, with gusts to 70 or 80 mph expected
along the coast.  Scores of flat roofs collapsed under the weight
of snow, damaging stores, warehouses, carports, marinas - and a new
high school gym in Entiat.  On Tuesday, at least two West Seattle
homes were shifting off their foundations in the soggy soil, and
mudslides damaged three waterfront homes on Camano Island.  In
Northern California, days of sporadic rains eased a bit Tuesday.
Mudslides closed a 45-mile section of Interstate 5, the state's
main north-south freeway, as well as U.S. Highway 199 in far
northwest California, and U.S. Highway 50 through the Sierra
Nevada.  
*Note: This report and others are available on the Internet 
Florida State University
FTP.FTP.met.fsu.edu  cd/pub/weather/summaries
Michican State University
gopher.madlab.umich.edu
National Atmospheric Research Center Newsgroup
sci.geo.meteorology
Northeast Weather Newsgroup
ne.weather
Wx-Talk
vmd.cso.uiuc.edu
Wx-natnl
http://www.infi.net/~bsmoot/munley.htm
http://www.met.rds.ac.uk/data/world95.html
Compuserve Aviation Forum  (go AVSIG)
Jim Munley Jr.
Internet: munleyj@gbn.net
CompuServe: 71435.211@compuserve.com


                    GLOBAL CLIMATE HIGHLIGHTS
                          DECEMBER 1996
NORTH AMERICA
western
Precipitation amounts of greater than 50 mm (2.00") fell on most of
California, the western halves of Oregon and Washington, and
portions of eastern Idaho, western and southern Wyoming, and
north-central Utah.  Locally heavy precipitation of 255 to 345 mm
(10.20-13.80") fell on some locations in the California Cascades,
extreme southwestern Oregon, far northwestern California, and
west-central California, causing localized flooding and 
washing out some roads.  In sharp contrast, very little
precipitation fell on the desert Southwest, most of Nevada, western
and eastern Utah, interior east-central Washington, southeastern
Oregon.  Up to 213 cm of snow buried the Lake Tahoe region as the
week ended, with as much as 122 cm (4.88") reported in a 24-hour
period. The storm disrupted air travel and forced officials to
close major highways between Reno, NV and Sacramento, CA.  Between
50 and 150 mm (2.00"-6.00") of precipitation drenched northern
California and west-central Nevada while 20 to 60 mm (.80"-2.40")
were reported across the western sections of Washington and Oregon.
eastern
Moderate precipitation of 50 to 100 mm (2.00-4.00") was reported
across central and eastern Maryland, Delaware, the eastern half of
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, adjacent sections of New York, and
isolated locations in western North Carolina, west-central
Virginia, central and eastern Ohio, south-central New Hampshire,
central Indiana, and west-central Kentucky.  Also, precipitation
amounts greater than 20 mm (.80") fell across some locations of the
mid-Atlantic, lower Northeast, southern Appalachians, Ohio 
Valley, and northern lower Mississippi Valley, but little or no 
precipitation fell on the remainder of the region.
SOUTH AMERICA
Rainfall of 120 and 155 mm (4.80-6.20") fell across west-central
Brazil and the northern half of Bolivia, and 50 to 140 mm (2.00-
5.60") fell on scattered locations across east-central and
southeastern Brazil, southeastern Paraguay, south-central and
north-central Argentina, parts of Uruguay, and south-central
Bolivia.  In contrast, little or none fell on northeastern 
Brazil, northwestern Paraguay, western Argentina, central and 
east-central Uruguay, and southeastern Rio Grande do Sul state in
far southern Brazil while 20 to 50 mm (.80-2.00") were recorded
across the rest of the region. 
eastern
Temperatures averaged 2øC to 4øC(4øF-8øF) above normal at most
places in central, eastern, and south-central South America from
Parana state in extreme southern Brazil northeastward.  Farther
south and west, however, near- to below-normal readings were
observed, with weekly departures of -3øC to -7øC (6ø-14ø) affecting
central and western Argentina and much of Bolivia, despite highs
briefly climbing to 39øC (102øF) in eastern Argentina.  
   Temperatures averaged 3øC to 6øC (6øF-12øF) above normal across
much of Brazil from western Mato Grosso state eastward to the
Atlantic Coast during the third week, with highs reaching 39øC
(102øF) in eastern Minas Gerais state of eastern Brazil [WARM - 13 
   Locally heavy rains 60 to 150 mm (2.40"-6.00") drenched parts of
southeastern Minas Gerais, most of Sao Paulo state, and central Rio
Grande do Sul in southern Brazil while up to 250 mm (10.00") fell
on southern Paraguay, with six-week moisture surpluses reaching as
high as 300 mm in eastern Minas Gerais.  Farther south, generally
30 to 60 mm (*of rain fell on northeastern Argentina, with a 
few totals reaching 130 mm in southwestern Buenos Aires and western
Corrientes provinces.
EUROPE
Precipitation amounts of 50 to 115 mm (2.00-4.60") fell across
central and northwestern Italy, Sicily, much of Corsica and
Sardinia, southern France, and parts of the northern Iberian
Peninsula; however, lesser amounts fell on most of the area, with
less than 10 mm (.40") measured in most of the British 
Isles, much of northern and eastern continental Europe, and parts
of Scandinavia. 
   Heavy rain of 100 to 360 mm (4.00"-14.40") drenched most of
Portugal, southwestern Spain, Gibraltar, and extreme northern
Morocco.  According to press reports, flash flooding closed many
roads and destroyed $4 million worth of crops in extreme southern
Spain.  Farther north, 40 to 150 mm (1.60"-6.00") of rain soaked
southeastern France and northern Italy while amounts of 30 to 50 mm
(1.20"-2.00") were reported in east-central England, northern
France, and the Benelux Countries. 
RUSSIA
Much colder weather, with weekly temperature departures of -2øC to
-8øC (4øF-16øF), abruptly displaced the recent warmth across
northwestern Russia near and east of the Urals.  Elsewhere,
readings averaged 2øC to 4øC (4øF-8øF) above normal, except in
southwestern Asian Russia, extreme northwestern European Russia,
northern Kazakstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, eastern Turkey, and
northeastern Syria, where weekly departures of +5øC to +9øC 10øF-
18øF) were observed.
AFRICA
southern
Precipitation amounts of 50 and 100 mm (2.00-4.00") fell on
northeastern South Africa and parts of north-central and
southeastern Zimbabwe while amonts of 20 to 50 mm (.80-2.00")
moistened most other locations. 
   Moderate rains of 20 to 70 mm (.80"-2.80") fell on the Transvaal
and adjacent parts of eastern Botswana while 10 to 20 mm (.40"-
80") dampened the southern coast of South Africa. 
INDIA
southern
Very heavy rainfall for so late in the year pounded part of
southeastern India for the fourth consecutive week.  Amounts 200
and 570 mm (8.00-22.0") of rain fell from central Tamil Nadu
northeastward through southeastern Andhra Pradesh where daily
totals reached 180 mm (7.20") while 55 to 95 mm (2.20-3.80")
dampened western Tamil Nadu and much of Kerala. 
ASIA
eastern-central
Only scattered precipitation totals of 50 to 90 mm (2.00-3.60")
were reported in northwestern Honshu while 10 to 40 mm (.40-1.60") 
were measured over west-central and the remainder of northwestern
Honshu, Shikoku, and southeastern Honshu.  Little or none fell
elsewhere. 
   Precipitation amounts of 70 and 150 mm (2.80"-6.00") of
precipitation soaked coastal sections of central Honshu during the
third week while 20 to 50 mm (.80"-2.00") fell across the remainder
of the island.  The Islands of Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido
received only 10 to 40 mm (.40"-1.60") of precipitation. 
ASIA
southeastern
Most of Vietnam reported only light rains of 30 mm (1.20") as did
most of Luzon and Mindanao, providing significant relief from the
recent wetness.  Elsewhere, 30 to 70 mm (1.20-2.80") of rain fell
on most areas from northern Mindanao northward through southern
Luzon, but exceptionally heavy rains again fell on the east-central
Philippines and on much of the region.  Generally 200 to 500 mm 
(8.00"-20.00") inundated the eastern Isthmus of Kra; 150 to 450 mm
(6.00"-18.00") soaked the east-central Philippines; 100 to 250 mm
(4.00"-10.00") were reported across much of Java, southern Sumatra,
the northern, southern, and west-central sections of Celebes, much
of the Moluccas, and the central and eastern Lesser Sundas; and 60
to 200 mm (2.40"-8.00") fell on Borneo. The remainder of the region
received 30 to 90 mm (1.20"_3.60"). 
*Note: This report and others are available on the Internet 
Florida State University
FTP.FTP.met.fsu.edu  cd/pub/weather/summaries
Michican State University
gopher.madlab.umich.edu
National Atmospheric Research Center Newsgroup
sci.geo.meteorology
Northeast Weather Newsgroup
ne.weather
Wx-Talk
vmd.cso.uiuc.edu
Wx-natnl
http://www.infi.net/~bsmoot/munley.htm
http://www.met.rds.ac.uk/data/world95.html
Compuserve Aviation Forum  (go AVSIG)
Jim Munley Jr.
Internet: munleyj@gbn.net
CompuServe: 71435.211@compuserve.com


                    NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY
                          DECEMBER 1996
1st-7th...A Northeaster walloped the region with up to 18 inches of
snow in the Berkshires on Friday.  A similar rush of cold air
quickly changed the weather pattern, causing the first major
snowstorm of the season.  Forecasters had predicted rain. Then cold
air filtered in from Maine, and that created a monstrous mess.  
The quick-moving storm dumped snow and sleet for much of the day,
caused fender benders and power outages and shut down Logan
International Airport for 90 minutes.  Accumulation ranged from
17.6 inches in the Berkshire town of Worthington to 8.7 inches in
Marlborough and 3.3 inches in Boston.  The Northeaster also knocked
out utility lines across the state. 
8th-14th...Rain fell across the Ohio Valley and into the Northeast
on Wednesday, while rain and snow were scattered over the
Northwest.  A low-pressure area centered over Illinois spread
moderate to heavy rain across Indiana and Ohio and into
Pennsylvania, with pockets of light snow in Michigan.  As the
system expanded slowly toward the northeast, showers extended into
New Jersey and New York state.  A winter weather advisory was in
effect overnight into Thursday for parts of Massachusetts.  Storms
that soaked Southern California eased on Wednesday and slid toward
the north, over Northern California and Oregon.  Heavy rain in
California on Tuesday caused mudslides and boosted Los Angeles'
season rainfall to nearly an inch above the normal of 3 1/2 inches. 
Totals this week have been as high as 3 inches.  Light snow was
scattered over Montana and Colorado, and from North Dakota into
Minnesota.  Elsewhere, a flow of warm air across the southern
Plains lifted temperatures into the 70's as far north as Oklahoma. 
   Rain fell along much of the East Coast Friday, with more than
inch in 12 hours in some places, and light showers were scattered
over the Northwest.  The bulk of the rain in the East stretched
along a cold front from North Carolina along the Appalachians and
the coast into central New York state.  Locally heavy rain included
1.45 inches from midnight to midmorning at Washington's Dulles
International Airport.  The cold front curved toward the west
through the Gulf Coast states, and a few showers and thunderstorms
were scattered across sections of southern Georgia, Alabama and
northern Florida.  In the West, strong westerly wind carried moist
air inland from the Pacific.  Showers were scattered from northern
California across Oregon into Washington.  At higher elevations of
Washington and northern Oregon, snow fell.  The showers also
stretched eastward into western Wyoming, falling as light snow
showers in Idaho.
15th-21st...Temperatures plummeted across the northern Plains on
Monday as an arctic air mass pushed southward, and a snow fell in
the Ohio Valley.  The temperature at Sheridan, WY, fell from a
midnight reading of 36øF to just 16øF by early afternoon.  Along
the cold front that marked the leading edge of the cold air, wind
gusted to 64 mph at Glendive, MT, on the state's eastern plains,
giving the city a wind chill reading of -36øF.  Chadron, NE, had 41
mph gusts by afternoon.  Snow and rain showers broke out along
another cold front that stretched from the Ohio Valley across
Louisiana into Texas.  Six inches of wet, snow carpeted sections of
southern Illinois.  As much as 8 inches fell at Zeigler, IL, a
small town near Carbondale.  Indiana also was surprised by 2 to 4
inches of snow across central and southern counties, with as much
as 6 to 7 inches near Vincennes.  Farther south along that front,
Hot Springs, AR, reported 1.37 inches of rain in 24 hours, and
Natchez, MS, picked up 2.13 inches from midnight to early
afternoon. 
   An arctic blast spread wintry weather from the Great Lakes all
the way into the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday, producing blizzards
across the Plains and snowfall that draped into northern Texas.   
Dangerously cold weather clamped down across much of Nebraska,
eastern Wyoming, the Dakotas and Minnesota, where 50-mph winds made
it feel as cold as -60øF and high readings struggled to reach the
20's.  The Midwestern storm created extremely hazardous driving
conditions, packing snow into hard drifts and cutting visibility to
near zero.  Temperatures struggled into the 20's across the
southern Plains and only reached single digits across the northern
Plains.  In Texas and Oklahoma, snow fell along the Red River
Valley.  A mixture of snow, sleet and rain was spreading toward
much of Mississippi and northeastern Louisiana.  Rain prevailed
across much of the Northeast and rain showers were scattered from
Florida to Maine, with heaviest rains in Appalachia, the
mid-Atlantic region and New England.  Elsewhere, Santa Ana winds
made a new assault on Southern California, where blustery wind
gusted to 75 mph.  In Ventura County, growers said winds knocked
avocados from trees and whipped branches hard enough to scar
lemons.  Much of West enjoyed dry but windy conditions.  At
Cheyenne, WY, gusts were clocked at nearly 55 mph.
   Temperatures in the East plunged well below freezing on Friday,
as far south as Louisiana and Florida, while snow fell in northern
mountain and lake regions across the nation.   Snowfall ranged from
a dusting in parts of New York City to light snow in blizzard-weary
North Dakota to get-out-the-boots levels in the Great Lakes areas
of Ohio, Michigan and New York.  A very cold high pressure system
was moving east after producing unusual lows near the Gulf Coast,
including 21øF at Lake Charles, LA, and 18øF in Baton Rouge and
Shreveport.  Tennessee had even colder readings, including 15øF in
Nashville, 17øF in Chattanooga and Knoxville and 18øF in Memphis. 
In the Northeast, snowfall totals by this afternoon could reach 8
inches in northern Maine, 4 inches in western Massachusetts, 5
inches in New York state's Catskill Mountains and 3-6 inches in
western New York and Pennsylvania.  A low pressure system
approaching the British Columbia coast pushed a cold front through
Washington, Oregon and Idaho early.  At the same time, an upper
level disturbance will move into the region, combining to bring
rain showers to western Washington and Oregon.  
22nd-28th...Snow tapered off over California's Sierra Nevada on
Monday, where more than 8 feet fell during the weekend, while
thunderstorms moved into the Mississippi and Ohio valleys.
High pressure moving into California had mostly ended the heaviest
snow in the Sierra, along with wind and rain that blew through the
San Francisco area, causing weekend power outages.  A few snow
showers lingered today in the Sierra, where highways were closed
much of the weekend.  Farther north, a low pressure system pushed
Pacific moisture into Washington, with moderate snow in the
Cascades and Blue Mountains.  Moderate to heavy snow also fell in
the mountains of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.  Moist air being
pumped northward into the Mississippi and Ohio valleys by a
developing low pressure system combined with above-normal
temperatures to produce scattered showers and thundershowers.  The
same system also produced light snow showers in the eastern Dakotas
and Minnesota.  More cold air moved southward over the western
Plains, with the temperature at Oklahoma City dropping from 54øF to
36øF in just one hour this morning.
   Temperatures fell as low as -40øF Wednesday from the northern
Rockies to the upper Great Lakes, and rain and snow were scattered
across the Northwest.  Temperatures plummeted to more than -30øF
from Montana across North Dakota into Minnesota, and even though
the wind was light it was enough to produce wind chills under -
60øF.  Flag Island, MN -40øF.zero; Embarrass, MN, chilled to -39øF;
and International Falls, MN, to -37øF.  The cold was accompanied by
light snow that fell across parts of South Dakota, Nebraska and
Iowa.  In the Northwest, wind blowing in from the ocean carried
heavy rain onto the coast of Oregon and Washington.  Farther
inland, snow fell across the Cascades and into the Idaho Panhandle.
Spokane, WA received 7 inches of snow in 24 hours and Sandpoint,
Idaho, received  6 inches.  Light snow extended into western
Montana and northern Wyoming.  Snow also fell along the downwind
side of the Great Lakes.  
29th-31st...Up to 2 feet of snow and heavy rain hit the Northwest
on Sunday, blocking highways and downing power lines, while high
winds knocked out power in parts of California and Nevada, and even
blew over semi-trailer trucks.  The second major storm in the
Northwest in less than a week was produced by a low-pressure center
moving in from the ocean.  Washington's Whatcom County, on the
state's northwestern corner, was hardest hit by snow, with up to 2
feet by afternoon.  Heavy snow also fell in the Cascades, blocking
major east-west highways.  Seattle reported 7 to 10 inches of snow
overnight, on top of 6 to 12 inches already on the ground from
Thursday's storm.  Heavy rain fell over parts of southwestern
Washington and western Oregon, where Astoria received 2.13 inches
in 24 hours, and flood watches and warnings were posted for the
region.  Up to 2 inches of ice collected in parts of Oregon.
High wind also hit the coast, toppling dozens of trees and closing
several highways in Oregon.  Wind gusted to 98 mph at Netarts, OR. 
Wind gusts near 90 mph knocked over three large trucks on highways
near Reno, NV, and caused power outages affecting 16,000 people.
Gusts of 130 mph were reported in nearby Lake Tahoe. No injuries
were reported.  The storm also dropped snow above 7,300 feet in the
Lake Tahoe area and rain elsewhere, raising the potential for
flooding on rivers in northern Nevada.  Heavy rain and wind gusts
of 62 mph made for miserable conditions in San Francisco for the
football playoff game between the 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. 
North of the city, Sonoma County received 4.4 inches of rain by
noon; power outages in the region affected 17,000 customers.
Across the South, thunderstorms were scattered from Louisiana into
Mississippi and Alabama.  Wind gusted to 60 mph during
thunderstorms in southern Mississippi.  Patterson, LA, reported
4.41 inches of rain in 24 hours.  A few showers and thunderstorms
also spread into the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic regions, and
light showers extended into New England.  Elsewhere, light snow was
scattered from the northern Rockies across the Dakotas into
Minnesota and Wisconsin.
*Note: This report and others are available on the Internet 
Florida State University
FTP.FTP.met.fsu.edu  cd/pub/weather/summaries
Michican State University
gopher.madlab.umich.edu
National Atmospheric Research Center Newsgroup
sci.geo.meteorology
Northeast Weather Newsgroup
ne.weather
Wx-Talk
vmd.cso.uiuc.edu
Wx-natnl
http://www.infi.net/~bsmoot/munley.htm
http://www.met.rds.ac.uk/data/world95.html
Compuserve Aviation Forum  (go AVSIG)
Jim Munley Jr.
Internet: munleyj@gbn.net
CompuServe: 71435.211@compuserve.com


pcp2g@karma.astro.Virginia.EDU (Twisted STISter) writes:
>Careful here! Surface tension near the edge of the glass will draw the 
>water away from horizontal. Without some experimentation (I don't
>have a plastic cup handy) I am not sure if the edge is drawn up or
>down. 
Up at the edge.
>Maybe a straight piece of paper would be better, like the 
>magazine the airlines always provide!
You need the water as a level, though, to see that the horizon is below it.
>If you have a window seat on the side opposite the Sun, you might be able to
>see the shadow of the plane on the clouds below. Sometimes, surrounding
>the shadow, is a rainbow/halo called a 'glory'. The easiest time to see it is
>when the plane is landing, and you get closer to the cloud deck. It can
>be quite pretty.
I have also seen a glory while the plane was approaching the
airport (in Santiago - Santiago is fairly smoggy, and the haze 
and humidity presumably backscattered the light in the
necessary way).

The terrain is much steeper than places like lower Michigan, but high
snowfall 
amounts do exist around Hurley WI and Ironwood MI.  Snowfall tallies tend
to
be higher on the lee sides of Erie & Ontario because of higher terrain and
because the lake temperatures are usually warmer than the rest giving the
air more available moisture.  The shape of the lakes Erie & Ontario also
help the snow pile up.  If there is a constant SW wind over Lake Erie, the
winds cross the
200 mile extent of the lake dumpin all the moistur on Buffalo NY.  The
same is
true with a W wind over Ontario, but the snow piles up on the Tughill
Plateau( in places like Watertown, Oswego, Syracuse)
EZski3@aol.com 

www.accuweather.com has radar loops for 6 hour periods.

www.weather.com has radar loops that you can download for the NW US(300K).

At the NOAA.  National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Association.

Dear met gurus,
someone (who ought to know) just told me that you don't get hailstorms
in the tropics. Is this so ? and if so why ? The obvious answer is that
it is too warm, but that sounds a little trite.
many thanks
Neil
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neil Flood                            e-mail: neilf@dpi.qld.gov.au
Drought Research Unit
QLD Dept of Natural Resources (formerly Dept of Primary Industries)
AUSTRALIA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I tend to avoid discussions on this topic because many people seem to
approach it with dogmatic certainty.  Nobody is curious about how things
might work.  They know the TRUTH already and have no room for curiosity or
uncertainty.  I am reminded of the Evolution vs. Creationism debate which
goes on without end on sci.geo.geology.  
Finn

Richard P. Johnson wrote:
> 
> John O'Reilly wrote:
> >
> >
> > Somewhere  I remember reading that  WW2 Japanese pilots ( a select
> > few) where somehow trained to locate stars in daylight.  The book also
> > said that if you were at the bottom of a 50 foot well, that it was
> > possible to see the stars if you looked straight up since apparently a
> > lot of the scattering is reduced from that perspective.  Anyone care
> > to comment?
> 
> Don't know about the Japanese fighters but the well story is an old
> wives tale.  No matter how deep the well you'll not see the stars with
> any more contrast against the sky than if you weren't in the well.  Does
> anyone know the origin of this myth?  The only thing I can think of is
> very bright starlike objects such as Venus can be seen in daylight if
> you know exactly where to look.  Did someone see Venus from a well
> simply because it happened to be in the only piece of sky visible from
> down in the well?  It would have to happen much farther south than
> Europe or most of America and I think the story goes back several
> centuries at least.
> 
> Rick
In the 1950s, we sailed on Queen Elizabeth.  My mom said she took a tour
that included entry into base of smokestack (?).  She says that she
could see stars from inside.
Roy

Robert Krawitz wrote:
>
> Once again: correlation != causation.
> 
> It's possible that CO2 is what raised temperatures, but 
> it's also possible that rising temperatures increase the 
> level of CO2 in the atmosphere, by whatever mechanism 
> (e. g. by forcing it out of solution in the oceans).
And it's also possible that both happen.  An increase in
temperature causes an increase in atmospheric CO2 which
causes an additional increase in temperature.  Not only is
this possible,  it's the best explaination for the data
relating CO2 and temperature over "short" time periods, 
less than a few thousand years.
As for Hugh Easton  
Please adjust your analysis to account for two well known
facts:
1) The relationship between CO2 levels and temperature
   is not linear. Sure,  you can graph it as it was over a
   small enough range,  but a doubling of CO2 should cause
   a constant increase in temperature.
2) The relationship between two variables in a feedback 
   system depends on what part of the system is being 
   "forced" (changed from outside the system).  CO2 levels 
   were not being forced during the Ice Age,  they were 
   responding to other changes in the climate system,  
   unlike today.

Hi again,
The last NOAA images show that hurricane GRETELLE is moving
slowly to the south-west direction. It has now reached the
"Strong cyclone" level, with a regular eye. 
I recall that the images are on the following anonymous FTP site:
 hostname : melusine.mpl.orstom.fr
 username : anonymous
 password : your e-mail address
directory : pub/incoming/gretelle
-rw-rw-r--   1 ftp      62         52694 Jan 23 06:44 P97012215.jpg
-rw-rw-r--   1 ftp      62         48003 Jan 23 06:44 P97012221.jpg
-rw-rw-r--   1 ftp      62         50444 Jan 23 06:45 P97012302.jpg
P97012215.jpg : B & W, Wednesday evening, NOAA-12 ascending
P97012221.jpg : B & W, Wednesday night, NOAA-14 descending
lat = 19.1 S
lon = 52.9 E
P97012302.jpg : B & W, Thursday morning, NOAA-12 descending
lat = 19.7 E
lon = 52.6 E
Bye
Mamy RAKOTO
ORSTOM/SEAS HRPT Station
Reunion Island

Dan Evens wrote:
> 
> Hugh Easton wrote:
> > One of the possible effects - not necessarily the worst - of a large
> > increase in global temperatures is the breakup of the Antarctic ice cap.
> 
> What global temperature increase would be required for this?
> 
> --
> Standard disclaimers apply.
> I don't buy from people who advertise by e-mail.
> I don't buy from their ISPs.
> Dan Evens
According to the IPCC Reports, melting of the antarctic ice cap
is not too likely, but it is possible given expected increases in
temperature.  The problem is the particular configuration of the western
ice cap.
It appears that the major contributions to rising sea level are likely
to be thermal expansion of the oceans and melting of mountan glaciers.
-- 
Leonard Evens       len@math.nwu.edu      491-5537
Department of Mathematics, Norwthwestern University
Evanston Illinois

Hi Gang,
I saw an Aurora on the flight back from Hawaii to see the July 11, 1991
Total Solar Eclipse! Oh, I did get to see about 2 minutes of Totality!
Other friends who were stationed just a few miles to the north saw
nothing!
Ed Murray

In article  freeman@netcom.com (Jay Reynolds Freeman) writes:
>> >     One can do interesting astronomy, or at least astronomy-related
>> > work, from a window seat of a jetliner.  There are several ways to
>> > detect the curvature of the Earth.  The easiest is to use liquid in
>> > one of those thin-walled clear cups as a level, and sight across it.
>>
>> Careful here! Surface tension near the edge of the glass will draw the 
>> water away from horizontal. Without some experimentation (I don't
>> have a plastic cup handy) I am not sure if the edge is drawn up or
>> down.
>
Who said anything about water?  Pure whiskey or gin has lower surface 
tension and you can enjoy drinking the experimental materials afterwards.
On many airlines competing for the transatlantic trade you can get a 
complimentary container of experimental liquid from the stewardess.
Only those 18 or over can adopt this technique, though.
>  You do have to be careful, but it does work.  The angle subtended by
>the horizon depression, is much wider than the angle subtended by the
>meniscus as seen across the width of the cup; and you can note the
>position of the meniscus and correct for it.
>
-- 
Mike Dworetsky, Department of Physics  | Bismarck's law: The less people
& Astronomy, University College London | know about how sausages and laws
Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT  UK      | are made, the better they'll
   email: mmd@star.ucl.ac.uk           | sleep at night.

On Wed, 22 Jan 1997, Daniel Kaplan wrote:
> Jay Reynolds Freeman wrote:
> > 
> >     One can do interesting astronomy, or at least astronomy-related
> > work, from a window seat of a jetliner.  There are several ways to
> > detect the curvature of the Earth.  The easiest is to use liquid in
> > one of those thin-walled clear cups as a level, and sight across it.
> 
I assume you've heard of the Kuiper Airborne Observatory, an infra-red 
telescope looking out of a hole in the side of a 747?
Rich
 +-------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Richard Townsend                    |                    |
| Department of Physics & Astronomy   | "Old pond,         |
| University College London           |   frog jumps in -  |
| Gower Street                        |    plop"           |
| London WC1E 6BT                     |                    |
| Work: (0171) 419 3410               |              Basho |
| Home: (0171) 284 0888 Ext 8037      |                    |
+-------------------------------------+--------------------+

Rob Dale wrote:
> 
> Rob.Pigott@ec.gc.ca wrote in article <5c0rl9$6ng@lana.zippo.com>...
> > Does anyone know if there are any organizations (including commercial)
> supplying radar animations - preferably in the northwest states i.e.
> Spokane
> > and Seattle.
> 
The price is right! $5.00/month
American Weather Concepts
http://www.weatherconcepts.com
-- 
Gregg F. Lewis
lewis@zeus.mar.lmco.com
  ._______|_______.  
        \(*)/    
        o/ \o

Hello,
I am a wx observer and Skywarn spotter on a ham radio wx net.
On one of our nets a question about a "gravity wave" was brought
up after one of our wx observers heard the term used by a local
television meterologist after a wx system brought unusually high
tides and less than predicted rain and snowfall. The local NWS
office is looking for barometric pressure trends from observers
from that particular event that night.
Could someone briefly describe what a gravity wave is or where one 
might find more info on the subject.
Thanks,
Ron Moniz, N1OHG
ronm@ici.net
event that night.

trv@Hiwaay.net wrote:
> 
> Just curious if anyone has missed the GREAT model images that Duke
> Power/UNCC had and have now been removed!! ...
> 
> Couldn't agree with you more Tim.  The UNCC/Duke Power Site was the best site on the net for model images.  They were the quickest to come out with the maps (the ETA maps were usually out by 1430Z) and were the only 
site I know about that offered the complete suite of 15 day MRF Hi-Res maps.  Most of the other sites I know 
about (Purdue, SUNY, GRADS) are slow to update their maps (if they update them at all)and often are missing 
data.  UNCC was fast and accurate.  I hope that UNCC/Duke could overcome their server conflicts and find a 
place to post the maps again.  I'm sure many of us in the meteorology field would concur.

Phil and Darlene Hays  wrote:
>Robert Krawitz wrote:
>>
>> Once again: correlation != causation.
>> 
>> It's possible that CO2 is what raised temperatures, but 
>> it's also possible that rising temperatures increase the 
>> level of CO2 in the atmosphere, by whatever mechanism 
>> (e. g. by forcing it out of solution in the oceans).
>
>And it's also possible that both happen.  An increase in
>temperature causes an increase in atmospheric CO2 which
>causes an additional increase in temperature.  Not only is
>this possible,  it's the best explaination for the data
>relating CO2 and temperature over "short" time periods, 
>less than a few thousand years.
I don't know if that is true or not.  I hate to bring in any peer
reviewed science here, since you folks seem to be bickering so well
without it, but I suggest that a perusal of the paper "Solar
Irradiance and Climate Change Since 1610", by J. Lean and others in
Geo. Res. Lett, Vol 22, page 3195, Dec 1, 1995.  In it, Dr. Lean notes
that a analysis of the data shows a much better correlation of
temperature with solar irradiance than was previously known.  In fact,
she could account for 74% of the temperature variation from 1610 to
1800, and 56% since.
She also notes that the total world wide temperature increase since
1860 is 0.55 dec C, so we are not discussing a large difference here.
Regards, Harold
-------
"The progress of freedom depends more upon the maintenance of 
peace, the spread of commerce, and the diffusion of education,
than upon the labours of cabinets and foreign offices."
       ----Richard Cobden (1804-65), 26 June 1850

In article <1997Jan22.000409.21177@nsslsun.nssl.uoknor.edu>,
Greg Stumpf  wrote:
>In article <32E51D7D.167EB0E7@fsl.noaa.gov> Tracy Smith  writes:
>>scottbro@hwy61.roc.servtech.com wrote:
>>> 
>>> 2.  I'm guessing most of Lake Superior freezes each winter, diminishing
>>> the amount of moisture relished to the air flowing over.  The lakes to
>>> the south and east of Superior get an artic airmass that is slightly
>>> modified and the lakes stay open longer into the winter.
>>
>>BZZT!  Sorry, the ice coverage of the lakes has more to do with the
>>amount
>>of water that needs to be cooled to form ice.  Superior is the coldest
>>lake, but usually the last to freeze, due to it being the deepest/largest.
>                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>The last to freeze, of the lakes that freeze.  Lake Ontario never 
>freezes (except maybe to about 1/4-1 mile off shore, and in some of the
>bays).
  To inject a bit of observation.  A climatology of the Great Lakes ice
cover from '60 to '79 is available as: _Great Lakes Ice Atlas_, 
R. A. Assel, F. H. Quinn, G. A. Leshkevich, and S. J. Bolsenga, 
NOAA Atlas 4, 1983.  Published by the Great Lakes Environmental 
Research Laboratory.  Mr. Assel is working on an update, to extend
to the present.  This should be ready in the next year or two.
The current Great Lakes ice conditions can be found at the US 
National Ice Center, at http://www.natice.noaa.gov/.
  As to which lakes freeze how much, Ms. Smith is more correct than
Mr. Stumpf.  Even in a year when all the lakes do freeze (of which
we've had 1 in the past 35), Superior is the last to freeze, for
the reasons given by Ms. Smith.  Usually, Superior does not freeze
all the way across.  In fact, as a rule, there is usually a rather
large open area in the eastern basin of Superior.  _Usually_, only 
Erie freezes all the way across.
-- 
Bob Grumbine rmg3@access.digex.net
Sagredo (Galileo Galilei) "You present these recondite matters with too much 
evidence and ease; this great facility makes them less appreciated than they 
would be had they been presented in a more abstruse manner." Two New Sciences 

Todd Lericos  wrote:
>In response to the question "Why is it that towns on the lee of lakes 
>Ontario and Erie have such staggering snowfall amounts". There are many 
>reasons of course. James Acker's response was correct. However I would 
>like to add to it if I may. The lee sides of Lakes Ontario and Erie 
>generally get heavy amounts of snowfall. There are more reporting 
>stations and a bigger populations in these areas. This could explain why 
>it gets more "press". There is also another reason. Lakes Ontario and 
>Erie are oriented lengthwise east to west. The prodominate wind flow in 
>the area of the lakes is also east to west. This allows the air moving 
>across the lake to actually spend more time over the warmer water. Thus 
>producing heaver lake effect snow. Not generally so with lakes Huron and 
>Michigan. Lake Superior is "somewhat" east-west oriented but I'll bet if 
> we looked at the predominate wind flow in the area it would be 
>Northwest. Leading to less time for the air to be over the Lake. There 
>are other reasons for all this, such as depth of the lakes and lake 
>teperatures.....I could go on and on. But I think you'll get the idea. I 
>also don't mean to take away from Upper Mich. THey also get there fair 
>amount of snowfall.
	Uh, that's not strictly true. The lakes in question are oriented more
from northeast to southwest. With lake effect taking place on the
southeast side, a lot of these events seem to take place with a
predominant flow from the northwest. You also have to be careful about
equating a longer fetch over the water with increased snowfalls. A
sufficient fetch is necessary in order to produce the convective cloud
responsible for the snow. Too long a fetch leads to modification of
the cold air by the warmer water of the lakes and this actually
reduces the convective buildups. In fact, satellite images over large
lakes often show streamers moving out into the lake from the shoreline
then gradually dissipating as the air modifies.
	David Ball
	EC Meteorologist.