The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Monday, February 11, 2008

Another round of severe weather in the South Central US

As I ponder the difficulties and pain that the victims of the Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak endure, my thoughts turn to Psalm 77. My hope is that those affected will maintain their strength and faith in God. Here are portions of Psalm 77 that I feel compelled to share...

Psalm 77
I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands
and my soul refused to be comforted.
Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"
Then I thought, "To this I will appeal:
the years of the right hand of the Most High."
I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.
Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
The waters saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
The clouds poured down water,
the skies resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
I want to repeat that last part because it is the part that I feel like speaks to me the most about this time of recovery...
The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.
Praise Him in this storm. UPDATE from a resident of Mountain, View, AR...
I live in Mountain View and work at the MV Telephone Company. We have managed to restore telephone service to almost every part of the county, and we have also restored DSL internet service to those that have generators. Initially, Entergy said the power would be on between 9pm-12am on Sunday night (yesterday), but that did not happening. Now we are being told power may be back on by midnight tonight (Monday). The schools and most businesses are still closed, of course, but everyone has plenty to keep them busy. The cleanup continues on the eastern side of town -- we did have one confirmed fatality and only two serious injuries, thankfully. FEMA has set up a command center here, and of course there are many relief groups serving hot food and handing out water. All of the roads are open but there may be some delays with utility work. Hopefully the power will come back soon and we can really start the cleanup in earnest. Thanks for your blog, btw.

~Tyler Henderson
Thanks for the thorough update, Tyler! Unfortunately, another round of severe weather is forecasted today for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and... yes, Arkansas. There is not near the emphasis on the tornadic threat associated with this approaching weather, but the cold air aloft will translate to a greater risk of large hail with this passing system.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, a subtropical impulse is being projected as approaching the Floridian peninsula out of Mexico. This impulse has generated quite a stir... I know waking Jeff from his weatherless coma. The SPC looks to tomorrow for the area being bombarded with a surge of moisture, boundary layer destabilization, strong southwesterly mid/upper flow coupled with deep layer sheer, which all works together to generate an increasing potential for supercells and yes, a potential for tornadoes, not to mention large hail and damaging winds. (I haven't posted my really awesome lightning strike in a while, and given the Dewvoid imposed SDS, I thought this might help).

Locally, in South Georgia, I awoke to freezing temperatures outside. I was smart this time though, brewing my coffee before heading outside, so sitting outside waiting on Mini-Dew's bus, wasn't quite the Dewdrop-cicle situation that it usually is. What gets to me is that, although we started at 30 degrees this morning, the forecast high today is over 70 degrees. A 40 degree span in one day?! Insanity. (This picture I posted is from my archive from just about a year ago. I really need to get out and shoot or get some weather... or something.)

Talking about insanity, I have an exciting weekend planned... Mini-Dew's birthday party. We have invited 7 of her friends over for a slumber party. Go ahead and shoot me now. LOL.

Toodles,
~Dewdrop

6 comments:

  1. I'm glad you shared those verses...Good luck next weekend!

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  2. I love the poetry of Psalms. They really paint the portrait of of loving God.

    As for the weekend, thanks! I will need it!

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  3. We are coming up this weekend to visit my parents. Is it going to be cold there? It is doing the same thing here--COLD in the morning/heater on, hot in the afternoon/AC on. Ridiculus! We've never had a slumber party at our house, but Katie keeps begging, so this will probably be the year (sigh).

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  4. Great Blog "Double D"...Storms possible for us later this week, I am off work...Bring it on!!!!!!!!
    Roadtrip!!

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  5. Annie, please say you are planning to stop by. Maybe we can all have dinner or something... play games...? I could invite bf over and we could all do something. Let me know. As for weather, mild... rain Saturday and Sunday... cool (but not terribly cold) mornings... and warm in the afternoon. I dread the slumber party. Fortunately, dear son's daughter is coming to help. lol

    Rick... Double D??? raised eyebrow... Don't know about a road trip since I can't do weekday chases. Darn.

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Dew comment, please...