Sun kissed

From Abbotsford to Yoho National Park, a heat wave shattered temperature records in British Columbia on Saturday — and meteorologists expect the weather to get even hotter over the next couple of days.

The Village of Lytton was the hottest place in the country Saturday, with a record-breaking 43.2 C according to Environment Canada. The previous record there was set in 2006, at 39.9 C.

Other notable highs include the Fraser Valley, which broke 40 C at Cultus Lake for the first time yesterday.

In the Cache Creek area, temperatures soared to 42.5 C, and Lillooet set a new record at 43.1 C. Temperatures in the Pemberton Valley are so high an evacuation order has been issued because of rising river levels caused by snowmelt.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

OKAY listen up, this is a thread for all my cold friends out there who aren't used to severe cold. HOW TO LAYER, A GUIDE TO STAYING WARM, USING ONLY CLOTHING YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE, NO FANCY SILK UNDERWEAR OR WHATEVER.

(link provided)(but I’m sure she won’t mind if you donate to whomever you feel like helping, if you are in a position to do so)

(source)

(transcript in read more)

OKAY listen up, this is a thread for all my cold friends out there who aren't used to severe cold. HOW TO LAYER, A GUIDE TO STAYING WARM, USING ONLY CLOTHING YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE, NO FANCY SILK UNDERWEAR OR WHATEVER.

1)YOUR FEET. Wear at least two pairs of socks: one tighter, thinner pair, and one looser, thicker pair. If you can do three, do a thinner pair, then midweight, then thick. Below: dress, midweight, and thick socks in the order you should put them on.

2) YOUR LEGS: wear whatever your preferred underwear is. Now put on a more fitted long sleeve shirt and more fitted tights, leggings, athletic pants, bike shorts, compression pants, whatever you've got.

Over these, put a narrow pant that is a little loose around the inner layer. Depending on how you typically wear them, jeans, sweatpants, yoga pants, or even dress/work slacks can work for this.

If you can, put a THIRD layer over these that are your biggest pants. Generally pajama pants, sweatpants, yoga pants are going to be the best for this layer. But whatever fits in whatever order is your best bet!

TOP: again, wear the underwear you are typically most comfortable in: bra, undershirt, whatever. Now add a fitted long sleeve shirt. Tee shirt, turtleneck, compression shirt, waffle weave, henley, whatever.

Pick another long sleeve shirt that is a little looser than this one to put on over it. A fitted sweater, sweatshirt, or looser tee shirt, buttondown, or henley is good for this stage.

Now (and since I know you're smart you probably guessed) get a bigger, looser shirt to put over this. A big sweater or sweatshirt is best!

HEAD: A lot of heat escapes through your head so KEEP IT COVERED! Keep a hat on at all times! The best kind of hat to wear is a thick, knitted cap that is not too tight, or a loose one over a tight one. If you have something lined, even better!

Hats with EAR FLAPS are awesome, as are earmuffs. If you don't have earmuffs, you can use big noise cancelling headphones in a pinch.

HANDS: Hands are super complicated because you want them free to do stuff but also it is very easy for your fingers to get too cold/frostbitten so you've gotta protect them! I recommend a fitted pair of gloves with a looser, thicker pair of gloves or mittens over them.

YES you can use gardening gloves or work gloves for one of these layers if that's all you've got. RUBBER gloves, on the other hand, are not good insulators.

If you really need your fingers free for using devices or work or whatever, get fingerless gloves or cut the fingers off a pair of gloves or mittens you don't care about, then wear these under your bigger mittens/gloves.

Protip: if you don't have a pair of gloves you can mangle to make fingerless gloves, cut holes in an old sock you've lost the mate to!

Now that you're covered head to toe, here are a few more tips:

-You can keep adding layers for as long as you have clothes! Just don't make them too tight: you want to trap air between the layers because it adds extra insulation.

-Wear a scarf or two! You can wrap your head in a scarf if you don't have a hat or need extra warmth.

-If you don't have s scarf or run out or scarves, a pair of sweatpants or flannel pajama pants will do in a pinch.

-It's okay to suspend a no shoes in the house rule during extreme cold. I am one of those people who thinks wearing shoes in the house is gross but they will keep your feet, which are susceptible to frostbite, warmer if you run out of options.

-Pockets are AWESOME and will actually keep your hands warmer, especially pockets close to your belly or butt! Your butt gives off more heat than you think!

-DON'T GET WET if you can help it. If you do, dry off and change out of wet garments.

-IF you don't have boots, thick socks pulled up over the bottom of your pants will keep cold air from getting to your legs. If it's wet out, plastic shopping bags inside your shoes can help.

-Be forgiving of yourself if it's too cold to change your clothes! Stay warm, even if it means dropping hygiene a little. If you need to change clothes, you can sit under a blanket until it warms up and then change under the blanket.

-You can also change out of many of your bottom layers inside your outer layers if your outer layers are loose enough and you are dextrous enough. Otherwise, do the blanket trick.

-Use chapstick on EVERYTHING. Your nose and fingers and toes and ears can get chapped too. If they feel chapped, put whatever balm/ointment/stick you have on them!

-Your eyes can get too cold! If you go out, put on sunglasses or safety goggles-- whatever you have to protect them!

-And finally, just remember that staying warm is more important than looking good. Go to the store in a blanket cape if you have to (a thing I've done). Wear the embarrassing sweater your great aunt gave you.

Take care, stay warm, and feel free to ask your friends from the North for specific advice if you need it! And hey, if you like this thread, please consider giving to Austin Echo or other area organizations helping homeless people right now.  https://www.austinecho.org/get-involved/donate/

So Your Temperate Home is Suddenly an Arctic Hellscape

As -10F hits area’s of the US who’ve never seen such temperatures in living memory, I wanted to give some tips from a Minnesotan who’s lived with these temps as a part of my life for 37 years.

1) Don’t Get Cocky. People used to these temps may laugh at our southern neighbors freaking out about the cold because yes, some parts of the US get such temps regularly every year. These people are being ignorant assholes. Our houses are mandated to have insulation that few of your homes will have. We pretty much all have huge puffy coats, and have well established winter weather gear drives for homeless and poor folks every year. We have expensive, well equipped infrastructure for cope with these temps and with large amounts of snow. You don’t. When it comes down to it, Minnesotans know to respect the cold temps- it’s just that a lot of the ways that do it are so commonplace as to be invisible to those who already have these habits.

2) Don’t go out wet. Dry your hair or stay inside. You will loose a lot of heat if you’re wet. Same for sweat, and wet diapers. And clothes with snow on them are now WET CLOTHES. Change into dry clothes as soon as possible.

3) If you have a shitty car battery or a car that sometimes struggles to start, then try not to use it. You’re unlikely to get the kind of temps where it’s impossible to start an engine (I’ve only experienced those temps a few times. Once my eyelashes froze shut and I almost froze to death in my own back yard. Don’t be like young me. Respect the cold.) If your car doesn’t start, you could be stranded somewhere, and realistically your area’s emergency services may be pretty overrun. 

4) Very cold air doesn’t hold moisture well. Plan for extra hydration for people, pets, and plants. Even if your staying in- most home heaters pull cold air from outside, then dry it out even MORE in the process of heating it. Dehydration is a thing. Even if your home’s heater has a humidifier attached to it (if you’re not sure, then it probably doesn’t.) it’s a good idea to drink extra water. Right now I have a few pots of water just left out by heaters to evaporate as much as possible. My mom used to just heat huge camping pots on the stove all day in cold temps. Remember, dry nasal passages really muck up your bodies ability to fight airborne illness. This is not a great time for that.

5) Help out homeless folks in your area in any way you can. These temps can and do kill. And since we have more evictions than any society can conscionably defend this year, we have high numbers of homeless people. Which means area supports for unhoused folks are often underfunded and over-taxed. 

6) Let your faucets drip. I know nobody likes to waste water but if your pipes freeze they will literally explode. Your home will flood. My mother’s kitchen got completely destroyed and it traumatized my childhood dog. Justa  bit of moving warm water will safeguard you from that.

7) Do. Not. Burn. Propane. Indoors. 

8) Plan for potential power outages. Ice on the lines can cause this and again, your infrastructure isn’t prepped for this. Unplug anything in your home you’re not using to do your part to help prevent rolling blackouts.

9) Driving on ice is a SKILL. Your roads may be filled with people who do not have that skill. Please please, stay off the roads if you can- even if you have this skill these roads will not be prepped and will, again, be full of people who don’t know how to do this because it just hasn’t come up that much in their life.

Stay safe and stay kind, folks! 

A Perfect Planet (2021) Episode 03 “Weather” Directed by Ed Charles

NASA Spotlight: Earth Climate Scientist Dr. Yolanda Shea

Dr. Yolanda Shea is a climate scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center. She’s the project scientist for the CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) mission, which is an instrument that will launch to the International Space Station to measure sunlight reflected from Earth. It will help us understand how much heat is being trapped by our planet’s atmosphere. Her mission is designed to help us get a clearer picture than we currently have of the Earth’s system and how it is changing

Yolanda took time from studying our home planet to answer questions about her life and career! Get to know this Earth scientist:

What inspired you to study climate science?

Starting in early middle school I became interested in the explanations behind the weather maps and satellite images shown on TV. I liked how the meteorologists talked about the temperature, moisture, and winds at different heights in the atmosphere, and then put that together to form the story of our weather forecasts. This made me want to learn more about Earth science, so I went to college to explore this interest more.

The summer after my junior year of college, I had an internship during which my first assignment was to work with a program that estimated ocean currents from satellite measurements. I was fascinated in the fact that scientists had discovered a way to map ocean currents from space!

Although I had learned about Earth remote sensing in my classes, this was my first taste of working with, and understanding the details of, how we could learn more about different aspects of the physical world from satellite measurements.

This led to my learning about other ways we can learn about Earth from space, and that includes rigorous climate monitoring, which is the area I work in now.

What does a day in your life look like?

Before I start my workday, I like to take a few minutes to eat breakfast, knit (I’m loving sock knitting right now!), and listen to a podcast or audio book. Each workday really looks different for me, but regardless, most days are a combination of quieter moments that I can use for individual work and more interactive times when I’m interfacing with colleagues and talking about project or science issues. Both types of work are fun in different ways, but I’m glad I have a mixture because all researchers need that combination of deep thinking to wrap our minds around complex problems and also time to tackle those problems with others and work on solving them together.

When do you feel most connected to Earth?

I’ve always loved sunsets. I find them peaceful and beautiful, and I love how each one is unique. They are also a beautiful reminder of the versatility of reflected light, which I study. Sitting for a moment to appreciate the beauty and calm I feel during a sunset helps me feel connected to Earth.

What will your mission – CLARREO Pathfinder – tell us about Earth?

CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) includes an instrument that will take measurements from the International Space Station and will measure reflected sunlight from Earth. One of its goals is to demonstrate that it can take measurements with high enough accuracy so that, if we have such measurements over long periods of time, like several decades, we could detect changes in Earth’s climate system. The CPF instrument will do this with higher accuracy than previous satellite instruments we’ve designed, and these measurements can be used to improve the accuracy of other satellite instruments.

How, if at all, has your worldview changed as a result of your work in climate science?

The longer I work in climate science and learn from the data about how humans have impacted our planet, the more I appreciate the fragility of our one and only home, and the more I want to take care of it.

What advice would you give your younger self?

It’s ok to not have everything figured out at every step of your career journey. Work hard, do your best, and enjoy the journey as it unfolds. You’ll inevitably have some surprises along the way, and regardless of whether they are welcome or not, you’re guaranteed to learn something.

Do you have a favorite metaphor or analogy that you use to describe what you do, and its impact, to those outside of the scientific community?

I see jigsaw puzzles as a good illustration of how different members of a science community play a diverse set of roles to work through different problems. Each member is often working on their own image within the greater puzzle, and although it might take them years of work to see their part of the picture come together, each image in the greater puzzle is essential to completing the whole thing. During my career, I’ll work on a section of the puzzle, and I hope to connect my section to others nearby, but we may not finish the whole puzzle. That’s ok, however, because we’ll hand over the work that we’ve accomplished to the next generation of scientists, and they will keep working to bring the picture to light. This is how I try to think about my role in climate science – I hope to contribute to the field in some way; the best thing about what I have done and what I will do, is that someone else will be able to build on my work and keep helping humanity come to a better understanding of our Earth system.

What is a course that you think should be part of required school curriculum?

Time and project management skills – I think students tend to learn these skills more organically from their parents and teachers, but in my experience I stumbled along and learned these skills through trial and error. To successfully balance all the different projects that I support now, I have to be organized and disciplined, and I need to have clear plans mapped out, so I have some idea of what’s coming and where my attention needs to be focused.

Another course not specifically related to my field is personal financial management. I was interested in personal finance, and that helped me to seek out information (mainly through various blogs) about how to be responsible with my home finances. There is a lot of information out there, but making sure that students have a solid foundation and know what questions to ask early on will set them to for success (and hopefully fewer mistakes) later on.

What’s the most unexpected time or place that your expertise in climate science and/or algorithms came in handy?

I think an interesting part of being an atmospheric scientist and a known sky-watcher is that I get to notice beautiful moments in the sky. I remember being on a trip with friends and I looked up (as I usually do), and I was gifted with a gorgeous sundog and halo arc. It was such a beautiful moment, and because I noticed it, my friends got to enjoy it too.

Can you share a photo or image from a memorable NASA project you’ve worked on, and tell us a little bit about why the project stood out to you?

I absolutely loved being on the PBS Kids TV Show, SciGirls for their episode SkyGirls! This featured a NASA program called Students’ Clouds Observations On-Line (S’COOL). It was a citizen science program where students from around the globe could take observations of clouds from the ground that coincided with satellite overpasses, and the intention was to help scientists validate (or check) the accuracy of the code they use to detect clouds from satellite measurements. I grew up watching educational programming from PBS, so it was an honor to be a science mentor on a TV show that I knew would reach children across the nation who might be interested in different STEM fields. In this photo, the three young women I worked with on the show and I are talking about the different types of clouds.

To stay up to date on Yolanda's mission and everything going on in NASA Earth science, be sure to follow NASA Earth on Twitter and Facebook.

🌎 If you're looking for Earth Day plans, we have live events, Q&As, scavenger hunts and more going on through April 24. Get the details and register for our events HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.

Dolly Parton

reblog this if youre a slut for soup season 🥣🍲

　　i　　　i　　　i　　　 i |　　　　　　　_,,o,,_　　　|　　　　i 　　i　　　 ／/　      ﾍ ＼　　　 i i   　　　　 /　i　　　i　ﾍ 　　　i　   ﾟ⌒ﾟ⌒ﾟl⌒ﾟ⌒ﾟ　　i　　| .　i 　   　 ∧＿∧    | 　　| 　    (´･ω･`)   | 　　　|　　　i　i 　　    　  ⊂ 　 ⊃  し |　　　| 　 しーJ　　　　i　　　|

Hey y’all, as a New Orleans resident I just wanna say two things about the horrible devastation that Hurricane Ida is going to cause:

1. Many people did not have the choice to evacuate. I was lucky enough to have somewhere to go, but the poorest and most vulnerable members of the New Orleans community often do not have the resources to leave. Instead of criticizing them for staying, please do what you can to help them in the aftermath.

2. New Orleans is going to receive a lot of attention in the aftermath of the storm, especially considering Ida hit on the 16th anniversary of Katrina. However, there are dozens of smaller communities in Louisiana who are going to experience exponentially more damage. Please keep in mind that thousands of people in southeastern Louisiana are going to lose their entire towns. They deserve as much attention and relief effort as New Orleans does, if not much much more.

I know many of us are simply exhausted after the last year and a half, but please keep in mind that so many people do not have the luxury not to care. If you see an opportunity to help, all I ask is that you do what you can. The only way we can get through this is together.

Penny Williams - Stormy Landscape - before 1885 -  via The British Museum

A Perfect Planet (2021) Episode 03 “Weather” Directed by Ed Charles

Yesterday was cool and slightly rainy so I went for a long walk in the park and it was nice.