March 2010 Blue Duck Weather News

March 2010 Weather News!

Spring is in the air, Alfieeeeeeee! What is that old saying about March coming in “like a lion and go out like a lamb”? I think it should be coming in like a Turkey vulture and going out like a waddling duck. Yes, indeed spring is here. I would like to take a moment to mention that the Lovely Mrs. BlueDuck and the DooderDuck both have March birthdays so we can officially call them spring ducks!

Although all calendars recognizes the beginning of spring on March 20th, the actual beginning date in Arizona was March 16th. On that day there were equal amounts of light and darkness. Isn’t that amazing? Just a taste of all the amazing information you will find in this digest of weather facts and strange behavior by animals and humans (if you want to call people humans.)

You will also read about the continuing effects of the wet winter in Arizona. The Salt River still has all un-bridged crossing closed and there were as many water rescues on the Gila River in the west valley than anywhere in the state. But March also brought a big warm up and we all know what that means. Whether is was at 1150’ above sea level (The Land) or 7400’ above sea level (Talking Trees and Antelope Hill) there was a nineteen degree warm up from the beginning to the end of the month. And now we will have all of that melting snow up north to deal with also.

In this “it will stagger you out of your mind” edition of BlueDuck Weather you will read why shark attacks were down in the past year, a pissed off Emu, A monkey that cannot be caught but has a Face book page, more Arizona wildlife rabies incidents, even more news about the controversial wild Mustang roundup, Tornado Alley beginning in the South, a man who smuggled songbirds in his pants, a moose attack in Manhattan, New York, rattlesnakes are back in Arizona after a long cool winter, why it may be an extreme hurricane season, snail mucous, historic flooding predicted in the North East and the Mid West, a storm with no name that had hurricane force winds, a dog that didn’t want to be rescued, a skunk that tangled with a peanut butter jar, one hell of a sandstorm, why you should shake your shoes out before you put them on, where the worst pollen count in the United States was, and attempted resuscitation on a very dead Opossum and much more!

The average temperature at The Land for March was 60 degrees. The average for Talking Trees and Antelope Hill was 45.79 degrees.

The average humidity at The Land was 45.79% and the average dew point was 33.45 degrees. There was fog on March 1st and the humidity was so high it recorded as
.01’’ of rain.

The average wind speed was 6.72mph.

The Land received .68’’ of rain in March, bringing the total to 3.37’’ for the year.

Roosevelt Lake is at an all time high of 101% capacity. Pleasant is 95% full. Poor old Mead and Powell just can’t “get it up” for nothing. Every time I report the levels they almost always seem the same; 43% and 57% respectively.

3-1- Roosevelt Lake is officially full, weeks before it begins to receive snow melt. The entire Salt River Lake system is 98% full.

Ice from last week’s storms have broken through the glass atrium at the Sony Building in New York City. Ten people injured.

Shark attacks are down 30% in the past year. A bad economy with lack of tourism and vacationers touted to be the main reason.

78 tons of dead fish have washed up on the beaches in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Scientists are baffled as to why.

3-2- The storm that battered Europe two days ago has left 62 people dead. Half of the French death toll attributed to a breach of a seawall where ocean water surged up to the roofs of some homes.

In New York a snowplow may have moved the cover of a sewage pit. A teenage doughnut shop worker fell in and drowned while taking out the garbage.

Four snow boarding teens were rescued in Maine after becoming lost. They survived a 22 degree night in the deep forest by moving around to stay warm.

3-3- Arizona is experiencing the 4th strongest El Nino weather pattern since 1950.
The Arizona Department of Transportation is auctioning off vehicles to help pay for snow plowing a road repairs from two months of storms. They have to raise an additional four million dollars.

Snow falls over much of Georgia with hundreds of flights cancelled in Atlanta.

Due to hard freezes during January and February in Florida there are tomato shortages throughout the United States.

Waves over 20’ high batter a cruise ship off the Coast of Brazil shattering windows and killing two people.

Thick rivers of mud buries three villages in Uganda, killing 80. 250 people are missing.

A huge Emu was running loose on I-10 in Texas tying up rush hour traffic. When deputies tried to restrain the animal it attacked them. “The Emu died en route to a animal control shelter. The cause of death was unknown”. (Editor’s note: you have got to be kidding me. Police officers with night sticks, mace, tasers and guns and the cause of death is unknown?)

3-4- 45mph winds in Flagstaff.

10% of France’s sixth thousand miles of seawalls considered at risk after being pummeled by recent storm waves.

Uganda children were buried by mudslides when they were told to take refuge in a church.

3-5- A 30 lb. Rhesus monkey on the loose in Florida has managed to escape capture by wildlife officers, trappers and police. But yesterday the monkey is on Facebook called “Go Monkey Go” & “Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay.”

A Gray fox that attacked a dog in Yuma, Arizona last month tests positive for rabies.

3-6- The Mid West is getting ready for severe flooding with heavy snow melt. The National Weather Service issued a statement that severe flooding could occur as soon as two weeks from now. The ground is already saturated and it could affect people along the Red, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In Fargo, the chances of major flooding is predicted at 90%, record flooding 19%.

The warmest day at The Land since November, 76 degrees.

Uganda floods and mudslides displace 20,000 people. Rescuers have recovered 92 bodies buried by mud.

Extreme recent weather around the world blamed on the fourth strongest El Nino weather pattern ever.

NASA launches a 500 million dollar weather satellite.

3-7- There is 100% chance of rain for most of Arizona today. (Editor’s note: when you are camping this prediction is dire and foreboding to say the least as some of us know.)
Winter Storm Warning above 5000’ also.

BLM buys 7500 acres of range land in New Mexico to protect the Prairie chicken. (Editor’s Note: Goddamnit! When did the Bureau of Land Management get into the animal conservation business? All they have been doing for a hundred years is leasing land so that the slovenly bovine can tramp, eat and shit on every square foot of ground in their paths. There is something more here than meets the beady eye ByGawd!.)

A bear at a Wisconsin zoo bites off the fingers of a woman. She ignored barriers and warning signs to feed the animal. “Alcohol played a factor.”

3-8- 19 days of rain so far this year in the “Valley of the Sun.” As of today Phoenix has received seven months of rain in two months. There is street flooding in Scottsdale and the north west valley.

“Car pollution linked to rainy weekends.” Two ASU researchers claim that pollution builds up during the week the tiny particles released in the air suppress rain. With less traffic on the weekends it rains more. (Get a life!)

Landslides block Colorado’s Highway 75 with tractor trailer sized boulders.

Heavy snow in parts of Germany caused an avalanche that killed a back country hiker in the Bavarian Alps. Seven others were killed in weather related auto accidents with two thousand wrecks reported over the weekend.

A tropical bird known as the Kingfisher has been spotted and documented at the Nature Conservancy’s Hassayampe River Preserve in Wickenburg, Arizona. The bird has never been documented this far north.

The 1100 mile Iditarod Trail sled dog race begins in Alaska today.

Two years ago Americans were outraged when the federal government threatened to kill 10,000 Mustangs in the West. Secretary Ken Salazar announced that the Obama administration would not carry out the Bush policy to eliminate the “living symbols” of the West. Now Salazar has continued the controversial practice because managing herds is costing “The American taxpayer millions of dollars.” The conflict is headed to court on April 30th. Wild horse advocates will argue with the Interior Department and BLM that they are violating a 1976 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act. (Sounds like this bill was passed by a bunch of pot smokers. Far out!)

3-9- 70mph winds in Apache Junction, Arizona. A Flash Flood Warning is issued for Maricopa County. A Winter Weather Advisory is issued for northern Arizona. There are complete whiteout conditions in Flagstaff. A missing hiker went for a walk in Munds Park last night. The car is found but not the hiker. She left her vehicle to walk her dog at an overlook. Searchers are concerned about extreme cold conditions.

A twister hits Hammon, Oklahoma destroying five buildings but no injuries. The Nation usually has 70-100 tornados by early March. Only 42 have been reported and a record of only one in February.

A California sea lion has become the first killed this year for eating salmon. This is the second year of a program administered by wildlife officials in Oregon and Washington. (This is fucking ridiculous! If a salmon is to a sea lion what a bird is to a cat what is the use, train them with death?) Mrs. BD adds, Where are the protestors for this one?

A man smuggled 14 live songbirds from Viet Nam to Los Angeles in his pants. The birds were wrapped in cloth and strapped to his legs and ankles. They could have sold for four hundred dollars each. If he pleads guilty to the charges he can be facing twenty years for illegally transporting wildlife. (I think he should plead insanity.)

A woman in Manhattan has filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court. She claims that a moose head fell off of a bar wall and struck her in the head. She said the moose caused “chronic neck pain, anxiety, fatigue, dizziness and severe personal injuries including embarrassment.” ( Why don’t they just give her a lethal injection of Prozac?)

3-10- The body of a missing woman found a mile from her car near Munds Park, Flagstaff. Her dog was found alive. Hypothermia is the cause of death as the woman scattered clothing that she removed as delirium set in and a false sense of being warm.

The first rattlesnake bite of the season reported in Tucson.

3-11- There has been nine straight days of snow in Flagstaff with 15.7’’ in Munds Park. Ninety four days of snow this season ties the record for third.

Severe weather for the East Coast. Tornados and 10’’ of rain possible. Heavy snow in South Dakota and Nebraska. There is rain from the Mid West to the Carolinas.

The 2010 hurricane season could be extreme with two or three landfalls along the U.S. Coast. The reasons are a weakening El Nino pattern (?) with warmer temperatures in the ocean where storms form, weakening trade winds and higher humidity levels. Warm waters and high humidity favor the development of tropical storms.

3-12- With eleven feet of snow this season, Flagstaff has more snow than Anchorage, Alaska or Buffalo, New York.

One killed and three hurt as tornados touch down in Arkansas. Appliances from one house blown 750’ away and debris found two miles farther. Baseball size hail fell in Texarkana. Golf ball size hail fell in Louisiana.

Eleven rare Siberian tigers die of malnutrition in a Chinese zoo that couldn’t afford to feed them. The huge cats were only fed chicken bones.

A teacher in rural Chignik Bay, Alaska was killed by animals according to an autopsy. The body had been dragged off of the road and surrounded by wolf tracks.

3-13- Four horse riders and three horses rescued in the Gila River after three hours near Buckeye, Arizona. One of the horses had to be put down after getting tangled in brush. One horse is still trapped on a sand bar. A helicopter will drop hay as the owner is weighing options how to rescue the horse.

Tropical storm Huber kills 14 and affects 32,000 in Madagascar.

Tornadoes damage 28 condos at golf resort near Haines City, Florida.

Kazakhstan flood kills 30 and destroys a village of 3000. A dam in neighboring China burst unleashing water 6.5’ high.

Dozens of hungry and sick sea lion pups have washed up on Southern California beaches this winter. Many have died and El Nino ocean warming makes the pups main food, squid scarce.

“Devotees of a Miami man who claims to practice a traditional African religion say they were sickened when the drank the mucous of a giant African snail." (NO SHIT...mrs. bd)

3-14- One horse is still stranded on a sandbar near Buckeye on the Gila River. A hay drop by air was blocked by FFA restrictions. The owner of the horse is trying to hire a helicopter with a harness to get the horse out.

Strong winds with heavy rains slams New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Wind gusts of 61mph leaves 500,000 without power. New Jersey declares a State of Emergency.

North Dakota and Minnesota residents saw record flooding last year and may see it again. The National Weather Service reports the Red River rising to 38’ by the end of the week. That would be 20’ above flood stage and 3’ below last year’s record. The crest had not been expected until early April.

Three people on snowmobiles may have touched off a deadly avalanche in Revel stroke, British Columbia. Two people were killed and thirty injured as snow came crashing down on two hundred people gathered for a stunt riding contest.

A Boulder City, Colorado man walked out of a half way house sentence and poached a black bear. He’s going back to jail for six years.

3-15- Portions of I-17 will be closed periodically south bound from Sunset Point to Black Canyon City, Arizona for the next two weeks. Work will be done to prevent rockslides from saturated hills next to the freeway.

A storm with no name still causing havoc in the North East. A nor’easter generated more phone calls than the 9-11 attacks. 250,000 people still without power.

3-16- “Colorado”, the horse that has been stranded on a Gila River sandbar has been rescued by a donated helicopter and makes national news.

More rain cripples portions of the North East with flooding and power outages. Eight inches of rain has fallen in parts of Massachusetts. This state along with Connecticut and Rhode Island have declared States of Emergencies.

The National Weather Service reports that a third of the United States faces a high or above average flood risk this spring. “We are looking at potentially historic flooding…” The highest threat is in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa.
The factors that play into “eminent flooding” are:
1.) A snow pack containing more than 10’’ of liquid water.
2.) Milder temperatures in March that speed up snow melt and runoff.
3.) Above normal stream flows.
4.) December precipitation that was up to four times above average.
5.) Ground that is frozen up to three feet below the surface.
The current snow pack is among the top ten since the 1940’s.

36 dead and 38,000 homeless by Tropical Storm Huber in Madagascar.

Although Michigan is known as the Wolverine State the last remaining one discovered dead by hikers.

According to the United Nations the world has failed “miserably” protecting tigers in the wild. Twenty years ago there were 100,000 tigers in Asia. There are now only 3200 in the wild.

3-17- A kayaker has to be rescued out of the Gila River near Buckeye. The river is flowing at 8900cfs, as fast as 1993.

Major flooding from high country snowmelt possible in Arizona. Moisture levels are 300-400% above normal! With the weather warming and desert lakes already full the runoff from snowmelt alone could supply a year’s water for the entire Phoenix area. This represents 326 billion gallons of water.

California has received enough rain to free up water for parched farms and cities around the state. Some of the richest farmland has been sitting idle for three years due to drought and federal water restrictions to “protect native fish.”

In Fargo the rising Red River passed major flood stage today. The mark was hit when it topped thirty feet above flood stage. Residents and the National Guard are stacking sandbags.

100,000 people still without power in the North East from last weekend’s storm with no name. Eleven were killed and thousands in homeless shelters.

Fiji cyclone damage “overwhelming” according leader. The extent has not been determined because communications have been cut off for days. Cyclone Thomas had winds of 130mph at the center and outflow winds of 170mph.

In Farmington, New Mexico an injured German shepherd walks into an emergency room with a puncture wound.

A 67 year old country musician spent four days in his Cadillac stuck in a snow bank in Montana. A couple who decided to go four wheeling came upon his car. The lady asked him what he was doing there and the man replied “dying.”

3-18- Good old “Copa” (the new Maricopa) finally has their weather station up and running on one of the high school buildings. Now “officials” are trying to get local news channels to accept their weather data. They are butt hurt because weather forecasts often ignore Copa. (Editor’s Note: they ain’t got nothing’ on BlueDuck Weather!)

A man is swept away in the Verde River near Strawberry, Arizona. The river flow is five times higher than normal. He drowned after loosing his footing trying to rock jump across the river.

An eight year old dog named Koozie had to be rescued twice from the breaking ice in Lake Erie, New York. A helicopter with a crew member lowered in a basket pulled the dog off the ice. After returning to shore the dog trotted back out onto the ice.

Cheetahs make a return in Angola for the first time in thirty years since the now ended civil war devastated their habitat.

3-19- Rafters rescued from the Gila River near Buckeye, Arizona.

Federal disaster aid coming to northern Arizona communities hard hit from December and January’s storms. The Navajo Reservation has been declared a disaster area by President Obama.

Roosevelt Lake at its highest level ever. Releases would fill an average size swimming pool per second.

Two women on an afternoon walk in north Phoenix are swarmed and stung by bees. Both women are in critical condition and a man who tried to help also stung.

A major storm will dump a foot of snow in areas of Colorado on this last day of “official” winter.

Two wolves suspected of killing a teacher in Alaska did not have rabies. The animals suspected of the attack were shot and tested for the disease.

3-20- The Maricopa County Sheriffs’ Office is urging the public to stay away from swift water crossings. In the past week there have been twelve rescues.

An Arizona Game and Fish employee has been fired for trapping the only known living jaguar in the United States. The cat was snared between Arivaca and Nogales, Arizona. It died as a result of health problems after being trapped.

Snow hit’s the Great Plains on this first official day of spring. Yesterday the temperature was in the 70s. Wind gusts of 40mph and blizzard conditions could make this potentially a “life threatening storm.” A State of Emergency is declared in Oklahoma.

A million sandbags have been stacked along the Red River in Fargo as residents way to see how high it will get.

The biggest sandstorm of the year blankets northern China. Grit may travel as far as the western United States. China’s expanding deserts are the cause. They have been caused by overgrazing, deforestation, urban sprawl and drought. ( Does this sound familiar?)

3-21- The Gila River is running eight times higher than normal from snowmelt.

A jaguar will be returned to Sonora, Mexico after life saving surgery at the Phoenix Zoo. The zoo has had the animal since 2008 after he was illegally captured and his teeth badly damaged.

The Red River crests without major damage in Fargo.

One inch of snow in Dallas, a half inch away from the all time record for a winter season.

The Mighty BroadDuck reports from Michigan that it has been in the sixties all week but the past two days have had highs of only 38 degrees.

Sixty thousand people are without power after Cyclone Ului slams the coast of North West Australia with winds of 124mph.

A Colorado wildlife officer pried a peanut butter jar off of a skunk’s head without getting sprayed. The officer received a call that the skunk was in somebody’s front yard and appeared disoriented. The officer freed the skunk by tying a noose pole to the jar and pulling.

An avalanche kills one snow mobile rider on Eagle Pass in British Columbia and another avalanche kills two skiers at Wells Gray Provincial Park.

3-23- A record .52’’ of rain for this day was recorded at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. None to a trace was predicted.

Scorpion bites are on the increase in Arizona. The number one thing to do to prevent bites is to shake out ones shoes before putting them on.

RyDuck reports that six to eight inches of “spring snow” forecasted tonight for his domain of Colorado.

A freak storm hits Perth in western Australia with flooding and 75mph winds. It caused a collapsed roof at a hospital and an airport. This area has had a dry summer with no rain for months. (Yes my faithful readers, it is summer in this part of the world.)

With sandstorms that hit Beijing, China last week the most serious level of air pollution was reached there, “Level 5.” Record pollution levels were registered in Hong Kong. 1240 miles away.

3-24- Prescott, Arizona has the highest pollen count in the Nation today.

One woman in Phoenix is stung by “thousands of bees”. People within a quarter mile of the attack are told to stay indoors.

The search is on for a dog killer after one is poisoned in Ahwatukee, Arizona.
Heavy snow closes Denver Airport with nine inches of snow. Two feet falls in Jefferson County and Colorado Springs receives three inches in forty minutes.

3-25- Wind Advisories posted for northern and eastern Arizona.

RyDuck reports “fifteen inches of the wettest, concrete heavy snow he has ever shoveled.”

New Moore Island in the Bay of Bengal has completely submerged under rising seas. India and Bangladesh have been arguing for thirty years who has control of the island.

Parts of Greenland and Antarctica have experience four degrees of warming in the past ten years according to NASA scientists. Ice melts in these regions are increasing dramatically.

A severe dust storm covers part of Nigeria. This type of weather has usually ended by February and some blame global warming.

Gorillas in central Africa are in danger of becoming extinct in fifteen years. The causes are illegal logging, mining and hunters killing for meat.

A coyote on the loose in Manhattan for days is finally subdued and caught.

3-26- For weeks the National Weather Service has been issuing flood warnings for the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers because of heavy snow melt.

3-27- Five people are stung by bees in west Phoenix.

Emergency wells are being drilled and cloud seeding in southern China. The worst drought in decades has left millions with little water. One thousand schools have closed for lack of drinking water. Since last year crop and livestock losses have amounted to 3.5 billion dollars.

A Pennsylvania man was charged with being drunk in public after he was found trying to revive a very dead Opossum on the side of the road with mouth to mouth.

A Pit bull mix is going to obedience school after attacking, chewing a tire and pulling off the bumper of a police cruiser in Chattanooga, Tennessee. (to view attack go to Utube)

Heavy snow again in the Colorado mountains and Denver. Wind chills are in the teens for all of New England.

A tornado reported in North Carolina leaves a hundred and fifty mile swath of damage in its path.

A Bald eagle that was shot and left for dead on a Texas ranch six months ago was released back into the wild yesterday. A bird conservancy removed a shotgun pellet from the bird’s thigh. A wing was badly damaged and three surgeries were performed. (Editor’s note: let me guess, six months ago would have been dove season. What fool would mistaken an eagle for a dove? One who doesn’t care and just wants to shoot or a blind fool!)

There may be grasshopper infestations of “mythical” proportions this summer in Wyoming, Montana, South and North Dakota. (I was there for one of these when I was 10...it was by far one of the creepiest things I have ever seen. You couldn't take a single step without stepping on 10 of them...and they crunched..hung in your hair. YUCK...won't catch me there on vacation. Mrs. BD)

3-30- A Wind Advisory is posted for all of Arizona tomorrow.

The North East is experiencing the wettest March on record. Flood Warnings are issued from Rhode Island to the Carolinas. Meteorologists warn of possible “life threatening” situations due to flooding rivers.

3-31- 50mph winds in Flagstaff and snow level drops to 4500’.

Rhode Island governor says the flooding is the worst in a century. President Obama issues a State of Emergency for the entire state.

Fourteen inches of rain has fallen in Boston this month, breaking the previous record of eleven inches.

I would venture to guess that Mrs. BroadDuck never reads BlueDuck Weather. If she did she would not be swimming with her mate in some gilded pond with tranquil settings. She would be gone with her brood of ducklings and he would be swimming in a sewer reclamation pond. But given to his spurts of “genius” here is his latest offing: “Women are like popsicles and beer, the cheaper they are the better.”

From the elusive RyDuck in his remote location deep in the mountains of Colorado, “ Mosquitoes and flies swarm and bite more than usual twelve hours before a storm, two hours before they quit biting at all. And ants become more active before a weather change.” (You better get ready my friend, mosquitoes and summer are on the way for the high country.)

The quote from the serene and peaceful TwinkyDuck is quite appropriate for March, known as the windy month. “The all time Arizona wind record was recorded at Deer Valley Airport during a microburst on August 14, 1996. Wind gusts up to 115mph were recorded and caused a 160 million dollars worth of damage.”

If I am fortunate enough to continue to send you these fantastic journalistic endeavors for months to come, and you are unfortunate enough to continue reading them, you will read lines I stole from an amazing book. “The River Horse, Across America by Boat” is the true story of two friends who pilot continuous rivers from the mouth of the Atlantic to the mouth of the Pacific. I have had a romantic notion for the past five years or so to raft or boat the Verde River from its spring beginning somewhere near Prescott down to the convergence of the Salt River. The Verde is a river I truly love dating back to my boyhood. And the Verde River, sadly, is a river that will be probably dry like most of the rest in this state. But enough sentimental foolishness. Here is your line for the month: “For a canal or river traveler, there is no such thing as a detour.”

The song for the month is fitting for this life in the desert. “Cactus Flower” by Kevin Deal.

Until next month you can rest assured, Pioneers took bullets. Settlers took land.
Professor MR BlueDuck