SOCIAL: this rain [warning: science alert]

[Randall Isaac]

	For the last month I have been asking the question "Why does God
hate us?"  And being something of a Weather Geek (among all my other
geekiness) I've been reading all the NOAA discussions on the topic.  It
turns out that God does not hate us, but Greenland does.  A massive high
pressure system has been locked over Greenland for the past two months,
which is trapping another high over Canada, meanwhile a large low pressure
system has been locked west of Hawaii (which has had almost 2 solid months
of rain as well).  That low sucks up moisture from the South Pacific and
funnels it to the Gulf of Alaska, where it creates storms which would
normally move across Canada and the northwest, but they instead rotate south
around the Canadian high and straight into us.  These low and high pressure
systems create a self-sustaining mega-system that hasn't moved for a couple
months.  

	The possible light at the end of the tunnel is that Hawaii has
finally started returning to a normal trade wind pattern and is
reestablishing a high-pressure system.  This may finally chop off one leg of
the mega-system, so maybe the other legs will start to fall.  About damn
time, too.  I don't think I can go two years in a row without a Spring.

NOAA Weather Satellites: http://www.goes.noaa.gov/
World weather map: http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/UA.shtml

	
Randall


-----Original Message-----
From: social-bounces at lists.deeptrouble.com
[mailto:social-bounces at lists.deeptrouble.com] On Behalf Of
Adrian.Cotter at sierraclub.org
Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2006 11:26 AM
To: social at deeptrouble.com
Subject: SOCIAL: this rain



Good rain to you all,
the past few days reminded me of a poem I wrote while living in Taiwan
(which has much heavier seemingly unending rain):

      bitter, I spit on the day
      the day just pisses back more rain

:-)
Actually, somewhat perversely perhaps, I'm in somewhat of a good mood.
+ Adrian Cotter