June 2008 Weather News!
To celebrate the joys of summer, beginning with this weather report, we have included a totally depressing new feature; only here will you find the number of days the temperature met or exceeded one hundred and ten degrees! Ah, but your fine staff at Blue Duck Weather are always looking for new ideas and bold ways to present you the mind boggling weather events of our State, the United States and the world at large. Not only will we track the number of excessively hot days, we will include daytime averages which exceeded one hundred degrees! Yes that’s right; only here at Blue Duck Weather. As the days cool to a mild one hundred degrees we will also point out the number of days each month has. Hopefully this utterly depressing report will end by November.
We enjoyed a mild Spring with measurable rain in May. It did not start to get really hot until the second week in June. Our collective balls were scorched as black as your outdoor bbq charcoal with a jet blast of searing heat. You poor Bastards in the Phoenix Metro. area had fifteen consecutive days of one hundred and ten degrees or more. The Beloved Land had nine days, nonconsecutive. However, on June 23rd the average temperature at The Land for the day was one hundred and one degrees. The average number of days of one hundred and ten degrees for the entire summer are ten days. The record was thirty two days set last year.
The “new “ monsoon season began on June 15th and will end on September 30th. That’s right my fine readers, no lawsuits can be filed now by some “unknowing” motorist swept down a flooded wash. No longer can he/she rant and rave how she wasn’t warned and it is all the fault of the National Weather Service by God! Your humble staff at Blue Duck Weather will still use the tried and true thinker’s way of the beginning monsoon. We remain true to scientific reliability and not the winds of the current “Here you go, one size fits all, don’t sue my ass if a telephone pole falls on your car.”
The first day of summer brought a sight never witnessed by your fine Editor in Chief. I was squatted by my desk, window blinds open
, doing homework and research. I glanced out the window and saw a “dog” sitting in the shade of a huge mesquite tree not forty yards from my window. It did not look like one of my squatty, lazy ass dogs. The beast was long and with very pointy ears. Immediately I determined it was a coyote, hot enough and brave enough to get this close to the nest to cool off. I armed myself with a camera. Needless to say, he bolted, but I got a shot anyway.
The Big weather story of the month was and is the massive flooding in the Mid West. To be honest with you your faithful Editor in Chief could have worked on this story day and night. The reports coming in were nonstop. I have done my best to chronicle day to day events as they occurred. Some are calling the aftermath of the heavy rains the Katrina of the Mid West. Some four million acres, much of which was fertile farm land, were flooded. Cedar Rapids, Iowa was called the city that could not flood, pointing back more than a hundred years of surviving massive rain. The town was all but under water. As of this writing “The Big Muddy” is still moving its massive muddy overload south to the ocean. Saint Louis, Missouri was only spared due to levee breaches upstream.
With enough quacking about the general state of the weather let’s get right to the amazing weather facts for the month of June;
The average temperature the first of June on the Land was 84.50 degrees. The average last day of the month temperature was 92.50 degrees.
The beginning and end temperatures at Talking Trees and Antelope Hill was 64 degrees and 67.50 degrees.
The average humidity at The Land was 20.95 percent and the dew point was 40.83 degrees. No Sir, there is no sign of the monsoon season yet, contrary to popular media.
The average wind speed was 6.85mph. Note, this is the third windy month for the state, a result of the fronts moving to the north and east later causing havoc in the Mid West. These windy months are drying out the West to more than tinder conditions. The fires are already on a deadly increase, especially in California.
There was no rain for the month at The Land. However, on June 25th, RyDuck reported measurable rain in Gilbert. His ducklings were quacking and waddling joyously in the mud. The total rainfall for the year at The Land stands at 3.50 inches.
The big mud puddle totals are listed below. Please note on very good side that Powell is finally coming up. It is due to the heavy snow pack in the northern states this past winter; Lake Mead is at 44%, Powell is at 57%, Roosevelt holds its own at 96% and Pleasant 86%.
6-2. Fourth day of ozone pollution advisory in Phoenix; most consecutive days in three years. “Non indigenous “ (what a joke) ozone carried from Los Angeles due to jetstream.
6-3. Endangered Ca. Condors being found with lead poisoning. Lightning sparks fire in storage tank in Kanas City, Missouri. A month after cyclone one million in Myanmar not getting basic aid.
6-4. Tornado in N.E. Colorado. Heavy rain in Virginia, D.C., and Maryland. Thirty thousand without power and two killed.
6-5. 88 degree high in Phoenix! Twenty one tornados reported from Central Texas to Minnesota. Twenty two thousand acre wildfire burning in North Carolina, sparked by lightning. Evacuations taking place. One half billion pounds of fish caught daily from world oceans. The coveted tuna can bring one hundred thousand dollars.
6-6. One hundred degrees predicted for East Coast this weekend. Tornado touches down in Minnesota. Fifteen tornados spotted in the Mid West.
6-7. Red flag warning due to high winds in northern Arizona. Ten inches of rain in Indiana. Forty one counties declared disaster areas. Indianapolis has forty thousand residents without power. Lack of shelter latest concern for Myanmar cyclone victims.
6-8. MR Blueduck rescues Daddyduck by throwing a snake out of his house with gloved hands. (It was too dangerous to shoot in the house.) Lightning strike injures five at a park in Connecticut. Severe heat alert in New England; 12-25 degrees warmer than normal. Tornado in Nebraska. Herd of cattle trapped in Indiana floods. According to the International Red Cross tens of thousands of bodies from the Myanmar cyclone will never be identified.
6-9. Rivers in the South and Wisconsin have jumped their banks, states of emergencies in one hundred separate counties; ten dead. One third of Indiana flooded with ten thousand evacuated. Iowa River crests at record height. New heat records from South Carolina to New York. More UN helicopters delivering aid to Myanmar Delta that was cut off by typhoon.
6-10. One thousand acre brush fire near Sacramento, Ca. Injures firefighter and nine homes destroyed. Dam threatened by flood waters south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. One hundred and fifty six miles of the Mississippi River closed to barge traffic due to flooding from Iowa to Missouri. Levee breaks in Illinois. Scientists discover monkeys in Indonesia that know how to fish. Caribean Monk seal becomes extinct. King snake found wrapped around infant leg in New York.
6-11. More rain in Iowa. Evacuations take place in Cedar Rapids. Tornado strikes Boy Scout camp in Iowa, killing five. Five separate fires in Ca. Fourteen hundred people evacuated in Santa Cruz, New Mexico fire. Deaths from East Coast heat wave reach seventeen. Two climbers rescued off Mount Rainer, third dies. Red flag warning in Northern Arizona, mid twenties for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Ten thousand pregnant women in urgent need of care after Myanmar typhoon.
6-12. Two major fires burn eight thousand acres and threaten homes in Northern California. Thirteen tornados spotted near Wichita, Kansas. High in Casper, Wyoming 56 degrees. High pollution advisory issued for Phoenix area.
6-13. Cedar Rapids hospital closes due to flooding, Police department relocates. Electric throughout city shut off. Railroad bridge collapses and homes completely submerged. Humboldt fire north of Sacramento, California ten percent contained at twenty thousand acres.
6-14. University of Iowa power plant shut down due to flooding. Des Moines River still hasn’t crested. Ozone pollution advisory in Phoenix.
6-15. NEW FIRST DAY OF MONSOON ACCORDING TO THE NEW STANDARDS AS SET FORTH BY THE NATIONAL WEAHTER SERVICE AND A BEAURACRAT NEAR YOU.
6-16. Missouri communities getting ready for flooding by the flood waters from the Big Muddy downstream of Iowa. Fifty seven killed in Southern China floods; one million expected to flee. White rhinos on brink of extinctions. The record in the Valley of the Sun was 115 degrees in 1974. The record low was 54 degrees in 1907.
6-17. Twenty nine county disasters declared in Iowa. So far forty thousand people have been displaced by Midwest flooding. Levee breached in Gulf Port, Illinois. Flood waters are toxic with diesel, pesticides and raw sewage. One million tons of barge traffic blocked daily, corn and grain not moving. St. Louis worries about record flooding. Flood of 2008 will go down as worst ever. Scores of Panda bears survive China earthquake as Panda Reserve was near the center of the quake. There are only sixteen hundred Pandas left in the world. Study finds that chimps console one another with kisses and hugs. Early signs of monsoon moisture in Gulf of Mexico.
6-18. Twenty two levees in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois breached. President Bush asks for 1.8 billion dollars as disaster relief. “The Big Muddy is foul and fierce.” Iowa pigs who swam through flood waters are shot to protect levee. Sixth anniversary of Rodeo-Chediski fire; four hundred and sixty thousand acres burned puts it as the largest fire in Arizona history. Eighty eight degree record high low in Phoenix. New Mexico beginning to get thunderstorms. Bear wanders into Indiana McDonalds.
6-19. Thirty more levees threatened and sixty thousand acres flooded in Missouri; two billion dollars in crops lost. 120 degrees in Death Valley, California. 117 degrees in Parker, Arizona.
6-20. First day of summer; seven days in a row of 110 degrees or warmer in Phoenix. Five hundred acre fire burning near Oakland, Ca. Highway 1 closed, six homes burned and two thousand people evacuated. Five foot long alligator found in Chicago River, probably a discarded “pet”.
6-21. 115 degree record set in Phoenix today.
6-22. Lightning has sparked five hundred fires in Northern California. Six hundred acres burning in the Catalina Mountains near Tucson. Mississippi River continues to rise but worst may be over. Seventy thousand acres in Lincoln, Missouri under water. Cleanup continues in Rapids City, Iowa. One hundred and thirty seven people killed in Phillipine typhoon, seven hundred and forty missing as ferry capsizes.
6-23. Tenth day of one hundred and ten degrees or above in Phoenix. Two fires burning near Tucson. City of Phoenix considering requiring seventy five percent of all sidewalks to be shaded. (Editor’s note; this is a fine, dandy idea. If they wouldn’t have cut down the trees to place the sidewalks they wouldn’t have to worry about it. What a novel idea!) Canadians want to allow Polar Bear sport hunting.
6-24. Central Californians evacuated from fires. The Big Muddy has yet to crest in Mississippi. Head NASA scientist warns Congressional committee of more oil drilling and use. He also says to dump coal power. We are at the verge of not recovering the world’s climate due to fossil fuel emissions.
6-25. Lightning sparked fire burning in Avondale, Arizona, threatening homes and evacuations on the Gila Indian reservation. Rincon fire near Tucson up to thirty five hundred acres. Fifteen hundred acres burning in Apache Sitgraves Forest. Dust storm warning in Phoenix. White Tank fire south of Tucson at seven thousand acres. Five hundred homes in Big Sur, California threatened by fire. Seven inches of rain in Missouri in four hours. The record high in Phoenix was one hundred and twenty degrees in 1990.
6-26. All time record high in Phoenix 122 degrees in 1990. Flights cancelled due to extreme heat. Ethan fire in Avondale up to twenty four hundred acres. Severe thunderstorm warning issued for Tucson.
6-27. Ethan fire down to twelve hundred acres. Fire near Big Sur has grown to fifty thousand acres. One thousand fires burning in California. Burrowing muskrats cause levee to break in Missouri, three thousand acres flooded.
6-28. President Bush declares a State of Emergency in California. Two hundred and fifty thousand acres have burned in Northern California. Drought in California worst in a hundred years. Ethan fire in Avondale blows up to fifty four hundred acres after firefighters thought they had the upper hand. Levee breaks in Winfield, Missouri; hundreds of homes in four feet of water. Parts of Omaha Nebraska may be without power for a week after storm blows through. North Pole could be ice free this summer, the first time in recorded history.
6-29. Crown King fire in Arizona breaks out, forcing evacuations of the tiny town in the Bradshaw Mountains. It is up to four hundred acres and thought to be caused by lost hikers starting a signal fire. Ethan fire sixty five percent contained. Severe thunderstorm warnings in Safford, Arizona with sixty five mph winds. Alaskan bicycle rider attacked by Grizzly sow while she was on a twenty four hour competitive ride near Choogach National Forest.
6-30. Lane 2 fire near Crown King up to four thousand acres. Several homes burned and power shut off to town. Fifteenth straight day of one hundred and ten degrees or higher in Phoenix. Five year old killed when strong winds blow over air-show tents in Huntsville, Alabama.
As your fine Editor in Chief compiled this month’s weather news it occurred to him that the fires in California was every bit as devastating as the flooding in the Midwest, even more so. Land can recover quickly from flooding if it is not turned into a infertile dump site by chemicals. The economic loss of crops is devastating but the perspective here is purely for the land’s sake. Fire damage takes years and years to repair. It is a mute point however because both are the forces of nature by what we have little or no control over.
You saw brief accounts of last month’s Myanmar tragedy still trickling through the news report. Understandably the tragedies in the United States took front center. No matter how you view it the forces of Nature here or around the world are uncontrollable. Our only hope is the damage and loss is minimal.
The Mighty Broaduck has two sensitive, intelligent and thought provoking quotes to add to your reading pleasure this month. “There are moments in life that are special because of what they are and who they are shared with; however these same moments can be just as special alone and experienced with one’s own mind.” Here is the other deep quote; “The most important purchase a married duck can make is a big comfortable couch, because inevitably, you will be sleeping on it over the course of your marriage. So just because you’re in the doghouse with the misses doesn’t mean you have to be uncomfortable.”
The song of the month is “Dire Wolf” by the Grateful Dead. Find it because it is pertinent.
Thank you for making this weather journal the success it isn’t. Hurry and place your order for a BlueDuck Weather News T-shirt. They are free while supplies don’t exist.
Remember, Pioneers took bullets. Settlers took land.
MR BlueDuck
Edtor in Chief
