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Weather and Eagle #16's Journey North Eagle #16's Journey Click to see full map. Analysis by Glen Schuster satlab@ns.computer.net Eagle #16 moved over eight degrees in latitude between March 23rd and April 3rd!! Then he kept on going through April 8th--for a total of 10 degrees! This isn't a bunny....it's an Eagle right? Let's take a look. Here is a weather map from March 30th. Notice the LOW pressure system just to the West of where our Eagle #16 was? The wind flow around a LOW pressure system moves counter-clockwise. So with the system to the West, what direction was the wind flow? Did it give Eagle #16 a good tailwind? Maybe we should look at the air flow a few thousand feet above the surface (850mb) for that day. The winds were nearly nonexistent. However, the flow of wind was to the North at the surface. So whatever wind was present, it made for good flying for Eagle #16. The winds might have been strong enough to persuade Eagle #16 to fly. Eagle #16 flew a long way between the 29th of March and the 3rd of April. Can you figure out how far? Let's discuss what days were the best for flying. We already figured out that a favorable day for winds to fly was March 30th. Was most of the flying done then? The winds were consistently light throughout the rest of the period. It would be a good guess, then, that the winds, or lack thereof, were a determining factor in the movement of Eagle #16. How do you think Eagle #16 split up the time? Do you think he went all at once or over several days? Eagle #16 made another move that is worthy of mentioning between April 3rd and April 8th. But it is not nearly as remarkable as the move between March 30th and April 3rd. Do you think that Eagle #16 is slowing down because his nest is nearby? Is he just resting or will he keep on going. He's an eagle, not a bunny, right? What was the weather after April 8th? Glen Schuster, Meteorologist Josh Danziger, Student Meteorologist U.S. Satellite Laboratory Tarrytown, NY Technology for Remote Sensing in Schools satlab@ns.computer.net