Feb 26, 2014
Feb 24, 2014
Feb 23, 2014
Forecast Verification Update
13 new tornado reports have been added to the SPC storm reports for February 20th. Several more tornado reports have been added along the northern border of my slight risk area, several have been added in the moderate risk zone, three were added near the southern edge of the slight risk, and three were added to the northeast of the risk area:
Overall, this indicates that my forecast was more accurate than it had seemed before.
Feb 21, 2014
February 20 Tornadoes and Forecast Verification
I made a 9 day forecast for this event which was one day late, and around 400 miles to the southwest.
Dew points were generally mid 50s in central Illinois to around 60 in southern Illinois.Here are some rapid refresh analysis charts from 12Z:
Feb 20, 2014
Tornado Threat Today
Expect thunderstorms to develop in eastern Missouri and eastern Arkansas by 20Z (2 PM) today. Primary hazards should be damaging wind and tornadoes. CAPE will be over 1,000 j/kg in Arkansas and Mississippi, with 0-1 km helicity above 200. In southern Illinois, CAPE will only be in the 500 - 1,000 range, but with 0-1 km helicity above 450.
Feb 19, 2014
Feb 18, 2014
Tornado Outlook Feb 18
There is a possibility of tornadoes during the afternoon and overnight on Thursday.
Feb 17, 2014
Tornado Outlook Feb 17
The tornado threat has been moved up one day to Thursday, Feb 20. The severity of the threat is reduced because of weaker instability.
Northeast Snow
Just two days after the East Coast was hit with a major winter storm, this Nor'easter hit the Northeast with more heavy snow:
This time, areas near to the coast received heavy snow amounts:
8" in Rhode Island (North Kingstown, Westerly)
15" in Massachusetts (Sandwich)
17.5" in Maine (Southwest Harbor)
A 52 mph wind gust was reported at Nantucket.
8" in Rhode Island (North Kingstown, Westerly)
15" in Massachusetts (Sandwich)
17.5" in Maine (Southwest Harbor)
A 52 mph wind gust was reported at Nantucket.
Feb 15, 2014
Chelyabinsk Meteor Impact and Shock Wave
Today (February 15th) is the first anniversary of the Chelyabinsk meteor impact, which produced about 30 times the energy of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. The shock wave damaged 7,200 buildings in six cities. At least 1,491 people were injured, mostly from broken glass from windows.
Perhaps in part because of the meteor strike, space agencies from around the world are establishing a group to help coordinate a response to any threatening asteroids in the future. The risk of another similar impact is not negligible. For example, 2000 SG344 is estimated to be over five times the mass of the Chelyabinsk meteor, and has a 1 in 417 chance of impact with Earth between 2069 and 2113.
Perhaps in part because of the meteor strike, space agencies from around the world are establishing a group to help coordinate a response to any threatening asteroids in the future. The risk of another similar impact is not negligible. For example, 2000 SG344 is estimated to be over five times the mass of the Chelyabinsk meteor, and has a 1 in 417 chance of impact with Earth between 2069 and 2113.
Feb 14, 2014
Northeast Snow Update
Snowfall amounts update:
...MASSACHUSETTS... LUDLOW 16.0 ASHFIELD 15.0 SPENCER 15.0 SOUTHWICK 13.6 PLAINFIELD 13.4 SAVOY 12.5 ACTON 11.0 BECKET 11.0 SUDBURY 11.0 SHREWSBURY 10.8 WESTBOROUGH 10.5 CONCORD 8.8 ...MAINE... FARMINGTON 14.0 GREENWOOD 14.0 CORNISH 1 SSW 13.4 ISLAND FALLS 13.0 NORTH WINDHAM 3 N 11.0 SCARBOROUGH 11.0 ASHLAND SSE 10.5 CASCO 2 SW 10.0 KINGBURY 2 SSE 10.0 LIVERMORE FALLS 1 E 10.0 PORTLAND JETPORT 9.2 PARIS 4 E 9.0 CARIBOU 1 N 5.0 ...NEW HAMPSHIRE... WASHINGTON 3 ESE 11.6 GILFORD 3 SSE 10.0 PETERBOROUGH 8.5 MEREDITH 8.1 EAST LEMPSTER 8.0 NORTH SANDWICH 3 SE 8.0 SOUTH HUDSON 7.6 HENNIKER 1 SSE 7.5 NASHUA 7.0 RINDGE 7.0 CONCORD 6.6 BEDFORD 6.0 ...NEW YORK... JEWETT 25.8 COLUMBIAVILLE 25.0 HOPEWELL JUNCTION 22.0 POUGHKEEPSIE 21.0 HARRIMAN 20.5 STONY POINT 17.2 EAST NASSAU 16.5 BAYVILLE 14.6 ALBANY 1 WNW 14.5 PORT JERVIS 14.5 CENTRAL PARK 12.5 BAYSIDE 11.8 LA GUARDIA ARPT 7.7 JFK ARPT 6.9 BROOKLYN 3.1 NW 3.5
...VERMONT... MT. HOLLY 20.0 POMFRET 2.6 N 18.3 NORTHFIELD 17.0 CORINTH 15.7 WEST HALIFAX 0.2 SE 14.5 CHESTER 14.0 WEST RUTLAND 1.2 N 13.4 ARLINGTON 0.9 SSW 13.0 PITTSFORD 13.0 EAST MONTPELIER 12.0 JEFFERSONVILLE 12.0 MONTPELIER 2.1
Eastern US Snow and Ice Storm
Over the last four days (Feb 11-14), this storm produced 28.5" of snow in Virginia, 3" of sleet in South Carolina, and 1" of freezing rain in Louisiana and South Carolina:
Winter storm warnings were issued from Texas to the Northeast:
In parts of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, the unusual step of issuing a civil emergency message (light pink) was taken because of freezing rain:
This storm caused 6,500 flights to be cancelled and 800,000 customers to lose power across the eastern US.
Here is the full list of snow, sleet, and freezing rain reports from the Weather Prediction Center:
On February 8th, this 984 mb storm just off the east coast of Japan hit Tokyo with 10.6" of snow, the most in 45 years. Sendai received 13.7" of snow, the most in 78 years.
Here is the full list of snow, sleet, and freezing rain reports from the Weather Prediction Center:
...SELECTED STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL IN INCHES FROM 900 AM EST TUE FEB 11 THROUGH 300 AM EST FRI FEB 14... ...CONNECTICUT... FAIRFIELD 14.0 MILFORD 13.5 DARIEN 13.0 NORWALK 12.0 GREENWICH 11.0 WINSTED 11.0 NORTH HAVEN 10.7 BERLIN 10.0 HARTFORD 10.0 ROXBURY 10.0 BRIDGEPORT ARPT 9.5 BRISTOL 9.0 COVENTRY 9.0 WEST HARTFORD 7.0 ...MASSACHUSETTS... SOUTHWICK 13.0 SAVOY 12.5 LUDLOW 12.0 ACTON 11.0 BECKET 11.0 SUDBURY 11.0 WESTBOROUGH 10.5 WORCESTER 3 WNW 10.5 GRAFTON 10.0 HUNTINGTON 10.0 LOWELL 10.0 SPENCER 10.0 READING 9.0 FRAMINGHAM 7.8 MILLIS 7.5 LUNENBURG 7.2 ...MAINE... CASCO 2 SW 10.0 LIVERMORE FALLS 1 E 10.0 PARIS 4 E 9.0 AUBURN 2 W 8.5 LEWISTON 2 E 8.3 BRIDGTON 8.2 WINTHROP 1 ENE 8.0 YARMOUTH 8.0 SACO 7.7 DURHAM 7.3 ARUNDEL 7.0 EASTPORT 6.3 SURRY 2 E 6.1 KINGBURY 2 SSE 6.0 MILO 6.0 ...NEW HAMPSHIRE... WASHINGTON 3 ESE 11.6 GILFORD 3 SSE 10.0 PETERBOROUGH 8.5 MEREDITH 8.1 EAST LEMPSTER 8.0 NORTH SANDWICH 3 SE 8.0 SOUTH HUDSON 7.6 HENNIKER 1 SSE 7.5 NASHUA 7.0 RINDGE 7.0 CONCORD 6.6 BEDFORD 6.0 ...NEW JERSEY... KEARNY 15.0 EAST RUTHERFORD 14.4 ROCKAWAY TWP 14.0 VERONA 14.0 WAYNE 13.0 WESTFIELD 13.0 PENNSAUKEN 12.1 BASKING RIDGE 12.0 NEWPORT 12.0 WASHINGTON 12.0 PITTSGROVE TWP 1.9 S 11.8 CHERRY HILL 11.7 MORRISTOWN 11.6 CAMDEN 11.5 STEWARTSVILLE 11.5 ...NEW YORK... BAYVILLE 14.6 HARRIMAN 14.5 PORT JERVIS 14.5 COMMACK 14.0 BAY SHORE 13.5 WOODBURY 13.5 BRONXVILLE 13.3 POTTER HOLLOW 13.0 CONGERS 12.8 SOUTH BERNE 12.0 DOUGLASTON 11.5 EARLTON 11.5 DURHAM 11.0 POUGHKEEPSIE 10.6 HARRISON 10.5 CENTRAL PARK 9.5 LA GUARDIA ARPT 7.7 ALBANY 6.3 JFK ARPT 5.5 BROOKLYN 3.1 NW 3.5 ...PENNSYLVANIA... GLENCOE 1 E 22.5 DINGMANS FERRY 21.0 DOVER 20.0 SEVEN VALLEYS 18.0 HAZLETON 16.0 LOGANVILLE 16.0 NEW FREEDOM 16.0 EXTON 15.2 DOWNINGTOWN 15.0 SPORTING HILL 15.0 SHREWSBURY 14.5 EASTON 14.0 ALLENTOWN ARPT 13.6 PERKASIE 13.2 MILLERSVILLE 12.6 PHILADELPHIA INTL ARPT 9.8 HARRISBURG INTL ARPT 7.9 ...RHODE ISLAND... WEST GLOCESTER 9.6 BURRILLVILLE 9.0 NORHT FOSTER 8.6 NORTH SCITUATE 6.5 WOONSOCKET 6.4 CUMBERLAND 6.0 ...VERMONT... BELLOWS FALLS 9.5 SOUTH NEWFANE 9.0 TOWNSHEND 8.0 WOODFORD 8.0 CHESTER 7.0 WASHINGTON 7.0 LUDLOW 3 S 6.8 CAVENDISH 6.5 MT. HOLLY 5.5 MONTPELIER 2.1 ...SELECTED STORM TOTAL FREEZING RAIN ICE AMOUNTS IN INCHES FROM 900 AM EST TUE FEB 11 THROUGH 300 AM EST FRI FEB 14... ...CONNECTICUT... MERIDEN 0.30 NAUGATUCK 0.30 DANBURY AIRPORT 0.20 NEW HAVEN 0.20 ...NEW JERSEY... FORT LEE 0.30 ...NEW YORK... SOUTH OZONE PARK 0.30 STONY BROOK 0.20 ...SELECTED PEAK WIND GUSTS IN MILES PER HOUR EARLIER IN THE EVENT... ...MASSACHUSETTS... ROCKPORT 54 CHATHAM 53 EAST FALMOUTH 52 ORLEANS 52 MILTON 3 SSW 51 ...SELECTED STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL IN INCHES WHERE THE EVENT HAS ENDED... ...ALABAMA... CULLMAN 10.0 HUNTSVILLE 7.9 SSE 10.0 EVA 9.0 UNION GROVE 7.0 HAMPTON COVE 2.1 WNW 6.0 OWENS CROSSROADS 5 NW 6.0 PISGAH 1.8 W 6.0 TOWN CREEK 6.0 HUNTSVILLE 4 ESE 5.0 MOULTON 12 W 5.0 TRINITY 4 SW 5.0 ROGERSVILLE 6 ESE 4.8 DOUBLE SPRINGS 2 N 4.5 GOOD HOPE 4.0 MOORES MILL 7 SSE 4.0 NEW MARKET 4.0 BIRMINGHAM 3 WSW 3.0 SYLVAN SPRINGS 3.0 ...WASHINGTON DC... DALECARLIA RESERVIOR 10.0 WASHINGTON 1 E 8.5 ADAMS MORGAN 1 S 4.5 ...DELAWARE... NEWARK 14.1 NEWPORT 12.0 BEAR 11.0 NEW CASTLE 10.0 WILMINGTON ARPT 10.0 ...GEORGIA... BATESVILLE 10.0 SUMMERVILLE 9.4 ENE 9.8 CORNELIA 2 SW 8.5 MOUNTAIN CITY 2 SW 7.5 ELBERTON 7.0 CARLTON 1.9 SSE 6.2 CUMMING 5.2 S 6.2 CLARKSVILLE 6.0 RABUN GAP 2.1 SW 5.9 MCCAYSVILLE 5.7 WSW 4.6 CARNESVILLE 7.3 SW 4.5 ...KENTUCKY... JENKINS 14.0 DORTON 12.0 MOUTHCARD 12.0 CUMBERLAND 11.0 ELKHORN CITY 11.0 MOUSIE 11.0 ROCKHOUSE 9.0 THORNTON 9.0 PIKEVILLE 8.0 HARLAN 7 SE 7.0 LUNCH 7.0 BENHAM 6.5 MIDDLESBORO 6.0 ...MARYLAND... GLYNDON 1 ESE 26.0 WESTMINSTER 2 SE 24.8 OWINGS MILLS 24.0 REISTERSTOWN 4 ENE 24.0 OAKLAND 23.0 GAITHER 2 SE 22.0 REDHOUSE 22.0 DAMASCUS 3 SSW 21.3 FREDERICK 3 NW 20.5 FROSTBURG 20.0 NEW MARKET 19.0 GLYNDON 18.0 NORRISVILLE 18.0 MOUNT AIRY 17.0 WESTERNPORT 17.0 GAITHERSBURG 2.5 SW 13.0 BWI ARPT 12.3 ...NORTH CAROLINA... BOONES HILL 21.0 BOONVILLE 19.0 STATESVILLE 3 N 18.0 MOUNT AIRY 17.0 GLADE VALLEY 15.0 SALUDA 0.5 N 15.0 WEST JEFFERSON 14.5 IRON STATION 14.0 FAIRVIEW 13.0 JONAS RIDGE 12.0 ROARING GAP 12.0 LINVILLE 11.0 CLYDE 10.5 MORAVIAN FALLS 9.0 SEVEN DEVILS 9.0 WAYNESVILLE 9.0 GREENSBORO 6 N 7.0 PIEDMONT TRIAD ARPT 7.0 RALEIGH 8 S 6.0 CHARLOTTE 6 SSE 5.5 ...SOUTH CAROLINA... CLOVER 10.0 HEATH SPRINGS 2 NNW 8.0 KERSHAW 6.8 ESE 8.0 LANCASTER 6 NNE 8.0 SILVERSTREET 5 WNW 8.0 MAULDIN 5 E 7.5 ROCK HILL 2.8 W 7.5 BUFFALO 7.0 POMARIA 5.0 NW 6.7 ROCK HILL 6.5 GREER 5.6 NW 6.3 BETHUNE 6.0 LANCASTER MILL 6.0 LAURENS 6.0 NEWBERRY 6.0 WINNSBORO 6.0 ANDERSON 5.3 N 5.8 GREENWOOD 3 N 5.5 HODGES 5.5 NE 5.3 CHESTERFIELD 5.0 YORK 3 S 4.5 ANDERSON 7 SW 4.0 LEXINGTON 4.0 SENECA 4.0 CHESTER 3.5 ...TENNESSEE... JONESBOROUGH 2.5 SSW 11.3 NORRIS 0.6 NW 11.0 OOLTEWAH 2.0 S 9.7 BENTON 2.3 ESE 9.0 OAK RIDGE 5.7 NE 8.6 ERWIN 11 SSW 6.0 CROSSVILLE 5.0 LIMESTONE 5 ENE 5.0 GATLINBURG 4.0 HUNTSVILLE 4.0 TRACY CITY 6 WSW 3.0 LYNNVILLE 7 NNE 2.5 LAWRENCEBURG 6 E 2.0 MONTEREY 5 E 2.0 JAMESTOWN 1.2 ...VIRGINIA... PILOT 1 W 28.5 ALUM RIDGE 26.3 COPPER HILL 23.0 RADFORD 22.0 CAVE SPRING 21.5 ROANOKE 21.0 HAYWOOD 20.7 LINDEN 2 N 20.5 GREENVILLE 3 E 20.0 WINCHESTER 20.0 MILLBORO 19.2 HEATHERSTONE 19.0 HARDY 18.5 PURCELLVILLE 17.0 SALEM CITY 16.0 SNOW CREEK 15.0 STUARTS DRAFT 15.0 LAUREL RIDGE 13.0 REAGAN NATIONAL AIRP 6.0 RICHMOND INTL ARPT 3.7 ...WEST VIRGINIA... MOUNT STORM 27.5 CHERRY GROVE 6 WSW 25.0 BAYARD 22.2 HARMAN 21.0 BELINGTON 20.0 MONTROSE 20.0 BERKELEY 19.3 HARPERS FERRY 18.0 BURKES GARDEN 17.0 CLINTONVILLE 17.0 CRAIGSVILLE 17.0 DAVIS 17.0 GREENBANK 17.0 ATHENS 16.0 ...SELECTED STORM TOTAL SLEET AMOUNTS IN INCHES WHERE THE EVENT HAS ENDED... ...LOUISIANA... FARMERVILLE 1.00 BASTROP 0.15 OAK GROVE 0.10 ...NORTH CAROLINA... HAMPSTEAD 2 NNW 0.50 ...SOUTH CAROLINA... FOREST ACRES 2 SSE 3.00 AIKEN 2.00 BISHOPVILLE 2.00 SPRINGDALE 7 WNW 2.00 BAMBERG 1.00 FORK 1 E 0.30 ...SELECTED STORM TOTAL FREEZING RAIN IN INCHES WHERE THE EVENT HAS ENDED... ...ALABAMA... BESSEMER 4 SW 0.70 ...ARKANSAS... BRADLEY 0.25 ...GEORGIA... MILLEN 5 S 0.75 SYLVANIA 0.75 AUGUSTA 0.50 MARIETTA 0.50 PORTAL 0.50 THOMSON 0.50 MARTINEZ 0.30 LINCOLNTON 0.20 FLOWERY BRANCH 1 SSE 0.10 ...LOUISIANA... TALLULAH 1.00 BOSSIER CITY 0.30 SHONGALOO 5 N 0.30 WEST MONROE 0.30 BRADLEY 0.25 HOMER 1 N 0.25 PINE PRAIRIE 0.25 SHREVEPORT 0.25 WINNSBORO 0.25 KEACHI 8 ESE 0.20 ESLER REGIONAL ARPT 0.14 CLARKSVILLE CITY 0.10 COLUMBIA 5 NNW 0.10 LONGVIEW 0.10 RUSTON 7 NW 0.10 SHREVEPORT 10 SSW 0.10 ...MISSISSIPPI... CARROLLTON 0.20 VICKSBURG 0.20 ACKERMAN 0.10 CLINTON 4 S 0.10 HAZLEHURST 0.10 LOUISE 0.10 MAYERSVILLE 0.10 NATCHEZ 0.10 ROLLING FORK 0.10 ROXIE 0.10 YAZOO CITY 0.10 ...NORTH CAROLINA... WRIGHTSBORO 1 SSE 0.56 CASTLE HAYNE 3 SSW 0.25 NEWELL 3 S 0.25 WILMINGTON 0.20 ROCKINGHAM 0.15 RALEIGH 5 NE 0.13 CHAPEL HILL 0.10 EMIT 1 SE 0.10 HAMPSTEAD 0.10 LILLINGTON 5 S 0.10 MASONBORO 0.10 SOUTHERN PINES 0.10 SANFORD 1 S 0.07 ...SOUTH CAROLINA... CROSS 1.00 HARLEYVILLE 1.00 ORANGEBURG 1 N 1.00 SMOAKS 1.00 MONCKS CORNER 0.75 AIKEN 0.70 BARNWELL 0.70 COLUMBIA 0.50 HAMPTON 0.50 KNIGHTSVILLE 1 E 0.50 MANNING 0.50 MCCORMICK 0.50 MULBERRY 2 SW 0.50 OLD SANTEE CAN 1 WNW 0.50 ORANGEBURG 0.50 SAINT MATTHEWS 0.50 SUMMERVILLE 1 S 0.50 FLORENCE 1 WNW 0.30 ...TEXAS... BULLARD 7 WNW 0.25 CHRISTOVAL 4 WSW 0.20 APPLEBY 0.12 CLARKSVILLE CITY 0.10 LONGVIEW 0.10 SAN ANGELO 4 W 0.10
On February 8th, this 984 mb storm just off the east coast of Japan hit Tokyo with 10.6" of snow, the most in 45 years. Sendai received 13.7" of snow, the most in 78 years.
Feb 12, 2014
New Long Range Tornado Outlook Graphic
I am going to begin experimenting with my own long range tornado forecasts. These will include scenarios with higher uncertainty than would outlooks from the Storm Prediction Center. This will allow for longer range outlooks in some cases. In addition, the Storm Prediction Center's outlooks do not include a tornado outlook beyond day 1.
Feb 8, 2014
6 Intense UK Storms
Yesterday (Feb 7), another very intense storm hit the British Isles. This one bottomed out at 941 mb.
This has been at least the 6th storm of 950 mb or lower to hit the British Isles since the 929 mb storm on Christmas eve.
Feb 6, 2014
Brutal Winter of 2014 Update
On February 4th, this storm prompted winter storm warnings from the Southern Plains to the Northeast:
This storm produced 2" of sleet at Cape Girardeau, IN, 0.33" of freezing rain at Northeast Philadelphia, and 0.25" of freezing rain at Central Park, NY. 0.50" ice of accumulated at South Ozone Park, Queens, NY; Wilson, AR; Atoka, TN; Martin, TN; Manchester, MD; Metuchen, NJ; and 0.75" of ice accumulated at Marion, KY.
Snowfall amounts include 11.5" at Hutchinson, KS; 13.2" at Topeka, KS; 15.5" at Eskridge, KS; 15" at Sayre, PA; 11.4" at Montague, NJ; 15" at Bainbridge, NY; 12.5" at Torrington, CT; 10.6" at Boston Logan, and 13.2" at Lunenburg, MA. At Chicago, the 7" of snow from this storm pushed the seasonal total to 59.6", already making it the 8th snowiest season since 1884, and the 3rd snowiest up to February 5th.
Also on February 4th, a 944 mb storm hit the British Isles, this time further south than previous storms from this season had:
Yesterday morning (Feb 5), the temperature at Denver dropped to -19. A record low maximum temperature of -1 was set on February 5th.
So far this winter, Waco, TX has had a record setting 53 freezes.
Starting in November, and continuing through January, temperatures have been far below normal for the Midwest, and below normal for almost the entire eastern two-thirds of the US:
In Siberia, temperatures were as low as -73 at Ojmjakon on February 1, and at Verhojansk on February 3 and 4.
Snowfall amounts include 11.5" at Hutchinson, KS; 13.2" at Topeka, KS; 15.5" at Eskridge, KS; 15" at Sayre, PA; 11.4" at Montague, NJ; 15" at Bainbridge, NY; 12.5" at Torrington, CT; 10.6" at Boston Logan, and 13.2" at Lunenburg, MA. At Chicago, the 7" of snow from this storm pushed the seasonal total to 59.6", already making it the 8th snowiest season since 1884, and the 3rd snowiest up to February 5th.
Also on February 4th, a 944 mb storm hit the British Isles, this time further south than previous storms from this season had:
So far this winter, Waco, TX has had a record setting 53 freezes.
Starting in November, and continuing through January, temperatures have been far below normal for the Midwest, and below normal for almost the entire eastern two-thirds of the US:
Feb 3, 2014
Linux Mint vs Windows
I have been using Windows for a long time now, but after reading the article Convenience Before Freedom: How Tech Companies Are Slowly Trapping You by Chris Hoffman last year, I decided it was time to see how hard it would be to get out of the Windows environment, just in case Microsoft ever locked everything down too much. I gave Linux Mint a try. Here's what happened.
The first thing I noticed was that USB devices such as a Netgear wireless network adapter or a game controller just worked immediately. No waiting for drivers to install like on Windows. Even a Sprint mobile broadband card was usable without installing anything. It just showed up as a CDMA connection when I clicked the network icon on the lower right.
With Linux, so many things are just built into the operating system - things that would require installing third party software on Windows. For example, I can just type md5sum "file name" in the terminal and it will calculate the MD5 for that file. For files with long names, I can hit the tab key to auto complete. Another example is that simply typing lscpu into the terminal produces vastly more information about the CPU than I could ever get out of Windows. Mounting ISOs can be done by right clicking on the file, and selecting open with, disk image mounter.
It is nice to not have to worry about malware so much while using Linux. And if something does go wrong (probably something other than malware) reinstalling is easy. No wondering if the product key can be found or if it will still work.
On windows, the updater sometimes does strange things such as suddenly showing up, saying that it is downloading updates, then disappearing. Why does it do that? On Linux Mint, the update manager icon is always visible, doesn't disappear, and doesn't try to install anything automatically.
The Linux Mint Software Manager makes it easy to see what might be worth installing because reviews are listed right next to each item.
Basic tasks such as browsing with Firefox, word processing etc. were no problem.
I was impressed by the fact that the video players that Linux Mint came with by default could play any video I could find. I later installed Openshot and found that it could do some things (but not all) better than any free video editor I came across on Windows.
The desktop backgrounds were outstanding.
Linux Mint also came with a decent BitTorrent client, Transmission.
Other software I later installed and found particularly useful includes:
Hardinfo - system information and benchmark tool
System Load Indicator - displays CPU, RAM, swap space, hard disk, networking
UNetbootin - creates live USB drives
Wine - compatibility layer for Windows applications
GParted - partition manager
Stellarium - planetarium software
Sadly, some of the game system emulators that I use almost everyday don't work quite as well on Linux as they do on Windows. Also, I couldn't get Google Earth to stop crashing on Linux Mint. So I am still using Windows most of the time now. But I am very happy to know that an open source operating system can do most things as well or better than Windows. With a little more work, it just might be able to completely replace Windows for me.
Feb 1, 2014
938 MB Storm
Yesterday (Jan 31) a storm nearing the British Isles was at 938 mb:
The minimum pressure of Hurricane Sandy was 940 mb. At 01:00 GMT (7 hours after the time of the images above), a buoy about 100 miles off the west coast of Ireland reported 41 foot waves.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)