Blue Duck Weather - August 2011 - Special Anniversary Edition

August 2011 Weather- Special Anniversary Edition.

What began as a simple journal to record temperatures at The Land and 6400 feet higher in New Mexico has turned into the mindless monster Blue Duck Weather has become. My sole purpose (in the beginning) was a microscopic look at “global warming” as evidenced by the average temperatures recorded in a single year in two different geographical areas, one home to me. After four full years of weather keeping I was amazed at the temperature decline on The Land and a bit alarmed at the temperature climb in the high country. Being in the open desert The Land has some respite from the “urban heat island” effect of Phoenix. Also 2008, when this experiment began was one of the hottest years on record. What has caused the increase in temperatures in New Mexico at our other properties is a mystery to me unless heat rises. The only problem with this theory is there are no “urban heat islands” within two hundred miles from Talking Trees and Antelope Hill.

2008- The average temperature on the Land was 77.21 degrees, New Mexico 67.51 degrees.

2009- 71.36 degrees and 49.15 degrees.

2010- 71.16 degrees and 48.25 degrees.

2011- 69.04 degrees and 50.43 degrees.

There are some changes beginning with this new and exciting edition of Blue Duck Weather. We have decided to omit the boring statistics of humidity, dew point, average temperatures from beginning to end of months, wind and barometric pressure. (I mean who really gives a shit?) Average temperatures for the month, rainfall and lake levels will continue to be a fine feature of this exciting weather news however.

Tropical storms, both in the Atlantic and Pacific popped up like flash cards in August, so quickly one would begin and die out while another was being reported to spawn. And then along came Hurricane Irene.

Much has been said about how “overblown” this weather event was by the media and the warnings. However in a region of the U.S. that rarely receives hurricane activity and the damage associated with it Irene ended up in the top ten of major financial natural disasters. From a weather reporter’s view your damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Not enough warnings and thousands could be killed, too much and it’s all called “hype.”

Other points of interest in this month’s Blue Duck Weather are heat related injuries and deaths in the Phoenix area, record heat around the country, Federal charges filed against two cousins for accidentally starting the largest fire in Arizona history, more effects this much later from the BP oil spill, a piece of a doomed space shuttle found in a receding lake in Texas, Polar bear attack, Arizona utilities get a hand slap for mishandling the record cold of last February and two outdoor concerts that become weather nightmares.

The average temperature on The Land for August was a sweltering 94.70 degrees, with one day with an average of 100.50 degrees. At Talking Trees and Antelope Hill the average temperature was 70.06 degrees.

The Land received a dismal amount or rain, .09 inches with a yearly total of 2.71 inches. Phoenix has received 2.62 inches for the year.

Our two big lakes of the desert are showing the effects of lack of rainfall this year. Pleasant is down to only 48% full and Roosevelt has shrunk to 75%. Mead is still rising at 48% and the largest lake in the South West, Powell is at an impressive 76%.

And now let’s get to the weather reporting for the month that you hunger for:

8-1- July was the hottest on record for Oklahoma City, Washington, D.C. and Wichita Falls, Texas.

The body of a Wyoming deputy who jumped in the North Platte River to rescue a girl last week has been found. The girl survived but the man was swept away in the river flooded with snowmelt. (This my faithful readers was a Hero.)

Last night’s storms knocked down power poles in the Phoenix area. State’s computer mainframe also knocked out by power surge. 675 people are still without power today in this brutal heat and humidity.

8-2- Excessive Heat Warning issued for Maricopa County for the next three days.

Chili’s Atacama Desert, the driest region on earth received four years of rain and snow in one day. Three feet of snow fell in an area that normally receives zero precipitation during the southern winter. 400 people are rescued in snow drifts with 50mph winds.

8-3- Seventy three percent of Arizona at risk for water shortages.

The temperature in 18 states is above 100 degrees. Dallas has had 33 days in a row with temps over one hundred.

A piece of the space shuttle Columbia which broke apart during re-entry 8 years ago has been found in a lake drying up in Texas due to the prolonged drought.

8-4- More violent storms knock out power in the Phoenix area last night and 500 hundred still without electricity.

Regarding the recent heat wave in the Dallas and other areas one Weather Chief says “I can’t remember any year with the magnitude and length of this heat wave.” In the last two days 15 cities have had all time highs, mostly in the South and Central U.S.

8-5- The Wallow burn area in Alpine and Nutrioso, Arizona is experiencing extreme flash flooding.

Arizona highway 261 reopens 63 days after the Wallow Fire. Crews repaired guardrails, cleared debris and reseeded the 18 mile stretch in the White Mountains.

Coconino County, Arizona is offering free weather radios to residents east of Flagstaff prone to flooding. These radios give weather information faster than conventional radio and television news.

A 64 year old woman visiting the Grand Canyon with a tour group dies when lightning strikes the ground near her. Five others received minor injuries. Grand Canyon officials recommend people seek shelter if thunder is heard within 30 seconds of seeing lightning.

8-6- The flooding in Nutrioso, the sixth in two weeks, has destroyed one home in the Wallow Fire burn area. Less than one inch of rain caused the flooding due to lack of ground cover.

The Arizona Game & Fish Department is warning people not to hike or hunt in burned out areas due to burned out trees that might fall unexpectedly and unstable ground.

A lightning caused wildfire has burned 8,000 acres in northern Arizona in the past three days. The New Water Fire fueled by grass and brush quickly spread to the Grand Canyon National Park. Containment is hoped for in two days.

In Wyoming the BLM is backing away from a plan to capture and castrate wild horses. Instead they will use a birth control drug on mares to reduce the growth of wild horse herds.

A polar bear has attacked a group of British students camping near a remote Arctic glacier in Norway. A 17 year old was killed, four others injured before a group member fatally shot the bear. Two of the four injured are in very serious condition.

8-7- Seventy six mile per hour winds clocked in Tucson today during a Dust Storm Warning.

The body of a California man has been recovered nearly three weeks after he was swept over a waterfall at Yosemite National Park. Recovery teams spotted the body two days ago pinned against a boulder 240’ from the base of the fall. Searchers lowered down from horizontal ropes crossing the river to recover the body. His two missing companions have not been found.

400,000 of coastal residents in eastern China have been evacuated as Typhoon Muifa bears down. Thousands of ships were called back to port yesterday.

Tropical Storm Emily dumps heavy rain in the Bahamas but is dying out.

8-8- The New Water Fire near the Grand Canyon is contained at 10,000 acres.

Heavy rain causes a mudslide killing seven in an “indigenous camp” settlement in Malaysia.

65’ waves from Tropical Storm Muifa threatens a Chinese chemical plant. A dike near the plant has been breached and one official said “If the breach cannot be blocked up, toxic chemicals will spill.”

8-9- Lightning caused Beale Fire has grown to 2,000 acres near Williams, Arizona.

Heat Advisories are posted in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Residents in Kemp, Texas are without water as the city’s tanks go dry.

8-11- Arizona wildfire headline: “Nearly one million acres of forest and grassland have charred, surpassing 2005 as the worst year on record.” The record was set yesterday by the fire near the Grand Canyon.

The 18 mile McMicken Dam has protected the west valley in Phoenix area communities since 1956. It was built to protect Luke Air Force Base from flooding. It will begin a ten year 98 million dollar “face lift.” The dam begins north of Sun City and stretches south through Surprise and unincorporated areas near Luke.

“In parched west Texas it’s often easier to drill for oil than to find new sources of water.” Years after diminishing water supplies communities are starting a plan to turn sewage into drinking water. The city manager in Big Springs, Texas (it probably once had big springs) said “Any water is good water as far as I’m concerned.”

8-12- Arizona Game & Fish offficials have tracked down and killed a mountain lion that wandered across a Prescott golf course. Residents of the area were “concerned.” A Game & Fish supervisor said “protocal directed the decision to put the animal down because the agency does not remove and relocate mountain lions.” ( There is something horribly wrong with this.)

Three quarters of Texas “unprecedented drought” driest past ten months ever in a century of record keeping.

8-13- Finally some rain in parched north and west Texas. The town of Del Rio received four and a half inches of rain in two hours! ( Flash flood city I can only imagine)

Tropical Storm Franklin forms today northeast of Bermuda and is strengthening.

8-14- Five die and dozens injured when an outdoor concert stage collapses at the Indianapolis State Fair. Sugarland was set to perform and the first band had already finished their set. 70mph winds were reported at the scene.

A new Tropical Storm forms. Gert will brush by Bermuda tomorrow.

8-15- New York City receives an all time record amount of rain in one day, eight inches.

How clean are the waters a year after the BP oil spill? Four hundred dolphins have died and infant mortality is high. Dolphins are being captured by scientists and tested for lung function and neurological functions, tagged and released.

8-16- All time daily records set for rain; Philadelphia five inches and 3.51’’ in Cleveland. Flood Warnings are still in place for New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.

Amtrak closed rail service through Baltimore due to water on the tracks.
Nineteen public beaches are closed in Long Island due to bacteria from storm drain runoffs.

This weather system was the same one that collapsed the concert stage in Indiana, killing five, three days ago.

Food prices are spiking in the U.S. due to floods and drought. Corn prices hit record highs in June.

Medics treat nine with two hospitalized in Tempe, Arizona. The idiots were painting the “A” for ASU on the infamous hill when they were overcome by heat. There were even misting stations, a half ton of ice, and cold water on site for them!

Almost half of the sacks of grain and other foods meant for starving drought stricken Somalis are being stolen and sold in markets. (Where I ask is humanity?)

A nineteen year old student visiting from Japan is swept over Niagra Falls and presumed drowned. She climbed over the railing and straddled it holding an umbrella. She then lost her balance. ( What an awful final photo shoot if that is why it happened.)

8-17- Heat and overuse causes 700 water main breaks in Houston in one day. This is the 15th straight day of 100 degrees or higher breaking a record set in 1980.

Lightning strike injures eight people at Sea World’s Discovery Cove.

One school began on time in Joplin, Missouri after the devastating tornado destroyed schools three months ago. The local high school was destroyed but reopened today with all of the eminities in a vacant big box store.

Tropical Storm Fernanado forms in the Pacific today 1400 miles southeast of Hawaii. It could become a hurricane by tomorrow.

A joint task force from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission warned south western electric and natural gas companies need better winter preparations after last February’s bitter cold left tens of thousands without gas to their homes. The problem affected 65,000 SRP customers and 19,000 South West Gas companies in Arizona. Most SRP customers had power restored in hours but some gas customers were out of service for days. “Shedding electricity or gas load in the winter places lives and property at risk” according to the task force.

Dozens gathered to mourn the death of a 45’ gray whale in the Klamath River in California. She had been stranded for over a month. The whale swam into the river with its newborn calf in June. The calf swam out to sea after it was weened on July 23rd.

8-18- Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for Maricopa and Pinal counties in Arizona. 45-60mph winds recorded in the Sun Lakes area.

Intentional fires are set to try and containe the Beale Fire near Williams. The fire has burned 3900 acres.

A storm slammed into the Belgian open air music festival as the American band Smith was performing. The musicians were spared but three people were killed and seventy injured.

Hurricane Greg gains strength in the Pacific. (Hell, I didn’t even know it formed as a tropical storm and what the hell happened to Tropical Storm Fernando?)

8-19- Arizona makes national news with yesterday’s weather: “Third Haboob hits Phoenix this summer.” 70 power lines knocked down, flights delayed at Sky Harbor, 60mph wind gusts in the south valley near SunLakes. However Eloy was hit the hardest. One roof top air conditioner torn off and ended up in a neighbor’s yard. One home had its entire roof torn off including the trusses. For that to happen winds had to be 113-160mph, the same as a F-2 tornado. One resident said it “felt and sounded like a tornado.” One business sustained a quarter of a million dollars worth of damage and the junior high school was damaged. Microbursts suspected but not confirmed.

It was so hot and humid yesterday the Lovely Mrs. Blue Duck reported that all out door activity was cancelled for her little quacklings at school, the first time in two years that she has been teaching there. (this went on every day for 10 days)

Heavy rain and flooding in the Schultz Fire burn area near Flagstaff. Although that fire happened over a year ago the ground is still scarred and unable to absorb rain causing massive runoffs. There is a Flood Advisory for Gila and Yavapai counties.

8-20- Enough rain has fallen in southern Arizona fire works ban has been lifted in Santa Cruz County.

An unconfirmed tornado reported in Marinette County, Wisconsin leaving one person dead. The storm dropped hail two inches in size.

The flash flood that engulfed a city street outside of Pittsburgh yesterday came “out of nowhere”. Drivers were overwhelmed as water rose up to nine feet deep on Washington Boulevard. The area received 2.1” in an hour. But an earlier storm the same day meant the area was flooded with three inches of rain. Eighteen vehicles stranded with eleven water rescues. Four are killed.

Tropical Storm Harvey forms in the Atlantic off the coast of Honduras and makes landfall in Belize.

8-21- Excessive Heat Warning issued for Phoenix for the next four days. And with that said I shot a rattlesnake literally at our back door today at three thirty in the afternoon! 105 degrees and the bastard was looking for a place to cool off. The door stoop was shaded and the beast must have felt the cool on the other side of the door, the wrong side for his slithering ass!

The Beale Fire in the Kaibab National Forest has grown to 5600 acres. Most of the growth is due to back burning.

The flood that overwhelmed a city street two days ago in Pittsburgh killing four is now being called a “fluke.” The heavy rain overwhelmed the city sewer system just as rush hour traffic jammed low lying streets. Washington Boulevard is lined with hills and the road slopes downward. When heavy rain hits water rushed in from three directions. The low lying area was once a creek bed. ( All the engineers in the world cannot change natural drainage. They plan for it, alter it, divert it but sooner or later water takes its course.)

In the Atlantic Tropical Storm Irene heads toward Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands causing heavy rain and winds that closes airports and floods the Leeward Islands.

8-22- Phoenix ties the record of 113 degrees

The first twenty days of this month have been the hottest on record for August in Phoenix. The average twenty four temperature has been 96.8 degrees and the average high has been 107.2 degrees.

The monsoon in Arizona, or lack of it, is not helping the drought. 98% of the state is abnormally dry or experiencing some level of drought.

Hurricane Irene pounds Puerto Rico and a State of Emergency is declared. One million people are without power.

Forty seven are dead and tens of thousands displaced in India’s west Bengal state due to monsoon flooding.

8-23- Record 114 degrees in Phoenix.

With excessive heat in Phoenix 70 scorpion stings were reported in twenty four hours. Bugs are looking for cooler temperatures, crawl into homes and scorpions follow them to eat them.

A 31 year old man in the west valley was barely breathing and unresponsive Sunday afternoon after collapsing while hiking a rugged area in the Estrella Mountains. Hiking with three other men they started at six a.m. When they were returning about noon the man collapsed. The group ran out of water and did not have any protection against the sun such as hats, pants and long sleeved shirts.

Temperatures of one hundred degrees and above In Oklahoma City for the 51st day this year breaking a record set in 1980.

North Carolina orders tourists to leave with the probable approach of Hurricane Irene. The growing storm is 700 miles wide.

8-24- The average twenty four hour temperature at The Land 100 degrees, the first of this long miserable summer.

Two cousins in their mid twenties face Federal charges for starting the Wallow Fire on Memorial Day weekend, the largest fire in Arizona history. They went for a hike and left the fire unattended. Both men claim to be avid campers and had their fire ring in an open, well used area. One man said he thought the fire was out since he threw a candy wrapper on the coals before the two set out for their hike. He said it did not burn or even begin to smoke and melt.

A seventy year old Surprise, Arizona woman is the latest victim of the brutal heat. After she died the temperature in her home was 107 degrees. An air conditioning technician had been at her home the night before she died. He wasn’t able to complete the repairs and offered to have the woman placed in a hotel. She did not want to leave her cat. When he arrived the next morning she did not answer the door. The cat survived.

The Excessive Heat Warning in the Phoenix area has been extended for two more days.

Hurricane Irene is now a Catogory 3 storm and on path toward the eastern U.S. It has 120mph sustained winds blowing two hundred miles from its center. There are twenty communities flooded and 12,000 in emergency shelters in the western Cuba and the Bahamas.

8-25- A new record high of 113 in Phoenix with a record high low of 92 degrees.

Sixty million people are in the path of Hurricane Irene. According to the Weather Channel “no one has seen a good model to divert storm.” This may be the hurricane of a “lifetime” for the Eastern Seaboard.

In preparation for Irene the U.S. Navy has ordered the Second Fleet in southeast Virginia, including the Norfolk Naval Station, to leave so ships will be safe. Yesterday’s order applied to 64 large vessels. Ships at sea can weather storms better in large storm surges with high winds.

8-26- Hottest recorded August temperature ever recorded in Phoenix today; 117 degrees. Excessive Heat Warning extended for three more days.

As Irene approaches President Obama makes a statement about being prepared, mandatory evacuations begin in New Jersey’s Cape May County. New York City is doing two things never before in history for a weather event; mandatory evacuations of all low lying areas and tomorrow at noon all mass transit will close. (That means if you are on the street without a ride you could well be fucked even if the storm doesn’t hit; in New York City without a ride?)

Irene is the size of Europe. Eleven states have declared emergencies, there is a extremely rare Hurricane Warning posted for NYC and Amtrak cancels rail service from Boston to Florida.

Flash floods triggered by heavy rain kills 16 in a village in northwest Pakistan. Several others are missing.

8-27- A seventy five year old Glendale, Arizona man is found dead in his home after no one had heard from him in a few days. The temperature in the house was over one hundred degrees and the air conditoner was blowing hot air.

A 1700 acre fire, called the Tortilla Fire, is burning in the Tonto National Forest near Highway 88 and Fish Creek. The fire started by lightning is being monitored for resourse purposes. (?)

The latest with Hurricane Irene: Two killed and 500,000 without electricity in Virginia, 2.5 million are under evacuation orders, 300,000 in New York City. Three are dead and one missing in North Carolina, 115 mile per hour winds and seven foot storm surges, and a surfer killed by huge waves in Florida. The East Coast is a “solid wall of red hurricane warnings today.”

The bands projecting from Irene extend from North Carolina to Canada. Boston and New York City canceling all air travel for the first time in history due to a weather event.

Authorities across the Balkans have issued emergency heat warnings. Temperatures in the capitol of Podgoreia reached 106 degrees two days ago, in the captiol of Bosnia, 113 degrees.

8-28- Excessive Heat Warning in Phoenix extended for two more days.

Storms knock out power in Dateland, Arizona yesterday and seventy still without electricity.

Irene dropped a foot of rain on North Carolina and Virginia yesterday. 1.5 million people without electricity. The storm is weakening but still has 50 mph winds.
Today Irene moved to New England as a Tropical Storm. An eight foot storm surge sent flood water flowing into lower Manhattan.

In total four million without power, eighteen dead and ten thousand flights cancelled. This storm has threatened 65 million, the largest number of Americans ever effected by a single storm.

Newly formed Tropical Storm Jose is moving past Bermuda, the 10th named storm of the season.

8-29- “One hundred year flood” in Vermont from the effects of Irene. Five all time record crests in Vermont rivers.

Five million still without power in the affected states. Two hundred roads are closed.

With a 112 degrees in Phoenix today and the relentless heat wave utility companies are showing some mercey and not shutting off power for non payment of utility bills.

Fire crews are fighting ten fires started by lightning along the Arizona, Utah border. The largest is 2,000 acres.

One hundred are evacuated as fire burns outside of Yosemite National Park. It began when a motor home caught fire. It is 35% contained at 4600 acres.

Residents evacuated as Typhoon Nanmadol hits Tywan with 68 mph winds.

8-30- Heat Warnings for Phoenix extended for two more days.
The 650 Fire is burning in the Superstition with 50 acres consumed. It began with a lightning strike.

Eight hundred acres have burned near Globe due to a lightning strike.

3.3 million still without power from Hurricane Irene. The death toll is up to 41 in twelve states. Food airlifts are being conducted for ten Vermont towns cut off by flooding.

Flooding from Hurricane Irene in northern New Jersey today and hundreds are evacuated. There have been 700 boat rescues in that state today.

There have been 66 major natural disasters in the U.S. so far this year and the Federal Disaster Fund is running out of money.

Tropical Storm Katia is forecast to become a hurricane by the end of the week.

Wildlife officers are trying to capture and kill a grizzly in Yellowstone National Park after it killed a 59 year old hiker.

8-31- Irene now falls into the top ten most costly natural disasters of all time at 12 billion dollars of damage. 300,000 still without power.

President Obama to tour ravaged Patterson, New Jersey. This state already had its wettest August on record before Irene came.

Tropical Storm Katia nears hurricane force with 70 mph winds.

In Morro Bay, California fifteen brown pelicans have died with huge puncture wounds in their chests. State Game & Fish officials speculate that the birds may be injuring themselves on rocks as the dive for bait fish.

And there you have it for the month of August my faithful loyal readers. The song of the month and the quote of the month are the same. “Goodnight Irene” is a bluegrass traditional standard done by many artists. My favorite happens to be by Leon Russell.

“Sometimes I live in the city.
Sometimes I live in the town.
But when misfortune and misery hit me
I believe I’ll jump into the river and drown.
Good night Irene, good night Irene.
I’ll see you in my dreams.”

Until the next Irene blows you over remember Pioneers took bullets. Settlers took land.

The world renowned distinguished Professor MR Blue Duck.

July 2011 Blue Duck Weather News

July 2011 Weather News!

It’s that time again with another amazing edition of Blue Duck Weather! The big weather event was oppressive heat from Texas to Canada. At one point it affected thirty four states and one million square miles. Record highs and record high lows were shattered like hundreds of toothpicks falling out of a box. States with generally mild summer temperatures had temperatures with heat indexes that made Phoenix look mild. The humidity on top of one hundred degree plus temperatures had many towns with one hundred and fifteen degrees and higher. New York City shattered a record for the most electricity used in one day. Texas used so much power that rolling blackouts were threatened to conserve electricity.

As you will read New Mexico experienced its largest ever wildfire, just one month after Arizona.

Bear sightings and attacks seemed to increase in July. You will read about a deadly grizzly encounter in Yellowstone and a deadly black bear encounter right here in Arizona. You will also read about a grizzly spotted in an area that no grizz has been seen in fifty years. And you will read a first hand account of a black bear sighting in the wilds of Montana.

Also as you read deep into Blue Duck Weather other amazing reports will surface. What happened to the seven American fishermen lost in the Gulf of Mexico when their boat capsized? The last report was the Mexican government was extending the search and rescue operation and after that nothing else was reported.

You will also learn of the Montana oil spill in the pristine Yellowstone River and the aftermath, the heart breaking worst humanitarian crisis due to drought, massive chicken and turkey deaths due to heat in the U.S. (no word on ducks; they know how to stay cool), white bark pine tree facing extinction and three tourists who ignored guardrails and plunged over a raging water fall in Yosemite

But first let’s get to the boring statistics: The average temperature difference on The Land was 4.50 degrees warmer at the end of July than the beginning. At Talking Trees and Antelope Hill it was 9.5 blissful degrees cooler at the end of the month than the beginning. The average temperature at The Land was 91 degrees, the average at 7400’ in New Mexico was 67.25 degrees.

The average humidity at The Land this month was 34.87 percent, the average dew point just under monsoon of 54.33 degrees.

The Land received 1.56” of rain this month. The total for the year is 2.44”. With half of the year gone we have a long way to go to reach our “average” annual rainfall of about 8”.

You will read later that Lake Powell is recovering nicely from the ten year drought and the benefits for the piss hole Mead downstream. But Pleasant and Roosevelt Lakes are shrinking, the biggest water suppliers for Arizona agriculture and hydro electricity. Pleasant has shrunk to 67% and Roosevelt to 79%.

For the past few months your fine staff at Blue Duck Weather has been supplying barometric pressure readings for our local migraine headache suffers. In this edition you will find out empirical data by a doctor that concludes that the monsoon and rapid pressure readings brings on more headaches than at any other time.

And now let’s give you all the weather news that fits.

7-1- For the first time ever all electronic message boards along Arizona highways this weekend will warn of fire bans across the state.

New Mexico’s Los Conchos Fire has burned 93,000 acres and is a U.S. priority one fire.

A small Texas town uses “witching” to find water. The town’s only supply of water is a river nearly dry.

“Witching is a centuries old practice used mainly in rural areas to find underground water. Many farmers walked their property holding sticks or rods that they believed moved and crossed over each other when water was found underground. When that happened they dug or drilled.

(That is actually the method we used to find water on The Land many years ago. We paid some old fart fifty bucks and a case of beer to witch. Our well is deep by most standards, over four hundred feet. The old dude predicted three layers of water at various depths with the “goldmine” being the deepest. He was right as we found out when the well was drilled.)

7-2- The first 115 degree day at The Land. Phoenix set a new record of 118 degrees.

The Las Conchos Fire is now the largest fire in New Mexico history. It grew 13,000 acres overnight to 113,000 acres.

In Burnett County, Wisconsin a fierce thunderstorm surprises campers with 80mph winds and soft ball size hail. An eleven year old girl was killed by a falling tree, boats blown ashore and 36 people injured. A search in under way for a missing canoeist in the St. Croix River.

Tropical Storm Arlene is breaking apart but not before killing two in Mexico’s central gulf coast.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife has confirmed a hiker’s cell phone photo is a grizzly bear in Washington’s North Cascade Mountains. A grizz has not been seen in this area since the 1950s.

7-3- Unconfirmed Micro-bursts knocked down 17 power poles in north east Phoenix yesterday and east Mesa. 5500 without electricity.

Sixteen miles of the Apache Trail near Apache Junction, Arizona closed yesterday due to a lightning caused wildfire. The Fish Fire has burned 100 acres with zero containment.

Los Alamos evacuation orders lifted and 12,000 folks go home. Some rain helped the fire fighting efforts. The fire has grown to 120,960 acres.

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued for Maricopa and Pinal counties in Arizona.

With the rising humidity and temperatures the first snake is spotted on The Land. A four foot bull snake came slithering by the picnic table where I was sitting and having morning coffee and sweating my ass off.

Snow ski resorts are still open from Colorado to California. Skiiers show up in bathing suits with the warm weather. But warm weather and left over snow make for dangerous conditions. At Yosemite one hiker is killed and another missing after being swept off of a bridge by higher than usual runoff.

An Exxon Mobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River in Laurel, Monatana ruptured yesterday. 42,000 gallons of oil escaped before the pipe line was shut down. A twenty five mile plume of oil caused evacuations along the river.

Tropical Storm Arlene death count rises to 11 from flooding and mudslides.

7-4- Happy Independence Day! Five are injured by lightning during a Civil War re-enactment at Gettysburg.

Flash Flood Warnings issued for Tucson, flights diverted and five thousand without power.

With record snowfall last Winter Lake Powell is 70% full! It rose 25 feet last month alone.

Two hundred people are working on the Yellowstone oil river cleanup. 40,000’ of boom being set up. Strong floodwaters may have punctured the pipeline with debris.

A fishing charter boat has sunk in the Gulf of Baja only sixty miles from land. Eight American fishermen are missing.

7-5- This is the third day with average dew points at or above 55 degrees at The Land. With sweltering dew points in the mid sixties today, July 3rd was the meteorological beginning of the monsoon.

Man, did it hit in full force this evening. By 7:00 p.m. all natural lighting was obliterated by a black wall of dust. Visibility was near zero. A few minutes later it began raining so hard, almost three quarters of an inch fell in about forty five minutes.

I was flooded in and the Lovely Mrs. Blue Duck and Beck Peck were flooded out. It took them hours to get home from Phoenix with the dirt and the rain. It is a credit to Nancy with her experience in shitty weather driving to get home alive.

The Haboob that spread across the Valley was one hundred miles wide and eight thousand feet high. It caught the attention of journalists and weather people from around the world. Flights at Sky Harbor International Airport were postponed. The peak wind gust was recorded in Chandler, Arizona at 70mph. 9400 people were without power in the east valley.

Localized flooding in Tucson with an inch of rain. They haven’t had this much rain in a single event in nine months.

The victim of a black bear attack last week in the White Mountains is in a medically induced coma. Her scalp was ripped off and has severe artery damage under her left arm. The bear has been tested for rabies and did not have the deadly disease. ( I have read many times that black bear attacks are rare but more deadly than a grizzly attack. If you are lucky you can fake a grizzly by playing dead or rolling up in a ball. If a black bear attacks you have to fight for your life, there are no other options.)

Seven American fishermen are still missing near Baja, Mexico. There is hope for rescue and survival due to the warm waters. Thirty five men escaped the boat capsized by 40’ waves. One survivor swam sixteen miles to shore. The captain of the boat was warned not to set sail due to the weather.

Arlene is proving to be a deadly Tropical Storm in central Mexico. Even after breaking up the death toll is now up to 16.

Severe flooding in western China left 50 people trapped on a collapsed bridge over a torrential river. They were rescued by cable and huge tractor buckets to transport them over the river.

7-6- Our roving reporter TwinkyDuck reports this afternoon there is still no power in Quartzite, Arizona from last night’s storm.

All of the 1.78 million acres of the Coronado National Forest remain closed due to fire danger despite recent rains.

There are tough conditions for crews cleaning up oil on the Yellowstone River as it rises above flood stage with heavy snow runoff. The surging river could push crude into back channels vital to the river’s prized fishery.

There are still seven missing American fishermen missing near Baja, Mexico. The Mexican government will end the search in two days if they are not found.

7-7- Air quality since the Haboob two days ago is still so bad in the Phoenix area flights were delayed yesterday due to heavy dust at six thousand feet.
Quartzite, Arizona just now has restored electricity to residents after the strong winds knocked out power. (Two days without electricity in this humidity and heat!)

The Los Alamos National Laboratory re-opens after being closed for a week due to the massiv Las Conchas Fire. Residents of Los Alamos are warned about hungry black bears displaced by the fire wandering into town.
The fire is 40% contained and has burned 130,560 acres.

The Mexican government will continue searching for the missing American fishermen in the Baja Gulf.

A mother Grizzly kills a hiker on a Yellowstone hiking trail. All trails are closed. The bruin will not be trapped and killed as she was just protecting her young’uns.

7-8- Arizona Game & Fish is meeting today to consider greatly reducing the number of turkey permits issued next fall in the burned out Wallow area. It is feared that many turkeys were killed by the fire.

7-9- The Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona is fully contained at 538,049 acres. It began on May 29th.

Calmer winds and higher humidity help fire fighters save a sacred Pueblo Indian mountain in New Mexico from the Las Conchas fire. The Chicoma Mountain is 11,560 feet high and said to hold an elliptical shrine with seven exits opening toward tribal regions. The mountain is considered to be the “center of all” by New Mexico Pueblo Indians.

Two inches of rain falls in less than an hour in the north east Denver area.

The Missouri River is near historic flood levels for 800 miles from South Dakota to the confluence with the Mississippi River. 560,000 acres are flooded in seven states and 447,000 acres of farmland.

Tropical Storm Calvin forms in the Eastern Pacific.

7-10- Calvin fizzles out with no damage caused.

Peak wind gusts at Phoenix International Airport recorded at 66mph.
Flash Flood Warnings are issued for Coconino and Cochise counties.

The head of the United Nations refuge agency says that the drought in Somalia is the “worst humanitarian disaster in the world.” Ten million people need aid. Two million children are malnourished and in need of life saving actions.

7-11- Two inches of fast rain in the Sierra Vista burn area causes mudslides and road closures with an unknown number of homes damaged by mud.

Heat Advisories posted from Georgia to Illinois and down to Oklahoma. It was 110 degrees in Wichita, Kansas yesterday.

7-12- The Hidden Fire began two days ago by lightning in northwest Arizona. It has burned 17,000 acres of cheatgrass.

Valley Fever expected to triple from last week’s Haboob in the valley.

A new weather radar is being tested at Chandler Gateway Airport. It can detect rainfall and hail even through dust and clouds. (You read about this used in other parts of the country right here in Blue Duck Weather.)

Twenty four states are under an Excessive Heat Advisory. 106 degrees is a new record in Joplin, Missouri. Owensburg, Kentucky reached 123 degrees today factoring in humidity. Six people have died from heat related stress.

The drought is so bad in 14 states it could rival the Dust Bowl period in the 1930s. Five months from February to June so dry it shattered a Texas record set in 1917. Shrinking cattle herds due to lack of food and water will be the major impact on the U.S.

From his secluded location in Colorado Ryduck reports up to four and a half inches of rain this month in areas. This morning it was 63 “balmy” degrees and foggy.

More oil is found along sections of the pristine Yellowstone River after flood waters recede. Forty five locations have been found, an increase of fifteen from two days ago.

7-13- A break in the miserable monsoon humidity and dew points at The Land this morning. I woke up to a blissful 68 degree low with a dew point of 35 degrees instead of the mid sixties.

The Nation’s high today was in Fort Smith, Arkansas with 108 degrees. The heat wave now extends to the North East setting new records; Newark, New Jersey, 99 degrees, Islip, New York 93 degrees and John F. Kennedy International Airport 97 degrees.

7-14- Oh how your Editor in Chief is so brilliant! Your fine staff at Blue Duck Weather in the past months have been giving you barometric pressure fluctuations to see how they compare to poor migraine headache sufferers.
Now there is imperical data from one valley physician. He said “headaches are out of control “during the monsoon season due to dust and barometric pressure. (I fucking amaze myself sometimes.)

A Kingman, Arizona man has been arrested for shooting and killing several cows and a calf near his home. ( Get a rope!)

Agricultural losses in Texas due to the drought near three billion dollars!

Three quarters on an inch of hail falls in Denver in fifteen minutes. Denver International Airport is closed with 40 planes damaged.
This month Denver has received 2.12’’ of rain. The average is .80’’.

The heat has been so bad in some states 50,000 chickens died at a couples farm when the power was off less than an hour.
A Kansas couple lost 4300 turkeys due to the heat.

7-15- Several areas of the Coronado National Forest have been opened after being closed to all travelers due to the extreme fire danger. My beloved Mount Graham is open but no fires of any kind are allowed.

A Florida couple is convicted of third degree murder in the death of their baby stangled in its crib by a “pet” python. The eight and a half foot snake wrapped itself around the baby’s head. Testimony revealed the snake had not been fed in a month before the strangulation occurred.

7-16- There have been nine heat related deaths in Kansas City, Missouri this summer, three this week.

Due to heavy rain a 40’ wide by 30’ deep sink hole opened up on a Utah highway near Tabiona. One car was swallowed by the massive hole and the driver injured. Another vehicle swerved to miss it, crashed and a fifteen year old occupant killed.

7-17- The Mighty BroadDuck takes remote reporting to an entirely different level, roaming around the desert in the night like a fool. He sent amazing photos of a bobcat encounter with a rattlesnake on the Peralta Trail in the Superstition Mountains. I told the quack he needs to arm himself.

A massive heat wave extends from Texas to Canada. The heat index with humidity in some states reach 120 degrees!

This one is right out of the 1800s; two men in Alaska accused in participating in a walrus ivory and polar bear hide trading ring have plead guilty to the charges. They were accused of trading tobacco, guns and other items to Native Americans in exchange for federally protected animal parts.

7-18- Another massive dust storm blankets the Phoenix area. The term Haboob, rarely used, is now the most popular weather word and soon to be worn out and over used.

The extreme heat buckles concrete on a bridge in Oklahoma as steel reinforcement expands with the heat. This is the 28th straight day for triple digit temperatures in that state.
There are 42 states with temperatures and humidity levels in the nineties.
It was 115 degrees in Minneapolis today.

A helicopter search team has rescued an injured Arizona climber after a twenty foot fall from El Diente Peak in Colorado. He was descending the 14,159’ mountain alone in the dark when he fell onto a snowfield. The next morning he crawled to a slope where he was found by two other climbers. They activated a personal locator beacon which summoned an emergency rescue.

A powerful storm blows down most of a rock stage in Ottawa, Canada. Cheap Trick were twenty minutes into their set and managed to escape without injury. Others were injured.

Tropical Storm Bret forms in the Atlantic near the northern Bahamas.

7-19- The U.S. Forest Service has crews spreading grass seed in the burn areas near the Horseshoe Two Fire in the Coronado Mountains. It is hoped the monsoon rains will help spread the seed.

Tropical Storm Dora is rapidly approaching hurrincae strength with sustained winds of 70mph. It is 265 miles south of Puerto Angel, Mexico.

The Fish & Wildlife Service announced yesterday that the white bark pine, a tree found on mountains across the west, faces an “eminent” risk of extinction. For the first time ever the agency cites on the factors is climate change.

7-20- Ninety five degrees in Bismark, North Dakota today, an area known for summer cool temperatures.

This heat wave covers one million square miles in 34 states and has killed 20 folks. With the heat index it was 131 degrees in Knoxville, Iowa and a 124 degrees in Madison, Minnesota.

Three tourists have plunged to their presumed deaths over the 370’ Vernal Falls in Yosemite in a chain reaction of events. A man and woman crawled over a guardrail to get a better view of the falls. One slipped, fell in the rushing river and the other tried to rescue. When he slipped a third person tried to rescue both of them and fell into the river and was swept over the falls. The river was swollen with snowmelt.

Four members of a family killed and two others injured after their vehicles were swept away by flash flooding in south central Wyoming. The accidents happened after heavy rains prompted mandatory evacuations of campgrounds in the area. The family had left camp when they later hit a swollen stream over a roadway.

The nuclear reactors in Japan damaged by the March 11th earthquake have finally been declared stable. The entire plant is on track for a “cold shut down” in six months.

19 oiled animals have been seen since the Yellowstone River oil spill. An oiled hawk was captured yesterday for rehabilitation yesterday.

7-21- A man in Scottsdale, Arizona finds a bobcat in the hollow of a grapefruit tree in his backyard. “Critter Control” (never heard of this outfit) set a trap in the man’s backyard and the cat was caught the next day.

A seven year old male giraffe at Tucson’s Reid Park Zoo has died in a “horrible unfortunate accident.” The giraffe ate toxic oleander leaves.

The National Weather Service report with the severe heat over half of the country, “Do not take threat lightly.”
3,000 separate records for overnight high lows have been set. At 3:00 a.m. this morning it was 90 degrees in Chicago.

Dora has turned into a category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds in the Pacific. Deadly surf conditions exist and a major shipping port in Mexico is closed.

A leopard mauls eleven people in a fierce fight at a village in India. It was finally tranquilized but died of its injuries during the battle.

7-22- A new record of 108 degrees in Newark, New Jersey and 105 degrees in Dulles, Virginia.

This one reads just like a typical Phoenix morning in the summer: “East Coast a.m. commute in the 90’s, triple digits coming.” 96 degrees this morning in Boston.
To add shit (literally) to the misery of the heat bathers are told to stay out of the Hudson and Harlem Rivers in New York. Millions of gallons of untreated sewage spilled into the rivers after a fire shut down one of the city’s largest sewer treatment plants.

Hurricane Dora prompts Port authorities in Las Cabos, Mexico to suspend boat tours and other tourism services. Four emergency shelters in elementary schools are being prepared in case of flooding.

In Mogadishu, Somalia soldiers with gun butts beat back desparate families as they fight for food supplies in front of a weeping diplomat. The worst drought in a generation is the cause for this desparation.

7-23- Fire restrictions lifted across all of the Coronado National Forest in southeast Arizona.

Lake Powell is nearing its highest level in ten years from record snow pack. It will peak this summer at 75% full and will have enough water to help Arizona and Nevada escape forced shortages this year. Downstream Lake Mead will rise 51’ above the record low level it reached last November.

A new record today at J.F.K. International Airport in New York of 102 degrees.

An eighteen year old landscaper dies in Louisville, Kentucky with a core body temperature of 110 degrees.

In Philadelphia fifty of the city’s pools operated on 45 minute cycles to give everyone a chance to get wet and cool off.

Chicago breaks the heat wave with the wettest calendar day on record, 6.86 inches of rain!

7-24. Severe Flash Flood Warnings issued for Safford and Wilcox, Arizona.

7-25- An injured man trapped in the Buckeye Hills area in Arizona was rescued after lighting a signal fire. The man has a bad leg, high blood pressure and was dehydrated. A Sherrif saw the fire and heard the man shouting for help. He reached the man but could not carry him out. The man was airlifted to a local hospital.

Desparate mothers are abandoning their dying children by the roadside as they walk to overcrowded emergency foo shelters in eastern Africa. A camp in Kenya built for 90,000 now has 400,000.

A grizzly that was with her cub attacked teens participating in survival skills in Alaska and two are badly injured.

7-26- The woman that was attacked by a black bear in Pinetop, Arizona in June has died from a brain hemorrhage.

New York City used a record one trillion watts of power during four days of the latest heat wave.
Dallas has a record high low of 86 degrees.

Rare and unusually heavy snowfall across South Africa. Ut to two feet fell with major transport delayed.

7-27- Landslides and flooding kill 32 in South Korea.

Storms leave the Philippines with 25 dead. Five fishermen missing.

7-28- Sixty four people and thousands of cattle have died from the latest heat wave in the eastern United States.

Tropical Storm Don headed for the Texas coast. Oil workers are evacuated from off sore platforms.

South Koreans are worried about unearthed land mines and explosives after deadly landslides around the capitol Seoul military sites. The mines were placed in the Korean War.

7-29- Record rains in part of the Mid West will cause the Missouri River to rise two feet. Ten inches of rain fell in Dubuque, Iowa breaking the old record of three inches in 1896.

Here is a first hand acccount of a very close bear sighting from the Lovely Mrs. Blue Duck’s sister from her spread in Montana: “ I’ve been fencing a lot the last few weeks but it all paid off today. When I was fencing along the creek and looked up, and about fifty feet away was a big black bear (well, cinnamon colored) sitting on his behind in the creek under a big tree! He knew I was there but I was down wind. He kept sniffing the air but didn’t move. I stayed near the 4 x 4 but watched him for about five minutes. It was really neat! (It’s also a good thing I wasn’t tromping around down there like I often am, with no thought of running into a bear!)

7-30- Tropical Storm Don fizzles out leaving less than an inch of rain in parched Texas.

Wettest July on Record in Chicago with 11.16” of rain.

The Missouri River flooding this year is equivalent to a one in 500 year event. The river will not even fall below flood stage in Omaha, Nebraska until mid September.

Floods wash North Korea land mines in South Korea. Two empty mine boxes have been found. The detonators and explosives are believed to have been swept away in a river.

7-31- Phoenix rain to date 2.38”. The Land received 1.56’’ in July for the year’s total so far of 2.44”. Halfway through the year and we haven’t recived even half of our yearly rainfall average of about 8’’.

It’s been over 100 degrees for over 30 days in a row in parts of Oklahoma. In the town of Altus the average high was 105 degrees, usually a mild town.

Tropical Storm Nock-ten has left 50 dead and 25 missing in Vietnam.

And there you have it my fine baked feathered friends. The song for the month is appropriate for the parched areas of the U.S.; “A Little Rain Will Do” by Cody Canada.

And equally fitting is a quote I stole from Cormak McCarthy; “The desert wind would salt ruins and there would be nothing, no ghost or scribe, to tell any pilgrim in his passing how it was that people had lived in this place and in this place had died.”

Until next month wind the desert sands scour your foot prints remember

Settlers took land. Pioneers took bullets.

The Distinguished Professor MR Blue Duck (a quack)

June 2011 Blue Duck Weather News!

June 2011 Weather News!

According to one geologist “Recent wildfires could be at least as severe and maybe worse than anything we’ve seen since the last Ice Age.” June in Arizona produced the largest wildfire on record. At over 550,000 acre the Wallow Fire began on Memorial Day Weekend by an abandoned campfire.

There has been considerable debate why some of Arizona’s forests did not have fire bans that weekend. Some say it is because it had snowed the prior week in many areas. But only in Blue Duck Weather will you read the other reason. Even though it had snowed there were strong winds that blew almost daily during the month of June. It has baffled me as May and June have all been windy months, usually they are not. The humidity in June was also extremely low, and to coin a wore out saying, the perfect storm was brewing.

There were actually three major fires in Arizona in June, sadly all in the beloved Coronado Mountain range. One of the fires only burned itself out because it wiped out an entire mountain top forest. Officials are so concerned that two breeding pairs of endangered Mount Graham red squirrels will be captured and transported to the Phoenix Zoo in the hope of saving the species. Mount Graham is closed to all visitors and campers. I have never heard of this before, fire restrictions yes. There are other international interests on that mountain that must be saved at all costs but that is a different story.

This special “hot” edition of Blue Duck Weather is so intense and historical your fine staff has agreed not to include the usual boring local weather stats for the month. But there is much more to read than the blow by blow fire reporting from the staff on the road choking to death from smoke.

In this special edition you will also read about a rare white buffalo birth that has drawn Native Americans from the entire country to Texas, baggy pants that actually saved a young man from an alligator attack, a first hand account of flooding in Montana that has been overshadowed by other weather news, the flooded Souris River and the overwhelmed town of Minot North Dakota, a fact to remember when perceiving the amount of land consumed by fire, a dream home overrun by snakes, Hayduke Lives in Flagstaff!, three U.S. nuclear facilities threatened by flooding or fires, a town that will offer free food on cloudy days, a Buddhist retreat in Arizona that was left in the dark by the fires and why, the first elk crossing in the world constructed near Payson, Arizona, a scorpion sting that nearly kills a six month old girl in Arizona, a rare black bear attack on a human in eastern Arizona and turtles that bring a major U.S. airport to a standstill. And now award winning journalism awaits you.

6-1- Red Flag Warnings posted for northern Arizona. A new fire erupted in Coconino County today.

Flames jump the containment line of the Horseshoe Two Fire in south east Arizona. 73,000 acres have burned.

A powerful tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts killing three and damaging hundreds of homes. Tornadoes are rare in this region. The National Guard has been activated and 12,000 are without power.

The official first day of Hurricane Season. (just what we need!)

Ten thousand residents of Minot, North Dakota are told to evacuate along the Souris River, a tributary of the Red River.

Worldwide carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels reached a record 30.6 billion tons in 2010. China and India’s growth added 5% of the increase.

A 200 pound bear on the loose has a Portland, Oregon school in lockdown.

A rare white buffalo is born in Texas. Native Americans from around the country are converging to find the message. Black eyes and a black tip on the tail is considered the most powerful medicine of an albino buffalo.

6-2- This morning the Wallow Fire had burned 18,000 acres, by noon 40,000 acres with no containment. Big Lake is evacuated in eastern Arizona. Fire lines are built around Hannigan’s Meadow Lodge. U.S. 191 is closed and Alpine residents have two hours to evacuate.

There are eight fires burning around the state. The Horseshoe Two Fire has burned 80,000 acres and is the sixth largest fire in Arizona history.
The Engineer Fire west of Flagstaff began today at noon.
It has not been this dry since the 1970s.

A woman has been rescued after spending three days in the Mingus Mountain area near Prescott. She was extremely dehydrated, sunburned and had cuts all over her legs. The woman and her boyfriend broke down in a pickup truck and began arguing. The boyfriend hitched a ride and the woman started hiking toward Mingus Mountain (?)

It has been confirmed that three tornadoes struck in central and western Massachusetts last week. 18 cities and village were damaged, 40 hospitalized in Springfield, 3 confirmed dead and 250 displaced. One tornado was ten miles high!

In Yosemite National Park Bridal Veils and Yosemite Falls are flowing fast enough to fill a gas tanker in two seconds! The photographs are stunning.

6-3- The Wallow Fire has blown up to 100,000 acres. Four summer homes have burned south of Alpine. Alpine residents are still evacuated and Nutriosa is evacuated. The rapid speed of this fire’s growth is being described to the 2002 Rodeo- Chediski Fire that burned 460,000 acres. There is no containment and residents of Springerville and Eager have been placed on evacuation notice.

The Horseshoe Two Fire has burned 86,140 acres and is 50% contained
The Engineer Fire has burned 800 acres and containment is hopeful soon.

A Show Low man told police he started four eastern Arizona fires recently because it was his “duty to God.” Two of the fires were in brush piles and the other two under juniper trees. All were contained. Biblical literature was found in the vicinity of the fires. ( No word at all if these fires are connected to the big one but kind of ironic or fitting I should say.)

Three thousand people in low lying areas of Pierre and Fort Pierre, South Dakota are leaving ahead of upstream dam releases. The swollen Missouri River has to be relieved immediately.

6-4- From this morning to noon the Wallow Fire grew from 100,00 acres to 140,000 acres with no containment. It is now the third largest fire in Arizona history. The smoke is blowing all the way to Denver. Dry lightning is expected tomorrow in the region and erratic winds have not helped firefighters in the least.

The Horseshoe Two Fire has burned 90,000 acres and is 50% contained.
A sixty five year old woman rafting the Colorado River drowns at the Needle’s Eye rapids.

A seventeen year old in Florida says his baggy pants saved him from an alligator. The boy was walking beside a pond when the bastard lurched out of the water. When the teen ran his pants ripped leaving the gator with nothing but a piece of cloth in its mouth.

The Mighty Mississippi flood begins to drop today.

6-5- The Greer Lodge and cabins are evacuated today as the Wallow Fire grows to 144,102 acres. It has jumped Highway 180. 40mph winds, low humidity and dry lightning are making it travel faster. There is a Red Flag Warning posted for tomorrow in north eastern Arizona. The fire is out of control and there are 1300 fire fighters on site. Folks east of Alpine are told to evacuate.
The Horseshoe Two Fire has burned 100,200 acres and is 55% contained.
The Murphy Fire, south of Tucson has burned 23,000 acres and is 15% contained.

As the Missouri River rises in North Dakota the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers increased Oahe Dam releases to historic levels for the first time since the dam was completed in the late 1950s.
600 south west Iowa residents ordered to evacuate after the Missouri breached a levee.

A woman in Duluth, Minnesota was jogging alongside a road with something slammed into her. She found herself in a ditch with whiplash and extensive bruises. A pickup truck struck a deer which then collided with her. The deer is dead, the woman will survive her injuries.

6-6- The Wallow Fire in southeastern Arizona today; 6:15 a.m., 192,000 acres. By noon it had grown to 200,000 acres. At 2:00 p.m. 233,000 acres. It is now the second largest fire in Arizona’s history. Winds have blown it in every direction except south thus far. With 50mph winds it is still at zero containment. Smoke has blown a thousand miles east into Iowa. Sunrise and Greer are being evacuated. Eager and Springerville have been placed on notice. The governor of Arizona has signed an emergency declaration.

The Horseshoe Two Fire has burned 100,075 acres and is 55% contained. There are 1,000firefighters on sight. This fire in southern Arizona has been burning nearly a month.

Six reservoirs along the Missouri River are filled to capacity. Seven states are on flood watch. 20,000 have been evacuated in the Dakotas.

Three more have died from their injuries from the Joplin, Missouri tornado. The death toll is now up to one hundred and forty one.

6-7- The Wallow Fire has burned 322,000 acres with no containment. Ash is falling on Springerville.

Beginning in two days the Coronado National Forest will be closed to all visitors. (I’ve heard of not allowing camp fires but I have not heard of this. Is this a reaction and safety precaution by the U.S. Forest Service?)

10,000 people are still homeless after the earthquake in Japan last March.

Flooding from heavy rains in southwestern China leaves 21 dead, 37 missing, 45,000 evacuated, 800 homes destroyed, 5,000 damaged and 13,000 acres of farmland under water.

Heavy rain for the seventh straight day in Haiti kills 23 from mudslides.

6-8- The Wallow Fire is now the number one U.S. priority fire. It has burned almost 400,000 acres. The fire jumps firelines and residents of Springerville and Eager are told to get out immediately. The size of the fire is now larger than Phoenix.

A new blaze near Flagstaff is burning. Seven to nine spot fires have been reported.

Roundup, Montana has flooded for the second time in two weeks just after cleanup efforts had begun. The Musselshell River came rolling in submerging cars and covering the ground floors of homes.

As the Missouri River continues to rise 260 miles have been closed to recreational boat traffic to protect newly constructed levees.

52 are dead in China flooding, 32 missing and 100,000 evacuated.

The first Tropical Storm of the season develops in the Pacific. Adrian is 345 miles south of Acapulco.

6-9- On the 12th day of the Wallow Fire it is only 5% contained. It has moved into Greer. 22 homes have burned. 11,000 people have been displaced and 200 miles of roadway closed. Power supply lines are threatened in eastern Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The President is sending 2500 National Forest Service firefighters.

A man has been arrested for setting the spot fires near Flagstaff yesterday. 50 people were evacuated and one mobile home burned. The man said he got into an argument with his girlfriend and that is why he set the fires. Thankfully they have been contained.

In one day Adrian has turned into a hurricane. A Storm Watch has been issued for parts of the Mexican Coast including Acapulco.

On a rampage in southern India two wild elephants have killed one man and injured others in the city of Mysore.

The Lovely Mrs. BlueDuck has a sister who is a long time resident on a huge spread in Montana. Here is a first hand account of the severe flooding that is taking place: “The Winter from Hell to flood season. It’s been raining for months. We’re rained in…. all the people whos homes are under water now, or going to be, toward Agusta and along the Sun River toward Great Falls, along the Missouri River and many other parts of Montana are now under water. The end of the rain is nowhere in sight, and there’s still 5’ of snow in the mountains to melt. When it does it’s going to worsen along all the river corridors. So many places in Montana are now under water, roads closed and destroyed, etc. Unreal.

6-10- The Wallow Fire has burned 410,000 acres and is 5% contained. Twenty seven homes have been lost. There is a no fly zone over the fire due to the massive air attack. It began with an abandoned campfire on May 29th. There were 70mph winds that day.

A total of 600,00 acres of forest, grasslands and deserts have burned so far in Arizona. The Horshoe Two Fire is up to 116,000 acres and 40% contained. The Murphy Complex Fire has burned 67,000 acres.

A Phoenix Landscaper has been rushed to a local hospital with life threatening bee stings. He was working at a Phoenix home.

An undocumented but interesting tale: Some people believe the skeleton of a whale ws found along the Salt River in the Phoenix area in 1850s. Presumably the whale traveled up the Salt from the Gulf of Mexico during a major flood. It took a right turn at the Gila River and wound up dead in the Salt River.

In a strange weather phenomenon I don’t understand just after midnight last night Wichita, Kansas went from 85 degrees to 102 degrees in twenty minutes!, something about a collapsing storm. (I bet those folks thought it was the beginning of the end.)

The latest death toll from the hurricane in Joplin, Missouri has gone up to 151 with more dying from their injuries.

Hurricane Adrian has already strengthened to a Category 4 storm but is expected to remain off the coast of Mexico.

Forecasters say the cooling La Nina weather phenomenon from the tropical Pacific ocean is over. It may have boosted last year’s hurricane season and this spring’s tornadoes.

100 domestic animals have been killed by a pack of dogs in Washington State. The latest is a 350 pund llama. Law enforcement officials have not been able to capture or kill the mangy bastards. (Just turn loose TiptoDuck with his arsenal!)

6-11- The Wallow Fire has gorged 430,000 acres and is 6% contained. Thirty homes have been lost. The air quality is so bad it exceeds the National standard by seven times. 31mph winds in Greer today and the southern end of the fire is a huge concern. There is a Red Flag Warning for the fire area tomorrow.

“Despite windy conditions officials for the Apache Sitgrives National Forest decided not to impose campfire restrictions over the Memorial Day weekend because late spring snowfall provided moisture and because closing the forest would have created a hardship for the local tourism industry.

Emergency workers have ferried supplies to 300 people cut off yesterday by new flooding that has overwhelmed Montana towns. There is no way to get in or out of Roundup, Montana.

Hurricane Adrian has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm.

More flooding in central China kills 41 and 111,000 displaced.

Heavy rain and melting snow causes devastating floods across central Norway.

One thousand gather in Tokyo to protest nuclear power three months after the disaster.

You read it here in Blue Duck Weather when we reported about the out of control chimpanzee that attacked a woman and ripped off her face and hands. She has successfully received a face transplant, only the third of its kind in the U.S.

Six gray seals have been found shot to death on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

6-12- The Wallow has swallowed 445,000 acres and is 6% contained. Alpine, Nutrioso and Greer residents are not allowed to return yet. 7,000 people are allowed to return to Springerville and Eager. The fire has jumped state lines into New Mexico. 4300 firefighters are on site.

The Fort Apache Indian Reservation Tribe credits prayer, wind and fire prevention for dodging the Wallow Fire. They have done vast amounts of thinning and controlled burns after the Rodeo-Chediski Fire in 2002. 60% of that fire was on Indian land.

A Pinal County, Arizona rancher has been ordered to quarantine 199 rodeo steers after one animal tested positive for bovine tuberculosis. It is the first case of the highly contagious disease since 1978 in Arizona. The rancher must test each animal, expensive and time consuming, or kill the herd.

It has been confirmed that three nuclear reactor cores melted in Japan after the earthquake and subsequent Tsunami in March. Growers are extremely concerned. Farm soil forty miles away is contaminated. Volunteers have supplied some farmers with radiation meters.

A Japanese woman lost in the Nepal mountains for two weeks survived by eating grass, drinking river water, taking shelter in small caves and praying. She left her hotel on May 22nd for a short stroll, left the main road and could not find it again.

6-13- 445,000 acres consumed by the Wallow Fire with 10% containment and 36 homes burned. Three thousand homes and businesses are still at risk and residents of Alpine, Greer and Nutrioso are not expected to be able to return home for five more days.

A new fire near Sierra Vista, Arizona has ignited. The Monument Fire has burned 3,000 acres.

Peak flows in the Missouri are expected in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Tomorrow releases from five of the river’s dams will be at 150,000 cubic feet per second. This is twice the previous record releases. The river will rise 5-7’ above flood stage in Nebraska and Iowa, 10’ in Missouri.

6-14- Now the largest fire in Arizona history the Wallow has consumed 469,000 acres and is 18% contained.

A fire fact to remember, especially now; 640 acres equals one square mile. ( I have a lot easier grasping the magnitude when a fire is reported in acres instead of square miles, but maybe that’s just me.)

The Missouri River has punched a three hundred foot breach in a levee in Hamburg, Iowa. Farmlands are flooding quickly.

One hundred rare pygmy rabbits have been released in Washington State. They were believed to be extinct since mid 2004. It is the smallest rabbit in the United States and an adult can fit into a person’s hand.

An eight year old girl in Sacremento, California is a rare survivor of rabies without having the life saving vaccine. She is only the third person known of in the United States to survive. It is believed she was infected by a wild cat.

6-15- The Wallow Fire keeps marching on its destructive path to Hell. 478,000 acres have gone up in smoke. There is a Red Flag Warning for winds tomorrow and Friday. There is only 20% containment but Nutrioso residents are allowed to come home.
It has been confirmed that the fire began in Bear Canyon and “persons of interest” are being questioned.

The Monument Fire near Sierra Vista is burning out of control with only 10% containment.

Nationwide eleven new fires reported in the United States in the past day. The states with the largest fires are Texas with 13, Florida with 11, Arizona with 4 and New Mexico with 4.

The first new official day of the monsoon season begins for Arizona, of course your fine staff at Blue Duck Weather will let you know when the actual scientific date begins. It all begins with heat and the Land reached the first 105 degree day for the season and Phoenix hit 110.

More flooding in central and south China with 88,000 evacuated. 170 people are dead or missing since the beginning of the month.

6-16- The Wallow Fire total is up to 460,000 acres and a Red Flag Warning is in effect. After recently returning home residents of Gree are told to prepare for another evacuation.

The Monument Fire has burned 10,000 acres south of Sierra Vista and forty homes have been damaged or lost. This fire is more damaging than the Wallow Fire in the first forty eight hours.

The Horseshoe Two fire in Pima County has burnded 200,000 acres. It is so windy in areas of fires winds are causing spot fires out a mile. One resident crys “Pray for rain!”

The Murphy Complex Fire in the Coroanado National Forest began on May 30th and is fully contained at 68,078 acres.

Arizona Game and Fish has set up a mobile clinic in Eager to help injured wildlife from the Wallow Fire. So far a young bull elk has been treated for burned hooves and a starving red tailed hawk has been saved.

The Missouri River has flooded parts of Montana, North and South Dakota. So far most levees along the river are holding.

“April’s weather extremes never before seen U.S. experts say. The mix of single disasters in a month, flooding, fires, tornadoes and drought are unprecedented.”

Japanese whalers have found traced of radiation in two animals caught along the country’s northern coast.

A “dream home” bought by a young couple in rural Idaho has been discovered to be infested with hundreds of garter snakes. “The ground surrounding the home appeared to be moving at times, it was so thick with these snakes.” The couple would lie awake at night and listen to snakes slithering inside the walls.

6-17- At 495,000 acres the Wallow Fire is 30% contained.
The Monument Fire has doubled in twenty four hours to 18,000 acres with 50 homes damaged or destroyed. The governor of Arizona has issued a disaster decleration.

Hayduke Lives! “Six people have been arrested after chaining themselves to heavy construction equipment to protest snowmaking plans at the Arizona Snowbowl. All but one are Flagstaff residents.

On a side note water use may be restricted in Flagstaff this summer.

China has issued it’s highest level flood alert. 55,000 people in central and southern China have been evacuated. Although drought has plagued this region lately this is the worst flooding since 1955.

6-18- Residents of Alpine allowed to return home this morning. The Wallow fire is 38% contained with 500,409 acres burned. Luna, New Mexico has been evacuated.
The Monument Fire near Sierra Vista has grown to 20,000 acres and is 15% contained. Fifty homes have been damaged or destroyed.

The worst day for fire control is expected tomorrow as a Red Flag Warning for the entire state of Arizona has been issued. Fifty mph winds expected in the fire areas.
The Horseshoe Two in Pima County is 70% contained with 206,312 acres burned. All three of these major fires are in the Coronado National Forest.

Three people are cited for having an illegal camp fire at Lake Montezuma, Prescott, Arizona.

Floodwaters form the Missouri River have risen close to a nuclear reactor building in Nebraska. The plant is circled by a giant rubber barrier. In preparation for this flood the complex has been shut down since April. It will not be activated until flooding subsides.

Landslides trap 5,000 passengers on four trains overnight in China.

6-19- The Monument Fire has jumped Highway 92 and more emergency evacuations are underway.

There are Red Flag Warnings and Extreme Fire Danger posted for six states.

Levees breach in northern Missouri in Holt and Atchison Counties, flooding farmland, homes and cabins.

The severe flooding in China has displaced two million people, 170 missing or dead and 42,254 acres of farmland covered with water.

Tropical Storm Beatriz forms in the Pacific and may become a hurricane in two days.

6-20- Three thousand more people are evacuated from the Monument Fire. The National Guard is on the way to help and this fire is now a U.S. priorty one fire. Two restaurants in Nicksville destroyed.

A new fire burning near Payson, the Willow began near Bear Canyon Lake. It has burned nearly five hundred acres.

An extremely rare Gila Monster has been caught in a garage in north Scottsdale. The fucker, nearly two feet long was pissed when captured.

6-21- First day of summer and 107 degrees at The Land.

The Wallow Fire is 67% contained at 527,000 acres.
The Horseshoe Two Fire, stubborn as hell and burning for six weeks, is fully contained.

Hundred of evacuees are allowed to return to Greer and Sierra Vista as calming winds help firefighters control the blazes.

There are 67 separate fires burning in several states. Three million acres have burned since January 1st, a new record.

Two forest rangers were killed yesterday fighting a fire in Hamilton County in north Florida. The men died after being trapped by changing winds cutting a fire line.

The Souris River is about to top levees and 12,000 told to evacuate immediately in Minot, North Dakota.

6-22- First 110 degrees at The Land, 114 degrees in Ahwatukee. The first Excessive Heat Advisory is issued. (This may be hell, but it is the only way moisture can be brought up from the south to begin our annual monsoon season, hopefully with some drenching rain to soak this parched state.)

The bastard RyDuck knowing the forecast here reported a “cool “73 degrees at midmorning today from his secluded location in Colorado. I could just hear the sneer in his voice.

The Monument Fire is 45% contained with 62 homes burned and 27,000 acres consumed.
The Wallow Fire is 58% contained with 530,000 acres burned.

The Horseshoe Two Fire has burned 222,000 acres and 95% contained.

A man has been charged with setting a brush fire on a hiking trail in north Scottsdale earlier this week. He was hiking with friends and lit “consumer fireworks” he purchased near the area. He thought it was legal. (Where the fuck is common sense?)

Army Corps of Engineers told Minot residents to “Get Out!, a historic flood is coming. The town’s sirens were signaling the emergency and 500 National Guard troops are deployed. One quarter of the town’s population has left.

The drought is so bad in east Texas seventeen fires are burning. One rancher said this is the worst conditions for his cattle business he has seen in his life.

Thunderstorms and heavy rains pound the upper Midwest. Thousands stranded at Chicago’s two major airprorts. Torando warnings issued.

A young penquin apparently took a wrong turn while swimming near Anctartica and ended up two thousand miles away in New Zealand. He is healthy and well fed.

6-23- The Monument Fire is now under control because it has burned through an entire forest in the Chiricahua Mountains. This mountain range is one of the state’s sky islands.
Residents are allowed to return to Luna, New Mexico.

The Wash Fire, ignited by a blown tire, has burned two hundred acres in Heber. (Talk about dry conditions!)

The Willow Fire near Payson is held at one square mile but Bear Canyon Lake and surrounding campgrounds are closed.

The Yuma Visitor’s Bureau has a new promotion. Hotel guests can dine for free on a cloudy day beginning August 1st. It is part of a tribute to Arizona’s centennial. In 1872 a local hotel offered free board every day the sun didn’t shine. Yuma averages fifteen days a year.

“Feeling of dread” as twelve thousand are evacuated in Minot, North Dakota. Nothing can stop the surge of water.

For the first time in 136 years The Kentucky Derby compound has been damaged by a possible tornado knocking down barns and chasing out horses. No injuries to humans or animals reported.

6-24- The Salvation Army’s hydration stations opened up two days ago due to excessive heat warnings in Phoenix for the first time this year.

Thirty nine Buddhists six months into a three year retreat south of Bowie, Arizona have not been told about the Monument Fire. They are in the process of separating themselves from the outside world and taking a vow of silence. Caretakers at the compound say to interrupt this journey would have ruined years of planning and resolve.

The first elk crossing of its kind in the world has been constructed near Payson. There is an electronic sign on Highway 260 that reads “Test Area Elk Crossing 1500’’. If elk are crossing the sign will read “Caution, Elk Detected.” A third sign near the crosswalk will start flashing and motorists will have time to slow down. The project cost was 700,000 dollars but vehicle and elk collisions have decreased from twelve a year to one.

The Souris River rises four feet in one day breaking a record set in 1881. 2500 homes are flooded in Minot, North Dakota.

A half million acres are burning in south Georgia, 380,000 in Florida and 1500 have been evacuated in Oklahoma. All of this is because of severe drought conditions.

6-25- The Horseshoe Two Fire is nearly contained.
The Monument Fire is 57% contained.

The new Watch Fire near Heber is 10% contained with two thousand acres burned.
There is yet another Red Flag Warning posted for northern Arizona tomorrow with 40mph winds.

4.6 million acres have burned in the U.S. this year, twice the annual average.

Flooding overwhelms Burlington, Sawyer and Minot, North Dakota. 11,000 are homeless in Minot with four thousand homes and businesses under water. One official said this is a five hundred year event, off the chart. The Souris River is flowing 170 times its normal rate.

One month after the terrible tornado in Joplin, Missouri hundreds of pets lost or missing have been reunited with their owners. There are still 600 orphans and folks come from around the country to adopt.

According to my National Wildlife Federation calendar today is “Great American Backyard Campout Day.” I’m sure whoever came up with this idea didn’t live in the desert in June. You have got to be kidding me.

6-26- The Horsheshoe Two Fire is fully contained. The Monument is 75% contained and the massive Wallow fire is 80% contained at 540,000 acres.

A fire began on June 18th near the Santa Fe Ski Basin in New Mexico. It has burned 9300 acres and is only 10% contained.

There are evacuations in Gulf Shores, Alabama because of wildfires.

The mighty Souris River finally crested in Minot, North Dakota. Floowaters are nine feet deep in some areas.

A four foot shark is caught on camera jumping over a surfer in Florida. (Talk about being in the right place at the right time.)

6-27- The first 115 degree day in Phoenix this summer. An Excessive Heat Advisory is issued for tomorrow.

Worried that wildfires could wipe out the remaining Mount Graham red squirrel population an emergency declaration will allow government biologists to try and capture two breeding males and two breeding females. The squirrels will be kept at the Phoenix Zoo’s conservative center.

A six month Phoenix girl is fighting for her life after being stung by a bark scorpion behind her ear. She stopped breathing twice and has pneumonia.

Emandatory evacuations are taking place near Los Alamos nuclear weapons facility in New Mexico. A wildfire has grown from six thousand acres to forty four thousand acres in a matter of hours. At zero containment thirty structures have burned.

The Souries River crested four feet above the highest record ever recorded. All city water use is banned due to contamination from the flood.

“Fire and water” threatening three nuclear sites in the U.S. Two reactors threatened by the Missouri River in Nebraska are in “safe, cold shutdown mode.”

6-28- A forty year old Phoenix man was found dead in a hospital parking lot yesterday from heat stroke. He had been outside all day and presumed to be homeless.

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued for Springerville and surrounding areas. Flooding is a real concern in burned out areas. Residents are already preparing to sand bag. (I just hope there is no dry lightning.)

This is a “make or break” day for the Los Conchas Fire in New Mexico. The fire burned an additional 10,000 acres overnight and is up to 60,000 acres in two days. The Los Alamos nuclear facility has called in teams to track plutonium and uranium readings in the air as a precaution. The fire is within four miles of the laboratory and twelve thousand people are evacuated.

6-29- An Arizona woman has been attacked and severly injured by a black bear near Pinetop, Arizona. She was walking her dog when she got within sixty yards of a dumpster the bear was foraging in. The bear attacked her repeatedly and she was airlifted to a Scottsdale hospital. It is the 9th attack since 1990 when Arizona Game & Fish began records.

Flash Flood Warnings posted for Greenlee and Cochise counties.

Fire officials “throw everything” at the fire burning near Los Alamos. The nuclear laboratory reports that drums of nulear waste material can withstand the fire. There are 30,000 fifty five gallon drums of plutonium contaminated waste on site. The town of Los Alamos is closed and twelve thousand residents are gone.

The first tropical storm for the Atlantic this season, Arlene forms.

In the Annual State of the Climate Report it has been 25 years since global temperatures have been below average. There are 41 climate indicators used. “There is a clear and unmistakable signal from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the ocean.”

150 crossing turtles brings flights to a halt at JFK Airport. They were moving from a bay to a beach to lay eggs. All of the turtles were picked up and transported to their destination. ( There is humanity and kindness to animals afterall.)

6-30- The Wallow Fire is 93% contained.
Five bodies have been found by the Border Patrol in the Arizona deserts. All died from heat exhaustion recently.

The Los Alamos lab and city appear to be out of danger but a Native American site has burned and the fire is threatening the town of Santa Clara Pueblo. By this morning the fire is 3% contained and has burned 92,735 acres.

Flood destroys schools in Minot, North Dakota. The big question is where 1,000 kids will be sent this fall.

Tropical Storm Arlene pounds central Mexico. Up to FIFTEEN INCHES OF RAIN EXPECTED.

Planning a swim at a beach this summer? Beach closures and advisories rose by 29% in 2010 compared to a year prior due to contamination. 11% of California beaches reported elevated levels of bacterial contamination.

And there you have it my fine readers, an historic yet sad month for Arizona. The song of the month is “Better Run For Cover” by Tony Joe White.

Until next month when there isn’t one single pine tree standing remember Pioneer took bullets. Settlers took land.

Professor MR Blue Duck

Hope you enjoyed Mr. Ducks original photo....yes, he actually has ducks.

May 2011 Blue Duck Weather News

May 2011 Weather News!

It has been said that the attention span of a major natural disaster is four days through the media. I think this is remarkable given the attention span to this shit; open, click delete. When Osama Bin Laden was killed early this month tornado victims in the South worried that attention would go away from their plight. It did. One has to dig deep to see any coverage of Tokyo’s disaster of March. It’s as if it never happened or they have miraculously re-built with life being sunny and peachy. I suppose there are areas there that still resemble a war zone.

Last month was a cruel weather month. I had reported that it was some comfort to know that most of the natural disasters did not break records. But you will see in this month’s mind staggering edition of Blue Duck Weather that records are falling like tooth picks.

Typically April is the windy month for Arizona but May was probably worse. There were many Red Flag Warnings, the humidity dropped and everything low and high began to dry out rapidly. As a result, and as of this writing, there are two major wildfires burning in Arizona. One began in early May and is still not under control. The number of acres burned grows by the tens of thousands in several hours. Literally the newspaper reports of today are actually yesterday’s news. That is how fast these wildfires are spreading.

There is so much to read in this exciting edition of Blue Duck Weather, events that will “stagger you out of your mind and I ain’t drunk.” (my dad’s latest sentence to me every goddamn afternoon.) We will track the history making flooding the Mighty Mississippi River, described by one as a “pig moving through a python.” The deadliest tornado in history for Missouri. Other fine points of interest are a woman who survived after being stranded for almost four months, locusts on the rampage, smoke from the Alberta, Canada fires blankets the Phoenix area some two thousand miles away, “Endangered Species Day” (what the fuck?), the cause of all of these tornadoes, and how would you like to wake up with a rabid skunk on your face?

A mild month for the Land it was in May; the average temperature was only ten degrees warmer at the end then the beginning. The average temperature at Talking Trees and Antelope Hill was 27. 50 degrees warmer. The average temperature at The Land was 74.72 degrees, the average on the New Mexico Land was 55.38 degrees.

The average humidity on The Land was 21.66% and the dew point 29.66 degrees.

It was windy with an average wind speed of 8.80mph.

.01” of rain fell on The Land, a blessing in May.

Lake Mead is coming up with a level of 43%. Powell is contributing mightily to the rise in Mead but is maintaining 55%. Pleasant and Roosevelt Lakes stand at 93% full respectively.

On a relatively calm day the barometric pressure on the land is approximately 28.40 mercury inches. Most all of May it hovered around 28.30. As cold fronts came in with wind it would drop dramatically, the lowest on May 29th at 28.01 mercury inches.

As your Editor in Chief I began these pressure reports to see if our friends around the valley could correlate this with migraine headaches. I am here to tell you I can correlate the fucking pressure with achy knee joints. I previously wrote it off to age but why do some days have no pain? I wonder how many other ailments can be linked to rapid swings in pressure including back aches. But how about insanity?

And now let us get directly to the weather news that affected so many folks around this country and the world!



5-1- Twelve degrees at the Grand Canyon this morning.

Hundreds are still missing four days after the killer tornadoes hit the South. 650,000 are still without power.

The Ohio River is rising to record levels and threatening the town of Cairo, Illinois. “Catastrophic flooding” is predicted for the Ohio Valley.

5-2- A California condor has hatched in the Vermilion Cliffs north of the Grand Canyon. It is only the 13th hatched alive in the wild since the raptors were released in Arizona in 1996.

There were 312 tornadoes reported in 24 hours last week. This doubles the record of 148 set in 1974. A new record of 600 tornadoes in a single month set also.

With five more inches of rain the Ohio River has risen to 61.05’ at Cairo, Illinois breaking a record set in 1937. “This is a dramatic once in a lifetime kind of occurrence in the region” Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said after touring the area.

From his secluded location in Colorado Ryduck reports that two days ago it was 72 degrees and today it is snowing.

5-3- The Bull fire in the Coronado National Forest is 52% contained with 9700 acres burned.

A male bear cub is captured in Peoria, Arizona near the Lake Pleasant Parkway. (I remember when the “Parkway” was a dirt road.) The healthy young bruin weighs 80 pounds. The bear likely wandered from the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains. The brute will be released in northern Arizona.

23,000 tornado victims in the South have applied for FEMA assistance to help rebuild.

5-4- The Lovely Mrs. Blueduck receives the rattlesnake badge for spotting the first bastard of the season this morning. Thankfully she was in her car on the way to work instead of feeding the dogs on our porch.

The Bull Fire is 89% contained. Now the human caused Greaterville Fire in the Santa Rita Mountains in southern Arizona has burned 5,000 acres and is 5% contained.

Record flooding is feared in the South. “High water is rippling down the Mississippi River like a pig through a python.” Areas near Memphis are already flooding.

In the same area where 20 people died in a flash flood last summer six Boy Scouts were trapped by rising water. They were able to keep a fire burning and had food. The boy’s adult leaders had them set up camp near a mountain they could climb if their trail became flooded. (This was part of a series of decisions that saved their lives.) They were rescued two days after the planned departure from camping by a helicopter in the Albert Pike Recreation Area in south western Arkansas.

A three mile path of destruction is cut by a tornado in Auckland, New Zealand with one killed and twenty injured. Tornadoes are rare in this region.

Extremely dry weather has sparked wildfires in Scotland and Ireland. Rainfall in England & Wales are at 21% of normal with the highest average temperature in April for 353 years of record keeping.

Arctic ice is melting faster than previously thought and could raise global sea levels by as much as five feet this century. It would submerge small islands, flood New York subways and inundate low lying areas in Florida. The report will be discussed with an international group of scientists this week. (Sounds like a fucking disaster movie.)

5-5- High ozone Pollution Advisory issued for the Valley today in Phoenix.

The Greaterville Fire in southern Arizona is 90% contained.

A 52 year old woman is rescued off Pinnacle Peak in Scottsdale due to heat related stress.

From Illinois to Mississippi thousands have been forced from the their homes as the Big Muddy continues to rise. The Mississippi River rose above the 46’ flood stage mark set in 1937 in Caruthersville, Missouri. Contributing factors are massive amounts of spring rain and snowmelt from Montana. A third section of a Missouri levee is blasted open to offer some relief from the relentless pressure of the river.

“Exceptional drought”, the worst category, expands from Texas to parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana and New Mexico. March rainfalls were the lowest on record in Texas. The last seven months in Texas have been the driest consecutive months on record going back to 1895.

5-6- A 25 acre, human caused, wildfire began today near White River in the White Mountains. All electric and phone service is off on the reservation community. Thankfully the fire is already 30-40% contained.

It occurred to me today I have not seen any quail chicks yet on The Land. It is not surprising as it has been so dry. Not a blade of new grass this spring except the small patches where I frequently pee. As my dad says “its dry, dry, dry, nothing but blowing sand.” However I am proud to note I still continue to feed the thriving quail population daily on The Land. But just once I would like to get out my trusty twelve gauge and pop seven or eight for a fine dinner. The Lovely Mrs. BlueDuck will have nothing of it and threatens to leave my sorry ass if I do.

Barge traffic has been halted on parts of the flooded Mississippi River. 1100 residents of Memphis are urged to evacuate before the river gets higher. Parts of the famous Beale Street, home of the blues, is taking on floodwater.
Farther south parts of the Mississippi Delta are beginning to flood sending deer and wild pigs swimming for dry land, submerging yacht clubs and closing floating casinos.

5-7 The morning report was that the Locust Fire near White River was contained. The report at six p.m. was that a wind shift flared the fire back up with 500 acres burned and only 5% contained. 45 mph wind gusts with 10% humidity is not good news. 80 homes are still evacuated.
Red Flag Warnings are issued for the entire state of Arizona until 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night.
Coconino and Kaibab counties impose fire restrictions beginning today, the earliest date since 2002.

What a fine Saturday on The Land. This morning while watering trees I saw a tiny horned toad. I haven’t seen one for years. And this afternoon I saw seven tiny golfball sized quail chicks traveling with their parents. (It’s the little things that keep madness and insanity at bay.)

The Mississippi River is starting to “wrap its arms around Memphis” as it rises to record levels. According to the NWS it will crest next Wednesday at 48’, just under the 1937 record.

A first grader on a field trip to a zoo in Wichita, Kansas was mauled by a leopard yesterday. The boy scaled a railing and approached the cat’s cage. The feline stuck its paw through the cage and grabbed the boy by the side of the head. The boy suffered serious gashes on his head and neck and is hospitalized in fair condition. (Boy do I smell a lawsuit brewing here. Where was the adult supervison that allowed a five or six year old to scale a railing and approach a cage?)

5-8- There are now three fires burning in Arizona; the latest two are the Pickett Fire near Superior with 30 acres burned and zero containment. Highway 60 is closed. The second is near Sierra Vista, with one house consumed and Highway 92 closed.
By nine thirty last night the Locust Fire near White River had burned 500 acres and was 30% contained.
50mph wind gusts reported at the Grand Canyon, 45mph winds in Flagstaff, and 38mph winds in Show Low.

A State of Emergency is declared in Memphis. Emergency crews have arrived in north Memphis to help people evacuate and go to shelters.

A Canadian woman has been stranded in a remote area of Nevada for almost two months. The van, she and her husband were driving, made a wrong turn before becoming stuck. Her husband is missing. Three days after getting stuck he left for help with a GPS. She survived by eating jerky and drinking snowmelt. The woman is experiencing severe starvation but is expected to survive.

5-9- No accumulations expected but snow level to drop to 7500’ in northern Arizona today. A Wind Advisory is posted for northern Arizona and a Red Flag Warning for south east Arizona.
Maricopa County bans all open fires beginning today.

The Pickett Fire has burned 1200 acres and is 40% contained. The Locust Fire is still only 30% contained.
The latest fire to flare up in Arizona is the Horsehoe Two Fire on the New Mexico border. It is 0% contained and has forced 200 evacuations.

A fire burning 70 miles east of Lubbock, Texas has burned 65,000 acres and brings the total for Texas to 2.3 million acres since last November.

The Big Muddy, normally one half mile wide in Memphis is flowing six times the normal width at TWO MILLION CUBIC FEET PER SECOND. Four million people in the South are in a flood zone that has been replaced by farms over the years.

Tropical Storm Aere kills 17 in the Philippines; three were buried in a house by a landslide and ten others have drowned.

5-10- Another Red Flag Warning posted for south east Arizona from noon to 8:00 p.m. today.
A half inch of snow and hail recorded in Flagstaff, snow and sleet in Greer.
A beautiful partly cloudy, breezy day at The Land with a cool high (for May) of 72 degrees.

April was a wild weather month (but we at Blue Duck Weather already reported this to you) for the U.S. and not just for tornadoes. Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia set records for the wettest April since 1895. The fire season for Texas and the South West is already the worst since 2000.

The Big Muddy crested in Memphis at 2:00 a.m. this morning just shy of the all time record. “Carnival like atmoshphere on Beale Street as tourists gape at the high water.”

Now Louisiana is preparing for the worst; Baton Rouge is warned to expect five to twenty five feet of water.

Tropical Storm Aere leaves the Philippines with 22 dead, 210,000 affected and 6400 in evacuation shelters. Agricultural areas were spared damage and farmers welcomed the rain.

5-11- The Pickett Fire near Superior is fully contained 1300 acres. However the Horseshoe Two Fire in the Coronado National Forest near New Mexico is only 5% contained with 8900 acres burned.

New Mexico is so dry there have been twenty seven wildfires in four days. The first three months of the year have been the second driest on record. 400 fires have happened since January 1st of this year and have burned 400 square miles. The Lincoln National Forest in south east New Mexico will be closed beginning tomorrow, not just fire restrictions, but completely shut down for visitors.

Eighteen year old twins are killed after a storm blew down a large tree onto their family’s house in North Carolina. The girls were watching television together when it happened.

5-12- The Horshoe Two Fire has burned 10,000 acres in the Coronado National Forest and is only 10% contained.
Fire restrictions begin today in that forest until July 18th.

A few days ago your fine staff at Blue Duck reported that the Big Muddy was flowing at a mind staggering two million cubic feet per second. Here is perspective of how much water that is: It is comparable to a football field of water at a height of 44’ per second.
“The relentless floodwaters of the Mississippi River surge into the poverty stricken Delta region, bringing misery to hundreds of people forced from their homes and swamping massive tracts of fertile farmlands.”
Saving some from flooding will mean flooding other areas. Five counties in Mississippi are declared distaster areas and up to five thousand people will be displaced.

One hundred dead endangerd green sea turtles have been seized by Philippines custom officials. The turtles were to be smuggled to various countries and their value was a half million dollars.

5-13- The Horseshoe Two Fire has burned 13,000 acres with no word of containment as of this writing.
Federal engineers are close to opening a massive spillway that would protect Batan Rouge and New Orleans but flood thousands of acres in Louisiana. 25,000 people are packing, wondering if they will have homes to come back to.

An eleven year old boy in Iowa survives a tornado that demolishes part of his home by hiding in a clothes dryer. His panicked mother called from work when she heard a local tornado warning. She told him to get to the laundry room where there were no windows.

5-14- And yet another Red Flag Warning will be issued for all of Arizona tomorrow form 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

The floodgate is opened in Morganza, Louisiana for the first time in forty years. Some areas will be covered with twenty five feet of water. The Mississippi rising river levels “have shattered records set seventy years ago.

After falling two climbers are rescued and one dead on Alaska’s Mount McKinley.

From his secluded location in Colorado RyDuck reports 38 degrees at 1:00 p.m. with snow on the ground.

5-15- The Horshoe Two fire had consumed 20,000 acres in the Coronado National Forest and is only 20% contained.

With the Red Flag Warning in effect for Arizona 48mph wind gusts reported in Kingman, 45mph in Flagstaff and 34mph in Phoenix. (I was remarking to the Lovely Mrs. Blueduck about the mild May weather but the trade off is wind and it is only drying out the vegetation faster. It is going to be a long fire season I am afraid.)

5-16- The Horseshoe Two Fire is still only 20% contained with 26,000 acres burned. Evacuations are ordered for the South Western Research station that has twenty structures.

The reward for two javelina shot in March in Tucson has been raised to two thousand dollars. One was found dead the day after it was shot by a pellet gun. The second finally had to be put down from its injuries.

More good news for the piss hole Lake Mead! With record snows upstream the total releases will be 12.46 million acre feet of water. The lake will raise thirty feet by early 2012. This will avoid water shortages (supposedly) for five more years.

Seven thousand people are evacuated In the town of Slave Lake, Alberta from a wildfire and high winds. A third of the buildings in town have been destroyed including a shopping mall. Ninety percent of the residents have left after winds turned the fire on the town.

As of today there are 116 fires burning in Alberta with 39 out of control. Warm, dry windy conditions have contributed with a total of 206 square miles burned. (When I think of Canada I certainly don’t think of wildfires. But I’m sure when Canadians think of Arizona they don’t think of snow.)

5-17- Snow level in Arizona drops to 7000’ with no accumulations expected.
Seventy seven degrees at The Land with a 15mph wind has a chill factor of 75 degrees, in May!

NAOA satellite images have confirmed 625 tornadoes in April across the south with 4-27 and 4-28 being the strongest.

Eleven of the twenty five Morganza spillways have been opened releasing 100,00 cubic feet per second of the swollen Mississippi and flooding 8,000 acres of farmland in Louisiana.

The Coast Guard has closed the Mississippi River north of New Orleans to cargo vessels to reduce the pressure of rising floodwaters. Barges transporting coal, timber, iron, steel and half of America’s grain exports will cost hundreds of millions of dollars every day that they don’t move.

5-18- A seventy five degree high at The Land with a 22mph wind chill made for a cool 71. (I know its May.) A brief shower even produced .01”of rain. Wind Advisory is posted for the entire state. The snow level is down to seven thousand feet in Arizona. Apparently enough rain fell in northern Arizona to lift fire restrictions in the Kaibab and Coconino National Forests.

The Horsheshoe Two fire has burned 26,000 acres and only 25% contained. There are 800 firefighters battling the blaze. All air support has been grounded due to 50mph wind gusts.

(As if the South hasn’t had enough to deal with in the past month.) Locusts have been living in the ground for 13 years. The largest population in the world will appear in thirteen southern states in five weeks. Their “singing” in mass can reach 100 decibils. They will sing, mate and die in a matter of a few days. (I would just shoot myself if I were there.)

5-19- 49 degree low on The Land this morning! When I stepped out it smelled like wood smoke and the air quality was terrible. As I traveled north for work I noticed it wasn’t any better. I heard later that the storm yesterday had such strong winds that the jet stream brought smoke from the wildfires in Alberta, Canada this far south, amazing!

Yesterday’s high of 72 degrees in Phoenix was only shy of two degrees of the lowest high ever set in 1921.

The Horseshoe Two Fire is 25% contained with 33,000 acres burned. It’s smoke is traveling as far east as Texas.

A 69 year old man has been claimed by the flooded Mississippi in Vicksburg. Two firefighters in a patrol boat saw him clinging to a flooded fence. It was too late when they reached the man.

4800 people have been displaced by flooding in Mississippi.

Spring storms have piled up snow on top of already record levels in the West and major flooding is expected in June. All western states except for Arizona and New Mexico have had record snow fall.

There is 23’ on the Trail Ridge Road in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Wyoming’s snow pack is 250% of normal in areas above the state’s major river basins.

5-20- The Mississippi River crests in Vicksburg, Mississippi at a new record of 57.1’ above flood stage.

Osprey chicks are being rescued from their treetop nests as floodwaters rise in Lafayette, Louisiana. As the water gets closer to their nests they become vulnerable to alligators. Alligators can jump up to three feet out of the water. Their powerful tails can power them almost vertically while their hind feet skim the water.
A state alert in Louisiana has been issued to warn people to be careful of displaced poisonous snakes and bears on the move from flooding.

According to my National Wildlife Federation calendar today is “Endangered Species Day.” I don’t remember ever seeing this before or when it was proclaimed. It struck me a bit odd and out of place. What are we supposed to do, have a toast? Or maybe shoot a spotted owl and wipe our ass with the feathers? I mean what is there to celebrate or even honor? I know what I should do, hop on a plane for Siberia and hug a fucking polar bear.

5-21- High water causes three buried caskets to float at a Yazoo, Mississippi cemetery. This cemetery has not been flooded since it was built in 1859.

5-22- The Horseshoe Two fire in south east Arizona is a stubborn bastard. It has been burning since May 8th and as of today has consumed 37,000 acres and remains at only 25% contained. On top of that a Red Flag Warning for high winds has been issued for tomorrow.

An EF-3 tornado has been confirmed in Reading, Kansas. One man was killed and twenty homes destroyed in the small town. Some residents reported baseball size hail.

Landslides destroy a Malaysian orphanage killing fifteen boys and an adult. Nine other people survived.

Five baby bobcats have been photographed in a tree behind an abandoned house at Tatum and Pinnacle Peak in Scottsdale, Arizona. (I wonder where mama is? I would hate to be taking “cute” pictures and see her come back totally pissed off.)

5-23- The Horseshoe Two Fire has burned 40,000 acres and still is only 25% contained.
The Laguna Fire five miles north of Yuma has burned 751 acres along the Colorado River. Thanfully it is 90% contained.
A brush fire is reported near Highway 87 north of Punkin Center.

The deadliest single tornado ever to strike Missouri has killed one hundred and sixteen people. It is the strongest tornado in the United States since1947.
The EF4 tornado had winds of 198mph with a debris cloud 18,000 feet high. Papers and x-rays found sixty miles from Joplin where the tornado tore the town in half. Two thousand buildings destroyed.

5-24- Another deadly blast of tornadoes in Oklahoma and Kansas today. Four were killed in Grady Count, Oklahoma. One tornado may have been an EF5.
So far this year there have been 488 deaths nationally. The average is 50. The cause for the tornado onslaught is the Jet stream from the Rockies and the northern Plains colliding with warm air from the south.

More Red Flag Warnings for Arizona and a High Ozone Alert for Phoenix.

Recently there has been so much rain in Montana that broad areas in the south eastern part of the state are underwater. One person is dead and a fifty mile stretch of I-90 is closed. The Indian community of Lodge Grass is completely cut off from surrounding areas.

5-25- The latest tornado outburst kills fourteen in Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. Forty five million people are under threat of severe weather across the Mid West and the South.

The death toll in Joplin, Missouri is one hundred and twenty five with seven hundred injured.

Relentless snow in Colorado prompt Aspen and Arapahoe Basin ski resorts to reopen as long as the snow keep falling.

5-26- Allergy season ain’t over yet! Ragweed pollen in Phoenix today the worst in the nation.

There have been various reports about the missing in Joplin, Missouri but the official count is 232. It is hoped that many are alive with friends or family in other homes that weren’t destroyed.

Tornadoes strike Memphis, St. Louis and Kansas City.

A rare tornado reported in northern California. Blizzard conditions in the Sierras.

In south east Montana, Crow tribal officials send search teams to remote parts of their reservation to look for stranded people due to flooding. 75 homes have been damaged and 150 are in shelters.

Thousands of people along the Philippine coast move to emergency shelters as Typhoon Songda approaches with 93mph winds.

5-27- The first 100 degree high at the Land for the season. The first 100 in Phoenix was on April 1st.

Three hundred thousand dollars in federal funds have been allocated by the Arizona governor for last summer’s Schultz fire victims near Flagstaff. Concrete barriers and sandbags will be constructed to help preven further erosion from flash flooding.

The death toll keeps rising in Joplin, Missouri and now is at 130.

The flooded Musselshells River covers portions of the small town of Roundup, Montana with as much as six feet of water. Eastbound I-90 lanes from Livingston to Springdale are closed due to flooding.

5-28- Red Flag Warnings posted in Arizona today. Wind gusts of 43mph in Flagstaff, 23mph in Sedona and 30mph in Kingman.

Boaters and campers are banned from a lake and dam near Yuma because of the recent Laguna Fire. It has burned 800 acres of prime riparian habitat along the Colorado River.

Pinal County, Arizona issues a rabies alert after four skunks have been confirmed rabid. The latest happened at a Mammoth home. A skunk used a doggie door to enter a home. The owner woke up to a skunk pawing at his face. He was able to get the skunk outside where he killed it with a shovel. “Rabies is basically 100% fatal once symptoms appear.” (The dude is lucky the skunk didn’t spray while he was getting it out of the house. That would feel 100% fatal.)

The confirmed dead in Joplin is up to one hundred and forty two people. One hundred are still missing or unaccounted for. One eighteen year old boy missing since the tornado was found dead in a pond yesterday. He was riding in his dad’s truck after graduation when the storm struck. He was either ejected or pulled out of the truck by the violent tornado.

Overnight violent thunderstorms swept from New England to Georgia, knocking out power and killing three in the Atlanta area.

Welcome to Memorial Day weekend for some unlucky wanna be campers. A key highway into Yellowstone National Park is closed due to twenty five feet of snow and only one campground in the massive park is open. Popular Rocky Mountain National Park’s Trail Ridge road is closed due to seventeen feet of snow. Campers are urged to go to lower elevations in New Mexico or Arizona.

Snowmelt and warming rains spread flooding to Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. All eyes are on the Missouri River for the next month.

In Indiana a couple found a receipt from a Joplin hardware store on their porch. It may have blown 525 miles, the longest recorded journey of debris from a tornado. In order to reach Indiana the receipt would had to have been sucked into the tornado and then carried by the jet stream for 125 hours.
The previous record was a cancelled check that traveled 210 miles after the 1915 tornado in Great Bend, Kansas.

5-29- Red Flag Warnings issued for entire state of Arizona. 64mph winds in Flagstaff, 59mph winds in Winslow. Several wildfires popped up; one north of Winona, one near Happy Jack and one north of the Pinetop country club. No word of cause or amount of acres burned as of this report.

The President visits Joplin today. At 5:41 p.m. a moment of silence will be observed. At that time one week ago the deadly monster swept through the town.

Areas of Monatana have received EIGHT INCHES OF RAIN in the last few days.

Ten inches of snow fell yesterday in the Sierras.

450 late afternoon flights cancelled in Chicago due to powerful thunderstorms.

Heavy snowmelt and the most spring rain on record have Lake Champlain in Vermont at its highest level ever. 500 homes have been destroyed by flooding.

Grand Coule Dam is releasing massive amounts of water to make way for late season snowmelt. In these releases deadly gas bubbles are killing hundreds of thousands of fish downstream in the Columbia River.

In New York a family pet dog attacks and kills a four year old boy. When the mother tried to intervene the Cane Cosso mastiff attacked her also. She was not seriously injured before emergency crews arrived.

5-30- A cool 82 degree high on The Land. Phoenix has a high of 87 degrees. This is due to a strong cold front that generated a lot of wind. The average temperature for this day in Phoenix is 99 degrees, the record is 114 degrees. Sadly we may not see these cool temperatures until next October.

Two wildfires have destroyed twelve homes near Amarillo, Texas.

5-31- The Horseshoe Two fire is turning out to be massive. It has burned 64,290 acres and is 45% contained. It is in terrain so rugged it can only be fought by air although nine hundred firefighters are on site.
The Wallow Fire near Alpine has burned 1450 acres and forces evacuations of campers. It began two days ago and is human caused.

Emergency phone service has been disrupted across most of eastern Montana because of record breaking rain in the past week.

A heat wave with temperatures in the nineties in Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis and Washington D.C.

Evacuations in North Dakota are eminent as the Missouri River begins to rise.

Well May is now nothing more than a memory or a nightmare depending upon which part of the country you live in. But this month’s quote is appropriate in a sad but uplifting way. No matter the blow people are resilient and rebuild their shattered homes and lives after Mother Nature takes all they own. “Trees are the most trusting of all living creatures because they trust enough to put their roots down in one place, knowing they will be there for life.”

The wistful song of the month is “High Sierra” by Boz Scaggs.

Until you are floating (or riding rapids) down the Mighty Mississippi with Huckleberry Finn remember Pioneers took bullets. Settlers took land.

The Honorable, Award Winning, Distinguished, Undeterred
Professor MR Blue Duck.