2013 Weather Networking

Networking with ARSO, Joseph Steffan Institute, and FGG continued this fall.  ARSO added a 600 processor super computer for forecasting and numerical modeling research called BOBER.  ARSO Director Josko Knez and Agriculture Minister Dejan Zidan unveiled the new super computer in August.  It will be used to improve mesoscale and interactive dynamic ocean models of the Adriatic for severe weather predictions.  It can perform 20 billion mathmatical operations per second and cost 640,000 EUR.  The BOBER air-sea interaction research is designed to improve the understanding and simulation of mesoscale moisture and energy fluxes that control precipitation and extreme events. 

ARSO provides much technical forecasting information on their public web page which is leading to better awareness of Slovenian weather conditions and preparedness for damaging extreme weather.  The MeteoAlarm system provides real-time updates of hazardous weather.

Joseph Steffan Institute provides fundamental research in a wide variety of disciplines from medicine to nuclear physics.  Dr. Roman Trobec introduced me to his research in computer science and communications.  His web site provides detailed information about this powerful research.

In 2013, after a dry early season mid-February, March, April and May provided heavy snows that brought our Summit County weather station total accumulated WaterYear snow to 243 inches and 18.14 inches of water equivalent on May 31, 2013.  This resulted in excellent late season ski conditions in the central Colorado Rockies. 

 

In May, our collaborations continued in SLOvenia with Janez Polajnar at ARSO and Mitja Brilly at the University of Ljubljana FGG.  Europe had a very cold, wet, winter with deep snows in the Alps and many storms from the North Atlantic which maintained a deep cold trough over western and central Europe and a warm southerly flow of dry air in eastern Europe that set record high temperatures on the north Finland coast at 29C, while Slovenia remained cool at 10 C setting recod low temperatures at the end of May.  On June 2, the ARSO high altitude observatory at Kredarica (2515 m msl) had 260 cm of snow on the ground.  June is bringing again 100-200 year floods in central Europe, similar to those that caused havoc in 2002 in Prague on the Vltava and Elbe in Germany, and along the Donau from Linz to Budapest.

In January 2011, we initiated our Davis weather station web server observations on-line.  These data are now available in real-time for our Summit County, Colorado weather station at 9684 ft msl (2952 m).  Davis data are vailable from thousands of stations from weather enthusiasts and professionals around the world.  The map locator shows what stations are available.  In Summit County we are experiencing a very heavy winter with much cold and snow that is providing an outstanding SKI SEASON.  At our weather station we have had over 180 inches (457 cm) total accumulation by 10 February which makes this among the top 10 snowy winters according to Rick Bly, the Summit's long time weather observer.

In late January 2011, we attended a Learning Teacher Network conference in Berlin where ESA Astronaut Dr. Christer Fuglesang presented a stimulating talk on his experiences at the International Space Station.  Dr. Fuglesang showed many beautiful photos of the Earth and discussed challenges of living in space for extended periods. He trained with other asronauts at the NASA Houston Manned Space Flight Center for 10 years prior to going to the International Space Station representing Sweden.