Remember When UFO’s Over White House Were Called Weather Phenomena? July 19, 2010

Image of UFO's Over Washington in July 1952

"Imperial Cruiser" UFO or hoax? Click for video

On This Date In History:  Back in 1938, the nation was put on edge by a radio broadcast by Orson Welles of War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.  The war in Europe soon took the public’s attention away from little green men but I suppose the notion still was in the back of many American’s minds.  The idea of space aliens returned in 1947 with the news of the Roswell Incident.  The government continues to come up with explanations and many Americans still don’t buy it.  While the UFO phenomenon may have quieted over the years, each year sitings of unidentifed flying objects continue to make news and actually may be on the  rise with the advent of video recorders and camera phones. For instance, in November 2008, UFO’s were sited in Texas.   In December 2009, a “Pyramid Imperial Cruiser”  was caught on video over the Kremlin in Moscow. Some sightings are easily dismissed but others are not so easy, especially when it involves an investigation by government and military officials.

UFO's were the talk of Washington in 1952

On this date in 1952, we had spies at the White House. Or more to the point, over the White House. Newsreels of the time captured the images and President Truman was hauled before the cameras to try to give an explanation.  This video presentation claims that the event began on July 26.  There seems to be some dispute as to exactly when the UFO’s were first sited over Washington DC in July 1952.  This article claims that the event began on July 16, 1952 and a man who has photographic evidence could “destablize society” if it is made public, according to officials associated with the Obama White House.  See…it’s another UFO story that never totally fades away. 

UFO spotted by Coast Guard in Salem MA on July 16, 1952 about the same time as objects in Washington

It began when, Andrews Air Force Base radar operators, not far from the White House,  noted seven blips that were said to “loaf along” at between 100 and 130 mph. Then they accelerated to an unheard of 7200 mph. Washington National Airport radar operators made the same observations. Airline pilots reported lights in the sky but when USAF jets were scrambled to intercept, they had disappeared. The official explanation? The old temperature inversion trick!  Trouble is that temperature inversions don’t appear as blips and don’t race around. Experienced air traffic controllers disputed the official version.   On July 26 a similar incident occurred and an interceptor jet couldn’t even get close to the objects. Also, amber lights were seen over numerous locations in the country, including over Florida’s Guided Missile Long-Range Proving Ground and a Coast Guard installation in Salem, MA. The Air Force conducted its “largest and longest” press conference since WWII to tell everyone it was just weather phenomena. 

Papers Said UFO's Followed Truman to Missouri

But, apparently there were some 300 UFO reports from across the nation in 1952 and I don’t think that they could all be related to weather phenomena.  Most involved objects moving on radar at extreme speeds.  President Truman was not in Washington DC during the several weeks sitings over Washington as he was back in his hometown of Independence, MO on vacation.  So, right on cue, UFO’s were sited over Missouri while President Truman was there. Some in the press said that they followed him home.  I suppose all of the confusion over when the sightings first began over Washington is due to several sightings.  This source suggests that the most intense number of sitings over Washington happened on July 19/20, July 26/27 and August 2/3.  One thing that is curious about this aspect of the story is that it seems awfully convenient that the mass sitings happened at one week intervals.

...Looks Alot Like the One in Oregon in 1927

2010 UFO photo from China...

While UFO sitings have been reported almost since the beginning of the nation, many seem to be obvious hoaxes.  Even today, photos look eerily similar to ones from decades past.  The one from China in February of this year just doesn’t seem to pass the smell test.  But, who knows.  Maybe the objects that look so similar just means the same guys are visiting.  The 1952 incident did bring a call for government action.  The United States Air Force in 1952 began Operation Blue Book which was an effort to “to determine if UFOs were a threat to national security, and to scientifically analyze UFO-related data.”   The project concluded in 1970 after reviewing 12, 618 UFO reports.  Ninety-four percent of those reports were easily explained as either hoaxes or some sort of optic phenomena.  But, 701 were classified as “unknowns.”  You can gain access to that data through Freedom of Information Act but the names of individuals involved in the incidents or the investigation have been redacted.  So, you can’t camp out on someone’s front yard to harrass them.   

Photo Supposedly From 2005 Looks a whole lot like the ones from 1952; No Sale

The photo to the right is supposedly from a recent photo and this website claims there have been “blip” incidents recently during which President Bush and Vice-President Cheney have been hustled to the underground bunker.  The photo looks suspiciously like the one’s from 1952, so I’m skeptical; especially since the reports were of a single blip and not a whole mess of them like the photo shows.  Nevertheless, this article from Turkish Weekly of April 28, 2005 reveals that the “blip incidents” were dismissed as radar reflections of a flock of birds.  It  confirm that both the President and Vice President were taken to a secure location on more than one instance due to unidentified radar reflections as Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said that they were taken to secure locations “for a  very short amount of time.”  A spokesman for the Department of Homeland security explained, “Out of an abundance of caution, appropriate security measures were taken.”  So, even though its been a long time since the UFO incidents in Washington during the Truman Administration, modern day officials in the nation’s capital have not forgotten.

If I finally get some rain today, I hope that the winds don't pick up too much...these guys are pretty tall.

Weather Bottom Line:   Funny thing, these here computuers.  When you look at the conventional models, they indicate a shortwave in the morning in western Iowa but it travels east and dissipates through the day.  I had a professor once who said that sometimes, as forecasters, we tend to sit in our concrete buildings looking at computers and never bother to look out the window.  Well, I looked out the window so to speak.  I see that there is indeed a disturbance in western Iowa..and there is another larger one in eastern Iowa.  And the vector appears to be about 140 degrees, or Southeast.  If it were to hold together it would run right over the area.  Based on that and the heating of the day, I would say we will probably see what we did over the weekend and that is thunderstroms moving in late in the day or early evening.  Saturday, they passed just North of my house.  So, on Sunday when the sky turned dark, I watered my sunflowers because I had no faith that the dark clouds would make it to my house; they passed to the South.  Maybe I’ll get lucky today.

1st Fatal Airplane Crash, 1st Rescue From Fatal Airplane Crash for Future President September 3, 2009

Not a Good Demostration

On This Date in History: 

Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first public demonstration of their airplane on this date in 1908.   Actually, it wasn’t the same Wright Flyer that made the historic flight in December 1903. They had made a number of improvements over nearly 5 years, but no one really noticed. The day that they made their initial flight, they had invited the press but no one came. Instead, they had been focused on the ill-fated attempt at heavier than air flight by the more celebrated Samuel Pierpont Langley. Following the Wright’s flight at Kitty Hawk, NC the New York Daily Tribune printed a small story with the headline “Dayton Boys Fly Airship.” The newspaper obviously had no clue as to what they had accomplished. After that, the Wrights worked on improving their “airship” but even the farmers weren’t interested. A farmer once watched the Wrights fly a plane near Dayton, Ohio 24 miles in 38 minutes, but he didn’t even stop plowing his field.

Docs Couldn't Revive Selfridge

Well, the brothers on this date in 1908 began a series of demonstrations for the Army at Fort Myer, Virginia and the public was invited. The demonstrations went on for several days and it took but two short weeks for the Wrights to achieve a somewhat infamous aviation record when on September 17, Orville took Lt. Thomas E Selfridge on a ride to demonstrate the potential military value of the airplane. A guy wire broke and got tangled in a propeller and the plane “came down like a bird shot dead in full flight.” Orville shattered his hip and left leg but Selfridge was killed, going in the record book as the first aviation crash and first aviation fatality. So Orville got to make the first flight, was the first to crash, the first to be in a fatal air crash. Meanwhile, poor old Wilbur was the first Wright born on my birthday, the first to get typhoid fever around the time that the Titanic sunk in April 1912 and was the first Wright to die when he succumbed a month later. Talk about bad breaks…

On this date in 1944, a young Lieutenant pilot was recovering on a US submarine after his plane crash. He went to to at least earn the same fame as Orville Wright. Lt. George Bush was but 20 years old when his plane was shot down over the Pacific Ocean by enemy anti-aircraft fire. His two crewmen were killed. One of them was killed in the aircraft while the other bailed out with Bush. But, only Bush’s parachute opened. After paddling around in a life raft for 4 hours, Lt. Bush was picked up by the USS Finback. But the sub had other things to do and Bush spent the next month on board while the Finback continued its mission. Bush spent his time assisting in picking up other downed pilots.

Either Bush May Not Have Been President If not For Finback

For his heroism and actions during numerous sorties (58 missions in 1944 alone) Bush received the Navy’s Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals and a Unit Citation shared with the rest of the crew of the USS Jacinto. He went on to be a Congressman, Ambassador to the UN, CIA Director, Vice-President, President of the United States and only the second former President to have a son also hold the nation’s highest elective office. Imagine all that the nation would have missed had the Finback not been in the area. You never know what one good turn can lead to.

tall sunflowers, fat stomach

Weather Bottom Line: 

High pressure that brought us such cool weather is drifting eastward.  Consequently, our humidity levels will be on the rise, though temperatures will be rising only modestly.  An upper disturbance to our southwest may be close enough to increase our rain chances some this afternoon and that type of scattered stuff will be around through the labor day weekend, though Saturday we’ll probably be in between the shortwaves so probabilities will be lowest then.  As it is, none of the shortwaves at this time seem to be too strong nor do they track right over us so its a fair bet that you won’t see any rain at all through Monday…that’s either a good thing or bad thing, depending on how you look at it.  My Sunflowers like rain.

Tropical Storm Hanna and Tropical Storm Ike Hope Life is Like George Bush, Not Wilbur Wright September 3, 2008

for a more recent update on Hanna and Ike, CLICK HERE

For access to a Gustav Radar Loop or a Tropical Storm Hanna Radar Loop, CLICK HERE.

Information on Tropical Storm Hanna, Tropical Storm Ike and Tropical Storm Josephine can be found below.

Louisville Weather: Bad news…its going to stay hot and dry. Good news is that the threat of Tropical Storm Hanna becoming a strong, well developed Hurricane has diminished so its track should not allow for any subsidence to speak of to reach the Ohio Valley and so a front on Friday will be able to bring some moisture from Gustav into the area. You won’t have to build an ark and the rain will just by scattered in nature, but something is better than nothing. A better chance for area-wide rain shows up with a strong cold front Tuesday. Temperatures do back off for the weekend with Hanna’s passing and the advance of the front.

Wilbur Not As Lucky As Orville

On This Date in History: On this date in 1908, Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first public demonstration of their airplane. Actually, it wasn’t the same Wright Flyer that made the historic flight in December 1903. They had made a number of improvements over nearly 5 years, but no one really noticed. The day that they made their initial flight, they had invited the press but no one came. Instead, they had been focused on the ill-fated attempt at heavier than air flight by the more celebrated Samuel Pierpont Langley. Following the Wright’s flight at Kitty Hawk, NC the New York Daily Tribune printed a small story with the headline “Dayton Boys Fly Airship.” The newspaper obviously had no clue as to what they had accomplished. After that, the Wrights worked on improving their “airship” but even the farmers weren’t interested. A farmer once watched the Wrights fly a plane near Dayton, Ohio 24 miles in 38 minutes, but he didn’t even stop plowing his field. Well, the brothers on this date in 1908 began a series of demonstrations for the Army at Fort Myer, Virginia and the public was invited. The demonstrations went on for several days and it took but two short weeks for the Wrights to achieve a somewhat infamous aviation record when on September 17, Orville took Lt. Thomas E Selfridge on a ride to demonstrate the potential military value of the airplane. A guy wire broke and got tangled in a propeller and the plane “came down like a bird shot dead in full flight.” Orville shattered his hip and left leg but Selfridge was killed, going in the record book as the first aviation crash and first aviation fatality. So Orville got to make the first flight, was the first to crash, the first to be in a fatal air crash. Meanwhile, poor old Wilbur was the first Wright born on my birthday, the first to get typhoid fever around the time that the Titanic sunk in April 1912 and was the first Wright to die when he succumbed a month later. Talk about bad breaks…

Lt. George H. W. Bush is Rescued

On this date in 1944, a young Lieutenant pilot was recovering on a US submarine after his plane crash. He went to to at least earn the same fame as Orville Wright. Lt. George Bush was but 20 years old when his plane was shot down over the Pacific Ocean by enemy anti-aircraft fire. His two crewmen were killed. One of them was killed in the aircraft while the other bailed out with Bush. But, only Bush’s parachute opened. After paddling around in a life raft for 4 hours, Lt. Bush was picked up by the USS Finback. But the sub had other things to do and Bush spent the next month on board while the Finback continued its mission. Bush spent his time assisting in picking up other downed pilots. For his heroism and actions during numerous sorties (58 missions in 1944 alone) Bush received the Navy’s Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals and a Unit Citation shared with the rest of the crew of the USS Jacinto. He went on to be a Congressman, Ambassador to the UN, CIA Director, Vice-President, President of the United States and only the second former President to have a son also hold the nation’s highest elective office. Imagine all that the nation would have missed had the Finback not been in the area. You never know what one good turn can lead to.

1890 Census Tabulating Machine; Uncle Sam Has Been Nosey Ever Since

One thing we do know that we can count on is government bureaucracy and its been going on since the beginning of our Republic. The Constitution calls for a census to be taken every ten years in order to determine, among other things, the representation in the House of Representatives from each state. The first census of 1790 took 18 months to complete. So, one hundred years later they got smart and decided to get smart and introduced the world’s first punch-card tabulation system. Should happen fast, right? Wrong. See, the boys in the Capitol thought that the new machine gave them Carte-Blanche to not just take basic information, but instead collect all sorts of information. The form consisted of 13,000 pieces of information!!! Talk about an intrusive government….and it’s been getting nosier by the day ever since.

Tropical Storm Hanna NHC Forecast track 11pm 0902

Tropical Storm Hanna. Nothing much has changed since the previous update.

Tropical Storm Hanna Spaghetti Model 0903 00Z

For part of the day Tuesday, Hanna was loitering east of the Bahamas and actually drifing Southeast. It spent much of the day getting kicked by upper level shearing and its hanging out in one area didn’t do itself any favors as for water temperatures. But, its still expected to get moving and swing along the Florida coast with a landfall near Savannah Georgia, though this forecast track is on the left edge of the model consensus. It is expected to reach only a cat 1 status. The exact landfall will be difficult to pinpoint given the geography of the coastline but at this time it appears that it will mainly be a story of beach erosion and rain issues.

Tropical Storm Ike NHC Forecast Track 0902 11PM

Tropical Storm Ike: Tropical Storm Ike still looks like a potential trouble maker

Tropical Storm Ike Spaghetti Model 0903 00Z

on down the road. The spaghetti model indicates that the greatest clustering of tracks takes it westward through Bahamas and across Cuba into the Gulf. Indications are that it will intensify into a formidable storm before crossing Cuba. What happens after that remains to be seen how it handles the mountains of Cuba and atmospherice conditions thereafter. Both the GFS and CMC models keep it south of Florida. The ECMWF has a different solution. It takes it through the Bahamas and then tends to move it slightly north of west toward the southern tip of Florida by Tuesday. This is perhaps in response to a strong cold front moving through the Ohio Valley at that time. It may be day or so soon with turning the storm in response to the trof but it raises an interesting question regarding the front. If it digs far South, then the front would pick up Ike and turn it toward the US. If Ike is able to sneak below the trof, then it would open the door for a storm going deeper into the Gulf of Mexico. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out…but I still think Ike is going to be a trouble maker.

Tropical Storm Josephine is still a long way out with many scenarios and with many miles and days before it becomes an issue with which I care to concern myself. So you shouldn’t worry about it either.

Bertha to Iceland, Kalmaegi in China, Cristobal off US? UFOs Over White House? Hello Dolly? July 19, 2008

Tropical Update: Our weather is so lame I thought that I’d talk about the tropics which are much more interesting. First pic is the track for Bertha which became a hurricane again. I kept saying it was going to England. My bad…it’s going to Iceland! That’s even better. Kalmaegi is going to cause havoc on the China coast. Our Japanese Allies will be safe. Then there is the guy off the SE coast. I think I suggested that it would develop and it is now the 3rd Tropical Depression of the season. The forecast has it moving along the coast and becoming a tropical storm. Funny thing was, I saw a national cable weather outlet say that the recon couldn’t find any low level circulation. Then they went and reported surface winds were “definitely” counter clockwise. Hmmm. Anyway, then there is the guy I’m much more interested in that is now moving into the central Caribbean. The models still don’t pick it up but it’s there and it’s worth watching. If it does develop and move toward the gulf…watch oil prices jump. If it becomes named, it would be Dolly, presuming that Cristobal forms off the SE coast.

Our weather continues to be:

Should be good for a morning building implosion. The air quality alerts have largely not verified, by the way. Otherwise, the forecast is on track. Hot, getting more humid. Isolated stuff Sunday. Better chances next week.

On This Date In History: On this date in 1952, we had spies at the White House. Or more to the point, over the White House. At nearby Andrews Air Force Base, radar operators noted seven blips that were said to “loaf along” at between 100 and 130 mph. Then they accelerated to an unheard of 7200 mph. Washington National Airport radar operators made the same observations. Airline pilots reported lights in the sky but when USAF jets were scrambled to intercept, they had disappeared. The official explanation? The old temperature inversion trick! Uhh….temperature inversions don’t appear as blips and don’t race around. Experienced air traffic controllers disputed the official version. On July 26 a similar incident occurred and an interceptor jet couldn’t even get close to the objects. Also, amber lights were seen, including over Florida’s Guided Missile Long-Range Proving Ground. The Air Force conducted its “largest and longest” press conference since WWII to tell everyone it was just weather phenomena. No, President Clinton did not conduct that press conference.

By the way, the photo associated with This Date In History is supposedly from a recent photo and this website claims there have been “blip” incidents recently during which President Bush and Vice-President Cheney have been hustled to the underground bunker.