Tag Archives: arts

Weather Journal of Lewis and Clark

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I recently came across the book, Lewis and Clark: Weather and Climate Data from the Expedition Journals, edited by NWS meteorologist Vernon Preston.

Ever since my visit to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch) in St. Louis, Missouri, I have been interested in the amazing journey of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.  Between May 1804 and September 1806, these explorers traveled 4,162 miles from the Mississippi River to the Oregon Coast. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, the “Corps of Discovery” had goals that were both scientific and commercial. Following their mandate, the expedition journals record the geography, flora, fauna, weather, and climate of the then uncharted territory of the American West.

Preston’s book focuses in on the weather and climate data found in the well-ordered journals.  It highlights both the positive and negative impacts the weather had on the expedition as well as how the explorers dealt with the elements. The book also supplements the journal data with route descriptions and historical maps.

A highly detailed book, it would be at home in the library of anyone interested in both meteorology and history.

Route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Weather and Art: Crossing the Delaware

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“Washington Crossing the Delaware” by Emanuel Leutze, is an iconic image of the American Revolution. The weather depicted in the painting, however, may not be accurate.

A new version of this celebrated subject by artist Mort Künstler explores some of these inaccuracies.  Through the research of historical documents, Künstler learned that the actual crossing took place under the cover night and in the midst of a nor’easter.  The artist also learned that the troops and equipment were probably transported on flat-bottomed ferries attached to cables that helped stabilize them in the storm.  Depicted in more realistic conditions, the painting’s main subject is still a determined George Washington.  However, it shows the general in the pragmatic posture of holding on to a cannon as he braces himself against the elements, which included strong winds, snow, and freezing rain.

Leutze created his better-known image in 1851, seventy-five years after the courageous events of December 1776.  His painting is an artistic interpretation that emphasizes the heroic status of General Washington. This is evident in the way he portrays the general illuminated by sunlight and standing tall in a rowboat as he crosses the icy Delaware River. The shape of the ice, in fact, is another questionable aspect of this classic painting. When frozen, the Delaware tends to form broad sheets of ice as opposed to the chunky crags that Leutze chose to illustrate.

After four years of renovations to its American Wing, the Metropolitan Museum Art returned Leutze’s work to public display earlier this week.  Künstler’s new painting entitled, “Washington’s Crossing: McKonkey’s Ferry, Dec. 26, 1776”, was unveiled at the New York Historical Society last month.

Emanuel Leutze's 1851 "Washington Crossing the Delaware"

Image Credit: Emanuel Leutze via Metmuseum

Mort Künstler's 2011, "Washington's Crossing: McKonkey's Ferry, Dec. 26, 1776”

Image Credit: Mort Künstler via AP

Weather and Art: John Constable

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On a recent visit to the Yale Center for British Art, I was enchanted by the cloud studies of John Constable.  He was an English Romantic painter who believed, “…the sky is the source of light in nature, and governs everything.”

Constable is well known for his grand landscapes that emphasize atmospheric phenomena and mood.  His sketch canvases, however, tell us even more about his fascination with the weather.  On the back of his cloud studies, he recorded the weather conditions that existed while he painted.  For example, on the back of the cloud study painted on September 13, 1821, the artist wrote,  “1 o’clock, slight wind at NW, which became tempestuous in the afternoon, with rain all the night following.”

Interested in the developments of the atmospheric sciences of his time, Constable is reported to have owned a copy of Thomas Forster’s Researches About Atmospheric Phenomena.  This book included Luke Howard’s 1802 scientific paper, Essay on the Modification of Clouds, which outlines the classification system for clouds that is still used today.  A self described “man of clouds”, Constable believed, “we see nothing truly till we understand it.”

Constable's "Study of Cirrus Clouds"

Constable's "Seascape Study with Rain Cloud"

Image Credit: John Constable via Wikipedia

Cleopatra’s Needle: A Weathering Study

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The New York City Parks and Recreation Department recently announced plans to study the effects of the city’s weather on Cleopatra’s Needle, an ancient Egyptian obelisk in Central Park.

The red granite monument stood in Egypt’s dry desert climate for more than 3,000 years before being sent to New York as a gift in 1881.  The obelisk has been enduring the city’s freeze-thaw cycles and acid rain ever since.  As a result, chemical weathering has taken a toll on the Needle’s four stone faces.  Many of its hieroglyphics have been worn away.  In fact, only two sides are still readable.  The west and south faces of the monument seem to be the most weathered, perhaps because the majority of storms arrive in the city from these two directions.

Cleopatra’s Needle, in addition to being a wonderful piece of world heritage, is now taking on the role of environmental laboratory.  Through the city’s study, we will learn more about the underlying causes and rates of weathering on the stone.  This data will, hopefully, inform the plan for the obelisk’s preservation moving forward.

Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park, NYC

Photo Credit: huelsmann.eu

Shelley’s Cloud

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After two days of cloudy skies and heavy rain, it was nice to have a bright sunny day for the Thanksgiving holiday here in New York City.

This quick turnaround in the weather reminded me of a piece of poetry that I recently came across.  The poem is called The Cloud and was written by Percy Shelley in 1820.  It uses the weather as a metaphor, but highlights the fact that the atmosphere is in a continuous state of change.  Clouds, visual indicators of atmospheric activity, are diverse in their forms and functions, but are nonetheless ephemeral phenomena.  A cumulus cloud, for example, usually only lasts  between five and forty minutes, depending on the wind and other environmental conditions.  Enjoy the poem.

Below is the final verse of the six stanza poem:

I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.

IMAX Tornado

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I recently saw the IMAX film, Tornado Alley, by storm-chaser/filmmaker, Sean Casey.

The film follows both the storm-chaser and a large team of scientists from the VORTEX 2 project.  Working separately, both groups were following storms in Tornado Alley, a wide open area in the central US that runs between the Rocky Mountains in the west and the Appalachian Mountains in the east.  This is where most of the tornadoes in the US occur.

The goal of the storm-chaser was to drive into a tornado and capture the experience on film. Casey built a special vehicle for the task called the TIV (Tornado Intercept Vehicle). Constructed of armor-like steel and aluminum plating with bullet-proof glass, it looks like a tank with a special IMAX camera turret on top.

The VORTEX 2 team was trying to get as close as possible to the storms without getting sucked inside.  They were monitoring the tornadoes with remote equipment and collecting data.  Their goal was to study the structure of the storms and try to understand why some thunderstorms become twisters and others do not. This sort of information could produce more accurate forecasts and increase the warning times for approaching tornadoes.

Overall, I enjoyed the film.  It was educational and had a sense of adventure with great footage. It is currently playing at the American Museum of Natural History in NY.

TIV parked on the street in New York

Photo Credit: MF at The Weather Gamut