Weather

There are 211 posts filed in Weather (this is page 16 of 22).

Hanna

I had a dream last weekend about wanting a generator. I’m a geek, though, so wanting a generator is a year-round thing for me. Still, I don’t normally dream of one. And last night I had a dream about charging a armful of rechargeable batteries.

I suppose I’m wary of Tropical Storm Hanna. And Ike’s (or Josephine’s) follow-up act could really be devastating if Hanna hits and loosens the soil considerably. Any trees that might withstand Hanna would be pushovers for Ike or Josephine.

Keep an eye on the weather, y’all. It doesn’t look like this will be a dry hurricane season around here.

Waiting on, waiting for

Kelly and I chuckled when we saw the N&O’s headline this weekend: “New Orleans not waiting on Gustav.”

Waiting on? Did New Orleans take a job waiting tables? Maybe NOLA is in the weeds, had a few big parties seated all at once and needs another server to help out, so that’s why Gustav isn’t being waited on. Then again, maybe the N&O’s editor meant to write “waiting for Gustav,” which would make so much more sense, grammatically-speaking.

(See what happens when one marries an editor?)

Kapow!

Kelly and I were on the screen porch last night enjoying the long, wet thunderstorm. As we talked in the dark, I suddenly saw Kelly’s face in full color.

Kapow! A huge clap of thunder sent us both ducking for cover. Obviously, that lightning strike was a bit closer than the others!

I think we’ll enjoy the thunderstorms from the inside from now on.

Gustav

I recently watched NOVA’s program on Hurricane Katrina called Storm That Drowned A City. It was a fascinating program detailing the timeline of Katrina’s march to New Orleans, focusing on how the storm’s surges undermined and overran the city’s levees. The takeaway was that the city is no better protected now than it was three years ago.

Now comes Tropical Storm Gustav, a storm which could quickly get nasty that is now making a turn towards New Orleans. The next week may provide a chance to see if we’ve learned anything.

No room for Fay

I’m glad Western North Carolina will be getting a good drink from Tropical Storm/Depression Fay. Lord knows they need it. As for me, though, I’m still sitting on 300+ gallons of rainwater, so I reluctantly removed the downspout hose from my tank when the first drops came down this morning.

I fiddled with my new tank pump this weekend in an effort to test it out. Turns out the 1″ suction hose I bought had the threads stripped on one connector. After much time spent patiently threading and rethreading the connector into the pump I finally got it on there properly. By that time it was already dark outside, so the pump will wait another week or two when it is dry again.

I have to say I’ve been very pleased with this August’s weather. It hasn’t been baking hot for the first summer in a while. Of course, we paid that price earlier this summer but even that didn’t last too long. We’ve also had reliable rain this month, which is a welcome change.

Rain

We got some surprise rain yesterday evening which was simply captivating to enjoy. Kelly and I stood on our screened porch and just grinned. I was happy to note my rain tank refilled as well, with 30 gallons added from this rain.

We didn’t always smile when it rained – our enthusiasm was always tempered by the streams of water running out of our clogged gutters. Since I put the gutter guards on the house this hasn’t been a problem. I can’t overstate how impressed I am how this $50 solution has worked. It is teh awesome.

Fay to the rescue?

Western North Carolina is so dry now. During last week’s vacation, we stirred up huge clouds of dust as we drove up gravel-covered mountain roads. We failed to find any critters on Chimney Rock’s Nature Adventure trail. In fact, the only critters we saw during the whole trip was perhaps two deer, one bat, and one hummingbird. Nature up there is hurting right now.

That’s why I’m glad to see Tropical Storm Fay on a course that will take it over our mountains, especially since the winds that accompany it should be weak enough not to cause much damage.

Weather (and gas pump) avoidance

It should top out above 100 degrees today. That heat and my cold didn’t keep me from biking today, though. I’m proud to say I’ve kept two-wheeling in whenever I can.

We’re looking to duck out of the heat this weekend, though, when we stay at a Black Mountain cabin for a few days. We then will return home before heading out to Carolina Beach for another few days. One of these places, I suspect, will be cooler than the other.

On a related, biking-to-work note. Today’s N&O told of people trying to live near where they work. Imagine that: people not driving all over creation to get to their jobs! What a concept! I had to chuckle when I read that and thank my lucky stars that we’re living downtown and I’m working downtown. My guess is we’re saving about $300 each month on gas.

Mind in the gutter

My mind was in the gutter yesterday. Or at least my gutters were on my mind. Yesterday afternoon was the first rain since I put the gutter guards on my house. I can say the guards worked with flying colors: all gutters handled the rain beautifully.

Of course, I’d expect the first one to do well, as I cleaned out the gutters before I capped them. The real test will be to see how clean the gutters remain. So far so good, though. It could be that the dozen tiny cuts I sustained to my hands when wrestling with the gutters will have been worth it.