Weather in the Smokies this spring has been very active. Just last week, Mt. LeConte had 14 inches of snow. This morning the sun rose as a golden fireball that lit the mountain ridges in clear relief. Mt LeConte is the peak at the sun’s 4 o’clock position. Over six inches of snow lingered at the highest elevations for a few days. May has given measurable snowfall.
View from Look Rock
Easter Morning Sunrise
April 12, 2009 by
Great Smoky NP caves and mine shafts closed to public
April 3, 2009 by
From the National Park’s website
“Contact: Bob Miller, (865) 436-1207
In response to a growing concern about a new malady that has killed an estimated 400,000 bats in the Northeast, managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park have closed all of its caves to public entry until further notice.
According to biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a condition called White-nose Syndrome (WNS) is taking a heavy toll on bats that hibernate in caves and mines in nine states from Virginia north to New Hampshire. WNS is named for a white fungus that shows up on the faces of bats, including the endangered Indiana Bat. The Indiana bat has been recorded in the Park and is among several species of special concern relative to this disease.
The disease causes bats to come out of hibernation severely underweight to the point that they often starve before the insects on which they feed emerge in the spring. Once a colony is infected with the fungus, it spreads rapidly and may kill up to 90% of the bats within that cave in one season.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Wildlife Biologist, Bill Stiver said, “Biologists are still uncertain about the cause of WNS in bats. However, it is believed to be transmitted from bat to bat but also may be inadvertently transported from cave to cave by humans. It has not yet arrived in Tennessee or North Carolina, so we are closing all our caves to reduce the odds of the fungus hitching a ride to our protected caves on a caver coming from a state where it is already established.â€
“The Park is closing its caves in response to a recommendation from the Fish and Wildlife Service.†Stiver continued, “That closure advice does not apply to commercial tourist caves, but Fish and Wildlife is planning on working with commercial operators to minimize potential for spread from those sources. There is no known human health risk related to WNS.â€
Park managers say that the Smokies has 17 caves and two mine complexes that are now closed under the advisory and that a permit has always been required to enter them. No permits will be issued and violators face fines of up to $5,000 or six months imprisonment.
More information on the disease and this closure is available at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/caves.htm”
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/caves.htm
Why we use aerial photography
April 2, 2009 by
Many customers ask us why we use aerial photography. Often it’s hard for some readers to understand because of terrain inversion. Let’s take a Q&A with a real customer:
Customer, “Hi guys. I just wonder if anyone has ever discussed with you the fact that the shading on your maps appears to be reversed. That is, the high points appear like low points and vice versa, if one is looking at the map oriented to north. If one turns the map around, so it is oriented to south, then everything looks correct. So, my guess is simply that the shading is on the wrong side of the ridges. ”
Our response, “Thanks for asking a question that has popped up a few times. In the mapping biz, it’s called terrain inversion and it is a problem sustained by tradition. Before aerial photography, most terrains were shaded as if the sun was in the upper-left corner. This was established as cartographic tradition because we read from upper-left to lower-right.
This worked fine until aerial photography became used as base maps. In the northern hemisphere, and especially at our latitude, the sun is never shines from the north. All of our shadows fall from south to north, completely opposite to how they’re depicted on most conventional maps. Cartographers in the southern hemisphere think we’re crazy up here moving the sun around to accommodate tradition at expense of reality. But they have the advantage of sun always being in the upper quadrants, thus giving the type of illumination you’re probably used to.
But we use aerial photography in most of our maps, because it is reality and at the right scale is far superior to an artificial hillshade in our opinion for couple reasons. You can see areas that are really in shadow, which indicate different plant communities. You can see canopy type, density, and other indicators for type of forest. If you’re a photographer, these images show depth and lines of shadow, helping you predict the kind of light you want for a photo. Finally, if you have take an aerial photo up high to orient, you can do so by shadows.
Detail from our Big South Fork map with aerial photography. Note the north facing cliffs are in shadow, just as in found in the wild.
So in my defense, I say it’s all about sunlight. I understand your problems and trust me, it has stirred the anger of my peers at cartography conferences. We’ve been flamed on blogs for this apparent flaw, but in our humble opinion, an aerial photo is not the problem, it’s tradition.
It’s sounds like you have a lot of experience with maps, and I respect your opinion. However, I think if you get used to aerial photography, you’ll find distinct advantages. Also in defense of tradition, I did illuminate our recent map, Trail Atlas of the Great Smokies from the NW. That map does not use aerial photography so it was an easy decision.”
Sheltowee Trace Map Project
April 1, 2009 by
A presentation given at the 32nd annual ASA conference, March 2009. I showed planning sketches of our current project: the Sheltowee Trace Scenic Atlas. Each major trail section is defined. If you know our publishing format, you can begin to see it come together.
The atlas will have 15 full-color tiles at a primary scale of 1:32k or 1 inch to a half mile. Maps will be in full-color with landcover and canopy type and 50-ft contours.
Due for release in summer of 2009.
View the presentation here or to plan your trip visit http://www.sheltoweetrace.com
Fire in Cades Cove
March 30, 2009 by
Controlled burning will impact Cades Cove through April. From the park’s website: “Fire managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park plan to begin conducting a series of controlled burns of fields in the interior of Cades Cove on Tuesday March 24, 2009, if weather conditions permit. Park managers plan to burn three to seven different parcels totaling up to 300 acres from now until May 1.”
View from Look Rock
March Moon Rise
March 10, 2009 by
Tonight at 10:28 P.M. we will have our March full moon, the last full moon of winter. Full moons throughout the year have names given by early settlers and Native Americans to indicate important seasonal activities…such as a Harvest Moon and Hunter’s Moon.
The March full moon is know as a Worm Moon in the Farmer’s Almanac, for the warming of the soil and emergence of earthworms that herald the return of robins and spring. Also known as a Sap Moon for rising maple tree sap, a Lenten Moon for catholic settlers, and a Crow Moon for the cawing of crows that indicate the end of winter.
Below are photos of the moonrise above the Great Smoky Mountains. The far mountain peak the moon rises over is Mt. Le Conte.
Cave Run Lake Bird’s Eye View
March 7, 2009 by
How about a 3D map of Cave run Lake? I’ve been playing around with creating one for the entire Sheltowee Trace, so I started with the northern terminus. Nothing too serious since the map really couldn’t be used with GPS, but something that shows the varied terrain through which the ST travels. This zoomify map shows the trail from the northern terminus and Corner Ridge. Map is not finished and not entirely labeled, but it shows the Sheltowee Trace pretty clearly. View Map
3D map of Natural Bridge State Park
March 4, 2009 by Leave a Comment
If you have used our Red River Gorge hiking map, you’ve noticed that trail intersections are labeled. This is to help read the elevation profiles. Another way to represent relative changes in elevation is with a 3D map. Below is a simple render of the core, historic trails in Natural Bridge State Resort Park. There’s about 7 miles of trail shown on this map, and they’re probably the most used trails in the Red River Gorge.
Our new homepage!
March 4, 2009 by
I have added a new look to the homepage that incorporates real-time weather from the National Weather Service and a web cam overlooking the Great Smokies. The page also changes during the day to reflect the amount sunlight. The goal here is to inspire the city-bound hiker to get on the trail this spring.
Late winter storm in the mountains, March 2
March 4, 2009 by
A classic weather scenario unfolded over the weekend. A strong low pressure system, located just southeast of the Great Smokies, moved along the eastern coast and left up to a foot of snow in the mountain summits to the east of the Smokies. The northeastern states received the highest snowfall totals from this storm though records were set in southern states.
Most of the snow that falls in the mountains, and especially at lower elevations, occurs during these type of storms. About 50% of snowfall at the highest elevations happens during a strong upslope flow, typically coming off the Great Lakes. These conditions bring heavy snow at the top while little at the bottom. Here mountains create weather by uplifting the atmosphere as it’s forced over the crest of the Smokies.
Snow depth and the darkest blues are 10″-20″ depths.
Satellite image of snow cover, from March 2
The Cold Mountain web cam had a thick layer of ice obscuring the blanket of snow left by the storm indicating a mixed bag of precipitation. The storm was accompanied by a strong high pressure located to the northwest and brought bitterly cold conditions after the low pressure moved northeast.
Cold Mountain web cam after some ice melted.
Mt. LeConte had 7 inches of snow and was -4° F Monday morning. Mountains to the east received 12″+ of snow. Most of the snow that fell in the Piedmont region of the Carolinas quickly melted under the March sun. The snow pack in the mountains is much colder and will survive longer especially in deep north-facing valleys.
March often sees big snowfalls in the mountains. Hikers in the highlands should plan for rapidly changing weather conditions with 20-30° F temperature ranges with wet, windy, and cold as company.
Look Rock web cam looking at Thunderhead Mt. with an obvious snow fall at higher elevations.
Purchase Knob web cam looking northeast over the mountains.Current weather at: http://www.outrageGIS.com/weather/grsm
New outrageGIS Weather Station Features
February 24, 2009 by
Warm weather is approaching and I thought it would be great to have more web cams and animations to watch the unfurling of Spring and severe weather.
The animation to the left is the visible light spectrum from the GOES satellite and shows a cold front passing over Kentucky this past Saturday. I have assembled a few scripts to output a daily animation from dawn until dusk at four frames per hour.
Each frame is 640 pixels square, so each daily animation is about 8-16 megabytes, depending on the length of daylight. I’m working on automating the output to a .flv movie which would be easier on bandwidth. View a large-version snippet of this of this animation here. As I get the file sizes smaller, these animations will be incorporated into the weather page.
What I find most exciting about these animations is that they are photographs. We know weather and clouds from ground level of course, but to see a corollary from space I think helps a photographer understand the movement of clouds and how they filter sunlight. Though it’d be hard to use these animations to predict future light conditions beyond a few hours, they are helpful in understanding how the atmosphere moves and, in retrospect, what cloud cover is associated with which weather conditions.
How about a full day of photographs?
The animation to the right is a full-day digest from Sunday. It shows the snow cover and lake effect snow machine impacting the Appalachians. The full animation is 9 megabytes and can be view here. Note the clearly defined line of cloud cover and snow over the mountains that straddle the TN-NC state line. To the east you can see Mt. Mitchell and its orographic uplift.
Two New Web Cams
Our current NPS web cams Look Rock and Purchase Knob both look east. I incorporated two forest service web cams, Joyce Kilmer and Cold Mountain, which both look west. Though they are not in the park, they are useful in getting a panoramic real-time view of the Great Smokies. All of these web cams can be found on our Great Smokies weather page: http://www.outrageGIS.com/weather/grsm.
Big South Fork Trails
February 24, 2009 by
The trails in the Big South Fork are were not impacted by the ice storm that hit the northern portions of the Daniel Boone National Forest. Hikers have reported excellent trail conditions, though fording Rock Creek or the Big South might be a little cold and water levels high this time of year.
Trail conditions in Cave Run Lake
February 24, 2009 by
Trails in the Cave Run area survived the recent ice storm, though vandalism at Tater Knob Fire Tower seriously damaged the tower. Some individual(s) set fire to the structure and it is now closed. Please contact the U.S. Forest Service if you have information about this act of arson.
Trail Conditions after the Ice Storm
February 24, 2009 by
The Red River Gorge was impacted by the January ice storm. The gravel FS roads were closed for about a week, but they are now open. All of the trails in the Red River Gorge proper have been cleared of debris, except Courthouse Rock Trail, Rough Trail over Parched Corn Creek, and the Sheltowee Trace north of Bison Way. Trails in the Clifty Wilderness has not been cleared, and since no chainsaws are allowed there, it might take time to clear.
The debris is problematic, but not a deal breaker in my opinion. Though if you are backpacking and/or have leashed dogs, a down tree on the trail is problem. I went out Swift Camp Creek east of 715 for about a mile and the trail was not that bad. As with any backcountry adventure, you’ll expect an element of danger so please use an extra measure of caution on trails in the Clifty Wilderness…and tell us how they are!
Boyd
Winter Storm in the Bluegrass
December 16, 2008 by
Winter storm warning, Dec 15-16, 2008.
“The National Weather Service will issue a winter storm warning when a dangerous combination of heavy snow, with sleet and/or freezing rain, will occur or has a high probability of occurring within the next 12 hours.”
Severe winter weather events are notorious to forecast. Our TV weathercasters had a range of predictions from a half-inch of ice accumulation to 5 inches of snow. The National Weather Service (NWS) had a similar forecast. After the event, we had a lot of variability across the region, so in part, all of the predictions were somewhere correct. I think the NWS made a good prediction on where the bad weather would happen, but the severity was hard to calculate.
The above map (shown in greater detail below) shows low temperatures across the U.S. and highlights the problem with forecasting such a large storm. The huge temperature change from -20° F in the northern states to 60° F in the southeast indicates two vastly different air masses in close proximity. The greater the difference, the more difficult the predictions. When the air masses begin to interact and do their dance, that’s the problem.
It’s easy to forecast calm conditions, but when the weather becomes bad, the severity is determined by how different the air masses are and how much they interact. Two similar air masses doing a “big dance” will have little impact. Two vastly dissimilar air masses just interacting slightly will produce enormous weather. Though we can measure the characteristics of air masses, the problem is that we can’t predict how they’ll interact.
The basic setup we had here was that cold polar plunged southward, and displaced the warmer, more moist tropical air. As the warmer, less dense air rode over the advancing colder, denser air, precipitation fell as rain. As it traveled through the colder, ground layer of air, it froze on surface contact. That’s freezing rain. However when upper layer of air approaches the freezing point, precipitation could fall as snow or sleet. As this boundary zone between air masses changes, the vertical temperature profile changes and so does the type precipitation that hits the ground.
Can you feel it for the weathercaster trying to predict this stuff?
Watches and Warnings Map, Dec 16
Above map is the Watches and Warnings for the U.S., December 16, 2008. Compare this map to the below map, which forecasts low temperatures for this morning. Note the axis of warnings from Texas to Pennsylvania which overlays a sharp temperature contrast between the polar air to the northwest and tropical air to the southeast. This steep temperature gradient is almost 90° F and is zone of interaction.
Low Temperature Map, Dec 16
The below map shows snow and ice totals for the Bluegrass region.
