Is Justice Too Blind? Can Whiskers Buy Votes? Is Omar a Howler? October 15, 2008

Rain Total Forecast Wed 1015 thru Fri 1018

for a link to a radar loop and a more recent update on hurricane Omar, CLICK HERE

As you can tell if you compare this outlook for the latter part of the week with the previous HPC forecast assessment of raintotals through Friday evening, you will notice much less anticipated around here. That is because there are a couple of scenarios but neither brings much rain here. The ETA today was advertising a little less than a half inch on Thursday afternoon and that was it. The GFS wanted a little early Thursday and a little early Friday totalling less than 1/10 of an inch. We feel like the truth is somewhere in between. While we think that Wednesday will be warm, the first little weak boundary may be sufficient to bring some showers early Thursday. Then the second push with the cold air associated with it, brings some light scattered activity on Friday. Look for sunshine over the weekend but highs on Saturday and Sunday of 60 and 68 respectively but with frost possible in some areas on Saturday night as everyone should fall to the 30′s.

Atlantic IR Satellite 1015 0115Z

Hurricane Omar Spaghetti Model 1015 00Z

Years ago, I saw Jimmy Buffett in Austin and his harmonica player, Greg “Fingers” Taylor performed the night before with “Omar and the Howlers”. Not sure what happened to that band…I think Fingers Taylor has still performed with Jimmy off and on over the years….but today we have Hurricane Omar, which is bearing down on the Virgin Islands. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Anguilla, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten (Martin) and St. Barthelemy. Omar has looked pretty good on the satellite image and became a hurricane Tuesday evening. It’s still likely to move through the northeast Caribbean and into the open Atlantic where liners, freighters, oil tankers and pirates will have to deal with it.

Tropical Depression 16 Spaghetti Model 1015 00Z

Tropical Depression 16 is still generally expected to move along the Honduran coast and into Belize. A couple of models differ with that scenario and that may be a result of climatology built into the models. If the storm were to move slow enough, it would be possible for the ridge steering it move or break down and allow for some northward motion. But, that is not expected and the most serious aspect of this storm at this point is heavy rain and flood potential in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize. The most interesting thing most likely will be if it becomes Tropical Storm Paloma or if it makes it across into the Pacific.

Look to the bottom of the post for the National Hurricane Center Discussion for both tropical systems as well as the forecast tracks and more graphical information.

Harper's Weekly Mar 9, 1861 Lincoln Sneaks Into Washington

Last Lincoln Portrait Apr 4 1865

On This Date in History: On October 15, 1860 the Republican nominee for President, Abraham Lincoln, received a letter from eleven-year-old Grace Bedell. At that time, women did not have the right to vote so young Grace urged Mr. Lincoln to grow a beard. She said, “All the ladies like whiskers and they will tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be president.” But, Lincoln did not grow the beard until after he was elected. Most histories suggest that the beard was grown as a make-shift disguise for his arrival in Washington for the inaugural because there were so many threats against his life. He came to Washington under the cover of darkness, with the beard. But, Lincoln later responded to queries and said that the genesis of the beard was traced back to the letter of Grace Bedell.

Now, artists were alerted in advance that the President-elect would emerge at the inaugural with a beard. But no one knew what he would look like. So, they simply used existing photos and added beard styles of their choosing. I think it’s safe to say that none of them were able to fully reproduce the lasting image of “Father Abraham.”

Blindfold Too Tight For Frankie?

On This Date in 1899, Frankie of Frankie and Johnny were lovers fame shot her boyfriend. But, her lover was named Allen, also called Albert, not Johnny. The woman in question was Frances Baker and the then 22-year-old was acquitted in the murder of her 17-year-old boyfriend in a self defense stance. She said that she shot him only when he came to her house and drew a knife to kill her. She had a silver plated pistol at her bedside and shot him. But, the song claims that she shot him when she found him with another woman. Baker said that she knew that he was seeing Alice Pryor but “never fussed with her about it.” She also said that the song had it wrong when it said that she shot him “root a toot-toot-toot three times.” She said it only took one shot.

What really got Baker upset about her infamy in song was that the song questioned her virtue, calling her a “queen sport.” She had to move from St. Louis to Omaha and then Portland but couldn’t get away from the negative publicity. The song was turned into a play and then a movie in 1936 and Baker sued Republic Pictures for the use of the song. In her 1942 trial, she said she didn’t wear diamonds like the movie portrayed and only had cotton dresses, not the fancy clothes portrayed in the movie. In the end, the more she told her story, the more convinced the jurors of the court became that the song wasn’t even about her. Even though her St. Louis neighbors said the song was indeed about her, Frances “Frankie” Baker lost the case and returned to Portland and in 1950 was committed to a mental institution and died at age 75 two years later. But…her efforts were for naught. St. Louis for a time billed itself as the “birthplace of Frankie and Johnny” and no one deterred singers from reciting the lyrics “he was her man, but he done her wrong.”

So, the songwriters and movie script writers got the story so wrong that even the court didn’t believe that the song was about Frances Baker. Seems that Baker did too good of a job convincing the court that she was wrongly portrayed in song, and it cost her $200,000. Then again….Johnny…or Albert…or Allen…wasn’t able to tell his side of the story.

HURRICANE OMAR DISCUSSION NUMBER 7

NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL

AL152008 1100 PM EDT TUE OCT 14 2008

Hurricane Omar Forecast Track 1014 11pm

THERE HAVE BEEN NO ADDITIONAL RECONNAISSANCE DATA THIS EVENING…

Hurricane Omar IR Satellite 1015 0115Z

HOWEVER SATELLITE AND RADAR OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT OMAR HAS BECOME A HURRICANE. A NEARLY COMPLETE EYEWALL HAS BEEN SEEN AT TIMES ON THE CURACAO RADAR…AND OMAR HAS BEEN MAINTAINING A LARGE AREA OF VERY COLD CONVECTION OVER THE CENTER ALL DAY. DVORAK CLASSIFICATIONS FROM TAFB AND SAB AT 00Z WERE BOTH T4.0…OR 65 KT. IN ADDITION… THE CIMSS ADT IS RUNNING AROUND T4.5…AND A RECENT AMSU INTENSITY ESTIMATE WAS 66 KT. BASED ON THESE DATA…THE ADVISORY INTENSITY IS SET AT 65 KT. GLOBAL MODEL GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT THE SHEAR WILL NOT CHANGE MUCH OVER THE NEXT 36 HOURS OR SO…AND ALL THE OBJECTIVE GUIDANCE FORECASTS OMAR TO

Hurricane Omar Spaghetti Model Intensity Graph 1015 00Z

STRENGTHEN TO A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE BEFORE IT EXITS THE CARIBBEAN. IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT THE SHIPS RAPID INTENSITY GUIDANCE INDICATES A 60% CHANCE OF 30 KT OR MORE STRENGTHENING OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THE OFFICIAL FORECAST IS NOT QUITE THAT AGGRESSIVE…BUT IS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS FORECAST AND VERY CLOSE TO THE ICON INTENSITY CONSENSUS. BASED ON THE RADAR IMAGERY THE INITIAL MOTION IS 050/5. THERE HAS BEEN NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO THE FORECAST TRACK OR REASONING. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY CONTINUES TO SHOW A LARGE UPPER TROUGH DIGGING SOUTHWARD OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC…AND MODEL GUIDANCE IS IN EXCELLENT AGREEMENT THAT THIS TROUGH WILL GRADUALLY ACCELERATE THE TROPICAL CYCLONE NORTHEASTWARD OUT OF THE CARIBBEAN. THE HWRF AND GFDL CONTINUE TO LIE ALONG THE LEFT SIDE OF THE GUIDANCE ENVELOPE…WITH THE ECMWF AND UKMET ON THE RIGHT…BUT THE MODEL SPREAD IS NOT LARGE. THE OFFICIAL FORECAST IS CLOSE TO THE CONSENSUS OF THIS TIGHTLY PACKED MODEL CLUSTER.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INITIAL 15/0300Z 14.3N 68.1W 65 KT

12HR VT 15/1200Z 15.1N 67.1W 75 KT

24HR VT 16/0000Z 16.7N 65.4W 85 KT

36HR VT 16/1200Z 19.1N 63.3W 90 KT

48HR VT 17/0000Z 21.9N 61.1W 90 KT

72HR VT 18/0000Z 27.0N 58.0W 80 KT

96HR VT 19/0000Z 33.0N 54.0W 70 KT

120HR VT 20/0000Z 41.0N 44.0W 60 KT

$$ FORECASTER FRANKLIN

TROPICAL DEPRESSION SIXTEEN DISCUSSION NUMBER 3

NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL162008

1100 PM EDT TUE OCT 14 2008

Tropical Depression 16 Forecast Track 1014 11pm

CONVENTIONAL SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATES THAT THE DEPRESSION HAS CHANGED LITTLE IN ORGANIZATION DURING THE LAST 6 HOURS. THE SYSTEM STILL LACKS APPRECIABLE DEEP CONVECTION NEAR THE CENTER OF CIRCULATION SO THE INITIAL INTENSITY IS HELD AT 25 KT IN LINE WITH SUBJECTIVE DVORAK INTENSITY ESTIMATES AND THE EARLIER RECONNAISSANCE DATA. WITH THE SHEAR EXPECTED TO REMAIN LOW AND SSTS ALONG THE FORECAST TRACK SUFFICIENTLY WARM…THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL FOR STRENGTHENING AS LONG AS THE CENTER REMAINS OVER WATER…ALTHOUGH GIVEN THE LACK OF ORGANIZATION…RAPID DEVELOPMENT IS NOT LIKELY. THE LATEST OFFICIAL TRACK FORECAST KEEPS THE CENTER OF THE CYCLONE OVER WATER FOR ABOUT 2 DAYS…BUT ONLY A SMALL

Tropical Depression 16 Spaghetti Model Intensity Graph 1015 00Z

DEVIATION TO THE SOUTH WOULD BRING THE CENTER OVER LAND SOONER…POTENTIALLY WEAKENING THE SYSTEM FASTER THAN THE OFFICIAL INTENSITY FORECAST. WITH A STRONG MID-LEVEL RIDGE BUILDING NORTH OF THE DEPRESSION…A GENERAL WESTWARD OR EVEN WEST-SOUTHWESTWARD HEADING IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. TRACK MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON THIS MOTION AND THE NEW OFFICIAL FORECAST IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS ONE.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INITIAL 15/0300Z 16.2N 83.8W 25 KT

12HR VT 15/1200Z 16.3N 84.6W 30 KT

24HR VT 16/0000Z 16.3N 85.8W 35 KT

36HR VT 16/1200Z 16.2N 87.2W 40 KT

48HR VT 17/0000Z 16.0N 88.5W 40 KT

72HR VT 18/0000Z 15.5N 91.0W 25 KT…INLAND REMNANT LOW

96HR VT 19/0000Z…DISSIPATED

$$ FORECASTER RHOME/SCHAUER CLARK

Hurricane Gustav Making Landfall and Slowing Down; Two More Storms September 1, 2008

for a more recent update on Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Hanna and Tropical Storm Ike, CLICK HERE

For a Radar Loop to track Hurricane Gustav, CLICK HERE. You can navigate anywhere in the country to street level. The image can be looped with clouds and lightning added.

Hurricane Gustav NHC forecast Track 11AM 0901

Hurricane Gustav made landfall about 70 miles SW of New Orleans and 100 miles SE of Lafayette. Pretty close to Houma. The structure got fairly decent and the

Hurricane Gustav Spaghetti Model 0901 12Z

pressure was at a level that could have supported higher winds, but the satellite photo indicates to me that the dry air that the hurricane hunter reported last night has worked into the center. So, while the pressure was still at 955 mb, the winds fell just prior to landfall to 110 mph and is moving NW at 15 mph. If you want to play the category game, it was a Cat 2 at landfall….if it had stayed 5 mph stronger, it would have been a Cat 3. I sometimes think this “what category is it?” stuff is silly. Anyway, it still remains to be seen how the water piling up into Lake Borgne will affect the Intercoastal Waterway and Industrial Canal. However, cautiously it would appear the distance from New Orleans and the lesser strength was sufficient to keep the storm surge rather manageable in New Orleans. But, they thought that about Katrina too. The reporters were in the French Quarter saying that “we dodged a bullet” when the east side of town had been under water for 6 hours. I suspect that the levees will be under pressure and perhaps even topped to some degree but probably not to the degree of Katrina. On Sunday evening, it was interesting that while the central winds were not that great, the hurricane force winds were somewhat broad and that seems to be holding true with winds in MIssissippi running close to hurricane force. There may be a lot of tornados with this one, but one cannot really tell for certain.

Gustav Rain Forecast 120 hours

The boys at the National Hurricane Center have done a great job as the track went almost exactly as forecast for several days. Despite the variables, the track is pretty much running up the eastern side of Vermilion Bay toward Fort Polk. It is still anticipated to slow to a crawl in west Louisiana. Rainfall will be excessive. The main difference between this and Fay is that the upper support is anticipated to be chopped off in the next few days. That probably won’t limit the rainfall, but should limit the winds a bit and also prevent the storm from being as long lived as Fay.

Tropical Storm Hanna Forecast Track 11AM 0901

Tropical Storm Hanna is getting better organized. It is expected to approach

Tropical Depression 9 Forecast Track 0901 11AM

minimal hurricane status and loop through the Bahamas, along the east coast of Florida and into Georgia or South Carolina and then up the east coast. However, the most recent path of toward the SW is rather interesting and is not part of the plan and looks similar to the track from a few days ago when the data supported a run down and around into the Gulf. Stay tuned. A tropical Depression has also formed and and is expected to increase in intensity. There are also other areas of interest in the Atlantic. Here is the National Hurricane Center Gustav Discussion for 11AM Monday:

HURRICANE GUSTAV DISCUSSION NUMBER  32
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL   AL072008
1100 AM EDT MON SEP 01 2008

THE CENTER OF GUSTAV MADE LANDFALL ALONG THE LOUISIANA COAST NEAR
COCODRIE ABOUT 1430 UTC.  DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS...THE EYE
BECAME BETTER DEFINED ON RADAR.  HOWEVER...WIND DATA FROM AIR FORCE
RESERVE AND NOAA AIRCRAFT ALONG WITH DOPPLER RADAR WINDS SUGGESTS
THAT GUSTAV WEAKENED TO A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE BEFORE LANDFALL.
THE INITIAL INTENSITY OF 95 KT IS BASED ON THE AIRCRAFT DATA...AND
THIS MIGHT BE A LITTLE GENEROUS.

THE INITIAL MOTION IS 310/13.  GUSTAV IS BEING STEERED NORTHWESTWARD
BY A MID-LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.  THE CYCLONE
IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE NORTHWESTWARD WITH A DECREASE IN FORWARD
SPEED AS A LOW-LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS TO THE THE NORTH AND NORTHWEST.
THE FORECAST TRACK IS ESSENTIALLY AN UPDATE OF THE PREVIOUS
FORECAST THROUGH 48 HR.  AFTER THAT TIME...THE GUIDANCE IS NOW IN
BETTER AGREEMENT ON A SLOW NORTHWARD MOTION...SO THE 72-120 HR PART
OF THE TRACK IS CHANGED FROM A WESTWARD DRIFT TO A NORTHWARD DRIFT.

GUSTAV SHOULD WEAKEN AS IT MOVES INLAND...ALTHOUGH THE WEAKENING
WILL LIKELY BE SLOW AT FIRST AS THE CENTER CROSSES THE SOUTH
LOUISIANA MARSHES.  A FASTER WEAKENING IS EXPECTED IN 6-12 HR AS
THE CENTER REACHES MORE SOLID GROUND.  AFTER 48 HR...GUSTAV IS
LIKELY TO SHEAR APART...WITH THE UPPER-LEVEL PORTION OF THE CYCLONE
MOVING NORTHEASTWARD AND LEAVING THE SURFACE CENTER BEHIND.
THUS...THE FORECAST SHOWS THE SYSTEM BECOMING A REMNANT LOW BY 72
HR.

THE THREAT OF HIGH STORM SURGE WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE LOUISIANA
COAST FOR SEVERAL MORE HOURS...AND THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAINS WILL
CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL DAYS.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INITIAL      01/1500Z 29.2N  90.8W    95 KT
 12HR VT     02/0000Z 30.3N  92.4W    70 KT...INLAND
 24HR VT     02/1200Z 31.3N  93.8W    40 KT...INLAND
 36HR VT     03/0000Z 31.9N  94.6W    30 KT...INLAND
 48HR VT     03/1200Z 32.4N  95.3W    25 KT...INLAND
 72HR VT     04/1200Z 33.0N  95.5W    20 KT...INLAND REMNANT LOW
 96HR VT     05/1200Z 33.5N  95.5W    20 KT...INLAND REMNANT LOW
120HR VT     06/1200Z 34.0N  95.5W    20 KT...INLAND REMNANT LOW

$$
FORECASTER BEVEN

Dolly Edging Northward July 21, 2008

SEE 5 PM TUESDAY JULY 22 UPDATE FOR HURRICANE DOLLY HERE. YOU WILL FIND LATEST TRACK AS WELL AS LINK TO RADAR LOOP

Note that the latest track of Dolly has been nudged north for a landfall just north of Brownsville, Texas. The official intensity forecast has also been increased a bit. This storm has the potential for development and the later time frame of the forecast is a bit uncertain.

Here is the discussion.

Cold Front Tonight, Why There are No Bears and A Case Against “Old Sparky” April 25, 2008

The front is approaching.  Friday will be good though.  The Balloon Glow may be in question as I suspect it will be windy.  The front will have some kick to it but it will be weakening.  It does not appear that there is much potential energy to work with though it will have some dyanmic energy and the thing is coming through at night…the sun might have given it some potential.  Hence, the SPC slight risk is to our west.  Rain should be out of here by mid to late morning.  The clouds may just disappear in a hurry and Saturday afternoon will be great.  Most of Sunday looks good but another front will be coming and rain chances may increase late in the day.  It too is missing something.  It will be difficult for the atmosphere around here to load up following the Saturday morning front, so I wouldn’t get too worked up over it. But, do be prepared for unseasonably cold conditions for the first part of next week…you know…the kind that makes you turn on your heater after you thought that  you wouldn’t need it any more.

On This Date In History:  All sorts of stuff on this date that I’d like to write about but Snow White says that these things are becoming too long.  And what Snow White Says has more power than what Symon Sez.  So, I’ll just tell you one that is a show stopper.  President Truman put in a bowling alley at the White House on this date in 1947. Maybe that’s why Senator Obama went bowling as he thinks that’s part of the preparation.  If so, he needs a little help. I think he bowled something like a 37.

Samantha Smith became an international celebrity on this date in 1982 as a 10 year old when the Soviet Union published a written response to her letter to Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov in which she asked if the USSR was going to start a nuclear war.  This is a cute, feel good, reflective story until you reach the end.  Samantha Smith died in a plane crash at the age of 13.  Try this link for more:

http://www.samanthasmith.info/

Davy Crockett became famous on this date in 1831 when a play called The Lion of the West opened in New York. He was played by an actor who was famous at the time named Hackett.  Later on books and stuff came out and the mythology of Crockett was born, especially after he was killed at the Alamo.  But, one thing is for certain, PETA would not have been a fan.  Myths that are based on real people usually have a measure of truth.  In Crockett’s case, the references to him “skinning a bahr” (bear) perhaps came from the fact that he once killed 105 bears in Tennessee in one season.  If this is indeed a fact, then its no wonder we don’t see too many bears in Tennessee these days. 

Edward R. Murrow might be celebrating his 100th birthday today if he hadn’t smoked so much.

Here’s an example of why I am against the death penalty.  Before you get too riled up, it’s mainly because it assumes a perfect system and the release of James Richardson from 21 years on Florida’s death row on this date in 1989 illustrates my point.  In 1967, his seven children were poisoned to death after his neighbor came over and heated up a meal for the seven Richardson children while he and his wife were out picking fruit in the fields.  The kids all began foaming at the mouth and subsequently died.  The prosecutor told the jury how Richardson had met with a life insurance salesman just the day before about insuring his whole family.  They had found the poisoned food in the home and the poison behind in the family’s shed.  That’s it…guilty!!  Well, the prosecutor didn’t tell the jury that the insurance salesman came by unsolicited and that Richardson never bought any insurance because he couldn’t afford it.  The jury also was never told that…the neighbor was on parole for…poisoning to death her first husband!!! She was suspected of killing her second one as well. 

Fortunately the truth came out and the guy got out of jail after 21 years but the man was supposed to go to the electric chair.  There was a mistake.  The prosecutor was a bum, the guy had a crummy defense attorney and the jury was wrong.  It happens in an imperfect system but the death penalty is irrevocable.  If this guy had been killed, what do you tell the family “whoops?”  Where does his wife go for justice?  If the guy was executed, why would a case like that not be negligent homicide for the jury and judge and murder for the prosecutor?  See…that is my point. It’s an imperfect system yet there is an ultimate penalty.  Before you get really really bent out of shape, consider the real problem with this story…the parole of a murderer.  Had that neighbor woman been left in jail to serve her sentence instead of being paroled, it wouldn’t have happened.

Capital punishment is perfect but the system is not.  One mistake is not worth it.  If judges, juries and prosecutors were told they would be held responsible for a mistake in a capital case, do you really think there would be many death sentences?  Life in prison is a greater punishment in my opinion and it at least leaves open a potential remedy in the case of a mistake or like this case, injustice by a wayward prosecutor.

Stretch Continues; Rough Day in 1908 April 24, 2008

Forecast still pretty much on track.  The upper low I’ve been talking about that gonna wander from North Texas and Oklahoma and weaken as it ends up moving to near Indianapolis is up to no good as it blows up big storms in the South Central plains.  It’s still expected to follow the track indicated and weaken but it will probably bring some clouds late Thursday night and early Friday morning and could possibly bring a few showers.  Thursday itself looks good but probably not as warm as Wednesday’s 84 with high clouds.  Friday should be warm and breezy.  Now, the front still comes through late Friday but it appears that the rain may be post frontal and therefore still around for Saturday morning but Saturday afternoon looks pretty good with slightly cooler but comfortable conditions. Same for Sunday.

On This Date In History:  What’s this? A weather related event in the history section?  On this date in 1908 a pretty big tornado outbreak took place in the Southeast.  Over 300 people were killed.  The photo above is from Purvis, Mississippi which only had 7 houses remaining once this big bopper moved through. It wasn’t like the Tri-States Tornado but was still remarkable in that it was suspected to have been on the ground for about 150 miles.  It is estimated to have been an F-4…presumably an EF-4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.  In any event, it was a big bopper.  It touched down in Amite, Louisiana and was 2.5 miles wide and took 29 lives.  When it got to Purvis, it claimed 55 more.  By the time it was done with its 150 mile trek, it had killed 143 people.

Here are some interesting statistics I’ve uncovered.  In the 20th century, it is estimated that over 15,000 people in the US were killed by tornadoes.  There wasn’t any organized warning systems in place until during World War II, the War Department had spotters on guard to warn for potential tornadoes in order to protect ammo plants and dumps.  I knew that many civilian use items are developed as a result of war but I didn’t know this was one of them.  After the war they began using spotters for civilian safety and began issuing warnings in the 1950′s with the development of forecasting techniques by the boys at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.  They issued the first watch there and a tornado touched down…on Tinker Air Force Base!  I think they did it again a week later and it happened again! 

Anyway, the warning system in the US has come a long way.  Now, the largest death toll from tornadoes comes from India and Bangladesh, where there are dense populations.  That part of the world is the only other place on the planet in which conditions that produce tornado spawning storms appear with the consistency found in North America.  Tornado Alley though still has more tornadoes than the rest of the world combined though, last time I checked.

Bob’s Husband Tip:  For my anniversary, I was thinking of the Eagles Pretty Maids All in a Rowand the line “someone should send you a rose.”  So, I sent Snow White a rose.  She loved it. Then I took her to Vincenzo’s.  Never been before.  Cardosi told me that I made a good choice and his forecast was pin point.  Great experience. Our waiter Gary was great and the food was fabulous.  I hate mushrooms but I ate’em all up they were so good.   Snow White was blown away.  Guys…if you have a special lady and want to take her to a top shelf place…you can’t go wrong.  Vincenzo is a super host and he makes you feel right at home.

Boring Here; Tropics More Interesting; Six Flags Hoisted August 1, 2007

Our weather continues to be influenced by a big fat area of high pressure. Temperatures will remain hot and rain chances minimal, though there is a chance for some random t’storms this weekend and maybe Tuesday. Tropical Storm Chantal was a waste of time as its already off the board. But, there is a tropical wave on the other side of the Antilles that will be investigated by the Hurricane Hunters. A little system in the NE Gulf of Mexico associated with an old frontal boundary may be up to no good, but most likely in the form of heavy rain for coastal concerns.

On This Date in History: Lots of things happened on this date. In 1966, Charles Whitman took to the top of the University of Texas main building tower and shot a bunch of people. WWI began in 1914. The Sonny and Cher Show Debuted in 1971. In 1953, “Shane, Come Back!” entered the American lexicon as Shane was released. It is said that many actors had to stand in small ditches so Alan Ladd didn’t look so short. I think it was the debut of a young Jack Palance. And in 1943, Lt. John F. Kennedy had his PT-109 torpedoed. Kennedy was credited with helping to save the lives of his crew and his heroism helped launch his political career. Later Cliff Robertson portrayed Kennedy in PT-109 and made a coconut famous. My favorite guy though was Lenny.

But the most interesting thing to me today was that Six Flags Over Texas opened in 1961. It was the first of the Six Flags parks and had the first log rides and mine train rides. It was also the first park to feature a single admission price, which was $2.75 for adults and $2.25 for kids. Previously all parks required payment for each ride. What is more remarkable though is that the guy who came up with the idea, Angus Wynne, Jr. only thought of it as a short term investment. He was an oilman and real estate developer who had other plans for the 212 acre site in Arlington, Texas. He was planning on just using the park to get the land to produce some revenue until he could develop an industrial park. He put up $3.5 million of the $10 million required to start up Six Flags Over Texas. His plans changed when in 18 months he had gotten his money back. Within 10 years, over 17 million people had visited his plan for a quick buck and became the most profitable private tourist attraction in Texas. Seems Ol’ Angus struck oil without even drilling one well.