Weather Porn! (Tropical Storm Don)

[kentauros]

From The Houston Press:

Tropical Storm Don: Will Houston See Any Effects?

By Jeff Balke
Thu., Jul. 28 2011 at 11:31 AM

As we thought, the forecast models, using the data from the National Hurricane Center reconnaissance aircraft came into fairly good agreement last night on the track of Tropical Storm Don and, unfortunately, it doesn't bode well for rain chances in the Houston area.

Don is tracking to the west-northwest and moving along at a pretty good clip south of a large ridge of high pressure. It's a very small storm, which makes it much more vulnerable to wind shear and more difficult to predict in terms of how big it will get. None of the intensity models forecast Don will be a hurricane before making landfall somewhere along the Texas coast.

That's really good news for a drought-stricken state like ours. A good-sized tropical storm without the damaging winds or storm surge of a hurricane could help dramatically reduce the drought problem, as Dr. Jeff Masters at Weather Underground points out. A hurricane, on the other hand, could simply add to the millions of dollars in weather-related losses, which no one wants.


...more at linked headline...

I love this image! I should post it in the Lounge :evilgrin:

[sonias]

1. I want that!

To hit Austin and maybe with a little more control, a little higher aim... :evilgrin:

[kentauros]

2. Y'all should get more of of Don than us,

even though we are both on the "dirty side" of the storm. Because it rotates to the left (fancy that!) it draws more moisture up from the Gulf to those lands on the east and north-eastern sides. By the time it peters (!) out in Central Texas, it should be producing a fair amount of rain for your region, so long as it sucks up more water :D

[sonias]

7. We'll take your kind offer of more Don

It's not looking good but I'm still holding out hope.

AAS 7/28/11
Tropical Storm Don expected to bring inch of rain to Central Texas


The National Weather Service’s latest reports on Tropical Storm Don estimate the center of the storm to cross the Texas coast late Friday night near midnight and move across South Central Texas on Saturday.

The official track would bring the center of Don to the south of San Antonio and then move west toward Del Rio by late Saturday night.

“We are forecasting an area of 3 to 5 inches of rain just north of the forecast track with isolated totals as high as 7 inches,” said meteorologist Paul Yura. “Minor flooding and some flash flooding could occur in urban areas, but also in rural areas as the hard dry ground will promote a lot of runoff under the most intense tropical rain rates.”
The Austin area is projected to get an inch or so of rain, with the southern parts of Hays County projected to get as much as 2 inches.

Hey an inch is better than nothing. ;-)

[kentauros]

12. And inch is great if you're collecting rainwater.

I think that translates to several thousand gallons for my parents' system, or something like that. I hope y'all get it, and then we get the runoff (into our reservoirs) :D

[WolverineDG]

3. It's time to engage in synchronized car washing!

:woohoo:

dg

[white cloud]

4. Now that is a pretty picture

Please pray.

[kentauros]

5. I was thinking about that yesterday.

However, I use a waterless spray-on cleaner. Should I not wash my car after all? :P

[sonias]

6. I have been doing everything that supposedly brings rain

Washing my car, even watering since that brings rain sometimes. :)

Include calls to some of these in your prayers/meditations or moments of silence.

List of Dieties - Spirits of Rain
(snip)

Tishtrya Persian / Iranian God of Rains
Addad Assyrian God of Rain
Tefnut Egyptian God of Rain
Yu-Tzu Chinese God of Rain
Taki-Tsu-Hiko Japanese God of Rain
Tlaloc Aztec God of Great Rain
Chac South America God of Rain
Ganymede Greek Goddess of Rain
Thor Norse God of Rain

Please, please, please - let there be rain!

[kentauros]

8. That's interesting :)

Because there's this Native American protection ritual I've used before two hurricanes slated for landfall here. the first time was for Rita and it veered away from us. Then was Ike and we didn't sustain any major damage, plus getting our power restored after only a day.

But maybe the "Thunder Beings" in it could be called on, too. I'll see what I can find about that...

Here's a couple, including one that shows the parallels between Native and Vedic traditions :)

http://www.prairieedge.com/tribe-scribe/return-of-thunder-beings

http://hubpages.com/hub/COMMONALITIES-OF-VEDIC-NATIVE-AMERICAN-TRADITIONS

[MelissaB]

9. LMAO!

That's my kind of porn.

[lonestarnot]

10. Woot! K & R!

[Historic NY]

11. Is that long Don?

[kentauros]

13. So much for Don...

Looks like it shifted to the south overnight. Now it's going in over Brownsville and skimming the top of Mexico. Them and Arizona will get all of our rain :-(

[sonias]

14. I knew he was more talk than action

I think he was like an Internet porn personality. All hype and no action. :o

[kentauros]

15. Even so, watching the satellite imagery now,

it appears to be spreading out a little as it reaches land. There are some excellent image-loops at these sites on NOAA:

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-atl.html

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/floaters.html

Plus, I've noticed some troughs on the east side of the storm, paralleling its movement to the west. One such trough is close to us. Let's only hope that Don manages to channel some of that moisture up those troughs! Or would that be better noted as "peaks and valleys"? :P :hi:

[sonias]

16. "peaks and valleys"

You certainly have your mind on the weekend, don't cha? :rofl:

:hi:

[kentauros]

17. You can thank the Houston Press for that!

:P

And it would have to be cyber anyway. My gf lives in New Zealand ;)

[sonias]

18. New Zealand rocks!

Man that is a long distance relationship. I hope you get to visit her often! :)

[kentauros]

19. Not as often as I (and she)'d like

but it's working out :)

And it looks like Don is Done!
Did you notice how the rain on the radar just kind of stopped like it had hit a wall? We did get some rain here, though, so there's that. I saw some spots on the radar for y'all. Anything significant to report?

[sonias]

20. Concrete island wall

That's what we get for living in cities where everything is paved.

We got what I call a pisser. It's more like the volume of spit in reality. Not worth even reporting. :(

[kentauros]

21. I guess it's that "heat island effect" going on.

I've watched thunderstorms, great big hail-generating storms literally evaporate at the Beltway, only to pop up again on the exact opposite side of town, as it we're not worthy. But, that didn't happen on Friday, so maybe we'll get another "Don" soon, just with a little more staying power :D

[sonias]

22. We need rain cloud viagra

Seriously we need to "seed" the rain clouds. Something has got to give in this most horrible drought ever. We obviously need to intervene somehow.

I'm getting depressed thinking about it. Que The Cure.

The Cure - Prayers for Rain
YouTube

you shatter me
your grip on me
a hold on me so dull it kills
you stifle me infectious sense of hopelessness
and prayers for rain
i suffocate
i breathe in dirt
and nowhere shines but desolate and drab
the hours all spent on killing time again
all waiting for the rain

you fracture me
your hands on me
a touch so plain so stale it kills
you strangle me
entangle me in hopelessness
and prayers for rain
i deteriorate
i live in dirt
and nowhere glows but drearily
and tired the hours all spent on killing time again
all waiting for the rain