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Let's
Make This Very Interesting!
We're
looking for interesting weather related photos, blogs,
articles, and videos. If you have some interesting weather
buzz, please share it with us!
Throughout
the years, many of us have had some strange, scary, or odd
weather experiences. We think your stories would make for very
interesting reading here, so take pen to paper, or fingers to
keyboard, and share your weather tale - even if it occurred
someplace besides East Texas. You can drop us a line through
Our Contact
Us Form, or you can always email us at:
info@GotLongview.com
(Stories
may be edited for space considerations.)
Coming
Soon to East Texas:
Springtime!!!
Weather
Related Links:
We
found a few East Texas weather videos on YouTube...
Hurricane
Ike Winds as They Blow into East Texas...
thank you,
Mycatranch!
Yes, It
Really Did Snow in East Texas in April 2008!
thank you,
xcdude35!
(Nice
musical accompaniment too!)
Hurricane
Ike, September 2008
East
Texas suffered damaging winds that felled trees and toppled
power lines. There was a tremendous power outage, with many
people being without power for two weeks or so. It was a
difficult time. But, we suffered nothing the likes of our
neighbors further south, and in particular, Galveston Island.
Our sympathies are extended to our Texas neighbors over the
losses they have suffered, and we wish them Godspeed as they
recover.
Everyone
worked together in the aftermath of the tragedy called "Ike".
Thank you
for the video, 2GuyTrio!
Hallsville
at twilight
(Photo courtesy
of Weather
Underground)
Almanac Info About
Our Home...
Longview, East
Texas is located somewhat on a cusp of planting hardiness
zones...somewhere between 7 and 8.
About the lowest
winter temperatures you'll experience here are between 5-10
degrees F. Although that's not terribly common, it is quite
possible. Occasional snow falls.
We have high humidity
and fairly acidic soil. Lots of red clay, but the topsoil is
typically rich.
Winds are usually mild.
Lightning
storms are common. We are in what is referred to as "tornado
alley".
Late winter bloomers include Tulip
trees, Plum trees, Camelias, and jonquils.
Spring is
beautiful, with all sorts of blooming flowers, native plants,
and flowering shrubs - in particular, the azalea.
Summer
is hot and humid.
Autumn brings a reprieve from the
heat, but there's an awful lot of falling leaves and pine
straw...i.e., lots of work of do. We have a slight foliage
color change during Autumn, but nothing like the extremes such
as you'll see in New England.
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>> Tad Bit Hot? The Red Cross has some tips on how to stay cool. Click here to read.
>> Wildfires: What homeowners need to know. Click here to read.
The Flash Before the Flood
ScienceDaily
(Nov. 20, 2008) - Flash floods are the most common natural
disaster in the United States, and because of their
unpredictability they're the leading weather-related cause of
death for Americans. They usually arrive with little or no
warning, but a Tel Aviv University researcher is trying to
predict where and when they will occur ― using lightning.
Prof. Colin Price,
coordinator of the international "Flash Project" and
head of the Geophysics and Planetary Physics Department at Tel
Aviv University, is studying the link between lightning and
subsequent flash floods. The three-year study includes
scientists from five European countries, and its results are
expected to be adopted by weather forecasting agencies around
the world.
The goal is to develop an
early warning system for people in the path of a flood. "Flash
floods are different from normal floods, which are often the
product of melting snow. Flash floods are short-lived and dump
a lot of rain," says Prof. Price, a climate change
specialist. "Using the radiation emitted from
lightning flashes, we've developed a system that can give
adequate warning to the public - and save lives."
Eventually, the Flash
system may be used to send messages to cell phones, RSS feeds,
GPS units and other devices to warn people in the path of a
flash flood and avert disaster.
"Nowcasting"
for Flood Warnings
Unlike normal floods
which arrive slowly and with more warning, flash floods are
particularly dangerous because they happen so quickly,
developing from thunderstorms that form in a matter of hours.
By measuring the radiation emitted by lightning, researchers
can pinpoint the most intense thunderstorms, and the resulting
rainfall can be located and tracked.
This data has been used
to predict both the path of a storm and where heavy rainfall
will appear ― crucial predictions, since the impact of
flash floods depends on ground topography, slope and
vegetation cover. "Nowcasting," which predicts what
conditions will be in the next few hours, versus "forecasting"
a day or two in advance of expected weather conditions, is
critical.
Looking at real-time
lightning data, Tel Aviv University researchers can see where
storms will travel over a period of a few hours, and can warn
people in the path of the flood of impending danger. Such a
tool will become even more relevant as erratic weather
patterns, predicted by climate-change scientists today, become
a reality tomorrow.
A Flood of
Warnings Delivered in a Flash
The research from the
Flash program can be extrapolated for use anywhere in the
world, including the flash flood-prone regions of the U.S.
For example, the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network
could easily apply the results of the Flash research.
"This is a tool for
the future," says Prof. Price. "And it will be even
more exciting in the next decade, when we'll have continuous
real-time detection of lightning activity from satellites.
That data will be used to predict floods anywhere." The
U.S. will also have geostationary satellites with lightning
trackers that will take a picture every 15 minutes from 36,000
kilometers above the earth.
Adapted
from materials provided by Tel
Aviv University.
Email
or share this story:
Need to cite this
story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the
following formats:
Tel Aviv University (2008, November 20). The
Lightning Flash Before The Flood. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved November 21, 2008, from
http://www.sciencedaily.comm/releases/2008/11/081120144244.htm
Watch
Out!
America is weather dangerous!
Here's help
for you
I read a very
interesting article today by the National
Weather Service’s StormReady®
program.
Let me quote directly from the article:
"Americans live
in the most severe weather-prone country on Earth. Each year,
Americans cope with an average of 10,000 thunderstorms, 5,000
floods, 1,000 tornadoes, and an average of 2 land falling
deadly hurricanes. And this on top of winter storms, intense
summer heat, high winds and other deadly weather impacts..."
I was unaware
that America held the #1 bad weather position. The article went
on to say that 90% of all federal emergency declarations were
as a result of weather related occurrences. You know, we live
in a crazy world, and we tend to concern ourselves with all
sorts of man-made tragedies, assuming that we will one day blow
ourselves into smithereens with nuclear weapons, but instead of
fearing what man can do to us, we may want to consider good
'ole mother nature. What wrath! Tsunamis, hurricanes, floods,
quakes, typhoons, fires, avalanches, and tornadoes...suddenly,
our lives can feel a bit precarious.
But there are preparedness
measures that we can take in order to help sustain life and
property. Nothing is more valuable than wisdom, and this is
certainly an area where it's needed. So many weather related
injuries, rescues, and deaths are caused by ignorance,
carelessness, and the worst - arrogance. Since the weather is
something completely beyond our personal control, we can't
afford to become neurotic or obsessive about it, but we can be
smart. To learn more, here are informative links to the
National Weather Services free online publications:
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Boating/Marine
94058
NA
Safe
Boating Weather Tips, pdf
Marine
Service Charts, pdf
Children
Download
200451
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
Billy
and Maria Coloring Book, pdf
Owlie
Skywarn™: Watch Out...Storms Ahead, pdf
Owlie
Skywarn™:
Tornadoes, pdf
Owlie
Skywarn™:
Hurricane, pdf
Owlie
Skywarn™:
Floods, pdf
Owlie
Skywarn™:
Lightning, pdf
Owlie
Skywarn™:
Winter Storms, pdf
How
Do You Make a Weather Satellite, pdf
Weather
Ranger Bookmark
Climate
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
What
is Climate Change?
What
is Drought? 2 Page Fact Sheet
What
is Drought?: 3 Page Fact Sheet
What
is El Nino, La Nina and ENSO?: 2 Page fact sheet
What
is El Nino, La Nina and ENSO?: 4 Page fact sheet
What
is the Local 3-Month Temperature Outlook (L3MTO): short
What
is the Local
3-month Temperature Outlook (L3MTO): long
NOAA’s
Online Weather Data ( NOWData) Factsheet
Emergency
Preparedness 20053
N/A
N/A
StormReady,
StormReady
Info
FEMA's
Emergency Preparedness Materials, pdf
Red
Cross: Talking
About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages, pdf
Floods
200850
200753
200359
200552
200465
200253
200467
20052
96074E
96074S
Download
Download
Download
Download
Guide
to Hydrologic Information on the Web, pdf
Flood
Preparation and Flood Safety (Flood Insurance)
Turn
Around Don't Drown™ color safety brochure, pdf
Turn
Around Don't Drown™, NWS/NSC version, pdf
Tropical
Cyclone Flooding: A Deadly Inland Danger
Floods
. . . The Awesome Power!, pdf
Flood...The
Awesome Power/NSC version, pdf
Hurricane
Flooding: A Deadly Inland Danger, pdf
The
Hidden Danger: Low Water Crossing: pdf
El
Peligro Oculto Cruce de Corrientes Poco Profundes: pdf
Espanol
Red
Cross: Are
You Ready for a Flood/Flash Flood?, pdf
Red
Cross: ¿Está
preparado para una inundación o para una inundación súbita?
Espanol
Food
and Water Safety During Hurricanes, Power Outages,
and
Floods
Protección
y seguridad del agua y los alimentos en caso de huracán, corte
de energía eléctrica e inundaciones
Heat
Download
Download
Download
Heat
Wave: pdf, Heat
Wave: text only
Red
Cross: Are
You Ready for a Heat Wave?
Red
Cross: ¿Está
usted preparado para una ola de calor? Espanol
Hurricanes
94050
96071
200652
Download
200465
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
Download
Hurricanes...Unleashing
Nature's Fury: pdf
Atlantic
Hurricane Tracking Chart: pdf
Hurricane
Safety Flyer: Before, During and After a Hurricane, trifold
pdf
Hurricane
Safety Flyer: Before, During and After a Hurricane, flyer
pdf
Tropical
Cyclone Flooding: A Deadly Inland Danger
La Seguridad de
Tiempo: Los Huracanes, pdf
or htm
Espanol
Hawaiian
Hurricane Safety Measures
Central
Pacific Tracking Chart
Atlantic
Hurricane Names: 2006-2011 in pdf or
text
only
Red Cross: Are
You Ready for a Hurricane?
Red
Cross: ¿Está
preparado para un huracán? Espanol
East
Pacific Hurricane Tracking Map: 12" x 24"
Pacific
Hurricane Names: 2006-2011 in pdf or text
only
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