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

No Tropical Storm Harvey … Yet: Tropical system fails to pick up steam

Flooding death toll in India could surpass 1,000

Tornado reportedly kills 15 in China

NASA Update: Astronauts test repairs as mission extended one day | More MSNBC coverage

Newsweek: Shuttle ups and downs; Discovery succeeds, but NASA may have failed its mission … This article mentions the insulating foam causing difficulties for NASA since 1997.

Aurora alert! following an X-class explosion from sunspot 792

Claim of 10th planet being contested

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

20th Anniversary Of Fatal Delta Crash Caused By Microburst At D/FW Airport: Full story, including almost 300 images and several original video reports … This crash, caused by a microburst, is at No. 71 on the 100 biggest air disasters list

Weather News: Boy Scout leader killed by lightning: 13-year-old Scout reportedly brain-dead after being struck

U.K. tornado ‘worst for 25 years’

Hottest June-July ever in several Eastern U.S. cities

Tropical storms more intense, new research shows

Space News: Astronomers claim discovery of 10th planet

NASA News: MSNBC’s Discovery’s liftoff page lets you choose up to three of 11 views of the liftoff. Neat stuff! Found at Lost Remote

NASA not giving up on another ‘05 launch

Hubble operators optimistic about shuttle

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Friday 1. Austin 2. Houston 3. Atlanta 4. San Antonio 5. Toronto … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Weird News: Tornado injures 19 in Birmingham, England (With video) | Sleep Warning issued to weather bureau forecasters after apparent snoozing on the job

Explosions Rock Fort Worth Chemical Plant: Story, video and images

I snapped a couple of pictures of the smoke, which could be seen from Dallas Love Field more than 30 miles away. The photos — compiled into one — were taken at about 3:30 p.m. from KXAS-TV’s studios, located about four miles east of downtown Fort Worth. It shows the thick smoke from the fire, which filled the sky over downtown (skyline just left of center). Image links to a larger version in a new window…

Some other photos I took this evening in far north Fort Worth:

Images link to large versions in new windows

Weather News: Online weather community has organized its own conference

Harvey *might* form by the end of the month

NASA Updates:

NASA: Shuttle escaped damage from foam

Discovery docks with International Space Station

NASA says discovery looks OK to fly home

Critics challenge shuttle program’s future

Shuttle grounding may cause layoffs

Meteors: Perseid meteor shower coming Fri. Aug. 12

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Thursday 1. Dallas/Fort Worth 2. Las Vegas 3. Atlanta 4. San Antonio 5. Charlotte … and on Wednesday: 1. Dallas/Fort Worth 2. Boston 3. New York City 4. Washington, D.C. 5. Baltimore … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Breaking News From NASA: NASA grounds shuttle fleet, cites foam danger: Agency Program Manager: ‘We need to do some work here’ … Previous story: NASA: Shuttle’s chipped tile not perilous

The Heat: Part ??? Deadly heat wave lingers in East | With the heat, storms — current weather watches/warnings and weather/webcams by city | From N.C.: 104-degree Tuesday incinerates 1966 record | Heat wave prompts Philly summer school ’snow day’ | Current U.S. temperatures map and heat map

Heat On Senator: NWSEO begins airing radio ads to inform Pennsylvanians about Sen. Santorum’s ‘fog on the brain’ … Thanks to CapitalWeather for the find.

Other Weather News: Floods kill 140 in India; Bombay under water

This could be worst hurricane season since the 21 storms of 1933

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame damaged in storms

World Of Webcams: Residents concerned about pool webcam

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

Shuttle Launch Update: Space shuttle takes off on historic flight | Possible debris spotted falling from shuttle: NASA analyzing video of loose piece (Slideshow, video inside) | Astronomy Picture of the Day: Launch

My Rough Sketch Of Cost-Effective Shuttle Launch Idea:
Image links to large version in a new window

A couple of notes: Of course, while on the launch pad, lightning may strike the balloon, causing it to burst, and the shuttle to fall, so some type of protection would need to keep the shuttle from being damaged … perhaps a deep pool of water built into the launch pad directly below where the shuttle sits.

I hope you all realize I’m joking about all of this.

Again, I had a little too much free time today.

D.C. Near Century Mark: CapitalWeather.com blog, live D.C. weather and webcams and current conditions in D.C.

Heat Continues: Midwest swelters in grips of heat wave | Heat advisory for Washington, D.C. area | From New Jersey: First heat deaths reported, more heat on the way | Current U.S. temps and heat index | Much more, including current temperature maps are in yesterday’s post below…

NASA Shuttle Launch Coverage:

Weather: NWS radar | Current weather/webcam images and more

Stories: NASA may bend rules to launch Discovery | Why NASA’s making the right decision | Very latest stories

Live Video of Launch: MSNBC.com (Starting at 6:59 a.m. EDT) | Fox News

Special Sites: NASA’s Return To Flight page | MSNBC coverage | CNN coverage

Timelines: Discovery history/timeline and NASA timeline

Shuttle Launch & The No. 13: NASA seems to like the number 13. Discovery’s original launch date: July 13. Revised launch date: 13 days later. Time of launch: 10:39 a.m. (first two numbers excluding the “0″ = 13, and it is 39 minutes after the hour, or 3 times … you guessed it, 13). Yep, I have way too much time on my hands…

Montana Quake Magnitude 5.6 Monday Night: Story: no immediate reports of serious damage, injuries | USGS preliminary data … U.S. map and World map. Also: Latest stories. Live quake wire is in left column of this page.

Stormy Night In Wisconsin, S. Minnesota, N. Iowa: Current watches/warnings map; live U.S. radar (click through for local weather and webcams) and storm summary radar. Minneapolis/St. Paul weather/webcams

Sen. Santorum (R-PA), who wants the National Weather Service to stick to alerts but not to other weather information online, will be on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” tonight. Found this on CapitalWeather.com

Tropics: Tropical Storm Franklin weakens in Atlantic | Rain from Gert threatens floods, mudslides in Mexico

Other Weather News: SE Michigan storms cut power to 39,000

Thunderstorms cause massive flooding in the High Desert

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Monday: 1. Chicago 2. Minneapolis/St. Paul 3. Columbus 4. Milwaukee 5. Green Bay … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Chicago Near All-Time High Temperature Record: The high temperature in Chicago was 102 degrees at O’Hare and 104 at Midway | All-time record high recorded in Chicago was 105 degrees *on July 24* in 1934 | Other Chicago-area temps, Weather Plus streaming video and story from NBC 5 | More weather/webcams

St. Louis Also Baking: At 103 degrees Sunday | More St. Louis temps | Monday forecast: 103 degrees | KSDK-TV Weather Plus live video stream and stories | More weather/webcams

U.S. Current Temperatures: Current U.S. temps and heat index | Weather.com temps map | Contour plot … Additional current temperature maps are in our National/International page

Tropical Storm Gert made landfall with 45 mph winds on Sunday in Mexico, well south of where Emily made landfall. Track

Lightning Strikes Family, Boy’s Head: Lightning Victim’s Progress ‘A Miracle’ | Lightning strikes boy’s head, knocking him and pal out

Western Wildfires: Crews make progress battling Western fires

Dust Storm = Colorful Sunsets: Saharan dust storm around the corner for S. Florida

Major Quake, Tsunami Warning: Magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits India’s Nicobar Islands; Thailand issues tsunami warning … Latest quakes list is in the left column

Space News: NASA plans launch even if problem recurs | Mood brightens for shuttle launch attempt

Running Man on the Sun posted at SpaceWeather.com

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Sunday: 1. Detroit 2. Toronto 3. Cleveland 4. Las Vegas 5. Phoenix … and on Saturday: 1. Phoenix 2. Minneapolis/St. Paul 3. Chicago 4. Milwaukee 5. Los Angeles … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Heat Wave: Sunday’s high temperature in Chicago could reach 102 | Chicago local temps and more Chicago weather | High Saturday of 109 degrees in southeastern South Dakota … Western cities see record heat | Phoenix heat wave hits homeless hard | At 117 degrees, no ones escapes the heat | Current U.S. temps and heat index | Weather.com temps map | Contour plot … Additional current temperature maps are in our National/International page

Franklin Moving Away: Tropical Storm Franklin douses Bahamas, heads away … More data is in the red box to the right

Tropical Depression Seven Forms, May Become Tropical Storm Gert: From the Tropical Prediction Center: Looks like it will hit Mexico as well, according to the 3-day track. Check out the latest IR satellite image and loop

Emily Death: Mexico reports first death from hurricane that destroyed thousands of buildings

Tornado v. Ford F-450: Storm chaser builds an armored Ford F-450 to drive into tornadoes

Some slow to get power restored after Indiana storm

Eerie recording captures sound of tsunami

Space News: House endorses NASA missions to Moon, Mars

Commander: Shuttle launch date unimportant

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Friday: 1. Houston 2. Indianapolis 3. Dallas/Fort Worth 4. Los Angeles 5. Vancouver … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Enter Tropical Storm Franklin: [Story] Tropical Prediction Center 11 p.m. EDT update has it 100 miles northeast of Nassau in the NW Bahamas. As of the update, winds were at 45 mph. Satellite image and loop. The track has it moving north in the Atlantic. Current U.S. strike probabilities … Keep up with the latest data in the red box to the right.

Weird News: Strange colorful cloud forms over Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex … I was able to snap a couple of pictures of this myself at about 12:45 p.m. from a location about four miles east of downtown Fort Worth. Images open larger versions in new windows… The best explanations I’ve heard so far, a plane may have dumped some fuel that caused the rainbow of colors when hit by the sun at the right angle; or it was a phenomenon known as a sun dog. KXAS-TV Chief Meteorologist David Finfrock has included his thoughts in a blog post

More images of the cloud are in this KXAS-TV weather gallery

Other Recent Images: A WXnation Webcam shot from Thursday morning, and four lightning strike shots from a July 5 storm in far north Fort Worth. All images link to larger versions in new windows…

Other Weather News: South Texans welcome rain, thankful for little damage

Study released by the University of New Orleans: Most people wouldn’t flee Category 3 storm

Heat Wave: Power demands strain Calif. system as heat wave continues | Current U.S. temperatures and latest stories

Heat wave hits Canada too: Power plants worried as heat wave warms Great Lakes … More on the heat wave in yesterday’s post.

Quake News: Mount St. Helens still cooking: Quakes shake, lava domes build

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Thursday: 1. Indianapolis 2. Brownsville, Texas 3. Chicago 4. Milwaukee 5. Fort Wayne … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Latest Weather News: Now-Tropical Depression Emily loses much of its punch | Emily slaps Mexican coast, south Texas | More coverage in the posts below…

Wind tunnel shows strength of hurricane winds

Typhoon Haitang wreaks havoc in China, Taiwan; at least 15 reported dead

Heat Wave: 105 ties all-time high in Denver | Current, recent Denver temps, conditions | More Denver weather/webcams | Current temps map

Relentless heat kills 18 in Phoenix | Heat blamed for deaths in Phoenix as temperatures soar

Tuesday’s 117-degree high in Las Vegas ties all-time record | Current, recent Las Vegas temps, conditions | More Las Vegas weather/webcams | Current temps map

NY sets new record for electricity demand

The Environmental Protection Agency’s payments to the Weather Channel to produce “video capsules” on climate change caused just a sprinkling, not a storm, of disapproval Monday. Story

Space News: NASA still searching for glitch, sets July 26 launch date | MSNBC coverage

NASA weighs encore for Deep Impact craft

Quake News: Experts say Arkansas may have earthquake … As always, the latest earthquake data is listed in the left column…

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Wednesday: 1. Brownsville, Texas 2. San Antonio 3. Houston 4. Chicago 5. Corpus Christi … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.

Hurricane Emily Landfall: Hurricane Emily is makes landfall as a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph maximum sustained winds in the 5 a.m. CDT hour along the northeastern Mexico coast, just south of the Texas border and Brownsville, according to the 4 a.m. CDT Tropical Prediction Center update. The center made landfall near San Fernando, Mexico. Fortunately for Texas, the heaviest rain is staying south of the border, so accumulations of up to 4 inches are expected over South Texas and the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Isolated tornadoes are also possible. Check out the latest NWS radar loop, latest stories and live weather and webcam images for the Brownsville area. Get the latest images and data in the red box to the right.

Streaming Video: Stream from Weather Plus, KXAS-TV, Dallas/Fort Worth (Be sure to hit the “play” button; Additional Weather Plus streams near top left column of Super Sites) | Archived video: KRGV-TV, Brownsville | KGBT-TV, Brownsville | KRIS-TV 6, Corpus Christi
Stories: Browsnville Herald | KRGV-TV | KGBT-TV | Category 2 heads for coast | South Texas prepares as Emily on track to hit Mexico again after hitting Yucatan, tearing off luxury hotel roofs along Mexico’s Mayan Riviera, stranding thousands of tourists and leaving hundreds homeless. Very latest stories
Images: Current watches/warnings map, S. Texas radar, loop, 24 hour rainfall totals
Current Weather: Current wind/weather conditions in Brownsville-area | live weather and webcam images
Blogs: WeatherBlog | WeatherBug | WX-Man’s Perspective | Capital Weather
Interactive: Hurricane tracker

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited on Tuesday (A Texas sweep … are we surprised?): 1. Brownsville, Texas 2. Corpus Christi 3. Houston 4. Dallas/Fort Worth 5. San Antonio … See the top 20 so far this month in the center column of our home page.