Perfect Pet - January 8, 2010

   
MAXINE AND LARRY

Maxine and Larry are 10 year old female and male Shih Tzus.

Start your New Year out with lots of cuddles ... from Larry and Maxine! These darling Shih Tzus are super mellow and adore people. Shih Tzu's are generally one of the longer living breeds, so don't let their ages deter you from adopting them. Maxine and Larry have been together for so long we think it would be sad to separate them.

 

To find out more about Maxine and Larry, call the Marin Humane Societyat 415.506.6225 or visit MarinHumaneSociety.org.
  
 

Rain Totals This Morning

For the first time in more than two weeks, a healthy rain fell on the Bay this morning. Check out the latest storm totals from this morning's cold front.

 
The amounts fell true to form with the greatest total in the North Bay and tapering significantly as the rain moved south and east. 

If you do not see your town, try looking here. 

Rain to Snow Ratios

Hi,

I have a weather question for you. Feel free to shorten it if you put it in your daily section in the Mercury News.Recently

I was looking at snowfall amounts in the Northeast, and the "rainfall" amount is much less than the snowfall amount. What is the translation between the two? How many inches of snow are in one inch of rain?

Cristiano Gouveia

Hello,

Good question.

Just like almost everything pertaining to weather, there is no set answer. 

It varies by air mass.  "Warm" temperatures above 30 degrees can create a 7 to 1 ratio.  This wet heavy snow is also known as heart attack snow.  It puts a tremendous amount of strain on the body when removing it from your driveway.  Around 15 degrees, the ratio can jump to 20 to 1.  The snow becomes lighter and fluffy due to lower water content.  In an arctic air mass, the ratio can reach a dry powdery 40 to 1.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Mysterious Planet?

 

Mike:   Took a photo of the moon last night from the Almaden area and when downloaded, discovered a planet sitting just below the moon at about the 5 o'clock area.  Could not see the planet with the naked eye and was amazed when it showed up in the pic.  Do you know which planet it is?  My guess is Venus, but I cannot be sure.   Hopefully, one of the pics' attached in order to help you determine which planet this is.   Gary Ritchie garitch@sbcglobal.net

Hi Gary,

 

Looks like you have a ghost image, probably produced by the way your lens captured the overwhelming brightness of the moon’s light.  If you could dim the light enough to see the moon’s landscape, I believe the double imagery would go away.

 

Do have any friends who dabble in photography?  They may be able to provide an answer also.   

 

At no time will a planet appear as big as the moon. 

 

Hope this helps. 

 

Mike Nicco

KGO-TV Morning & Midday Meteorologist

mike.nicco@abc.com

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Cloud Cover Definitions

I really enjoy reading your Weather Fact Daily. Great job. I do have a question. I see a day described as partly Cloudy or partly Sunny what do these mean??? 

Hank Zoeller

Hi Hank, Nice hearing from. I appreciate your question. Partly cloudy and partly sunny are two of the ways we describe how much of the sky is covered by opaque clouds. These and other terms have an equivalent measurement in terms of percentage. A cloudy sky is 90-100% covered. A mostly cloudy is 70-80% covered. A partly cloudy/partly sunny sky has a wider range, 30-60%. If it were up to me, partly cloudy would be the lower end, just part of the sky is covered by clouds. I would have partly sunny describe the higher end; just a few parts of the sky are sunny. But it's not up to me so we can interchange them. A mostly clear/mostly sunny sky is 10-30% covered. Lastly, a clear/sunny sky is 0-10% covered. Hope this helps. Mike