May Weather News, 2008!
You know, I have had a great deal of fun presenting you the weather news each month. I hope I have made some of you laugh and I hope some of the weather geeks out there have appreciated the updates and incredible phenomena of weather. However, I feel it is only right to take pause and recognize a terrible weather event which happened earlier this month; The Myanmar cyclone. If there was a world flag it should be flying at half mast.
The International Red Cross estimates up to one hundred and twenty eight thousand people have died or will perish from the aftermath of the cyclone; the immediate hit of the massive storm which wiped out entire communities without a trace, now famine and disease from contaminated water.
You know, I have had a great deal of fun presenting you the weather news each month. I hope I have made some of you laugh and I hope some of the weather geeks out there have appreciated the updates and incredible phenomena of weather. However, I feel it is only right to take pause and recognize a terrible weather event which happened earlier this month; The Myanmar cyclone. If there was a world flag it should be flying at half mast.
The International Red Cross estimates up to one hundred and twenty eight thousand people have died or will perish from the aftermath of the cyclone; the immediate hit of the massive storm which wiped out entire communities without a trace, now famine and disease from contaminated water.
Not too long after an earthquake in China has claimed sixty thousand lives. Since this is a weather journal it is worthy to take note of the China disaster relating to the total loss of lives in a single month due to natural events. Although an earthquake is not weather related it is one of the most massive and destructive natural events known to humankind
I feel the loss a half a planet away. My connection is weather and the natural order on the planet we reside on. But sometimes the order seems so unnatural. How can upwards of two hundred thousand people die in a matter of weeks and assuredly the upcoming months? Where was God? I am sure many of these poor souls prayed for their salvation. But they experienced an Armageddon as terrifying and final as the one promised in the Scriptures.
So I came to a conclusion I have long suspected. By writing this weather journal and witnessing third hand catastrophic events the connection is clear to me. God does not fit into our neat packaging of religion and expectations. God is everything from the ant to the sun and all things in between. All we have to do is look around us at the NATURAL ORDER and all of it’s relationships between all living and nonliving things. The dilemma with humans is when the natural order represents chaos and suffering. It just doesn't matter in the universal scheme.
If I piss into an ant hole or sprinkle pesticide into it I am an eco-terrorist and a murderer. When I save a drowning bee from a swimming pool (an ocean to that tiny creature) I am a God. I am neither. I am part of a natural order as I perceive it and as I fit in. It was bad luck for the ant hole and good luck (a prayer answered) for the bee. I was simply in the right place at the right or wrong time. There is a germ of God in all of us, as the same with all living and nonliving things on this planet. So when a prayer is answered by God it is answered by us. The conduit is a whole lot of hope, determination and the most important woman of all, Lady Luck. God is busy preserving the NATURAL ORDER of the universe. His hands are full.
Your faithful Editor in Chief will now waddle down from his soapbox with muddy webbed feet to give you all of the amazing weather facts for the month of May. The third week of May was like nothing I have ever seen in the beloved State of Arizona. Our first one hundred degree day of the season was one hundred and five degrees, the second day was one hundred and ten degrees. We usually get three or four weeks to ease into hell from one hundred to one hundred and ten. By the end of the week there was snow in the high country, the high was lower than the low on The Land and we received 1.74 inches of rain!
I feel the loss a half a planet away. My connection is weather and the natural order on the planet we reside on. But sometimes the order seems so unnatural. How can upwards of two hundred thousand people die in a matter of weeks and assuredly the upcoming months? Where was God? I am sure many of these poor souls prayed for their salvation. But they experienced an Armageddon as terrifying and final as the one promised in the Scriptures.
So I came to a conclusion I have long suspected. By writing this weather journal and witnessing third hand catastrophic events the connection is clear to me. God does not fit into our neat packaging of religion and expectations. God is everything from the ant to the sun and all things in between. All we have to do is look around us at the NATURAL ORDER and all of it’s relationships between all living and nonliving things. The dilemma with humans is when the natural order represents chaos and suffering. It just doesn't matter in the universal scheme.
If I piss into an ant hole or sprinkle pesticide into it I am an eco-terrorist and a murderer. When I save a drowning bee from a swimming pool (an ocean to that tiny creature) I am a God. I am neither. I am part of a natural order as I perceive it and as I fit in. It was bad luck for the ant hole and good luck (a prayer answered) for the bee. I was simply in the right place at the right or wrong time. There is a germ of God in all of us, as the same with all living and nonliving things on this planet. So when a prayer is answered by God it is answered by us. The conduit is a whole lot of hope, determination and the most important woman of all, Lady Luck. God is busy preserving the NATURAL ORDER of the universe. His hands are full.
Your faithful Editor in Chief will now waddle down from his soapbox with muddy webbed feet to give you all of the amazing weather facts for the month of May. The third week of May was like nothing I have ever seen in the beloved State of Arizona. Our first one hundred degree day of the season was one hundred and five degrees, the second day was one hundred and ten degrees. We usually get three or four weeks to ease into hell from one hundred to one hundred and ten. By the end of the week there was snow in the high country, the high was lower than the low on The Land and we received 1.74 inches of rain!
May is the second driest month of the year normally. Fire restrictions placed that week were already lifted by snow and rain. I chuckled as the Memorial Day weekend was upon us. Bikinis and ice chests were replaced by Under Armor and hot coffee, hot tea and hot toddies! With that said let’s get right to the mind boggling weather events of May in this State and around the world!
The average temperature on The Land at the beginning of the month was 69.50 degrees. The average temperature at the end of the month was 83.50 degrees. For Talking Trees and Antelope Hill it was 39 degrees and 62.50 degrees.
The average temperature for the month of May for The Land was 77 degrees. The average temperature at 7400 feet in Mew Mexico was 52.53 degrees.
The average humidity at The Land was 25.87 percent and the dew point was 31.56 degrees (comparatively very close to each other.)
It was another windy month with an average wind velocity of 14.93 mph. There were actually two wind chill recordings in the month of May!
The total rainfall for the year at The Land is 3.50 inches. 1.74 inches fell in May, an extreme rarity.
Lake Mead is at 45 percent capacity. Powell is 48 percent full. Lake Pleasant is at 88 percent and Roosevelt 97 percent.
5-1. Three “campers” from Texas arrested for starting the X fire near the Grand Canyon. The fire has burned two thousand acres and is sixty percent contained. The record in Phoenix was 103 degrees in 1985 and the low was 42 degrees in 1915.
5-2. Twenty five twisters tear through Arkansas killing seven, Kansas City, Missouri also hit. A roof was torn off of a Carl’s Jr. restaurant; employee jokes about it becoming an open air eating establishment. Baby birds babble away like human babies before they master the their song according to scientist. The record high in the Valley was 107 degrees in 1947 and the record low was 40 degrees in 198
5-3. From Missouri to Arkansas worst tornado season in recent memory. Some wind gusts recorded at one hundred and fifty mph. There have been seven hundred and eight tornadoes so far this year, two hundred more than ’07. Twenty six people have died this year in Arkansas, Dusk to dawn curfew in some cities to prevent looting.
The average temperature on The Land at the beginning of the month was 69.50 degrees. The average temperature at the end of the month was 83.50 degrees. For Talking Trees and Antelope Hill it was 39 degrees and 62.50 degrees.
The average temperature for the month of May for The Land was 77 degrees. The average temperature at 7400 feet in Mew Mexico was 52.53 degrees.
The average humidity at The Land was 25.87 percent and the dew point was 31.56 degrees (comparatively very close to each other.)
It was another windy month with an average wind velocity of 14.93 mph. There were actually two wind chill recordings in the month of May!
The total rainfall for the year at The Land is 3.50 inches. 1.74 inches fell in May, an extreme rarity.
Lake Mead is at 45 percent capacity. Powell is 48 percent full. Lake Pleasant is at 88 percent and Roosevelt 97 percent.
5-1. Three “campers” from Texas arrested for starting the X fire near the Grand Canyon. The fire has burned two thousand acres and is sixty percent contained. The record in Phoenix was 103 degrees in 1985 and the low was 42 degrees in 1915.
5-2. Twenty five twisters tear through Arkansas killing seven, Kansas City, Missouri also hit. A roof was torn off of a Carl’s Jr. restaurant; employee jokes about it becoming an open air eating establishment. Baby birds babble away like human babies before they master the their song according to scientist. The record high in the Valley was 107 degrees in 1947 and the record low was 40 degrees in 198
5-3. From Missouri to Arkansas worst tornado season in recent memory. Some wind gusts recorded at one hundred and fifty mph. There have been seven hundred and eight tornadoes so far this year, two hundred more than ’07. Twenty six people have died this year in Arkansas, Dusk to dawn curfew in some cities to prevent looting.
New Mexico wildfire has burned sixty homes.
Major Arctic sea ice melt expected this summer.
5-5. Early reports from Myanmar (once Burma) kills four thousand, tens of thousands homeless. Laura Bush pleads to give UN aid. Ten tornadoes confirmed in Arkansas over the past weekend, seven killed. Fire restriction in place on the Navajo reservation. Federal officials brace for wildfire season in Yuma. “Voz” (volcanic ash and smog) kills plants.
5-5. Early reports from Myanmar (once Burma) kills four thousand, tens of thousands homeless. Laura Bush pleads to give UN aid. Ten tornadoes confirmed in Arkansas over the past weekend, seven killed. Fire restriction in place on the Navajo reservation. Federal officials brace for wildfire season in Yuma. “Voz” (volcanic ash and smog) kills plants.
You read it here first! Fifty four cases of rabies reported in Arizona this year. It may set a new record. Protected Sea lion found shot to death below the Columbia dam where they feed on salmon. Scientists in Idaho hope beak prothesis will replace eagle’s gunshot one.
5-6. Twenty two thousand feared dead and forty thousand missing in Myanmar; millions are homeless. UNICEF requests permission to help. Tonto National Forest restrictions go into effect this week. Spring time at the land with two quail escorting twenty six chicks.
5-6. Twenty two thousand feared dead and forty thousand missing in Myanmar; millions are homeless. UNICEF requests permission to help. Tonto National Forest restrictions go into effect this week. Spring time at the land with two quail escorting twenty six chicks.
Snow at the Snow bowl and lightening strikes reported in Casa Grande. Crews build dam larger than Manhattan to force water to the parched Everglades.
5-7. Twenty two acres burn in Kaibab from thunderstorms yesterday. Cyclone devastated Myanmar rice crops.
Sea lion deaths in the North West remain a mystery; not killed by guns as previously reported.
5-8. A million and a half people are homeless in Myanmar. Malaria and chronic diarrhea happening to the inflicted. UN and US transport planes with food and medicine waiting in Thailand for clearance from Myanmar government. So far only one plane allowed into the country.
5-8. A million and a half people are homeless in Myanmar. Malaria and chronic diarrhea happening to the inflicted. UN and US transport planes with food and medicine waiting in Thailand for clearance from Myanmar government. So far only one plane allowed into the country.
Tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama. Twenty four twisters reported in the Central Plains. Honey bee deaths up due to mysterious colony collapses.
5-9. Secret Service saves family of ducks from waddling to close to the west wing of the White House. The ducks were lost due to heavy rain. Swat teams escort them back to grassy area.
5-9. Secret Service saves family of ducks from waddling to close to the west wing of the White House. The ducks were lost due to heavy rain. Swat teams escort them back to grassy area.
Man who lost two homes in hurricane Katrina claims ninety seven million dollar power ball.
Heavy rain in already devastated Myanmar.
Arizona state land fire restrictions go into place next week. Oldest gorilla in captivity celebrates 55th birthday (with a smoke and a beer!)
5-10. Twenty two tornadoes spotted in Texas and Arkansas. The record high in the Valley was 111 degrees in 1934 and the record low was 46 degrees in 1930.
5-11. President Bush speaks to homeless from tornadoes in the Midwest. Twenty three die as twisters hit Missouri, Georgia and Oklahoma. Myanmar death toll up to sixty thousand people.
5-12. F4 storm hits Oklahoma, worst in ten years. Two hundred mph winds reported. Twenty acre wildfire burning in northern Arizona. Solano fire is burning south of Kitt Peak in Tucson. Hundreds of residents evacuated as wildfires burn. FEMA and the EPA visit storm ravaged Oklahoma. Mid Atlantic storm floods homes and highways. More than a third of twister related deaths occur in cars; people think they are safe in a vehicle.
5-13. Today is the first average one hundred degrees in Phoenix; so far none this year. Four inches of snow in Flagstaff.
5-10. Twenty two tornadoes spotted in Texas and Arkansas. The record high in the Valley was 111 degrees in 1934 and the record low was 46 degrees in 1930.
5-11. President Bush speaks to homeless from tornadoes in the Midwest. Twenty three die as twisters hit Missouri, Georgia and Oklahoma. Myanmar death toll up to sixty thousand people.
5-12. F4 storm hits Oklahoma, worst in ten years. Two hundred mph winds reported. Twenty acre wildfire burning in northern Arizona. Solano fire is burning south of Kitt Peak in Tucson. Hundreds of residents evacuated as wildfires burn. FEMA and the EPA visit storm ravaged Oklahoma. Mid Atlantic storm floods homes and highways. More than a third of twister related deaths occur in cars; people think they are safe in a vehicle.
5-13. Today is the first average one hundred degrees in Phoenix; so far none this year. Four inches of snow in Flagstaff.
Panda preserve in China safe the day after major earthquake.
One hundred and sixty homes burn in Florida. Arson is the cause and one man is arrested.
5-14. Polar bear population has increased from twenty five hundred in the nineteen seventies to 25000 today. However the bear is placed on the endangered species list due to shrinking sea ice.
5-14. Polar bear population has increased from twenty five hundred in the nineteen seventies to 25000 today. However the bear is placed on the endangered species list due to shrinking sea ice.
Invading ants in Houston shorting out electrical equipment and computers.
The Red Cross estimated one hundred and twenty eight thousand dead in Myanmar. Heavy rains hit the Myanmar Delta.
5-15. Major dust storm at The Land and the year’s first Ha boob reported with fifty mph wind gusts reported.
5-15. Major dust storm at The Land and the year’s first Ha boob reported with fifty mph wind gusts reported.
Storms flooding the South and kills one in Louisiana. EL Nino wind patterns may have helped Magellan cross the ocean five hundred years ago. The high today in San Francisco was ninety three degrees. The normal high is sixty seven.
5-16. Brush fire in Chino Hills, Ca. Pacific North West twenty to thirty degrees above normal. One hundred degree temperature reported in Oregon and makes a new record for this date.
5-17. Three separate coyote attacks on children reported on California playgrounds.
5-16. Brush fire in Chino Hills, Ca. Pacific North West twenty to thirty degrees above normal. One hundred degree temperature reported in Oregon and makes a new record for this date.
5-17. Three separate coyote attacks on children reported on California playgrounds.
Flagstaff calls off July 4th firework display due to dry conditions.
5-18. Official death count in Myanmar seventy eight thousand folks; thousand are facing death from starvation. One hundred and five degrees reported in Phoenix. The last one hundred degree day was eight months ago. Yuma had a record high of one hundred and thirteen degrees.
5-19. New Valley temperature record of one hundred and ten degrees. This is the first time in recorded history that back-to-back days of the first one hundred hit one hundred and five degrees and one hundred and ten degrees. High ozone pollution advisory issued for Phoenix.
5-18. Official death count in Myanmar seventy eight thousand folks; thousand are facing death from starvation. One hundred and five degrees reported in Phoenix. The last one hundred degree day was eight months ago. Yuma had a record high of one hundred and thirteen degrees.
5-19. New Valley temperature record of one hundred and ten degrees. This is the first time in recorded history that back-to-back days of the first one hundred hit one hundred and five degrees and one hundred and ten degrees. High ozone pollution advisory issued for Phoenix.
Eighty eight separate fires burning in Florida.
Jump in hurricanes not due to global warming study proclaims.
Mountain lion seriously injures boy on New Mexico trail.
5-20. One hundred and eight degree Phoenix record today. High ozone pollution advisory issued.
5-21. Wind topples wall under construction at Fiesta Mall in Mesa, AZ.
5-20. One hundred and eight degree Phoenix record today. High ozone pollution advisory issued.
5-21. Wind topples wall under construction at Fiesta Mall in Mesa, AZ.
Alaska is suing the Federal Government for placing the Polar bear on the endangered list.
5-22. Fifty degrees cooler than three days ago at The Land. The high was fifty nine degrees! Lightning and rain and the Apace Sitgraves Forest lifts fire restrictions. Snow advisory issued for Flagstaff. A high wind advisory is posted for SE Arizona.
5-22. Fifty degrees cooler than three days ago at The Land. The high was fifty nine degrees! Lightning and rain and the Apace Sitgraves Forest lifts fire restrictions. Snow advisory issued for Flagstaff. A high wind advisory is posted for SE Arizona.
Mount Graham fire at three thousand acres and the Swift Trail is closed. Summer cabins and Columbine is closed. Fire caused by “controlled burn” out of control.
Two and a half inches of snow reported in Pinetop. Six to twelve inches of snow expected at elevations above eight thousand feet. Wildfire in Santa Cruz, California. Tornado kills one in Windsor, Colorado.
5-23. Yesterday’s tornado in Colorado listed as a Category 4 and two miles wide. Sixty homes destroyed with a thirty five mile path of destruction.
5-23. Yesterday’s tornado in Colorado listed as a Category 4 and two miles wide. Sixty homes destroyed with a thirty five mile path of destruction.
Arizona snow records for May; Flagstaff, four inches; Sunrise, twelve inches and Pinetop seven inches. Snow advisory issued in Arizona above six thousand feet.
Rain snuffs out Mount Graham Fire!!!!
5-24. Tornado touches ground near Hemess, Oklahoma. State of Emergency declared in Santa Cruz, California fire; thirty four hundred acres torched.
5-24. Tornado touches ground near Hemess, Oklahoma. State of Emergency declared in Santa Cruz, California fire; thirty four hundred acres torched.
A shark wounds a surfer in the Pacific Ocean.
5-25. Severe weather from Canada to Texas. More twisters batter the Mid West. Pig farm destroyed but forty five hundred pigs survive! One hundred and twenty tornadoes reported in last seventy two hours. Eighteen hundred tornadoes are estimated before the season is over.
5-26. Deadly twister in Parkersburgh, Iowa; Kansas and Oklahoma are also hit with seven people dead. Santa Cruz fire in California has consumed one hundred homes.
5-27. Tornado in Iowa yesterday reported the strongest one in thirty two years.
5-28. Tornado watch in north east New Mexico. The record high in Phoenix was one hundred and thirteen degrees in 1984. The record low was fifty degrees in 1929.
5-29. Severe weather in Central Plains with two dozen tornadoes reported.
5-30. Ten more tornadoes in Illinois and Missouri.
5-25. Severe weather from Canada to Texas. More twisters batter the Mid West. Pig farm destroyed but forty five hundred pigs survive! One hundred and twenty tornadoes reported in last seventy two hours. Eighteen hundred tornadoes are estimated before the season is over.
5-26. Deadly twister in Parkersburgh, Iowa; Kansas and Oklahoma are also hit with seven people dead. Santa Cruz fire in California has consumed one hundred homes.
5-27. Tornado in Iowa yesterday reported the strongest one in thirty two years.
5-28. Tornado watch in north east New Mexico. The record high in Phoenix was one hundred and thirteen degrees in 1984. The record low was fifty degrees in 1929.
5-29. Severe weather in Central Plains with two dozen tornadoes reported.
5-30. Ten more tornadoes in Illinois and Missouri.
High Ozone pollution advisory issued for Phoenix.
5-31. A ten foot, four hundred and fifty pound shark jumps into a fishing boat in South Africa. Fortunately it jumped out, becoming the one “that got away.”
5-31. A ten foot, four hundred and fifty pound shark jumps into a fishing boat in South Africa. Fortunately it jumped out, becoming the one “that got away.”
The record high in Phoenix was one hundred and nine degrees in 2001. The record low was fifty four degrees in 1918.
The quote of the month from the Mighty Broaduck is a timely one indeed. “A super hero to me is someone that inspires you and motivates you to be a better person and strive to achieve more out of life ; not a man in tights. You may find more than one in life that all lead to who you are.”
Yes, my fine feathered friends, we need more super heroes in this time of a wall of water, the ground cracking and shaking, and the wild devil winds in America. I have been thinking about the world flag at half mast and what color it should be; blood red.
The songs of the month go out to all impacted by the weather; a traditional bluegrass gospel song, “One fine morning when this life is over I’ll fly Away” and “Texas Flood” By Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Remember, Pioneers took bullets; Settlers took land.
The quote of the month from the Mighty Broaduck is a timely one indeed. “A super hero to me is someone that inspires you and motivates you to be a better person and strive to achieve more out of life ; not a man in tights. You may find more than one in life that all lead to who you are.”
Yes, my fine feathered friends, we need more super heroes in this time of a wall of water, the ground cracking and shaking, and the wild devil winds in America. I have been thinking about the world flag at half mast and what color it should be; blood red.
The songs of the month go out to all impacted by the weather; a traditional bluegrass gospel song, “One fine morning when this life is over I’ll fly Away” and “Texas Flood” By Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Remember, Pioneers took bullets; Settlers took land.
MR Blueduck
Editor and Chief
