Posted: 9:44 am Saturday, April 16th, 2016

By John Nelander Northeast winds will whip up Atlantic waters after the weekend storm system moves out, creating dangerous rip currents at the beach and hazardous marine conditions. (Credit: NWS-Miami) Strong rip currents and potentially hazardous marine conditions are forecast to replace the severe weather threat as the weekend wraps up and a new week begins. More severe storms are possible today, according to National Weather Service forecasters, and NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center continues to include the Florida peninsula in its threat for thunderstorm activity. But rain chances on Sunday fall to 20 percent as winds kick up out of the northeast. In combination with a moderate swell approaching Florida’s East Coast, the conditions will trigger a small craft advisory and rip current advisory through at least Tuesday night, forecasters said. Friday afternoon’s Palm Beach rainfall totals included 0.99 of an inch just north of the Par 3 Golf Course; and 1.09 inches along the Royal PalmWay corridor. OFFICIAL TOTALS: Palm Beach International Airport, 0.55 of an inch; Miami International Airport .090 of an inch; Fort Lauderdale, 0.51 of an inch; and Pompano Beach 1.49 inches. On the Treasure Coast, Fort Pierce reported 1.43 inches. Unofficial weather observers reported 1.26 inches in Boca Raton and 1.90 inches in Boynton Beach. The “Marginal” risk for severe weather shifts to southwestern Florida today but forecasters say a thunderstorm is possible anywhere in South Florida. (Credit: NWS-Miami) * TONING IT DOWN: If you check National Weather Service websites to see forecast discussions first-hand, you know that they have always been written in all upper case letters. That will change May 11 when forecasts and forecast discussions will use a mixed case format. The news in itself is pretty ho-hum, but what’s interesting is why the Weather Service hung on to caps for so long. NOAA has been talking about phasing out all caps since the 1990s, when writing in all capitalletters on the Internet became equated with angry shouting. (Credit: NOAA) The reason for the slow change was antiquated technology that hung on at the agency — teleprinters were hooked up to phone lines that only recognized upper case type. “It took the next 20 years or so for users of Weather Service products to phase out the last of the old equipment that would only recognize teletype,” . notes that using all caps goes back to the earliest days of the telegraph era. The first message sent via telegraph in 1844 was: “WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT.” Teleprinters were introduced in the early 1900s and remained in use until the 1980s. Look for subtle changes in the content of weather discussions as the new format kicks in. Discussions have always used lots of shorthand, slashes and ellipses, and they generally stick to meteorological facts and figures. But not always — there is an occasional infusion of high drama. You can see some of the exceptions in a forecast discussion created by Indianastorm chaser . Here’s one during the landfall of Hurricane Rita in September of 2005 from Lake Charles, La.: “DISCUSSION…FIRST EXPERIENCE IN A HURRICANE FOR THIS ILLINOIS BOY. PARTICULARLY MISSING HOME RIGHT NOW. SOUNDS AS IF A 747 IS SITTING UPON THE ROOF REVVING ITS ENGINES.” And the NWS’ dramatic discussion of Hurricane Katrina from the New Orleans Weather Service a month earlier: “…DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED… HURRICANE KATRINA…A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH…RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969. “MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS…PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL…LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. “THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAINMAJOR DAMAGE…INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE. “HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY… A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT. “AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD…AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS…PETS…AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.”

About the Author John Nelander is a freelance writer, book editor and publisher in West Palm Beach. Weather Matters features news and observations about the weather with a focus on what's happening in South Florida. The blog also looks at the latest studies on climate change as well as what's happening in the weather forecasting biz. His website is www.pbeditorialservices.com. Connections: