Weather gone wild

More unfortunate news from Haiti this morning, their strongest aftershock yet, struck at 6:03AM, with a 6.1 magnitude, just 35 miles from Port-au-Prince, not far from the original major earthquake 8 days ago. I haven't heard reports about how the already dangerous state of Port-au-Prince's structures were impacted or if any rescue workers were impacted, which is my first thought, but it is clear that they continue to need all of our prayers.

Back here, we have a relentless weather pattern, which is inundating much of the country with one type of weather or another. A series of low pressure systems is parading its way across the country moving in off the Pacific. Strong low pressure systems are dumping record rainfall on California, causing incredibly dangerous landslides and threats of more, as more rain moves in. As if that's not bad enough, southern California actually reported 3 tornadoes, including one in Los Angeles. Apparently, the turmoil in the water (20' waves) caused some water spouts which moved inland.

GOLETA SANTA BARBARA COUNTY CA
RADIO STATION KCOY IN SANTA BARBARA REPORTED A SHERIFFS DEPUTY SPOTTED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR THE OCEAN MEADOW GOLF COURSE NEAR ISLE VISTA AROUND 1030 AM...ROOF DAMAGE (LOX)

HUNTINGTON BEACH ORANGE COUNTY, CA
TORNADO SPOTTED ON PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY JUST SOUTH OF ANDERSON STREET. THE FUNNEL CROSSED THE HIGHWAY AND HEADED NE. A BLACK LIMO WAS LIFTED UP AND AN SUV WAS FLIPPED (SGX)

HUNTINGTON BEACH ORANGE COUNTY CA
PROBABLE (Interesting wording) TORNADO IN HUNTINGTON BEACH. BOATS UPLIFTED AND DAMAGED IN THE HB HARBOR. DAMAGE TO BUILDING IN AREAS. CAR FLIPPED 16400 PCH. (SGX)

Neither San Diego, not Los Angeles's Weather Service Office reference the tornado at this time.

Local Storm Reports
Los Angeles
San Diego
Unfortunately, that same system is now causing treacherous blizzard conditions in the mid-west, with ice storms and just a huge mess. For us, down in the south, this all spells out severe weather potential.

For today, much of the central Gulf states are under a slight risk for severe weather with a mentionable tornadic threat. The area of risk stops short of my area with a new threat bumping into tomorrow's forecast.




Anyone within the green outlined area, should be mindful of rapidly changing conditions. The second graphic depicts the probabilities for tornadoes.

I am keeping a closer watch on tomorrow. Before you ask, NO! I WILL NOT BE CHASING! It's payroll day for me, so I will be stuck at my desk, missing out on all the fun, but the wording has me intrigued.You see, though it looks like instability will be lacking, south Georgia and north Florida look like the ripest areas for action. As in, if anything is going to happen, it is most likely to occur in my neck of the woods. I'll break down the discussion.

...SERN AL...SRN GA AND NRN FL...

AN MCS (mesoscale convective system-large rotating storm system) SHOULD BE IN PROGRESS OVER THE SERN STATES EARLY THURSDAY WITHIN ZONE OF ISENTROPIC LIFT (warm air overriding cold air. Lift is a key element of thunderstorms.) WIDESPREAD CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION SHOULD LIMIT MLCAPE (low instability- due to limited heating potential, cloud cover) TO WELL BELOW 1000 J/KG EAST OF ONGOING STORMS...BUT PARTIAL CLEARING WILL BE POSSIBLE FARTHER DOWNSTREAM ACROSS FL AND SRN GA (we might HERE have just enough break in the clouds to allow for the heating to destabilize things, instability is another key element for thunderstorms). STORMS DEVELOPING NEAR THE SRN END OF THIS MCS WILL EXPERIENCE AN INFLUX OF RICHER LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE (the third and final ingredient of thunderstorms.) AND THEREFORE SHOULD HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF BECOMING ROOTED NEAR THE SURFACE. STRONG VERTICAL SHEAR (a fourth ingredient making conditions ripe for tornadoes) ACCOMPANYING THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A THREAT OF SUPERCELLS AND BOWING STRUCTURES WITH DAMAGING WIND AND ISOLATED TORNADOES POSSIBLE AS ACTIVITY DEVELOPS EWD. HIGHER PROBABILITIES MAY BE NEEDED IN LATER OUTLOOKS IF IT BECOMES MORE APPARENT THAT THE BOUNDARY LAYER WILL UNDERGO SUFFICIENT DESTABILIZATION.

So, basically, all the ingredients for potential tornadoes in south Georgia (north Florida) are lining up for tomorrow. If we get a clearing in the sky, watch out! That's the only ingredient that is needed to trigger a significant event.

Be safe,
~Dewdrop

Continued prayers for Haiti

Unfortunately, the news out of Haiti is grim. The optimistic side was guestimating a death toll near 50,000. Initial speculation had numbers in the 100's of thousands. Unfortunately, with them having recovered 70,000 bodies already from the wreckage, it looks like the earlier, more devastating totals are a closer match with reality. The estimate is now at about 200,000. In a poorly constructed tightly populated city of 2,000,000, I fear that they are being overly optimistic once again. Sadly, the situation is also bad for rescue workers and survivors. Supplies of water, food... the basics are falling short of the need. How do you have enough for 3,000,000 people...?

Haiti's already poor health and infrastructure situation, such as a lack of water, and sanitation systems, has brought additional challenges to the rescue operations in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation.

The damage done to the main port of the country as a result of the earthquake, as well as the main roads and airport, have limited the distribution of aid.

~source

I received this prayer today through email. It does a great job of summarizing my thought and prayer for the people of Haiti and all those involved in rescue and relief efforts.

Lord, I just want to say THANK YOU, because this morning I woke up and knew where my children were. Because this morning my home was still standing, because this morning I am not crying because my husband, my child, my brother or sister needs to be pulled from underneath a pile of concrete, because this morning I was able to drink a glass of water, because this morning I was able to turn on the light, because this morning I was able to take a shower, because this morning I was not planning a funeral, but most of all I thank you this morning because I still have life and a voice to cry out for the people of Haiti. Lord I cry out to you, the one that makes the impossible, possible, the one that turns darkness into light, I cry out that you give those mothers strength, that you give them peace that surpasses all understanding, that you may open the streets so that help can come, that you may provide doctors, nurses, food, water, and all that they need in a blink of an eye. For all those that have lost family members, give them peace, give them hope, give them courage to continue to go on! Protect the children and shield them with your power. I pray all this in the name of Jesus!

We here are truly blessed!!!!!

I had a beautiful thing happen last night. I was outside and looked up to the magnificent star-filled sky. We live far enough from city lights to really have an opportunity to see and appreciate the magnitude of the universe, millions of twinkling diamonds plaster the sky. It's breathtaking on a clear night. Well, last night, as I was star-gazing, a brilliant ball of fire raced across the sky with it's tail streaming, as a luminous contrail reaching across the expanse of the sky. It stopped my words. It stopped my movement. I couldn't even signal my wonderful groom to look. I was paralyzed with awe of our great God. I immediately poured out thanks to Him and it was gone, another special love note from a loving Father.

Today was an interesting day so far... It started with a simple adjustment that lasted way too atypically long. They were having a Monday, too, apparently. This made me late for the dentist, who was running behind, so I got caught up and only had a short wait. I decided then to make my deposit at the bank, which is on my way and generally only takes a few seconds. I prepared my checks and money and deposit slip, placed them all in the tube thing.... placed the tube in the chamber and pressed send... that's when it started... this HORRIBLE RACKET that they could hear on the other side of their no-doubt very thick glass. A loud roaring noise rumbled and whirred and the tellers looked at me, like I had done something. They immediately came on and asked what I had sent... meaning, they didn't get it. Well, with it no longer in the chamber and not with them... UGH! So, this racket continues for some time as the machine tries with all its might to try to send the canister through the tube to the teller. Still nothing. Well, then, smoke starts to pour out of what I can only imagine to be the motor on this crazy contraption. The couple in the car two lanes over are starting to get nervous and give an eye witness report of what was going on... as if all the tellers' noses weren't pressed to the window gawking at this nutso scene... Well, then, the smoke gets thicker and starts boiling out of every crack and crevice the machine has to offer, apparently even filling the tube that travels into the bank. Well, that was my signal to pull up and away from this thing before it burst into flames in my face. A teller and the manager came running out and try to communicate the same way I was with the tellers inside... hand signal showing billowing smoke coming from the machine. They asked me to come inside so they could figure out how to take care of me. The crazy drive-thru teller machine repair man was called in to seek out my deposit which I was assured will be recovered... good grief. Crazy start to a day, but if that's the least of my problems, I still consider myself exceptionally blessed.

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

The Happy Dew Dance - I saw a funnel cloud...

SKY WATCH FRIDAY time! Welcome all sky fans!!! I truly appreciate your visit and comments. I might not have time to respond to you, but I will try my best to visit!!!

Our hosts: Klaus Sandy Sylvia Wren Louise Fishing Guy

Thanks, also,to Dot and Tom, who were instrumental in the success of this blogging event. You should definitely come fly with us!

I spent a lot of time yesterday processing and coping with the tragic disaster in Haiti. I am taking a step away from the details and the terror of it all today. Instead, I want to tell you a story that Mini-Dew shared with me the day before yesterday.

First, exciting NEWS! Second, Mini-Dew was at school Monday, when a friend approached her and said... I saw your parents on TV last night. Mini-Dew's response was, "Oh great, that means you saw my mom's Dew dance." Then, she proceeded to mock my dance complete with fist rolling in front of her, all the while singing "I saw a funnel cloud. I saw a funnel cloud. I saw a funnel." Then, she told me that I am the only person who gets so excited about funnel clouds that I made up a dance. LOL. What she is referring to is my appearance on "Twister Sisters", a reality show about storm chasing Twister Sisters Peggy and Melanie. Apparently, reruns are being aired on WEtv. My experience shooting that show was unparalleled, and though I busted a high risk/PDS day with my persistent Dewvoid, I had some weather experiences on June 6, 2007, which will last with me forever, and yes, that is the day that Diane, the dear director, captured me dancing over a few funnel clouds, but it's also the day that I witnessed this. An awesome shelf cloud. The same system produced some funnel clouds.The above shot is Zac and Peggy checking out the awesome and VERY LOW shelf cloud approaching us. Overall, it was an amazing experience, even if we didn't end up seeing the real deal. I learned so much about productions and all the effort that goes into a reality TV show. I joined in at the tail end of shooting, so everyone was pretty much on their last nerve by then, which is a shame. I love the artistic personalities of the crew though, and each night was one big party!I even got the chance to use the $6,000 HD video camera. Were they NUTS?!

The media is covering the disaster in Haiti around the clock, and I find myself growing more and more sad, as I hear more and more details. I continue to pray for hope for the people of Haiti and their families and friends... and now the rescue and relief workers. In a time like this, I imagine hope would be a difficult thing to hold onto, but the bible encourages hope in the Lord. Put your hope in the Lord is a repeated statement in Psalms. In the book of Job, we hear the story of a truly tested man, who, nonetheless, rested his hope in the Lord, never wavering from his praise for God, and in the end, God blessed him abundantly.

Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. The LORD Almighty is with us

God bless those suffering.
~Dewdrop

Devastation in Haiti

By now, most of you have heard of the major earthquake that has devastated Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. News of natural disasters affect me greatly, like they do most people. It saddens me to watch the full media barrage, and yet, I find myself drawn to it, almost as if I need to somehow understand their pain, so I submerge myself in the emotion of it all. I suppose that is part of coping, relating. My heart and prayers go out to all the people there in and around Port-au-Prince and their families and friends, where the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, centered just 10 miles from Port-au-Prince, demolished the capital and surrounding areas. In a 3rd world-poverty-stricken nation of 9 million plus, for a quake to hit just south of its capital, bearing about 25% of the entire population is a tragic blow to the infrastructure. In the part of the nation built up with stories of concrete-blocked structures, the number of people who must be buried under the rubble, entombed in the disaster that struck during business hours, is unfathomable, and to pile on after-shocks for those terror-stricken people, so far numbering more than 32, each stronger than 4.5 in magnitude, it's truly unimaginable. The images coming out of the area are heart wrenching... homes, the President's home, buildings, the main hospital, the UN peace-keeping building... destroyed, piles of concrete lay in the wake of this historic earthquake. It is estimated that 3 million people were affected by the powerful earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday and that thousands of lives were claimed.

The heart-warming part is the way the world unifies in disasters such as this...

"Haiti has moved to center of the world's thoughts and the world's compassion," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

So many countries are activating humanitarian relief to rush to the aid of this devastated, impoverished nation.

... women covered in dust clawed out of debris, wailing. Stunned people wandered the streets holding hands. Thousands gathered in public squares singing hymns.
~source

Even during the most horrific natural disaster this nation has ever known, these people have turned to God in praise. How beautiful. How beautiful that these strangers, hand-in-hand, find a way to seek Him for counsel.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

The people of Haiti are in desperate need of our prayers and assistance. Please keep them in your thoughts as you walk through your day today.

1:13PM I just got this breaking news update:

Haitian officials are estimating the dead at between 100,000 and 500,000 from Tuesday's quake in Haiti.
~source

Missionary saves his wife and roomate
~Dewdrop