June 2012 Weather News!
It seems appropriate to begin this month’s weather journal with a quote.
“Give me silence; water and hope”.
“Give me struggle; iron, volcanoes.”- Pablo Neruda.
Fires in the West and heat in the East dominate this month’s weather. It may seem boring but it is also startling if nothing else but the burden and stress it places on all biological life dealing with it; not to mention the financial and human toll on fighting wildfires and trying to stay cool. Toward the end of this journal you will note a very brief report that one of the largest fires may have been caused by arson. One woman even spoke of Eco- Terrorism. That was the first and last report I heard of the possibility. The Lovely Mrs. Blue Duck has said it many times about bundling up in the winter to stay warm but there is no escape from the heat when you are out in it
But you will read so much more in this exciting issue of Blue Duck Weather.
Read all the rest of the weather news happening in your community, state, country and around the world.
A fatal mistake by a preacher and a rattler, a bear attack on a camper in eastern Arizona, more fucking fires in the West, record breaking spring heat in the U.S. (spooky shit), a record boar tide brings surfers south of Anchorage, (The Lovely Mrs. Blue Duck and I had the amazing privilege to witness this with two close friends after the toss of a “magic quarter”, to see which way to go, while we were visiting Alaska), the highest toilet in Arizona, The fucking West is burning up!, How many gallons is one inch of rain on one acre of land?, The sometimes terrible results of target practicing in dead dry grass, another black bear attack in Arizona, You know it’s hot when your piss evaporates as soon as it hit’s the ground, Utah governor proclaims gun shooters are causing too many wildfires, a thirsty coyote on The Land too close for comfort, a new “sophisticated” government system to issue emergency weather alerts and more if needed (Big Brother is watching), A fire so fierce it causes thirty two thousand evacuations in one city and the official start date of the monsoon season on The Land.
The average temperature on The Land for June was 87.50 degrees. Talking Trees and Antelope Hill had 70.35 degrees.
To date Phoenix has had .36” of rain. The Land has .49”.
The lake levels are alarming, especially Roosevelt at 57% full. Mead is 51%, Pleasant 82% and Powell 64%
June was the third straight windy month in Arizona, matching April for winds. And all of the wind is accelerating drying and eventually fires.
6-1- National News: “Arizona slammed by sweltering temps, smoky haze” form the massive fire in western New Mexico. The White Water- Baldy fire
Has burned 190,000 acres and is the largest in the United States.
The highest outdoor toilet in Arizona is on top of Mount Baldy in northern Arizona at eleven thousand feet.
A seventy two year old sleeping woman in a tent near Payson attacked by a black bear. It ripped through the tent and clawed the woman while she, her husband and dog were sleeping. There was no food in the tent or immediate area to attract the bear.
A new heat record set in Phoenix of 111 degrees broke the old record set in 1997. 115 degrees in Gila Bend.
Tornado and flood alerts from Washington, D.C. to Florida. Eleven thousand are without power.
In West Virginia a preacher who followed his father’s practice of handling snakes to prove his faith in God died after being bit during an outdoor service. He was bit on the thigh by a timber rattler. His father died from a snakebite in 1983. (Don’t mess with God and snakes. You might piss both of them off.!)
6-2- A tornado in Hampton, Virginia. Downed trees and flooding in Maryland and three teens saved from drowning.
Crews dropped by helicopter into remote terrain to fight the White Water- Baldy Complex fire. (How the hell do they get out if things get bad?) The fire has burned 227,000 acres and is 15% contained.
From his secluded and remote location in Colorado RyDuck reports at two thirty in the afternoon “Storms with great lightning and a mix of rain and small hail. Doors and windows are open with a temperature of 60 degrees. Enjoy the oven.” (The bastard.)
The Gomez Fire has erupted near Silver City, New Mexico.
6-3- The White-Water Baldy Complex Fire has burned 240,000 acres in New Mexico and there are 1200 firefighters. 17% contained.
6-4- Red Flag Warning posted for northern Arizona tomorrow.
Wind driven wildfire burns in the Sequoia National Forest burning 1700 acres in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. All campers and hikers are evacuated. The Gorge Fire is the first blaze in this forest in 140 years!
An air tanker crashes fighting the White Rock wild fire in southern Utah, killing two crew members.
6-5- Complete fire ban begins in Coconino County, Arizona beginning tomorrow morning.
Farms in Iowa are covered with up to four feet of sand after the Mighty Missouri River overflowed its banks and damaged thousands of acres last year. One man has spent the last nine months pushing sand off of his farm and says it will take years.
In British Columbia officers have killed a black bear that ate the remains of a dead murderer whose body was pulled out of a car on a remote road. The bear was guarding a “cache” that contained the remains of the man.
6-6- A man and his two adult sons die after a tornado destroys their home in south east Missouri.
6-7- Six tornadoes reported in north east Colorado. Golf ball sized hail in Colorado Springs. Ten car water rescues.
RyDuck reported rain and hail all night from his secluded location.
A bore tide in Alaska, the largest of the season creates long curling waves several feet high to the joy of surfers. This tide occurred south of Anchorage drawing hundreds of spectators.
According to the NOAA this past spring in the continental U.S. was the warmest on record. There was a five degree temperature difference. This is the largest temperature difference for any season ever recorded.
A coyote kills a dog in a gated community in Phoenix this morning. (Do they actually think the gate should have kept the coyote out?)
A seventy foot long deck from last years Japan tsunami floats ashore in Oregon.
6-8- Red Flag Warning issued in northern Arizona. 50mph gusts expected and all fires are banned at the Grand Canyon.
An unconfirmed tornado cancels a high school graduation in New Jersey. Tornadoes there are extremely rare. (To me the photo of this event looked like a wall cloud, the precurser to a tornado.)
A rare tornado a quarter of a mile wide in Platte County, Wyoming. Seven homes damaged in Elbert County. Four homes damaged in Colorado by this same storm.
6-9- Dozens of home owners are evacuated from a new large fire near Fort Collins, Colorado today.
A fire touched off by lightning yesterday north of Ruidoso, New Mexico has burned ten thousand acres.
The other in the Gila National Forest has burned 275,000 acres.
Eighteen inches of rain has fallen in the past twenty four hours in portions of the Gulf Coast. Pensacola, Florida recorded 11.89 inches today!
6-10- The Comet fire has started between Superior and Apache Junction, Arizona and has burned 200 acres. It may be a stubborn brush fire fueled by winds and rugged terrain.
In one day the fire burning near Fort Collins, Colorado has grown to 22 square miles and destroyed or damaged eighteen buildings and structures. It has grown 14,000 acres in one day!
The latest fire in New Mexico is more concerning to authorities because it is closer to homes. It has grown to 40 square miles.
Flooding with up to four feet of torrential rain in Florida. Pensacole has received twenty inches!
6-11- All of Arizona is declared to be in some stage of drought. .36” of rain for the year at Sky Harbor International Airport. This is 2.85” below the thirty year average.
New Mexico and Colorado fires burn out of control. The fire west of Fort Collins has damaged or destroyed 118 buildings and 60 square miles.
Evacuation notices sent to 1800 “phone numbers.” The Colorado fire is burning 40’ a second!
The new New Mexico fire has burned 54 square miles and the governor has ordered additional National Guard troops to assist in evacuations.
The 257 fire, south of Superior, Arizona has grown to one thousand acres.
Florida declares a State of Emergency due to flooding.
6-12- There are 18 wildfires burning in 9 states.
The fire near Ruidoso, New Mexico has burned 36,000 acres and damaged or destroyed 18 homes.
5% of the High Park Fire is contained at 43,300 acres. Remains of a sixty two year old woman is found in her burned out cabin. She received two evacuation orders but refused to leave her home.
6-13- RyDuck contributes this insightful bit of weather information: One inch of rain on one acre equals 27,000 gallons of water.
The fire near Superior is 40% contained and has burned 2700 acres.
The Gladiator Fire near Crown King if finally contained after more than a month.
A new fire near Williams, Arizona has burned 600 acres.
88,000 without power near Houston, Texas. High winds and hail knocked down tree limbs into power lines.
And now an Editor’s note about June temperatures in the desert. So far, knock on my wood head, temps have not been that extreme. When morning lows are in the low seventies you know the day will not be brutally hot. When you wake up before dawn and the temperature is 90 degrees fucking look out!
6-14- The Grand fire has burned 480 acres near the Grand Canyon.
“A multi-million dollar hail storm” has produced baseball size hail pounding cars and buildings in Dallas yesterday. Hail smashed the marquee of the landmark Lakewood Theatre in East Dallas.
224 homes have been lost near Altos, New Mexico and a State of Emergency is declared due to the fire. 22 million acres of forest are infested by bark beetles.
Acapulco has been placed on a hurricane storm watch as Carlotta forms with 50mph winds.
6-15- Evacuation orders have been issued for 80 homes in northern Colorado.
The Poco fire near Young, Arizona has burned one thousand acres.
The fire near Fort Collins, Colorado has burned 52,000 acres and is 15% contained.
6-16- A few days ago I was lamenting about the relative cool June temperatures and lack of humidity. Well, maybe the NWS had some wisdom in making the official new beginning of the Monsoon season on June 15th. Out of nowhere a surge of moisture from the south raises the dew point to 48 degrees. Lo and Behold we get a severe dust storm and splattering of rain this evening. Heavy rain in Tucson with a thousand lightning strikes. This was not forecasted by anyone (including your brilliant Editor in Chief. Although it felt more humid this morning.)
And now, timely as hell, Tucson received a grant and has one of the first radio controlled boats for swift water rescues. It can travel 40mph and rescue up to six people in swift currents. The boat does not imperil rescueres. (Just hope the rubber “ducky” doesn’t get punctured by floating debris after the rescue.)
One firefighter injured in the Poco Fire near Young, Arizona. 1500 acres have burned.
6-17- The front page headline of the Arizona Republic; “Weakened by Drought, Insects, Climate Change and Misguided Management, Arizona Forests Could Vanish in a Generation. State’s Forests on the brink of Collapse.”
A Red Flag Warning is issued for northern Arizona tomorrow.
Firefighters in Arizona are focusing on protecting electrical transmission lines near a 3100 acre fire in the Tonto National Forest. The fire is 15% contained.
Crews are dealing with strong winds fighting the High Park Fire in northern Colorado. Now looting has become a problem. A thirty year old man arrested on charges of theft and impersonating a fire fighter. He was driving through the fire zone with phony credentials and a stolen government license plate. His truck was later spotted near a bar and a firearm and stolen property were found inside the truck.
Another fire in Colorado near Pagosa Springs has grown to 11, 617 acres.
The search has ended for four climbers on Mount McKinley in Alaska.
6-18- The greatest danger from Tsunami debris are micro organisms. Invasive non native species can cause an “environmental disaster. “
6-19- You know excessive heat is on the way when the Phoenix area opens water stations. The Salvation Army has opened ten with chilled water and “safety information.”
Eight more homes burned in the High Park Fire in Colorado yesterday. Despite hot windy conditions the fire is 50% contained.
Dangerous riptide currents drown a swimmer in Florida.
Tropical Storm Chris forms over the Atlantic Ocean, the third named storm of the season.
6-20- The first day of summer with a cool low of 69 degrees on The Land. With a low of 82 degrees in Phoenix the forecast high is 112 degrees.
The Poco Fire near Payson has doubled in size and smoky air descends on the entire Valley area. The fire has burned 8100 acers and crews are partly to blame for setting back fires.
The water quality In Pine, Arizona is not fit to drink. One thousand households told not to drink the water because of low water supplies and possible contamination. One woman said “I would rather be without water than electricity”. Are you kidding me? For how long?
The North East begins summer with temperatures in the 90s, some of them records. A new record in New York City with 98 degrees and Newark, New Jersey with 98 degrees.
Animals in the Lake Superior Zoo in Minnesota drowned overnight when heavy rain caused flooding and also swept an eight year old boy into a culvert. He survived but eleven zoo animals have drowned and two thirds of the zoo is under water.
6-21- The Poco Fire near Payson has burned 11,000 acres and is 15% contained.
Boston’s Logan Airport reached 96 degrees, breaking a sixty year old record. The heat wave in the North East is affecting thirty million people.
Three dead after heavy rains wash out a road in Wisconsin. In Minnesota residents around Moose Lake and Willow River are evacuated due to flooding.
Two swimmers drown in rip currents off New Jersey shore.
6-22- A man is attacked while sleeping in an unfinished cabin by black bear near Payson. The door was open to keep the cabin cool. He suffered minor puncture wounds. It may be the same bear that attacked a woman recently.
All forests in Arizona and New Mexico have complete fire restrictions.
“3200 evacuated as Utah fire explodes.” Brush fire triggered by target shooters. The Dump Fire began in Kiowa Valley at a landfill near Saratoga Springs. The fire has grown 1500 acres in one day.
6-23- Rare Crested Saguaro has been vandalized and severly mutilated with its creted top cut off in the Four Peaks Wilderness area in Arizona. The cactus is protected by federal law and only one of every 150,000 of these cactus develop the crest. (Sounds to me like a trophy or religious symbol to someone who already knew this fact, I sure didn’t know it.)
Two weeks old and the High Park Fire has has burned 75,537 acres two hundred homes. It is now the largest fire ever in Colorado.
The Dump Fire in Utah has grown to 5600 acres.
Tropical Storm Debby forms in the Gulf and Louisiana and Texas are placed on warning. Some offshore oil and gas workers are being evacuated. This is the first time in history four named storms have occurred in one month.
6-24- Another bear attack in Arizona near Payson requires a thirty year old man to get emergency surgery for cuts and bites to his head and arms. His girlfriend and oney year old escaped their tent at Ponderosa Campground.
Twenty major wildfires burning in the West with eight of them in Colorado. The Waldo Fire has erupted burning 2000 acres.
Wildfires moved in so some of Colorado’s most popular tourist destinations destroying two dozen homes near Rocky Mountain National Park and emptying hotels at the base of Pikes Peak. The fire near Colorado Springs has grown out of control to three square miles this morning. Yesterday a fire burned 21 structures near the community of Ester Park, Colorado.
Utah’s governor proclaims “Gun shooters cause too many wildfires. “ Twenty blazes have been set off by shooting this year.
Florida and Alabama are placed uner Tropical Storm Warnings today.
60mph winds and eight to ten foot waves in Florida with the worst flooding since 1993. FEMA is urging all residents to heed warnings.
6-25- Two bears hunted down in the Tonto National Forest and shot to death in light of the recent attacks near Payson, Arizona. (Guilty by appearance?)
Arizona’s U of A and the Climate Prediction Center say an above average monsoon season is upon us. “Scientists say the monsoon is tough to pin down because Arizona sits on the northern fringes of the North American monsoon region, which leaves room for other forces to influence conditions.”
Late yesterday afternoon I took some garbage out. Not fifty feet away was a coyote apparently coming in to get a drink of water from the dog buckets under a mesquite tree. I don’t know if the coyote smelled the water but our two dogs were on him like a coon chase. They made a valiant effort to catch up with the fast running yote but he outran my poor dogs. I watched them until they were out of sight. Thankfully my dogs came dragging their asses home before they dropped dead in the heat.
Slow moving Tropical Storm Debby strikes Florida with drenching rain today. Its slow progress means the most pressing threat is from flooding and not wind. A State of Emergency is declared.
6-26- Three illegal immigrants found dead from heat exposure south of Tucson, Arizona.
I have to hand it to local channel 12 and their new storm chaser program. They put an idiot crew of three in a car to chase dust, rain and flooding. One of the members is a veteran from chasing hurricanes in the mid west. (Have fun guys. You have no idea what you may be in store for.)(Mrs. Blueduck however points out that they have to have a cell signal to report….good luck with that one in remote areas during a dust storm!)
108 degree forecast for Denver, Colorado. 1600 homes evacuated from the fire near Colorado Springs and a new fire has erupted near Boulder.
The three thousand acre Pony Fire is burning in Montana with not containment.
Debby makes landfall with twenty inches of rain in portions of Florida. Thirty inches of rain in northern Florida. I-10 is closed both ways. The famous Sky way bridge is closed. Live Oaks, Florida is 80% under water. One river has risen 20 feet in twenty four hours. Entire state under Emergency declaration.
6-27- Massive wall of dust heading from Maricopa, Arizona to Phoenix with two dust storms merging. A Dust Storm Warning is issued until 8:00 p.m.
The fire near Colorado Springs sends “2 mile wall of flame down ridge.” Thirty two thousand evacuated. The fire has doubled in twenty four hours and now has consumed 24 square miles. “Fire Storm of Epic Proportion”. Flames exploding past fire breaks, I-25 jammed with for hours with evacuees. The President will tour the fire zone later this week.
“Extreme heat roasts Central Plains.” One thousand records have been broken.
Debby is gone but four confirmed dead. I-10 in Florida closed for three days and may open tomorrow. Rivers from the flooding will not crest until next month.
One hundred dead in Bangladesh floods and 250,000 people are stranded.
6-28- The Waldo Fire near Colorado Springs has forced 35,000 people to be evacuated, 346 homes and thirty five streets destroyed. It is 10% contained and 29 square miles have burned.
Hill City, Kansas the hottest in the nation at 115 degrees, eight degrees above previous record.
Storm text alerts coming via NWS with new wireless Emergency Alerts. “A sophisticated government system with blanket warnings to mobile devices” of which may include messages from the government other than natural disasters (? )
6-29- The third day in a row with the dew point average of 55 degrees. June 27th was the first day of the monsoon season.
Second body found, 347 homes are gone near Colorado Springs from the Waldo Canyon Fire. Arson may be to blame.
Washington D.C. hits 104 degrees, shattering a 138 year old record.
Indianapolis hits 103 breaking a 78 year old record. Nashville is 109 degrees and hotter than Phoenix.
One third of the country is under a Heat Advisory affecting 113 million people.
Flash floods across Britain and Ireland have submerged homes and roads and cuts off main railway links to England and Scotland. Twelve flood warnings were issued yesterday alone.
Flooding in India has displaced 850,000 homes and 90% of a wildlife sanctuary is submerged in water.
6-30- The Poco Fire near Young, Arizona has burned 12,000 acres and believed to be human caused. It is 85% contained. But now focus has turned to the Cottonwood Fire burning in the Coronado National Forest. Caused by lightning it has burned 10,500 acres.
The Canyon Fire near Winslow, Arizona caused by lightning has burned 1000 acres.
Six fires in Utah threaten hundreds of homes.
The Waldow Canyon Fire is now thirty percent contained with ten thousand still evacuated.
After a major, freak windstorm caused by heat air conditioning units and power out to 1.5 million Washington, D.C. homes. The storm has been described as the largest non hurricane event.18 deaths are tied to the storms and heat. Atlanta hits 106 degrees, breaking an all time record.
1600 heat records are broken this week alone.
Chimps drag a 26 year old lecturer a half mile severly injuring the man at a South African sanctuary. He is in critical condition.
It was exhausting just to write this account of fires and record heat. Can you imagine how thousands of firefighters feel? Please salute them. They put their lives on the line to try and protect our homes and save our forests. Their jobs are every bit as valuable and necessary as soldiers and policeman.
With enough said the song of the month is “Pray for a Cloudy Day” by Gary Primich.
Humbly yours, The Honorable, Distinguished M.R. Blue Duck.
