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Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from got geoint? Have you noticed that the weather is just flat out strange these days. Every time we check the news, there is some sort of blizzard, wildfire, flooding happening. And, we even have birds falling out of the sky. What is going on these days? Climate change? Perhaps. One thing is certain that, as we advance into the second decade of the new millennium, human being will need to better deal with these constant and erratic weather patterns. So, for this week’s FFT post we are going to focus on GEOINT and the weather. Be sure to strap on your rain boots and grab that snow shovel, the weather is changing as we speak. Oh, and a reminder to Federal Employees that the last day to donate to USGIF’s Combined Federal Campaign is Monday, Jan. 17. Here’s the web site to donate and the USGIF CFC # is 88693. Happy Friday!

Farmer’s Almanac Prediction for Winter 2011
For the coming year, the Farmers’ Almanac predicts that Old Man Winter will exhibit a “split personality.” The eastern third of the country, (New England down to Florida and as far west as the lower Ohio River and Mississippi River Valley), will experience colder-than-normal winter temperatures. Across New England, where relatively balmy temperatures prevailed during the winter of 2009–2010, the upcoming winter will be the equivalent of a cold slap in the face, as we forecast much colder-than-normal temperatures. Meanwhile, for the Western States, milder-than-normal winter temperatures are expected. They will spread from the Pacific Coast inland as far as the Rockies and the western Great Plains. Across the nation’s midsection, near-normal winter temperatures are anticipated. Read more here.

Winter Forecast 2010-2011: Heavier Snow for Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit, Normal Snowfall for NYC, Philly and D.C.
The major metropolitan areas of the mid-Atlantic that were pummeled with snow last year will get a break this winter, but that doesn’t mean there will be no snow to shovel. In contrast, Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis could be in the heaviest snow zone this upcoming winter. Overall, AccuWeather.com Chief Long-Range Meteorologist Joe Bastardi is predicting that the worst of winter’s cold and snow will be from the Pacific Northwest into the northern Plains and western Great Lakes. That will put cities like Portland and Seattle that escaped with a very nice winter last year, colder and snowier this year. Fargo and Minneapolis to Green Bay will also receive above-normal winter snowfall. Read the full AccuWeather.com article here.

Top 10 Most Bizarre Weather in the World
Weather in the world is different among places around the world. Some people can feel and see the common weather condition, meanwhile other places have strange and unusual weather and nature phenomenon. This is the list of top 10 most bizarre weather in the world: 1. Sea Monster or Spinning Water? Loch Ness Monster may only whirlpool that is too active. Small whirlwind, usually called the devil water, can be formed over warm water, bring water to the top and forming a channel on the surface of the water. Water devil can spin irregular, sometimes hissing sound and buble alike. This plus the noise sound like a form of a long neck could give the impression of people who see that there are sea monsters begin to appear to eat. Pretty cool, right? Check out the other nine most bizarre weather in the world here.

The Word on Weather Satellites
Weather satellites have been our eyes in the sky for over thirty years, ever since the April, 1960 launch of Tiros I. Today, satellite images showing the advance of weather fronts are regular elements of the evening news. This meteorological information is also available to anyone with a personal computer and relatively inexpensive hardware and software. A network of American, European, Japanese, and Russian satellites orbits the earth in various configurations to provide “real-time” monitoring of our environment. Many of these satellites transmit signals directly to ground stations in schools, including the Frank H. Harrison Middle School in Yarmouth, Maine, and Wiscasset Primary School in Wiscasset, Maine. Of course, highly-trained technicians, like Georgie Thompson’s third grade students, operate the controls of such a station. They are able to predict when the satellites will be overhead, when they can expect to receive an image, and they can loop together several images of cloud conditions and movements from different passes of the satellites to make reliable weather predictions. Any school can establish such a ground station at a surprisingly low cost. Read more here.

NASA Earth Science Office’s Interactive Global Geostationary Weather Satellite Images
Interested in seeing real-time weather satellite images from NASA? Well guess what? You can see weather pattern on the globe from multiple perspectives provided by NASA Earth Science Office here. So, yes, you too can be your own personal meteorologist. And, who know, you may be more effective at predicting the weather than the weather man himself.

Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Couldn’t Stand the Weather”
Perhaps the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan was able to see into the future about weather before his untimely death? Check out this video for his classic tune “Couldn’t Stand The Weather.” And really…has any living guitarist matched his skills. John Mayer? Nope. Jack White? Well, we actually like Jack White, though we always like to fall back on SRV. We hope you enjoy.

Tags: Couldn't Stand the Weather, Friday's Food for Thought, GEOINT and the Weather, Nasa Weather Satellites, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Weather Satellites