Our first water spout of this conference was reported to me from St Petersburg, Florida where it managed to make landfall and tear up a few things. Check http://www.sptimes.com/News/10499/TampaBay/Weekend_thunderstorms.html Thanks, Barbara!

don't forget california and it's mudslides going on as we speak!

will have to check and get back - this turning out to be is a timely topic. I have the flood gauge check list, so I will see how things are going. Thanks for telling me!

you're welcome! it was all over our news channel....really scary thing too!

Any idea which part of the state? I have tidal gauages for all the rivers and they are really pouring water through them. But nothing mentions "mass wasting" which is earth slips, land slides and mud slides to the rest of us. I have consulted with the family Geologist in the area and wil update immediately when I hear from him (I keep telling him to join and save me from pasting his comments - he is a lurker!)

no, am trying to think of the network so i can give you a url....it was the news program with dan rather--think it's cbs. your David should join us!

it was cbs but when i went to their url (http://www.cbs.com)i found nothing on the mudslides. i then went to the national weather service and found a bunch of expired flash flood warnings but nothing else to indicate any mudslides had occurred. it wasn't a wolfmare, i know i wasn't dreaming!

California regularly dumps its finest homes into the sea because of excess rain "which they never get...!" Perhaps it is just some eye-catching news story but did not warrant press coverage until tomorrow. Thanks for checking. *hugs*

This is probably the best source of information on California Weather and the effects thereof. Many links at the very top and thoroughout the text. http://cdec.water.ca.gov/weather.html

Heat and drought are as detrimental as the others. Here is the California Statewide warning for heat. *** CALIFORNIA STATE WEATHER WARNINGS *** NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY-CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY- SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY-CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA- NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONTINUES THE HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH TUESDAY FOR THE SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN VALLEYS... ...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT FOR THE DELTA REGION... THIS AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES HAVE CLIMBED TO READINGS BETWEEN 104 AND 111 AS OF 3 PM. WHEN COMBINING HUMIDITY THE HEAT INDEX HAS MADE IT FEEL SEVERAL DEGREES HOTTER. LITTLE RELIEF WILL BE FELT OVERNIGHT DUE TO HIGHER RELATIVE HUMIDITIES RESULTING IN MUGGY AND WARM CONDITIONS PERSISTING. TEMPERATURES WILL DROP INTO THE 70S FOR ONLY A FEW HOURS AFTER MIDNIGHT. VERY HOT TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED AGAIN TOMORROW IN THE VALLEY AND MUCH OF THE FAR INLAND DELTA. THE HIGHEST READINGS WILL OCCUR IN THE NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY WHERE TEMPERATURES WILL AGAIN APPROACH RECORDS. REDDING'S FORECAST HIGH IS 112. ELSEWHERE...TEMPERATURES WILL PEAK TO A RANGE FROM 103 TO 109. TEMPERATURES WILL NOT BE AS HOT IN MUCH OF THE DELTA REGION AN ONSHORE FLOW DEVELOPS. VERY HOT TEMPERATURES ARE COMMON TO THE VALLEY DURING THE PEAK OF THE SUMMER MONTHS. HOWEVER...THE LACK OF A SEA BREEZE OR DELTA COOLING AND AN INCREASE IN HUMIDITY WILL INCREASE THE DANGER TO A MUCH LARGER REGION...AND OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME DUE TO THE WARM AND MUGGY NIGHTS. COOLER OVERNIGHT LOWS ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY MORNING FOLLOWED BY LOWER HIGH TEMPERATURES. THIS TYPE OF PROLONGED HEAT CAN CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS WITH THE POPULATION. THESE CAN RANGE FROM SIMPLE DISCOMFORT AND FATIGUE... SUNSTROKE...HEAT EXHAUSTION AND EVEN HEAT STROKE. YOUNG CHILDREN...THE ELDERLY...AND PETS ARE AT THE GREATEST RISK . YOU ARE URGED TO LIMIT YOUR EXPOSURE TO THE HEAT AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. IF POSSIBLE SPEND MORE TIME IN AIR CONDITIONED PLACES. CHECK ON NEIGHBORS THAT MAY BE AT A HIGHER RISK OF BECOMING ILL AND DO NOT LEAVE PETS IN VEHICLES. NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY-CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY- SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY-CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA- NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- ...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT... VERY HOT TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TODAY IN THE VALLEY AND MUCH OF THE INLAND DELTA. EXTREME READINGS WILL OCCUR IN THE NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY WHERE TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY BREAK RECORDS. ELSEWHERE...TEMPERATURES WILL PEAK TO A RANGE OF 104 TO 110. LITTLE RELIEF WILL BE FELT OVERNIGHT DUE TO HIGHER RELATIVE HUMIDITIES RESULTING IN MUGGY AND WARM CONDITIONS PERSISTING. VERY HOT TEMPERATURES ARE COMMON TO THE VALLEY DURING THE PEAK OF THE SUMMER MONTHS. HOWEVER...THE LACK OF A SEA BREEZE OR DELTA COOLING AND AN INCREASE IN HUMIDITY WILL INCREASE THE DANGER TO A MUCH LARGER REGION...AND OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME DUE TO THE WARM AND MUGGY NIGHTS. THIS TYPE OF PROLONGED HEAT CAN CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS WITH THE POPULATION. THESE CAN RANGE FROM SIMPLE DISCOMFORT AND FATIGUE... SUNSTROKE...HEAT EXHAUSTION AND EVEN HEAT STROKE. YOUNG CHILDREN...THE ELDERLY...AND PETS ARE AT THE GREATEST RISK . YOU ARE URGED TO LIMIT YOUR EXPOSURE TO THE HEAT AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. IF POSSIBLE SPEND MORE TIME IN AIR CONDITIONED PLACES. CHECK ON NEIGHBORS THAT MAY BE AT A HIGHER RISK OF BECOMING ILL AND DO NOT LEAVE PETS IN VEHICLES.

Forecast For Austin, Tx 930 Pm Cdt Mon Jul 12 1999 .Tonight...A 20 Percent Chance Of Showers Or Thunderstorms. Lows Around 70. Variable Wind 5 To 10 Mph. .Tuesday...A 60 Percent Chance Of Showers And Thunderstorms. Locally Heavy Rainfall Possible. Highs In The Mid 80S. Northeast Wind 5 To 10 Mph. .Tuesday Night...Partly Cloudy With A 30 Percent Chance Of Showers And Thunderstorms. Lows Around 70. .Wednesday...Partly Cloudy With Isolated Showers And Thunderstorms. Highs In The Lower To Mid 90S. Rain Chance Less Than 20 Percent. .Extended Forecast... .Wednesday Night...Partly Cloudy With A Slight Chance Of Mainly Evening Showers And Thunderstorms. Lows In The 70S. .Thursday Through Saturday...Partly Cloudy. Lows In The 70S. Highs In The 90S. Special weather statement 600 Pm Cdt Mon Jul 12 1999 Showers And Thunderstorms With Heavy Rains Will Continue Across The Eastern Sections Of The Texas Hill Country And The Eastern Sections Of South Central Texas Tonight. Heavy Rains And Flooding Will Be Possible...As Rich Tropical Moisture From The Gulf Supplies The Fuel For The Thunderstorm Development. Rainfall Amounts Will Average Between One-Half To One And One-Half Inch Per Hour. Locally Heavy Rainfall Totals In Excess Of Two Inch Are Possible And Would Produce Localized Flooding Of Low-Lying Areas Such As Creeks...Streets...Roads And Low-Water Crossings. Showers And Thunderstorms Again On Tuesday Will Produce Additional Rains Over The Region. The Hazardous Weather Outlook Normally Will Be Updated By Means Of The Zone Forecasts...Short Term Forecast...Watches...Warnings And Advisories. The Hazardous Weather Outlook Itself Will Be Updated Only If Unexpected Hazardous Weather Develops Or If Expected Hazardous Weather No Longer Is Forecast To Develop. For Information On Weather Threats In Areas Surrounding South Central Texas...Please Refer To The Hazardous Weather Outlooks From Nws Offices In Midland...San Angelo...Fort Worth...Corpus Christi And Houston/Galveston. Extended Forecast for Texas Hill Country and South-Central Texas .Thursday Through Saturday...Partly Cloudy With A Slight Chance Of Mainly Afternoon And Evening Showers Or Thunderstorms. Lows In The 70S. Highs In The 90S.

The weather in Austin right now is humid. Nothing else much matters...all that other stuff up there is extraneuos.

(it does, however, wreak havoc on one's spelling...)

I shall not place any more weather reports here. There was a warning flag beside Austin, and what affects Austin affects all of us who care about The Spring. I thought there might be more than casual interest in it. Sorry.

hey, wasn't trying to pick a fight...just saying It's Humid!!! (especially in a kitchen with an average ambient air temperature of 98 degrees and two steam tables... and our mold count should be outrageous (one of my tattoos agrees with that sentiment, I should add))

euwww! it's humid here as well but the last couple of days have been rather nice (i.e., low humidity).... should we make a weather warning topic for this conference? oh, do any of you have theories about the space shuttle and other rockets breaking the atmosphere and it's effects on earth's weather?

The effect of space junk burning up on re-entry has been discussed briefly at seminars I have attended and it was the quick concensus that the amount of enegy expended is so small compared with the Earth's total atmosphere, that it is essentially nil. Would love to debate this with someone. Your suggestion for weather warning topic is great - I shall do that right away. Sorry, wer, I misunderstood your comment on the value of the wx for Austin I posted. It is so humid in Hilo, in some area the ceilings and walls get greeen and fuzzy with mildew. It is not a happy thought! The only place I can think of that is hotter and more humid that the kitchen you manage is a ship's boiler room.

Finally heard from California about the mudslides: (David)Lots of them in the winter. No one lives where it is sliding so no one pays much attention. Remember the big slide on I-80 west of Cordilia? There are web sites for that too. I am off to find those websites. I checked for them yesterday but was unsuccessful.

hmm...i wonder why it was in our news show....

Two guesses - Much of Lousiana is at or below the water table, is it not? They appreciate the problems which arise from too much water all at once with no place to drin. Guess two is that they had time to fill and this was a spectacular event watching whole bunches of earth slip-slide away. (Who knows why the news contains what it does - hidden agenda? Trilateral Commission? Big Brother is corrupting your mind? That is a topic for another Conference!!!)

(and all of it is true!!!)

haha!! they showed folks narrowly escaping the rushing mud, a whole house slid away....it was awful. i don't think we have to worry about mudslides here, too much, as there are no hills, but sink holes? well, probably, but where'd we sink to, the water table is barely an inch below ground!!

and in some places, Louisiana's ground is below sea level...

got that right!

Isn't that also why they bury you above ground?!

As long as people live on the flood plain of a river it is going to destroy what they put there. Has since time began. Will continue to do so until they get smart enough to figure it out. Until then news at 6; film at 11!

no matter what the corp of engineers try to do, the earth will take back...

It is comforting to look at Earth from the Space Shuttle. Nothing we have done down here shows from there. It is pristine and beautiful like a jewel in a velvet box.

Thought you might like a look at the water spout which began this topic... Again, Thank you, Barbara, for keeping up with this.

wow!

Too late! Got here too late for the water spout! :-(

I have just learned something I knew all along - save it to file and ftp it to here. I will not make that mistake again. Sorry, Gi. I'll look for another.

This is not the same waterspout, but it is impressive nonetheless.

Impressive indeed! Wow!:-0

kewl!!

And, this one shall not vanish. It is on my little part of Spring's hard drive.

well, you just fill that thing up, girl, let's see more!!

Let's see - how many jpgs can I fit into my space available? Lots of good ones coming with hurricane season just starting, and my son with his digital camera always ready for service in Geo-type things...and then there is the volcano...I could fill a large space with just those.

Don't forget to leave some space for chocolate puddle related objects, though...

?

(William, only a Firthian would understand...) Gi, how can I work him into this topic? - or any of the others in Geo. I am waiting for some inspired lady to come up with this. I could put precious stones mentioned as gifts from him in Fan Fiction. I already know of an Imperial Topaz. ...but that is not this topic.

Back to atmospheric disturbances... I call 100 degrees very disturbing to me. ;-D But I'll take an imperial topaz in recompense for my discomfort.

I think from the Rockies eastward and including a large part of Texas, it is way too hot. When it is hotter outside your body than inside, nature is running a fever. Global aspirin time! When a cold front finally manages to struggle through, I know you will have fun and games with some pretty awesome storms. Then you shall recount your adventures with sheet lightning and good things like that, please?!

Ok, nobody wants to discuss seeing ball lightning? I did once. Sheet lightning? Seen that, too. How about Auroras? I've seen blood-red ones in Ohio after seeing huge sunspots earlier in the day. I've never seen a tornado except in the movies ("cow, again...") I cannot believe we all live in a bell jar. In fact, if others don't contribute, you're gonna have to listen to me some more!

I've never seen ball or sheet lightning...just the usual bright jagged line. Any idea what causes those unusual types of lightning? I saw an Aurora once, up in Baxter State Park in Maine, but it wasn't multi-colored. It was like a white curtain that moved from the left side of the horizon to the right. (That was the first time I really saw the Milky Way, too; the light pollution around Boston has blocked out all but the brightest stars.) I've also never seen a twister, which is just fine! Hurricanes and blizzards are enough for me... :-)

You climbed Mt Katahdin? Or what else were you doing at that hour in Baxter State Park?! More on the lightning in the morning when I am not so boggy in the head. Thanks for asking!

We climbed up one of the smaller peaks; I think it was called Sentinnel. I can check when I get home, if you're curious. We actually went up to Baxter State Park for a star party with the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston. ATMoB had rented one of the campgrounds so they could ensure a light-pollution free area; no light sources other than red-filtered flashlights allowed in that campground after dusk. It was absolutely beautiful. I really saw the Milky Way for the first time, and was thrilled to see an Aurora. A lot of folks had some impressive telescopes, and loved to show off their toys, so I got to see a lot of deep space objects that weekend. (Nebulas, galaxies, star clusters, double stars, etc.)

That is good stuff, a star party! One of my favorite things to do, actually. Man, the viewing must have been spectacular. It is good here on a clear night. The stars are just about on the ground. I never climbed it but David's father did and took me up there at dawn to see the sunrise. It is specatcular, Mt Katahdin! He said they camped in something-or-other pond campsite. I could check with him, as well...

http://www.nasa.gov/today/index.html A huge sandstorm blowing off the northwest African desert has blanketed hundreds of thousands of square miles of the eastern Atlantic Ocean with a dense cloud of Sahaharan sand. The massive nature of this storm was first seen when it reached over 1000 miles into the Atlantic on Feb. 26 by NASA's Sea Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) spacecraft. This image, captured yesterday, shows the dust and sand blowing north and east to the coast of Portugal. Recent studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have linked the decline of the coral reefs in the Caribbean to the increasing frequency and intensity of Saharan Dust events. (2/29/00)