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Re: Weather!

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 8:19 am
by Ann
starstruck wrote:
I'm not sure of it's origin, but is there an Old Norse word something like 'gjel'?
You're right!

Swedish and Norwegian are not exactly the same, and the word doesn't exist in Swedish (as far as I know). But in Norwegain it does!

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gjel wrote:
Et gjel er en trang dal med bratte sider som er oppstått ved at en elv har gravd seg ned i berggrunnen.
I'll try to translate it:
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"A 'gjel" is a narrow valley with steep sides, which has been formed as a river has eroded the bedrock below it and carved out a deep "furrow".


A Norwegian gjel.







Ann

Re: Weather!

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:45 am
by Ann
And speaking about the weather and the season in Swedish movies...
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This is the movie poster for an extremely typical Swedish movie, "Vi hade i alla fall tur med vädret igen", "At Least We Were Lucky with the Weather 2". It is about two hopelessly stupid and inept ultra-Swedes who are travelling around in Sweden on their vacation. I so rarely see movies of this kind, because I always want to spend fifteen of my dollars and the next two hours of my life on other things than watching the missteps and goofs of people who can't really take care of themselves, and trying to laugh at them while they are stumbling around.

But please note the weather here. It's summer, or at the very least, it's not winter. The yellow band on the horizon on the left suggests a rape field in bloom, which probably means that the couple are out hitch-hiking in May.






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One of the few times Swedes like winter is when they can go to Åre, the Aspen, Colorado of Sweden, to ski or just generally live a jet-set life. The population of Åre has tripled since 1960, and this winter resort now sports about fifty restaurants and about thirty bars and night-clubs, apart from all its skiing facilities. So I'm pretty sure there must be a Swedish film or other about a clumsy Swedish family going to Åre for their winter vacation.

For myself, I'll spend my money and hours and days of my life on other things than skiing!

Ann

P.S. So if you go to Åre for your winter vacation, will you have good weather there? Sunshine?

Maybe you will, but don't hold your breath.

Re: Weather!

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:38 pm
by Ann
This will be my third post in a row, but starstruck, I can't resist commenting on what you said in your latest post:
The last two winters here in Britain have been much colder, with more snow for longer than we have been used to for many years. I am awaiting what happens this winter to see if there is a trend emerging towards more extreme conditions. Three in a row could begin to look like an emerging pattern. I don't relish the thought of another hard winter at all. But what will be, will be.
The last two winters have been pretty awful here in Sweden too, believe me! :cry: :twisted:
But things have been bad in the past, too. And we have had bad winters for three years in a row before, too.

This picture is from Helsingborg in late 1942 or early 1943. Helsingborg, like Malmö, is situated on the Strait of Öresund, which is quite often open, without any ice at all, in winter. But the first three winters of the 1940s, 1940/41, 1941/42 and 1942/43, were very bad. The last of these three winters was the worst. To the left in this picture is Öresund, and you would have expected to see, basically, open water. But just check out how much ice there was that year! :shock: :shock: :shock:


Can't resist showing you this image, which I found as I googled for an image of the Strait of Öresund covered with thick ice. This is a satellite image of Denmark, but Skåne, the southernmost part of Sweden, can be seen so clearly, too. (But no ice is visible.)

At top left you can see the southernmost part of Norway, which seems to be partly covered with snow. The long peninsula at left is Jylland, apparently called Jutland in English. All but attached to Jylland is a roundish island called Fyn, and to the right of Fyn is a "wiggly and squiggly" rather large island called Sjælland (Sealand in English). To the right of Sjælland is a squarish peninsula, attached to a land mass at upper right. The squarish peninsula is Skåne, and the body of water between Sjælland and Skåne is the Strait of Öresund.


By the way, can you see two small islands located in the Strait of Öresund? The northernmost of these is Ven (or Hven), the island where Tycho Brahe lived and made the observations of the stars and the planets which laid the foundations of modern astronomy!



Tycho Brahe observing the sky from the island of Ven with his most famous astronomical instrument, the big quadrant.













Tycho Brahe staring at the supernova of 1572 in Cassiopeia, a Type Ia event, just like the current supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), Supernova 2011fe. With his astronomical instruments, Tycho was able to prove that the mysterious new star of 1572 was farther away from the Earth than the planets, since it showed no parallax.

By the way, I think the person who made this engraving(?) was himself not too sure of what the starry sky looks like from the latitude of the island of Ven. Cassiopeia never looks like that from Scandinavia, so from our point of view the Queen of the Heavens appears to be upside down in this picture!







Ann

Re: Weather!

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:59 pm
by starstruck
Thanks Ann, some 'cool' information there!

Yes, there have been some hard winters every few years, it's just that we do not seem to be as used to them in recent times as we were. I remember the recent winter of '06 it was unusually mild, we only had a handful of frosts (literally five or six!) the whole winter, and no snow at all. Whereas the year before we were digging ourselves out of snowdrifts! The famous one for being tough over here was '63 . . and before that, it was bad in the late 1940s I think. What seems to be unusual is having several hard winters in succession. And coming hard on the heels of a very mild winter, it seems that the weather events are becoming more extreme in their fluctuations . . but I'm no expert on climate change.

Your mention of Helsingborg is coincidental . . I used to live in an Edwardian house called Elsinore; a very grand name for a house that was quite unlike the castle it was named after! Thank you for the information in your posts . . very informative and enlightening. The Tycho crater on the moon must be named after Tycho Brahe; I never knew that he lived there.

Re: Weather!

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:54 pm
by orin stepanek
starstruck wrote: Orin, I am interested that you say your weather has been so cold recently. Presumably your cold air systems come down from Canada? I wonder if it heralds a hard winter to come. The last two winters here in Britain have been much colder, with more snow for longer than we have been used to for many years. I am awaiting what happens this winter to see if there is a trend emerging towards more extreme conditions. Three in a row could begin to look like an emerging pattern. I don't relish the thought of another hard winter at all. But what will be, will be.
I fear a winter with lots of snow; we have had 2 in a row now and I can remember some winters from long ago and I hope this is what is happening now; and that it will run it's course. :?

Re: Weather!

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 1:31 am
by Ann
Here are some reasons why I hate snow:
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Nooo...










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Nooo...










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Nooo...







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Nooo...





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Nooo...









Ann

Re: Weather!

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 1:35 am
by Beyond
Over here in the east, Connecticut, we've had 1-bad winter in a row. To go from not having too much snow for many years, to having 4-feet of the packed white stuff sitting on my front lawn..... well, I'd just as soon forget about it and not have another.

Re: Weather!

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 12:24 pm
by orin stepanek
Ann wrote:Here are some reasons why I hate snow:

Ann
Good reasons Ann; I agree 100%! :mrgreen:
Beyond wrote:Over here in the east, Connecticut, we've had 1-bad winter in a row. To go from not having too much snow for many years, to having 4-feet of the packed white stuff sitting on my front lawn..... well, I'd just as soon forget about it and not have another.
I like the winters that I don't have to get my snow blower out. :lol:

Re: Weather!

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 1:16 pm
by Ann
Beyond wrote:
Over here in the east, Connecticut, we've had 1-bad winter in a row.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Ann

Re: Weather!

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 3:48 pm
by Beyond
Ann wrote:Beyond wrote:
Over here in the east, Connecticut, we've had 1-bad winter in a row.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Ann
Things are different - here in Connecticut - in my part, anyway. :D

Re: Weather!

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 4:42 pm
by Ann
starstruck wrote:
Your mention of Helsingborg is coincidental . . I used to live in an Edwardian house called Elsinore; a very grand name for a house that was quite unlike the castle it was named after!

Elsinore, eh? The city, or at least the castle, of Hamlet? :D

The real Elsinore is actaully called Helsingør in Danish. It's a nice town, and it's got a very fine castle, the Kronborg.


But Helsingør is nowhere near as dramatic as it appears to be in Shakespeare's play. For one thing, it's pretty flat.


Image
...and I've always thought that Hamlet never lived there!







Perhaps you know that Helsingør is situated on the Strait of Öresund, right where Öresund is at its narrowest. Helsingør is on the Danish side of the Strait of Öresund, of course. Helsingborg is right across the Öresund on the Swedish side. Helsingborg is a pretty city too, in some ways slightly more dramatic than Helsingør.

Here you can see the town hall of Helsingborg with the 700-year-old fortification tower, Kärnan, in the background. You've got a very nice view from up there!





Ann

Re: Weather!

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 4:57 pm
by starstruck
Ann, yes, you reminded me when you mentioned Helsingborg and the Strait of Öresund. Just a short ferry ride across the strait to Helsingør. I think we will have to forgive 'the bard' for a little artistic licence!

Nice pix!

Ohhh....the humanity!

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:46 am
by neufer
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
http://www.wgal.com/weather/29228358/detail.html#ixzz1YS6y5Kjh wrote:
NWS: Tornado Touched Down In Ocean City, Md.
Storm Began As Waterspout, Struck Land Near 75th Street

OCEAN CITY, Md. -- The National Weather Service said an F-0 tornado touched down last Thursday in Ocean City, Md.

The twister had estimated winds of 60 to 70 mph and had a half-mile path that was about 40 yards wide.

The storm began as a waterspout before continuing onto land near 75th Street.

Damage included broken windows and ripped home siding.

Re: Weather!

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 2:38 am
by Ann
Ohhh....the humanity!
Ohhh... the poor buildings!
It's a good thing that only inanimate objects were killed, though...but perhaps some of the lesser members of the animal kingdom wouldn't agree?


He was perhaps a victim too! :cry: :arrow:



Well, the videos are very impressive, Art. Particularly the last one. I'm sure glad we don't get that kind of thing in my country!








Ann

ROKE

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:48 pm
by neufer

Click to play embedded YouTube video.


Re: ROKE

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:37 am
by neufer
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=52224 wrote:

<<Typhoon Roke promises to bring unwelcome rain to areas of Japan still recovering from Typhoon Talas, which triggered landslides and floods across the Kii Peninsula in early September 2011. The new typhoon has the potential to trigger additional landslides and floods, particularly as rainwater builds up behind mud dams formed by landslides during Typhoon Talas. Fearing floods from two rivers, officials in the city of Nagoya ordered the evacuation of 80,000 people and advised more than a million more to evacuate, said The Japan Times.

Typhoon Roke was on its way to becoming a very strong storm when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image at 1:45 p.m. local time (4:45 UTC) on September 20, 2011. The storm is large and well-formed, with a distinct eye. An hour after the image was taken, Roke had winds of 95 knots, making it a Category 2 storm. Seven hours later, the storm intensified to Category 4, with winds reaching 115 knots.

Roke was moving northeast toward the Japanese island of Honshu at 35 kilometers per hour and was forecast to come ashore on September 21, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Roke could bring as much as 500 millimeters (20 inches) of rain to parts of Japan.>>

Re: Weather!

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 1:32 pm
by Beyond
baggypants wrote:
Beyond wrote:Over here in the east, Connecticut, we've had 1-bad winter in a row. To go from not having too much snow for many years, to having 4-feet of the packed white stuff sitting on my front lawn..... well, I'd just as soon forget about it and not have another.
Hahaha, that's the same with us, but we've actually had one good summer in a row (currently residing in England) - you know what they say: I love the summer in England, it's my favourite day of the year :D
Ah-Ha, so that's where my summer went to. This summers been mostly cloudy and /or rainy. Places on my lawn that usually turn brown-months ago, have just started to turn brown this last weekend. It's like things have been so wet this summer, that the brown spots forgot to turn brown, until the tempreture got close to freezing for two nights in a row. I guess the cold air woke up the brown spots, and they started turning. It doesn't really matter to me. I still have to mow the rest of the lawn anyway :!:

Re: ROKE

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:28 pm
by neufer
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/21/140668756/typhoon-roke-lashes-japan-with-100-mph-winds wrote:
Typhoon Roke Lashes Japan With 100 MPH Winds
by Eyder Peralta : September 21, 2011 <<Typhoon Roke made landfall early this morning, bringing 100 mph winds to central Japan and moving northeast to an area already devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck in March.

Reuters reports on the typhoon's impact: <<A powerful typhoon struck Japan on Wednesday, killing six people, disrupting public transportation and pummeling Tokyo and northeastern Japan including the tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear plant with heavy rain, officials and media said. Typhoon Roke, the second big storm to hit Japan this month, was packing winds of up to 180 km per hour (110 miles per hour) at its centre and dumped more than 30 cm (12 inches) of rain in parts of northeastern Japan over the past 24 hours, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.>>

Just as the storm made landfall, Japan was also struck by a 5.3 magnitude earthquake that was deep and caused no damage. CNN reports that officials are worried that as the typhoon moves northeast, it could affect the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant: TEPCO officials said they had outdoor construction canceled at the plant. There were also concerns about whether a strong downpour could wash radiation-contaminated waters out of the plant.

At one point before the storm made landfall, about 1 million people were urged to evacuate from vulnerable areas as heavy rain pounded central and western Japan. NHK, Japan's international broadcaster, reports that the 1,000 homes are flooded and 89,000 are without power. Hachioji City, Tokyo experienced winds of close to 100 mph.

Roke is now a tropical storm, and moving just offshore of northeast Japan.>>

Re: Weather!

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:38 pm
by Beyond
About all thats left to hit japan now, is the kitchen sink :!:

Re: Weather!

Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:38 pm
by Beyond
It's been so cloudy/rainy here all summer, that I'm thinking of changing Connecticut's name to "New Seattle" :!: :!:

Re: Weather!

Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 12:48 pm
by orin stepanek
We had a strange summer this year! A heat wave that scorched everything; and than a rainy time where everything stayed wet for a long spell and now a cool fall! :?

Re: Weather!

Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 5:45 pm
by Beyond
baggypants wrote:Oh, actually, just to make you feel even worse, it has been strangely sunny lately, though freezing, but in the office through the double-glazed windows, it's bloody marvellous in the office. Don't feel like autumn at all.
I don't actually feel worse - Just kinda soggy. :lol:

Re: Weather!

Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 12:28 pm
by orin stepanek
Ahh! Feels like fall now; my maples are turning yellow. 8-)

Re: Weather!

Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 2:34 pm
by owlice
It was in the 40s when I first looked at the outdoor thermometer this AM, and it's still in the 40s. Our forecast high is 53°F. I was feeling chilly this morning so looked at the thermostat: it was 64°F in my dining room. So yes, the house is a little chilly. I might have to turn the heat on today; I try to hold off until at least the latter part of October.

And I need to take a bike ride and get in at least 30 miles, but I'm having a very hard time motivating myself to do so! I love autumn, but I love it more when it's just a bit warmer and sunny on the weekends.

Re: Weather!

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:50 am
by owlice
I just heard the bad "s" word uttered on the weather report. C'mon! It's October 2! WAY too early for that, even in the mountains!!