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Weather, real and fictional.

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Weather, real and fictional.
Post by DDHvi   » Wed Nov 18, 2015 11:13 pm

DDHvi
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We are getting our first Alberta Clipper at present. For those who don't know, when a blob of cold air is east of the Rocky mountains, the rotation of the earth causes it to be forced south, just like a centrifugal pump throwing water. Strong winds and arctic air that hasn't had time to warm up are the results.

We modified our house to provide some solar heating, but today we needed to turn on our primary heat for the first time, instead of just local heaters.

Weather makes a difference in fiction also: Safehold, where a chunk of the ECN was damaged by a bad storm and subsequently by, IIRC Thirsk and his ships. The Honorverse would have, in addition to strictly planetary (A Beautiful Friendship, & others) weather, changes in the hyper waves which could be considered a form of spatial weather, or at least climate.

I'm wondering what variouis types of weather others of you know about. We should be from a wide range of climates - what is sometimes special about where you live?
Douglas Hvistendahl
Retired technical nerd
ddhviste@drtel.net

Dumb mistakes are very irritating.
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Re: Weather, real and fictional.
Post by Michael Everett   » Thu Nov 19, 2015 2:20 am

Michael Everett
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Location: Bristol, England

I once heard the British Weather being referred to as "Imperial Weather".
Due to its unpredictability and tendency towards cold rain, it's why the rich people conquered so many other countries and ruled them in the name of the monarch.
Check out a map of the British Empire at its peak. Virtually every country we took over was drier and warmer than the UK.
~~~~~~

I can't write anywhere near as well as Weber
But I try nonetheless, And even do my own artwork.
(Now on Twitter)and mentioned by RFC!
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Re: Weather, real and fictional.
Post by Annachie   » Thu Nov 19, 2015 2:38 am

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I used to live in a desert area.
Occasionally it rained mud.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk
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Re: Weather, real and fictional.
Post by Daryl   » Thu Nov 19, 2015 8:27 am

Daryl
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Location: Queensland Australia

For my six + decades I've lived in a place that has comfortable weather; for 10 months of the year between night minimum of 10 - 20 and day max of 20-28. Alas in recent years it is becoming more extreme, hotter and colder with much more violent storms, and either a drought or a flood.

In SF I've always been peeved with authors talking about desert or jungle worlds, then assuming that the entire world fits the preset stage. Planets are big and the climate is going to be different at different places. RFC gets plaudits because he does get that.
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Re: Weather, real and fictional.
Post by thinkstoomuch   » Thu Nov 19, 2015 9:37 am

thinkstoomuch
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In a Campsite. Dog days of August (in the northern hemisphere) and waking up to the water bottle on the table having slush in it. Could have been something about ~8,000 feet. Followed up by hail an hour later.

Nearby town in the "Western US" sense it was only 20 miles away 80 something that afternoon.


Or much worse in my opinion all the wind in the Plain States. Coldest I got on this years trip--to the point where I was shivering on the motorcycle--50's with rain and side winds in the 30's in South Dakota.


Last year traveling in the Oklahoma panhandle. Trying to go west with a 50+ mile an hour side winds. With more gusts. Literally after a stop at a town on a crossroads I hide in the wind-shadow of an abandoned motel to get up enough speed to cross the intersection of east west and north south roads after stopping.

With smart phone I was able to determine that winds were suppose to be ~30 where I was and where I was going. Stupid me didn't look at the weather in between. Until I got there. Next crossroad gave up turned left shut the throttle and coasted--hi-way speeds--to a motel town in Texas. Literally.

Have fun,
T2M
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Re: Weather, real and fictional.
Post by dscott8   » Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:04 pm

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Here in Florida we all recall 2004, the Summer of the Four Hurricanes. Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. 136 deaths, $45 billion in damage.
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Re: Weather, real and fictional.
Post by DDHvi   » Mon Nov 23, 2015 11:17 am

DDHvi
Captain (Junior Grade)

Posts: 365
Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2014 8:16 pm

Daryl wrote:snip -- Planets are big and the climate is going to be different at different places. RFC gets plaudits because he does get that.


That is for sure. Many times kids are surprised when I show them how rising air at the equator drops rain, producing rain forests, and sinking dried out air at the higher latitudes of the Sahara and much of Australia produces deserts.

In our part of North America, we tend to get gulf coast air (hot and humid) in the summer, and arctic (cold and dry) in the winter. Spring and fall tend to have the most rainfall when the air mass type dominance is changing and there is a lot of switching from one to the other.


Maybe this thread should also mention space weather?

This first recorded incident of the “Carrington Effect” was observed in the UK in 1859 by Richard Carrington, an astronomer who witnessed a solar coronal mass ejection hitting the Earth’s magnetosphere which induced one of the largest geomagnetic storms on record.


An event like this today would blow most of our electronics. Read that the UK is actually planning prevention measures, while the current US administration is planning to make plans to deal with it. Except for the already hardened military and such, of course.

And shifting of fictional grav waves in the Honorverse should at least be mentioned under space climate.
Douglas Hvistendahl
Retired technical nerd
ddhviste@drtel.net

Dumb mistakes are very irritating.
Smart mistakes go on forever
Unless you test your assumptions!
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