After visibilities as low as a quarter mile this morning, expect clouds to decrease during the afternoon. This will lead to a decent day, with highs in the mid to upper-50s. There's a lot to be thankful for weather-wise on Thanksgiving, with mostly sunny skies in store, along with a high around 60 degrees, which is 15 degrees warmer than normal! Rain will move in late Thursday afternoon and continue through Friday morning. Rain showers will change over to lake-effect snow showers on Friday afternoon, before coming to an end Saturday morning. No accumulation greater than a dusting is expected in the Holland area. Sunday is looking dry at this point. Highs for Friday and the weekend will only be in the upper-30s to lower-40s, with lows in the mid to upper-20s.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Gone With The Wind: How We Take Weather Alerts For Granted
by Ben Kouchnerkavich
On Thursday, November 8th, students at Holland New Tech High School were given the privilege of meeting with a group of schools, including students from Nicaragua on an Internet video chat. In their World Studies class, the current sophomores at Holland New Tech have been participating in a project entitled, “Food, Glorious Food,” which aims to help children in Nicaragua through the Canada-based group Change for Children.
Nicaragua is known for its biodiversity, with an abundance of rivers, creeks, streams, and animals. The problems they are having with food in the country are helped greatly by community gardens, where they grow sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots. One community garden costs only $2,000. During the video chat, Holland New Tech student Khalil Torres asked the people in Nicaragua the question, “How can we help?” The answer was that the country is in great need of money, which can be used to go towards these community gardens.
Problems with food production in Nicaragua are not helped by natural disasters that plague the country with devastation. There is no advanced warning system at all in the country for hurricanes and tornadoes. As a meteorology enthusiast, this hit particularly close to home for me. In America, we have the luxury of choosing to ignore advanced warnings.
On May 22, 2011, at least 158 people were killed in Joplin, Missouri, when an EF5 tornado plowed through. An EF5 is the strongest on the EF (Enhanced Fujita) scale, producing winds over 200 mph. The tornado struck at an estimated time of 5:40 PM CDT. The National Weather Service placed the first Tornado Warning for the storm at 5:17 PM. That is an amazing amount of lead-time to place on a tornado, giving 23 minutes to get to safety. The SPC (Storm Prediction Center) in Norman, Oklahoma, issues severe weather outlooks across the United States up to 8 days in advance. They had a slight risk of severe weather for the Joplin area on May 20th (two days in advance). The SPC issues five severe weather outlooks a day. The first outlook is issued at 1 AM CDT. At that time on May 22, the SPC was already forecasting “a 10% or greater probability of EF2-EF5 tornadoes within 25 miles (of Joplin).” At 8 AM CDT, The Storm Prediction Center upgraded the severe weather outlook to a moderate risk of severe weather. Some still ignored the warnings, despite having access to information that could help them.
A more recent example of Americans choosing to ignore advanced warnings was with “Superstorm Sandy.” One model we look at in meteorology is called the GFS (Global Forecast Model). This, like all other models, tends to have accuracy decrease as they go out further in time. However, the GFS accurately predicted the strength of Sandy going into the northeast 1-2 weeks in advance. Sandy was predicted much more accurately than a typical regional severe weather outbreak. I was watching some live streaming coverage of Hurricane Sandy online from television stations along the east coast a few days before it hit that area. There was an interview from the ABC station in New York, in which two young girls were interviewed. Despite the mandatory evacuations being declared, the two girls said they would stay, and that they weren't worried, because Hurricane Irene “wasn't that bad.”
Speaking as someone interested in going into the meteorology field as a career, this upsets me. I think it is important that meteorologists don’t overly hype severe weather events when communicating a forecast, but just deliver the facts. There are some meteorologists who refer to “storms of epic proportions,” whereas there are also some who significantly downplay potentially significant events. I think a meteorologist ought to be neutral. Hurricane Irene was definitely a storm that was hyped too much, which probably lead to young people forming opinions that they need not worry. This was irresponsible, and it can lead to citizens making dangerous choices in the future. Perhaps it should be a criminal offense for people who decide to stay put during a time when there are mandatory evacuations in place. Sandy was a very big system and caused a catastrophic amount of damage. It is not logical to create an opinion of a storm based on a previous storm, due to the extremely unpredictable and unique characteristics that each storm possesses.
As I said earlier, in America, we have the luxury of choosing to ignore advanced warnings. Meanwhile there are people in Nicaragua who have had their lives ruined by disasters such as the devastating Hurricane Mitch. This is because they don’t have access to the amazing technology that we have. Meteorology is not an exact science. When I met with Grand Rapids’ FOX 17 meteorologist Jon Shaner recently, he clued me in on how meteorology is a relatively new science. As a result, the general public needs to realize that there are going to be flaws with forecasting and it is best to err on the side of caution when there is the possibility of a storm that is going to be potentially dangerous.
We have a choice to obey the alerts we are given. They don’t have that opportunity in Nicaragua, and we shouldn’t take what we have for granted.
On Thursday, November 8th, students at Holland New Tech High School were given the privilege of meeting with a group of schools, including students from Nicaragua on an Internet video chat. In their World Studies class, the current sophomores at Holland New Tech have been participating in a project entitled, “Food, Glorious Food,” which aims to help children in Nicaragua through the Canada-based group Change for Children.
Nicaragua is known for its biodiversity, with an abundance of rivers, creeks, streams, and animals. The problems they are having with food in the country are helped greatly by community gardens, where they grow sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots. One community garden costs only $2,000. During the video chat, Holland New Tech student Khalil Torres asked the people in Nicaragua the question, “How can we help?” The answer was that the country is in great need of money, which can be used to go towards these community gardens.
Problems with food production in Nicaragua are not helped by natural disasters that plague the country with devastation. There is no advanced warning system at all in the country for hurricanes and tornadoes. As a meteorology enthusiast, this hit particularly close to home for me. In America, we have the luxury of choosing to ignore advanced warnings.
On May 22, 2011, at least 158 people were killed in Joplin, Missouri, when an EF5 tornado plowed through. An EF5 is the strongest on the EF (Enhanced Fujita) scale, producing winds over 200 mph. The tornado struck at an estimated time of 5:40 PM CDT. The National Weather Service placed the first Tornado Warning for the storm at 5:17 PM. That is an amazing amount of lead-time to place on a tornado, giving 23 minutes to get to safety. The SPC (Storm Prediction Center) in Norman, Oklahoma, issues severe weather outlooks across the United States up to 8 days in advance. They had a slight risk of severe weather for the Joplin area on May 20th (two days in advance). The SPC issues five severe weather outlooks a day. The first outlook is issued at 1 AM CDT. At that time on May 22, the SPC was already forecasting “a 10% or greater probability of EF2-EF5 tornadoes within 25 miles (of Joplin).” At 8 AM CDT, The Storm Prediction Center upgraded the severe weather outlook to a moderate risk of severe weather. Some still ignored the warnings, despite having access to information that could help them.
A more recent example of Americans choosing to ignore advanced warnings was with “Superstorm Sandy.” One model we look at in meteorology is called the GFS (Global Forecast Model). This, like all other models, tends to have accuracy decrease as they go out further in time. However, the GFS accurately predicted the strength of Sandy going into the northeast 1-2 weeks in advance. Sandy was predicted much more accurately than a typical regional severe weather outbreak. I was watching some live streaming coverage of Hurricane Sandy online from television stations along the east coast a few days before it hit that area. There was an interview from the ABC station in New York, in which two young girls were interviewed. Despite the mandatory evacuations being declared, the two girls said they would stay, and that they weren't worried, because Hurricane Irene “wasn't that bad.”
Speaking as someone interested in going into the meteorology field as a career, this upsets me. I think it is important that meteorologists don’t overly hype severe weather events when communicating a forecast, but just deliver the facts. There are some meteorologists who refer to “storms of epic proportions,” whereas there are also some who significantly downplay potentially significant events. I think a meteorologist ought to be neutral. Hurricane Irene was definitely a storm that was hyped too much, which probably lead to young people forming opinions that they need not worry. This was irresponsible, and it can lead to citizens making dangerous choices in the future. Perhaps it should be a criminal offense for people who decide to stay put during a time when there are mandatory evacuations in place. Sandy was a very big system and caused a catastrophic amount of damage. It is not logical to create an opinion of a storm based on a previous storm, due to the extremely unpredictable and unique characteristics that each storm possesses.
As I said earlier, in America, we have the luxury of choosing to ignore advanced warnings. Meanwhile there are people in Nicaragua who have had their lives ruined by disasters such as the devastating Hurricane Mitch. This is because they don’t have access to the amazing technology that we have. Meteorology is not an exact science. When I met with Grand Rapids’ FOX 17 meteorologist Jon Shaner recently, he clued me in on how meteorology is a relatively new science. As a result, the general public needs to realize that there are going to be flaws with forecasting and it is best to err on the side of caution when there is the possibility of a storm that is going to be potentially dangerous.
We have a choice to obey the alerts we are given. They don’t have that opportunity in Nicaragua, and we shouldn’t take what we have for granted.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday Weather 11.15.12
by Ben Kouchnerkavich
Holland, Mich.--High temps over the next 7 days will be in the upper-40s to lower-50s, with lows in the 30s. After partly to mostly sunny skies through next Monday, it looks like a chance of rain will re-enter the forecast by Tuesday and Wednesday.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Wednesday Weather 11.14.12
by Ben Kouchnerkavich
Holland, Mich.--The next seven days will all be very similar, with partly to mostly sunny skies, and highs in the 40-50 degree range. Temperatures will average 1-2 degrees below normal. Breezy conditions are expected today, with gusts to 25 mph possible.
The Presidential Election: Local And National Results
Reporting by Bryce Crenshaw and Oscar Roman-Rivera
Holland, Mich.--President Barack Obama was
re-elected for his second and final term on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Obama
won the Electoral College vote in 28 states, and Mitt Romney won 22 states.
Obama won 303 Electoral votes, and Romney had
206. A candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes to win, so Obama won by a large
margin. The election had low voter turnout, partly due to Super-storm Sandy,
which left much of the East Coast devastated, and without power.
Students of Holland New
Tech and Holland High School were given chances to participate in mock
elections, and Obama won by large margins at both schools. That said, opinion
about politics and the election was diverse in the days following the election.
Ben Kouchnerkavich, a 10th
grade student said, "Being a Libertarian, I have different beliefs than
most people. I feel that parents tend to push their beliefs onto their
children, and children only feed off what their parents think (about
politics)."
Mr. Ryan Harrell is a
teacher at Holland New Tech, and he majored in Political Science at Hope
College. He said, "I feel as though right now our political system is
greatly influenced by business interests rather than the will of the people.
This is nothing new, however. It has been a recurrent theme throughout
history. I hope that as we progress as a nation there is a shift to pulling money
out of our political power structure." He also believes that students need
to pay attention to politics, even at a young age. He said, "You
(students) will inherit the problems (or solutions) produced by our current
politicians. The policies put in place today directly influence your future,
such as higher education options and job availability.”
Ms. Emily Wells, a science
teacher at Holland New Tech, commented, "Differing viewpoints in this
country have always contributed to its richness, and they should be respected.”
She went on to say, “I think that there is a growing systemic problem in
politics in which people are so divided along party lines that they cannot work
together to really solve any problems. Apparently they need a lesson in
collaboration." Collaboration is important enough at Holland New Tech that
it makes up 10% of every student’s grade.
Some were looking forward
to the re-election of President Barack Obama, and some were not. Noah Babinski,
a 9th grade student, felt that neither candidate was acceptable. "I didn't
like either of the candidates,” he said. “One had something I liked, and the
other the same. But altogether I wouldn't have wanted to vote for either of
them, mainly because I'm not a fan of politics. It’s too corrupt."
Election Day Weather
by Esella Niño
Holland, Mich.--This year on Election Day, people were lined up early and ready to vote even though it was freezing cold. The high temperature on November 6th was about 48 degrees, and the low was about 26 degrees. "My wife stood in line for roughly half an hour to forty-five minutes," said Jay Woods, a teacher at Holland New Tech. It seemed that most people didn't mind it being cold while they were standing in line waiting to vote. "Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church is our polling place, and the parking lot was very full at 7:30 AM," said Mr. Woods.
Many people probably thought it was freezing, but were nonetheless excited to vote and were not discouraged by the cold weather.
Holland, Mich.--This year on Election Day, people were lined up early and ready to vote even though it was freezing cold. The high temperature on November 6th was about 48 degrees, and the low was about 26 degrees. "My wife stood in line for roughly half an hour to forty-five minutes," said Jay Woods, a teacher at Holland New Tech. It seemed that most people didn't mind it being cold while they were standing in line waiting to vote. "Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church is our polling place, and the parking lot was very full at 7:30 AM," said Mr. Woods.
Many people probably thought it was freezing, but were nonetheless excited to vote and were not discouraged by the cold weather.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Tuesday Weather 11.13.12
by Ben Kouchnerkavich
Holland, Mich.--After seeing some snow showers move through last night that produced only a few hundredths of an inch of snow, skies will become mostly sunny today. Highs will only be in the upper-30s.
Wednesday will be partly cloudy. It will be breezy, with gusts to 25 mph possible. Highs in the mid-40s are expected.
For the rest of this week all the way through early next week, we'll see partly to mostly sunny skies, with highs in the upper-40s to lower-50s.
Holland, Mich.--After seeing some snow showers move through last night that produced only a few hundredths of an inch of snow, skies will become mostly sunny today. Highs will only be in the upper-30s.
Wednesday will be partly cloudy. It will be breezy, with gusts to 25 mph possible. Highs in the mid-40s are expected.
For the rest of this week all the way through early next week, we'll see partly to mostly sunny skies, with highs in the upper-40s to lower-50s.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Monday/Tuesday Weather 11.12-13/12
by Ben Kouchnerkavich
Holland, Mich.--After widespread rain moved through last night, we'll see a break in precipitation for the latter half of the morning and early afternoon, before some lake-effect snow showers become possible for the rest of the afternoon into tonight. It looks like just a few tenths of an inch in accumulation. It will still be windy today. Granted, it will not be as windy as it was on Sunday (Hudsonville reported a 58 mph wind gust yesterday). Still, gusts to 30 mph will be possible today. We already saw our high temperature for today occur at midnight (53 degrees), and temperatures for this afternoon are only expected to be in the upper-30s.
Holland, Mich.--After widespread rain moved through last night, we'll see a break in precipitation for the latter half of the morning and early afternoon, before some lake-effect snow showers become possible for the rest of the afternoon into tonight. It looks like just a few tenths of an inch in accumulation. It will still be windy today. Granted, it will not be as windy as it was on Sunday (Hudsonville reported a 58 mph wind gust yesterday). Still, gusts to 30 mph will be possible today. We already saw our high temperature for today occur at midnight (53 degrees), and temperatures for this afternoon are only expected to be in the upper-30s.
Mainly sunny skies are expected for Tuesday, with a high around 40 degrees. Breezy conditions with gusts to 20 mph will stick around.
For the rest of the upcoming work week, we are anticipating partly to mostly sunny skies, with highs in the mid to upper-40s. Next weekend is looking mostly sunny, with temperatures moderating to the lower-50s.
For the rest of the upcoming work week, we are anticipating partly to mostly sunny skies, with highs in the mid to upper-40s. Next weekend is looking mostly sunny, with temperatures moderating to the lower-50s.
Friday, November 9, 2012
HNT Mock Election Results
by Devon Viles, Lenora Mendoza, Kyle Shannon, Devin Banks, and Brandon Davis
Holland, Mich.--On November 6th at Holland New Tech, a mock presidential election was held. As it turned out, most students voted for the Democratic candidate, President Barack Obama. There were 60 votes for President Obama, and Governor Mitt Romney received only 23 votes. Votes were also cast for other candidates such as Ron Paul, who received three votes, Gio Pedraza, who obtained two votes, and Cyrus Dimock who also received two votes. Last but not least, Mr. Von Plagenhof received one vote. In this election, Holland New Tech voted for the Democratic candidate by a nearly two to one margin. This is a clear reversal of the traditional large margins that usually favor Republican candidates in Ottawa County.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Hurricane Sandy And Halloween
by Staff Reporters
Holland, Mich.-The unintended consequences of Hurricane Sandy were visible last night in Holland, as Trick-or-Treaters were far less numerous than normal for Halloween.
Cold temperatures, wind, and rain from the hurricane were the culprits. Some Holland Trick-or-Treaters stayed out for shorter periods, or and some chose not to go out at all. "Last night was too cold for some people," said Bryce Crenshaw. "My sister stopped at around 6:45 because her face was too cold."
Families offering treats were fewer than normal. According to Cyrus Dimock, "Fewer people were handing out candy last night." It was suggested by some HNT students that economics and the weather conspired to make some people not participate in the holiday. According to one student, "my parents couldn't afford to hand out candy this year. We are behind on our bills at home."
Candy alternatives were handed out by some people. Students reported getting pencils, popcorn, fruit, hot dogs, and CDs as well.
There were a few reports of traditional Halloween vandalism. Smashed pumpkins and other incidents of criminal mischief were not widespread, but did occur.
Holland, Mich.-The unintended consequences of Hurricane Sandy were visible last night in Holland, as Trick-or-Treaters were far less numerous than normal for Halloween.
Cold temperatures, wind, and rain from the hurricane were the culprits. Some Holland Trick-or-Treaters stayed out for shorter periods, or and some chose not to go out at all. "Last night was too cold for some people," said Bryce Crenshaw. "My sister stopped at around 6:45 because her face was too cold."
Families offering treats were fewer than normal. According to Cyrus Dimock, "Fewer people were handing out candy last night." It was suggested by some HNT students that economics and the weather conspired to make some people not participate in the holiday. According to one student, "my parents couldn't afford to hand out candy this year. We are behind on our bills at home."
Candy alternatives were handed out by some people. Students reported getting pencils, popcorn, fruit, hot dogs, and CDs as well.
There were a few reports of traditional Halloween vandalism. Smashed pumpkins and other incidents of criminal mischief were not widespread, but did occur.
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