No Big Deal-Check out The Gallery Flood Photos June 18, 2008

There is no big deal regarding anything today or for the following days. Today, maybe isolated stuff late but the guy coming down the pike is weakening and as worthless as I always thought. Pop up stuff mainly. Scattered activity Friday and Saturday and late Sunday into early Monday. Possible, not probable in this scenario something worthwhile is involved. It’s one of those deals where the chance for rain isn’t great, but if we did, then there might be a reasonable chance the storm gets strong….but that’s for F, S and Sun…not to today. Today looks pretty worthless…which means it’s pretty good.

Speaking of good…you really need to check out the photos from the Iowa flooding. If you’ve been to Des Moines, you will be amazed at the shots of down town.

Des Moines Register Flood Photos

 

 

 

The Cedar Rapids Gazette has lots of pictures but scroll down until you find the one about the rail road bridge collapse. Really amazing. The bridge collapsed with loaded railroad cars on it. You can see the power of the river as loaded freight cars get swept down the river.

Cedar Rapids Gazette Flood Photos

These are the same galleries as in the previous post. It’ just they may have gotten lost in the Global Warming talk. Usually I get attacked from the left. Not it appears some people are not reading for content so now I’m being attacked from people who think I’m in Al Gore’s back pocket, which anyone who’s read these here pages knows is far far from reality.

Question: Can anyone tell me why all of a sudden I’ve had about 35 hits from people looking for stuff on John Wilkes Booth?

Iowa Flooding Photos; Global Warming Q & A June 18, 2008

The weather around here is great, which means it’s lame.  Northwesterly flow with us within the longwave trof means the nice weather conditions continue until a little ripple in the flow, a shortwave or upper low, comes down and it would trigger some isolated to perhaps scattered afternoon t’storms, especially wherever it passes in the afternoon.  The one for around here is weakening and the SPC is losing interest. We’ve still got chances in the forecast which is correct, it’s just there’s not a huge chance for  anything worthwhile.  The timing of these little guys is difficult until they actually form.  For now, it would appear one comes through Saturday and another Sunday night or Monday morning. Otherwise, the weather is great. It will remain nice through the week and relatively rain free for most people.  Heat and humidity increase as the weekend goes on.  We’re a little more uncomfy by Monday, but we may back off a bit with a weak front Monday night.  Snow White and I went sculling Tuesday evening and in spite of the lower humidity and cooler temperatures, I’m still beat.  Age I guess. I couldn’t find anything interesting on this date in history so I’ve got some housecleaning that I hope you find worthwhile. The flooding pictures are amazing and the other discussion may be interesting to you.

IOWA FLOODING PHOTOS Here are some photo galleries from a couple of local papers regarding the flooding in Iowa.  Many rivers have gone higher than the all time records, some of which were set in 1993.  Keep in mind that we have been developing things at a rapid rate over the past several decades which means quicker run-off in many locations.  New housing developments, shopping centers, etc.  There are also dams and reservoirs and such that may not have been around earlier in the century.  So, it’s possible that the rains of days gone by may have been heavier but the flooding today is greater.  I’m not saying that this development is the cause, but  I am suggesting that it is part of the problem.  But, it really doesn’t matter if your house or farm has been flooded.  These pictures are difficult to imagine if you put yourself in their shoes.

Des Moines Register

Gazette-Cedar Rapids

MORE GLOBAL WARMING UPDATE….A QUESTION FROM A READER AND A HALFWAY ANSWER

Here was a question posed yesterday from Johnny b. It’s an interesting question that is probably above my paygrade. See, his question is one of those little things that troubles researchers and opens a whole can of worms for the Global Warming Enthusiasts. First, the question:

“Interesting that the lower troposphere is radically cooler, while surface temperatures seem to be increasing, huh? Seems like common sense and the knowledge that hot air rises would dictate that convection would be increased and the lower and mid tropospheres would increase in temperature as well. Got any explanation for that one other than “One data set must be wrong.” Since I am a lay nerd, I do not have the ability to invalidate any source so I must assume that they are both correct, but I do not understand how. Is there anything on Earth that could suppress convection around the entire world?”

Now, an answer.  On the one hand, people might say that all of the recent flooding is occurring because there is enhanced convection due to global warming.  A retort might be that there have been big floods in the past before anyone says global warming took place.  And what about Noah’s flood?  Maybe that was global warming and increased convection. 

As to the final question, I’m not sure that convection is being suppressed because I don’t think we have enough knowledge to make such a conclusion at this point.  When I started fooling around with Meteorology nearly 30 years ago, I was taught by my professor that prevailing wisdom was that El Nino happened every 7 years.  By the end of the 80′s, it had happened 3 times.  So much for that “fact” that was presented.  Truth is, research of El Nino hadn’t happened all that long before.  It hadn’t been too many years before that science even accepted that El Nino really happened.  But the Peruvians knew about it for 500 years and they coined the term El Nino.  They didn’t know what it was except that every so often, they couldn’t catch too many fish.  Same thing applies with hurricanes.  We’ve known about them for centuries but the first hurricane to be tracked by satellite was Camille in 1969.  The National Hurricane Center only consisted of 4 men.  We think we know so much about hurricanes now but we really don’t.  We’ve only been studying them in a detailed, computer driven way for about 50 years.  In the case of tropical weather, El Nino, La Nina, Global Warming and others we are just scratching the surface.  Oceanographers can’t tell us everything about the oceans because it hasn’t been explored.  When I was a kid, the dinosaurs died out because the meat eaters ate all the other non-meat-eaters and they eventually died out.  That was foolish but it was what was said.  Now, the story is that there was some sort of cataclysmic event that occurred and the giant reptiles died quickly.  Volcanoes, comet…asteroid..something. And, coincidentally, the result was said to be rapid climate change that cooled the earth and they died.  Having said all of that, in my view, it is not possible to be dealing in absolutes.  Just as it is wrong for Al Gore to say that the debate is over…we know all we need to know, it’s wrong to say absolutely the opposite and close the door the opposite direction.

In order to really answer the question one must know what is defined by the “lower troposphere.”  The troposphere goes to somewhere between 15km and 18 km.  What is the lower troposphere? 3km? 5 km?  One might say that the heating and cooling numbers are so small, that it won’t have an effect on lapse rates  in a real way.  But, if you had a hot surface and cool conditions in the lower 7km, and you have a steep lapse rate then you might expect free form convection.  But, there is a heating up stratosphere and what if radiational transport is bringing heat down to so 8 km?   Suddenly, there is a cap and convection stops with the inversion.  That would be a global suppression of convection.  I doubt that is happening either.  But, without more specifics of definition, it’s really not answerable.

Then again, as I mentioned, the question is ultimately beyond my paygrade and I’ve given some random thoughts.  Just like the enthusiasts tend to put out limited data to support their position and pretend that other data does not exist, I’ve seen bloggers out to prove the anthropogenic global warming naysayers correct by not reporting conflicting data.  But, the truth is the data does conflict.  You’ll find in this first link an allusion to your suggestion about wrong data.  Apparently, the answer from some is that the tropospheric cooling data is phony…somehow masked by the stratospheric warming that I mentioned.  I say nonsense.  That’s a cop out.  When you can’t explain something you look for an answer even if it may conflict with your worldview…that is unless your livelihood is based on that worldview.  No, a truth seeker would explore whether conflicting data may be corrupt and when it is found to be correct, then you look for the answer.  If one looks for an answer but when he finds it but doesn’t accept it because it doesn’t fit his preconceived notions so he moves on, what’s the point of looking?  They go on forever because they were looking for the answer they wanted and not for the truth.

The key here is the tropospheric cooling.  Why is there not more convection if the surface is warming?  Is there indeed more convection or is it the same?  How can one possibly make that determination without data from years ago?  If the surface is warming, why isn’t the lower troposphere?  Another consideration is that often these articles refer to averages.  If you look at the temperatures that said it was cooler in the winter, I thought I noticed that Antarctica had a warmer anomaly.  The global average was colder but the Antarctic was warm….Hmmm…what does that mean?

A long way to say I don’t know.   Here are some links that may help you try to draw some conclusions.  Just remember, politics, money, power and science are a volatile mix.

Stratospheric Cooling?

 

Comparison of Lower-Tropospheric Temperatures

 

This one will cost you money but may get at the heart of the question…or at least reveal that you aren’t the only one ponder the question at hand as to what is going on.

Reducing noise in the MSU daily lower-tropospheric global temperature dataset

Slight Risk For Wednesday June 18 June 17, 2008

I figured that they may do this. I have my doubts though. They put us on the edge for the slight risk of severe weather on Wednesday. In spite of the pretty dry air we have at the surface, the boys at the SPC feel like that the cold pool associated with an upper low diving down through the area will be sufficient to initiate t’storms.  I assumed that they would talk about hail.  I a bit surprised about the mention of gusty winds.  The low is weakening and comes late in the day which is why the risk ends just to the east of Louisville.  This thing is supposed to bring some of its own moisture with it as models indicate some pooling of 700rh in the region.  Here are the remarks concerning our area.

…MID-MO VALLEY/OH VALLEY…
   AN UPPER-LEVEL LOW IS FORECAST TO MOVE VERY SLOW EWD ACROSS FAR ERN
   ONTARIO WEDNESDAY. NORTHWEST FLOW IN THE WAKE OF THE SYSTEM SHOULD
   BE IN PLACE ACROSS THE MID-MO VALLEY AND OH VALLEY. THE NAM AND GFS
   SOLUTION HAVE AN AXIS OF INSTABILITY LOCATED FROM SRN IA SEWD ACROSS
   IL INTO SRN IND. THIS ALONG WITH MODERATE VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES
   EVIDENT ON FORECAST SOUNDINGS AND COLD AIR ALOFT /500 MB TEMPS OF
   -15 TO -18C/ MAY SUPPORT AN ISOLATED THREAT FOR VERY LARGE HAIL.
   UNDIRECTIONAL NORTHWESTERLY WINDS MAY ALSO BE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE
   WIND GUSTS WITH THE MORE ORGANIZED LINE SEGMENTS LATE WEDNESDAY
   AFTERNOON.

Hot Spring Around the World; How About a Gun to Go With that Plow? June 17, 2008

Low and behold, the Metro area got some T’storms on Monday morning. Looks like the boys at the SPC had it goin’ on afterall. Nothing too tragic. Good thunder following the lightning. Some folks reported some small hail. But the afternoon SPC Severe T’storm Watches definitely fell in the CYA category. They cancelled the first one and put out a new one that had its eastern reaches in the eastern counties of the viewing area pretty much as the boundary was moving through. Chances of anything were slim and none. But, I suppose that is part of the margin for error. Nonetheless, we’re done with that stuff for Tuesday. Looks good. Now, Wednesday, we’re still in the northwesterly flow aloft and there is some indication that a little vortmax(disturbance) will wander down our way. It’s debatable as to whether we will have enough moisture for it to do much but, data suggests a chance for a few t’storms. We’re fine for the rest of the week until Saturday when we start to warm and afternoon storms may show up. We’ve taken the action out for Friday and pushed it back for Sunday night into early Monday.

On This Date In History: American ingenuity knows no bounds…which means sometimes it can go out of bounds. Before we get to this item, let’s remember that in the 19th Century, Americans on the frontier needed protection from Indians who didn’t take too kindly to their settling the land, from bad guys, wild animals and, during the Civil War, perhaps guerrilla warriors on the prowl. With that in mind, C.M. French and W.H. Fancher thought they’d come up with a gold mine of an idea. People on the prairie needed defense and they needed to plow their own field. If you combined the two, then you could do both at once! So, on this date in 1862, the pair submitted their armed plow to the patent office(US Pat. No. 35,600). It was a standard plow with what looks like a cannon mounted on the front. The application included the passage, “This combination enables those in agricultural pursuits to have at hand an efficient weapon of defense.” It said it was good for people on border localities who were subject to “savage feuds and guerrilla warfare.” It touted its unrivaled utility in fighting off surprise attacks on “those engaged in a peaceful avocation..” Needless to say, they didn’t get rich. Had their idea caught on, we might have bicycles today with a forward mounted howitzer.

Link to Part of Invention Summary



Global Warming Update-A few days ago we talked about how it was one of the colder Springs in the US recorded history. Well, this next bit of information just goes to show that the US does not influence the rest of the world all of the time. While we were quite chilly all spring, including May, the rest of the world was heating up. Spring 2008 was the 7th Warmest Spring and May 2008 was the 8th Warmest Spring. So, I think we’re in a wash. It was cold in winter and now we’re warm in spring. That about evens things out. Here are more details via the Louisville NWS:

Globally, 7th Warmest Spring and 8th Warmest May on Record

(Link to NOAA Report)

The combined average global land and ocean surface temperatures for spring (March-May) ranked seventh warmest, while May was the eighth warmest since worldwide records began in 1880 according to an analysis by the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

Spring (March-May) Highlights:

• The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for spring 2008 was 0.94 degrees F above the 20th Century mean of 56.7 degrees F and ranked seventh warmest based on the 1880-2008 record.

• The global land surface temperature for spring was 1.87 degrees F above the 20th Century mean of 46.4 degrees F and tied with 2000 as third warmest.

• The global ocean surface temperature for spring was 0.59 degrees F above the 20th Century mean of 61.0 degrees F and ranked 10th warmest.

May Highlights:

• For May 2008, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was 0.81 degrees F above the 20th Century mean of 58.6 degrees F and ranked eighth warmest.

• The global land surface temperature for May was 1.26 degrees F above the 20th Century mean of 52.0 degrees F and ranked seventh warmest.

• The global ocean surface temperature for May was 0.65 degrees F above the 20th Century mean of 61.3 degrees F and ranked 10th warmest.

Snow Cover:

• The extent of spring 2008 snow cover over Eurasia was the lowest on record for any spring in the 42-year historical satellite record. Conversely, North American snow cover extent was slightly above average. For the Northern Hemisphere, spring 2008 was the third least extensive spring snow cover.

Thunderstorm Watch Today; Tecumseh’s Not So Smart Brother June 16, 2008

The eastern two-thirds of the viewing area is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 5 PM EDT today. Just after sunrise, some decent little thunderstorms popped up along and either side of the Ohio River and moved east. Now, the main front will move down and the idea is that it may kick off some strong storms in the heat of the afternoon as it moves through. I think this is one of those deals where there’s not a huge chance of us getting storms, but if we do, they have a good chance of being strong. And, if we do, the chances are enhanced the farther east you go. It’s the stability issue…chances are greater for more unstable air to our east. Biggest risk would be gusty winds. But, we probably will get nothing as there is cu forming almost right over us but the boundary is moving through which tells me that any real stuff won’t get going until its to our east. I told you not to get worked up over it.

 The rest of the forecast is on track though there may be some activity on Wednesday as it appears a shortwave will be moving through the flow.

On This Date In History:  In the late 18th Century, there was a young, dissolute Shawnee warrior whom we might call a misspent youth today.  His name was Laulewasika and he was prone to drunken brawls.  In fact, he lost an eye in one fight.  One day, he quietly lit his pipe and he fell over.  The tribe thought that he was dead but during the funeral ceremony he suddenly awoke, proclaiming that he had “returned from the Master of Life” and said he was to be called the prophet Tenskwatawna. 

It’s unclear whether or not the brother of Laulewasika, the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh, called his brother Tenskwatawna  nor if he suspected that his brother was bamboozling everyone.  But he certainly should have done the latter because, it just so happened, that the message being preached by this new Indian Prophet coincided with what his great brother had been urging for years.  The idea was for all of the Indian tribes to unite against the White settlers.  The two brothers went on tour to try and convince the other tribes of their plan with Tecumseh doing the heavy lifting with the political story while Tenskwatawna would woo them with his revival work that renounced the ways of the White man, in particular booze and religion.  Their plan worked to the extent that several tribes joined them and the headquarters for their new endeavor was a town they called Tippecanoe, which meant Prophetstown.  Bet I know  who came up with the town name.

Anyway, this caused the territorial Governor, William Henry Harrison, to challenge the powers of Tenskwatawna in hopes of proving him to be a Charlatan.  The challenge was to stop the sun, change the course of the moon and stop the rivers from flowing, among other things.  Harrison said if he could do those things, then he was indeed sent by God.  Well, I don’t know who made Harrison the arbitor or not, but Tenskwatawna had the answer in his back pocket.  See, Tenskwatawna was a  pretty smart guy and he not only knew what his brother’s political ideas were he also knew how to read a solar table.  On This Date in 1806 Tenskwatawna made the sun go black then asked the Master of Life to bring it back and the sun shone brightly again!  The Indians were believers! 

Harrison may not have known that Tenskwatawna had read the solar tables and knew of the exact time of a solar eclipse, but he wasn’t persuaded because a few years later, he gathered an army to march on Tippecanoe.  Tecumseh left to get others to join in the fight. He left his brother in charge with explicit instructions not to engage the Americans.  But Tenskwatawna just couldn’t help it.  He had the warriors touch his bean belt to make them immune to bullets and dip their weapons in his magic bowl to ensure victory and he ordered an attack.  The Indians were routed by Harrison,the town burned to the ground and the path was set for Harrison to become President of the United States.  The survivors were incensed and came after Tenskwatawna who used his powers of BS to get out of it by blaming it on his squaw!  That’s right, when the chips were down, he blamed his loss on his wife whom he said stood too close to the bowl of magic potion. 

This story ends with a bit of magic power, but it came from his brother Tecumseh, who it is said on his death bed put a curse on the White Man.  On March 2, 1841 William Henry Harrison talked for nearly 3 hours in sub-freezing temperatures at his inauguration in Washington, DC.  He died of pneumonia 30 days later.  It is called Tecumseh’s curse and every president elected in a year that ended in zero has died in office, until Ronald Reagan broke Tecumseh’s curse.  Tecumseh was the famous middle name of General William T. Sherman.  And you know what, no one remembers the phony faker Tenskwatawna…and it’s just as well. It would teach a bad lesson to kids that being a big fibber is good. That cheaters somehow prosper.  Besides, it’s easier to pronounce Tecumseh than it is Tenskwatawna.

You know what’s funny…there are actually people today who are dressing up like Tenskwatawna.  Check out this imposter!

 

Severe Threat Sunday Night/Monday-More Indiana Flood Photos and Information; Boy Scout Tornado Information, images and photos June 15, 2008

There is a front that will move down our way Sunday night and Monday morning.  As of Sunday evening, our dewpoint was right around 60.   There is a tongue of moisture with dewpoints in the upper 60s that wraps up ahead of the front.  It is in that zone that the SPC feels that there will be enough turmoil to kick off severe thunderstorms.  Now, the idea is that maybe some of the storms may hold together and move into our area early Monday morning.  I think this is in the “possible not probable” category.  It’s coming overnight so there is no heating to help and our air is just so dog gone dry that I’m not convinced it will have time to become unstable.  But, the system will bring it’s moisture with it.  I’m not getting too worked up over it.  If you notice, by 8 AM the new SPC outlook takes effect for Monday and the slight risk line is just to the east of Louisville whereas overnight it was just to the west.  This is reflecting what I am talking about as, after the sun comes up, then you may get some instability as the front progresses east.  I suspect the extension of the risk area west and then the one just to our east is put in to account for any potential timing errors in the forecast with FROPA.  If we get strong thunderstorms it will be  probably east of I-65.  Don’t get worked up about it, I’m not..but it is certainly worth keeping an eye on and we will do so in the event that a random storm does decide to get going.

You really should check out the flooding photos that I got from the NWS out of Indianapolis.  It’s pretty incredible.  I’m posting the links again below.  There are also flood photos from a viewer in a slide show on a previous post.

SW Indiana Flood Photos courtesy NWS Indianapolis

NWS Indianapolis Flood Page-More Photos and other information

 

 Here is a link to all sorts of radar imagery, photos and maps concerning the Boy Scout Tornado in Iowa

Little Sioux Scout Tornado Analysis

More Indiana Flood Photos and Hee Haw June 15, 2008

Below are links to MORE INDIANA FLOOD PHOTOS

Flood Photos and other data courtesy Indianapolis NWS

Indianapolis NWS June Flood Page

High pressure will build in briefly for Sunday.  It will be warm with most people in the upper 80′s though the Airport will probably get to 90.  Humidity level will be reduced.  And because of that limited moisture, the front that comes down here on Monday probably won’t be much of a rain producer.  We’ll have some showers and scattered to isolated t’storms Late Sunday night and Monday morning with clouds eroding late in the day.  Rain is not welcome in Indiana where Friday night rains in the Wabash basin came to 1 to 4 inches and in the White River basin about 1-3.  In both cases, this will serve to prevent the waters from finally getting below flood stage. In fact, at Seymour the East Fork of the White river is expected to rise again to near 15 feet on Sunday afternoon before it goes below flood stage on Wednesday.  It should do so as we get Canadian air in here with low humidity. We’ll see lots of sunshine for much of the week ahead with highs in the upper 70′s to perhaps low 80′s and overnight lows generally in the 50′s to low 60′s by the end of the week.  There may be an upper disturbance come through late in the week or early next weekend but we’ll deal with that later.

On This Date in History:  For better or worse, Hee Haw made its television debut on this date in 1969 on CBS television. It was a summer replacement for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  The show was a hit and CBS put it on regularly starting in December of that year and it ran through 1971 until CBS executives thought that the “rural” shows weren’t getting the right demographics.  Most of the time in TV, you want young audiences and shows like Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, Mayberry R.F.D. and Hee Haw tended to attract older, less affluent viewers.  All of those shows got the Ax in 1971. 

Here are two of the odd things about this.  First off, Hee Haw was developed by a couple of Canadians who wanted to make it a softer, more countrified version of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In.  The other thing is that all of the shows that CBS cut, went on for about 30 years in syndicated re-runs.  Their popularity lived much longer than many many shows that CBS executives thought would be hits over the years.  The wisdom of tv guys in ivory towers strikes again!

Like Laugh-In, Hee Haw had very low production costs because they would tape the skits and things for an entire year over a two week period.  Laugh-In  was more topical and so couldn’t shoot quite as many shows in quite as short a time but it was similar.  Hee Haw didn’t just go away though in 1971.  Instead, it went into syndication and was on in niche spots across the country for about 20 years, at one time holding the record for the longest running syndicated show.  I think Jeopardy is the king in that area now.  Anyway, it and shows like Lawrence Welk opened the eyes of TV executives who quickly learned that non-network programming could be very successful if it was placed in non-traditional time slots that would target specific audiences.  My grandmother used to love to watch Hee Haw and The Lawrence Welk Show  every Sunday evening. 

I know that advertisers want younger audiences who will watch their commercials and hopefully develop brand loyalty for the rest of their lives.  But, grandmothers like mine tend to live a long time and that means that they have to buy stuff for a long time.  Same is true with less affluent people.  They have to buy stuff…it may not be a Rolex or a Cadillac, but certainly groceries and other essentials.  You can have a successful show that targets a specific audience and then the advertiser’s dollar is more efficiently used because, the total audience might be smaller but a larger percentage of that audience is a potential buyer of your product. Hence, you aren’t wasting money on a bunch of people who wouldn’t buy the product anyway.   With the advent of cable TV, advertising executives have finally figured out what Hee Haw  learned over 30 years ago.  That’s Junior Samples above if you are wondering.  If you are interested, here are the bios of the cast members. 

Hee Haw Cast Members

Flood Threat Subsiding; The Donald Is Created June 14, 2008

As mentioned in the previous post, by evening it became increasingly apparent that the energy to our southwest was not going to swing around and create more problems for us.  We had a number of severe thunderstorm warnings in the area mainly for hail and a few instances of winds in excess of 60 mph.  But, the storms of midday that came from the south and erupted as we pushed up to 90 degrees helped take away our energy and the clouds never allowed for any reheated.  Further, the energy in Missouri spread out and moved south.  At one time, the SPC was considering a watch for northern Missouri as it appeared the scenario was panning out but, alas, it did not.  The watches were discontinued early from west to east and even the NWS out of Indianapolis cancelled the flash flood watches many hours before the scheduled expiration.  The rivers in Indiana are still high and I suspect they won’t come back below flood stage before the weekend is out, but the serious threat has abated.  Otherwise, the forecast looks on track.  Not so much rain early Saturday then improvement Saturday afternoon.   A good looking Father’s Day. A cold front Monday that may bring scattered showers and t’storms followed by a nice dry balance of the week with highs in the 70′s and low 80′s and overnight lows in the 50′s.

On This Date In History:  Fred Trump was a successful real-estate developer in New York.  On this date in 1946, he introduced the world to his son Donald, who seems to be intent on making a bigger splash than anyone in human history.  After Donald Trump finished his MBA at the Wharton School of Business, he went to work for dad.  He quickly developed an ability to work the business of building and development.  In the 1970′s, New York was in terrible financial condition and Trump took advantage by buying up properties at good prices and gaining tax concessions for his projects.

In the 1980′s, he looked toward hotels, high rise condos and casinos.  He claims his net worth skyrocketed into the billions.  Others think that was a large over-estimate.  In any event, when the 90′s came about, his fortunes turned and his empire crumbled and he even had to declare bankruptcy on some of his developments.   But, by the late 90′s, he was back on his feet and amassing wealth once again.  On a couple of occasions he was urged to run for President but instead he took his celebrity and turned to the tube.  He had several years of The Apprentice  which was a hit for a while and his trademark “you’re fired” became part of the pop culture lexicon.  In 2005, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $2.7 billion.  Trump says it was way more.  Critics claim he wasn’t even a billionaire.

But you know what…if the legend is better than the truth, print the legend.  Trump has marketed himself and his name to the point that he is one of the best known people in America if not the world.  And, as Larry King indicates in the photo above, his hair may have outstripped the rest of his worldly accomplishments as the most famous part of him.

Vast Improvement June 13, 2008

As of 7:30 pm EDT, it would appear that our event is fizzling. The short wave energy in Missouri is sliding south.  Our atmosphere got worked over so much by the activity in the early afternoon that it took much of the energy and the sun was never able to get things going again after we got to 90 at midday.  Rain for the rest of the night most likely will come in just showers. Some places just north of the viewing area got 2-3 inches of rain today and in the southwestern part of the viewing area the same is true.  But, I doubt if that will do much to increase any problems that may be lingering from the weekend.    The watches have been cancelled at this time generally north of the Ohio River and I suspect the rest of the counties will probably be in the clear prior to the 9 PM scheduled expiration.

Severe Threat Friday the 13 and Saturday Morning June 13, 2008

Pretty much the same story as any storms that blow up to the west this afternoon should be in a weakening phase when they arrive. They still may be formidable when they get here though with wind being the best threat. Two questions really on my mind…first off…there is a cluster of rain and storms in the western part of Indiana. Severe stuff with this is not much of a concern but I wonder about rain. I wonder if this activity also will help to inhibit strong storms moving in from the west later tonight. I will be at the station most of the night as needed and I would not be surprised if this ends up being more of a rain event than anything else. There has been a bit of data that would suggest southern Indiana gets the heaviest rain. If that rain is spread out over many hours, then the rivers may behave themselves. But, if the early day rain then ends up becoming very heavy rain with the passage of a slow moving front…then there may be trouble. The boys at the NWS at Indianapolis issued a Flash Flood Watch for Jackson, Jennings and Lawrence counties and points toward the north for Friday night into Saturday. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued at about 12:30 EDT for Jackson, Jennings, Lawrence and Dubois counties until 8 PM EDT.  A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for the rest of the viewing area until 9 pm EDT.  While there will be the risk for gusty winds and possibly an isolated weak tornado on the apex of a bow echo,  heavy rainfall is a concern as these storms and the entire system will be moving slowly until an upper low or MCS swings out of Missouri and activates the front eastward as it passes.

Here is what the SPC has to say for Day One