Squirrels like ridges!

SKY WATCH FRIDAY time! Our hosts: Klaus | Sandy | Ivar | Wren | Louise | Fishing Guy

SKY WATCH FRIDAY (click the word to link and participate!)
Thanks to Dot and Tom, who were instrumental in the success of this blogging event. You should definitely come fly with us!

It was such a joy hearing every one's hail stories last week! Thanks for sharing and stopping by! My friend, Steve M. TX, shared on his blog a video of some hail he encountered the other day that actually looked like snow, to the point where snow plows were deployed for hail removal... WILD! Follow this link to Steve's great video.Morning skies here lately have been strewn with patches of barely there clouds, lightly toned in shades of soft pink against a pastel sky. I like to call it a cotton candy sky, but clearly that's not the scientific name. Along with the beautiful "cotton candy skies" we have had a persistent pattern of gorgeous spring weather, hazy skies, warm temperatures. My wonderful groom and I decided to take the cue and share a picnic lunch yesterday. I had a blast shooting (photography) the curious little fella who decided to join us at our shaded picnic table. He wasn't so sure of us, but when my wonderful groom started "accidentally dropping" the ridged chips he had brought, the cute little (and much less shy then) squirrel came right on over... at first, grabbing a chip and scurrying up the tree to enjoy his prize, ... later deciding that except for the dose of MSG in the chips, we weren't a threat, and he enjoyed his feast right beside us.Sure, I enjoy chasing storms and severe weather, but I sure don't take the beautiful days for granted!
Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Crazy searches

I haven't done a list in a while... of some of the crazy searches that people have used and found my blog. Of course, recent searches have been full of Valdosta flood and Woodstock tornado... but before all that, I had some doozies... here goes:

Searches that result in complete Dew-ness!

1. Do storm trackers die very often No, it doesn't happen often. Storm chasers learn about weather and know what is happening around them. Most are trained SKYWARN® spotters, who are watching the weather with a dual purpose... 1. because they are passionate about it. 2. to aid the Weather Service, emergency management and news media is protecting life and property. Good storm chasing results in storm viewing from a safe distance.


2. SNOW in south Georgia Where?! When?!


3. will it ever snow in south Georgia Gosh, I hope not!!


4. Georgia snowball definition "A snowball is a spherical object made from frozen water or snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and compacting it into a roughly fist-sized ball." As far as I know, that definition doesn't vary by state.


5. tornadoe pictures from Arkanasa And they think taking spelling out of the curriculum in Georgia schools is a good idea?!


6. serious tornadoes As opposed to????


7. storm chasing rocket Hmmm...


8. south Georgia storm chaser That's me! dewdropweather.com


9. "storm chaser" God Spirit What?!


10. What do storm chasers do on long car journeys Well, I guess eat, watch radar, chat with friends... eat, watch radar, chat with friends...


11. what motivates a storm chaser I think each has their own motivation, but I am driven by my passion for weather. Many of my encounters with nature's fury and other things in the sky have left me feeling a broader spiritual fulfillment. It generally brings me an incredible feeling of peace to encounter nature in any way.


12. storm chasers are jerks who says?! Some people are jerks, and some people are storm chasers, and some people who happen to be storm chasers are jerks, but that is not the norm. I have met some very great people who happen to be non-jerk storm chasers.


13. shelf cloud with face ... yeah...


14. what's the probability of a torn I go to this site and hover over the tornado tab, and the probabilities for tornadoes according to the Storm Prediction Center is reflected graphically on the map. Incidentally, there is a 10% chance of tornadoes in Texas today...
15. what do I need when severe weather strikes Keep your weather radio turned on... listen for specific instructions. Generally, stay indoors, preferably lowest floor or basement, or an interior room without windows.


16. SDS therapy Supercell Deprivation Syndrome... check out this link


17. Dewdrops blog dewdropweather.com


18. sun halo mountain dog a lot of things going on in this search... mountain dog???


19. what happened to the weather channel You know... I wondered the same, with Jim Cantore in the mornings and now Stephanie Abrams moving to mornings... things are just strange.


20. what is weather like today in Georgia What a great lead in...

We can expect more of the same, while rain and severe weather pound the plains, day after day, our ridge of high pressure has firmly planted itself over us, leaving very warm, dry and yes, BORING WEATHER here in the southeast. I'm relieved for the Valdosta flood victims who are currently jumping through FEMA red-tape hoops, trying to get much needed aid to help them recover and rebuild after EVERYTHING they had, has been lost... walls ripped out, floors ripped out, fortunately, the studs have had time to dry out and be chemically treated against mold and mildew growth, which also has to dry. My continued prayers go out to them...

Speaking of the flood, during all that, I was in contact with a local who stumbled onto my blog trying to find information about my wonderful groom's parents' neighborhood, where one of her co-workers lives... but was out of town for the flood. Well, she and I shared correspondence during all that, and I ran into her this weekend! Small world... in fact, she and their neighbor were both out at this community church event out at the park, which my wonderful groom and I attended, and the neighbor thanked me and said that my pictures were very helpful for insurance purposes. How awesome!

Have a beautiful day, rising above the mucky muck,
~Dewdrop

Texas tornadoes, including damage to school in Corsicana

Looks like an EF-1 tornado in Corsicana, Texas wreaked some havoc, tearing the roof off a school there yesterday. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.

431 PM CDT MON APR 27 2009

...PRELIMINARY SURVEY RESULTS FROM STORM DAMAGE IN CORSICANA THIS MORNING...

STAFF FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH SURVEYED THUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE IN CORSICANA THIS MORNING AND DETERMINED THAT A TORNADO CAUSED THE MOST CONCENTRATED DAMAGE IN WEST-CENTRAL CORSICANA AROUND 830 AM CDT. THE TORNADO HAD A PRELIMINARY PATH LENGTH OF AROUND FOUR-TENTHS OF A MILE... WITH A PATH WIDTH OF APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET. APPROXIMATELY TEN STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED... INCLUDING THE LEE ACADEMY SCHOOL...WHERE PART OF THE ROOF WAS REMOVED. SEVERAL TREES AND LARGE LIMBS WERE ALSO DOWNED. THIS TORNADO WILL BE RATED EF-1 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE WITH MAXIMUM WINDS ESTIMATED AT 90 MPH.

There is also this information out of Austin/San Antonio NWS regarding a tornado that touched down near Jonah, but nothing of the one in Yorktown.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
440 PM CDT MON APR 27 2009

...PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...

A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DAMAGE SURVEY HAS CONCLUDED THAT A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN EARLY THIS MORNING AROUND 415 AM JUST A FEW MILES WEST OF JONAH IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY. AT ITS PEAK...THE TORNADO WAS 50 YARDS WIDE AND HAD WINDS OF 85-95 MPH WHICH RATES THE TORNADO AS A EF1 TORNADO. OVER 20 HOMES WERE DAMAGED...WITH THE MAJORITY OF DAMAGE IN THE WAY OF ROOFING MATERIAL, OUTBUILDINGS, AND CAMPERS. MANY TREES WERE UPROOTED AND SNAPPED OFF ALONG THE PATH. INFLOW WINDS OF 50-60 MPH INTO THE TORNADO CAUSED ADDITIONAL TREE DAMAGE NEAR THE PATH OF THE TORNADO.

It was the Lake Charles NWS site that really impressed me. As I was looking for information about the possible tornado in Jasper, TX, I noticed they have a comprehensive analysis of the weather they experienced on March 25-27, including pictures of damage and extra large hail. I didn't find anything about Jasper, but they are pretty tied up in the flooding they are now experiencing in that area. Houston has had a record of 15" if rain over this past month after months of extreme drought. Water rescues have commensed as flood warnings are issued. There was even an avalanche report in Port Arthur. Did I read that right???Locally... nothing but hot weather... but at least, I am not in the northeast where temperatures are about 30° above normal.

Have a lovely day!
~Dewdrop

Weather in the plains... dry here

Well, it looks like the central plains has come alive with some weather, with lines of tornadic cells having rampaged a line from Texas, up through Oklahome, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa, leaving a wake of hail, wind and tornado damage. We saw the same line of action on Saturday, and the line of forecasted activity only slightly shifts eastward for today.You'll note in both of those graphics that the weather stears clear of Georgia. Nothing in the foreseeable future as far as severe weather goes. Showers don't even enter my forecast until Friday evening... which is also the night of the Relay For Life. Doesn't it figure. Only a 20% chance exists for the time being.

No, things are drying out nicely here, which is a great relief for the flood victims in this area, who are hoping to rebuild once their framing is dry... Speaking of things drying out... my friend, Scott M. in the Middle East shared a picture of a sand storm he experienced in Kandahar. It is very fascinating.Reminds me of the outflow winds I experienced in SD back a couple of years ago. Thanks, Scott!

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Exploring the San Diego Zoo

Well, it's time tell you all about our final day in San Diego, on our most spectacular honeymoon. We've actually decided that our honeymoon will never end, so it's only the last day of stage 3 of our forever honeymoon. On Saturday, April 11th, we went to the San Diego Zoo!! The day started out with a little bit of rain showers, which didn't deter us... We hopped right on our bus tour and checked out all the exhibits to see where we wanted to set our focus... while on the bus, we were serenaded by a beautiful wolf who howled when we howled at it. Here they would have tried to sell us pictures of ourselves making contorted howly faces. Interestingly, the wolf is trained by a dog that they rescued from the pound as an "unadoptable" pet. I was able to take some decent pics of this elephant from the bus... Then, the bus ride was over and it was time to hike the hills of San Diego Zoo... Sadly, the San Diego Zoo did not live up to its larger than life reputation. I have been to too many great zoos to even come close to considering San Diego the best. It hasn't been kept up... the paint was faded on the exhibits, it all looks really drab and run down, there's lots of hiking between exhibits, the design is bad with exhibits on both sides of the walkway that you can't see unless you hike it all twice...(silly design really) and many exhibits were empty... plus the landscaping was overgrown and not kept up. It was kind of sad. I would highly recommend the Jacksonville or Pittsburgh Zoos over San Diego any day. Either way, we made the best of it.
I loved the playful koalas. There were only 2 zebras, and the camels (watch out, they spit) were all matted and foaming at the mouth... eek! The zoos claim to fame, the panda bears, after standing in the LONG line, were both asleep until one was called off to the vet, leaving the folks who had stood in the LONG line behind us to just look at the backside of the one. What really entertained my wonderful groom and I were the very wildly active meercats.There was a large and majestic eagle perched on a log in an oversized cage.Funny story about the polar bear, a huge crowd had gathered around the water tank viewing section of the exhibit, and all you could see was the back side of this polar bear obviously digging in the rocks for something very important, occassionally rising up for air, but persistly going back to this section of rock for whatever was down there...We grew tired of that and walked up to the top view just as the polar bear dislodged his prize...That's right, a little red ball. We hopped on the skylift ride and headed across the zoo to the sea lion and bird show, which was scheduled to start soon on the other side of the zoo. It was a beautiful ride across. You couldn't really see anything on the ground, but you could see several of the architectural delights in Balboa Park. Having grown up on the New England coast, I have a special place in my heart for sea lions, and I enjoyed the show.Then, we went into my first ever hummingbird aviary!!! I love hummingbirds so this was a treat, though it would have been better if they didn't have other birds mixed in... We made a quick stop over at the giraffes and headed out for Balboa Park. We were going to the Museum of Natual History where the BodyWorlds exhibit was set up. It was a fascinating exhibit once you get your mind past the ickiness of it. After that, as you can imagine, we were exhausted and hungry, so we made reservations at some trendy Chinese restaurant conveniently located a few blocks from the stadium... during the 2nd game of the season... needless to say, there was absolutely no parking anywhere near there, so we just gave up and hit the best dessert place ever... Extraordinary Desserts in Hilcrest.

I'd say we covered San Diego.
Have a great weekend!
~Dewdrop

Crazy Hail outbreak in north Georgia and Atlanta metro area

This evening, as I was driving home, I got a text message from my dear friend, Nicole in Cartersville who was working in Acworth, reporting "HAIL!! And lots of it!". When I asked for pics, she said that security wasn't letting them out, but reported that the hail was pea to quarter size, and they were under a severe thunderstorm warning. When I arrived home to check radar, this is what I saw:Reports of hail from 3/4" to 1 3/4" were reported all around there; seriously, check it out.The hail reports are the little green dots, you see that cluster around the Atlanta area??!It's been a hail of a year for Georgia weather. Some of the largest hail occurred in Woodstock, Georgia, still recovering from tornado damage. Nicole told me that 20 minutes after the threat was past, the tornado sirens went off... delay. Incidentally, the photo is 15 minutes after the hail started. Wild.

I just now got a text from my dear friend, Jen, saying I would love the lightning in Winder... very intense.

Thank you so much ladies!

Crazy... totally random...~Dew

Hail of a storm

SKY WATCH FRIDAY time! Our hosts: Klaus | Sandy | Ivar | Wren | Louise | Fishing Guy

SKY WATCH FRIDAY (click the word to link and participate!)
Thanks to Dot and Tom, who were instrumental in the success of this blogging event. You should definitely come fly with us!On Monday, our sky was brimming with instability, and it excited me to watch the cumulus towers boil up high into the troposphere, growing with urgency, turmoiled tops rolling with activity, growing in power and strength. I knew what that meant... Instability, moisture and lift (the key thunderstorm ingredients) had collided offering us an opportunity for some exciting weather. In our case, it meant a rare hail storm in Valdosta. Hail captured by my wonderful groom:Hail captured by Emily F. in her yard:When you see extraordinarily large towers, the potential exists for hail, which forms in large cumulonimbus clouds.

Hail can be found in the middle and upper portions of almost all thunderstorms. However, most either melts before hitting the ground, or being very soft, disintegrates in the violent thunderstorm interior.
~source

When clouds climb to extraordinary heights of 40,000 or 50,000 or even 60,000 feet, the top part of the cloud is supercooled with temperatures well below freezing. Hail then forms in a couple of ways.

1. The hail nucleus, buoyed by the updraft is carried aloft by the updraft and begins to grow in size as it collides with supercooler raindrops and other small pieces of hail.
2. Sometimes the hailstone is blown out of the main updraft and begins to falls to the earth.
3. If the updraft is strong enough it will move the hailstone back into the cloud where it once again collides with water and hail and grows. This process may be repeated several times.
4. In all cases, when the hailstone can no longer be supported by the updraft it falls to the earth. The stronger the updraft, the larger the hailstones that can be produced by the thunderstorm.
~source

Fast Facts about hail

On June 22, 2003, a hailstone recovered in Aurora, NE, had a diameter of 7" (17.8 cm) and a circumference of 18 3/4" (47.6 cm). This hailstone was larger than the previous record large hailstone that fell in Coffeyville, KS, in 1970 (5.7" (14.5 cm) diameter and 17.5" (44.5 cm) circumference). However, weight, is the most important measurement. An accurate weight could not be determined for the Aurora hailstone; so the Coffeyville hailstone of 1970 remains the heaviest hailstone weighed and verified in the United States at 1.67 pounds (0.76 kg).

Hail causes $1 billion in damages to crops and property each year.

Hailstones can fall at speeds up to 120 mph (53 m/s).

Costliest United States hailstorm: Fort worth, Texas, May 5 1995. Total damage was $2 billion.

List of costliest and deadliest hail storms.

In my case, this was my first time seeing hail, and I drove through two hail swaths, each with about 1/2 to 3/4" hailstones. It was exciting and non-destructive. We also had ferocious downpours of rain on Tuesday, but there were no hail reports.

I will post about our last day of San Diego tomorrow.

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Georgia Tornadoes of April 10, and April 19, 2009 and Honeymoon stage 2 full day 3...

The official report from the National Weather Service in Peachtree City has been released for the two tornadoes in Georgia that occurred Sunday night, April 19th. Click this link to see the report. Two tornadoes were confirmed during that severe weather outbreak... one in Muscogee County and one in Cherokee County. The truck in the photo above was moved 25 feet during the storm in Muscogee County.

TORNADO NO: 1 - CHEROKEE COUNTY:
*** 2 INJURIES ***
1100 PM EDT/EF1/LENGTH: 1.5 MILES/WIDTH: 0.5 MILE/MAX WINDS: 90 MPH
TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN FOUR MILES EAST OF WOODSTOCK IN FAR SOUTHEAST CHEROKEE COUNTY


TORNADO NO: 2 - MUSCOGEE COUNTY:
1135 PM EDT/EF1/LENGTH: 4 MILES/WIDTH: 250 YARDS/MAX WINDS: 105 MPH

TORNADO INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN IN RUSSELL COUNTY ALABAMA...PHENIX CITY...NEAR A BOWLING ALLEY AND THE INTERSECTION OF DILLINGHAM AND BROAD STREETS. THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED THE CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER INTO GEORGIA AND THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

SURVEYS ARE STILL ONGOING AND THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED AS FURTHER INFORMATION IS OBTAINED. IN ADDITION...INFORMATION IS STILL BEING GATHERED ON THE MAJOR TORNADO OUTBREAK OF APRIL 10-11 AND AN UPDATED PNS ON THAT EVENT WILL BE SENT LATER THIS WEEK.

Photos are linked on the NWS for the Muscogee County tornado. The Cherokee photo site is still under construction.

Of course, I was out of pocket during the large outbreak of tornadoes in north Georgia and Alabama during a high risk, PDS (potentially dangerous situation advisory issued by the Storm Prediction Center). The report for north and central Georgia's 12 confirmed tornadoes on April 10th is here. Actual survey. Preliminary local storm reports.

Photos of the tornado damage in:
*Hancock County photos ** strongest of those... EF3 tornado had a path length of 6.25 miles, a width of one-half mile with a maximum wind speed of 160 MPH and caused 1 injury along its path**
*Chattahoochee County photos
*Chattooga County photos ** This was an EF2 tornado had a path length of 1 mile and a width of 200 yards, with maximum wind speeds of 120 MPH.**
*Pickens County photos
*Forsyth County photos
*Sumter and Crisp County photos
*Dooly County photos

Well, with all the weather talk, I didn't cover the 2nd full day on our wonderful honeymoon stage 3, which is what I was doing during the major tornado outbreak in Georgia... doesn't that figure? The second day, April 10th is the day we had planned to go to the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park... in fact, we stayed within walking distance of those places for that sake (you know, in that beautifully landscaped B & B under the landing area for the airport)... but the typically sunny San Diego weather decided to not be so sunny. A low pressure system slammed into the area carrying with it a rare thunderstorms and rain which imposed on our plans. We ended up instead, traveling up the coast to San Clemente, where we planned to have dinner with my wonderful groom's cousin and his, at the time, fiancee, but they have since been married. The journey taking the interstate (called the freeway there, which is important to note because the other roads aren't so "free". We accidentally ended up on a $5 toll road!!!) should have been about an hour, but we took the 8 hour route. lol.

I mentioned before that my favorite part was the seals that have taken over the Children's Pool, which is just south at La Jolla Beach. I could have stayed all day watching the seals in La Jolla at the Children's Pool, where the animal rights people and the people rights people can't seem to get along... Since I took so many pictures there, I figure a slide show is the best approach...

I also enjoyed watching the surfers try to catch their waves. They seemed to be in rhythm with the ocean, and they would take off running when one looked "right" and hop aboard for a ride. I can't imagine the energy that's exhausted in that sport.... really great exercise... apparently, in California... even Jesus was thought to have been a surfer.Speaking of exercise, I have to share this series, which is sort of an embarrassment, but too funny to leave out. Most times, while we are traveling, I will set up my camera on a timer to capture a shot. Well, I asked my wonderful groom to sit on the sea wall with his back to the ocean, and I was going to hop on the wall to catch a shot with him... apparently, they built the wall too high, or my timer is too fast... ... or I just need more exercise. Thankfully, my groom to be has more arm strength than me and was able to hop up in time.

We had so much fun exploring the beautiful southern coast of California. This house on the hill scared me though...I bet they're a little nervous... It was so gorgeous along that strip of beach though... with sand piles, wonderful rocks carved out by the tides, creating little waterfalls as the tide changed. ... and games for my wonderful groom after he studied the water movement for a while...Then, it was time for a game of chicken... which he lost...He did a little mountain climbing, which resulted in a huge scrape on his leg... Then, we just explored the beauty that California beholds...It was a gorgeous day!!! We had a wonderful time!

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop