https://www.youtube.com/embed/fX7Q-0QuID4 It also reinforced the fact that most of this years storms were pushed off out into the Atlantic. Watching Irene work her way up the east coast all the way to Canada had me remembering the pictures of the flooding in New England. I suppose only time will tell if this…
Heavy rains for drought-stricken Texas A slow-moving low pressure system brought the heaviest rains of the year to large portions of rain-starved Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas over the weekend. Radar-estimated rainfall amounts reached eight inches over portions of Texas between Dallas and Abilene. Houston got 20% of their rain for…
It looks as if all of the rain from Tropical Storm Lee has managed to miss my part (and most of the rest) of Texas. We were really hoping to have a couple of days of the wet, soggy stuff falling on our heads... It didn't happen that way so…
After watching a far off lightning show on Wednesday evening yesterday morning brought a wondrous sight...A rather large thunderous rainstorm blew through our immediate area. The winds blew, lightning blasted the ground over and over again setting car alarms off all over town and then it rained for a couple of hours at…
Here lately I've been taking my morning coffee out to the back porch of the new house most mornings. I noticed something this morning that had been kind of bothering me even as it hadn't processed yet...The birds are not singing the sun up these days. Don't get me wrong,…
For the third day in a row, Texas power grid operators have declared a Level 1 energy emergency, calling on all available power generators, tapping power from neighboring grids and asking customers to conserve their usage. And the Weather Underground is reporting this: Temperature 96.1 °F Feels Like 112 °F via Fuel Fix » Here…
Want to know what it takes to make it rain in your neighborhood? Start a construction project. My corner of SE Texas has been in a drought for over a year... Longer than many of the surrounding areas. We had almost no measurable rainfall in the first half of 2011.…
I walked outside this morning to speak to our construction manager... It was early... It was HOT! After coming back inI started wondering why it felt so hot so I swung over to the Weather Underground and this is what I found... Do you see what it says? Feels Like…
While it will never go down in the record books, yesterday brought us a gift of moisture from the sky and not a hose. This morning while we slept we had another gift. Our drought is far from over, but the trees and the grass are sure to appreciate the water that…
Just for the record... Since fire season began Nov. 15, the Texas Forest Service and area fire departments have so far responded to 12,362 fires that have burned 3,080,013 acres, officials added. via Wildfires continue to burn through East Texas and beyond | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com -…
Every day the news brings more drought news around here. Today it's about the trees... Houston's trees need help. It may not be obvious yet, but without substantial rain in the next few weeks the effects of this year's drought may greatly reduce the area's green canopy in five years,…
Sitting out with my coffee as the sun came up this morning I was hearing the distant rumble of thunder. Scanning the horizon line I could see nothing through the haze to explain it. Once I came in and turned on the computer I could see the fun. It is…
Exceptional heat in the South A sizzling June heat wave set record high temperatures across much of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle on Sunday. The high temperature at Houston, Texas hit 105 degrees, the warmest temperature ever recorded in the month of June (old record: 104 degrees…
Houston's temperature reached 100 degrees on Thursday, setting two records. It marks a record high for the day — the prior record was 97. It also marks the earliest date the city's temperature reached the century mark. Before Thursday, Houston had hit 100 degrees on June 10, said Paul Lewis,…
Now they keep telling us it's not the strong winds, it's not the heavy rains...It's the lighter than normal rain that is playing havoc with the grid. The brief rains that rolled through parts of the Houston area Wednesday didn't put much of a dent in local drought conditions but…
Anyone with a garden in Houston knows just how stingy the skies have been this spring. According to the Houston/Galveston National Weather Service office, the period from mid-February to April 17 has been the driest in Houston climate records dating back to 1850. The .91 inch total beat out 1925's…
Continuing the conversation from earlier in the month... Forget about May flowers, Houston needs April showers to break a severe drought. The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows 95 percent of Texas now in a drought, including Harris County. For the first time this year, a large chunk…
December 8, 2010 - Drought's grip on Texas tightens | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle. The great drought of 2011 may have started two months ago. Since Tropical Storm Hermine drenched central Texas in September, the state has been very dry, with large swaths receiving less than…
Ironically, then, a month of extremes will end up with an average temperature around 55 degrees, within a few tenths of normal levels. via SciGuy: Houston Chronicle. The first half of last month was the coldest on record in the last century. While the last half is the second warmest on…
Over the weekend the signs of spring began to reach out and shake my senses. Apple trees are breaking bud and sending forth blooms. This has been one of the first winters since we planted them that all of the leaves have been off the trees at one time. In…
Sitting at the computer this morning I looked out the window and saw my second Bluebird in my entire 57 years upon this earth. I was so surprised I had to lean forward for a closer look. I still remember the occurrence of my sighting. Sherry and I were new home shopping…
Not so much this morning...But there is ice everywhere. After days of buildup (again), the snow the prognosticators were promising predicting just didn't happen. Though most of the state seems to be covered with snow this morning, the Houston area just has a layer of ice covering almost everything. Roads are…
Even the threat of snow can cancel school classes... The Houston Independent School District has canceled school Friday, Superintendent Terry Grier announced, saying he doesn't want to take a chance with hazardous road conditions for buses, parents and teachers. The district has yet to decide whether to release students early…
AUSTIN - Burst water pipes at two coal-fired power plants forced them to shut down, triggering rolling power cuts across the state, the lieutenant governor said Wednesday.Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said this is something that "should not happen." via Broken water pipes at power plants cited in outages | Facebook |…
Yesterday we welcomed the latest addition to our family. Abigail Nicole... Abigail Nicole was born at 11:10 am on February 1, 2011. Both Mother and Daughter are doing well and will be coming home by the end of the week. I took Grandson #2 up to the hospital in the…
The view from the window beside me looks out on a winter's day. Winter green and tan are the colors of the view. But the color I have been seeing all morning long has been sky blue. It's the blue of the Blue Jays that have been landing in the…
This week the news coming in from most of the country...At least the areas I follow...Have been about cold temperatures and snow. Around here the temps have been cold (a least for this area) and the skies have been really very dreary...Overcast, gray, dead of winter day followed by another and another.…
The first day of winter felt like anything but. Houston set records both for high temperature, with the mercury topping out at 82 degrees, and a high minimum, with Tuesday's low falling to a mere 68 degrees. The previous records were 81 degrees, set in 1970, and 67 degrees, set…
I can't remember a year where the mornings have been so frosty...so early in the winter. What's up with this? Is it a sample of the winter to be. If it is, then I think I'll start dreaming about a white Christmas now...Like the one we had in 2004. The…
After a long hot summer, you would expect the last week of October to be bringing on the cool...Not so much this year. Record heat is possible the next few days, but a cool down is expected later this week when a weak Pacific front pushes through the Houston region.…
As I sit checking email with the house open to the nice morning cool I stumbled across this image this morning...via Fall Colors in the Allegheny Mountains : Image of the Day. I was hopeful that the color would be as slow to move southward down the mountains as it proved in 2007.…
I have really been enjoying the cool mornings this week. The weather prognosticators are promising more of the same for the next week...We even hit a low of 59° yesterday morning just as the sun came up...Nice. It has been great sitting out with my first cup as the sun comes up each day.…
The weather prognosticators made the promise last week...The weather station above the microwave this morning gave truth to their predictions with a reading of 66°. The air on the front porch gave promise of better days coming soon. Even before the sunbeams found the highest branches, the cool north breeze danced lightly through…
Fall Is In The Air This morning lightened on a world where the temperature had fallen below 70° for the first time in months and months. It wont last, this preview of fall...But, oh how nice it is. Unfortunately, the rains from last week have finally hatched up a swarm of mosquitoes. Therefore,…
Sitting out on the front porch these past two weeks I've begun to notice the look of fall every morning. Sadly, so far at least, it's just a look...Not a feel. And truthfully, the look lasts all day...Most days anyway. I'm sure you've noticed it yourself. It's that hazy, near…
Sometimes it seems like summer will never end here along the Texas coast. Yesterday afternoon the temperature was pushing 97° according to the weather station on the mantle. I checked with the WunderGround and the heat index was almost at 110°. For the last few weeks I have been spending the early…
I have found myself swamped with a lack of umph these past few weeks. The heat and humidity of a SE Texas August has me spending all of my time just trying to stay cool... I have been stuck in a procrastinating mode for days and days and days. I watch the…
Every time one of us would walk outside today we would come back in and moan about how hot it is outside...Little did we realize. We did a run to wally-mart earlier today and the thermometer in the Subaru said the parking lot was registering 104° as we left at…
Down here on the Texas Gulf Coast summer this year has been stranger than most we've seen lately. Most years, at lest here lately, by early August the predominate color around these parts has gone from green to browns. Usually as the heat of summer sears everything into dormancy the…
After finally seeing a lessening of the attacks by the marauding blood suckers the weather has decided to return to the unstable side of the summer pattern. Thunderstorms crossing the landscape like huge sailing ships of old. At times you might think you were watching Titanic battles playing out in…
After a couple of days of semi-sunny, completely muggy, stay inside weekend days followed by a clear hot Monday we went straight to more rainy muggy days. Tropical moisture has flowed up over the coast to our south now for days. The puddles from last week hadn't even drained to mud, much less dried,…
Hurricane Alex may have missed us but it's been raining all week. I have discovered that if I plug my computer feed into the plasma in the kitchen where I sit at the table all day working on my sites, that I can keep the Wundermap from the Weather Underground…
A cool front was moving through the area as I watched that morning. The day promised to be pleasantly warm and not as uncomfortably hot as it had been all week.
Thunderstorms and Heat The week started off with thunderstorms rolling through the area...Lights were blinking, internet connectivity was problematic at best but we kept on keeping on. Wednesday's storms missed us and by Thursday we were into the "Heat" part of the week. What I mean by heat is that…
You Are Not Spending The Summer In SE Texas The temperatures for the past week have started each day above the 75° mark on the thermometer. From there they just keep climbing. Yesterday we saw a high reading of 96°. It looks like we can expect even more of the…
Let's Talk Weather You know it's summer here on the Texas Coast when you step outside before sunup and the humidity settles around your shoulders like a heavy damp cloak. At daybreak the mercury has been hovering in the mid-seventies on the thermometer for most of the past few weeks. That makes…
The globe recorded its sixth warmest February since record keeping began in 1880, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Climatic Data Center. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies rated February 2010 the second warmest, behind 1998. The year-to-date period, January - February, is the 5th or…
For some reason this year my wife has spring break off. It makes no sense, she could never get spring break off when we, you know, actually had kids off on spring break. But this year she has spring break off. Guess what? Grandson #2 is all ours each and…
Spring Gradual warming that began earlier this week is forecast to continue through the weekend, and by early next week high temperatures should climb into the mid-70s as warm, wet air flows inland from the Gulf of Mexico. No rain is forecast until late this weekend, according to the National…
This afternoon I finally started working my way through my Google Reader subscriptions. The sequence of stories brought me up short and I tried to capture a screen shot. Evidently I had left the laptop running for a bit too long because when I opened Photoshop all I had was…
The sun has risen on more frost covered morns than I can ever recall. But by mid-day the temperatures will be pushing into the mid 60's...even over 70 degrees. Then after sundown the temperatures fall again into the mid to low 30's...Only to repeat the roller-coaster all over again the next day.
Now comes a fitting bookend to a winter seemingly without end. While we have missed any snow accumulations here this winter, we did have a full afternoon of flurries back in earl December...And now, this is what greets me in my feedreader this morning over coffee... Houston already had its…
The Weather Yesterday, when I went through my daily email, this is what I saw from the weather gurus at My-Cast.com... Currently (on Fri 6:22AM CST from Pearland Regional Airport) Thunderstorm Temp: 70° Dewpoint: 64° Wind: S 10 MPH Today's email brought this... Currently (on Sat 6:06AM CST from Pearland Regional…
The world's last remaining natural flock of endangered whooping cranes, which suffered a record number of deaths last year, will probably see another die-off because of scarce food supplies at its Texas nesting grounds this winter, wildlife managers said. The flock lost 23 birds in the 2008-2009 winter season, in…
And it looks like if this keeps up, I'll have more company than ever before... Shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops may be in order today and this weekend as unseasonably warm, spring-like weather is forecast for the Houston area. A slight chance of rain is possible Saturday when remnants from the…
I really hate to post this knowing what my friends along the Blue Ridge are going through, but... Today we hit 80° here with the sun out in a perfectly clear blue sky. I guess I better enjoy it before the roller coaster starts down again this weekend. Just sitting…
All of the folks that are claiming that the Earth is and has been in a cooling cycle are being disingenuous...Using weather trends to infer climate trends breaks down when you watch the averages over any period of time. I can already hear the cries from the climate skeptics...But, here…
The morning emails brought me this... Thu 8AM Thu 10AM Thu 12PM Thu 2PM Sky Rain Rain Rain Cldy Chance of Precip Moderate Moderate Moderate Slight Temp (F) 51° 46° 41° 40° Wind Chill (F) N/A 39° 32° 30° At this time it's 57° and that's down 2° since I…
Happy New Year. The old year ended with a fog that hung on all day long. After the sun retreated we had an unexpected rain shower. The nice thing about that was we can expect little in the way of damage from the fireworks to celebrate the end of the…
Sitting behind my chair, at the back door, are two pairs of my shoes...I put on one or the other whenever I go outside. The remarkable thing about these two pair of shoes is that one is a pair of hiking boots for those cold frosty mornings like I talked…
After fighting through the issues this week after upgrading WordPress I decided it was time to speed up the opening of these pages...At least as much as I can living here on GoDaddy with all of the other websites. Gone are the picture badges for my other sites. Gone are…
The sun came up this morning over a frosty backyard. Frost two days in a row...Pretty unprecedented for this neck of the woods. It's been a different sort of "winter" already...And it's only really just beginning. These frosty morns leading up to pleasantly cool afternoons with highs in the 60's...What…
Houston Snow...Stayed north of us. Yesterday's weather event was a washout here at our place. As nice as it was to watch the heavy flurries fall off and on all day, the lack of anything sticking to the ground left us filling like a stood-up date...All dressed up for the…
Houston this morning broke a record with the earliest snowfall ever recorded in the city's history. Forecasters are still hedging their bets on the amount, but say the most likely scenario is 1 to 2 inches of widespread snowfall through the day. Some areas could get up to a half…
It's 9am and the snow is early...Rain started about 7am and it just turned completely to snow. Temperature is 37°F and falling. So far the big sloppy wet snowflakes. Should be an interesting day. Updates to follow...
Amazingly, it seems likely Houston will see snow Friday, the city’s earliest ever white stuff. Forecasters are still hedging their bets given all of the puzzle pieces that must fall into place for it to snow in Houston, but now say the most likely scenario is 2 to 4 inches…
The prognosticators are keeping the hopes of children of all ages alive across Southeast Texas... Weather forecasters are more confident Houston will see snowfall beginning Friday afternoon, but whether that snow sticks to the ground and accumulates remains a big question. “I would say right now it could be anywhere…
The outlook for snow on Friday is still in the forecast...With the following caveat. To get snow in our typically tropical clime the timing must be just right, with cold air arriving at the same time as atmospheric moisture. It seems plausible this will happen Friday afternoon. The National Weather…
My mom is very proud of being a Texan...And she collects birdhouses. Felder Rushing would be proud of her bottle trees and her use of all of the found "art".
On my walk today to check the progress of autumn I ended up on my belly looking at the violet seed heads of the grass growing in our field. It made for an interesting photo. I was very happy to have the cloudless blue sky and a cool north breeze…
...we've been having some fine October weather here in the middle of November. I love this season, when we get little junior-grade northers trying to push through, followed by three or four days of Chamber of Commerce weather -- no wind, soft light, high blue skies and temperatures we dreamed…
We are now entering my favorite time of the year. Cool fall days in the low 70's and nighttime lows dipping down into the 50's. Skies so blue that if you could capture the color you'd be set for life. Birds twittering in the predawn trees, welcoming the day as…
For the last couple of days here we have been having really beautiful weather. Overnight lows in the low 50's warming up slowly into the low 70's. Cloudless, scrubbed blue skies. You know, the kind of weather a large portion of the country comes to expect in the height of…
The world’s largest reserve for migrating Monarch butterflies, located in the Mexican highlands, is suffering from an infestation of bark beetles similar to outbreaks that have killed millions of acres of evergreens in the U.S. and Canada...So far, the infestation has affected only a small portion of the 33,000-acre core…
The globe recorded its second warmest September since record keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. The combined global land and ocean temperature anomaly was 0.62°C (1.12°F), falling only 0.04°C (0.07°F) short of tying the record set in 2005. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies also…
Record heat is forecast for today in the Houston area, but by late this afternoon or early evening a blast of cooler Canadian air is expected to drop temperatures through the weekend. Temperatures are predicted to creep back into the 80s early next week, but another cold front is predicted…
Please, let it be true... Fri 7PM Sat 1AM Sat 7AM Sat 1PM Sat 7PM Sky T-Stm Rain Chc Rain Ptly Clear Clear Chance of Precip Likely Moderate Slight Slight Slight Temp (F) 67° 63° 61° 69° 69° The weather prognosticators have been promising us cooler weather all week...They promised…
Currently (on Thu 5:53AM CDT from Pearland Regional Airport) Mostly Cloudy Temp: 82° (Heat Index 90°) Dewpoint: 77° Wind: S 6 MPH And so starts my morning here before the sun even rises...Come on...Feels like 90° and the sun hasn't even broached the horizon! This should be a glorious day to follow the…
Did I read this right? A heat index of 109... Today the high temperature will reach the low 90s, which is about 5 degrees above normal for this time of year. Coupled with high humidity — readings were over 90 percent this morning — it could feel like it's between…
We were awakened by the rolling artillery thunder of an advancing front...Weather not war, but just as shattering to a good sleep. The percussive sounds and flashes of lighning came booming through just before daylight. Our bedroom would fill with light. Almost immediately the the walls would reverberate with the…
You may not need your sweaters, but mild fall temperatures are forecast to be nearly 10 degrees below normal today in the Houston area as light rain and clouds from a weak cool front help to keep mercury readings down. Temperatures should climb as the area dries out under sunny…
Rain chances increase to 70 percent Tuesday as the front approaches. The high will be near 84 degrees and the low will be near 69 degrees. South winds will be 5 mph to 10 mph. Winds shift to the north late Wednesday and the high temperature dips to the upper…
DALLAS — Recent storms in Texas brought some long-awaited relief to the nation's most drought-stricken state, but the brutal dry spell is far from over as it drags into its third year. About 16 percent of the state — all in the southern and central parts of Texas — is…
The past few mornings have felt nice...Low to mid 70's to start with and a lot of clouds to keep the heat down in the afternoon. Not a lot of rain (as usual) in our particular neck of the woods, though a lot has fallen in the region in the…
This morning feels different outside. For the first time in a long while the outside temperature almost matches the inside temperature. Walking out on the back stoop, for the first time since spring, you are not slapped in the face with the heat. While the coffee brewed, I reintroduced myself…
After months of days on end with no rain hitting the ground at our home here south of Houston I was beginning to despair. But the last week has finally seen a small amount of precipitation. We went a couple of weeks with a weekly shower before this week when…
It is mid day here in southeast Texas. The temperature is pushing 90°. The clouds outside my kitchen window are growing black and rumbling with a bit of thunder. In other words, we are back on the "normal" side of a normal Houston~Galveston summer. That doesn't mean it is in…
There is a reason I plan to relocate to the Appalachian Mountains in the next year or so...And the following is a big part of it... Second warmest June on record The globe recorded its second warmest June on record, 0.02°C short of the record set in 2005, according to…
Today was mowing day around this place...Last time I mowed I picked up a bunch of nails in the tireson the Deere so the first order of business was pulling out the nails and plugging the holes. I have no idea where I managed to pick up the tire holers,…
After watching rain showers bypass us on Tuesday, we managed to be in the way of a passing cloud yesterday. With an hour of steady rain, the ground soaked up every drop as fast as it fell. Sherry and I sat on the front porch and watched the amazing sight...Water...Falling…
