Weather

There are 211 posts filed in Weather (this is page 5 of 22).

Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene spent the day moving lazily up North Carolina’s Outer Banks, rolling ashore this morning and exiting into Virginia this evening. By landfall the storm had weakened to Category 1 status: just barely a hurricane. Even so, the storm cut a wide swath across the state, though reports of damage (other than power outages) seemed few. Last I heard, four people had died from flooding accidents.

I watched the TV coverage of the storm all day and then wondered why I bothered. There were only so many things one can say about Irene and after the first hour I’d heard them all. I did enjoy watching the live video uplinks from the beaches all up and down the East Coast, courtesy of my Free to Air (FTA) satellite dish. As soon as the studio would cut away from the soggy reporters getting blown around on the beach, those reporters would whip out their Blackberries.
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Quake “foreshock” quote censored by Washington Post?

This Washington Post story ran yesterday with this quote from USGS Director Marcia McNutt (according to the International Business Times):

Minutes after the quake, the director of the USGS, Marcia McNutt — who watched objects falling from the shelves in her office — cautioned that the shaking might not be over.

“What the concern is, of course, is that this is a foreshock. If it’s a foreshock, then the worst is yet to come,” McNutt told The Washington Post.

Curiously, today the Post’s version of the article has removed that quote and substituted a much more mundane one:

Minutes after the quake, Marcia McNutt, USGS director — who watched objects falling from the shelves in her office — concerned about aftershocks, cautioned that the shaking might not be over.

“When something like this happens, remember what to do in the case of a seismic event. Duck, get under something sturdy like a desk or a doorway, get away from falling glass. Make sure that you are not in the way of falling objects like pictures, bookshelves, books, anything that’s not firmly connected the wall.”

The Post has provided no explanation for the change in the quote.

via Virginia Earthquake 2011: USGS Warns it May be a Foreshock – International Business Times.

Earthquake in Virginia!

We just had an earthquake hit us on the East Coast. It was a 5.9 magnitude quake centered 9 miles south of Mineral, VA, about halfway between Richmond and Charlottesville.

I was at my desk in the upstairs office when I realized my desk was shaking back and forth. In a mild panic the dog came racing up the stairs.

Thinking the kids were playing with dynamite again, I yelled down stairs. “Why is the house shaking?” I yelled, getting angry.

“I don’t know!” came the reply from my daughter, Hallie.

Then I remembered that a builder had moved a house onto the lot at the end of the street. I had been talking to him this morning when he reassured me the home was in no danger of toppling over from the approaching Hurricane Irene. It weighs 100,000 pounds, he said. So if it wasn’t the kids tearing our house apart, my next thought was that the 100,000 pound house had just come toppling down.

It was when I watched the trees outside swaying rhythmically that I decided what I was feeling must be a mild earthquake. A trip to Twitter confirmed it for me (social media wins again).

It was the first earthquake I’ve ever felt, in spite of the three years I was stationed in San Diego. It was quite unsettling, to say the least. These things just don’t happen on the East Coast. What’s next? A plague? Will we see Godzilla next?

Anyone have video? Send it in and I’ll post it!

Hurricane Irene approaches

Hurricane Irene


For the past few days I’ve kept my eye on Hurricane Irene as it’s approached the Carolinas. The 8 AM models had it aiming directly at Raleigh but the models have trended east every cycle. The 11 AM models show it coming ashore at the Outer Banks and heading almost due north.

Though the folks at OBX should be concerned, it seems like Raleigh may have dodged a bullet with Irene. I still have to clean out my gutters, though, as we will likely get dumped with (much-needed) rain.

I look forward to using my FTA satellite dish to tune in all those hapless reporters as they struggle to stand on the beach!

Fourth away

We spent the Fourth of July at Kelly’s parents’ home, taking the backroads to avoid the holiday traffic. There, we spent Saturday on a geocaching hunt around Sky Meadows State Park. We also spent time at the pool, built hula-hoops, and watched the kids put on puppet shows.

Another highlight was visiting our friends from high school. We had dinner at the home of Jamie and Jim Neel along with Leigh Taylor. Kelly was friends with both Leigh and Jamie in high school and I was friends with Jamie, eating lunch together many days. It was good to catch up with them and to meet Jamie’s husband Jim, with whom I have a lot in common.

Sunday night as we were driving back from dinner, a strong storm passed through, breaking tree branches in the neighborhood and briefly knocking out power.

We enjoyed our visit. It’s tough getting back to work after that kind of fun!

Fungal infections follow tornado

Wow. I never would’ve guessed this. Here’s a fascinating tidbit from WRAL meteorologist Kim Deaner on the WRAL WeatherCenter blog.

Tornadoes can be deadly and destroy lives and homes with their violent winds, but did you know that they also have the potential to kill you in a way you would least expect?

Victims of the massive Joplin, Missouri, tornado are finding this out now along with the rest of the world. Days after the EF5 tornado devastated the town, people started getting sick and dying from a rare fungus. The CDC is now investigating how this fungus appeared and why it is killing already wounded victims of the tornado. To date, at least twelve people have been sickened with the fungus, and three people have died due to their injuries from the tornado and the fungus.

via Fungal infections follow tornado as threat :: WRAL.com.

Crispy lawns

The Triangle is in another drought, with little substantial rain falling in the last few weeks (ever since I planted the garden, it seems. Hmm). The lawns around the neighborhood are all crispy brown. While I wish we had some rain to refresh those lawns, I’m very happy to see that everyone is resisting the urge to water their wilting grass because it means folks are conserving water.

Because of everyone’s efforts, Raleigh’s main fresh water reservoir, Falls Lake, is at 251.2 feet, just four inches below full. This is in contrast to December 2007, when Falls Lake dropped to a record low of 242.62 feet, or almost nine feet below full.

I know the city’s public utilities department has conflicting goals of conserving water and selling it (as the Raleigh Public Record so eloquently pointed out), but it’s hard to sell something you don’t have. Although the area lawns might taking a beating, at least the city is in good shape to weather this drought.

Update 2:30 PM: Rain! Glorious rain! Bucketsfull! Half an inch so far in the past half-hour! It’s wonderful!

Weather radio not alerting

Since the April 16th tornado, I’ve been paying close attention to my weather radio when storms are approaching. The problem is that it hasn’t sounded for anything in weeks. I tried connecting my radio to my attic antenna (aimed directly at the WXL58 tower in Chapel Hill) but it didn’t seem to help.

I decided to pay close attention to my radio during today’s scheduled weekly test broadcast. When noon came and went without my radio sounding, I emailed the National Weather Service with a report that the alert system may be in the fritz. My friend Greg has also noted a lack of alarms lately, too, so I’m thinking it may not be just my radio.

Should I hear back from the folks at the NWS, I’ll let you know.

Stormfest 2011

We had a great time biking into downtown Raleigh and checking out Stormfest 2011 at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The museum was packed with people checking out all the storm-related tables ranging from information, science demonstrations, and local weather forecasters from both the National Weather Service and local news stations.

My first stop was the CERT table, where I picked up a schedule showing the upcoming training. I’d heard about CERT a few years ago when I invited the city’s emergency management director to my East CAC meeting. After my mailed application to join CERT came back undeliverable I gave up on the organization. It was only when I met volunteers helping with the tornado recovery in my neighborhood that I pursued them again. I hope to be in the upcoming classes, learning how I can better assist during a disaster.
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Fallen wires

The tornado that ripped through Raleigh a few weeks ago left much debris and heartbreak for its citizens. It also left a few downed telephone lines, one of which has been lying in the road near my home since the storm struck. I pondered how anyone could find it acceptable for their phone service to be out for over two weeks.

Then I hit upon the answer: no one has landlines anymore.

That copper lying in the street is likely “dead” copper, having long ago beed disconnected in favor of cellphone service or a VoIP connection. AT&T hasn’t been in a hurry to rehang that line because it’s not making any money from it. I wondered how much copper still hanging on those poles is still being used, and if local telephone companies are on a slow march to irrelevance.

Or maybe it’s a quick march.