Our stretch of 21 straight 90-degree days ended Sat. but resumed Sun. We actually should see a bit of a "dip" in temps. later this week as tropical moisture increases our clouds & rainfall. In fact, forecast models are trying to develop weak low pressure in the Gulf which -- if accurate -- would increase our rain & would also be an area to monitor for possible slow tropical development.
We're coming off a weekend of feast or famine when it comes to rain. For example, Duval Co., Sat. -- my yard on the Southside had about a half inch of rain Sat. morning in 2 brief but blinding downpours. 3 miles to my south, there was next to nothing...go north a few miles to near Arlington & amounts were 1-2"...across the Dames Point Bridge to the zoo 2.5" then just a few more miles to the northwest at the Int'l. Airport & only 0.10"! I swear I had at least "2 inches of thunder" at my house y'day but nothin' in the ol' rain gauge. Showers & storms should be frequent enough this week to get everyone wet at one time or another with some spots getting a lot of rain. The prime area this evening will be much of Southeast Georgia + areas just north & west of Jax where amounts could easily be 1-3" in a few areas.
Full lunar eclipse early tomorrow -- Tue. morning! For us -- on the First Coast -- the eclipse begins at 4:51am, reaches its peak at 6:37am & will then gradually fade away by 7:30am because sunrise is at 7:01am.
We'll still have some scattered clouds but mostly high & thin, so the moon should still be visible. Get up early & look in the western sky! A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth moves between the sun & the moon casting a shadow on the moon. There will be another one in Feb. NASA's home page has full details.
A weekend of severe storms....Fri. night in Michigan & Sun. night in N. Dakota. In Michigan an EF-3 tornado Fri. was the strongest in Michigan in 10 years. The Detroit N.W.S. has a great web page including radar images dedicated to the severe storms. The Grand Rapids N.W.S. has photos of a tornado + damage & storm summaries. In N. Dakota at least one of the tornadoes has a preliminary rating of EF-4 & one community -- Hoople -- had 1.75" hail damage virtually every home & buisness in town.
Interesting video from CNN the past couple days:
-- a tornado near Bogata, Columbia - a rarity in this part of the world.....
Buresh weekend "highlights":
-- Sat. morning I pull out of my neighborhood & look in my rear view mirror to see a car fast approaching then passing me & the car in front of me on a 2-lane city road where the speed limit is 35 mph. The "man" with the heavily tinted windows didn't get far since the stop light ahead was red. He continued his pattern of driving apparently to simply make it to the gas station at the corner a mere few blocks away.
-- My 6-yearl old & I were alone for the morning because my wife & other daughter went to a b'day party. So my 6-yr. old decides on McDonald's for b'fast. We go to the counter to order & the guy (teenager I'm guessing) just looked at me. So I figured he must be waiting for me to order, so I did. He repeated the order, but I couldn't understand a thing he was saying then he never did say anything else. I didn't receive an ice coffee I ordered, so he did get that but again without saying a thing. I couldn't help but feel I had inconvenienced him(!). Just as I was thinking this guy would never work for me if I were the boss, another customer came to the counter & yelled at the guy getting my coffee that he wanted an apple pie. So I looked over at the guy & gave him a glance that I hoped said "you're an a_ _ ". I'm convinced sometimes our society is headed in the wrong direction.
-- On a better note...had a great evening at the family zoo fundraiser -- highly recommend you try to make it next year.
-- BIG HIGHLIGHT: My 6-yr. old in church Sun. morning had a tear running down her cheek, so my wife asked what was wrong. She replied: "I'm just so happy". That's strong stuff
