Todd Gross's Blog

[Todd's Tidbits] Are Glaciers in the Cards this Year?

2008-06-12T15:36:00Z

All the snow this past season in the mountains (just short of 800" at Alta, an all-time record) is still sitting there above 8500 feet. In fact, there has been very little snowmelt in shady summit areas. But... it's mid June! Yes, it will take ALL summer and even September to melt the snow in those pockets. Some will stay snow covered, like the great Cirque on Mt. Timpanogas right through to next season. Does that mean we are developing glaciers? NO! Interestingly, since the snow never gets too deep each year, Utah actually doesn't have any glaciers, defined by deep ice which gets so heavy that it "moves" downslope. These are year-round snowfields. Of interesting this year of course is that there will be quite a few of them for die-hard skiers to play with.

Todd

Todd's Tidbits - The Rain Debate...

2008-05-28T13:13:00Z

Ah! June is moving in, along with warmer weather. The snow is FINALLY melting
up above 9,000 feet, and summer heat is on the way. However, there is one thing
about summer that many of us dislike and others don't think too much about... it doesn't
only get hot, it gets ... DRY ...

We live in the part of the country that dries out in June, and July with some thunderstorms
becoming more numerous again in August The combination between the lack of storms
coming in from California, and the low humidity and heat creates a problem with our lawns, shrubbery, and gardens. Basically, we "brown out". Although this is a normal part of our climatic cycle, some years, the rainy season persists from the winter jet stream pattern a little bit longer. THIS is one of those years. While you may have dodged raindrops on Memorial Day, all this rain is creatnig a beautiful green, lush environment as the trees are just now coming into full bloom, a few weeks late. Now if we can only keep this up..... :)

The flip side of course is that rain could aggravate the already tricky flood potential. The cooler than normal spring has created a slow snow melt, and our main concern would be if we suddenly hit 90s in the valley each day, which would generally be 70s above 9000'. If that were to take place, the strong sun against the snowpack, and 70 degree temps would quickly melt the remaining 10+ feet of snow up top, and the flood threat would rise once again. So, the bottom line is that the temperature, more than the amount of rain is the key to the general flood threat in the next several weeks (unless an isolated thunderstorm was involved with extremely heavy downpours, that would also cause flash flooding.

Todd

Todd's Tidbits] Lakeview Elementary

2008-05-07T14:20:00Z

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to the "brilliant" fourth grade class at Lakewview Elementary in Roy. Great work kids!

Todd

[Todd's Tidbits] Daylight Savings Time Woes...

2008-03-10T13:20:00Z

Oh boy was I sleepy this morning!

(Yawn)

Somehow my body, and perhaps yours, "knew" that Daylight Savings Time came early
this year. As someone who has lived in different parts of the country, I've just got to tell
you that it seems to have even more impact here than other parts of the country, why?

BECAUSE WE ARE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN TIME ZONE!

What do I mean by that? Well, when the time zones were first laid out, it was the eastern part of the time zones that more aligned with actual "solar time", that is, the sun being overhead at high noon. As you move farther and farther west into the time zone, the sun actually is highest in the sky closer to 1pm. AND with Daylight Savings, it goes even beyond that. In the Eastern part of the time zone, such as near Denver, the sun would be overhead closer to 1pm, and here in the western part of Mountain Time, nearly 2pm! ALMOST TWO PM!

Now this may not seem like a big deal to you, but that means we are offset nearly 2 hours from what would be "natural" Noon. Dark mornings, and very very light evenings. Fun for play after dinner, but HARD for me to go to sleep and wake up early to present the weather to you first thing on Good Morning Utah!

In all seriousness, in March, this will present a bit of a problem for schoolkids waiting for the bus in the dark, and increases morning consumption of energy. However, the "idea" behind going to Daylight Savings time early this year, is that in the evening, we won't need as much indoor lighting, and energy use, since it stays daylight longer.

Some states such as Arizona and Hawaii, do not join the rest of us as they do not change their clocks. Genereally speaking Savings Time tends to be popular because of the light evenings, especially at this time of year, as it gives a psychological "boost" after a long winter!

Todd

[Todd's Tidbits] About the 500" in Alta...

2008-02-25T15:40:00Z

I can confirm that Alta really HAS reached 500" of snow so far this season, often when
it snows I attempt to match the snowfall amount they've had with a measurement, and
there is no question the midstation/Collins area has really achieved that, if not more snow.
This is the first time in 15 years Alta has reached that milestone so early in the season, since
the snow season there extends well into the spring...

This leads to an interesting question.If the snow was measured at the summit, would there
be enough snow this season, or SOME season to topled Mt. Baker's 1,100" world record?

Hmmm, I bet one of these years at the summit it would be close, although that seems nearly
impossible at midstation or at the base.

Here's another question for you: Snowbird tends to remain partially open on weekends as long as possible. Last year, a very early Mid May close. The year before, July 4. This year? Can we go for the 4th again??

Todd

An Eclipse of the Moon!

2008-02-18T16:04:00Z

Not to be missed, a total Eclipse of the Moon is coming up on Wednesday evening, PRIME TIME for "kids" of all ages. The eclipse will begin at 6:45pm with the Moon in the East just after it gets dark. The total phase, where the moon will take on a reddish, coppery appearance will begin at 8:01 and last until 8:50pm. However, the moon is just barely falling completely into the Earth's shadow, so the total phase will not last as long as usual, make sure you catch it in that 49minute time span!

Lunar eclipses, unlike partial solar eclipes, are safe to view directly, with binoculars or a telescope. The next total SOLAR eclipse will not occur until 2045 in Utah, although there will be a close pass to the north in 2017.

Enjoy everyone!

Todd

[Todd's Tidbits] That's not a star, that's.....

2007-12-04T16:26:00Z

There is a mysterious glow in our Utah skies late night, every night, and it is getting STRONGER.

Don't believe me? Take a look! Go outside after 10 or 11 and look in the Eastern Sky. See
the bright star? No closer CLOSER. Can you tell the color seems rather.. well, "off". In fact,
hey wait, is that yellow, orange, maybe RED??? Compare the color to that bright late night
object to other stars nearby.. Why, yes, it does appear to be tinged with orange, or red,
doesn't it?! Why? Drumroll please..................................................

It's Mars. The PLANET Mars.

Mars is making its closest pass to Earth this time round on Christmas Eve. What a magnificant
sight that will be. Looking at it in the cold winter skies amidst the other bright (real) stars in that
part of the sky can send shivers down your spine. No wonder it caught the imagination of mankind for so many centuries. It is so impressive, I'm not even going to waste your time and tell you to sit outside in the freezing cold and look for the Geminid meteor shower, which comes around the 12th and 13th of the month.

Just look at Mars.

Have a scope? Use high power and if you look closely, you may see
the white of the polar ice cap, or the darker areas that were once thought to be "canals".

Have a look.. Mars is here. Make it so!

Todd

[Todd's Tidbits] Comet Holmes, YOU can see it!

2007-10-31T10:55:00Z

You are looking at a comet without a tail, Comet Holmes, which brightening to

Naked Eye visibility last week. This is an easy find if you know where to look

over Utah skies. My suggestion is to get the latest star chart from

SkyandTelescope.com

Todd

ps.. Just back inside from viewing the comet. A big fuzzy blob in binoculars

not far from the very bright star Capella. Nice! I viewed it in the NW

before 7a, so it is visible ALL NIGHT LONG, NE sky in the evening, almost

the zenith near 1am, and NW sky towards dawn. Enjoy..

Tell your friends..

Here's an article from space.com regarding the comet. My friend Joe Rao is at

the forefront on this..

Dramatic Comet Outburst Could Last Weeks
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 26 October 2007
02:09 pm ET

A comet that suddenly brightened earlier this week has astronomers around the globe fascinated. And the show could go on for some time.

Comet Holmes, discovered in 1892, had in recent years been visible only through telescopes until a dramatic outburst made it visible to the naked eye. In fewer than 24 hours, it brightened by a factor of nearly 400,000.

It has now brightened by a factor of a million times what it was before the outburst, a change "absolutely unprecedented in the annals of cometary astronomy," said Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Skywatching Columnist.

The comet is now rivaling some of the brighter stars in the sky.

Anyone with a map should be able to spot it now.

But Comet Holmes lacks a tail, so it's more like a fuzzy, yellow star, observers report. The view is improved with a small telescope.

"This is a terrific outburst," said Brian Marsden, director emeritus of the Minor Planet Center, which tracks known comets and asteroids. "And since it doesn't have a tail right now, some observers have confused it with a nova. We've had at least two reports of a new star."

The comet could fade in a matter of days or weeks, according to a statement from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Comet expert John Bortle expects the comet to continue as a naked-eye object for the next few weeks as it dims gradually. Bortle said the coma, or fuzzy head of the comet, could expand as weeks go by. The coma could reach the apparent size of the moon in the sky, he said.

The comet is located among the stars of the constellation Perseus, which is about halfway up in the northeast sky in the evening. Perseus is almost directly overhead by around 2 a.m. local daylight time and remains well up in the northwest at dawn.

"The comet was plainly visible, disturbing the normal pattern of stars that make up Perseus," Rao said after observiing it last night.

The comet orbits the Sun once every seven years at a distance of about 200 million miles (compared to Earth's 93-million-mile orbit). It was re-observed in 1899 and 1906 before being lost for nearly six decades. Based on a prediction by Marsden, the comet was found again in 1964.

"Since then, it's been behaving well—until now," Marsden said.

Astronomers don't know why the outburst occurred.

[Todd's Tidbits] The LARGEST Full Moon?

2007-10-26T12:50:00Z

Thursday night/Friday morning you may have noticed that unusually large moon. Rising over the Wasatch mountains it was noticeable, in fact, the moon WAS indeed 30% brighter and 14% larger than when it is "smallest". How does that happen? Well the moon's orbit around the Earth is NOT circular but elliptical. Therefore it was closer to the Earth than usual when it reached full moon this past Thursday night.

I caught a shot of it just before this happened two days before, you can view the image here:

http://www.adsensemiracles.com/pics/toddbigmoon.jpg

Enjoy!

Todd

Todd's Tidbits: If it keeps "snowin' like this"

2007-10-19T12:20:00Z

On September 23rd at around 3pm, precipitation started to to change to snow at the highest canyon roads, and so the beginning of 5 weekends straight, of stormy, mostly snowy weather. It was too early in the season for that to stick around, but the weekend storms have continued, and now on and off each storm seems to be getting a wee bit colder, driving the snow into the valley at times.

This weekend's storm is no exception, and I've got to tell you, despite the grumblings of some, I find it very refreshing that there are so many folks locally that grasp the excitement of upcoming winter weather early. Snowboarders head out with rails, chairs, and shovels to make little snow parks, skiers attempt the trails after a hard climb, and now.. Alta is even making snow.

If the current pattern continues we may pull off a better winter by far than last, but the Jet Stream has to continue to defeat the semi-ever-present high pressure center that often sets up over the Inter Mountain Region and Rockies in general . Better winter meaning more snow, especially for the ski areas which had a bit of trouble last year.

Anyway, if you aren't thrilled with this early "action" in the weather, at least you can
admit, we really DID need the extra water, and it came in the nick of time!

Todd

[Todd's Tidbits] GLOBAL WARMING, Common Sense

2007-10-05T14:50:00Z

At the Science Center at the Leonardo on Thursday evening I attended the meeting
on Global Warming and the Environment in Utah. Great points were raised. My
point about the "common sense" signs of Global Warming being that we tend to set
so many more record highs than record lows over and over and over again may have
been interesting, but not nearly as "common sense" as the comments from one member
of the audience.

After the suggestion that we move more towards Nuclear power to prevent the burning
of fossil fuels which is apparently fueling Global Warming, there was mixed reaction. Most
of it positive until the reminder that there still is a lack of government aid in getting rid of
the nuclear waste.

Then after being told that all other alternative energy sources were a waste of time, the
man with common sense rose from the crowd and said "Look all around you, Solar is
everywhere, Geothermal has NOT been researched well".

You know, that old expression, we can land a man on the moon, but we can't _______________

It seems to me just plain ol' common sense that solar energy can be harnassed. To the
unnamed man with common sense in the crowd, I agree, Let's Go Solar. Let's not
give up on Geothermal. Let's think out of the box, that is what we are good at, isn't it?

Todd

Todd's Tidbits: More On Snow.. and Skiing..

2007-10-03T16:05:00Z

As much as Mike McKay pretends how "unusual" it is when we had snow in the forecast
for June, May, April, even March last year.. Or this past September, or THIS WEEKEND...
the fact is, our elevation leaves us open to off-season snow at times, unlike almost anywhere in the U.S.

Of all the major metropolitan areas in the country, just Salt Lake City and Denver stand out
as occasionally "snow prone" at "strange" times of the year. In fact, having grown up here
all your life, you may not realize just how odd it would be for let's say, normally cold Chicago to get snow in May or September. It just doesn't happen. They may keep it longer in the winter, but they can't get it off-season there!

Latest computer models are actually even more bullish towards a heavy mountain snow Friday late through Saturday evening, with some accumulation not out of the question in the valleys. It is too bad ski areas don't open this early. This will mark the 4th snow event since Sept. 23rd for the mountains.

There is an interesting reason why ski areas locally cannot and should not open too early: Unlike Eastern Resorts, OUR ski areas are used to getting so much mid winter snow, that the slopes often are rock-strewn. Not small rocks either. BOULDERS. In the East, most slopes are simply grass covered,and mainly rock-less. Since it snows less out there, they rely more heavily on man made snow, AND natural snow of a much lighter amount to cover the rockless terrain. I have to check which of our local areas has kept this in mind, I'm sure some of them thought this through as well :)

Todd

[Todd's Tidbits] It really IS all in the Jet Stream

2007-09-26T16:48:00Z

With the unstable atmosphere causing a funnel cloud in Utah county on Monday, the sudden frosty weather, and snow in all elevations above 5000', you have to admit this is an incredible change from the summer. Not only that, there is another shot on Friday night at rain changing to snow in the mountains and windy cold weather for all of us Saturday morning like Thanksgiving, not September. Is it fall? It's more than that: It is the collapse of the Jet Stream even MORE than normal for this time of year.

As that river of air descends from Canada, it allows progressive systems to move through and shake things up. Some years, this happens more than others. This is one of those years in sharp contrast to the hottest summer on record when the Jet Steam took an even longer "vacation" from us than usual.

I'll be back with frequent "Jet Stream" updates.

Todd

[Todd's Tidbits] That's Venus out there NOT a plane!

2007-09-19T15:34:00Z

Each morning at around 6:00 to 7:00am Venus is shining brightly in the predawn sky, so bright you probably arent noticing, thinking it is an airplane coming on in for a landing! Look due East, and by all means, show the kids. That is a planet, not a star, not an airplane, but our closest neighbor.

Do you like the astronomy posts, if so, drop me a line at

todd@abc4.com

thanks

Todd

Todd's Tidbits.. Do We Like the Upcoming Snow, or What?!

2007-09-13T14:19:00Z

I have to admit folks, I'm confused.

When I first moved to Utah, visions of residents who loved their Greatest Snow on Earth
danced through my head. Then I was informed by management that folks prefer that the
snow "stay in the mountains" where it belongs.

Ok, so I assumed that most folks prefer not to have snow and cold in the winter. This was supported by one radio DJ that complained on June 8th when it snowed in the nearby hills that everyone is sick of it.

Then the tide turned, not just because it was summer. Left and right I bumped into folks who cherish Utah's winter, mountains, valley, you name it, celebrating the snow, even if it happens off season. Folks REALLY excited about the upcoming winter and disappointed by last year's pretty poor showing.

What's up?

I love snow myself, so why don't you give me a holler.. how about you? AND if you really do like it, then how about those occasional springtime snows, are you "in" or "out"?

Todd