Farting Pig, Thirsty Camels Gain Attention of Australian Officials; Pre-Global Warming Storm Devastates London November 28, 2009

Weird Critter Stories in Australia

Camel Convention

What is going in the land down under. Parts of Australia have been suffering from a terrible drought. That has created a fire hazard and also brought out the camels. Yes, camels. Back in the 19th century, camels were imported into Australia.  There was a need for the beasts of burden for commercial and expeditionary ventures in the somewhat arid Western Australia.   Since that time, the offspring of those original visitors have multiplied. Even efficient camels need water and, with the severity of the current dry spell. a herd of at least 3000 camels has descended on a western Australia town to forage for water. They are causing so much damage and creating so much mayhem, Australian authorities are taking drastic steps to fend off the assault of camels on an Aussie town in the Northern Territory.

Contributor to Global Warming?

While the government deals with the camels, a fire department had to deal with a gas leak. They were called to a home expecting to find a leaking gas cylinder. Instead, firemen near Bendigo, Australia found the source of the gas was a pig. The fat porker is a family pet and firemen on the scene concluded that the gas odor in the area came from the pig when they heard it squeal loudly from one end and then play a not so melodious tune from the other.  Fire Chief Peter Harkins described the sound a “very full on.”  Unlike the family of balloon boy in the United States, the owners of the pig refused media requests for their story or for photographs of Australia’s most famous farting pig.  There is no regarding the pig’s effects on global warming or if the family must purchase carbon credits to offset the gas release by the family pet.

Great Storm of 1703 By J.S. Miller

Eddystone Lighthouse Before 1703 Storm

On This Date in History: On this date in 1703, an unusual and powerful storm finally ended in England. In it’s wake, some 10,000 to 30,000 were dead, including about 8,000 sailors aboard part of the English fleet anchored just offshore the island nation. Winds were well over hurricane force and apparently the storm stuck around for about two weeks. Claims were that the Thames river had 6 foot waves and 5000 homes were destroyed along the river on which London is built. The author of Robinson Crusoe,

Last Glimpse of Eddystone Lighthouse 1703

Daniel Defoe, reported a tornado that “snapped the body of an oak.” Henry Winstanley had designed and built the first Eddystone Lighthouse at Plymouth in 1696. Just a few weeks before the storm he expressed his desire that he be in his creation during the greatest storm of all time so he could see the effect on his tower. In the be-careful-what-you-wish-for department, he and those who resided there went down with the lighthouse when it was smashed to bits.

The details of the storm are varied. Some say the death toll was just 15,000 other 9000. The date can’t even be totally ascertained because of something about the switch between the Julian and Gregorian calenders. Either way, it was a huge storm; hurricane force winds, thousands dead, thousands of livestock dead, tornadoes, reports of a ship being lifted 800 feet inland by a waterspout and a cow getting lifted into a tree. Thousands of trees down across the country, monstrous waves….it was a doosey. Here is an account from The Weather Doctor Almanac. Seems just as reliable as other sources.

Can you imagine if that happened today? It happened 300 years ago, so it’s happened before. But, you can

Great Storm of 1987 Was Not Anything New For England

bet that Global Warming would get the blame this time around. Never mind that this wild storm happened all by itself during what was called the “mini-ice age” which was a 300-400 year period of extremely cold global temperatures that was partly the primer for the emigration to the New World. Nope, you know that Global Warming would be the culprit. Why do I know this with a certainty? Because the press has already reported it. On the 300th anniversary in 2003, the BBC put out this report, pointing to a storm that was not as strong but still devastating in 1987 as proof. Proof as what? That a storm reported in 1703 was still possible today?

So Cal 1938 Storms...Would A Such A Storm Today Be Blamed on Global Warming Even Though Such an Event Occured 70 Years Ago?

This is the type of nonsense that really hacks me as a meteorologist and historian. I think the anthropogenic global warming issue should be studied closely but, when the press and proponents put out this type of nonsense, it really hurts their credibility. Hurricane Katrina comes to mind. After that storm someone actually said that it was due to Global Warming. Never did the press point out that New Orleans did not get hit by a hurricane, Mississippi did. They did not point out that it was a strong 130 mph hurricane that had a huge storm surge but followed almost the exact same path as the incredibly powerful Hurricane Camille in 1969 with 200 mph winds. It was not unprecedented and, if one were to be basic and silly, one could draw the juvenile conclusion that Global Warming was making hurricanes weaker because Camille was was stronger than Katrina, followe the same path and was 36 years earlier. That is just as foolish a statement as claiming that Katrina was caused by Global Warming.

So, what does the Great 1703 Storm teach us? That large, powerful storms and unusual weather has been happening on the earth for a long, long time. Unexpectedly strong and severe situations will occur again, Global Warming or not. Beware of sources and media reports that try to offer such limited and simple evidence for climate changes of any kind and forever one should hold any reports from those sources with skepticism.

Freezing Line at all levels well south of Ohio Valley by Friday Morning

Weather Bottom Line:  The past two weekends, Snow White and I have been graced with the hospitality of the Justice Racing Stables.  We were the guests at the upstart horse racing venture at Churchill Downs and John C. Nolley could not have been nicer.  In fact, every single person whom we encountered who was associated with the group was just outstanding.  I’ve never had a more favorable experience and impression of horse racing as I did with the folks at Justice Racing.  We really appreciate it.  Mr. Nolley has named me the meteorologist of Justice Racing.  I informed him that the quality of my forecasts will be directly tied to the value of his checks.

I told Mr. Nolley not to believe the calls for highs in the upper 40′s Thanksgiving or Friday.  I was a bit surprised though by how much sunshine we had in the afternoon.  Saturday, it looks as if a warm front comes through as ridging builds in pretty quickly.  This should result in temperatures in the afternoon about 10 to 15 degrees warmer than Friday afternoon and will probably be the warmest we see for several days.  A front comes down on Sunday night.  Clouds will be increasing on Sunday so it will be a few degrees cooler on Sunday than Saturday.  Let’s say mid 50′s.  Rain chances shoot upward on Sunday night into early Monday.  The front leaves behind a big fat cut-off low in the SW United States but another big trof in the northern jet stream will come out of the northwest and pick up that low.  As the second front comes in mid week, the cut-off low will get picked up, move into southeast Texas and then up into the Southeast US.  That will mean another chance for rain and also a further fall in the mercury.  Highs Monday-Wed will be in the 40′s but by Thursday and Friday we may be talking about highs in the 30′s.

Global Warming Update: September Was a Heater; A Man Obsessed With the Oregon Trail October 9, 2008

Global Temp Anomaly Sept 2008

We had anywhere from a half inch to the north to 1.6 inches from Louisville and points south from our first good rainmaker in some time. I think that last time we had an inch or more of rain in the area was late July. We had a precip deficit in January, a big surplus in Feb, Mar, Apr and May followed by monthly deficits ever since. I bet the end of the year will be average. But averages can be deceiving. In this case, the average will not reflect the feast or famine nature of the year. Look for great conditions through the weekend. Cool lows and warm afternoons. After Thursday, we’ll be in the 80′s each day through the middle of next week.

It was Hot around the World in September: The Global Climate Report is in for September from the University of Alabama Huntsville and it reports a global spike in world temperatures. That is a bit of a oddity for this year as there have been below the 20 year average for four months, including 3 of the previous 4. August had an anomoly of -.01. June was -.114, May -.18 and January -.046. The other 4 months were all up less than .01. But September skyrocketed by +.161. What I have been noticing is that the southern hemisphere has been decidedly cooler for most of the past year but this difference this month was that the southern hemisphere joined the northern hemisphere as being warmer than the 20 year average, hence, the big spike. So, the headline for the papers will be that September was the warmest of the year. The should cool the heels of the global warming skeptics and stoke the fires of the Global Warming Doomsdayers who have had a rough go of it for the better part of a year. Here is the September 2008 Global Climate Report summary from the UAH. I’ve referenced these guys for some time now and so you may find it useful to find out more about the methodology and who is behind the UAH research team by CLICKING HERE.

Global Temperature Anomaly from 20 year avg through Sept. 2008

UAH
2008 January -0.046
2008 February 0.020
2008 March 0.094
2008 April 0.015
2008 May -0.180
2008 June -0.114
2008 July 0.048
2008 August -0.010
2008 Sept. 0.161

John Jacob Astor

On This Date in History: I’m sure many people have heard of the Oregon Trail but probably aren’t familiar with where it is except Oregon. In the early 19th Century, Lewis and Clark gained the blessings and financial support (Probably Not Constitutional) of President Jefferson. That paved the way for commerce with John Jacob Astor leading the way in the American fur trade. Again, it was Thomas Jefferson who encouraged Astor, who formed the Pacific Fur Company. Astor sent a man named Wilson Price Hunt to establish a base of operations and in 1811, Hunt followed the trail of Lewis and Clark to the Dakotas and then cut over land through Jackson Hole and eventually to the mouth of the Columbia River. They called the place Fort Astor.

The War of 1812 broke out and the Crown sent a warship to seize the fort. The guys in the fort figured out that they were in trouble so, being good businessmen, they sold the town to their British competitors. The North West Company purchased the fort, renamed it Fort George and the British gained control without firing a shot and presumably John Jacob Astor got some money for his trouble.

Did Ogden Have a Neck?

Just before the Brits took over the fort, a group of men led by Robert Stuart left Fort Astor for St. Louis. That party in 1812 was the first follow the Oregon Trail, though they did it in reverse. About 10 years later, the Northwest Fur Company merged with the Hudson Bay Company and a hellion with the Company named Peter Skene Ogden was used as a inspector of operations in the far west. He got the position probably to keep him out of the offices because in the past, he had tried to incinerate a campanion for fun, nearly beat a company officer to death and led an entire outpost in a mutiny. Ogden ended up knowing more about the west than anyone except for mountain man Jedediah Smith. Ogden’s explorations made its way to cartographers who made maps that paved the way for settlers to emigrate west over the Oregon Trail. I suppose that Ogden Utah got its name from this rough and nasty man of the west.

Ezra Meeker 1906

Ezra Meeker and Friend 1910

So, a bunch of people went west following the Oregon Trail. One was Ezra Meeker who took his family along the trail in 1852 and moved into the Washington Territory. What makes Meeker stand out was in an attempt to keep the history of the trail alive and honor the men who blazed it, Ezra Meeker got an ox and wagon and took the trail again, stopping often to give speeches and promote its importance in history. Meeker at the time was 75 years old. It was a tough trip and the ox died, but not Meeker. So enthused with his efforts, he did it again in 1910. In 1915 he traveled the route by automobile. And on this date in 1924, Ezra Meeker once again followed the trail that he first set out on 72 years earlier. This time he was 93 years old and this time he made the 1300 mile journey like a bird. He traveled by airplane. At age 98, he attempted to travel the trail by car again with the support of Henry Ford, but he died on December 3, 1928.

Recognize This View From Kindergarten Cop?

Fort Astor is today known as Astoria, Oregon and was the setting for the movie Kindergarten Cop. Meeker had his last oxen team slaughtered and mounted by a taxidermist and can be found today on display, still hooked to the wagon, at the Washington State Historical Society Museum in Tacoma. A commemorative coin was struck in the 1920′s and 30′s to commemorate Meeker and the trail. In the 1980′s, a computer game company put out “The Oregon Trail” game and had a default feature that listed Ezra Meeker in 5th place on the all-time scorer list with a score of 2052. Why they picked that score is a mystery to me.

I’ll tell you what…in the dictionary under “obsession” should be a picture of Ezra Meeker.