Remnants of Sandy Produce Monster Waves Near Chicago...

The above image was taken in lower Manhattan as Hurricane Sandy struck yesterday evening, right?  Wrong.  Believe it or not, this shot was taken along Lakeshore Drive in Chicago earlier today, as high wave action pounded the area along southern Lake Michigan.

A peak wave height of 21.7 feet was measured at the South Buoy on Lake Michigan at 12 Noon today.  The timing of the massive wave corresponded perfectly with a peak wind gust of 56 mph, as indicated by the red plot on the graph below:

This set a new record for the 2nd highest wave at that location.  The highest wave ever recorded at that point on Lake Michigan was 22.9 feet, set on September 30, 2011.

It is fairly unusual for the remnants of a tropical cyclone to cause high wave action on Lake Michigan.  Most of the high waves on the historical record in this region are caused by deep low pressure systems that form during the fall and winter.

This is just further illustration that the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and now the remnants thereof, are widespread and far reaching. Take a look at this recent visible satellite image:

The cloud pattern associated with the remnants of Hurricane Sandy spans over 1400 miles at this hour!

Just another reason why I believe Hurricane Sandy will go down in the record books as the "storm of a lifetime" for most of the people reading this blog (including myself).

Many people from around the world are visiting this blog to follow the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  Welcome visitors!  Please be sure to check the homepage of the blog and refresh there for all of the latest posts...

For more information from 'The Original Weather Blog', including shorter, more frequent posts during rapidly changing weather events, please be sure to follow Rob on facebook and twitter:

 

If you are in need of highly customized, site specific weather forecasts and/or storm warnings for your business, school or event, be sure visit my professional webpage at WeatherGuidance.com.

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Record #1 for Sandy: Lowest Pressure North of Hatteras

 

The latest Hurricane Hunter aircraft observations recorded a minimum central pressure of 943 millibars inside of Hurricane Sandy.  This is the lowest pressure on record in the Atlantic Basin to the North of Cape Hatteras, NC.  The old record was set by the Hurricane of 1938, which now falls to the #2 slot in the record books.

 

The amazing thing is, we may not be done yet.  There are still several more hours during which the pressure could fall even lower in Sandy.

 

While we're on the subject of low pressure records, the minimums in recorded history for Atlantic City, NJ and New York City are 960 and 954 millibars, respectively.  I fully expect that both of those records will fall later today when Sandy makes landfall.

 

As you might imagine, we are seeing lots of new visitor traffic here on the blog with the approach of Sandy. Welcome visitors! Please don't bookmark any particular post for updates, as new posts will be made each time we have new information to pass along. Please check the homepage of the blog and refresh there for the latest posts...

 

If you would like to monitor the latest satellite and radar imagery associated with Sandy, please visit the Tropical Page at our sister site, WeatherGuidance.com. We will be adding additional imagery and information throughout the coming days.

 

For more information from 'The Original Weather Blog', including shorter, more frequent posts during rapidly changing weather events, please be sure to follow Rob on facebook and twitter:

 

If you are in need of customized, site specific weather forecasts or storm warnings for your company or event, be sure visit Rob's professional webpage at WeatherGuidance.com.

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Brutal Heat in Oklahoma Yesterday - But "All Time" Record Stands...

The above map shows maximum temperatures recorded yesterday by the Oklahoma Mesonet, a network of 120 recording stations across the state.

As you can see, Kingfisher reached 115 degrees.  Not shown, FAA stations at Okmulgee and Chandler also reached 115 degrees yesterday.  Longtime blog follower and weather observer David Schweitzer also recorded 115 degrees at his place in western Canadian County.

Indeed, 115 seemed to be the "magic" number yesterday as far as high temperatures were concerned.  The inability for the mercury to rise any higher at official recording stations means that the state record of 120 degrees (set in Tipton on June 27, 1994) will remain intact for now.

Another 115-120 degree "bullseye" is forecast by computer models for this afternoon, this time centered near the Stillwater area (as shown by the darker purple shading on the image below):

Indeed, temperatures in that region and back to the Southwest toward Oklahoma City are currently running 2-3 degrees above where they were at this time yesterday:

The lighter blue shadings over the panhandle and far northern Oklahoma show where temperatures are currently running below where they were at this time yesterday, thanks to a shift to Northerly winds.  While temperatures will not be quite as hot in that part of the state today, another brutally hot day is instore for southwest, central and eastern parts of the state, where record or near record highs are likely once again.

For more information from the Original Weather Blog, including "live blogging" during rapidly changing weather events, please be sure to follow me on facebook and/or twitter:

 

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