> From the WeatherWatch archives
America has some of the wildest weather on the planet – the biggest and meanest tornados, many of the largest tropical storms, heat waves, blizzards, flash floods – you name it, they get it.
So WeatherWatch.co.nz decided to do a random comparison of current weather warnings/watches in the United States compared to New Zealand.
The graphic below indicates all the current weather warnings and watches in force across the United States of America.
– Source, NOAA
Below are the latest warnings and watches issued by MetService. (Top is land, bottom is marine)
Certainly a huge difference. Not only that, but the extremes are far more different. Even on our worst day, the size, geography and location of New Zealand means we really don’t see too much severe weather.
And finally – just how big is New Zealand compared to America? Well, see for yourself below:
– Source, Google Earth
With that size comparison in mind, it’s also worth noting – in the USA Weather Warnings/Watches graphic – that there are only two areas (roughly the same length as NZ) that don’t have warnings or watches in place – this is the western land areas and much of Alaska.
– WeatherWatch.co.nz
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Before you add a new comment, take note this story was published on 15 Jul 2010.
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Sam Jewel on 28/08/2020 9:55am
this is nice
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Ryan on 15/07/2010 6:55am
I always enjoy watching the weather channel when I visit the United States; theres just always something wild happening. I spent a year near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and loved the almost daily “severe thunderstorms” that rolled in when the humidity was up.
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Ken Ring on 15/07/2010 2:35am
The extreme weather works in opposites when it comes to comparing different hemispheres. There has just been a heatwave in the USA and Russia that has mirrored the unusual cold in NZ. Less than a week ago New York sweltered under 40degC. The reason is that both heat and cold were due to the moon making its way north from the south. That brings polar air up over the South Island of NZ but equatorial warm air up over northern hemisphere countries, made far worse by the recent lunar perigee.
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YeahNa on 15/07/2010 9:58pm
Ken, it could also have something to do with the fact that it is summer there and winter here, and local weather systems? By your reasoning, it would seem that all the lower Southern Hemisphere would have to be ‘unusually cold’ and all the higher Northern Hemisphere would have to be ‘unusually hot’. This is clearly not the case.
Also I’d be very interested if Weatherwatch could publish a 2009 comparison of what Ken Ring’s forecasts were and what the weather was actually like. I am interested in Ken’s theories but on days when I have taken notice, his forecasts seldom seem to be right. maybe such a comparison would prove one of us wrong.
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Ken Ring on 16/07/2010 2:26am
Well, not all, because there are differing topographies involved, but yes it is generally true, most in the southern hemisphere have been unusually cold at the same time as unusually hot in the northern hemisphere due to the moon’s declination. Obviously it is well monitored by season, elevation, latitude and other factors like proximity to ranges, desert or coast.
As for analysing me, I have no objection as long as we also analyse Weatherwatch and Metservice and NIWA at the same time. That’s fair.
As for me being seldom correct, take another look. I claim colder winter temperatures arrive when the moon is either at winter new moon or is moving from southern declination. This is easily proven. The coldest spells have been, this year, for say, Christchurch,
April 8-10, (moon moving north 6-12),
May 4-6 (moon moving north 4-6)
June 4-5(moon moving north 3-5) and June 13-14(new moon 12th)
July 1-4 (moon moving north 28 June-July 3) and July 10-14 (new moon 12th).
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Gary on 18/07/2010 7:23am
Bearing in mind that Ken will automatically reject the results of any such analysis just as he rejected YeahNa’s perfectly reasonable assertion that the forecasts he looked at were seldom correct. Jim Renwick did an analysis of Ken’s work in 2005 http://www.limestonehills.co.nz/Down%20On%20The%20Farm/Archives/2006/September06/AllByYourselfInTheMoonli.html
and found it no better than a random guess. No reason to suggest the results would be any different now, but Ken would again reject it because his entire business is based on the moon myth.
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Ken Ring on 18/07/2010 12:40pm
Meteorologists and their colleagues who hide behind false names will hardly give my method a fair appraisal because they think it threatens their jobs. It is sad but they seem to believe that if they can’t do longrange then no one can. Please read my last post Gary and then explain where they were not correct predictions. I showed why cold spells have occurred and when and they were predicted correctly. When are you going to debate rather than just stick the boot in?
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Gary on 19/07/2010 7:45am
We are debating Ken, and I’m winning, that’s why you’re so upset. Jim Renwick is no colleague of mine, but I’m sure he feels pretty secure in his job after seeing your success rate. Perhaps you could explain what was wrong with his method, beyond all the conspiracy theories.
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