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

Titan Updates: New photos show Titan has orange surface | Full image | Titan may have lakes, rivers

Avalanche Update: Search continues for 5 missing in Utah avalanche: Among the warnings were signs posted in the slide area that read “You Can Die” and bore a skull and crossbones.

Ohio Snow: 2-4 Inches Of Snow Expected In Central Ohio. More on Ohio later in this post…

Ohio/Indiana Flooding: Pair of good Samaritans rescue Ohio man

Flooding still threatens southwest Indiana

Washington Mix?: Whether it’s rain or snow hangs on small variations | Ice, freezing rain assault Western Oregon

Tsunami Update: Scientists release tsunami effect data: By the time the first giant wave slammed into Sri Lanka’s coast it was a monstrous 15 feet high, scientists say. | Very latest stories

Strange News: Unusual: At least 17 beached whales dead in N.C.

Space News: Aurora alert and giant sunspot

Welcome 110th WXnation.com City: Dayton Virtually every metro area with a population above 1 million in the 50 states is represented on this site, and in the 2000 Census, metropolitan Dayton, Ohio, was awfully close to that mark with a population of about 951,000. It’s probably up to a million by now, so Dayton becomes the 110th city to join the WXnation.com family of weather and webcam pages. The complete city list is to the right. I do want to thank regular visitor and Dayton resident, Glenn, who motivated me to add what was the next city on my list, and pointed out which cams needed to be moved from the Cincinnati and Columbus pages.

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Saturday: 1. Vancouver 2. Portland 3. Reno 4. Seattle 5. Pittsburgh … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Avalanche: Avalanche buries at least 3 near Utah ski resort

Calif. Dam Update: Officials lift evacuation order for residents near dam

Weather News: Calif. storm damage tops $100M

Extreme cold breaks record; high winds kill 2: Brainerd, Minn., hit 31 below zero Friday morning, and Mobridge, S.D., bottomed out at 32 below, breaking the record for the date of minus 27 set in 1972, the National Weather Service said. Aberdeen, S.D., fell to 34 degrees below zero.

Icy B.C. sees cold-weather records set

Tornado watch canceled for portions of Virginia southwest of D.C. Full story

Space News: Probe lands on Saturn moon, spots alien riverbeds | Coverage from NASA

Image (right) Courtesy: ESA/NASA/University of Arizona. Surface of Titan with ice blocks strewn around. Image links to additional images.

Upside-down icicles posted at SpaceWeather.com

Tsunami Update: Latest news | U.S. announces Tsunami warning system plan | Hollywood, music celebrities tapped for ‘Tsunami Aid’ concert

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Friday: 1. Key West 2. Reno 3. Minneapolis 4. Los Angeles 5. Vancouver … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Rising Water Prompts Evacuations: Possible leak in California dam affecting 500 homes, 330 mobile homes

Western Storms Update: Landslide search draws to close; 10 bodies recovered from debris | 135 people cut off by California flooding | Snow, rain make small dent in drought

Stormy U.S.: Storms take two more lives, spawn twisters in Arkansas | Rain and snow in central, eastern U.S. | More water and more floods in Indiana | Strong storms move through Carolinas | Resources: Current watches/warnings map from NWS | Live satellite/radar and city list for weather/webcam images

Big Chill: Current U.S. temperatures and wind chills

Biologists: Some Animals Got Early Warnings On Florida Hurricanes: As hurricane after hurricane struck Florida last year, animals showed a striking ability to predict catastrophe and get out of the way. Full story

Space News: Space probe nears historic encounter with Titan | Satellite dish in Iowa to report weather on Saturn moon | NASA’s Deep Impact out of ‘safe mode’ | Big sunspot forming

Tsunami Update: Pitt, De Niro sign on for tsunami benefit | Very latest news | Tsunami aid

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Thursday: 1. St. Louis 2. Atlanta 3. Reno 4. Chicago 5. Birmingham … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Storms Sweep Across Midwest, South: Current watches and warnings map (Many Missouri counties under flood warnings right now) | Live satellite/radar image

Calif. Mudslide Death Toll At 10: California town warned as mudslide death toll hits 10 From Reuters: Residents and sheriff’s deputies wept as the names of the 10 confirmed dead were read out. But when the names of 10 other people presumed buried were read, four of them stood up in the room to announce that they had survived.

Path Of Destruction: Torrential storm tears up Western States

West Coast Storms From Asia?: U.S. West Coast storms may have started in Asia: It’s called the Madden-Julian Oscillation, or MJO for short. Quiz on Friday…

Storm Resources: Live weather and webcams for Calif., U.S. cities

San Diego Hurricane?: Two meteorologists say a hurricane hit San Diego County on Oct. 2, 1858. “If it’s happened once, we know it can happen again,” said Christopher Landsea, a research meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Fatal Highway Pileups: Fatal highway pileups in 2 states kill at least 3: Dense fog reported near crashes in Michigan, Indiana

50-Below Wind Chills, Near-Blizzard Conditions!: Ferocious winter storm hits North Dakota: Forecasters said the storm would produce blizzard or near-blizzard conditions across western and central North Dakota. Wind chill factors were expected to drop to as low as 50 below zero Wednesday night.

Storm begins pummeling Montana: High temperatures in many areas were not expected to rise above zero until next week, with overnight lows forecast to near 30 below zero, not counting wind chills.

Power Returns To Town In Deep Freeze: Power restored to most homes in Alaska town which lost power in blizzard

Storms Kill 2, Winds Reach 124 Mph: Two motorists were killed as storms with winds up to 124 mph hit Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England — Full story

Other Weather News: Snow closes schools in St. Paul

Tsunami Update: Satellites recorded swell before tsunami | Indonesia orders troops out by end of March

Explosive fireball said to shake Earth: Villagers in India are in a state of shock — “The noise was so loud, for a moment I thought I had turned deaf”

Space News: NASA launches comet-smashing spacecraft

From SpaceWeather.com: On Thursday, Jan. 13, Saturn will be 750 million miles from Earth — the closest we get to the ringed planet all year long. Step outside around 7:30 p.m. and look east.

Dec. 2004 WXnation Fort Worth Webcam Archive Online: Includes the images of snow, sunrise and jet below (pictures link to double-sized images). Also see the live version and entire archive…

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Wednesday (Reno is No. 1 for the 6th straight day): 1. Reno 2. Dallas-Fort Worth 3. Toronto 4. Minneapolis 5. Chicago … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

California Storms Update/Images: Residents warned more mudslides possible ; Death toll at 10 | Total deaths from series of storms, record SoCal rain at 28; Rescues continue …. Mom tapes own house hit by mudslide; Panic caught on camera |Image galleries and slideshow (in new window)

“What Timing”: S.D. weather the talk of annual meteorological meeting — Full story

Resources: Weather and live webcam images for L.A., San Diego and Reno, plus current NWS watches and warnings

Other Weather News: Recovery efforts underway in Utah following devastating flood

Blizzard Warning across much of Montana

Rising waters force evacuation of southern Nevada town, several homes flooded

eBay bidding closes on South Texas snowballs: Final price, $92. Bidding also has closed for a Brownsville snowman… the price for that real keeper is inside the story

Tsunami Updates: Andaman Islands flooded, death toll at 157,000 | Tsunami aid

A Thai Tsunami forecaster once dismissed as a crackpot is now in charge of the newly established National Disaster Warning Office, which will work with seismologists to establish a tsunami early warning system — Full story

Blogger says he predicted Indonesian earthquake and is asking readers to prove that they remember reading the Sept. post. Perhaps George Noory or Art Bell will probe into this on Coast To Coast AM?

Is there a connection between the Indonesian earthquake and recent abnormal weather? Nope, says Dr. Tim Long, a seismologist at Georgia Tech

Final Thoughts (for now): Icy weather may return to Iowa while winter reappears in Sooner State. Here in North Texas, the high Tuesday was 75 degrees. Overnight low: 61, storms possible today with high still in the 70s … Saturday morning’s low forecast to be in the 20s, just in time for the weekend!

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Tuesday: 1. Reno 2. Vancouver 3. Los Angeles 4. San Diego 5. Omaha … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

California Storm Updates: 4 dead, up to 27 missing as landslide hits Calif. homes — Full story

Death toll grows as storm keeps pounding California: Since Friday alone, downtown Los Angeles has received 5.16 inches of rain.

Resources: Current Watches/Warnings Map From National Weather Service | SoCal radar image | Northern Calif. radar | Weather and webcam images for Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and Reno

NASA: Iceberg Collission Imminent: Largest Demolition Derby On Earth: Scientists say slow-motion iceberg collision near Antarctic research station imminent — Full story

NASA On Earth-Changing Quake: Indonesian earthquake quickened Earth’s rotation, caused Pole shift, changed our planet’s shape — Full story | Cosmic Log on this topic

Center for Earthquake Research to study data from Asian quake

Deadly tsunami measured by satellite | Killer waves were sometimes only inches high

Tsunami Aid 2004 Deduction: Give to tsunami aid now, deduct it on ’04 returns

Space News: Possible planet caught on film … again

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Monday (Top 4 remains unchanged from Sunday): 1. Reno 2. Los Angeles 3. San Diego 4. Vancouver 5. Chicago … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Monday Morning Updates:

• Snowy Sierra Nevada; Steep Drifts Stop Amtrak Train: Highlights: 19 feet of snow has fallen at elevations above 7,000 feet since Dec. 28; 6½ feet at lower elevations in the Reno area, making it the most snow that the Reno-Lake Tahoe area has seen since 1916.
• 4th day of thrashing thunderstorms began to take a heavier toll on Southern California: 24-hour rain totals (preceding 4 p.m. Sunday): Downtown Los Angeles, 4.49 inches; Beverly Hills, 7.79 inches; Santa Monica, 4.7 inches (Resources for Calif. storms in the entry below…)
• Asia’s 9.0 Quake Impacts Virginia Well-Water Levels: The South Asian earthquake that spawned deadly tsunami waves also shifted water levels by at least 3 feet in a geologically sensitive Virginia well some 9,600 miles away from the epicenter, researchers say. (Tsunami aid links are in red text, located near the top of most WXnation.com pages)

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Sunday: 1. Reno 2. Los Angeles 3. San Diego 4. Vancouver 5. Green Bay … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Many Strange Weather Headlines:

• At least 4 killed as SoCal storm intensifies: No end in sight until Monday | Radar loop| Live watches/warnings | Very latest stories
• Storm piles more snow across Sierra Nevada: 5 feet of new snow possible by Tuesday morning on top of 4.5 feet already on the ground. Up to 6 inches of rain expected Sunday in SoCal.
• Storms stacked up to hit San Diego County: Sunday, the storm is expected to drop 1.3 to 2.25 inches of rain in the coastal and valley areas and 4 to 10.5 inches of rain in the mountains, Weather Service forecaster Brad Doyle said. More on the Southern California storms from KNBC-TV, L.A.
• CNN: Storms slam California, soak Ohio
• Calif. snow strands 200 vehicles overnight
• Meanwhile, it reached a record 81-degrees Saturday in Charleston, S.C.
• Snowfall sneaks up overnight In Metro Detroit
• 13 killed, several missing as storm lashes Europe: Hurricane-force winds reported
  U.K. weather alert to last for days
• Tsunami damages endangered sea turtles
• Fla. hurricanes may have spared manatees
• Colorful northern lights fill Jan. sky
• Snow-boat designed to prevent ice anglers from drowning

Calif. Storms — Resources:

• National Weather Service watches, warnings, advisories for Western U.S.
• Southern California radar | N. Calif./Nevada
• Live weather and webcams for more than 100 U.S. cities

More Blog Tweaks:

I can’t seem to leave the appearance of this blog alone. Among the most noticeable changes: the city pages have been moved to the right to mirror the layout on all the other pages, and the blog entry dates and headlines have a different look.

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Saturday: 1. Reno 2. Los Angeles 3. Vancouver 4. Boston 5. San Diego … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Bizarre Weather Weekend: Winter Storm Hammers Sierra, Northern Nevada, Shuts Down Mountain Highways: Up to 4.5 feet of snow reported

Storm Batters California, Deposits Snow On Las Vegas Strip: First of three storms expected this weekend … Downtown L.A. could see 5 inches of rain by Monday night, and the mountains: 10 inches to 15 inches, the National Weather Service said. The storm provided a rare snowfall to the Las Vegas Strip, where up to 2 inches of snow was reported Friday. Story From KNBC-TV 4, L.A. Features Many Image Slideshows

Resources: Weather and webcam images for San Francisco and Reno | Los Angeles and Las Vegas | Regional radar image | Current Watches/Warnings Map From National Weather Service

Heavy Snow In Eastern Washington State: Accumulations of nearly a foot in the Inland Northwest are possible by Saturday afternoon. Resources: Weather and webcam images for Eastern Washington and Western Washington

B.C. Blasted By Snow For Second Day: Snow blasted B.C. Friday, blinding motorists and blanketing streets with sheets of ice. Environment Canada said the snow and cold weather will last until next weekend. Resource: Weather and webcam images for B.C.

Ohio River Floods Friday: Schools closed in West Virginia and Ohio; historic National Road underwater in Wheeling, where the Ohio was 6 feet above flood stage Friday morning. The river was expected to rise to 9 feet above flood stage before cresting.

Warm Weather In Southeast Causes Rare Winter Allergies

7 Killed, Ferry Runs Aground As Storm Pounds Northern Europe

Other Weather News: Weak El Nino To Affect Weather For Next 3 Months: NOAA’s latest winter outlook: Cooler and wetter weather in parts of the U.S. South; drier conditions in some areas of Indonesia, Africa and Australia.

Praise: Philadelphia NBC 10, Weather Channel Meteorologists Honored By American Meteorological Society

No Praise: Weather Service Credibility Damaged

Even Less Praise (from parents, students and teachers): One Man, One Snow Storm, One Decision For 25,000: After the biggest snowstorm of the season, 105 Madison, Wisc., school districts called off classes Thursday, but Madison’s district decided to hold classes. Many parents, students and even some teachers were critical of the decision.

Space/Science News: Maui Recommended For Site Of Solar Scope

‘White Noise’ Focuses Attention On Spooky Sounds

Tsunami Update: Death Toll Passes 150,000: Some good news: The World Health Organization says no major disease outbreaks have been reported at this point.

Tsunami Reverts Beaches To Natural State

Much more on the tsunami in the entries below.

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Friday: 1. Reno 2. Vancouver 3. Los Angeles 4. San Diego 5. Las Vegas … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Tsunami Update: Tsunami Death Toll Reaches 160,000:The death toll from the devastating tsunami that hit Asia and Africa soared to about 160,000 early today after Indonesia announced almost 20,000 new deaths. How To Help Much more on the tsunamis in the previous days’ entries below…

New SoCal Storm To Batter Area: Strong Storm Builds Off California Coast: Forecasters warned Southland residents to brace for a storm system expected to produce heavy rain, more than a foot of snow at higher elevations, gale-force winds, high surf and flooding. Resources: Regional Radar | NWS Weather Watches/Warnings Map | L.A. Live Weather/Webcam Images | San Diego Live Weather/Webcam Images

Other News: Report: Ex-Journalist Sues The Weather Channel For Age Discrimination … Her photo is among those in this “Wall of Fame”

New At WXnation.com: Top 100 Streaming Webcams: I’ve compiled the most popular outdoor streaming webcams, using visitor data from Dec. 7, 2004 through Thursday. The results are in this new Top 100 webcams page, which will be updated on a fairly regular basis.

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Thursday: 1. Vancouver 2. Boston 3. Chicago 4. Syracuse 5. Toronto … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Winter Storm Blankets Midwest, New England:

• Midwest: Chicago Snow Ending, Roads Slow: Thirty-six hours of constant snowfall means the northwest suburbs could see a foot of snow before it’s all over.
• 9 Inches Of Snow Could Fall By Noon In Milwaukee
• Snow-Ice Mix To Cover Metro Detroit: 5-8 inches of snow expected in southern Metro Detroit
• Ice Storms Freeze Oklahoma Roads, Power Lines: An ice storm froze roadways and power lines across a wide section of Oklahoma Wednesday, sending cars sliding into ditches, causing power outages affecting more than 8,000 homes and forcing schools to cancel classes.
• KC In ‘Last Stages Of Storm’: Thousands of residents are still without power Wednesday night as cold winds hit the Kansas City metro
• Iowa Sees 8-13 Inches Of Snow
• New England: From WNBC in NYC: Snow, Sleet, Rain Mix Hits Tri-State Area
• Connecticut To See 2-9 Inches Of Snow
• N.E. Gets Snow … And More Snow: The storm is expected to linger over New England all day, leaving 4 to 8 inches of total snowfall before it moves out.
• Resources: City pages list (live weather and webcam images in each) | Wunderground U.S. Radars With Snow Display | National Weather Service Watches/Warnings | Additional National Weather Images

Other Weather News: Arizona Rivers Flowing After Storms: For the first time in seven years, virtually every river in Arizona is doing what rivers usually do in most other places: flow with water.

SoCal Storm Threatens To Shatter Calm Conditions: Residents are preparing for a massive winter storm that might bring mudslides to already unstable hill and burn areas.

Magnitude 4.4 Quake Follows 3.6 In L.A. Area: Preliminary data from USGS … Resources: Live earthquake list in lower left column of this page. More earthquake info in our National page (right column)

SpaceWeather.com asks “Where does space begin?” More in this Adobe Acrobat file

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Wednesday: 1. Omaha 2. Oklahoma City 3. Chicago 4. Detroit 5. Kansas City … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Much Of Midwest, Parts Of Northeast Under Winter Storm Warnings: Storm Spreads Snow, Ice Across Country: Cold air dropped the temperature to a Jan. 5 record low of 39 below zero in Grand Forks, N.D. Embarrass, Minn., hit 43 below, the National Weather Service said. Resources: Wunderground Regional Radar With Snow Display | All U.S. Regional Radars By Region | National Weather Service Watches/Warnings Map | Additional National Weather Images | City Pages With Weather/Webcam Images

3 Storms May Converge In Once-In-A-Generation Onslaught: 1-2-3 Punch: Nasty, moisture-laden storms coming from the north, west and south are likely to converge on much of the U.S. over the next several days in what could be a once-in-a-generation onslaught, meteorologists forecast Tuesday.

Another Winter Blast Heads For California: Winter Blast Looms Off S. California Coast: Flooding, mudslides possible

Dangerous Icy Blast In Kansas: Ice Storm Creates ‘Disaster Emergency’ In Kansas Resources: Kansas City Webcam Images/Weather | KC Area Current Watches/Warnings | Wichita Webcam Images/Weather

Reno’s Biggest Snowstorm In 15 Years: Heavy Snow Closes Reno Schools For Second Day City’s biggest snowstorm in 15 years. Resources: Reno Webcam Images/Weather | Current Watches/Warnings

Omaha Snow: Winter Weather Creates Delays In Omaha Resources: Omaha Webcam Images/Weather | KC Area Current Watches/Warnings

Snow In Denver Metro: It’s Not Over Yet: Metro Area To See 3-6 Inches Of Snow Resources: Denver Webcam Images/Weather | National Watches/Warnings

Strange News Update: Texas Snow On eBay Up To $20+

Tsunami Updates: More Americans Believed Dead In Tsunami

NBC 4 Tsunami Relief Fund Drive Airs Wed. On NBC Stations … How to help. Many additional resources are in yesterday’s entry…

5.8 Aftershock Strikes India As Massive Relief Effort Continues | U.N. Hails Tsunami Aid Despite Problems: estimated death toll at about 150,000 but likely to rise

Tsunami Didn’t Redraw Asian Coastlines | Scientists Map Potential Tsunami Zones: A computer model that can predict the impact of a tsunami from the San Francisco Bay area to Alaska is helping scientists plot danger zones in coastal cities to guide emergency planning.

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Tuesday: 1. Omaha 2. Kansas City 3. Wichita 4. Reno 5. Rapid City … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Tsunami Toll: Tsunami Relief Flights Resume In Indonesia After Plane Hit Cows: Toll near 140,000; 4,000-5,000 Americans remain unaccounted for in the disaster | How To Help | Quake List (Live list in lower left column of this page) | Links

Pictures Taken In N. Texas Just Before Deadly 9.0 Quake Which Led To Tsunamis:

I took following pictures (which open to double-sized versions) between 5:30 and 5:52 p.m. CST on Christmas Day in Wichita Falls, Texas. (Turns out it was an hour earlier than I thought thanks to an incorrect time setting on the camera). These were taken about an hour before the massive earthquake, which struck off the west coast of Northern Sumatra at 6:58 p.m. CST and led to the deadly tsunamis. A couple images feature horses and one features a cat looking up at the full moon. I remember, as I was snapping the pictures, one horse and a cat (not the one pictured) were acting strange (for what it’s worth)… Click on the images for larger versions

Calif. Winter Storm Shuts Down Major Interstate: Strong Storms Thunder Into Southern California: Heavy blanket of snow closes Interstate 5 … San Diego: Storm Traps Some East County Residents … Resources: Los Angeles Weather/Webcam Images | San Diego Weather/Webcam Images | Western U.S. Watches/Warnings Map

Record Tornadoes: Record Number Of Tornadoes In ’04: There were 1,555 tornadoes recorded in the country through September, according to statistics compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. Even without figures for the final three months, that breaks the record set in 1998 by more than 130

Snow = Green?: South Texans Hope To Cash In On Rare Snow: 3-pound snowball goes on eBay auction block

Speaking Of Green… Green Comet’s Approaching! Green Comet’s Approaching! Next week: Bat Boy meets with U.S. Presidents

Phil Hendrie Read My Bad Idea! Since my satellite radio arrived for Christmas (with thanks to my wife), I’ve been listening to Phil Hendrie (once on the air in Dallas-Fort Worth) on XM Channel 152, and decided to listen to the show live via the KFI-AM 640 stream Monday night. In the final hour, Hendrie read an e-mail I sent off just a couple of days ago about a “guest” who has given up using knives in the New Year and wants all of them — from butter knife to sword — removed from America and launched into space because “knives kill!” Perhaps I will hear this again when/if it is broadcast on XM sometime between 9:30 and 10 p.m. EST Tuesday?

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Monday: 1. Omaha 2. Los Angeles 3. Reno 4. San Diego 5. Dallas-Fort Worth … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Tsunami Update:

• Search For Tsunami Survivors Ending: Toll nears 140,000; region to adopt new early-warning system
• Tsunami Warning Failed To Get Through-Thai Expert
• Resources: Images and Videos
• Current World Quakes List (List also in lower left column of this page)
• Several Links From Lost Remote
• How To Help
• Live earthquake list in lower left column of this page/ Additional resources are in the right column of our National/International page, and in the entries below

1,282 Truckloads Of Sand Fill Massive Sinkhole: It took 1,282 truckloads of sand, but the 225-foot-wide sinkhole that opened in Deltona, Florida, has been filled.

Weather News: Winnipeg Struck By Two Storms In A Row: “Winterpeg” earned its nickname this weekend, when the second of two snow storms hit southern Manitoba.

Radio Weatherman Airs His Final Forecast

Space News: Astronauts On Candy Diet After Pantry Raided: The two U.S. and Russian astronauts on the International Space Station had to rely on a candy-laden diet for five weeks because their predecessors raided the pantry.

My Quick Look Back At 2004:

I’ve already included the Top 15 weather stories of the year, and the Top 40 visited pages on this site for the year in entries below, so I will mention some other things that I enjoyed in 2004:

Music:
Much-hyped release: U2 – How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (My review here)
Less-known release: Bob Schneider – I’m Good Now
Weather-related release: Ryan Farish – Beautiful (Plays on Weather Channel’s Weather On The 8′s)

Small Technology: My favorite new gagets of the year:
XM Satellite Radio‘s Roady2 (note to XM listeners: here’s a great site that lets you track what’s playing on all or chosen channels)
iPod (bought in late 2003)
Dell Axim Pocket PC

Online:
Blogs: Big year for blogs, this one included. My favorites are listed to the left
Browsing The Internet: Firefox 1.0 makes waves … Get your free copy here
Breaking News: RSS and Drudge Report

TV:
David Letterman and Conan O’Brien

Radio:
Coast To Coast AM with George Noory and Art Bell Weekends kept me awake on many nights while updating this Web site
The Phil Hendrie Show kept me laughing after receiving my XM radio. Nice to hear him again as he’s no longer available over the airwaves in North Texas.

Other Lists: and plenty of them: Fimoculous.com

2004 Editorials In WXnation Blog:

Sept. 5: After Frances, Ivan May Not Be Distant Enough For Floridians
Sept. 15: World Is Watching
Nov. 18: Review: Category 6 Off The Charts … Of Reason
Dec. 1: It’s Over

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Sunday: 1. Reno 2. Los Angeles 3. Dallas-Fort Worth 4. Toronto 5. San Diego … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Top 40 City Pages Visited In 2004:

As determined by WXnation.com page views…

Tsunami Update: Heavy Rains Compound Tsunami Survivors’ Pain | Reuters: Toll At 127,000 | Much more in yesterday’s entry below…

Space News: New Scientist.com’s Top 10 Space News Stories Of 2004

Quadrantid Meteor Shower Peak Nears: one of the year’s best, peaks early Monday morning.

NASA Excited For Comet-Busting Spacecraft

Super-sized WXnation.com Logo: (Top left) Now 22% larger! Everything else is pretty much the same…

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Saturday: 1. Reno 2. Minneapolis 3. Honolulu 4. Los Angeles 5. Vancouver … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.