Friday, September 15, 2006

Big Mr. Cloudiness

Now

Improving. Big Mr. Cloudiness has obscured Little Miss Sunshine through much of the day in the Washington metro area, holding temperatures below the more optimistic readings promoted in this space yesterday. Nevertheless, the low 70s at lunch time were much more pleasant than yesterday's damp 60s, and many places reached the mid 70s by early afternoon. By late afternoon, some scattered showers were breaking out, especially north of the Beltway. More widespread showers were in the Baltimore area.

Tonight and Tomorrow

Better yet. Clouds will be slow to decrease overnight with lows in the lower 60s and a slight chance of showers. Tomorrow will see more sun than clouds, particularly in the afternoon, with highs from 75° to 77°.
For the CW outlook by CW through the rest of the weekend, scroll on down to Camden's post below.

Tropical Topics

Gordon was still a Category 2 hurricane this morning, but it continues to weaken. It was downgraded to Category 1 at 5pm as it moved slowly northeastward away from any land, becoming nearly stationary in the latest advisory.

Helene strengthened earlier today to maximum winds of 60 mph and reached 70 mph in the 5pm advisory, but it, too, is on a Track to Nowhere.

Of much more concern to land, however, is Tormenta Tropical Lane in the Eastern Pacific. Watches and warnings have been posted for Hurricane Lane to impact lower Baja California and the western Mexican coast by this weekend. Based on reconnaissance reports this afternoon, Lane was upgraded to a hurricane with maximum winds of 80 mph and further strengthening expected.

Meet a Climate Expert

Climate researcher Dr. Barrie Pittock will be speaking next Tuesday, the 19th, at 6pm at the Busboys and Poets bookstore. Dr. Pittock is the author of the recent book, Climate Change: Turning Up the Heat. The book describes the historical and scientific basis for climate change and projections for the future. It also analyzes the national and international politics of greenhouse gas restrictions. These political issues are examined within the context of technological prospects for adaptation to, and mitigation of, the effects of climate change. The first chapter of the book is available online.

The author, a native of Australia, was a senior atmospheric scientist for over 30 years at the Australian research organization CSIRO, where he led the Climate Impact Group until he retired in 1999. He is the author of over 200 scientific papers and is currently on the editorial board for the journal Climatic Change. While he is in Washington, Dr. Pittock will be presenting a talk, "Ten Reasons Why Climate Change May Be More Severe than Projected" at the Washington Summit on Climate Stabilization organized by the Climate Institute.

Busboys and Poets is located at 2021 14th St., NW.

Stay tuned next week for CapitalWeather.com's exclusive online Q&A with Barrie Pittock.

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