This weather is awful!! 2008-2021

[W2R]

Speaking of rain, this is about all that the Saturday floods caused here:

This was pretty close to us and as you can see, not too bad compared with most of New Orleans. Still, any flooding is scary to me, especially given the extreme flooding that I was seeing on TV from other parts of the city at that time.

Almost no rain today, just drizzle, so I think we are "through the woods" unless or until the storm that REWahoo reported gets to us.

 

[Ronstar]

We've had a lot of brief thunderstorms / high winds that are knocking the limbs from the trees. I've got 5 burn piles full of tree debris that I've rounded up.

 

[W2R]

We've had a lot of brief thunderstorms / high winds that are knocking the limbs from the trees. I've got 5 burn piles full of tree debris that I've rounded up.

The weather seems pretty wild this week, in so many places! I'm glad that tree limbs haven't fallen on your home or workshop. Just got those two big trees removed in time, didn't you.

I am glad I had my trees removed last year. I have the "catch basin" (drain opening by the curb) for my block in front of my house. So, I am the one responsible for keeping it cleared, and keeping tree branches and leaves from going into it and covering it during storms. This is a Big Deal in New Orleans, since we are below sea level. But with no trees, that doesn't happen any more and I don't have to worry much at all about clearing it.

 

[Meadbh]

Hope you have a box full of them and if not, it might be a good idea to get more ASAP. I was shocked to see this photo of Portland Oregon last week, posted on Facebook by someone who lives there. And that's considerably south of Canada. It must be so much worse where you are. I hope it isn't too difficult for you to breathe.

If so, might be time for a vacation to get away from the smoke. Even if you do not have lung disease, it can't be good to breathe it.

Rain has decreased to just a drizzle, but as soon as it starts again I'm sending more of it to you.

This is not my usual view!

 

[MRG]

W2R, I am sorry to hear of this flooding. Let's hope it recedes soon.

I am in BC in an area with significant smoke, though luckily not in Kamloops, where air quality is off the charts. Hospital visits are up 20-50% due to respiratory problems. I feel sorry for the many people who have lost their homes and hope it doesn't happen to me.

We are only halfway through the wildfire season, which has, to date, been second only to 1958 in terms of area burnt. There was not one drop of rain in July. Firefighting crews are exhausted and are being assisted by teams from other provinces and countries, including the US, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. In recent years, almost every summer seems to be a wildfire risk. The effects of climate change are very real.

https://www.kelownanow.com/watercoo...her/Smoke_skies_expected_to_improve_slightly/

https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/203570/Smoke-emergency-calls

https://www.kelownanow.com/watercoo...dfire_could_get_worse_before_they_get_better/

Good luck Meadb, WR2!

We had a few fires in the area earlier this year but fortunately haven't seen the amount of damage your seeing. Floods are no fun either, nothing quite like flood mud or the power of nature.

I was chatting with a fellow down the road and mentioned I was tired of the monsoons. He took a moment to reset my reality. "Better rain every afternoon and night than to deal with fires in a drought".

Our house sits on the rim of a canyon that's forested in Pondarosa Pine, billions of board feet. There's a moss that grows in them that is highly flammable! Like black powder burning, if you ever need a fire grab that stuff.

If the caynon ever goes up it's going to be like a huge BBQ, sitting below our house, fueled by an almost infinite supply of high-test fuel.

 

[W2R]

This is not my usual view!

Oh my. That's bad.

 

[Ronstar]

The weather seems pretty wild this week, in so many places! I'm glad that tree limbs haven't fallen on your home or workshop. Just got those two big trees removed in time, didn't you.

I am glad I had my trees removed last year. I have the "catch basin" (drain opening by the curb) for my block in front of my house. So, I am the one responsible for keeping it cleared, and keeping tree branches and leaves from going into it and covering it during storms. This is a Big Deal in New Orleans, since we are below sea level. But with no trees, that doesn't happen any more and I don't have to worry much at all about clearing it.

Yes I think the last wind spell would have knocked over parts of the dead tree that I just had taken down. Got lucky there.

I just saw New Orleans on the tv news. How the pumps are not keeping up with the rains. Good thing you had your trees removed. Tree debris/ leaves are usually the cause of storm sewer backups. Your catch basin should breathe a lot easier now. Stay on high ground, stay dry, and stay safe!

 

[W2R]

Yes I think the last wind spell would have knocked over parts of the dead tree that I just had taken down. Got lucky there.

I just saw New Orleans on the tv news. How the pumps are not keeping up with the rains. Good thing you had your trees removed. Tree debris/ leaves are usually the cause of storm sewer backups. Your catch basin should breathe a lot easier now. Stay on high ground, stay dry, and stay safe!

Will do! Thanks.

I love not having to go out and clear the catch basin in heavy rains. It's not raining now, though maybe in a few days.

The pumps can only remove an inch the first hour, and a half inch each hour after that. When you think about it, a half inch an hour over the square footage of an entire city is a phenomenal amount of water and pumping power. Still, when rain falls faster than that, they cannot keep up. We have deep drainage canals all over the city and they try to pump them down before storms, so that they can provide a little buffer. But in time they fill up and then we have problems.

 

[Ronstar]

Will do! Thanks.

I love not having to go out and clear the catch basin in heavy rains. It's not raining now, though maybe in a few days.

The pumps can only remove an inch the first hour, and a half inch each hour after that. When you think about it, a half inch an hour over the square footage of an entire city is a phenomenal amount of water and pumping power. Still, when rain falls faster than that, they cannot keep up. We have deep drainage canals all over the city and they try to pump them down before storms, so that they can provide a little buffer. But in time they fill up and then we have problems.

Ahh I did not know that New Orleans had deep drainage canals - probably similar to Chicago's Deep Tunnel. Those work well at the beginning of the storm, but when they fill up- You're right - problems.

 

[W2R]

Ahh I did not know that New Orleans had deep drainage canals - probably similar to Chicago's Deep Tunnel. Those work well at the beginning of the storm, but when they fill up- You're right - problems.

Well, probably not anywhere near as deep as anything in Chicago. These are mostly just open canals. Maybe I shouldn't have described them as deep. But we do have quite a canal system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage_in_New_Orleans

 

[Ronstar]

I don't remember the canals from my visit - only the food and plantations. Map is interesting - French Quarter is the high ground. I can see how flooding is a major problem - the lowest ground is closest to the lake - and up to 10' below it in elevation. That's not good.

 

[Meadbh]

I don't remember the canals from my visit - only the food and plantations. Map is interesting - French Quarter is the high ground. I can see how flooding is a major problem - the lowest ground is closest to the lake - and up to 10' below it in elevation. That's not good.

I visited NOLA once, in 1992 or so, for a conference. Took every opportunity to see the sights. I remember walking along a dike, looking at the water on one side and the homes, lower on the other side, and thinking "hmmm. If this went wrong......"

 

[Meadbh]

Oh my. That's bad.

I am pleased to report that there was a brisk wind and it rained overnight (after 45 days of drought) and that air quality is now 2/10 (normal). I have a view again and it is much easier to breathe. The fire season is not over, and the smoke could return if the wind direction changes. The risk of fire remains extreme.

 

[Tom52]

I wish we would get some rain in SE Iowa. We are in a big drought this summer, specifically in a two county area that has missed practically all the rain. We have had maybe 1.0" of rain total in the last 2+ months. I have not had to cut the grass since early June. The grass is all brown and brittle.


Even though I watered the garden regularly it was so hot for so long that none of the plants thrived. This year the garden is a total bust.

 

[W2R]

I am pleased to report that there was a brisk wind and it rained overnight (after 45 days of drought) and that air quality is now 2/10 (normal). I have a view again and it is much easier to breathe. The fire season is not over, and the smoke could return if the wind direction changes. The risk of fire remains extreme.

Wonderful! I hope the rains continue and that the fires are eventually completely extinguished. I often think of you and others up there and how miserable and frightening these fires can be.

We haven't had any further flooding. It has continued to thunderstorm almost every day, but without enough rain to cause the floods to resume.

 

[W2R]

I wish we would get some rain in SE Iowa. We are in a big drought this summer, specifically in a two county area that has missed practically all the rain. We have had maybe 1.0" of rain total in the last 2+ months. I have not had to cut the grass since early June. The grass is all brown and brittle.


Even though I watered the garden regularly it was so hot for so long that none of the plants thrived. This year the garden is a total bust.

That's awful! I hope your drought ends soon. We have been getting a lot of rain this summer and we have 90% chance of thunderstorms predicted again today. When they show up, I'll try to send them your way.

 

[Meadbh]

Wonderful! I hope the rains continue and that the fires are eventually completely extinguished.

It will take more than a few showers to extinguish fires like this one. More than a few thousand firefighters too. The strategy is to surround and contain fires that threaten communities until they run out of fuel. Fires in remote areas eventually burn themselves out.

https://www.kelownanow.com/news/new...hows_aggressive_fire_behaviour_in_high_winds/

 

[Big_Hitter]

stay safe Houston peeps!

this looks as bad as TS Alison

 

[W2R]

stay safe Houston peeps!

this looks as bad as TS Alison

+1 It looks like TS Harvey is headed right towards Texas and will be moving slowly or sitting still while there, dumping flooding rains on everyone. I hope that is not the case but it sure looks bad.

Looks like we are out of the NHC cone here in New Orleans, although even here we have predictions of 100% chance of thunderstorms this weekend. We have already had near record breaking rainfall this summer, with 31.54" of rainfall since June 1st, officially. So, if it rains much this weekend we'll break the record summer rainfall which is 33.38" for June through August.

Sure looks rainy out there, with more thunderstorms predicted today.

Stay safe, Texans.

 

[dixonge]

+1 It looks like TS Harvey is headed right towards Texas and will be moving slowly or sitting still while there, dumping flooding rains on everyone. I hope that is not the case but it sure looks bad.

Looks like we are out of the NHC cone here in New Orleans, although even here we have predictions of 100% chance of thunderstorms this weekend. We have already had near record breaking rainfall this summer, with 31.54" of rainfall since June 1st, officially. So, if it rains much this weekend we'll break the record summer rainfall which is 33.38" for June through August.

Sure looks rainy out there, with more thunderstorms predicted today.

Stay safe, Texans.

And we fly out of Austin to Mexico on Monday. I sure hope Harvey doesn't delay our flight!

 

[W2R]

And we fly out of Austin to Mexico on Monday. I sure hope Harvey doesn't delay our flight!

I hope your flight leaves on time! Also I hope that you don't have trouble with flooding in the Austin area. Austin is pretty far inland but I suppose it might still rain pretty hard there.

 

[W2R]

It will take more than a few showers to extinguish fires like this one. More than a few thousand firefighters too. The strategy is to surround and contain fires that threaten communities until they run out of fuel. Fires in remote areas eventually burn themselves out.

https://www.kelownanow.com/news/new...hows_aggressive_fire_behaviour_in_high_winds/

I just did a Google search on these fires, hoping that by now they had lessened at least somewhat with summer rains and time - - but apparently the reverse is the case. This terrible wildfire is the largest ever recorded in B.C.

Hundreds of firefighters battling largest wildfire ever recorded in B.C. - British Columbia - CBC News

Stay safe, Canadians!

 

[Meadbh]

I just did a Google search on these fires, hoping that by now they had lessened at least somewhat with summer rains and time - - but apparently the reverse is the case. This terrible wildfire is the largest ever recorded in B.C.

Hundreds of firefighters battling largest wildfire ever recorded in B.C. - British Columbia - CBC News

Stay safe, Canadians!

Climate change is certainly contributing to this and we expect the wildfire situation to worsen over the coming years.

On the bright side, air quality is now very good where I live. Perfect golfing weather!

 

[Meadbh]

Uh oh! A big wildfire has begun on the other side of town and is being fanned by high winds. I have friends who may soon be evacuated.

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-204971-1-.htm#204971

https://www.facebook.com/Castanet.net/videos/10159169519530514/

https://www.cordemergency.ca/emergencies/philpott-road-fire

https://www.kelownanow.com/watercooler/news/news/Wildfire/BREAKING_Wildfire_developing_along_Hwy_33/

 

[W2R]

Uh oh! A big wildfire has begun on the other side of town and is being fanned by high winds. I have friends who may soon be evacuated.

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-204971-1-.htm#204971

https://www.facebook.com/Castanet.net/videos/10159169519530514/

https://www.cordemergency.ca/emergencies/philpott-road-fire

https://www.kelownanow.com/watercooler/news/news/Wildfire/BREAKING_Wildfire_developing_along_Hwy_33/

Oh no! I hope you don't become surrounded by fires. Be careful, stay safe.