Hi, so since a few days ago I watch the Windy Weather radar because I see a Anomaly in the weather readings. I perceive it as a Radar like cone around 2 mayor points in Poland, I googled what I could be and came to the conclusion that it must be a Doppler-Lidar to get weather readings. The problem is that around middle Europe there is nowhere near a similar Anomaly like this. Normally it has a "natural" shape or not linear, like clouds are shaped.
Why is that so?

Pipelines are failing and in logs it is showing no such method found, i am pasting the logs below. Please help me-

Started by user Zen Admin > git rev-parse --resolve-git-dir /valib/jenkins/caches/git-4a497cbeca7fbace311ce2fe6be29d0e/.git # timeout=10 Setting origin to https://gitlab.com/org/no-framework.git > git config remote.origin.url https://gitlab.com/org/no-framework.git # timeout=10 Fetching origin... Fetching upstream changes from origin > git --version # timeout=10 > git --version # 'git version 2.34.1' > git config --get remote.origin.url # timeout=10 using GIT_ASKPASS to set credentials gitlab-credentials > git fetch --tags --force --progress -- origin +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/* # timeout=10 Seen branch in repository origin/AddField/AttachEmail Seen branch in repository origin/Feature/Postman_collection Seen branch in repository origin/add-client_name-and-customer_name Seen branch in repository origin/add-customer_name-client_name Seen branch in repository origin/adding_qa_image_promotion_stage Seen branch in repository origin/aws_from_dev_config Seen branch in repository origin/aws_from_master Seen branch in repository origin/ayush_sphinxDocumentation Seen branch in repository origin/char-limit Seen branch in repository origin/cicd_rules Seen branch in repository origin/correct-loggers-notifications Seen branch in repository origin/defectdojo_jobs Seen branch in repository origin/dev-env-testing Seen branch in repository origin/dev-sc-POC Seen branch in repository origin/dev_config Seen branch in repository origin/dockerfile-non-root-user Seen branch in repository origin/email-char-limit-problem-notifications Seen branch in repository origin/emailID-limit-change-migration-test Seen branch in repository origin/endpoint_update Seen branch in repository origin/final-sms-daily-reporting Seen branch in repository origin/final-sms-daily-reporting-with-dev-config Seen branch in repository origin/fix-build-image Seen branch in repository origin/fix-migration-tracking Seen branch in repository origin/fix-notification-upgrade Seen branch in repository origin/fix-security-notifications Seen branch in repository origin/fix-ses-email-exception Seen branch in repository origin/fix-sonarqube-defectdojo-notitifications Seen branch in repository origin/fix-whitenoise Seen branch in repository origin/helm-fix Seen branch in repository origin/helm_security Seen branch in repository origin/integrate-swagger Seen branch in repository origin/integrate-vodafone-api Seen branch in repository origin/international_isd_code_support Seen branch in repository origin/local_test Seen branch in repository origin/logger-error-fix Seen branch in repository origin/logger-handle-bounce Seen branch in repository origin/master Seen branch in repository origin/new_pg_chart_15.1 Seen branch in repository origin/non_root_poc Seen branch in repository origin/notification-dev Seen branch in repository origin/notification_qa Seen branch in repository origin/pg_test_15 Seen branch in repository origin/python-django-upgrade Seen branch in repository origin/remove-extra-added-loggers Seen branch in repository origin/remove-extra-loggers Seen branch in repository origin/remove-international_isd_code_support Seen branch in repository origin/rishi_logging_duplicate_messageContent Seen branch in repository origin/s3_secret_update Seen branch in repository origin/sms-daily-reporting-satyam Seen branch in repository origin/sms-reporting-enhancement Seen branch in repository origin/sms_daily_reporting Seen branch in repository origin/sms_daily_reporting-with-dev-config Seen branch in repository origin/sonarqube-changes Seen branch in repository origin/subchart_integration Seen branch in repository origin/subchart_update Seen branch in repository origin/test Seen branch in repository origin/test-image-local Seen branch in repository origin/test-migration Seen branch in repository origin/turn-off-mail-admins Seen branch in repository origin/upgrade-postgres Seen branch in repository origin/vault_v2 Seen 61 remote branches Obtained Jenkinsfile.Build from efd6ca96c51d2bbebf5f523c28d0f9eb0e4f4b01 Loading library [email protected] Attempting to resolve testsonaar from remote references... > git --version # timeout=10 > git --version # 'git version 2.34.1' using GIT_ASKPASS to set credentials gitlab-credentials > git ls-remote -h -- https://gitlab.com/org/common-library.git # timeout=10 Found match: refs/heads/testsonaar revision bc3f74b58072bd6f208c2b55aad11e59bd17f957 The recommended git tool is: NONE using credential gitlab-credentials > git rev-parse --resolve-git-dir /valib/jenkins/workspace/[email protected]/19e1f074e72b9c95c7402648f84f95c2705487f5be8df1aa9345c2affee7bf38/.git # timeout=10 Fetching changes from the remote Git repository > git config remote.origin.url https://gitlab.com/org/common-library.git # timeout=10 Fetching without tags Fetching upstream changes from https://gitlab.com/org/common-library.git > git --version # timeout=10 > git --version # 'git version 2.34.1' using GIT_ASKPASS to set credentials gitlab-credentials > git fetch --no-tags --force --progress -- https://gitlab.zenatix.com/devops/common-library.git +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/* # timeout=10 Checking out Revision bc3f74b58072bd6f208c2b55aad11e59bd17f957 (testsonaar) > git config core.sparsecheckout # timeout=10 > git checkout -f bc3f74b58072bd6f208c2b55aad11e59bd17f957 # timeout=10 Commit message: "commented sonarqube" > git rev-list --no-walk bc3f74b58072bd6f208c2b55aad11e59bd17f957 # timeout=10 [Pipeline] Start of Pipeline [Pipeline] node Running on Jenkins in /valib/jenkins/workspace/ramework_01_-_Build-Image_master [Pipeline] { [Pipeline] checkout The recommended git tool is: git using credential gitlab-credentials > git rev-parse --resolve-git-dir /valib/jenkins/workspace/ramework_01_-_Build-Image_maste.git # timeout=10 Fetching changes from the remote Git repository > git config remote.origin.url https://gitlab.com/org/no-framework.git # timeout=10 Fetching without tags Fetching upstream changes from https://gitlab.com/org/no-framework.git > git --version # timeout=10 > git --version # 'git version 2.34.1' using GIT_ASKPASS to set credentials gitlab-credentials > git fetch --no-tags --force --progress -- https://gitlab.com/org/no-framework.git +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/* # timeout=10 Checking out Revision efd6ca96c51d2bbebf5f523c28d0f9eb0e4f4b01 (master) > git config core.sparsecheckout # timeout=10 > git checkout -f efd6ca96c51d2bbebf5f523c28d0f9eb0e4f4b01 # timeout=10 Commit message: "Merge branch 'adding_qa_image_promotion_stage' into 'master'" > git rev-list --no-walk efd6ca96c51d2bbebf5f523c28d0f9eb0e4f4b01 # timeout=10 [Pipeline] stage [Pipeline] { (Executing pylint on python scripts) [Pipeline] libraryResource [Pipeline] writeFile [Pipeline] libraryResource [Pipeline] writeFile [Pipeline] sh + chmod +x pylint.sh + ./pylint.sh + execute_pylint ++ find . -type f -name '*.py' + python_files='./notification_app/models.py ./notification_app/tests.py ./notification_app/migrations/0002_auto_20210819_0612.py ./notification_app/migrations/0007_auto_20230117_0756.py ./notification_app/migrations/0005_auto_20221107_0659.py ./notification_app/migrations/__init__.py ./notification_app/migrations/0003_auto_20210819_0636.py ./notification_app/migrations/0004_auto_20220309_1344.py ./notification_app/migrations/0006_auto_20221209_0859.py ./notification_app/migrations/0001_initial.py ./notification_app/email_utilities.py ./notification_app/apps.py ./notification_app/email_views.py ./notification_app/admin.py ./notification_app/serializers.py ./notification_app/__init__.py ./notification_app/views.py ./notification_app/utils.py ./notification_app/urls.py ./notification_app/management/__init__.py ./notification_app/management/commands/zenmigrate.py ./notification_app/management/commands/sync_customer_am_emails.py ./notification_app/management/commands/__init__.py ./notification_app/management/commands/daily_sms_reporting.py ./Dockeanalytics/jupyter_notebook_config.py ./Docke__init__.py ./notifications/wsgi.py ./notifications/settings.py ./notifications/asgi.py ./notifications/__init__.py ./notifications/urls.py ./manage.py ./docs/source/conf.py' + for file in $python_files + true + pylint --rcfile=./pylintrc ./notification_app/models.py + true [Pipeline] } [Pipeline] // stage [Pipeline] } [Pipeline] // node [Pipeline] End of Pipeline Also: org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.actions.ErrorAction$ErrorId: 23031cc0-2923-4598-b1ad-e5b49d42a449 java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: No such DSL method 'pyLint' found among steps [acceptGitLabMR, addGitLabMRComment, ansiColor, ansiblePlaybook, ansibleVault, archive, bat, build, catchError, checkout, compareVersions, container, containerLog, deleteDir, dir, dockerFingerprintFrom, dockerFingerprintRun, dockerNode, echo, emailext, emailextrecipients, envVarsForTool, error, fileExists, findBuildScans, findFiles, getContext, git, gitlabBuilds, gitlabCommitStatus, input, isUnix, jiraComment, jiraIssueSelector, jiraSearch, junit, library, libraryResource, load, lock, mail, milestone, node, nodesByLabel, parallel, podTemplate, powershell, prependToFile, properties, publishChecks, pwd, pwsh, readCSV, readFile, readJSON, readManifest, readMavenPom, readProperties, readTrusted, readYaml, resolveScm, retry, script, sh, sha1, sha256, slackSend, slackUploadFile, slackUserIdFromEmail, slackUserIdsFromCommitters, sleep, sshagent, stage, stash, step, tar, tee, timeout, timestamps, tm, tool, touch, unarchive, unstable, unstash, untar, unzip, updateGitlabCommitStatus, validateDeclarativePipeline, verifySha1, verifySha256, waitForBuild, waitForQualityGate, waitUntil, warnError, withChecks, withContext, withCredentials, withDockerContainer, withDockerRegistry, withDockerServer, withEnv, withGradle, withGroovy, withMaven, withNPM, wrap, writeCSV, writeFile, writeJSON, writeMavenPom, writeYaml, ws, zip] or symbols [GitUsernamePassword, agent, all, allBranchesSame, allOf, always, ansible, ant, antFromApache, antOutcome, antTarget, any, anyOf, apiToken, apiTokenProperty, aquaMicroscanner, architecture, archiveArtifacts, artifactManager, artifactsPublisher, assembla, attach, authorInChangelog, authorizationMatrix, batchFile, bitbucket, bitbucketPush, bitbucketServer, booleanParam, branch, brokenBuildSuspects, brokenTestsSuspects, browser, buildButton, buildDiscarder, buildDiscarders, buildRetention, buildSingleRevisionOnly, buildUser, buildingTag, builtInNode, caseInsensitive, caseSensitive, certificate, cgit, changeRequest, changelog, changelogBase, changelogToBranch, changeset, checkoutOption, checkoutToSubdirectory, choice, choiceParam, cleanAfterCheckout, cleanBeforeCheckout, cleanWs, clock, cloneOption, command, concordionPublisher, configFile, configFileProvider, configMapVolume, containerEnvVar, containerLivenessProbe, containerTemplate, contributor, credentials, cron, crumb, culprits, default, defaultFolderConfiguration, defaultView, demand, dependenciesFingerprintPublisher, developers, disableConcurrentBuilds, disableRestartFromStage, disableResume, discoverOtherRefs, discoverOtherRefsTrait, docker, dockerCert, dockerServer, dockerTool, dockerfile, downstream, dumb, durabilityHint, dynamicPVC, email-ext, emptyDirVolume, emptyDirWorkspaceVolume, envVar, envVars, envVarsFilter, environment, equals, expression, extendedEmailPublisher, file, fileParam, filePath, findbugsPublisher, fingerprint, fingerprints, fisheye, frameOptions, freeStyle, freeStyleJob, fromDocker, fromScm, fromSource, git, gitBranchDiscovery, gitHooks, gitHubBranchDiscovery, gitHubBranchHeadAuthority, gitHubExcludeArchivedRepositories, gitHubExcludeForkedRepositories, gitHubExcludePrivateRepositories, gitHubExcludePublicRepositories, gitHubForkDiscovery, gitHubIgnoreDraftPullRequestFilter, gitHubPullRequestDiscovery, gitHubSshCheckout, gitHubTagDiscovery, gitHubTopicsFilter, gitHubTrustContributors, gitHubTrustEveryone, gitHubTrustNobody, gitHubTrustPermissions, gitLab, gitLabConnection, gitList, gitSCM, gitTagDiscovery, gitTool, gitUsernamePassword, gitWeb, gitblit, github, githubProjectProperty, githubPush, gitiles, gitlab, globalConfigFiles, gogs, gradle, groovy, headRegexFilter, headWildcardFilter, hostPathVolume, hostPathWorkspaceVolume, http, hyperlink, hyperlinkToModels, ignoreOnPush, inbound, inheriting, inheritingGlobal, installSource, invokerPublisher, isRestartedRun, issueCommentTrigger, jacocoPublisher, jdk, jdkInstaller, jgit, jgitapache, jgivenPublisher, jnlp, jobBuildDiscarder, jobDsl, jobName, junitPublisher, junitTestResultStorage, kiln, kubeconfig, kubernetes, kubernetesAgent, label, lastDuration, lastFailure, lastGrantedAuthorities, lastStable, lastSuccess, legacy, legacySCM, lfs, list, local, localBranch, localBranchTrait, locale, location, logRotator, loggedInUsersCanDoAnything, mailer, masterBuild, maven, maven3Mojos, mavenErrors, mavenGlobalConfig, mavenLinkerPublisher, mavenMojos, mavenWarnings, merge, modernSCM, multibranch, myView, namedBranchesDifferent, never, newContainerPerStage, nfsVolume, nfsWorkspaceVolume, node, nodeProperties, nonInheriting, none, nonresumable, not, onFailure, openTasksPublisher, organizationFolder, override, overrideIndexTriggers, paneStatus, parallelsAlwaysFailFast, parameters, password, pattern, perBuildTag, permanent, persistentVolumeClaim, persistentVolumeClaimWorkspaceVolume, phabricator, pipeline, pipeline-model, pipeline-model-docker, pipelineGraphPublisher, pipelineMaven, pipelineTriggers, plainText, plugin, podAnnotation, podEnvVar, podLabel, pollSCM, portMapping, preserveStashes, previous, projectNamingStrategy, proxy, pruneStaleBranch, pruneStaleTag, pruneTags, pullRequestReview, queueItemAuthenticator, quietPeriod, rateLimit, rateLimitBuilds, recipients, redmine, refSpecs, remoteName, requestor, resourceRoot, retainOnlyVariables, rhodeCode, run, runParam, sSHLauncher, schedule, scmGit, scmRetryCount, script, scriptApproval, scriptApprovalLink, search, secretEnvVar, secretVolume, security, shell, simpleBuildDiscarder, skipDefaultCheckout, skipStagesAfterUnstable, slackNotifier, slave, snapshotDependencies, sourceRegexFilter, sourceWildcardFilter, sparseCheckoutPaths, spotbugsPublisher, ssh, sshPublicKey, sshUserPrivateKey, standard, status, string, stringParam, submodule, submoduleOption, suppressAutomaticTriggering, suppressFolderAutomaticTriggering, swapSpace, tag, teamFoundation, teamSlugFilter, text, textParam, timestamper, timestamperConfig, timezone, tmpSpace, toolLocation, triggeredBy, unsecured, untrusted, upstream, upstreamDevelopers, url, userIdentity, userSeed, usernameColonPassword, usernamePassword, viewgit, viewsTabBar, weather, withAnt, withSonarQubeEnv, x509ClientCert, zip] or globals [airflowCron, buildImage, commonUtils, configureLocustMasterSlave, createCluster, currentBuild, deployAirflow, deployControl, deployDashboard, deployDeviceMonitor, deployMakerSuite, deployServerMonitor, deployV2Server, deployWeatherDriver, deployWebTNT, docker, dockerOperation, env, fetchDynamicImage, helm, imagePromotion, inspec, issuesDeploy, locustDeploy, nodeJSPipeline, notification, params, pipeline, pythonCIPipeline, scm, setupDruid, setupDruidPub, setupFlask, setupIstio, setupKafka, setupKafkaAlertDriver, setupKeycloak, setupKubernetesDashboard, setupLogging, setupMonitoringStack, setupRedis, sonnarScanner, terraform, zenalytixBuildImage, zenalytixDeploy] at org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.cps.DSL.invokeMethod(DSL.java:219) at org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.cps.CpsScript.invokeMethod(CpsScript.java:124) at groovy.lang.MetaClassImpl.invokeMethodOnGroovyObject(MetaClassImpl.java:1295) at groovy.lang.MetaClassImpl.invokeMethod(MetaClassImpl.java:1184) at groovy.lang.MetaClassImpl.invokeMethod(MetaClassImpl.java:1034) at org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.callsite.PogoMetaClassSite.call(PogoMetaClassSite.java:41) at org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.callsite.CallSiteArray.defaultCall(CallSiteArray.java:47) at org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.callsite.AbstractCallSite.call(AbstractCallSite.java:116) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.sandbox.DefaultInvoker.methodCall(DefaultInvoker.java:20) at pythonCIPipeline.executePylint(pythonCIPipeline.groovy:114) at ___cps.transform___(Native Method) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.impl.ContinuationGroup.methodCall(ContinuationGroup.java:90) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.impl.FunctionCallBlock$ContinuationImpl.dispatchOrArg(FunctionCallBlock.java:116) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.impl.FunctionCallBlock$ContinuationImpl.fixArg(FunctionCallBlock.java:85) at jdk.internal.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor155.invoke(Unknown Source) at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.impl.ContinuationPtr$ContinuationImpl.receive(ContinuationPtr.java:72) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.impl.CollectionLiteralBlock$ContinuationImpl.dispatch(CollectionLiteralBlock.java:55) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.impl.CollectionLiteralBlock$ContinuationImpl.item(CollectionLiteralBlock.java:45) at jdk.internal.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor152.invoke(Unknown Source) at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.impl.ContinuationPtr$ContinuationImpl.receive(ContinuationPtr.java:72) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.impl.ConstantBlock.eval(ConstantBlock.java:21) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.Next.step(Next.java:83) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.Continuable$1.call(Continuable.java:152) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.Continuable$1.call(Continuable.java:146) at org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.GroovyCategorySupport$ThreadCategoryInfo.use(GroovyCategorySupport.java:136) at org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.GroovyCategorySupport.use(GroovyCategorySupport.java:275) at com.cloudbees.groovy.cps.Continuable.run0(Continuable.java:146) at org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.cps.SandboxContinuable.access$001(SandboxContinuable.java:18) at org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.cps.SandboxContinuable.run0(SandboxContinuable.java:51) at org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.cps.CpsThread.runNextChunk(CpsThread.java:187) at org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.cps.CpsThreadGroup.run(CpsThreadGroup.java:420) at org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.cps.CpsThreadGroup$2.call(CpsThreadGroup.java:330) at org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.cps.CpsThreadGroup$2.call(CpsThreadGroup.java:294) at org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.cps.CpsVmExecutorService$2.call(CpsVmExecutorService.java:67) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:264) at hudson.remoting.SingleLaneExecutorService$1.run(SingleLaneExecutorService.java:139) at jenkins.util.ContextResettingExecutorService$1.run(ContextResettingExecutorService.java:28) at jenkins.security.ImpersonatingExecutorService$1.run(ImpersonatingExecutorService.java:68) at jenkins.util.ErrorLoggingExecutorService.lambda$wrap$0(ErrorLoggingExecutorService.java:51) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:515) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:264) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1128) at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:628) at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:829) Finished: FAILURE 

Please help me.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning - Adelaide Region for DAMAGING WINDS and LARGE HAILSTONES
For people in Adelaide and parts of Onkaparinga, Mount Barker, Adelaide Hills and Western Alexandrina council areas.
Issued at 4:02 pm Wednesday, 7 June 2023.
Severe thunderstorms approaching the Adelaide area. The Bureau of Meteorology warns that, at 4:00 pm, severe thunderstorms were detected on the weather radar near Brighton, Hallett Cove and Semaphore. These thunderstorms are moving towards the east to southeast. They are forecast to affect Adelaide City, Glenelg and Noarlunga by 4:30 pm and Meadows, Modbury and Echunga by 5:00 pm.
Damaging winds are likely, with large hailstones possible.
The State Emergency Service advises that people should: * Secure or put away loose items around your property. * Move cars under cover or away from trees. * Keep clear of fallen power lines. * Stay indoors, away from windows, while storms are nearby.
The next warning is due to be issued by 5:05 pm.
A more general severe thunderstorm warning is also current for the Riverland and parts of the Adelaide Metropolitan, Murraylands, Mount Lofty Ranges and North East Pastoral districts. refer http://ow.ly/MgkI50OHwnE

The National Weather Service in Boise has issued a

• Flash Flood Warning for... Northeastern Ada County in southwestern Idaho...
  
• Until midnight MDT.
  
• At 900 PM MDT, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between 1 and 2 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of 0.5 to 1 inch are possible in the warned area. Flooding is already occurring. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Radar and automated gauges. IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas.
  
• Some locations that will experience flash flooding include... Eastern Boise, Garden City. FLASH FLOOD...RADAR AND GAUGE INDICATED Instructions: Turn around, don`t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads. Target Area: Ada
  

Haven't bought any truck since before Pandemic, now availability is crappy on everything, any helpful hints for me visiting dealers these days. I am assuming no one gets deals below sticker on these.
In Charleston SC, going to visit Columbia dealers for better availability, probably would only occasionally end up in light sand for AWD.
Any bed covers or anything anyone considers essential?
Thanks in advance.

Pt 1 If you haven't read it.
​
Pt 2 If you haven't read it.
​
Pt 3 If you haven't read it.
​
Hope you enjoy Pt 4 and happy reading!
​
*Flick* "Aligning descent profile for re-entry." I had made all the final preparations
*Flick* "Prepare for comms black out in 10" William began the countdown.
"9"
"8"
"7"
"6"
"5- when you get back I absolutely *have* to show you this really old movie, interstellar, its a classic" Will interjected.
"4-Oh my stars we're about to enter the atmosphere of Ix-5 at 7km/s and all you can think about is showing me some old movie when we get back?!"
"3- Fine."
"2"
The plasma had begun to lick around the edges of the heat shield and up onto the windows.
"1"
The comms began to make a static hissing sound.
"Just breathe." Will muttered to himself.
The whole shuttle began to shake violently.
"PASSING MAX-Q" Will had to shout to be heard over all the rattling.
Just like that, it began to quiet down, the fiery inferno of re-entry plasma died down and we began our coast down to find a suitable landing spot. Comms had also returned.
*Click* "I'd just like to let everyone know that we made it through re-entry just fine." Will had radioed back to the ship.
The sound of faint cheers from bridge could be heard.
"Engaging cloaking device" *Flick*
A loud hum could be heard as the cloaking device not only prevented us from being seen by eyes, but also seen by any radar, sonar, or other means of detection spun to life.
"So where should we land?"
"Oh just a few more kilometers to shore, then I'll just find a nice, secluded spot and we'll spend the next couple of days getting to know the locals!" I responded gleefully, as this was my first time with a civilization that didn't just learn how to farm.
After carefully gliding down we landed in a patch of grass-like vegetation. Will pointed out all the leaves were all black, to which I responded by telling him that the vegetation had to adapt to capture more of the light spectrum than the vegetation on Earth, because of the dimmer, red dwarf this planet orbited.
We had set up the basics, communications equipment, synthesizers, and a variety of other scientific tools.
"Hey, remember when you said you wanted to see an example of human food! Because I do!" Will exclaimed giddily.
After plugging in a drive and pressing a few buttons, the machine whirred to action, printing out a most unusual dish.
"So keep in mind this is just one dish out of... out of well I don't really know how many different kinds of dishes we have, all you need to know is that it's a very large number... But here's too hoping you enjoy it!"
What came out were this white, almost sphere like but more so a squat raindrop shaped... things. Will called them "Dumplings", and they smelled delicious, though he had dipped them in this brown liquid he called "Soy Sauce" that I really did not care for as far as smell goes.
I carefully picked one of these dumplings and bit into it.
"Oh my" I said, albeit muffled by the food.
"It's good isn't it! I told you!" Will grinned.
"That's quite the... texture. I don't really know how to process this. It's so soft and yet firm. Nutrient packs are so much easier, they don't make a mess and they're just so efficient, I mean, you could probably play around with the recipe, make them tastier. Right?"
"You just don't get it do you." Will said, shaking his head.
"Oh well, more for me." He grabbed at my half eaten dumpling.
"Hey! That's mine!"
"So you DO like it then!"
"No, just, ugh, leave me and my dumpling alone, I've already had my Nutrient Pack for the day I'm going to hibernate now."
Will rolled his eyes at my response.
"Fine." He said in that same begrudging manner as before.
I walked on over to the hibernation chamber, a circular area just big enough for me with a warm, gentle breeze flowing over. As I was going inside I heard Will behind me closing up the door after bringing everything inside.
"Wait... you were going to tell me about.... sleep..." I muttered out.
"Oh yes so hold one, could you just fully wake up for a little bit so I can explain, so your species, and for that matter every other alien species I've met, sleeps one hemisphere or one part of their brain at a time, but humans sleep the whole brain all at once."
"What's that like?" I replied, still in the grip of hibernation.
"So for starters we are like, FULLY unconscious the whole time, we can be woken up but we have a very, VERY limited understanding of what's going on around us. We also go limp so we don't move around accidentally, we still do. It's not perfect but it works enough to where I can say, "yeah we go limp"."
"But aren't you... what happens... if... someone ambushes you at night?"
"In all likelihood unless we happen to be right next to a weapon or something good enough, we die."
"Oh my. How... how did this not drive your species extinct?"
"I'm left wondering that same question too Tomō."
This might be the first time I've heard about a human ever being truly defenseless. Will had disappeared off into another room to change, returning in only a pair of shorts. Which left me examining his exposed torso. Human skin is wrapped quite tightly around the internal structure, and there seems to be very little, if any, loose skin, it also seemed to only be composed of one layer, most others I've meet without loose skin have special layers that can break off. Perhaps humans might be less sturdy than I had come to expect. No no that can't possibly be true I thought to myself, or as much as I could with half a brain working.
The morning was punctured by this infernal clattering from Will's bed, his arm swung up and smashed down on a small table next to him, causing the sound to stop.
"What was that?! Did someone find us?!"
"No... it was just my [Yawns] Alarm, we need to be startled to wake up and that [Will yawned again] was the startling noise."
Will climbed out of bed, shuffled over to another table (Those humans have a lot of tables) grabbed a fresh change of clothes and made his way over to the bathroom to change.
That's when I heard it, a loud SHHHHH sound from the bathroom, I made my way over to the locked door and shouted:
"EVERYTHING OKAY IN THERE WILL?"
"YEAH, JUST TAKING A SHOWER."
"A WHAT?"
"SHOWER"
"WHAT'S THAT?"
"I DON'T CARE FOR THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW."
"OH OKAY."
I shuffled back over to my hibernation chamber, pulling the divider closed I took in a bath of UV sterilizing light and changed out of yesterday's uniform, and into todays, which on scout missions is always a set of cloths made to imitate the look of whatever cloths are common on whatever world we're scouting. In this case it was a brown turtleneck sweater, some black pants, 6 pairs of gloves as the basic orbital scan of their unencrypted communications revealed they obsess over cleanliness, often sporting multiple pairs of gloves for specific tasks, kept in separate pockets, land lastly, a sort of shawl like piece of fabric, apparently used to protect yourself from the midday dust and wind storms.
The disguise of our more... alien features was provided by some makeup, changing our skin to a sort of pale grey. We also made use of some printed prosthetic noses, wigs, and ears, which made our faces impossible to distinguish from the local inhabitants.
Once I had finished applying all my disguises, I exited my chamber and walked over to where Will was, standing by the synthesizer watching it print up a breakfast.
Will, who hadn't even donned the appropriate clothing at this point (he was wearing a simple outfit of black shorts and a grey t-shirt), was oddly enough, sopping wet. His hair had turned a jet black color due to its saturation of water, releasing its store down his face and his neck, resulting in the back of his shirt, and the front collar turning a visibly darker shade and sticking to his body, at this point I also noticed that his skin was covered in beads of moisture glinting in the sun.
"Why are you so wet?" I asked him.
"It has to do with a shower, I get myself under this sort of, simulated rainfall, only the temperature is nice and hot, and use soap, not the same kind you use to clean your hands, but the function is still the same, I then put some stuff in my hair which gets rid of oily build up, the water rinses everything off, but by the end I'm soaking wet, I will need to dry off properly though before I put on all the disguises."
As he grabbed his tray with his hands, still damp from the shower, and the skin around his fingers was all shriveled up.
"Your fingers look like mine now! See!" I asked, moving right up next to him to better show him my fingers.
"It just increases the surface area so I can grip things better underwater, only happens if they get wet."
"Why wouldn't they be like that all the time?"
"Once again I'm left wondering that question myself."
"So what's on the menu for "break-fast"?" I asked
"Well for starters, it's just one word, breakfast, and secondly, I'm having two slices of buttered toast, an egg, and a black tea. Standard human breakfast, though Coffee is more popular."
"Black tea...?" I had heard of Coffee before and its danger to other species, and was hoping that this tea drink lacked any of this substance known as Caffeine.
"Yeah just a little caffeine to wake me up."
"CAFFEINE?! That's... that's a.... that's a Class IV chemical weapon! They banned that centuries ago! How?! What?! Oh my... Oh my..." I began to hyperventilate.
"Relax! There's only what... 50 milligrams in a cup."
"FIFTY?! FIFTY!?! ONLY FIFTY?!? THAT'S TEN TIMES THE DEADLY DOSE! WHAT ARE YOUR THINKING!" I shrieked, though deep down I did take note of how that was less than that of Coffee.
"Shhh, you'll risk us getting caught, calm down, don't worry I'll have the cup disposed of properly, I've done this every day and so far, no one's gotten hurt." Will said in his standard, nonchalant attitude that has become so typical of him, a tone which did not seem anywhere near appropriate for the situation.
"SO FAR?!" I was not heeding his instructions to calm down, it's typically very hard to do so when faced with something that could lead to a violent death.
"Look, look, it's totally harmless for us humans, besides, the Federation strictly manages our recreational use of substances highly dangerous to other species, such as but not limited too: Caffeine, Capsaicin, and Cocoa. I make one wrong move and my ass is sent to jail."
I was shocked, frozen with shock, at least I wasn't screaming but I felt like I couldn't move a muscle. Capsaicin was last used by the Rx'lac to murder billions, Cocoa I hadn't heard of before so it must have been something unique to Earth, but it terrified me still. In my frozen state I waited for the cup he drank from to be destroyed, and at this moment I began to regain my motor functions.
After rigorously drying himself off with a towel and this awfully loud machine he pointed at his hair, Will began to
"Now, could you help me apply the makeup?"
Human hands, while much sturdier than what most of us use, in the case of Captain Reloxyn, she has 6 tentacles which can vary their diameter, and in the case of Zorxians like myself, we have the two hands attached to their respective arm much like a human, but the geometry of the fingers themselves are different, each finger is made up of 3 fluid filled sacs, attached one after another in segments, each sack is attached to the previous with a variety of muscles, which gives each joint the ability to make movements with a full 120 degree range of motion, in any direction. While this makes them far more fragile, due to the lack of skeletal structure, this makes us quite dextrous.
But yet, I noticed that Will's right hand, arm, and ankle were already painted, which puzzled me, if he could paint his right side, then why couldn't he paint his left?
"Do you really need my help? You did just fine painting the right side of your body."
"Tomō, do you really know so little about humans?"
"You know you're the first human I've met!"
"Humans tend to have what's called a dominant hand, what it means is that there's one hand I am really good at using, and another that I'm not so great at using, I *could* train myself to use both hands equally well, but I never really had a need, and even when it would've come in handy, there's always been someone else who can help me. Like you!"
"Aww, thanks!" I responded.
"In my case, my dominant hand is my left one, fairly uncommon. Only about 10% of people are like that, the rest are right handed, and a very small number are born with both hands being of equal capability."
"But you really should get on it with the whole training your right hand. There won't always be someone to help you."
"And yet there always has." Will responded jokingly.
"We ready?" I asked.
"Just have to get some things ready, hold on, if this society is so obsessed with cleanliness, how come they don't wear face masks? I doubt they've gotten to a point where they've already eradicated all diseases. That should take them at least another century."
"Oh, this is the really cool thing about this planet! So basically, airborne diseases never evolved! They just... don't exist here!"
"Absolutely fascinating." Will responded.
"Everything we need is now in the bag." He pointed to the black bag slung over his shoulder made from the local flora.
"And we should be ready to go!" Will enthusiastically marched over to the shuttle door, opening it at saying;
"After you!" With a look of pride on his face, odd, if anyone should be proud, it should be me, after all, this mission is already off to a good start considering he's a rookie.
The red light of Ix bathed the planet in this warm glow, Ix was rare for a red-dwarf system, as most habitable planets are tidally locked, but we marched through the woods, noting observations of the local ecosystem that we stopped periodically to jot down in our notepad.
About halfway through the forest Will stopped suddenly, turning back to face me.
"You forgot to tell me what bridge came up with for our secret identities? Oh stars, saying it like that makes me feel like some kind of super-spy!"
"Oh yes, I must have gotten distracted..." I reached for my communicator.
"Okay, so we're two hikers, you named Po'ol and I named Gra'aul, and we just finished up a nice long hike and so we're off back to Hl'Ix, population 12.8 million, and about a 2 hour train ride. Oh by the way, I have to share the language file hold on... yup that should do it! Congratulations you are now fluent in Ix!"
A requirement of working for any Federation job was the implantation of a language chip which allowed the user to become fluent in all 608 languages and, what they called "Significant Dialects" spoken in the Federation, though for people working on exploration vessels like me and Will, we had access to a file sharing system so we could download new languages for the planets we visited after the central computer processed them.
"Thanks!" Will responded from a meter or so ahead of me.
We continued our march down to the road, where we walked parallel to it as cars zipped by. Eventually the forest we had landed in cleared way for farmland, which after about 5 kilometers or so more walking, started to turn to houses with expansive yards, which gradually became smaller and smaller as we neared the center of town.
"You getting tired yet?" Will asked me, we had decided it was best for him to walk behind me, so we could make sure we stayed together.
"Yeah, but just a bit longer until we make it into... whatever the name of this town is."
"Alright."
We continued to make our way into the town, named Urup and with a population of about 3 thousand. When we got there it was almost devoid of any activity, and the wind had started to pick up, which carried in dust. Thankfully we anticipated this, having donned contact lenses to keep debris out of our eyes, and using the shawl to cover up our mouth and nose. At this point will stopped to pull out a small, and very thin, weather sheet, which he released into the wind. This device would record the weather conditions as it gets carried by the wind. Just after doing this, he turned to me and said,
"Weather at time of release: Temperature: 10 degrees Celsius. Wind speed: 56 Kph, rising. Feels like: 5.2 Degrees Celsius, falling. It wasn't able to get a good reading on dust concentration because it's rising too fast so that should tell you everything you need to know."
The wind nearly blew Will's shawl off, but he grabbed it just in time, and me, being too focused on Will, had let my own shawl blow away in the wind, and while Will had tried to reach for it, the wind carried it away far too quickly for him to get it in time, only missing his fingers by a handful of centimeters. I quickly covered my mouth with my sweater, though this did leave part of my midsection exposed to the elements, a suboptimal position to be in during a dust storm of this magnitude.
"Dammit! Almost had the blasted thing!" Will shouted, the rush of the wind was beginning to drown out our voices.
He put his hand in one of the many pockets on his pants, that's something everyone can appreciate about Ix fashion, anything below 10 pockets is simply unacceptable. Anyways, Will pulled out a small pair of scissors, and quickly removed his shawl.
"What are you doing you can't remove your shawl in these conditions!" I shouted back at him.
"I'll be quick, don't worry!" Will responded as he cut his cloth in two.
"Here!" He said handing me the now removed half of his shawl, and quickly covering his face with the remaining half.
We continued on, though this time much slower than before, as we didn't want to loose our balance and be toppled by the wind. Never before had I ever had to deal with wind this intense, no wonder they assigned the human.
"Squat down! Boundary layer winds should be slower!" He shouted to me while bending down to waddle his way across the street to the hotel.
Squatting down only provided minimal relief, as I suppose one would have to crawl to truly take advantage of this effect. Slowly but surely we made our way across the road, over to the hotel. Opening the first set of doors we were met with a powerful blast of air, which prevented any dust from getting in. Only until after the doors had closed, and our clothes were sufficiently purged of any particulates that had somehow lodged their way into the remarkably dense fabrics. Eventually though, the blast died down, and the second doors opened automatically.
The doors opened to reveal an interior with a largely brown, beige, and black color pattern. The whole lobby was lit with a quite warm color tone, with the lightbulbs occasionally flickering and all the windows had been sealed off behind steel plates. Eventually Will turned his head to face a desk spanning quite a large distance, located just in front of a large board with all the room numbers located next to a light.
We could vaguely hear someone talking to another person, emanating from behind a door marked "Employees Only", Will glanced at me, pulling my attention to his gloves, which he began to swap out for a new pair. I quickly followed suit. Eventually, just moments after I finished putting on a new pair of gloves, one of the people from behind the door exited.
"Why on Ix would there ever be customers walking in during the middle of the storm! We issued the alert 2 hours ago!" The woman said to the man who stayed in the room as the door closed behind her.
Turning around to face the two of us, and walking over to the main part of the check in desk, she began to speak to us.
"Hi my name us Za'ul!" She said, showing us her name tag.
"Now what can I do for the two of you! Must've been miserable trapped out there in the storm!"
Will began to approach the desk, seeing this I decided to sit down and catch my breath, the 10 kilometer walk had exhausted me, it was remarkable to see Will barley fazed by it.
"Hi my name is Po'ol and this is my hiking buddy Gra'aul, we just finished up the most beautiful of hikes through that nearby forest, so we're on our way back to Hl'ix! I was wondering if you could get us a room please and thank you ma'am." He said in a sort of folksy manner, not too dissimilar from the way Za'ul spoke.
"Alright you want one bed or two?" She responded.
"-Two please." He said, almost cutting Za'ul off.
"All right! You want first floor or second floor?"
"Oh second floor would be lovely."
"Well here's your key and have a lovely stay!"
Will walked over to me.
"Got us a key for room 203, here's your key" Will had switched from his folksy mannerisms to a soft whisper, but I just let the key hit me, I was far to tired to catch it.
"Well I see our hike took quite a bit out of you, so just come up when your ready, I got the bags don't worry."
I nodded my head in silent agreement, I was exhausted, but I knew I should probably go upstairs to the room with him.
"Hold on.." I said, slowly lifting myself up onto my feet and carefully making my way over to the elevator.
Standing in the cramped elevator I noticed Will suddenly had this terrible and persistent oder.
"You okay?" I asked him
"Yeah... why do you ask?"
"It's just... you smell kind of... bad."
"Oh!" He chuckled with that same old chuckle I had heard a million times before.
"Yeah, uh, I'm sure after I explained to you what a shower was you were probably perplexed as to why we don't do the standard UV bath, but basically humans smell bad after a long day, or after a long enough, or intense enough period of physical exertion. Showering gets rid of the smell. I did notice the Ix had only a single layer of skin, and hopefully this means they too have the scent issues that humans have, and thus also make use of showering."
"I see. Can you take another shower when we get to the hotel?"
"Tomō! That's... don't say that to other humans okay, you can be direct with me like that but... a lot of other humans will not take that kindly. Just letting you know that."
ding
The elevator had made its way up to the second floor.
"Let's see, 203... 203... here it is!"
Will unlocked the door and opened it.
"Oh thank the stars they have actual beds and it wasn't just a translational error!" He cried out in relief.
Will ran over to the bathroom.
"And they have showers too! Just Wonderful! Don't worry a shower should adequately clean you too."
"Oh I brought my own portable UV sterilizer, I'll be fine."
"You just relax down I'll take care of the report back to bridge."
I made my way over to the beds and just collapsed into it. Hibernating while laying down was not ideal, but at this point I'd do anything not to be on my feet anymore. Eventually I decided that I didn't care for lying face down, and instead rolled over to face Will, just to make sure he didn't botch the report.
Eventually once he finished his report, he walked over to the rooms corners and placed the sound barriers, which would cancel out our voices making sure nobody heard us. Which he, well, I was supposed to do first thing upon entering, though I was far to tired, and Will must've only just noticed. You know, when he first got here he really just annoyed me to no end, but now, he's really settled in and has gotten really into the hang of things, and sure, he's weird, but you know what, he's a human, he's not weird, just... different.
​
I think I'm going to leave it off here, I know I promised some action but this is just where the story lead me, and it was already getting long. Part 5 will be out tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed reading!

Latest observation

Wednesday, 7 June – 5:04 PM India Standard Time (IST; 11:34 UTC)

JTWC Warning #5		2:30 PM IST (09:00 UTC)
Current location:		12.9°N 66.4°E
Relative location:		960 km (597 mi) SW of Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)
Forward motion:		N (15°) at 7 km/h (4 knots)
Maximum winds:	▲	150 km/h (80 knots)
Intensity (SSHWS):		Hurricane (Category 1)
Intensity (IMD):		Very Severe Cyclonic Storm
Minimum pressure:	▼	973 millibars (28.73 inches)

Official forecasts

India Meteorological Department

Tuesday, 06 June — 5:37 AM IST (00:07 UTC)

Hour	Date	Time		Intensity		Winds		Lat	Long
	—	UTC	IST	IMD		knots	km/h	°N	°E
00	07 Jun	06:00	11AM Wed	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm		65	125	12.8	66.3
12	07 Jun	18:00	11PM Wed	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm	▲	75	135	13.3	66.3
24	08 Jun	06:00	11AM Thu	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm	▲	80	145	14.0	66.1
36	08 Jun	18:00	11PM Thu	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm		80	145	14.6	65.9
48	09 Jun	06:00	11AM Fri	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm		85	155	15.3	65.6
60	09 Jun	18:00	11PM Fri	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm		85	155	16.0	65.2
72	10 Jun	06:00	11AM Sat	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm		85	155	16.7	64.8
84	10 Jun	18:00	11PM Sat	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm		80	145	17.4	64.4
96	11 Jun	06:00	11AM Sun	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm		75	140	18.2	64.0
108	11 Jun	18:00	11PM Sun	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm		75	135	18.9	63.6
120	12 Jun	06:00	11AM Mon	Very Severe Cyclonic Storm		70	130	19.5	63.1

Joint Typhoon Warning Center

Wednesday, 7 June — 2:30 PM IST (09:00 UTC) JTWC Warning #5

Hour	Date	Time		Intensity		Winds		Lat	Long
	—	UTC	IST	Saffir-Simpson		knots	km/h	°N	°E
00	07 Jun	06:00	11AM Wed	Hurricane (Cat 1)		80	150	12.9	66.4
12	07 Jun	18:00	11PM Wed	Hurricane (Cat 2)	▲	90	165	13.4	66.4
24	08 Jun	06:00	11AM Thu	Major Hurricane (Cat 3)	▲	100	185	14.1	66.3
36	08 Jun	18:00	11PM Thu	Hurricane (Cat 2)	▼	95	175	14.7	66.1
48	09 Jun	06:00	11AM Fri	Hurricane (Cat 2)	▼	90	165	15.3	65.8
72	10 Jun	06:00	11AM Sat	Hurricane (Cat 2)		90	165	16.5	65.3
96	11 Jun	06:00	11AM Sun	Hurricane (Cat 1)	▼	80	150	17.8	64.8
120	12 Jun	06:00	11AM Mon	Hurricane (Cat 1)	▼	70	130	19.1	64.1

Official information

Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC)

India Meteorological Department (IMD)

• RSMC Bulletin
  
• Observed & Forecast Track
  
• Storm Surge Guidance (Not updated)
  
• Heavy rainfall outlook (Not updated)
  

Other national/multinational meteorological agencies

Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC, United States)

• Homepage
  
• Warning (Text)
  
• Warning (Graphic)
  
• Prognostic Reasoning
  

National Hurricane Center (NHC, United States)

• Forecast Office – Tiyan, Guam
  
• Tropical cyclone page
  
• Public Tropical Cyclone Advisory
  
• NWS Guam Local Statement
  
• NEW! Experimental tropical cyclone graphics
  

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)

NOTE: PAGASA assigns local names to cyclones which differ from the official WMO list. This system has been assigned the local name Cheseng by PAGASA.

• Homepage
  
• Tropical cyclones bulletin
  
• Tropical cyclone warning for shipping
  
• Tropical cyclone threat potential forecast
  
• Forecast track map
  

Radar imagery

India Meteorological Department

• Goa region
  
• Mumbai region
  
• Bhuj region
  

Satellite imagery

Floater imagery

Single bandwidth imagery

• Tropical Tidbits: Visible / shortwave infrared
  
• Tropical Tidbits: Enhanced infrared
  
• Tropical Tidbits: Enhanced infrared (Dvorak enhancement)
  
• Tropical Tidbits: Water vapor
  

Multiple bandwidth imagery

The options to select individual bandwidths on each of the following websites may vary.

• CIMSS: Cyclone 02A imagery
  
• RAMMB: Cyclone 02A imagery
  
• Navy Research Laboratory: Cyclone 02A imagery
  

Regional imagery

Western Pacific Ocean

• CIMSS: Enhanced infrared
  
• Weathernerds: Western Pacific
  

Analysis products

Best track data

• NOAA SSD

Surface analysis products

India Meteorological Department

• Plotted data charts

Wind analysis and storm intensity estimation products

• NESDIS: Dvorak Fix Bulletins
  
• NESDIS: Dvorak Fix History
  
• NESDIS: Multi-platform Surface Wind Analysis
  
• CIMSS: Advanced Dvorak Technique (ADT)
  
• CIMSS: Tropical Cyclone Intensity Consensus (SATCON)
  
• CIMSS: SATCON Intensity History
  
• EUMETSAT: Advanced Scatterometer Data
  

Sea-surface temperature analysis products

• NOAA OSPO: Sea Surface Temperature Contour Charts
  
• Tropical Tidbits: Ocean Analysis
  

Model products

Disturbance-specific model guidance

Storm-centered guidance

• Tropical Tidbits (GFS)
  
• Tropical Tidbits (ECMWF)
  
• Tropical Tidbits (HWRF)
  

Track guidance

• Tropical Tidbits
  
• Weather Nerds
  

Track and intensity guidance

• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

Regional single-model guidance

• Tropical Tidbits: GFS
  
• Tropical Tidbits: ECMWF
  
• Tropical Tidbits: CMC
  
• Tropical Tidbits: ICON
  
• India Meteorological Department Several models
  

Regional ensemble model guidance

• Weathernerds: GEFS (120 hours)
  
• Weathernerds: ECENS (120 hours)
  

I know that within the last year or so ForeFlight changed over to a different provider for their radar overlay. As others have mentioned in the past I’ve found it to be significantly worse as well as no longer offering the lowest tilt layer, however, while flying the other day I found the radar to be completely inaccurate. There were afternoon buildups in the area and some areas of precip but the radar was showing yellow and red directly over the airport and other surrounding areas but with zero weather actually occurring. I know that ADSB weather has a delay but has anyone else experienced this level of inaccuracy? Am I an idiot and not interpreting something correctly?

Starship Troopers: Extermination (let's call it "ST:Ex" from here on for brevity) is fantastic and way better than I thought it'd be, but this post isn't about that game really, it's about some insights it revealed about Star Citizen ground gameplay and combat.
TLDR - Valk may not be a great dropship, but it is a great exfil ship. Risk/reward ground objectives are a good way to force non-ship combat. Player interactions on the ground can be greatly expanded with gadgets and a few tweaks. Temporary player owned structures could be a good compromise for many of the unknowns about player outposts and raiding.
​

• The Valk's Combat Role may be Slight Misunderstood - There's a lot of frustrations with the Valkyrie in combat scenarios that gets kicked around. Most around 3 things: lack of HP for what it is, large crew demand/low solo-ability compared to competitor ships, and other dropships "doing it better for less." Essentially, why should I use 5 crew to have an effective dropship in battle that carries less, can take less damage, and dishes out less than a Herc can w/ 3 crew?
  • Every ST:Ex match ends with a hectic, sometimes panicked dash for a very Valkyrie-like rescue exfil ship as other players already there desperately try to cover your sprint to the finish line. It made me realize the Valk may not shine as an attack dropship, but it seems far better specialized as a combat rescue/exfil vehicle ("dropship" seems to insinuate deployment). It shines at intaking a large amount of players quickly, and maybe a vehicle or two. Previously, I didn't differentiate - a dropship should be equally good at dropping off as it is picking up, but that just isn't the case in SC. You'd have to be absolutely insane to pack a single Valk with 20 players (+5 crew) and head into battle. The volume of dropseats has confounded me for years until I realized it's not for dropoff, it's for latitude when picking up. Everyone is guaranteed a seat to GTFO at high speeds. Additionally, no other SC ship has the same 360 degree coverage to secure it's own perimeter - that's what the crew demand is for, not fighting off other ships or managing the cargo bay.
  • Prowler and Herc are two main Valk competitors, but they too have their optimal situations.
  • As for HP, the Valk does currently need a big boost for what it is. It'll get it's armor someday.
• Situations that Call for Troops - This is a heavily theorycrafted subject by both devs and fans. What are the conceits that can be built into SC that won't feel arbitrary but will promote a ground game over just flying in? Having a team of Marines isolated on the ground with minimal air support is something that will really, really shine in SC once there's scenarios to promote it. The UGFs will be really nice, but they're akin to a "dungeon crawl." I'm referring to a true open world scenario that requires a squad on the ground working together that wouldn't just be quickly solved with a MOAB or a hovering ship blasting away. A lot of the theories have to do with area denial (storms, environmental hazards, ground shields, or stronger AA turrets), but offering functionality rather than taking it away may work equally well.
  • The missions of ST:Ex offer an interesting take on it: to secure valuable resources, you need to construct temporary resource extractors on the ground and then monitor, defend, and move the resources. Something a ship can't do. A SC ship could cover you in a similar scenario, but (thankfully) ship weapons are awful at targeting personnel. Truly securing a ground perimeter would fall to FPS and vehicles. The only thing we're missing is persistent and challenging ground NPC waves. Even if it was insanely valuable ground mineables within enemy or infested territory, that would work.
• True Ground Combat in SC is PlayeOrg Driven but there's Some Holes - The two big ones are the dynamics for sharing resources among players in FPS combat and area denial functionality.
  • When it comes to sharing resources during a firefight or battle, dropping mags/medpens/whatever on the ground is really the only way to do it on the fly. CIG devs have mentioned functional backpacks in the future that could drastically shift battlefield roles. If someone had an ammo pack strapped to their back that was tuned to be over-stuffed with ammo types (and maybe less functional or not at all for random items) and you could run up to them, interact w/ their pack without asking them to make themselves vulnerable by going into their own inventory, that would be huge. As a quick aside: literally the only practical use for the Drake Mule I've found is putting crates on the racks filled with ammo and driving it along the rear lines of a ground battle. Players can run right up to it, interact w/ crates, and refill ammo.
  • Area denial and battlefield gadgets in SC are also a long time coming. Like many of us, I thought even laser trip mines would be in our hands a long time ago. Everything from smoke screens, color smoke markers (that can be easily seen by air support), throwable/launchable beacons, mines, flashbangs, etc will be of immediate use in FPS. With the many grenade types you can imagine, having drums for the grenade launcher for each type is a very natural risk/reward. The drums are sizeable, the launcher is rare, and if you're bringing nonlethal and functional grenade types, you're already making a weighted tactical choice. Heck, even an underbarrel laser pointer that generates a party marker wherever it's aimed - can you imagine how effective that would be at directing air support?
• Lastly, Temporary Structures - We're all so excited for the day when we can establish our own permanent outposts, but there's some obvious big questions that still arise around that. Is it like Rust and I can be raided when I'm not online? Or will player outposts and towns be like Star Wars: Galaxies and often be perpetually empty, abandoned, and non-interactable?
  • ST:Ex involves the process of easily and quickly building a FOB (Forward Operating Base) that provides strategic advantages, is formidable, but ultimately is meant to be destroyed/temporary. With structure damage being mentioned by SC devs recently, it may be a clever solution to have certain military-aligned player structures be the more raid-able and destructible outpost types, while allowing colonial outposts to be less vulnerable. It would allow for both camps of outpost-oriented players to be appeased: those that want to have a home and not have to worry, as well as players that want the challenge/risk of raids and the associated benefits of securing areas for themselves. This would also (I presume) offer a natural weathering and eventual deletion of abandoned temporary structures, helping servers in the long run. Also, a Pioneer helping dish out a kick ass destructible FOB in no time would really open up it's functionality.