February 2009 Weather News!


Yes, I know this month’s exciting edition is late. Cards, letters and emails have been pouring in by the thousands expressing grief and anxiety for the missing in action weather report. But have no fear my faithful readers. Your fine Editor in Chief and his lovely Mrs. BlueDuck enjoyed a relaxing respite from the hectic day to day living and pecking of ducks. I chased wild pigs while Mrs. Blueduck fed apples to a curious raccoon and thousands of peanuts to bluebirds and squirrels. Mrs. Blueduck has a curious bond with nature while all of nature runs terrified from yours truly. I can’t imagine why given my close “connection” to weather and all it has to offer. After all weather is nature.

In this exciting edition of Blueduck Weather News you will learn that while much of the nation is blanketed by heavy snow and severe cold, states such as California, Nevada and Texas are shriveling from severe drought. And good news abounds as you will read that Roosevelt Lake in good old Arizona is at one hundred percent capacity. Water is being released to keep the fucking dam from bursting at the seams. And as always there will be unusual animal reports such as the man busted for smuggling pidgeons in his pants.

The warm up is on the way as temperatures at The Land were seven degrees warmer at the end of the month than the beginning of the month. Talking Trees and Antelope Hill temperatures were 7.5 degrees warmer.

The average temperature at The Land for February was 53.84 degrees. The average for Talking Trees and Antelope Hill in New Mexico was 35.10 degrees.

The average humidity at The Land was 46.10 %. The average dew point was 30.69 degrees.

The average wind speed for the month was 4.43mph. The wind chills shown by the math that would stagger Einstein are as follows; 59+8= 58 degrees, 41+8= 35 degrees, 54+6=50 degrees, 60+10=56 degrees and 34+2= 32.50 degrees.

The total rainfall for the year at The Land is .61” with a half inch happening in February.

Lake Mead is 46% full, Powell is at 53%, Roosevelt is at a record 100% (since the dam was increased in height) and Lake Pleasant is at 85%.

As you have been longing for here is the day by day weather statistics for the month of February;
2-1-09. Most of Arkansas and Kentucky still without power from recent storms; Red Cross sets up shelters.
Geologists are monitoring Mount Redoubt in Alaska for signs of possible eruption of a volcano. A hole was noticed in a glacier on the north side of the volcano. Underground warming has caused the melting ice to double overnight into the size of two football fields.

Vultures have dropped off previous populations by ninety nine percent. Ingesting drugs used for dairy livestock to blame.

2-2-09. Seven degrees warmer than normal in Phoenix.
Power in portions of Kentucky may not be restored for another week due to ice.
Rare four inches of snow in London. Parks closed because of slippery sidewalks when all the locals want to do is play.

2-3-09. Twelve degrees above normal in Phoenix.
National Guard finds ninety two year old woman surviving ice storm in Arkansas. She was sitting in a shack by herself miles away from any road warming herself by a wood burning stove. The old lady broke out in tears and smiles when food and water was delivered. (Editor’s note; this is the grit true country people are made of.)

Fifty years ago today Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper were killed in a snow related helicopter accident. Waylon Jennings declined to be on the flight and decided to drive.

Australian man arrested for smuggling live pigeons in his pants and violating “wildlife transport” laws.

(The duck is obsessed with carrying pigeons this way)

Elephants throw buckets of beans at handlers in Tokyo.

2-4-09. A twenty three foot, one hundred and thirty pound “domestic” python captured after escaping owner’s home in San Luis Obispo, California. Authorities say there are no leash laws for snakes. (Are you kidding me?)

Population of snakes in Florida Keys. Thousands of Burmese Pythons are present after a few were let go by owners ten years ago. Mail carriers on the look out for these huge snakes, (I would rather deal with a fucking dog!)

Man who sprayed fox urine on kids now charged with a felony for wearing military night vision goggles when he did it. (Editor’s note; you read it here first when first reported. We just didn’t know how sick the dude is.)

2-5-09. Twelve degrees above normal in Phoenix. Officials urging rabies shots for pets in Flagstaff, Az.

Freeze warnings concern tomato growers in Orlando, Florida.

Antarctic meltdown would flood Washington, D.C.

Moose on the loose in Utah suburb; 850 lb. animal tranquilized and moved back to forest.

2-6-09. Winter storm warning in Mohave County, Arizona.
Record high of seventy one degrees in North Platte, Nebraska.
Flooding in Los Angeles, California.

2-7-09. Winter weather advisory for elevations above 6000’ in Arizona. Winter storm warning for Mohave County. Rain falling at one inch per hour in Yuma. Water will be released from Roosevelt Lake as early as this weekend to make room for runoff from a series of storms in Arizona high country.

A mile wide ice flow breaks away from Lake Erie’s shoreline in Ohio. One hundred and thirty fishermen trapped for as long as four hours. One man fell into water and drowned. Ice was two feet thick but rising temperatures and winds up to 35mph pushed the ice.

Southeast Australia burning with wildfires as temperatures reach one hundred and seventeen degrees and high winds. This is the worst fire season since 1984 and twenty five people have died. Seven hundred homes have burned and the cause of the fire may be arson.

2-8-09. 1.38 inches of rain in Scottsdale and east central Phoenix. Winter storm warning for the Rim country, eight inches of new snow in Flagstaff.
Entire towns have been engulfed by flames in Australia. One hundred and eight people dead, some burned in their homes and cars during the deadliest blaze in Australian history.

Siberian husky thief steals rawhide bone in Utah grocery store.

2-9-09. Interstate 40 closed between Flagstaff and Kingman due to heavy snow. Highway 87 closed between Payson and Strawberry due to snow and low visibility. Blizzard conditions in Flagstaff with sixteen to eighteen inches of snow on top of a foot already accumulated by last storm.

Snow in Saint George, Utah at an elevation of 2500’.
Australian wildfires claim one hundred and sixty six lives; some found burned to death in their cars as they tried to flee wind driven fires.

2-10-09. 2.64 inches of rain in Rio Verde, Arizona. 14.1 inches of snow in Flagstaff, a new record for one day.
Two confirmed tornados near Oklahoma City.

Strong winds knock out power for half of a million people in France.

2-11-09. Southern Oklahoma tornado yesterday kills eight people.

Koala bear rescued in Australian wildfires. Historic video shows firefighter giving it a drink from a water bottle. The bear’s feet were badly burned but the bear is expected to survive.

2-12-09. Strong winds topping 60 mph blew from the Great Lakes to the East Coast knocking out power to hundreds of thousands and kill five people with wind blown debris.

2-13-09. February tornados are rare in Oklahoma.
New record in Augusta, Maine with a temperature of fifty below zero.
Plane crash that killed fifty people in upstate New York may have been caused by ice on wings.

Australian man charged with setting one of the fires that killed more than one hundred and eighty people and destroyed eighteen hundred homes.

2-14-09. Snow levels drop to 3500’ in Arizona. Winter storm advisory for Flagstaff and the White Mountains and winter storm advisory for Mohave County. 185” of snow for this season in Flagstaff. The average for Flagstaff for entire season is 200”.

2-15-09. Winter storm watch for Mohave County, Az.

2-16-09. “Biggest storm” of season in California. Portions of Interstate 5 closed. Santa Barbara prepares for evacuations due to mud slides.

2-17-09. Yesterday’s storm in the West extended from Mexico to Washington State. Six inches of snow in Sierra Madre, California and flood rescues in San Diego.

Connecticut woman in critical condition as friend’s two hundred pound “pet’’ Chimpanzee attacks her.

2-18-09. Two campers found dead in Forest Lakes, Arizona. They were using a charcoal barbeque in the closed cab of a truck to stay warm.

Los Angeles begins water rationing in May.

Australian authorities place helicopters on standby to evacuate resident north of Sydney from floodwaters. Meanwhile fires continue to burn in the south with two hundred confirmed dead.

Chinese government takes credit for first snow fall of the winter in Beijing. They fired sticks of chemicals into the sky to “seed” clouds. Four hundred and twenty six cigarette size sticks of silver ioxide were fired from twenty eight “weather” rocket launch sites. This year is China’s longest drought in thirty eight years.

2-19-09. One dead and sixteen hurt as tornados hit Georgia and Alabama.
Landslides follow heavy rain in Bolivia.

2-20-09. The record high on this date in Phoenix was 87 degrees in ninety seventy seven. The record low was twenty seven degrees in 1955.

2-21-09. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials to stop surface water delivery to farmers in Sacramento, California for two weeks beginning March 1st due to the drought.

2-24-09. Melting snow near Sedona at Beaver Creek causes ATV riders to be rescued after they tried to cross. Couple held onto tree for two hours before being rescued.

(thanks twink duck)

Fifty car pileup near Jackson, Michigan due to snow and whiteouts. Snow all the way down to central Tennessee and seven inches of snow in Wisconsin.

2-26-09. Ten inches of snow in Seattle, Washington. Northern Plains experiencing bitter cold with wind chills dropping temperatures to twenty below zero. Four inches of snow in Chicago per hour.
Polar experts issue melting ice warnings and faster melts than predicted at the Arctic and Antarctica.
Drought worsens in northwest China.

2-27-09. Combined lake levels in Arizona average ninety seven percent full.

California declares drought emergency. Urban water use needs cut by twenty percent. Reservoirs are at lowest levels since 1992.

The National Guard is pulling out of New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.

2-28-09. Record snowmelt raises Roosevelt Lake to one hundred percent capacity.

Three tornados in Arkansas and West Virginia.

A new feature has been added to this month’s exciting Blueduck Weather. The Honorary Ryduck is the contributing reporter for weather signs as predicted by Mother Nature herself.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows”

will be demonstrated in this issue and future issues of this staggering weather report. So to my fine readers worldwide, here is the first installment.

“Check the grass, tent, or canoe bottom for dew in late evening or early morning. A heavy dew at either time indicates eight to twelve hours of good weather.”

The quote of the month from the Mighty Broaduck is

“Kids, they amaze you one minute with how they learn and then stupefy you the next by eating sand. Our children are our future; we’re screwed.”

The song of the month is “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor.

We hope you have enjoyed the latest edition of Blueduck Weather News. Remember Pioneers took bullets, Settlers took land.

Professor MR Blueduck.