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

• Severe Storms In Connecticut: Tornado warning in New Haven County | Latest CT watches, warnings | Storms leave 36,000 in dark | CT-area radar, webcam images
• Lightning Strikes Twice: Storms damage couple’s homes in Iowa, Florida
• Severe Storms target southwestern Pa. — again
• Cool Weather: Record lows posted in Midwest | Coldest North Dakota summer in 20 years | Cool summer hurting northern Minnesota resorts and farmers in Wisconsin and Indiana | Odd weather takes bite out of corn crop
• It’s not cold everywhere: Yukon, Canada fires
• The real scoop — find out what newspapers do when it’s hot, cold, rainy, dry, and snowy: Why the weather is always news
• Dust storms on the rise?
• Nolan County, Texas drought over?
• Local media outlets demonstrate weather reporting power during hurricane
• AT&T Wireless Delivers Weather In Spanish
• Britain Storms Update: Country braces for more | Now a hurricane is on its way
• Astronomy Picture of the Day asks: Could solar sailing become a future Olympic sport? | Direct image link | Solar sailing info
• Best for last: Check out this thunderhead clouds picture taken at sunset from SpaceWeather.com

Last night, I mentioned one of my co-workers is in Athens, covering the Olympics for NBC Web sites. I added that I would see if I could arrange a “day after” interview with Carly Patterson, the winner of the gold medal in the all-around gymnastics competition. I added, “Don’t hold your breath…”

Well, my co-worker has interviewed some boxers, but others are not on the list. Here, however, is the next best thing … co-worker Frank Heinz has graciously allowed me to use an image he snapped of Access Hollywood’s Nancy O’Dell interviewing America’s “new Olympic darling” from Allen, Texas.

Click on the picture for a double-sized image in a new window.

Want to see this Frank guy who periodically shows up in my posts? Frank Heinz on The Today Show in Greece (opens in new window)

Story on Patterson from KXAS-TV: Carly takes home the gold.

Lions, Goats, Cobras Need Hurricane Help: Charley Leaves Exotic Animals Stranded; 35 Veterinarians Called In. Dogs and cats also need help. Additional resources for Charley are in the Tampa and Orlando pages

Updated Charley story (death toll at 23): 1 Week After Charley, Victims Still Reeling

Might want to leave for work now… Latest National Weather Service radar loop | Live KXAS-TV 5 StormTrack Radar Stream (Windows Media Player, opens in new window) | Heavy rain leads to flash flooding in Dallas-Fort Worth ( Thursday) | Dozens of radar and webcam images, plus links to current warnings and watches are in the Dallas/Fort Worth page

It appears more rain will be added to the total in the new hi/lo/rainfall comparison page between this summer and 2000.

I’ve created a special page especially for North Texans who wonder if they are really in Seattle this summer. (Well, it’s still a little hotter, but based on the weather up there lately, not by much!):

See the daily highs, lows and rainfall recorded at DFW Airport this summer compared side-by-side to the summer of 2000. I’ve copied the introduction on the page here:

I moved to Dallas-Fort Worth in Jan. 2000 and remember my first summer here very well. Moving from Michigan (the day I moved, it was -2 degrees), I was not used to long strings of 100-degree days. That’s certainly not happening in North Texas this summer!

During the 2000 Olympic Games, we were a major contender for the gold medal in hot, hot days — we were well into the 100s. This time around, we’re in the 80s.

In 2000, there were 46 days at 100 degrees or higher, including a sweltering 111-degree day on Sept. 4. The number of 100-degree days so far this summer: 1.

And the most noticeable difference: In 2000, only .25 inches of rain fell between June 18 and Sept. 24, and the total rainfall from June 1 to Sept 30 was 6.09 inches. Just since June 1 of this year, we’re at 16.55 inches (areas west and south of the airport have seen much more than this).

I remember it looking like autumn here by Aug. 2000 as at least half of the trees had died and turned to brown. This summer, it looks more like spring…

Again, all of the exciting data is here

• Update: 15 dead in European storms
• Denver has much cooler, wetter day than usual
• Tuned In: Viewers flip to Charley TV coverage
• Latest Charley stories | Help: Red Cross | FEMA
• From Canada (with Alaska mention): Yukon’s ‘summer of a lifetime’ may not be all good news

Heavy rain leads to flash flooding in Dallas-Fort Worth | Live KXAS-TV 5 StormTrack Radar Stream (Windows Media Player, opens in new window)

Stormy Midwest: Milwaukee, areas south of Chicago and across Northern Indiana saw plenty of rain and thunderstorms Wednesday night. Severe storms also popped up in the Cleveland area. Check out the current Midwest radar from Wunderground here, and get the latest U.S. radar image, which links to your nearest city page. More rain and storms are likely in parts of the Midwest, Thursday. Find your nearest city page by state for weather, radar and webcam resources.

SpaceWeather.com has an animation of an asteroid flyby and picture and info on tonight’s “Earthshine”

Latest updates on Charley… 20 confirmed dead, nearly 500,000 still without power early Wednesday, 100,000 without phone service:

• Health problems feared in Charley’s aftermath
• Hurricane Destroys Crops, Puts Hundreds Out Of Work
• Charley’s insured losses seen hitting $7.4 billion
• Florida island hard hit by Charley reopens
• Automakers donate to victims of Hurricane Charley
• Helping Links: Red Cross | FEMA
• Charley Shows Progress, Pitfalls in Forecasting
• Latest Charley stories

Lots of international weather and space news:

• More Stormy Weather Threatens Britain and France | Charley set to hit U.K. Friday night
• Most Alps Glaciers May Disappear With Climate Change, EU Says
• Severe storms deadly in France, Japan
• Woman hit by ‘meteorite’

With a welcome break in the tropics (Earl is long-gone and Danielle is no threat), I will take a brief break from the barrage of weather news [plenty of that is in yesterday's entry] as I have some pictures to post.

Only at my church would one see this…

Indeed, that’s a pink flamingo perched atop the newly built school for our church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Keller, Texas. (Click on the picture for a closer look; image opens in a new window).

One of our church’s great priests, Father John Gremmels, has made many a joke about the pink decorative piece, which has shown up in countless forms at one time or another on the church and school grounds. The silliest involved a mechanical, neon flamingo sitting on a heap of dirt and construction debris.

Many of the mysterious appearances seem to be coming from parishioners at the church. I will count this post as my contribution.

Below is a second shot, which shows that — not one, but two — flamingos currently grace the new skyline … the second (to the left) sits atop the frame of what will be an 80-foot bell tower. At this point, it appears a garden-variety storm could bring that one down! (Click on the picture for a closer look; image opens in a new window):

And finally, some nice images are showing up on the WXnation Webcam in north Fort Worth, Texas, these past few mornings. Here’s one from yesterday morning, where actual, live birds make an appearance (You know the routine by now — click on the picture for a closer look; image opens in a new window):

As usual, many other great shots from the Fort Worth webcam are in the archive…

Article links me to weather bloggers: A Washington Post article about weather bloggers has revealed to me a larger community of weather webloggers than I knew existed. When I started this blog in Feb. 2003, I couldn’t find another one dedicated to weather… Then, last month, Ed Oswald of WeatherBlog in Philly informed me of his, and days later he was featured in Sunday’s article, along with myself and these other great weather bloggers, which I have added to the “weather blog” links in the right column: CapitalWeather (from D.C., as the name suggests), Gothamist Weather (NYC area), Wind (on the West Coast) and, discovered through a comment here, WeatherUSA.net Blog. It’s great to know I’m in such good company!

Floods hit England: 15 missing in British floods | Cars Swept Away, Buildings Collapsed | Images Slideshow (opens in new window) | Latest British flooding stories. Some webcam images from Britain may be available in the top right column of the National/International page (“World” section).

Charley aftermath: Charley tough on retirees. To help — Red Cross numbers: 866-438-4636 (toll-free): Hurricane victims can register with the Red Cross for food, clothing and shelter; and for financial contributions to disaster relief in Florida: 800-435-7669 (toll-free). Money — instead of food, clothing or other materials — is the best form of assistance, according to the Red Cross.

Update: Hurricane Charley Deaths Rise to 19; Florida Rebuilds | Nearly 800,000 in Florida Without Power | Latest stories

Much more on Charley in yesterday’s entry …

Other weather news: China raises its official death toll from Typhoon Rananim to at least 147. The most powerful storm to hit the area in seven years hit the southeastern coast Thursday and Friday.

Winter storm hits New Zealand

Flash flood in Death Valley National Park kills at least 2. The park is in the Mojave Desert, about 300 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Global warming could cause dramatically hotter summers to California, study says.

Filipino and British wildlife researchers say they’ve stumbled upon what appears to be a new species of flightless bird. Details

Saturn’s new tally of known moons: 33

See 133 Perseid meteors at once. Composite of 133 Perseid meteors captured by a video allsky camera between UT 04:41 and 12:18. The Moon and Venus are seen rising at the left. From SpaceWeather.com Perseid Meteor Gallery

Nevada drought deepens

Just as I’d suspected, I wasn’t the only one who saw record page views here on Friday the 13th: Weather.com sets record during Charley … And soon, TWC can be found beyond the ‘Net and TV set: Weather instruments with [popular] The Weather Channel® brand will soon be appearing on store shelves at national retail chains. Press release

Sprint formally launches Sprint TV today for cell phone, wireless Web users. Details

A University of Kentucky professor is pushing to set up a telescope in Australia that students could use via the Internet. Story

Archaeologists think they’ve found a cave where John the Baptist baptized many of his followers

How to help victims of Hurricane Charley: American Red Cross | FEMA | FloridaDisaster.org | How to help for Southern Florida residents | Hurricane Help Info From NBC 2, Fort Myers | School and business closings for Central Florida are in the lower left columns of the Orlando and Tampa pages

Some new stories on the trail of destruction left behind by Charley: As reported by the Boston Globe yesterday, the death toll in Florida has risen to 17 | FEMA director: Finding all Charley victims may take weeks | Charley and politics | Florida starts massive cleanup after Charley; Hurricane leaves billions in damages (includes image slideshows) | Charley slideshow | Captiva Island damage | Latest Charley stories via Google News

Tropical Storm Earl fades into a tropical wave. There is a chance that Earl may regenerate, become a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico and become a threat to Mexico or extreme-south Texas by the end of the week and weekend. According to the final National Hurricane Center’s update on Earl at 11 a.m. EDT Monday, maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph. [Last text update]. Story: Tropical Storm Earl Rakes Across Eastern Caribbean Islands Get the latest stories on Earl

In other weather news: Wildfire burns through Calif. mountain community near Redding, destroying more than 20 homes and forcing its 300 residents to evacuate. More stories

This weather tracking on the Web story includes a great quote from New York native and retired U.S. Navy officer, Don Arnold of Pascagoula, who survived two hurricanes while at sea: “I would rather face one on land since you can at least run from them.”

Charley’s aftermath: For Florida county’s retirees, paradise lost… Most reports have Charley’s death toll at 16, but The Boston Globe reported Sunday a death count of 17 from Charley, who hit Port Charlotte as a Category 4 hurricane with 145 mph winds. Story: Post-Hurricane Relief Efforts Under Way. A weakened Charley with 35 mph winds headed toward Maine Sunday. Get the latest news stories on Charley’s aftermath via Google News.

Earl headed for Gulf: Tropical Storm Earl rakes across eastern Caribbean islands, forecast to strengthen to hurricane. According to the National Hurricane Center’s updates, Earl had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph at 11 p.m. EDT Sunday.

Quick update on other weather news: Bad weather postpones Monday’s racing at the Olympic rowing regatta | Weather may decide Sri Lanka’s hopes

Enjoy the brisk mid-August weather, Houston: Temperatures dipped to 65 degrees at Bush Intercontinental Airport just after 6:30 a.m. Saturday, breaking a 73-year-old record low for the day. Story

In the world of webcams, a great story: Sergeant witnesses birth of son 10,000 miles away

From SpaceWeather.com: High-latitude auroras are possible tonight. See some great pictures now in the August Aurora Gallery

Back to weather… Rare twister touches down briefly in Southern California

Top Weather Sites Manage Traffic from Hurricane Charley… While I’m nowhere near as popular as these sites, I must give kudos to my web host, HostMyStie.com, for smooth sailing through it all…

Published!: Taking a break from Charley updates for a moment, it’s always nice to get quoted in a major newspaper, and it’s been a while (The Detroit Free Press in Nov. 2002 to be exact). Today’s editions of The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com have an article on weather bloggers in the front page of the Style section by Rebecca Dana, and I am included:

Bill Young, 31, maintains “what I like to think of as the Drudge Report for weather,” which right now serves as a weblink clearinghouse about Charley, from his home in northern Texas.

Boy, now I guess I have to live up to that quote… Anyway, if you are here for the first time due to Charley or The Washington Post article, I welcome you to this weather blog that I started 18 months ago this coming Thursday as an extension to my primary weather and webcams site.

… The Charley weblink clearinghouse follows:

Updates From Florida: Live video stream from NBC 2, Fort Myers (Link in center column, images also available here) | Hurricane Charley has killed at least 13 people and left thousands homeless in Florida and flattened oceanfront homes, leaving thousands homeless as it roared across the state. Full story from NBC 6 Miami, includes latest images of damage | More NBC 6 coverage | Rescuers Rush to Help Charley’s Victims in Florida | Latest Charley stories – Google News

Second Landfall: Charley made a second landfall Saturday morning as a Category 1 hurricane with near 85 mph sustained winds about 35 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This entry will focus on Charley’s movement today (more details on Charley’s Florida landfall on Friday are in yesterday’s entry below), but before I get into it, I want to thank each of you who have visited my blog and site. We saw the highest traffic ever Friday. I hope you’ve found both the blog and the city pages worthwhile. I was at the dentist’s half of the day (why did I pick Friday the 13th?) and spent most of the afternoon and evening recovering in between periodic posts here. I hope you found the blog updated for the most part, anyway, back on topic…

Latest On Charley: As of 11 p.m. EDT Saturday, Charley is just barely a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds near 40 mph. Movement: NE near 35 mph. He had 85 mph winds early today and 75 mph late in the morning. [Latest text update here] Charley is expected to dump 1 to 2 inches of rain up to southeastern New England by Sunday morning. See Charley’s 3-Day Expected track. Also, get the latest updates on this and two other new systems in the Atlantic: Tropical Storm Danielle and the even-closer Earl … Some new resources:

• East Coast Coverage: Charley Losing His Punch | Tropical Storm Warning Issued For Parts Of N.J. | Hampton Roads Weathers Eye of Tropical Storm Charley | Charley Moving Up East Coast | Say Goodbye To Charley | Weakened Charley Drenches Eastern N.C., Causes Little Damage | Charley hits SC coast with rain, 85 mph winds | Very latest Charley stories
• Updated Coverage From: MSNBC | WNBC-TV 4, New York City | New York Times | WRC-TV 4, Washington, D.C. | Washington Post | WCAU-TV 10, Philly | WVEC-TV 13, Norfolk, VA | WAVY-TV 10, Norfolk, VA | WTKR-TV 3, Norfolk, VA | WNCN-TV 17, Raleigh, N.C. | WRAL-TV, Raleigh, N.C. | WCNC-TV Charlotte, N.C. | WIS-TV 10, Columbia, S.C.
• Both the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army are accepting cash donations. Visit these sites, or call 1-800-HELP-NOW and 1-800- SAL-ARMY to find out how you can help
• Latest National Weather Service radar image | IR satellite loop from Intellicast
• Watches and warnings from the National Weather Service for the following regions: East Coast | Wilmington, N.C. | Newport/Morehead City, N.C. | Wakefield/Norfolk, VA | Baltimore/Washington, D.C. | Philly | NYC/New Jersey | Boston/SE New England
• Latest hurricane updates from National Hurricane Center
• Interactive Hurricane Tracker (Java, opens in new window)
• Search for streaming radio stations nationwide
• Blogs/Tracking Sites: HurricaneTrack.com Video Updates | WeatherBug Blogging Charley | WeatherUSA.net Blog | WeatherBlog | MoreWeather.com Tropics Page
• Dozens of weather radar and webcam image resources are in the following WXnation.com pages: Key West; Tampa; Orlando; Jacksonville; Savannah, GA; Columbia, S.C.; Greenville, S.C.; Raleigh, N.C.; Greensboro, N.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Richmond, VA; Norfolk, VA; Washington, DC; Baltimore; Philly; New York City; Hartford, CT; Providence, RI; Boston, MA; and Portland, ME. Check out our live U.S. radar, which links to 108 cities

Charley just south of Carolinas on our home page’s satellite/radar: (This image from 7 a.m. EDT Saturday):

Here’s an interesting blog entry from Mike Wendland about live images on the ‘Net during Charley’s landfall

Now, there is plenty posted about Charley’s impact on Friday the 13th in yesterday’s post below. I have left all of last night’s resources in tact. Details on Charley’s trail through Florida follows…

In other weather news: Strange device drops from Pennsylvania sky

Chilly Weather Takes A Toll On Summer Businesses In Columbus, OH | Cool Weather Means Slow Business At Kansas City-Area Pools

Sprint will start TV service for wireless

Astronomy Picture of the Day: Messenger launch

Plenty of new Perseid meteor shower pictures are in SpaceWeather.com’s Gallery. Look for the entry from Achim Schaller and figure out how many meteors you can see in the sky.

Hurricane Charley made landfall near Port Charlotte, Florida, southwest of Fort Myers, and about 160 miles southeast of Tampa, at 3:45 p.m. EDT Friday as a major hurricane (Category 4) with at least 145 mph maximum sustained winds and gusts to 165 mph. At 7 p.m. EDT Friday, Charley had maximum sustained winds near 115 mph, and at 11 p.m. EDT, Charley was down to 85 mph winds just as he re-entered the Atlantic Ocean east of Jacksonville after moving through Orlando and Daytona Beach. About one million residents in Florida were without power by Friday afternoon. The same number of residents and visitors were ordered Thursday to evacuate low-lying areas because of Charley. The largest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 12 years left behind a trail of destruction, including flooding, and downed trees, homes and businesses. Hurricane and tropical storm warnings covered all of Florida, except the Panhandle, Friday. Some resources:

• Charley May Cost Insurers More Than $15 Billion | President Declares Parts Of Florida Disaster Areas | Images Slideshow From NBC 6 Miami | Charley Reaches Landfall At Sanibel Island | Charley Becomes Major Category 4 Storm With 145 Mph Winds | 1 Million Warned Off Florida Coast As Charley Grows | Latest stories
• Live Video Stream from WTSP-TV 10, Tampa Bay (Windows Media Player) | Video From NBC 2, Ft. Myers | Live Audio Stream: WDBO-AM 580, Orlando | WOKV-AM 690, Jacksonville | Live Audio Stream: Tan Talk Radio 1340 AM (Left column) | Other radio streams
• Coverage From Local 6 Orlando | Coverage, Interactives From NBC 6 Miami | Coverage from WFLA-TV 8, Tampa Bay
• WFLA-TV 8 School/Business Closings | WTSP-TV 10 School/Business Closings | WSVN-TV 7 Key West Closings
• Latest National Weather Service radar image | IR satellite loop from Intellicast
• A forecast one doesn’t see often: “Wind gusts up to 80 mph possible” | Orlando-Area watches, warnings from National Weather Service | Tampa-Area watches, warnings from NWS | National watches, warnings from NWS
• Latest hurricane updates from National Hurricane Center
• Interactive Hurricane Tracker (Java, opens in new window)
• WeatherBug Blogging Charley | Other Weather Blog Coverage: WeatherUSA.net Blog | WeatherBlog
• Both the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army are accepting cash donations. Visit these sites, or call 1-800-HELP-NOW and 1-800- SAL-ARMY to find out how you can help
• Dozens of weather radar and webcam image resources are in our pages for Orlando , Tampa, Jacksonville and Key West | Check out our live U.S. radar, which links to all cities

Charley visible at the bottom of our home page’s satellite/radar: (This image from 5 p.m. EDT Friday):

More info on Hurricane Charley from 11 p.m. EDT Friday: Some strengthening forecast in next 24 hours. Moving NNE at 25 mph.

Tonight’s Hurricane Charley info has been moved into a new entry for Friday. To review today’s events surrounding the biggest threat to Florida’s West Coast in more than four decades: Charley quickly grew from a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph maximum sustained winds to a Category 2 with 105 mph winds Thursday. Charley began turning from the NW to the NNW late in the day as it moved over Cuba. About 1 million residents and visitors were told to leave while the entire state, expect the Panhandle, was placed under a flood watch.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Bonnie made landfall in the Florida Panhandle Thursday afternoon with 40 mph winds. By 5 p.m. EDT, winds had diminished to near 35 mph. Story. 3-Day track Radar and webcam image resources for the affected area are in the Panama City page

In other weather news: Oklahoma City thunderstorms with 90 mph winds kill two | Story from ChannelOklahoma.com | Full coverage, including slideshows

El Paso’s streets flood; storms likely to continue

Perseid Meteor Shower Pictures: Another great Astronomy Picture of the Day involving the Perseid meteor shower. Direct link to image

Of course, SpaceWeather.com always comes through with a great image gallery, this time for the Perseid shower. It even includes that ghostly ping audio from Kickapoo, Texas that I spoke of earlier in this blog…

And in the world of webcams: Burglary on Webcam nets teen 2 years

Charley, with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph, became a hurricane this afternoon. Charley’s track, seen here, would put it over Florida Friday.

Tropical Storm Bonnie’s maximum sustained winds were near 60 mph, according to the 11 p.m. ET report. Bonnie is expected to move into Florida during the day Thursday. See her expected track, and get the latest updates from NOAA here. Additional stories:

• Charley soaks Jamaica
• Charley Forces Amtrak Cancellations
• Florida officials are telling visitors to leave parts of the Keys as Hurricane Charley approaches
• Charley Becomes Hurricane, Targets Florida
• Charley Becomes a Hurricane; Bonnie Gains Strength
• Three Steps to Prepare for Tropical Weather
• More coverage form Google News

Tropical Storm Updates, Images: Get the latest updates on both storms from the National Hurricane Center, as well as satellite imagery, and be sure to check out the Hurricane Tracker (Java, opens in new window).

Tropical Storm Bonnie in Gulf Of Mexico and Hurricane Charley in Atlantic Ocean, 12 a.m. EDT Thursday: (Link goes to live U.S. radar image)

Additional hurricane Web sites are featured in the right columns of our National/International page and all coastal city pages.

Other Weather News: Severe storms are moving across the Northeast this afternoon. Get the latest radar and webcam images in your nearest city via the interactive radar map or text list. Check the latest watches and warnings from the National Weather Service

Storms hit Oklahoma with 90 mph winds, leave woman dead. Coverage from ChannelOklahoma.com

Vane sales: What started as a hobby in a garage has turned into a booming business for a North Dakota family. Details

Nice Perseid meteor shot from Astronomy Picture of the Day

Details on the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks early tomorrow morning with 60 meteors per hour, is at SpaceWeather.com