Trip to Okinawa: Awesome "Random" Photos

I made it a point to do several things while overseas:

1. Observe everything: People watch. Look for subtle cultural nuances
2. Experience as much of the culture as possible.
3. Eat only Japanese food.
4. Try to converse in basic Japanese, i.e. "Please, Thank You, Hello, Good-bye"
5. Don't attempt to drive (they drive on the left side of the street)
6. Take as many pictures as possible that show the uniqueness of the culture even if it seems a bit strange

(All 6 goals were met until one dinner when the only viable option was a steak. I didn't complain.)

...Which brings me to number 6.

Normally, I focus on taking pictures of nature. An island in the Pacific offers infinite possibilities. The city also provides a great landscape for shots that tell a story of the metropolis--the city and its complex movements big and small frozen in time.

I couldn't help but see the many signs that don't translate well into English.

Some signs just make you laugh...what kind of coffee show is this?!

People are not laid to rest in cemeteries in Okinawa. Above ground tombs are used. They are located in some of the strangest places. These tombs are about the size of a shed; made of stone and marble.

Beverage vending machines are all over the place. They have both cold and warm beverages.

You'll find them EVERYWHERE and the most random places. Here is one that is next to a tomb. The service truck pulls up, fills the machine and goes on his way.

Forget, IHOP. Here, some restaurants have a conveyor belt with all kinds of sushi rotating around the restaurant.

You had better finish your dinner or this guy will rough you up!

Want a snack of almond and fish?

Snakes in booze.

One random observation:  I continued to follow the changing weather here in Ohio while overseas. I had to Google the link to the Storm Prediction Center website to find severe weather updates. Normally a Google search of "SPC" in the States yields the "Storm Prediction Center" website at the top. In Japan, the Storm Prediction Center was no where to be seen. However, the 11th listing for "SPC" in Japan was "Supergirls".  I didn't investigate further.

My Trip to Okinawa in Pictures: Post #1

Shuri Castle in Okinawa

My trip to the other side of the planet was an adventure. Navigating airports both here in the U.S. and abroad was a trip in and of itself.  What continues to amaze me after years of flying from Mexico to Europe and around the U.S. is the commercial flight machine. I check in at Hopkins Airport, receive my boarding passes for all of the connections around the world!  The whole process in an involuntary process like breathing:  It happens yet we think nothing of it.

Its so easy to take this complex system of airports, airplanes and airlines now all connected to reservation sites like Priceline.com & expedia.com for granted. Consider that thousands of flights occurs globally each day at all hours of the night transporting tens of millions of people each day, its amazing that the air travel system with all of these various parts and people function--in most cases--with such a high level of efficiency.  But I digress...

As for jet lag, I didn't have a problem when I first got there. Once home in northern Ohio after 22 hours of flying each way with at least an hours worth of delays combined along with passport and customs checks, my body was thrown off and still is somewhat.  Since normally I am up at 1:50AM for work, adjusting back to normal time has been much easier than expected.

I took more than 400 photos while visiting Okinawa. I narrowed these 400 down to 61. Here are 16 of them focusing on nature.  Enjoy!

Tree stripped of branches from several typhoons

More stripped trees on the beach now coming back

Rock formation with erosion carved base from ocean water

230 foot cliff at Hedo Point - Northern tip of Okinawa

Hedo Point Cliff

Cave stalactites below Okinawa World

Banyon Tree

Midday overlooking a South China Sea inlet

South China Sea

Picture of resort from 1500 feet over the South China Sea

Aerial look of South China Sea coastline with shallow ocean, sediment deposits

Okinawa highlands from 1500 feet. Pacific Ocean in background

Sunset over the South China Sea

Lighthouse

Latest Snow Depth Reports - NORTHERN OHIO

Here are the latest NWS snow depth reports as of Wednesday morning at 10AM. Although the map doesn't show it, almost 18 inches in spots in the heart of the snow belt according to one report.

***********************SNOW ON GROUND***********************

LOCATION                 SNOW     TIME/DATE   COMMENTS
                     ON GROUND           OF
                     /INCHES/   MEASUREMENT

OHIO

...ASHTABULA COUNTY...
   PIERPONT 2SE          10.0   815 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   ASHTABULA              9.0   645 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   ASHTABULA 1SW          6.0   800 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER

...CRAWFORD COUNTY...
   NEW WASHINGTON 5S        T   817 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   1 NW BUCYRUS             T   700 AM  1/23  COCORAHS

...CUYAHOGA COUNTY...
   EUCLID                 6.0   819 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   CLEVELAND-EDGEWATER    2.0   829 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   GARFIELD HTS           1.0   748 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   CLEVELAND HOPKINS AI   1.0   700 AM  1/23  ASOS
   SOLON                  1.0   730 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   2 SE BRECKSVILLE       0.5   620 AM  1/23  COCORAHS

...GEAUGA COUNTY...
   1 SSE MONTVILLE       13.5   600 AM  1/23  COCORAHS
   THOMPSON 5SW          13.0   700 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   MONTVILLE             12.0   609 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   CHARDON               12.0   610 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   SOUTH MADSION         10.0   739 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   CLARIDON TWP           9.0   807 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   1 NE MIDDLEFIELD       7.5   800 AM  1/23  COCORAHS
   BURTON                 5.0   800 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER

...HURON COUNTY...
   NEW LONDON 3NW           T   838 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER

...LAKE COUNTY...
   1 SW KIRTLAND         14.5   700 AM  1/23  COCORAHS
   MADISON VILLAGE        7.0   702 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   MENTOR                 5.0   730 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   PERRY TOWNSHIP         5.0   655 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   WILLOUGHBY             4.0   904 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   MADISON-ON-THE-LAKE    3.0   752 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER

...LORAIN COUNTY...
   SE ELYRIA              1.5   810 AM  1/23  COCORAHS
   SHEFFIELD LAKE         1.0   837 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   1 E SHEFFIELD LAKE     0.5   830 AM  1/23  COCORAHS
   AVON                     T   855 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER

...LUCAS COUNTY...
   2 ENE TOLEDO             T   700 AM  1/23  COCORAHS
   TOLEDO EXPRESS AIRPO     T   700 AM  1/23  ASOS

...MEDINA COUNTY...
   BRUNSWICK              1.0   732 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   1 NE BRUNSWICK         0.5   700 AM  1/23  COCORAHS

...PORTAGE COUNTY...
   HIRAM                  1.0   849 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   N HIRAM                0.8   800 AM  1/23  COCORAHS
   2 SSW STREETSBORO      0.7   700 AM  1/23  COCORAHS

...RICHLAND COUNTY...
   MANSFIELD LAHM AIRPO   1.0   700 AM  1/23  ASOS

...SANDUSKY COUNTY...
   E LINDSEY              0.5   500 AM  1/23  COCORAHS

...SUMMIT COUNTY...
   CAK AIRPORT            1.0   700 AM  1/23  ASOS
   STOW                   1.0   913 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   TWINSBURG                T   700 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER

...TRUMBULL COUNTY...
   MESOPOTAMIA            3.0   954 AM  1/23  TRAINED SPOTTER
   YOUNGSTOWN WARREN AI   2.0   700 AM  1/23  ASOS

...WAYNE COUNTY...
   1 N KIDRON               T   700 AM  1/23  COCORAHS

Lake effect continues out east.....HERE IS THE NWS CURRENT RADAR LOOP LINK

How Much Lake Effect Next 2 Days?

Snow in Geneva - Rt 20

Science is harder to understand than buying into conspiracy theories or old wives' tales.
People like a good narrative versus unbiased science or weather explanations on why forecasts are difficult. Stories are easier to digest. Science is not. People feel conflicted with science so they grasp unsubstantiated theories or stories to make them feel at ease. That's my psychology 101 lesson of the day. :) Quiz tomorrow...

Such is the case with Lake Effect Snow. The science of lake effect is well documented. Yet the official forecasts are riddled with ranges like 8-12" or 7-14". These type of ranges are not what the public wants. They want certainty. They want something cut-and-dry. They want exact numbers for their town. Most times, its not possible. Lake Effect Forecasts are a mix of science w/ alot of uncertainty; randomness and a dash of art! Or as a colleague of mine once said: "Its like nailing Jello to a wall." 

                                 ---------------------------------------------------------

We already looked at the different variables that go into lake effect snow prediction in my previous post. The one element that really stands out Tuesday is the difference between the 5000 foot level and the lake water temperature. Once the difference gets above 13 degrees (in celsius), the amount of lift/evaporation becomes significant enough to create lake effect snow  Tomorrow, the difference hits 28!  Back in January of 2009, we had a similar situation regarding the cold air aloft.

What was the high that day? How about 6

Light snow in Carollton, Ohio Monday morning

The heaviest and more widespread lake effect snow will develop this evening, tonight and tomorrow as the coldest air in 4 years moves across the area! Here are the headlines:


* Expect to hear some thunder tomorrow *
* Wind Chill will drop to 10 below! *

The winds will shift from the WSW to the WNW tonight and tomorrow which will shift any lake effect snow south. Some areas that need to be watched are LORAIN, WESTLAKE and southern CUYAHOGA COUNTY. The second map shows the TOTAL accumulations from today through early Wednesday. Most of this will fall late tonight and TUESDAY.

Pockets of lake effect mainly east today as winds are out of the west and WSW. Not much accumulation south of Cleveland...an inch or two. Temps stay around 20 with wind chills in the single digits. Here are accumulations for TODAY ONLY

More updates as needed!

The Different "Flavors" of Lake Erie Lake Effect Snow

Totally Ice Covered Lake Erie in Cleveland in early 2011

A survey was done a few years ago about what weather words people latch onto when they heard them on television. The first was the word FORECAST, close to the top were the words LAKE EFFECT.  Yet lake effect isn't a "one-size-fits-all" type of meteorological phenomena.

I wrote about some actual lake effect examples from the 1960s and 1970s in a post from late 2011.

First the variables that go into a lake effect event. Some are independent of the lake (2 and 5 specifically) but work in concert with it.

1. Temperature difference between the lake and the air aloft (5000 feet) has to be at least 13 degrees celsius. The more, the better.
2. Abundant atmospheric moisture independent of the lake
3. Wind speed
4. Wind direction
5. Fetch Length (How far does the wind blow over the lake)
6. Instability and instability depth (Usually driven by a cold front/trough and/or the lake temperature difference) Deeper the instability, the deeper the snow growth
7. Orographic lift (elevation differences between Cleveland and the snowbelt. 1200 feet in portions of Geauga county)

Even if #1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are present (the most common variables), subtract any one of these variables especially 2 and 5--sometimes 7 if the wind direction shifts) and snowfall forecasts can turn out much different than anticipated.

What are the different "flavors" of lake effect here in northern Ohio? Why does the secondary snowbelt vary so much?  How can some areas like Akron get significant lake effect while the traditional snowbelt receives minimal amount? The differences lie in the wind direction.

The first example is what I like to call: CLASSIC LAKE EFFECT EFFECT SNOW.

Winds are primarily out of the northwest, usually behind an Alberta Clipper type cold front. The higher elevations east of Cleveland (Geauga, Lake and Ashtabula counties) AND SOUTHWEST OF CLEVELAND enhance the snowfall due to the lifting of the moist air. The secondary snowbelt in this example would include northern Medina, Summit and Portage counties. This lake effect snowfall map is the one that you're probably the most familiar.

CLASSIC Lake Effect Snowfall Map

The second example is LAKE EFFECT with a WEST WIND

Band or pockets of lake effect snow in this example usually hug the shoreline and are partially enhanced by the elevation. The fetch off of the lake is more significant for eastern areas.  The secondary snowbelt usually doesn't push as far south.

NORTHWEST WIND: Lake Effect Snow Map

The third example is LAKE EFFECT with a NORTH WIND

This example can be very tricky because not only are you forecasting snowfall from the moisture in Lake Erie, north winds will carry moisture from LAKE HURON too! The Lake Huron component isn't as large as Lake Erie but it can be significant. The fetch isn't as far (distance from Canadian shoreline is ~50 miles) Yet with some instability created by BOTH lakes due to the cold air/milder lake, snow bands/pockets can stretch into Akron, Canton and even northern Tuscarawas county.

This example seems like a bit of a stretch as there are many components necessary for this to happen. Back in the winter of 2009-2010, we had several lake events that mirrored this example exactly.

Its easy to see how lake effect can and does change on a moments notice as the winds shift. A good understanding of the wind component is essential in forecasting lake effect. Yet even the most comprehensive high resolution data from the surface and aloft plugged into a very high resolution computer model projection will never be exact.

No wonder we can have one location with 2 inches of snow and a few miles down the road, the amounts can reach 15"! That's why we use snowfall ranges.

Why I Enjoy Broadcast Meteorology

I take pride in several things during an on air weather cast. The first is explaining the forecast in easy-to-understand points.  The second is explaining why the weather is happening in basic scientific terms when applicable.  Yet most viewers view the current state of the weather (whether its winter or summer, etc) here in northern Ohio as a chaotic, random system incapable of being projected more than 6 hours ahead of time. Many times, this is not far from the truth.  Yet by throwing in some local historic weather events as a good reference frame with the science and a narrative cocktail can be created which most people can drink without too many problems. Next week might be one of those instances where understanding the weather along with some history might make the colder weather a bit easier to mentally digest when it arrives. Note I said mentally.  I can only hope :)



Now the situation at hand: One of the main factors in predicting LAKE EFFECT SNOW is how cold the air is (5000 feet) above the lake. More importantly, its the temperature DIFFERENCE between the lake and the 5000ft level. As long as the difference is greater than 13 degree Celsius, lake effect has a very good chance of developing (among other factors too). Greater the difference, the greater the potential for snow development.  Usually the 5000ft temp has to be at least -5 to -7 in NOV for snow to get going (given the mild lake). -10 to -15 is ideal this time of year given the water temps at 39 degrees F(4 degrees Celsius). Sometimes, we get temperatures at -20 or colder at 5000ft which is super cold! Curiosity got the better of me over the last few days so I checked the 5000 ft temperatures each day over the last 4 winters including this one here in northern Ohio. There was only one time in the last 4 winter when we had a 5000ft temp at -20. That was JANUARY 29, 2009.

Guess what the long range projections have been saying since the weekend about how cold the 5000ft level would drop to next week? You guessed it. -20!  This could mean some LAKE EFFECT SNOW and daytime highs in the teens.

What Does Lake Erie Look Like From Space?

The top image is a high resolution satellite photo of Lake Erie last week as the snow began to melt and temperatures started to climb. The lower photo is a satellite photo take in Feb 2010 showing the heavy ice cover in the lake effect areas north of Cleveland. Notice the cracks in the ice and the open water near New York. The detail on both is amazing.The red dots represent the cities of Cleveland, Lorain and Conneaut

The next two weeks will be critical in determining whether or not conditions will be cold enough for ice to form on Lake Erie. We really need about a solid week to ten days of below normal temperature to get the process started. The front coming through Sunday might set the stage for this but there is no guarantee that it will be long enough for ice to form; maybe some partial ice in the western basin.

 Will this arctic air now in eastern Canada slide further south next week?

Lake Erie Ice Cover: This Year vs 2012 vs 2011

Even with the cold snap which started late December through earlier this week, the amount of ice cover on Lake Erie is still very scant. How does this year's ice cover compare to last year and two years ago? Here are the charts from the Canadian Ice Service from this year back to 2011. Notice the ice free year last year compared to the almost frozen Lake Erie in 2011/

January 7, 2013

January 9, 2012

January 17, 2011

January Thaw Begins...When Will Winter Return?

So far,  a nice "January Thaw" pattern shaping up for this week. The typicaly signature is a ridge in the east with a trough in the west which drives above normal temperatures here in Ohio and surrounding areas with below normal temperatures out west.

First, what will this mean for us:

1. The snow cover will melt completely by the end of the week

2. The ground will become saturates so the rain system on Thursday/Friday could cause some high water in low lying areas

The high is deflecting many of the weather systems back into Canada. When a system makes it through the ridge, it produces rain not snow

Second question: When will the winter pattern flip back to winter?

Looking at the long range blend of several computer projections, there are strong indications that the trough out west will migrate back east by the end of the week.

Colder temperatures seem a good bet by the 20th.

SO GET READY FOR MORE SNOW AND COLD BEFORE THE MONTH ENDS!