Watch the NASA rocket launch tonight!

As cloud cover decreases behind this morning's cold front, which is allowing a drier air-mass to settle into the Commonwealth, visibility should be great in Virginia for tonight's scheduled NASA launch at Wallops Island. Here are the details on the rocket, its satellite load, its launch window, and who can see it:

The rocket is a United States Air Force Minotaur 1, carrying the ORS-1 satellite for the Department of Defense’s Operationally Responsive Space Office.

The launch was originally scheduled for Tuesday night, June 28th, but was scrubbed as a result of thunderstorms in the area. Tonight's launch, though, should be good to go weather-wise! Look east; you should be able to see the launch from as far west as the Blue Ridge!

If something (likely other than weather) scrubs the launch again tonight, never fear, there are backup launch days already scheduled from June 30 through July 10 for the same launch window each day of 8:28 to 11:28 PM Eastern. And tell your friends and family from North Carolina to New York on the East Coast (even inland) to look East tonight for the opportunity of viewing the rocket rising above Earth's atmosphere into Space!

If you'd rather watch the launch a little more "up close," it will be streamed on the web live at http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast .

Launch status can be followed on Twitter at: @NASA_Wallops

You can also call this phone number for updates on the launch status: 757-824-2050.

To learn more about this ORS-1 mission, click here: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/missions/ORS.html

Live vicariously through Carrie's recap of her trip to the Broadcast Meteorology Conference in Oklahoma City!

As many of you know from my absence on air the latter half of last week (June 22-25, 2011), I attended the American Meteorological Society's 39th Conference on Broadcast Meteorology. I am an AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (the little logo you see next to my name on TV), and attending this conference is part of my continuing education and development. If you already "Like" me on Facebook, then you were able to live vicariously through my experiences in Oklahoma as I posted video and photo updates, and engage in the weather conversation live as I reported on the various presenters.

You can view my online Facebook public photo album by clicking here (i.e., you don't have to join Facebook to view the pictures).

And you can also watch the videos I took of what I experienced, from flying past a thunderstorm at night to climbing a tower into the guts of a radome that houses a groundbreaking research radar on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. Enjoy!

Flying past a thunderstorm at night:


Climate expert Deke Arndt chats with me after his research presentation and summarizes what it means for us in the Mid-Atlantic:


Foucault's Pendulum at the University of Oklahoma, "proving that the Earth still rotates!"


Welcome to the National Weather Center at the University of Oklahoma:


I introduce you to our tour guide Dr. Kevin Kloesel at the National Weather Center, one of my meteorology professors from when I attended the meteorology school:


And here's your tour itinerary for the National Weather Center:


Check out OU:Prime, a research radar that is a "future generation" radar:


Dr. Kloesel introduces us to the OU:Prime radar:


Experience with me what it's like to climb up the OU:Prime radar tower and into the radome!


If you're interested in the technical aspects of the OU:Prime radar, here's one of the students conducting research with this new radar inside the radome:


Wondering what the other side of the radar dish looks like? I crawled on the other side to shoot this video:


Dr. Kloesel explains what it took to build this radar tower:


Back inside the A/C of the National Weather Center, Dr. Kloesel takes us into the large atrium and gives us a taste of his teaching philosophy and style:


Watch this behind-the-scenes clip of the research vehicle bay at the National Weather Center:


Here's one of the VORTEX2 research vehicles:


If you're interested in pursuing meteorology, I would love to point you to one of the coolest new educational tools I learned about at the conference. This is an online site for students called "Young Meteorologist." Click here to go to the website.

There was a fascinating economist speaking about some of his research pertaining to severe weather at the conference, and I snagged his book to learn more.

I'll be updating this blog posting with more details about the conference in coming days, so check back for more!
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose

It's Getting Dry...Again.

Summer is now in full swing, and from the standpoint of annual rainfall, it's looking scarily similar to last year. Our rainfall deficit to date is -2.97", compared to -3.35" at this point last year. We're ahead of the pace from 2010, but not by much, and with a dry weekend ahead, the gap will narrow even more. The top graphic above shows current drought conditions across the state. The area across far SE VA has been upgraded to a severe drought, while a broad area of moderate drought conditions persists for the rest of Hampton Roads, the Middle Peninsula, and the Northern Neck. There is a bright spot on the near horizon in the second graphic. An upper-level disturbance will move into the area on Monday (the blob of yellow across northern VA), bringing us a chance for rain. It's by no means a drought buster, but every bit helps. Enjoy the weekend! -Zach