Ticker for October 19, 1999

                
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October 19, 1999   October 19, 1999   October 19, 1999   October 19, 1999


Another Meteogram Moment

When clear skies and dry air sit over the surface, temperatures can
drop quite a bit overnight.  One factor that can help keep temperatures
from dropping so rapidly is wind.  The turbulence associated with
surface winds can help mix surface air with relatively warmer air
just above the surface layer.  This means less dramatic cooling
overnight.

Today's Kenton meteogram shows this conecpt in a cartoon:



Notice the few hours after sunset last night, especially just before
9:00 pm local time (21 hours on the graph).  As the winds died down,
the temperature began to plummet into the low 40s.  After about a
half-hour, the wind speed at Kenton perked up, and the temperature
quickly recovered to the upper 40s.

Later that night, a weak front passed the station, which explains the
post-midnight temperature trace.

Nothing earth-shattering, but another example of how a meteogram can
draw pictures of meteorological phenomena.  Mesonet meteograms are
updated every 15-30 minutes at the Mesonet subscriber data page:

http://www.mesonet.org/