Weather & Space News Blog
 since Feb. 2003
 WX - Telegraph abbreviation for weather often used with Morse code
 The Wire - Name once given to the telegraph

Weather, Choppy Waves Hampers Taxi Boat Search

Bay Area, Calif.: Weather melts heat records for the second day in a row

And, Rain predicted across much of the Lone Star State Saturday. For many resources in north Texas, including a streaming radar, see the March 4 weblog entry here.

Finally, here’s something that doesn’t happen every day: Pope to Be Third-Longest-Serving Sunday

Television news coverage of the weather that left this columnist quaking …

But this headline sounds like fun! (From North Dakota): Windy winter surprise

Meanwhile in California’s Bay Area: Temperatures Hit Record Highs

Now, back to snow-related content: New scale rates Northeast winter storms

Finally, an update: Canadian Gas May Fall as Warmer US Weather Pares Furnace Use

From the SpaceWeather.com Aurora Gallery: I especially like this one, taken in Quebec

Water Taxi Tragedy Update: NTSB probes water taxi accident in Baltimore

Strong Winds Blow Through North Dakota

Radios provide locals with reassurance when Oklahoma weather gets rough

But … About Two Dozen Kentucky Counties Lack Weather Radios

DC Adds Days To School Year

From the warm West: Unseasonably Warm Weather Could Break Records

And finally, something strange and unfortunate: Police: Designated Driver, 11, Pulled Over, Dad Arrested

Brush Fire Threat In Florida Remains High

San Diego: County’s heat wave continues

AgNews: Texas Weather Connection offers long-term weather perspectives

California Bakes In Heat Wave

Search Continues After Deadly Baltimore Water Taxi Flips… From CBS News: Was Weather Warning Too Late?

109 mph Wind In Montana: Blustery winds reach 109 mph at Logan Pass

From North Carolina: Cold Front Brings Severe Weather Across North Carolina

From South Carolina: Weather officials blown away by heavy winds

Canadian Gas May Rise as Cool Weather Seen in Northern US

Deadly gust of wind hits boat in Baltimore: Baltimore Water Shuttle Capsizes; 2 Dead, 3 Missing, Post Says. More from WRC-TV

Triple-digit winds with no tornado or hurricane in sight? Wild winds [reaching 100 mph] toss trees, trucks in metro Denver, Colorado. And from this TheDenverChannel.com story: There were reports of wind gusts of up to 100 mph in Ward, 90 mph in Wellington and 88 mph in Boulder.

Jail Cam: A sheriff’s department in Tennessee has placed streaming cams from the Anderson County Detention Facility online. The following is posted beside the ‘jail cam’ images: “Instances of violence or sexually inappropriate behavior by detainees during the booking process may occur. Viewer discretion is advised. This is a Jail not a simulation.”

As a former school closings administrator at my former local TV station job in Detroit, I know this was one of my bigger fears: Pranksters reportedly snow TV weather announcement system

A 14-year-old boy has set a new record in being the youngest person to pass a test for certified weather forecasters in an exam held in January, the examiner said Friday. Details here.

Weather system brings damaging winds, cuts off power to thousands in southern Michigan.

Over 20 Vehicles Crash in Foggy Weather

In the world of webcam news: Wild animal park unveils streaming Elephant Cam. Many other animal streaming cams from the zoo are in the San Diego webcam list.

And finally, from out there: Tonight, you have another opportunity to listen to the sounds of Jupiter through your Real Player. The best chance to hear the noises is between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. ET Sunday morning. The link to the audio is at SpaceWeather.com.

Some good stories from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: When severe thunderstorms threaten North Texas, meteorologists spring into action and Strong winds do damage in storms across Texas

Last summer appears to have been the hottest since 1500 in Europe. Details from USAToday.com

Rain and storms are sweeping across much of the Central U.S. Get the latest watches and warnings from EarthWatch, and get radar and cam images, plus much more in your nearest city.

Severe weather has moved across west and north Texas. Story here … Monitor watches and warnings in north Texas here. A good still radar image is from the National Weather Service. Also great: Storm Radar Summary from Intellicast showing cloudtops and hail/tornadoes, plus direction.

A live streaming radar for north Texas (Windows Media Player/Broadband users only) is StormTrack from KXAS-TV, and my favorite looping radar is the National Weather Service’s short-range loop.

A nice live cam (of course I’m going to suggest this) is the WXnation.com auto-updating cam from north Fort Worth. On the Dallas side, I especially like the High Five Streaming Cams. These are about as close to live video as anything I’ve come across. Many other radar images and webcams, plus warnings and much more are in the Dallas-Fort Worth page. Also, check out Severe weather tips.

From the San Antonio area: Tornado Warning Issued For Bexar Co.. A good radar image is here, and see cloudtop heights in the Intellicast Storm Radar Summary. Much more in the San Antonio page.

From Oklahoma: Irony of ironies: Due to the risk of severe weather in the viewing area tonight, the News on 6 has canceled tonight’s Wild Wild Weather show in Okmulgee. Details here.

From Kansas: Severe weather possible this afternoon

Today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day reminds me of the night I went about an hour east of Dallas to get away from the light pollution and see the Leonid Meteor Shower of 2001. One thing I like about far north Fort Worth: there is slightly less light pollution so it is easier to see the stars at night, that are big and bright (don’t worry, I’m not going to finish the song)…

This week, Earth and Jupiter are only 400 million miles apart–the nearest the two worlds will be all year. More at SpaceWeather.com

Radio Beat: Traffic and weather on satellite radio? Some are crying foul. More on XM and weather in the entries below…

Weather Channel chief resigns | Second-ranking executive to take over

Weather girl turns the air blue | TV station plays tape of swearing weather girl

On a personal note, here are some pictures I have recently taken with my Sprint PCS camera phone:

Fort Worth skyline taken from I-30 merging onto I35W North, taken in Jan. 2004:

My dog Jake, taken 3/02/04:

Another shot of my dog Jake, taken 3/02/04:

Picture taken at dawn from the Fort Worth Mixmaster at the top of the ramp from southbound I-35W to westbound I-30, 3/02/04:

And finally, Jake plays in the biggest snowfall in nearly 20 years on Valentine’s Day:

Other pictures of the snowfall in Fort Worth can be found in the updated WXnation Webcam Archive for February 2004.

NASA: Mars Water ‘Drenched’ Opportunity Site

Severe Weather Threatens Pets

And, from Washington State: Statewide traffic hotline fails as new cams go up in county

Snowstorm in Central Plains: Snowstorm Buries Parts Of Great Plains | Colorado: Snowstorm Leaves Hundreds Of Drivers Stranded | South Dakota: Snowstorm closes roads, causes travel problems in western SD

This week is Severe Weather Awareness Week for many.

Fairmont NASA facility to back up Weather Service computer

More on XM Radio’s local weather info: XM Launches Advanced Instant Traffic, Weather Service for Major Markets and Sirius Launches Local Traffic and Weather Service

From MercuryNews.com: Quality of Internet videoconferencing isn’t clearing up

And finally, “The Passion of The Christ” is up to $125 million through Sunday, making it the third biggest five-day opener and sixth-biggest Friday-Sunday opener.