October Blue Duck 2010

September 2010 Weather News!

Welcome to another fantastic mind altering fascinating edition of Blue Duck Weather. Although fall officially began at the Land on September 22nd at 8:09 p.m. all I can say is “My Ass!” The average temperature at the end of the month was only one degree cooler than the first day of the month. Phoenix shattered three consecutive heat records at the end of the month. Los Angeles reached its hottest day ever recorded on the 27th. The monsoon really ended long before the new brainless date but the dew points remained in the fifties. All the first day of fall did for me is make me drop to my knobby knees and scream for some reprieve from this brutal summer. Sixteen days in Phoenix were 105 degrees or warmer and two were over 110. Fortunately there were only six days The Land reached 105 but that is small relief for the sweat on my brow and balls!

All of this when us desert dwellers are exhausted, dehydrated and weak sure makes it easy to give into the global warming theory, or at the very least politically correct, climate change. Climate change is ongoing and inevitable as Mother Earth goes through her “periods.” I have no idea how mankind has affected global warming during the industrial revolution and those of you who have read past editions of this amazing weather journal know I take no political rhetoric from both sides of the flooding river. I will however leave you with the following quotes from two sources. One is form a NASA scientist. Although NASA has been fingered as being in the pocket of the government I happen to respect the unimaginable engineering feats of big boy shit that has occurred in the last fifty years.

“James Hansen, the NASA scientist who is perhaps the most respected authority on Global warming, says that climate change is the predominant moral issue of the 21st, comparable to slavery faced by Lincoln and the response to Nazism faced by Churchill.”

“On Thin Ice- The world’s two great ice sheets are melting faster than anyone believed possible. Glaciers in both Antarctica and Greenland are losing ice at twice the rate they were in 2002, as much as 400 billion tons every year.”

In this fantastic edition of Blue Duck Weather you will read, amongst so many other things, the worst fire in Colorado history, more Gulf Coast oil leak affect reports (although “conveniently” they are harder to find), track a tropical depression and hurricane from its roots through its amazing journey of havoc and destruction, a group of people happy to see a hurricane, an animal thought to be extinct rediscovered, the definition of the meteorological summer, a refrigerator floating in a house, the new term Super Derecho and its definition, an amazing but sad story about Alaska walruses, a five year old winner of a moose calling contest, “the Fujiwhara effect”, four hundred escaped crocodiles, a bear beat away by a woman with a large zucchini, a man who kills his unruly dog with a chainsaw and the criteria for a tropical storm to be a named storm.

The average temperature at The Land for the month was 83.22 degrees. Talking Trees and Antelope Hill was much cooler at 62.09 degrees.

The average humidity was 29.66% with a still sticky dew point of 50.37 degrees. The Land received .33” of rain, actually more than the prior three monsoon months. We have a thirsty total of just 4.65 inches for the year while Phoenix has received 7.40 inches.

The important lake levels that keep us from killing each other for water are as follows: Mead (soon to have us killing) dwindles to 38%, Pleasant (we better get some more fucking rain) 53%, Powell 63% and my desert gem, Roosevelt stands strong with 94%.

A feature we began last month is to track unusually fast and falling barometer pressures. The purpose it to help you migraine sufferers track the pressure correlation and your agonizing headaches. The pressure fell fast on September 5th and alas, .06” of rain fell. The pressure dive bombed for four days in a row between September 19th to the 22nd to a all time low of 28.03 and alas there was 28.06” of rain. This is also important for us campers to note; falling pressure usually means a dramatic change in wind or it means rain. But why should we give a fuck, none of us measure barometric pressure camping unless we get a blinding splitting headache!

The song of the month is “Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley. It doesn’t have a thing to do with the weather but it sure shows the weather reporting at hurricane sites and the disappointment visibly shown when there aren’t more “casualties”.


9-1- Flagstaff flood victims after the Schultz Fire earlier this summer will not receive Federal aid to rebuild. FEMA requires that one hundred homes in a community have to be destroyed for aid. Only two homes in the Flagstaff area were destroyed. Most homeowners did not have flood insurance.

Mosquitoes in the town of Maricopa, Arizona test positive for the West Nile Virus.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is offering a 5,000 dollar reward for information about the killing of a baby Bighorn sheep. The lamb was found shot to death along the Apache Trail on August 24th. (This is beyond sick and depraved, it is a flat out sin and crime against nature! Justice will be served when the circle turns.)

A Hurricane Warning is issued for North Carolina as Earl gets closer. A Warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours. 5,000 tourists on the islands of Ocracoke and Hatteras are ordered to leave. If this storm moves up to New England as a hurricane it will be the first time since 1991.

Floods that have devastated Pakistan for the past five weeks are finally heading to the Arabian Sea but eight million people still need emergency aid.

9-2- Here we go again! An Excessive Heat Warning is issued for Maricopa county tomorrow until eight p.m.

Hurricane Earle is 500 miles wide and has winds of 145mph. The governor
of North Carolina is urging visitors to leave and residents to hunker down.
One group of people excited about Earl’s approach are East Coast surfers. “ Hurricane season is one of the rare times waves can reach world class heights.” Waves at the center of the storm are 30’ high.

A golfer’s routine swing at the Shady Canyon golf course in Irvine, California struck a rock. The impact caused a spark that set off a 25 acre wildfire that took 150 Orange County firefighters to put out. ( Now I understand why shooting restrictions are placed in dry conditions.)
9-3- North Carolina is spared from Earle as it diminishes to a Category 1 hurricane. There are still concerns as it moves up the coast as 13 states may still be affected. ( Editor’s Note: The news reporters on National television seemed discouraged by this. I guess they are trained to report on chaos, destruction and death. So much so that some get off on it. They actually should have been jumping up and down with the “happy dance of joy.”)

More wildfires in southern Russia kill 8 and burn 400 homes to the ground.

Typhoon Kompasu kills five in South Korea.

9-4- Earle fizzles to a tropical storm and then briefly regains strength to a hurricane. 200,000 without power and one dead in Halifax, Canada.

9-5- The Barometric pressure fell like a rock on the Land today, from 28.42 degrees to an all time low of 28.08 degrees. Literally out of the blue came dark clouds out of the south. No rain was predicted anywhere at all. We received a heavy brief downpour that produced .05 inches of cooling rain!
(How was your headache today?)

Red Flag Warning issued for northern Arizona.

Torrential rains in Guatemala causes landslides that kill 38 people, some of them rescuers. Their president tells them avoid highways where slides may occur.

Fishermen ignored storm warnings in Mozambique when they went onto the Indian Ocean to fish. Capsized boats have killed 15.

A Sierra Nevada red fox has been found 90 miles south of Reno, Nevada. It is a native subspecies thought to be extinct since the last sighting in 1990.

9-6- The meteorological calendar for summer is June through August. In Phoenix the average daytime high for that period was a normal 105.3 degrees. But the overnight lows averaged 82.8 degrees, three degrees above normal. It was the fifth warmest night time averages in 114 years of record keeping. Ten temperature records were tied or broken with high minimums.

Out of nowhere a big storm is headed for Texas. Tropical Storm Hermine has 60mph winds and a Flash Flood Watch has been issued all the way to Houston.

9-7- A “monsoon buster” of low pressure from the north Pacific is on its way to Arizona. (Fucking Hallelujah, it’s about time.)

There is a fast moving wildfire near Boulder, Colorado. It has burned 3500 acres, thousands evacuate and a dozen homes are lost.

A “typical” wildfire season in the United States burns five million acres of land a year. This year has “only” been two and a half million acres.

Tropical Storm Hermine may dump a foot of rain on Mexico’s northern coast and Texas.

9-8- The Four mile Fire near Boulder has consumed 7100 acres and a State of Emergency has been declared. 92 buildings have burned and 3000 evacuated. There are eight people missing who refused to leave their homes. The fire may have started when a car crashed into a propane tank.

In McAllen, Texas residents are urged to evacuate as the Guadalupe and Comal Rivers are rising fast from rain produced by Hermine. In central Texas authorities are searching for possible victims after two mobile homes and a house are swept away.

Man am I glad I don’t live in ‘Vegas. The first measurable rain (.01’’) fell since April 22nd. The average temperature in July was 96.2 degrees, the warmest ever recorded for the city. (Fucking desolation row! Can you imagine being broke and hung over on the street there?)

Strong winds knock down electrical lines causing “raging” fires in Detroit. Eighty five buildings have burned and 50,000 without power. The city’s fire department could not keep up and adjoining fire departments had to be called in for the first time since the riots of 1967.

Weeks of heavy rains and flooding in southern Mexico have forced tens of thousands to evacuate from flooding rivers. Thousands more, who won’t leave their property, are sleeping on roofs. To keep up with the swell four dams have been releasing 71,000 cubic feet per second to keep up with the upstream deluge.

A bobcat climbing a power pole got electrocuted and set off a 5 acre wildfire in Ventura County, California.

A Massachusetts woman fell into a yellow jacket nest in her yard and was stung 500 times. She is hospitalized and her condition is unknown. (Editor’s Note: We have reported local bee stings many times. I would much rather deal with them than a yellow jacket. When I was a young duck my parents had grape vines growing on a trellis that shaded a carport. One afternoon my drunk uncle got tangled up with a yellow jacket nest picking grapes. The poor bastard’s head and face looked like a cauliflower! He didn’t go to the hospital, no the “strong” man just kept drinking to kill the pain. He didn’t die though as I recall, not from that.)

9-9- The Monsoon season may be over at The Land. It was a blissful low of 62 degrees with a dew point of 30 degrees this morning. The last time Phoenix had a 62 degree low was fucking June 12th and you ain’t there yet if you live in that shit hole.

The remnants of Hermine move north after forcing one hundred high water rescues in and two killed in Texas. Some homes have five feet of water in them. One man said “Did you ever see a refrigerator floating around your kitchen before?”

Many Louisiana fishermen are hesitant to begin fishing again in the coast. They are not convinced the oil is gone or has not damaged the fish making them unsafe to eat.

The ninth named tropical storm of the year has formed in the Atlantic, Igor.

A black bear has broken into a dozen vehicles over the past two weeks in Montana just north of Yellow Stone Park. This last time a van door shut and trapped the bear inside the vehicle. A sheriff’s deputy and a game warden tied a rope to the door, took cover and pulled it open. The bear, fortunately, ran off.

9-10- West side Boulder residents prepare to evacuate ahead of advancing fire. 60mph winds threaten to drive the fire their way. Residents are urged to fuel up and park their cars facing the street, wet down yards and pick up important personal documents and medicines. 169 homes have been destroyed including hilltop mansions.

Authorities in Austin, Texas have scaled back the search for a missing motorist. The Bull Creek was flooded due to rain from Hermine. The woman ignored and drove around police barricades and was swept away.
The Texas governor issued disaster declarations for 40 counties.

9-11- (WE CANNOT FORGET!)

The Colorado wildfire is 50% contained and 2000 people are allowed to return to their homes. Another 1000 wait to be allowed back.

The bodies of two men in Texas were found yesterday raising the death toll from Hermine flooding to six.

Tropical Storm Igor is nearing hurricane strength.

9-12- The fire near Boulder, Colorado is under control but has burned TEN SQUARE MILES. Now authorities are investigating whether a fire pit started the worst fire in Colorado history.

In one day Tropical Storm Igor turns into a Category 4 Hurricane. It is 1120 miles east of the Caribbean Leeward islands with no “immediate threat to land or energy interests.”

The ocean surface water temperatures near Japan were the highest ever recorded for the month of August at 1.2 degrees warmer than average. This may seem insignificant to us mortals but fish and water mammals prematurely move from their “native waters” to pursue cooler temperatures.

9-13- Four endangered California condors will be released north of the Grand Canyon on September 25th, part of the work to save the endangered birds from extinction. It is the 16th release in Arizona since 1996. 73 condors are alive and soaring the skies in northern Arizona.

A new wildfire breaks out near Loveland, Colorado with six hundred acres burned and one house destroyed.

Patches of oil two inches thick are found on the ocean floor 80 miles from the Gulf Coast oil blowout. Under the oil are dead shrimp and other smaller fish.

A fierce windstorm that blew across Kansas, Missouri and Illinois in May, 2009 has earned a brand new classification, “Super Dericho” coming from the Spanish adverb for straight. It is a long lived windstorm that blows in a straight line. That day the storm began in Kansas and caused 18 tornadoes!

Igor may become a Category 5 storm today. Tropical Storm Julia develops in the eastern Atlantic.

9-14- Two homes have now been destroyed and 900 acres burned in the wild fire near Loveland, Colorado. The fire near Boulder is fully contained.

Julia turns into the 5th Atlantic hurricane of the season and Igor weakens to a, still dangerous, Category 4 hurricane.

Tens of thousands of walruses are driven to land in north west Alaska because the sea ice they normally rest on has melted. The numbers are a mile wide, side by side. Scientists are most concerned about a stampede and one ton females crushing smaller calves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to divert airplane traffic above the animals as not to spook them. (A sad story because of the cause but what amazing photo opportunities this would present if only my beady eyes were there!)

A five year old boy in Alaska is the winner of a moose calling contest. How did he do it? His mother says he likes to make a lot of noise and “he’s good at it.” (I’m glad this brat doesn’t live in my house spending all of his waking hours practicing calling moose. Although not a violent duck I would have ideas on how to stop the noise.)

9-15- Two of Flagstaff’s favorite fall color locations are closed due to the Schultz Fire earlier this summer. They are closed until December 31st.

Tropical Storm Karl makes landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It is the 11th named storm of the season.

Typhoon Kompasu kills dozens in North Korea. Heavy rains wash away 74,000 acres of crops and 3300 homes are lost. Landslides cause damage to the rail system.

Hurricanes cannot merge. If two get too close to one another they begin to circle around each other and draw energy from the opposing hurricane. Eventually one weakens or both weaken equally. This is called the Fujiwhara Effect, named for a Japanese meteorologist that discovered this phenomenon.

An endangerd Albatross is snagged on a commercial fishing hook in Alaska and has died. The birds were once thought to be extinct but now number a few thousand.

9-16- And from the “This happened right down the street” file: Pinal County Animal Care and Control seized 152 cats and 19 dogs from a home in Hidden Valley, Arizona. The home had no running water and no litter boxes. There were layers of shit throughout the house.( Yours truly hit the street to interview neighbors about this horrific discovery. One said “Oh, they were such a nice family. No one really seemed to mind the stench around their property or the shit dripping down windows. The children were so well mannered although their clothes were stained and stunk like cat piss. We just thought they were a little strange.”)

A California wildfire in the southern Sierra has burned 6100 acres and another fire breaks out near Whittear, California.

Karl becomes a hurricane after re-entering the Gulf of Mexico. Karl may make landfall tomorrow near the oil hub of Poza Rica, Mexico. Igor is still churning out there too with 140mph winds.

9-17- Pinal County sheriff’s deputies rescued two Mexican women who had been traveling on foot across the desert for six days. They were both out of food and water. In a panic one woman used her cell phone to call for help. The Sheriff’s department was able to triangulate the call and locate the women. One woman was delirious and suffering from dehydration. They were traveling with eight others before they were abandoned without food and water.

Karl is now a Category 3 hurricane flooding Veracruz, Mexico. 14 production oil wells have been shut down and workers evacuated. Government officials say this is the worst hurricane there in 50 years.

Storms slam New York City with 100mph winds. One woman was crushed by a falling tree while in her car and 27,000 without power. The National Weather Service is determining if an official tornado struck.

Strong storms tear through Ohio and hail destroys part of Ohio State University in Wooster. Numerous possible tornadoes sighted.

A record number of shark bitten sea otters were found last month along California’s central coast. The lower water temperatures this summer made ideal conditions for sharks.

9-18- Phoenix sets a record of 109 degrees today. The past several days have been the hottest in thirty years.

The National Weather Service has concluded that two tornadoes ripped through New York City two days ago. With up to 125mph winds the tornadoes left a path of destruction fourteen miles from Brooklyn to Queens. Tornadoes in New York City are extremely rare.

Karl has killed six in Veraccruz, Mexico and forcing the country to shut down its only nuclear power plant. EIGHT INCHES OF RAIN FELL IN NINETY MINUTES! Now weakened to a Tropical Storm Karl may hit Mexico City with 70mph winds and heavy rain.

Hurricane Igor is bearing down on Bermuda with 40’ tides hitting the barrier reefs.

Colorado wildlife officials are declaring a victory in an eleven year effort to reintroduce lynx to the state. The cats are reproducing faster than they are dying. The state’s native lynx became extinct in the 1970s because of trapping, poisoning and land development.

Officials in Idaho County want the governor to allow wolves to be shot on sight due to attacks on livestock and wildlife. A U.S. District Court decision last month restored federal protection to wolves in Idaho and Montana despite objections from both states.

A woman hunter in South Carolina has taken a thirteen and a half foot, 1025 pound alligator in Lake Moutrie! A .22 caliber gun was not enough to kill the gator so she used a knife to sever the spinal cord! The woman said she was an experienced hunter but had never killed an alligator.

9-19- A couple of records were broken in Phoenix today; 111 degrees was the high, shattering the old record of 107 in 1962. It was the latest date ever for a temperature of 110 or higher in a hundred years of record keeping.

Igor is near Bermuda as a Category 1 storm. The eye of the hurricane will pass over late today. (Oh how I would love to be there with a camera!)

Typhoon Fanapai strikes Taipei, Tawain with 102mph winds. TWENTY ONE INCHES OF RAIN FELL! All flights and rail service are cancelled and 170,000 without power.

9-20- Phoenix set a new heat record at 107 degrees with a new morning high low of 91 degrees.

Heavy monsoon rains and landslides have killed 47 in northern India.

“ More than 100,000 children left homeless by Pakistan’s floods are in danger of dying because they simply don’t have enough to eat, according to UNICEF. Children already weak from living on too little food in poor rural areas before the floods are fighting to stay alive as diarrhea, respiratory disease and malaria attack their emaciated bodies.” ( Simply hearbreaking! Where are you God? They desparately need a miracle.)

9-21- A Flash Flood Watch is posted for Pinal County until 6:00p.m.
Twenty power poles are knocked down by strong winds in Gila Bend. A Flash Flood Watch is issued for Maricopa County until tomorrow afternoon.

A wildfire in Merriman, Utah burned several homes and 1600 evacuated. A commander of the Utah National Guard takes full responsibility for allowing live fire training despite a Red Flag Warning. He was conducting a machine gun exercise in “tinder dry conditions.”

The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for eleven Texas counties. Flooding in Corpus Christi forced 100,000 gallons of raw sewage out of a manhole ( this makes my shitter problems look like nothing). Crews resumed looking for a a missing motorist who called from his car before it was swept away.

The death toll from flooding and mudslides by Hurricane Karl is up to 16 in Veracruz, Mexico.

Hurricane Igor’s winds strengthen as the storm makes landfall in eastern Canada.

Two new tropical storms develop: Georgette in the Pacific and Lisa in the Atlantic. ( If this Lisa is anything like our Lisa it will develop into a major hurricane and cause absolute havoc!)

9-22- A Flash Flood Warning is issued for N.E. Maricopa County and Gila County until 9:45 a.m. Highway 188 north of Roosevelt Lake is closed due to SIX FEET of rock and mud. 3.87 inches of rain fell in Punkin Center!

Brutal temperatures have killed 236 illegal migrants so far this year in the Arizona desert. This is the second highest total on record. The Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office reported 7 bodies found in one day, the most ever.

Fall begins at The Land tonight at 8:09 p.m.

Six square miles have been burned but the wildfire in Utah is 50% contained. Some evacuation orders have been lifted.

Hurricane Igor floods the Atlantic’s coast province of Newfoundland washing out roads and stranding residents in their homes. 14 communities have declared a state of emergency. “Normally the cool Atlantic chills out hurricanes, but this one came with a vengeance”.

Typhoon Fanapi hits China killing 18 with 44 missing. Five were killed when a dam collapsed after being hit by landslides. 350 houses destroyed.
Landslides have killed five in flooded out regions of Mexico. More than seventy people have died this rainy season which has been declared one of the heaviest on record.

280-400 endangered Morelet crocodiles have escaped a refuge in Mexico after flooding from Hurricane Karl. Residents in the state of Veracruz are ordered not to kill or capture the crocs.

9-23- Death toll from Typhoon Fanapi in China is up to 54. FORTY INCHES OF RAIN have fallen in some areas.

“The Wave. When violent storms send swells rolling across the Pacific, the world’s most daring surfers will drop everything and travel anywhere to risk riding a wall of water as high as 100’”. ( JerDuck shared this amazing article with me. These guys have made a science of tracking the biggest waves by tapping into the science of weather forecasting and mapping. So a hurricane or typhoon is a good thing to them if it creates the swell and wave they hope comes with it. One amazing account was about a dude to went to Alaska to surf the waves created by calving glacier. It said he was dodging chunks of ice city blocks long.)

9-24- 2500 people are urged to evacuate Arcadia, Wisconsin and the National Guard is called in to help. The downtown area is under three feet of water from heavy rains and flooding.

Northern India has experienced “unprecedented rain” since August. Two million people have been forced to evacuate in a twenty four hour period. 17 people have been killed and thousands of homes washed away in Lucknow.

A woman near Helena Montana fended off a 200 pound black bear by whacking it with a large piece of zucchini from her garden. The bear was trying to get into her home. She suffered scratches and her dog was injured trying to protect her.

A New Mexico man faces felony charges after killing his pit bull with a chainsaw as his young children watched. The man said the dog bit his nine year old daughter and he felt the dog needed to be put down. He tried to use a knife to slash the dog’s throat, but when that didn’t work he grabbed his trusty chainsaw.
9-25- An aggressive swarm of bees leaves a Phoenix family trapped inside their home near 24th Street and Indian School Road. Two of the family’s large dogs were killed by multiple stings and another is recovering.

Arizona Game and Fish is offereing a 2700 dollar reward for the arrest and conviction of person(s) who poached a 6x6 bull elk near Ash Fork. The animal was illegally shot and killed between September 6th and the 8th. The elk’s antlers were sawed off but left at the scene with the rest of the carcass. This happened just before legal archery season so the agency is hoping someone scouting witnessed all or part of the butchering.

The U.S. Department of Defense will pay homeowners for losses in the wildfire started in Utah last week by the National Guard conducting live fire training. The fire is now 100% contained.

Several towns in southwestern Wisconsin and southern Minnesota have received a half foot of rain that caused evacuations yesterday and today.

Mathew weakens to a Tropical Depression but floods the southern part of Central America with as much as SEVENTEEN INCHES OF RAIN!

The Canadian military is in eastern Newfounland to help rebuild two bridges in the aftermath of Hurricane Igor.

9-26- With one hundred cases and seven deaths Arizona leads the nation in West Nile mesquito infections. Most of the cases have occurred in the southeast valley.

Rabies have been confirmed in a pair of Mohave County, Arizona bats. The children that came in contact with them are being treated.

From heavy rains this past week in central Wisconsin a levee fails south of Highway 33 today. In Zumbro Falls, Minnesota floodwaters have destroyed 58 homes and 20 businesses. 10.86 inches of rain has fallen in areas. The governors of both states declare a State of Emergency.

9-27- Los Angeles set an all time record high of any date in history of 113 degrees today.

Much of the U.S. is experiencing abnormally dry weather conditions that began in June. Some states have issued drought warnings and high risks for brush fires. The states most affected are inland areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio and parts of New Jersey up to Maine.

Most of the oil leaked into the Gulf is still there despite the hype from the White House. The most sustained deep water release of oil has left at least 50% of the oil on the ocean floor.
Recorded depression of Gulf Coast residents is up 25% since the massive oil leak.

Flooding in Nigeria is rotting crops and making food shortages worse. Thirty four square miles of farmland is under water at the worst possible time, before the harvest. Two million people have been displaced or affected by flooding.

9-28- The Bald eagle population in Arizona is at a new high of 104 breeding adult eagles since the project began in 1990 to save them from extinction.

The Grand Ol Opry reopens after a twenty million dollar renovation caused by the flooding in May.

27,000 in Los Angeles for eight to sixteen hours after yesterday’s all time heat record. The drain from air conditoners overloaded and blew transformers.

A rain soaked mountainside has given away in Oaxaca, Mexico. At least 300 homes have been buried or destroyed. No official count of the human casualties.

In Columbia 20 people changing from one bus to another because of an earlier landslide blocking a road are buried by another landslide.

Today is the average last day of 100 degrees in Phoenix.

9-29- Eighty three degrees a record high for Flagstaff for the second day in a row.

SEVENTEEN INCHES of rain has fallen in Delaware and moving up the East Coast.

A Tropical Depression is soaking south Florida after drenching Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Sustained winds are at 35mph. At 39 mph a depression becomes a named storm.

Eleven people are confirmed missing after a landslide in Oaxaca, Mexico yesterday. At first reports were that hundreds were feared dead.

9-30- The last new official day of the monsoon for Arizona.

“Epic” rains and tornado alerts for the East Coast from the Carolinas up to Maine. Wilmington, North Carolina sets a record with TWENTY ONE INCHES OF RAIN since last Sunday. The cause for all of this moisture are the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole mixed with low pressure.

Tropical Storm Nicole kills eight in Jamaica during flash flooding.

Mudslides in the state of Chiapas, Mexico kill 16.

Until next month I remain faithful and undaunted to my millions of readers.

The Distinguished and Renound MR BlueDuck



































































































































































































































































































































September 2010 Weather News!

Welcome to another fantastic mind altering fascinating edition of Blue Duck Weather. Although fall officially began at the Land on September 22nd at 8:09 p.m. all I can say is “My Ass!” The average temperature at the end of the month was only one degree cooler than the first day of the month. Phoenix shattered three consecutive heat records at the end of the month. Los Angeles reached its hottest day ever recorded on the 27th. The monsoon really ended long before the new brainless date but the dew points remained in the fifties. All the first day of fall did for me is make me drop to my knobby knees and scream for some reprieve from this brutal summer. Sixteen days in Phoenix were 105 degrees or warmer and two were over 110. Fortunately there were only six days The Land reached 105 but that is small relief for the sweat on my brow and balls!

All of this when us desert dwellers are exhausted, dehydrated and weak sure makes it easy to give into the global warming theory, or at the very least politically correct, climate change. Climate change is ongoing and inevitable as Mother Earth goes through her “periods.” I have no idea how mankind has affected global warming during the industrial revolution and those of you who have read past editions of this amazing weather journal know I take no political rhetoric from both sides of the flooding river. I will however leave you with the following quotes from two sources. One is form a NASA scientist. Although NASA has been fingered as being in the pocket of the government I happen to respect the unimaginable engineering feats of big boy shit that has occurred in the last fifty years.

“James Hansen, the NASA scientist who is perhaps the most respected authority on Global warming, says that climate change is the predominant moral issue of the 21st, comparable to slavery faced by Lincoln and the response to Nazism faced by Churchill.”

“On Thin Ice- The world’s two great ice sheets are melting faster than anyone believed possible. Glaciers in both Antarctica and Greenland are losing ice at twice the rate they were in 2002, as much as 400 billion tons every year.”

In this fantastic edition of Blue Duck Weather you will read, amongst so many other things, the worst fire in Colorado history, more Gulf Coast oil leak affect reports (although “conveniently” they are harder to find), track a tropical depression and hurricane from its roots through its amazing journey of havoc and destruction, a group of people happy to see a hurricane, an animal thought to be extinct rediscovered, the definition of the meteorological summer, a refrigerator floating in a house, the new term Super Derecho and its definition, an amazing but sad story about Alaska walruses, a five year old winner of a moose calling contest, “the Fujiwhara effect”, four hundred escaped crocodiles, a bear beat away by a woman with a large zucchini, a man who kills his unruly dog with a chainsaw and the criteria for a tropical storm to be a named storm.

The average temperature at The Land for the month was 83.22 degrees. Talking Trees and Antelope Hill was much cooler at 62.09 degrees.

The average humidity was 29.66% with a still sticky dew point of 50.37 degrees. The Land received .33” of rain, actually more than the prior three monsoon months. We have a thirsty total of just 4.65 inches for the year while Phoenix has received 7.40 inches.

The important lake levels that keep us from killing each other for water are as follows: Mead (soon to have us killing) dwindles to 38%, Pleasant (we better get some more fucking rain) 53%, Powell 63% and my desert gem, Roosevelt stands strong with 94%.

A feature we began last month is to track unusually fast and falling barometer pressures. The purpose it to help you migraine sufferers track the pressure correlation and your agonizing headaches. The pressure fell fast on September 5th and alas, .06” of rain fell. The pressure dive bombed for four days in a row between September 19th to the 22nd to a all time low of 28.03 and alas there was 28.06” of rain. This is also important for us campers to note; falling pressure usually means a dramatic change in wind or it means rain. But why should we give a fuck, none of us measure barometric pressure camping unless we get a blinding splitting headache!

The song of the month is “Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley. It doesn’t have a thing to do with the weather but it sure shows the weather reporting at hurricane sites and the disappointment visibly shown when there aren’t more “casualties”.


9-1- Flagstaff flood victims after the Schultz Fire earlier this summer will not receive Federal aid to rebuild. FEMA requires that one hundred homes in a community have to be destroyed for aid. Only two homes in the Flagstaff area were destroyed. Most homeowners did not have flood insurance.

Mosquitoes in the town of Maricopa, Arizona test positive for the West Nile Virus.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is offering a 5,000 dollar reward for information about the killing of a baby Bighorn sheep. The lamb was found shot to death along the Apache Trail on August 24th. (This is beyond sick and depraved, it is a flat out sin and crime against nature! Justice will be served when the circle turns.)

A Hurricane Warning is issued for North Carolina as Earl gets closer. A Warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours. 5,000 tourists on the islands of Ocracoke and Hatteras are ordered to leave. If this storm moves up to New England as a hurricane it will be the first time since 1991.

Floods that have devastated Pakistan for the past five weeks are finally heading to the Arabian Sea but eight million people still need emergency aid.

9-2- Here we go again! An Excessive Heat Warning is issued for Maricopa county tomorrow until eight p.m.

Hurricane Earle is 500 miles wide and has winds of 145mph. The governor
of North Carolina is urging visitors to leave and residents to hunker down.
One group of people excited about Earl’s approach are East Coast surfers. “ Hurricane season is one of the rare times waves can reach world class heights.” Waves at the center of the storm are 30’ high.

A golfer’s routine swing at the Shady Canyon golf course in Irvine, California struck a rock. The impact caused a spark that set off a 25 acre wildfire that took 150 Orange County firefighters to put out. ( Now I understand why shooting restrictions are placed in dry conditions.)
9-3- North Carolina is spared from Earle as it diminishes to a Category 1 hurricane. There are still concerns as it moves up the coast as 13 states may still be affected. ( Editor’s Note: The news reporters on National television seemed discouraged by this. I guess they are trained to report on chaos, destruction and death. So much so that some get off on it. They actually should have been jumping up and down with the “happy dance of joy.”)

More wildfires in southern Russia kill 8 and burn 400 homes to the ground.

Typhoon Kompasu kills five in South Korea.

9-4- Earle fizzles to a tropical storm and then briefly regains strength to a hurricane. 200,000 without power and one dead in Halifax, Canada.

9-5- The Barometric pressure fell like a rock on the Land today, from 28.42 degrees to an all time low of 28.08 degrees. Literally out of the blue came dark clouds out of the south. No rain was predicted anywhere at all. We received a heavy brief downpour that produced .05 inches of cooling rain!
(How was your headache today?)

Red Flag Warning issued for northern Arizona.

Torrential rains in Guatemala causes landslides that kill 38 people, some of them rescuers. Their president tells them avoid highways where slides may occur.

Fishermen ignored storm warnings in Mozambique when they went onto the Indian Ocean to fish. Capsized boats have killed 15.

A Sierra Nevada red fox has been found 90 miles south of Reno, Nevada. It is a native subspecies thought to be extinct since the last sighting in 1990.

9-6- The meteorological calendar for summer is June through August. In Phoenix the average daytime high for that period was a normal 105.3 degrees. But the overnight lows averaged 82.8 degrees, three degrees above normal. It was the fifth warmest night time averages in 114 years of record keeping. Ten temperature records were tied or broken with high minimums.

Out of nowhere a big storm is headed for Texas. Tropical Storm Hermine has 60mph winds and a Flash Flood Watch has been issued all the way to Houston.

9-7- A “monsoon buster” of low pressure from the north Pacific is on its way to Arizona. (Fucking Hallelujah, it’s about time.)

There is a fast moving wildfire near Boulder, Colorado. It has burned 3500 acres, thousands evacuate and a dozen homes are lost.

A “typical” wildfire season in the United States burns five million acres of land a year. This year has “only” been two and a half million acres.

Tropical Storm Hermine may dump a foot of rain on Mexico’s northern coast and Texas.

9-8- The Four mile Fire near Boulder has consumed 7100 acres and a State of Emergency has been declared. 92 buildings have burned and 3000 evacuated. There are eight people missing who refused to leave their homes. The fire may have started when a car crashed into a propane tank.

In McAllen, Texas residents are urged to evacuate as the Guadalupe and Comal Rivers are rising fast from rain produced by Hermine. In central Texas authorities are searching for possible victims after two mobile homes and a house are swept away.

Man am I glad I don’t live in ‘Vegas. The first measurable rain (.01’’) fell since April 22nd. The average temperature in July was 96.2 degrees, the warmest ever recorded for the city. (Fucking desolation row! Can you imagine being broke and hung over on the street there?)

Strong winds knock down electrical lines causing “raging” fires in Detroit. Eighty five buildings have burned and 50,000 without power. The city’s fire department could not keep up and adjoining fire departments had to be called in for the first time since the riots of 1967.

Weeks of heavy rains and flooding in southern Mexico have forced tens of thousands to evacuate from flooding rivers. Thousands more, who won’t leave their property, are sleeping on roofs. To keep up with the swell four dams have been releasing 71,000 cubic feet per second to keep up with the upstream deluge.

A bobcat climbing a power pole got electrocuted and set off a 5 acre wildfire in Ventura County, California.

A Massachusetts woman fell into a yellow jacket nest in her yard and was stung 500 times. She is hospitalized and her condition is unknown. (Editor’s Note: We have reported local bee stings many times. I would much rather deal with them than a yellow jacket. When I was a young duck my parents had grape vines growing on a trellis that shaded a carport. One afternoon my drunk uncle got tangled up with a yellow jacket nest picking grapes. The poor bastard’s head and face looked like a cauliflower! He didn’t go to the hospital, no the “strong” man just kept drinking to kill the pain. He didn’t die though as I recall, not from that.)

9-9- The Monsoon season may be over at The Land. It was a blissful low of 62 degrees with a dew point of 30 degrees this morning. The last time Phoenix had a 62 degree low was fucking June 12th and you ain’t there yet if you live in that shit hole.

The remnants of Hermine move north after forcing one hundred high water rescues in and two killed in Texas. Some homes have five feet of water in them. One man said “Did you ever see a refrigerator floating around your kitchen before?”

Many Louisiana fishermen are hesitant to begin fishing again in the coast. They are not convinced the oil is gone or has not damaged the fish making them unsafe to eat.

The ninth named tropical storm of the year has formed in the Atlantic, Igor.

A black bear has broken into a dozen vehicles over the past two weeks in Montana just north of Yellow Stone Park. This last time a van door shut and trapped the bear inside the vehicle. A sheriff’s deputy and a game warden tied a rope to the door, took cover and pulled it open. The bear, fortunately, ran off.

9-10- West side Boulder residents prepare to evacuate ahead of advancing fire. 60mph winds threaten to drive the fire their way. Residents are urged to fuel up and park their cars facing the street, wet down yards and pick up important personal documents and medicines. 169 homes have been destroyed including hilltop mansions.

Authorities in Austin, Texas have scaled back the search for a missing motorist. The Bull Creek was flooded due to rain from Hermine. The woman ignored and drove around police barricades and was swept away.
The Texas governor issued disaster declarations for 40 counties.

9-11- (WE CANNOT FORGET!)

The Colorado wildfire is 50% contained and 2000 people are allowed to return to their homes. Another 1000 wait to be allowed back.

The bodies of two men in Texas were found yesterday raising the death toll from Hermine flooding to six.

Tropical Storm Igor is nearing hurricane strength.

9-12- The fire near Boulder, Colorado is under control but has burned TEN SQUARE MILES. Now authorities are investigating whether a fire pit started the worst fire in Colorado history.

In one day Tropical Storm Igor turns into a Category 4 Hurricane. It is 1120 miles east of the Caribbean Leeward islands with no “immediate threat to land or energy interests.”

The ocean surface water temperatures near Japan were the highest ever recorded for the month of August at 1.2 degrees warmer than average. This may seem insignificant to us mortals but fish and water mammals prematurely move from their “native waters” to pursue cooler temperatures.

9-13- Four endangered California condors will be released north of the Grand Canyon on September 25th, part of the work to save the endangered birds from extinction. It is the 16th release in Arizona since 1996. 73 condors are alive and soaring the skies in northern Arizona.

A new wildfire breaks out near Loveland, Colorado with six hundred acres burned and one house destroyed.

Patches of oil two inches thick are found on the ocean floor 80 miles from the Gulf Coast oil blowout. Under the oil are dead shrimp and other smaller fish.

A fierce windstorm that blew across Kansas, Missouri and Illinois in May, 2009 has earned a brand new classification, “Super Dericho” coming from the Spanish adverb for straight. It is a long lived windstorm that blows in a straight line. That day the storm began in Kansas and caused 18 tornadoes!

Igor may become a Category 5 storm today. Tropical Storm Julia develops in the eastern Atlantic.

9-14- Two homes have now been destroyed and 900 acres burned in the wild fire near Loveland, Colorado. The fire near Boulder is fully contained.

Julia turns into the 5th Atlantic hurricane of the season and Igor weakens to a, still dangerous, Category 4 hurricane.

Tens of thousands of walruses are driven to land in north west Alaska because the sea ice they normally rest on has melted. The numbers are a mile wide, side by side. Scientists are most concerned about a stampede and one ton females crushing smaller calves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to divert airplane traffic above the animals as not to spook them. (A sad story because of the cause but what amazing photo opportunities this would present if only my beady eyes were there!)

A five year old boy in Alaska is the winner of a moose calling contest. How did he do it? His mother says he likes to make a lot of noise and “he’s good at it.” (I’m glad this brat doesn’t live in my house spending all of his waking hours practicing calling moose. Although not a violent duck I would have ideas on how to stop the noise.)

9-15- Two of Flagstaff’s favorite fall color locations are closed due to the Schultz Fire earlier this summer. They are closed until December 31st.

Tropical Storm Karl makes landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It is the 11th named storm of the season.

Typhoon Kompasu kills dozens in North Korea. Heavy rains wash away 74,000 acres of crops and 3300 homes are lost. Landslides cause damage to the rail system.

Hurricanes cannot merge. If two get too close to one another they begin to circle around each other and draw energy from the opposing hurricane. Eventually one weakens or both weaken equally. This is called the Fujiwhara Effect, named for a Japanese meteorologist that discovered this phenomenon.

An endangerd Albatross is snagged on a commercial fishing hook in Alaska and has died. The birds were once thought to be extinct but now number a few thousand.

9-16- And from the “This happened right down the street” file: Pinal County Animal Care and Control seized 152 cats and 19 dogs from a home in Hidden Valley, Arizona. The home had no running water and no litter boxes. There were layers of shit throughout the house.( Yours truly hit the street to interview neighbors about this horrific discovery. One said “Oh, they were such a nice family. No one really seemed to mind the stench around their property or the shit dripping down windows. The children were so well mannered although their clothes were stained and stunk like cat piss. We just thought they were a little strange.”)

A California wildfire in the southern Sierra has burned 6100 acres and another fire breaks out near Whittear, California.

Karl becomes a hurricane after re-entering the Gulf of Mexico. Karl may make landfall tomorrow near the oil hub of Poza Rica, Mexico. Igor is still churning out there too with 140mph winds.

9-17- Pinal County sheriff’s deputies rescued two Mexican women who had been traveling on foot across the desert for six days. They were both out of food and water. In a panic one woman used her cell phone to call for help. The Sheriff’s department was able to triangulate the call and locate the women. One woman was delirious and suffering from dehydration. They were traveling with eight others before they were abandoned without food and water.

Karl is now a Category 3 hurricane flooding Veracruz, Mexico. 14 production oil wells have been shut down and workers evacuated. Government officials say this is the worst hurricane there in 50 years.

Storms slam New York City with 100mph winds. One woman was crushed by a falling tree while in her car and 27,000 without power. The National Weather Service is determining if an official tornado struck.

Strong storms tear through Ohio and hail destroys part of Ohio State University in Wooster. Numerous possible tornadoes sighted.

A record number of shark bitten sea otters were found last month along California’s central coast. The lower water temperatures this summer made ideal conditions for sharks.

9-18- Phoenix sets a record of 109 degrees today. The past several days have been the hottest in thirty years.

The National Weather Service has concluded that two tornadoes ripped through New York City two days ago. With up to 125mph winds the tornadoes left a path of destruction fourteen miles from Brooklyn to Queens. Tornadoes in New York City are extremely rare.

Karl has killed six in Veraccruz, Mexico and forcing the country to shut down its only nuclear power plant. EIGHT INCHES OF RAIN FELL IN NINETY MINUTES! Now weakened to a Tropical Storm Karl may hit Mexico City with 70mph winds and heavy rain.

Hurricane Igor is bearing down on Bermuda with 40’ tides hitting the barrier reefs.

Colorado wildlife officials are declaring a victory in an eleven year effort to reintroduce lynx to the state. The cats are reproducing faster than they are dying. The state’s native lynx became extinct in the 1970s because of trapping, poisoning and land development.

Officials in Idaho County want the governor to allow wolves to be shot on sight due to attacks on livestock and wildlife. A U.S. District Court decision last month restored federal protection to wolves in Idaho and Montana despite objections from both states.

A woman hunter in South Carolina has taken a thirteen and a half foot, 1025 pound alligator in Lake Moutrie! A .22 caliber gun was not enough to kill the gator so she used a knife to sever the spinal cord! The woman said she was an experienced hunter but had never killed an alligator.

9-19- A couple of records were broken in Phoenix today; 111 degrees was the high, shattering the old record of 107 in 1962. It was the latest date ever for a temperature of 110 or higher in a hundred years of record keeping.

Igor is near Bermuda as a Category 1 storm. The eye of the hurricane will pass over late today. (Oh how I would love to be there with a camera!)

Typhoon Fanapai strikes Taipei, Tawain with 102mph winds. TWENTY ONE INCHES OF RAIN FELL! All flights and rail service are cancelled and 170,000 without power.

9-20- Phoenix set a new heat record at 107 degrees with a new morning high low of 91 degrees.

Heavy monsoon rains and landslides have killed 47 in northern India.

“ More than 100,000 children left homeless by Pakistan’s floods are in danger of dying because they simply don’t have enough to eat, according to UNICEF. Children already weak from living on too little food in poor rural areas before the floods are fighting to stay alive as diarrhea, respiratory disease and malaria attack their emaciated bodies.” ( Simply hearbreaking! Where are you God? They desparately need a miracle.)

9-21- A Flash Flood Watch is posted for Pinal County until 6:00p.m.
Twenty power poles are knocked down by strong winds in Gila Bend. A Flash Flood Watch is issued for Maricopa County until tomorrow afternoon.

A wildfire in Merriman, Utah burned several homes and 1600 evacuated. A commander of the Utah National Guard takes full responsibility for allowing live fire training despite a Red Flag Warning. He was conducting a machine gun exercise in “tinder dry conditions.”

The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for eleven Texas counties. Flooding in Corpus Christi forced 100,000 gallons of raw sewage out of a manhole ( this makes my shitter problems look like nothing). Crews resumed looking for a a missing motorist who called from his car before it was swept away.

The death toll from flooding and mudslides by Hurricane Karl is up to 16 in Veracruz, Mexico.

Hurricane Igor’s winds strengthen as the storm makes landfall in eastern Canada.

Two new tropical storms develop: Georgette in the Pacific and Lisa in the Atlantic. ( If this Lisa is anything like our Lisa it will develop into a major hurricane and cause absolute havoc!)

9-22- A Flash Flood Warning is issued for N.E. Maricopa County and Gila County until 9:45 a.m. Highway 188 north of Roosevelt Lake is closed due to SIX FEET of rock and mud. 3.87 inches of rain fell in Punkin Center!

Brutal temperatures have killed 236 illegal migrants so far this year in the Arizona desert. This is the second highest total on record. The Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office reported 7 bodies found in one day, the most ever.

Fall begins at The Land tonight at 8:09 p.m.

Six square miles have been burned but the wildfire in Utah is 50% contained. Some evacuation orders have been lifted.

Hurricane Igor floods the Atlantic’s coast province of Newfoundland washing out roads and stranding residents in their homes. 14 communities have declared a state of emergency. “Normally the cool Atlantic chills out hurricanes, but this one came with a vengeance”.

Typhoon Fanapi hits China killing 18 with 44 missing. Five were killed when a dam collapsed after being hit by landslides. 350 houses destroyed.
Landslides have killed five in flooded out regions of Mexico. More than seventy people have died this rainy season which has been declared one of the heaviest on record.

280-400 endangered Morelet crocodiles have escaped a refuge in Mexico after flooding from Hurricane Karl. Residents in the state of Veracruz are ordered not to kill or capture the crocs.

9-23- Death toll from Typhoon Fanapi in China is up to 54. FORTY INCHES OF RAIN have fallen in some areas.

“The Wave. When violent storms send swells rolling across the Pacific, the world’s most daring surfers will drop everything and travel anywhere to risk riding a wall of water as high as 100’”. ( JerDuck shared this amazing article with me. These guys have made a science of tracking the biggest waves by tapping into the science of weather forecasting and mapping. So a hurricane or typhoon is a good thing to them if it creates the swell and wave they hope comes with it. One amazing account was about a dude to went to Alaska to surf the waves created by calving glacier. It said he was dodging chunks of ice city blocks long.)

9-24- 2500 people are urged to evacuate Arcadia, Wisconsin and the National Guard is called in to help. The downtown area is under three feet of water from heavy rains and flooding.

Northern India has experienced “unprecedented rain” since August. Two million people have been forced to evacuate in a twenty four hour period. 17 people have been killed and thousands of homes washed away in Lucknow.

A woman near Helena Montana fended off a 200 pound black bear by whacking it with a large piece of zucchini from her garden. The bear was trying to get into her home. She suffered scratches and her dog was injured trying to protect her.

A New Mexico man faces felony charges after killing his pit bull with a chainsaw as his young children watched. The man said the dog bit his nine year old daughter and he felt the dog needed to be put down. He tried to use a knife to slash the dog’s throat, but when that didn’t work he grabbed his trusty chainsaw.
9-25- An aggressive swarm of bees leaves a Phoenix family trapped inside their home near 24th Street and Indian School Road. Two of the family’s large dogs were killed by multiple stings and another is recovering.

Arizona Game and Fish is offereing a 2700 dollar reward for the arrest and conviction of person(s) who poached a 6x6 bull elk near Ash Fork. The animal was illegally shot and killed between September 6th and the 8th. The elk’s antlers were sawed off but left at the scene with the rest of the carcass. This happened just before legal archery season so the agency is hoping someone scouting witnessed all or part of the butchering.

The U.S. Department of Defense will pay homeowners for losses in the wildfire started in Utah last week by the National Guard conducting live fire training. The fire is now 100% contained.

Several towns in southwestern Wisconsin and southern Minnesota have received a half foot of rain that caused evacuations yesterday and today.

Mathew weakens to a Tropical Depression but floods the southern part of Central America with as much as SEVENTEEN INCHES OF RAIN!

The Canadian military is in eastern Newfounland to help rebuild two bridges in the aftermath of Hurricane Igor.

9-26- With one hundred cases and seven deaths Arizona leads the nation in West Nile mesquito infections. Most of the cases have occurred in the southeast valley.

Rabies have been confirmed in a pair of Mohave County, Arizona bats. The children that came in contact with them are being treated.

From heavy rains this past week in central Wisconsin a levee fails south of Highway 33 today. In Zumbro Falls, Minnesota floodwaters have destroyed 58 homes and 20 businesses. 10.86 inches of rain has fallen in areas. The governors of both states declare a State of Emergency.

9-27- Los Angeles set an all time record high of any date in history of 113 degrees today.

Much of the U.S. is experiencing abnormally dry weather conditions that began in June. Some states have issued drought warnings and high risks for brush fires. The states most affected are inland areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio and parts of New Jersey up to Maine.

Most of the oil leaked into the Gulf is still there despite the hype from the White House. The most sustained deep water release of oil has left at least 50% of the oil on the ocean floor.
Recorded depression of Gulf Coast residents is up 25% since the massive oil leak.

Flooding in Nigeria is rotting crops and making food shortages worse. Thirty four square miles of farmland is under water at the worst possible time, before the harvest. Two million people have been displaced or affected by flooding.

9-28- The Bald eagle population in Arizona is at a new high of 104 breeding adult eagles since the project began in 1990 to save them from extinction.

The Grand Ol Opry reopens after a twenty million dollar renovation caused by the flooding in May.

27,000 in Los Angeles for eight to sixteen hours after yesterday’s all time heat record. The drain from air conditoners overloaded and blew transformers.

A rain soaked mountainside has given away in Oaxaca, Mexico. At least 300 homes have been buried or destroyed. No official count of the human casualties.

In Columbia 20 people changing from one bus to another because of an earlier landslide blocking a road are buried by another landslide.

Today is the average last day of 100 degrees in Phoenix.

9-29- Eighty three degrees a record high for Flagstaff for the second day in a row.

SEVENTEEN INCHES of rain has fallen in Delaware and moving up the East Coast.

A Tropical Depression is soaking south Florida after drenching Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Sustained winds are at 35mph. At 39 mph a depression becomes a named storm.

Eleven people are confirmed missing after a landslide in Oaxaca, Mexico yesterday. At first reports were that hundreds were feared dead.

9-30- The last new official day of the monsoon for Arizona.

“Epic” rains and tornado alerts for the East Coast from the Carolinas up to Maine. Wilmington, North Carolina sets a record with TWENTY ONE INCHES OF RAIN since last Sunday. The cause for all of this moisture are the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole mixed with low pressure.

Tropical Storm Nicole kills eight in Jamaica during flash flooding.

Mudslides in the state of Chiapas, Mexico kill 16.

Until next month I remain faithful and undaunted to my millions of readers.

The Distinguished and Renound MR BlueDuck

September Blue Duck Weather 2010

September 2010 Weather News!

Welcome to another fantastic mind altering fascinating edition of Blue Duck Weather. Although fall officially began at the Land on September 22nd at 8:09 p.m. all I can say is “My Ass!” The average temperature at the end of the month was only one degree cooler than the first day of the month. Phoenix shattered three consecutive heat records at the end of the month. Los Angeles reached its hottest day ever recorded on the 27th. The monsoon really ended long before the new brainless date but the dew points remained in the fifties. All the first day of fall did for me is make me drop to my knobby knees and scream for some reprieve from this brutal summer. Sixteen days in Phoenix were 105 degrees or warmer and two were over 110. Fortunately there were only six days The Land reached 105 but that is small relief for the sweat on my brow and balls!

All of this when us desert dwellers are exhausted, dehydrated and weak sure makes it easy to give into the global warming theory, or at the very least politically correct, climate change. Climate change is ongoing and inevitable as Mother Earth goes through her “periods.” I have no idea how mankind has affected global warming during the industrial revolution and those of you who have read past editions of this amazing weather journal know I take no political rhetoric from both sides of the flooding river. I will however leave you with the following quotes from two sources. One is from a NASA scientist. Although NASA has been fingered as being in the pocket of the government I happen to respect the unimaginable engineering feats of big boy shit that has occurred in the last fifty years.

“James Hansen, the NASA scientist who is perhaps the most respected authority on Global warming, says that climate change is the predominant moral issue of the 21st, comparable to slavery faced by Lincoln and the response to Nazism faced by Churchill.”

“On Thin Ice- The world’s two great ice sheets are melting faster than anyone believed possible. Glaciers in both Antarctica and Greenland are losing ice at twice the rate they were in 2002, as much as 400 billion tons every year.”

In this fantastic edition of Blue Duck Weather you will read, amongst so many other things, the worst fire in Colorado history, more Gulf Coast oil leak affect reports (although “conveniently” they are harder to find), track a tropical depression and hurricane from its roots through its amazing journey of havoc and destruction, a group of people happy to see a hurricane, an animal thought to be extinct rediscovered, the definition of the meteorological summer, a refrigerator floating in a house, the new term Super Derecho and its definition, an amazing but sad story about Alaska walruses, a five year old winner of a moose calling contest, “the Fujiwhara effect”, four hundred escaped crocodiles, a bear beat away by a woman with a large zucchini, a man who kills his unruly dog with a chainsaw and the criteria for a tropical storm to be a named storm.

The average temperature at The Land for the month was 83.22 degrees. Talking Trees and Antelope Hill was much cooler at 62.09 degrees.

The average humidity was 29.66% with a still sticky dew point of 50.37 degrees. The Land received .33” of rain, actually more than the prior three monsoon months. We have a thirsty total of just 4.65 inches for the year while Phoenix has received 7.40 inches.

The important lake levels that keep us from killing each other for water are as follows: Mead (soon to have us killing) dwindles to 38%, Pleasant (we better get some more fucking rain) 53%, Powell 63% and my desert gem, Roosevelt stands strong with 94%.

A feature we began last month is to track unusually fast and falling barometer pressures. The purpose it to help you migraine sufferers track the pressure correlation and your agonizing headaches. The pressure fell fast on September 5th and alas, .06” of rain fell. The pressure dive bombed for four days in a row between September 19th to the 22nd to a all time low of 28.03 and alas there was 28.06” of rain. This is also important for us campers to note; falling pressure usually means a dramatic change in wind or it means rain. But why should we give a fuck, none of us measure barometric pressure camping unless we get a blinding splitting headache!

The song of the month is “Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley. It doesn’t have a thing to do with the weather but it sure shows the weather reporting at hurricane sites and the disappointment visibly shown when there aren’t more “casualties”.


9-1- Flagstaff flood victims after the Schultz Fire earlier this summer will not receive Federal aid to rebuild. FEMA requires that one hundred homes in a community have to be destroyed for aid. Only two homes in the Flagstaff area were destroyed. Most homeowners did not have flood insurance.

Mosquitoes in the town of Maricopa, Arizona test positive for the West Nile Virus.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is offering a 5,000 dollar reward for information about the killing of a baby Bighorn sheep. The lamb was found shot to death along the Apache Trail on August 24th. (This is beyond sick and depraved, it is a flat out sin and crime against nature! Justice will be served when the circle turns.)

A Hurricane Warning is issued for North Carolina as Earl gets closer. A Warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours. 5,000 tourists on the islands of Ocracoke and Hatteras are ordered to leave. If this storm moves up to New England as a hurricane it will be the first time since 1991.

Floods that have devastated Pakistan for the past five weeks are finally heading to the Arabian Sea but eight million people still need emergency aid.

9-2- Here we go again! An Excessive Heat Warning is issued for Maricopa county tomorrow until eight p.m.

Hurricane Earl is 500 miles wide and has winds of 145mph. The governor
of North Carolina is urging visitors to leave and residents to hunker down.
One group of people excited about Earl’s approach are East Coast surfers. “ Hurricane season is one of the rare times waves can reach world class heights.” Waves at the center of the storm are 30’ high.

A golfer’s routine swing at the Shady Canyon golf course in Irvine, California struck a rock. The impact caused a spark that set off a 25 acre wildfire that took 150 Orange County firefighters to put out. ( Now I understand why shooting restrictions are placed in dry conditions.)

9-3- North Carolina is spared from Earle as it diminishes to a Category 1 hurricane. There are still concerns as it moves up the coast as 13 states may still be affected. ( Editor’s Note: The news reporters on National television seemed discouraged by this. I guess they are trained to report on chaos, destruction and death. So much so that some get off on it. They actually should have been jumping up and down with the “happy dance of joy.”)

More wildfires in southern Russia kill 8 and burn 400 homes to the ground.

Typhoon Kompasu kills five in South Korea.

9-4- Earl fizzles to a tropical storm and then briefly regains strength to a hurricane. 200,000 without power and one dead in Halifax, Canada.

9-5- The Barometric pressure fell like a rock on the Land today, from 28.42 degrees to an all time low of 28.08 degrees. Literally out of the blue came dark clouds out of the south. No rain was predicted anywhere at all. We received a heavy brief downpour that produced .05 inches of cooling rain!
(How was your headache today?)

Red Flag Warning issued for northern Arizona.

Torrential rains in Guatemala causes landslides that kill 38 people, some of them rescuers. Their president tells them avoid highways where slides may occur.

Fishermen ignored storm warnings in Mozambique when they went onto the Indian Ocean to fish. Capsized boats have killed 15.

A Sierra Nevada red fox has been found 90 miles south of Reno, Nevada. It is a native subspecies thought to be extinct since the last sighting in 1990.

9-6- The meteorological calendar for summer is June through August. In Phoenix the average daytime high for that period was a normal 105.3 degrees. But the overnight lows averaged 82.8 degrees, three degrees above normal. It was the fifth warmest night time averages in 114 years of record keeping. Ten temperature records were tied or broken with high minimums.

Out of nowhere a big storm is headed for Texas. Tropical Storm Hermine has 60mph winds and a Flash Flood Watch has been issued all the way to Houston.

9-7- A “monsoon buster” of low pressure from the north Pacific is on its way to Arizona. (Fucking Hallelujah, it’s about time.)

There is a fast moving wildfire near Boulder, Colorado. It has burned 3500 acres, thousands evacuate and a dozen homes are lost.

A “typical” wildfire season in the United States burns five million acres of land a year. This year has “only” been two and a half million acres.

Tropical Storm Hermine may dump a foot of rain on Mexico’s northern coast and Texas.

9-8- The Four mile Fire near Boulder has consumed 7100 acres and a State of Emergency has been declared. 92 buildings have burned and 3000 evacuated. There are eight people missing who refused to leave their homes. The fire may have started when a car crashed into a propane tank.

In McAllen, Texas residents are urged to evacuate as the Guadalupe and Comal Rivers are rising fast from rain produced by Hermine. In central Texas authorities are searching for possible victims after two mobile homes and a house are swept away.

Man am I glad I don’t live in Vegas. The first measurable rain (.01’’) fell since April 22nd. The average temperature in July was 96.2 degrees, the warmest ever recorded for the city. (Fucking desolation row! Can you imagine being broke and hung over on the street there?)

Strong winds knock down electrical lines causing “raging” fires in Detroit. Eighty five buildings have burned and 50,000 without power. The city’s fire department could not keep up and adjoining fire departments had to be called in for the first time since the riots of 1967.

Weeks of heavy rains and flooding in southern Mexico have forced tens of thousands to evacuate from flooding rivers. Thousands more, who won’t leave their property, are sleeping on roofs. To keep up with the swell four dams have been releasing 71,000cubic feet per second to keep up with the upstream deluge.

A bobcat climbing a power pole got electrocuted and set off a 5 acre wildfire in Ventura County, California.

A Massachusetts woman fell into a yellow jacket nest in her yard and was stung 500 times. She is hospitalized and her condition is unknown. (Editor’s Note: We have reported local bee stings many times. I would much rather deal with them than a yellow jacket. When I was a young duck my parents had grape vines growing on a trellis that shaded a carport. One afternoon my drunk uncle got tangled up with a yellow jacket nest picking grapes. The poor bastard’s head and face looked like a cauliflower! He didn’t go to the hospital, no the “strong” man just kept drinking to kill the pain. He didn’t die though as I recall, not from that.)

9-9- The Monsoon season may be over at The Land. It was a blissful low of 62 degrees with a dew point of 30 degrees this morning. The last time Phoenix had a 62 degree low was fucking June 12th and you ain’t there yet if you live in that shit hole.

The remnants of Hermine move north after forcing one hundred high water rescues in and two killed in Texas. Some homes have five feet of water in them. One man said “Did you ever see a refrigerator floating around your kitchen before?”

Many Louisiana fishermen are hesitant to begin fishing again in the coast. They are not convinced the oil is gone or has not damaged the fish making them unsafe to eat.

The ninth named tropical storm of the year has formed in the Atlantic, Igor.

A black bear has broken into a dozen vehicles over the past two weeks in Montana just north of Yellow Stone Park. This last time a van door shut and trapped the bear inside the vehicle. A sheriff’s deputy and a game warden tied a rope to the door, took cover and pulled it open. The bear, fortunately, ran off.

9-10- West side Boulder residents prepare to evacuate ahead of advancing fire. 60mph winds threaten to drive the fire their way. Residents are urged to fuel up and park their cars facing the street, wet down yards and pick up important personal documents and medicines. 169 homes have been destroyed including hilltop mansions.

Authorities in Austin, Texas have scaled back the search for a missing motorist. The Bull Creek was flooded due to rain from Hermine. The woman ignored and drove around police barricades and was swept away. The Texas governor issued disaster declarations for 40 counties.

9-11- (WE CANNOT FORGET!)

The Colorado wildfire is 50% contained and 2000 people are allowed to return to their homes. Another 1000 wait to be allowed back.

The bodies of two men in Texas were found yesterday raising the death toll from Hermine flooding to six.

Tropical Storm Igor is nearing hurricane strength.

9-12- The fire near Boulder, Colorado is under control but has burned TEN SQUARE MILES. Now authorities are investigating whether a fire pit started the worst fire in Colorado history.

In one day Tropical Storm Igor turns into a Category 4 Hurricane. It is 1120 miles east of the Caribbean Leeward islands with no “immediate threat to land or energy interests.”

The ocean surface water temperatures near Japan were the highest ever recorded for the month of August at 1.2 degrees warmer than average. This may seem insignificant to us mortals but fish and water mammals prematurely move from their “native waters” to pursue cooler temperatures.

9-13- Four endangered California condors will be released north of the Grand Canyon on September 25th, part of the work to save the endangered birds from extinction. It is the 16th release in Arizona since 1996. 73 condors are alive and soaring the skies in northern Arizona.

A new wildfire breaks out near Loveland, Colorado with six hundred acres burned and one house destroyed.

Patches of oil two inches thick are found on the ocean floor 80 miles from the Gulf Coast oil blowout. Under the oil are dead shrimp and other smaller fish.

A fierce windstorm that blew across Kansas, Missouri and Illinois in May, 2009 has earned a brand new classification, “Super Dericho” coming from the Spanish adverb for straight. It is a long lived windstorm that blows in a straight line. That day the storm began in Kansas and caused 18 tornadoes!

Igor may become a Category 5 storm today. Tropical Storm Julia develops in the eastern Atlantic.

9-14- Two homes have now been destroyed and 900 acres burned in the wild fire near Loveland, Colorado. The fire near Boulder is fully contained.

Julia turns into the 5th Atlantic hurricane of the season and Igor weakens to a, still dangerous, Category 4 hurricane.

Tens of thousands of walruses are driven to land in north west Alaska because the sea ice they normally rest on has melted. The numbers are a mile wide, side by side. Scientists are most concerned about a stampede and one ton females crushing smaller calves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to divert airplane traffic above the animals as not to spook them. (A sad story because of the cause but what amazing photo opportunities this would present if only my beady eyes were there!)

A five year old boy in Alaska is the winner of a moose calling contest. How did he do it? His mother says he likes to make a lot of noise and “he’s good at it.” (I’m glad this brat doesn’t live in my house spending all of his waking hours practicing calling moose. Although not a violent duck I would have ideas on how to stop the noise.)

9-15- Two of Flagstaff’s favorite fall color locations are closed due to the Schultz Fire earlier this summer. They are closed until December 31st.

Tropical Storm Karl makes landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It is the 11th named storm of the season.

Typhoon Kompasu kills dozens in North Korea. Heavy rains wash away 74,000 acres of crops and 3300 homes are lost. Landslides cause damage to the rail system.

Hurricanes cannot merge. If two get too close to one another they begin to circle around each other and draw energy from the opposing hurricane. Eventually one weakens or both weaken equally. This is called the Fujiwhara Effect, named for a Japanese meteorologist that discovered this phenomenon.

An endangerd Albatross is snagged on a commercial fishing hook in Alaska and has died. The birds were once thought to be extinct but now number a few thousand.

9-16- And from the “This happened right down the street” file: Pinal County Animal Care and Control seized 152 cats and 19 dogs from a home in Hidden Valley, Arizona. The home had no running water and no litter boxes. There were layers of shit throughout the house.( Yours truly hit the street to interview neighbors about this horrific discovery. (Mrs. BLueduck says he is lying out his ass) One said “Oh, they were such a nice family. No one really seemed to mind the stench around their property or the shit dripping down windows. The children were so well mannered although their clothes were stained and stunk like cat piss. We just thought they were a little strange.”)

A California wildfire in the southern Sierra has burned 6100 acres and another fire breaks out near Whittear, California.

Karl becomes a hurricane after re-entering the Gulf of Mexico. Karl may make landfall tomorrow near the oil hub of Poza Rica, Mexico. Igor is still churning out there too with 140mph winds.

9-17- Pinal County sheriff’s deputies rescued two Mexican women who had been traveling on foot across the desert for six days. They were both out of food and water. In a panic one woman used her cell phone to call for help. The Sheriff’s department was able to triangulate the call and locate the women. One woman was delirious and suffering from dehydration. They were traveling with eight others before they were abandoned without food and water.

Karl is now a Category 3 hurricane flooding Veracruz, Mexico. 14 production oil wells have been shut down and workers evacuated. Government officials say this is the worst hurricane there in 50 years.

Storms slam New York City with 100mph winds. One woman was crushed by a falling tree while in her car and 27,000 without power. The National Weather Service is determining if an official tornado struck.

Strong storms tear through Ohio and hail destroys part of Ohio State University in Wooster. Numerous possible tornadoes sighted.

A record number of shark bitten sea otters were found last month along California’s central coast. The lower water temperatures this summer made ideal conditions for sharks.

9-18- Phoenix sets a record of 109 degrees today. The past several days have been the hottest in thirty years.

The National Weather Service has concluded that two tornadoes ripped through New York City two days ago. With up to 125mph winds the tornadoes left a path of destruction fourteen miles from Brooklyn to Queens. Tornadoes in New York City are extremely rare.

Karl has killed six in Veraccruz, Mexico and forcing the country to shut down its only nuclear power plant. EIGHT INCHES OF RAIN FELL IN NINETY MINUTES! Now weakened to a Tropical Storm Karl may hit Mexico City with 70mph winds and heavy rain.

Hurricane Igor is bearing down on Bermuda with 40’ tides hitting the barrier reefs.

Colorado wildlife officials are declaring a victory in an eleven year effort to reintroduce lynx to the state. The cats are reproducing faster than they are dying. The state’s native lynx became extinct in the 1970s because of trapping, poisoning and land development.

Officials in Idaho County want the governor to allow wolves to be shot on sight due to attacks on livestock and wildlife. A U.S. District Court decision last month restored federal protection to wolves in Idaho and Montana despite objections from both states.

A female hunter in South Carolina has taken a thirteen and a half foot, 1025 pound alligator in Lake Moutrie! A .22 caliber gun was not enough to kill the gator so she used a knife to sever the spinal cord! The woman said she was an experienced hunter but had never killed an alligator. (Mrs. Duck read that there are animal groups going after this lady....guess it took HOURS of hacking on this poor alligator before it died and they are saying she was not humane.)

9-19- A couple of records were broken in Phoenix today; 111 degrees was the high, shattering the old record of 107 in 1962. It was the latest date ever for a temperature of 110 or higher in a hundred years of record keeping.

Igor is near Bermuda as a Category 1 storm. The eye of the hurricane will pass over late today. (Oh how I would love to be there with a camera!)

Typhoon Fanapai strikes Taipei, Tawain with 102mph winds. TWENTY ONE INCHES OF RAIN FELL! All flights and rail service are cancelled and 170,000 without power.

9-20- Phoenix set a new heat record at 107 degrees with a new morning high low of 91 degrees.

Heavy monsoon rains and landslides have killed 47 in northern India.

“ More than 100,000 children left homeless by Pakistan’s floods are in danger of dying because they simply don’t have enough to eat, according to UNICEF. Children already weak from living on too little food in poor rural areas before the floods are fighting to stay alive as diarrhea, respiratory disease and malaria attack their emaciated bodies.” ( Simply hearbreaking! Where are you God? They desparately need a miracle.)

9-21- A Flash Flood Watch is posted for Pinal County until 6:00p.m.
Twenty power poles are knocked down by strong winds in Gila Bend. A Flash Flood Watch is issued for Maricopa County until tomorrow afternoon.

A wildfire in Merriman, Utah burned several homes and 1600 evacuated. A commander of the Utah National Guard takes full responsibility for allowing live fire training despite a Red Flag Warning. He was conducting a machine gun exercise in “tinder dry conditions.”

The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for eleven Texas counties. Flooding in Corpus Christi forced 100,000 gallons of raw sewage out of a manhole ( this makes my shitter problems look like nothing). Crews resumed looking for a a missing motorist who called from his car before it was swept away.

The death toll from flooding and mudslides by Hurricane Karl is up to 16 in Veracruz, Mexico.

Hurricane Igor’s winds strengthen as the storm makes landfall in eastern Canada.

Two new tropical storms develop: Georgette in the Pacific and Lisa in the Atlantic. ( If this Lisa is anything like our Lisa it will develop into a major hurricane and cause absolute havoc!)

9-22- A Flash Flood Warning is issued for N.E. Maricopa County and Gila County until 9:45 a.m. Highway 188 north of Roosevelt Lake is closed due to SIX FEET of rock and mud. 3.87 inches of rain fell in Punkin Center!

Brutal temperatures have killed 236 illegal migrants so far this year in the Arizona desert. This is the second highest total on record. The Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office reported 7 bodies found in one day, the most ever.

Fall begins at The Land tonight at 8:09 p.m.

Six square miles have been burned but the wildfire in Utah is 50% contained. Some evacuation orders have been lifted.

Hurricane Igor floods the Atlantic’s coast province of Newfoundland washing out roads and stranding residents in their homes. 14 communities have declared a state of emergency. “Normally the cool Atlantic chills out hurricanes, but this one came with a vengeance”.

Typhoon Fanapi hits China killing 18 with 44 missing. Five were killed when a dam collapsed after being hit by landslides. 350 houses destroyed.
Landslides have killed five in flooded out regions of Mexico. More than seventy people have died this rainy season which has been declared one of the heaviest on record.

280-400 endangered Morelet crocodiles have escaped a refuge in Mexico after flooding from Hurricane Karl. Residents in the state of Veracruz are ordered not to kill or capture the crocs.

9-23- Death toll from Typhoon Fanapi in China is up to 54. FORTY INCHES OF RAIN have fallen in some areas.

“The Wave. When violent storms send swells rolling across the Pacific, the world’s most daring surfers will drop everything and travel anywhere to risk riding a wall of water as high as 100’”. ( JerDuck shared this amazing article with me. These guys have made a science of tracking the biggest waves by tapping into the science of weather forecasting and mapping. So a hurricane or typhoon is a good thing to them if it creates the swell and wave they hope comes with it. One amazing account was about a dude to went to Alaska to surf the waves created by calving glacier. It said he was dodging chunks of ice city blocks long.)

9-24- 2500 people are urged to evacuate Arcadia, Wisconsin and the National Guard is called in to help. The downtown area is under three feet of water from heavy rains and flooding.

Northern India has experienced “unprecedented rain” since August. Two million people have been forced to evacuate in a twenty four hour period. 17 people have been killed and thousands of homes washed away in Lucknow.

A woman near Helena, Montana fended off a 200 pound black bear by whacking it with a large piece of zucchini from her garden. The bear was trying to get into her home. She suffered scratches and her dog was injured trying to protect her.

A New Mexico man faces felony charges after killing his pit bull with a chainsaw as his young children watched. The man said the dog bit his nine year old daughter and he felt the dog needed to be put down. He tried to use a knife to slash the dog’s throat, but when that didn’t work he grabbed his trusty chainsaw. Sick asshole.

9-25- An aggressive swarm of bees leaves a Phoenix family trapped inside their home near 24th Street and Indian School Road. Two of the family’s large dogs were killed by multiple stings and another is recovering.

Arizona Game and Fish is offereing a 2700 dollar reward for the arrest and conviction of person(s) who poached a 6x6 bull elk near Ash Fork. The animal was illegally shot and killed between September 6th and the 8th. The elk’s antlers were sawed off but left at the scene with the rest of the carcass. This happened just before legal archery season so the agency is hoping someone scouting witnessed all or part of the butchering.

The U.S. Department of Defense will pay homeowners for losses in the wildfire started in Utah last week by the National Guard conducting live fire training. The fire is now 100% contained.

Several towns in southwestern Wisconsin and southern Minnesota have received a half foot of rain that caused evacuations yesterday and today.

Mathew weakens to a Tropical Depression but floods the southern part of Central America with as much as SEVENTEEN INCHES OF RAIN!

The Canadian military is in eastern Newfounland to help rebuild two bridges in the aftermath of Hurricane Igor.

9-26- With one hundred cases and seven deaths Arizona leads the nation in West Nile mesquito infections. Most of the cases have occurred in the southeast valley.

Rabies have been confirmed in a pair of Mohave County, Arizona bats. The children that came in contact with them are being treated.

From heavy rains this past week in central Wisconsin a levee fails south of Highway 33 today. In Zumbro Falls, Minnesota floodwaters have destroyed 58 homes and 20 businesses. 10.86 inches of rain has fallen in areas. The governors of both states declare a State of Emergency.

9-27- Los Angeles set an all time record high of any date in history of 113 degrees today.

Much of the U.S. is experiencing abnormally dry weather conditions that began in June. Some states have issued drought warnings and high risks for brush fires. The states most affected are inland areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio and parts of New Jersey up to Maine.

Most of the oil leaked into the Gulf is still there despite the hype from the White House. The most sustained deep water release of oil has left at least 50% of the oil on the ocean floor.

Recorded depression of Gulf Coast residents is up 25% since the massive oil leak.

Flooding in Nigeria is rotting crops and making food shortages worse. Thirty four square miles of farmland is under water at the worst possible time, before the harvest. Two million people have been displaced or affected by flooding.

9-28- The Bald eagle population in Arizona is at a new high of 104 breeding adult eagles since the project began in 1990 to save them from extinction.

The Grand Ol Opry reopens after a twenty million dollar renovation caused by the flooding in May.

27,000 in Los Angeles for eight to sixteen hours after yesterday’s all time heat record. The drain from air conditoners overloaded and blew transformers.

A rain soaked mountainside has given away in Oaxaca, Mexico. At least 300 homes have been buried or destroyed. No official count of the human casualties.

In Columbia 20 people changing from one bus to another because of an earlier landslide blocking a road are buried by another landslide.

Today is the average last day of 100 degrees in Phoenix.

9-29- Eighty three degrees a record high for Flagstaff for the second day in a row.

SEVENTEEN INCHES of rain has fallen in Delaware and moving up the East Coast.

A Tropical Depression is soaking south Florida after drenching Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Sustained winds are at 35mph. At 39 mph a depression becomes a named storm.

Eleven people are confirmed missing after a landslide in Oaxaca, Mexico yesterday. At first reports were that hundreds were feared dead.

9-30- The last new official day of the monsoon for Arizona.

“Epic” rains and tornado alerts for the East Coast from the Carolinas up to Maine. Wilmington, North Carolina sets a record with TWENTY ONE INCHES OF RAIN since last Sunday. The cause for all of this moisture are the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole mixed with low pressure.

Tropical Storm Nicole kills eight in Jamaica during flash flooding.

Mudslides in the state of Chiapas, Mexico kill 16.

Until next month I remain faithful and undaunted to my millions of readers.

The Distinguished and Renound MR BlueDuck

August 2010 Blue Duck Weather...Special Anniversary Issue!

Special Anniversary Issue! August 2010 Weather News!

The concept of this remarkable weather journal was simple enough. I just wanted to track the temperatures here at The Land for a period of as many years possible and see if we are cooling or warming. There are many opinions, and now many are political and have turned into a perverted way to manipulate, have power and make fortunes.

But then Blue Duck Weather began to expand into the wildly insane and boring feature it is today. Your fine staff at Blue Duck Weather sincerely appreciates the opportunity to deliver you three years of mindless shit never to be remembered by anyone and read by fewer than that.

So with three years of day to day tracking we give you the statistics for average temperatures for the last three years as follows:

The Land: 2008- 77.21 degrees. 2009- 71.36 degrees. 2010- 71.16 degrees.
Quemado, New Mexico: 2008- 48.33 degrees. 2009- 49.15 degrees. 2010- 48.25 degrees. The three year tracking period is not even a gnat’s ass in the big picture but it is the best we mortals can do.

August was absolutely miserable out here in the summer shit hole of the world. With an AVERAGE dew point of 60.03 degrees and an AVERAGE humidity of 40.24 percent and an AVERAGE temperature of 90.62 degrees it was a fucking sauna!!!! This kind of misery should have delivered more cooling rain at the Land but it didn’t. It was like we were in our own pocket of high pressure hell with the storms churning around us and delivering rain every where else. What did I do to deserve this? And there hundreds of miles away, shrouded in clouds and shadows of mountains and Gods,Talking Trees, and Antelope Hill smiled with a cool average temperature of 67.51 degrees.

It has been a respectable monsoon for rain in Phoenix. So far they have receive over an inch more than the average and stand at 7.27’’ for the year. The Land got less than a half inch in August and for they year has accumulated 4.32”. What did I do to deserve this piss bucket of rain!

And, one final torture to remind you of just how hot it was (we began this insertion last year just to torture you until we were safely out of the one hundred degree days) this month. The Land had nine days at 105 or above and one day of 110. But Phoenix, the heat island that it is, had eleven days at 105 and five days at 110 or above.

Your fine staff at Blue Duck Weather has been warning you of the perils of Lake Mead’s dropping water levels and this month it made local news. You will read all about it in this fine edition.

The lake levels that mean anything in the southwest and Arizona are as follows: Lake Mead, 38%, Lake Pleasant 60%, Powell 64% and Roosevelt stands mightily at 93%.

Before we give you a preview of some of the exciting pieces of reporting to be read in this edition and get down to the day by day weather happenings I would like to share this headline from the AP on August 13th; “Floods, fires, melting ice and feverish heat: From smoke choked Moscow to water soaked Pakistan and the high Arctic, the planet seems to be having a midsummer breakdown.”

In this issue you will read about paint balls attracting Grizzlies, more deadly flooding in Pakistan (some say this is a tragedy of Biblical proportions), a man who is grateful that his dog chewed his toe off (?), the fugitive cow on the loose in Ahwatukee, Arizona is finally caught, More China flooding, why some fear Russia’s death toll from smoke and heat is under reported, another Titanic possibly in the making, a toad sucking Chef, a most unusual guard “dog”, the possible climate fate of the South West, and why you should go heavily armed if you visit Yellowstone this fall and find out what the weather Daisy Chain is. Now let the news reels roll!


8-1- Now the search has been moved to a northern Arizona landfill for the toddler who was camping with his family last weekend and disappeared.

The now 22 square mile wildfire near Palmdale, California is 82% contained. High humidity is helping firefighters.

The death toll in Pakistan’s massive flooding has reached 800. The threat of disease exists as some evacuees arrive in refuge camps with fever, diarrhea and skin problems. As of yesterday 19,000 trapped people had been rescued.

A paint ball course in Montana had to be closed after the odor from disintegrated balls were luring bears. The paint balls contain a vegetable oil and some bears have even eaten unexploded ones.

8-2 Missing camper boy has turned into a criminal investigation. Searchers are confident he is not in the Beaver campground area.

The flooding death toll in Pakistan climbs to 1100. The United Nations estimates that one million are affected. “Aerial monitoring is being conducted, and it has shown that whole villages have washed away, animals have drowned and grain storage has washed away.”

Hundreds of new wildfires break out in Russia.

The cubs of a Grizzly sow who killed one and injured two in a Yellowstone campground last week were malnourished and still had their winter coats. This may explain mama’s behavior.

8-3- The two year boy missing from the Beaver Creek Campground in northern Arizona is presumed dead. A limited search in the area continues.

A funnel cloud reported in Apache county, Arizona.

Nine in Memphis and Nashville have died from heat exposure. Heat indexes figuring in humidity have made temperatures in much of the South over 110 degrees.

Tropical Storm Colin forms in the Atlantic between Africa and the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean.

According to UNICEF Pakistan’s flooding affects three million people. More flood warning were issued yesterday.

Russia declares that some wildfires are out of control. With 10,000 firefighters, volunteers and part of the Army there still isn’t enough manpower to combat the fires. The death toll climbs to 40.

Sun storms may bring the Northern Lights as far south as Maine and Michigan and all points farther north around the globe.

8-4- As temperatures soar again in Phoenix so does the Ozone Health Advisories.

A tornado was reported in Chinle, Arizona yesterday.

“Static kill” complete and the BP oil well is “dead.” This is day 107 and new reports estimate the total oil leaked so far is five million barrels. The “government” says 75% of the oil has evaporated or was cleaned.

Deadly heat wave across the South stretches along 18 states killing more than a dozen people and two police dogs. There have been 6 deaths in Mississippi and Tennessee alone.

U.S. Army fly relief missions for the flood victims in Pakistan. In the country’s south a half million people are being evacuated.

A Russian military garrison near Moscow moved all of its artillery rockets to a safer location as wildfires advance.

8-5- A two year old boy near Dewey, Arizona “went for a walk” with his dog earlier this week while family members napped. The dog returned but the boy did not. The poor little boy was found dead yesterday from exposure to the elements. He managed to walk through brush and rocks nearly a mile from his home when he was found.
Volunteers from the United Way are accepting donations for Flagstaff flood victims. Most of the victims live near the burned out area of the Schultz Fire that happened last month. They have been flooded seven times in the last two weeks.

A Michigan man says he is grateful that his pet dog chewed off most of the man’s toe when he was drunk and passed out. After he was rushed to the hospital by his wife doctors found a pre-diabetic bone infection and amputated the rest of this toe. (I think I would get rid of the dog. What’s he going to chew off next?)

8-6- Low pressure off the California coast swirling counter clockwise and high pressure east of Arizona swirling clockwise are drawing moisture up from Mexico setting the stage for the perfect monsoon conditions in Arizona.

The fugitive cow in Ahwatukee, Arizona has still not been caught. A hired hand who helped the owner of this cow said “it was wild, very wild.” After the heifer was bought and released into a corral in June it struggled with ranch hands, broke down a fence and ran off toward the South Mountain Preserve.

The latest estimates of Pakistan’s flooding is that it has affected eight million people.

Fifty people have been killed by a sudden downpour and resulting flashfloods in Indian Kashmir, a normally arid region that receives little rain.

Smoke blankets 1850 miles in Russia from wildfires. (So the question is does the smoke block the sun with a cooling effect or his the heat from wildfires trapped by the smoke?)

Tropical Storm Colin gathers strength and headed for Bermuda.
A Tropical Depression is forming in the Pacific near Mexico.

8-7- A Greenland glacier calves a 100 square mile ice sheet four times the size of Manhattan, New York. Not since 1962 has this large of an ice sheet broken off in the Arctic Ocean.

Seven are dead and entire towns are submerged in flood waters in Central Europe.

Tropical Storm Estelle forms in the Pacific and is 220 miles south west of Manzanillo, Mexico.

Moscow’s smog from wildfires is so bad it is equivalent to smoking eight packs of cigarettes a day. People are urged to remain indoors.

8-8- Six white pelicans that were victims of the oil spill in Louisiana have been relocated to the Phoenix zoo. Their wings were damaged from oil and will never fly again. ( Just how many animal casualties are there and thousands that will not be relocated to the sanctuaries or prisons called fucking zoos?)

Storms spawn tornadoes in North Dakota and Minnesota. No injuries reported but one building was destroyed.

A mass of floodwaters, mud and rock engulfed a town in north west China killing 123 and 1300 missing.

Colin weakens to a Tropical Depression near Bermuda.
In the Pacific Estelle has sustained winds of 60 mph.

8-9- The leading headline and story on the front page of the Arizona Republic today read “Floods surge across Asia.” (They are a bit slow since you have been reading it day by day in the amazing Blue Duck Weather News!)

8-10- Officials believe that the two year old boy’s remains are found two miles from the Beaver Creek Campground. Flash floods may have moved the body that far away from camp.

I saw a bumper sticker today that read “Save one hundred elk. Kill a wolf.” A different take on the reintroduction and preservation of wolves in the state.

“ Pakistan floods a mega disaster of record proportions.” The number of people affected exceeds THIRTEEN MILLION, more than the combined totals of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. A person is considered “affected” if he/she will need some form of assistance to recover.

A new mudslide in China leaves 700 dead and 1000 missing. One man was found alive after being trapped for fifty hours.

People are dying in Moscow from extreme heat and smoke faster than their bodies can be stored, cremated or buried. The official death toll in European Russian is 52 but there are no statistics referring to Moscow. Some media reports that the city paramedics are told not to include “heat stroke” as cause of deaths to avoid panic by the public.

8-11- Slide Rock in Sedona, Arizona is closed to swimmers for “poor water quality”. (This means piss and shitty diapers!)

A Tropical Depression is forming over the Gulf of Mexico 375 miles from the mouth of the Missippii River.

U.S. aid reaches flood survivors in Pakistan. Many there regard the United States as enemy number one.

Rescue hopes dim in landslide that hit a Chinese town. There are still 1,042 missing.

The huge ice shelf that broke off in Greenland earlier this weeek could threaten shipping lanes and oil rigs. In a worst case scenario huge chunks could reach heavily trafficked waters where another Greenland iceberg sank the Titanic in 1912.

8-12- DarDuck reported it first and then on the front page of the Arizona Republic: Lake Mead is at a 54 year low. It has dropped an editional ten feet since last summer. There is talk of water rationing if it drops another twelve feet by year’s end. It would be the first water restrictions imposed since the dam was built reducing water to Nevada and Arizona farmers first. (Editor’s Note: We have been commenting on the level of this shit hole for three years. Your fine staff at Blue Duck Weather is acutely aware of the affects this “lake” would have if it dries up into a piss hole.)

In Buffalo, New York a police traffic stop led to animal cruelty charges after they found a live cat in the trunk of a car “marinating” in oil and peppers. The driver told police the cat was “ill tempered” and he planned on cooking the cat. (Animal cruelty charges my ass! This dude needs to be put away!)

A rock climber on Mount Lemmon in Tucson was stranded for several hours by a bee swarm. Rescuers had to rappell down to his location to rescue him. It is not known how many times he was stung but he is in stable condition in a Tucson hospital.

A sixteen year old girl dies in Iowa flooding. She was among eleven people in three cars that were swept into a creek near Des Moines. Some of the survivors were found clinging to trees. Some areas received six inches of rain.

According to the United Nations 500 million dollars is needed to help the flood victims of Pakistan. The Taliban has urged rejection of all Western aid.

Rome Police seized a rare ten foot albino python that a group of drug dealers used to guard their stash of cocaine. The snake was seated on top of 200 grams.

8-13- An Excessive Heat Warning is issued for Maricopa and parts of Pinal counties until 8-17. It may hit 115 degrees. Average number of 110s so far is 18 in Phoenix. 19 have occurred.

350,000 residents in Ames, Iowa have no safe drinking water due to burst water mains from recent flooding.

Relentless downpours in China add more misery with more rain forecast for the Gansu province today. Up to three and a half inches with more landslides expected.

A shipload of U.S. Marines and helcopters arrive to boost relief in Pakistan today. Seven million people need emergency assistance.

An Iowa restauraunt Chef is caught on video kissing and licking toads in the kitchen. (I swear we don’t make this shit up!) He kisses them a few times, licks them and then stuffs them in his mouth. The Chef said it was a joke but County Health Department official weren’t laughing. He was fined three hundred and thirty five dollars. (They should close his fucking restaurant and burn it down!)

8-14- The Arizona Fish and Game Department is offering a twenty five hundred dollar reward for the arrest of individual(s) responsible for killing an adult 4x4 antlered mule deer near Yuma earlier this month. The buck was shot with an unknown caliber firearm and left to rot.

The rain that fell on Ames, Iowa earlier this week broke all previous records in that town.

Heavy rains finally falling on Moscow cooling and cleaning the air but wildfires still burn around Moscow. There are 500 fires burning in the country with 29 near Moscow.

A yellow lobster has been found in Rhode Island. They are so rare they occur one to thirty million.

8-15- A Flash Flood Warning is issued for Tucson this afternoon. Some areas have received up to two and a half inches in one hour!

The renegade cow in Ahwatukee, Arizona has finally been caught by two cowboys and returned it to the owner. The elusive cow has been on the loose since June.

The deadly waterborne disease, cholera has hit the flood ravaged country of Pakistan. Twenty million people may be homeless because of the disaster. The Indus River is rising with floodwaters and threatening previously spared cities in the south.

China declared a national day of mourning for the 1239 people killed in landslides last weekend.

The poisonous smog from wildfires has returned to Moscow. The carbon monoxide levels are five times higher than what is considered normal.

A clear plastic container has been removed from the head of a six month old black bear cub in Florida. It was stuck for ten days after the cub poked its head in garbage digging for trash. Biologists say the bear was days away from dying because it could not eat or drink. A team had to tranquilize the mother bear to get the cub away from here and free the poor bastard.

8-16- More flash flooding occurs near the Schultz Fire burn area near Flagstaff. A flash flood watch is posted for all of southern Arizona.

A four year old boy missing near Payson overnight has been found alive today. He was playing with a group of friends and wandered off. He was found a mile and a half from where he was last seen and in some rugged country with rattlesnakes and coyotes. The man who found him was a concerned neighbor on horseback. The boy spent most of the night wandering in nothing but a tank top and shorts but he told his rescuer that he wasn’t lost.

United Nations General Banki-Moon flew over flooded areas of Pakistan. “In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this” he said. He urged worldwide aid to speed up to help twenty million affected people.

8-17- Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for Maricopa county with a Flash Flood Advisory. Wind gusts of 43mph recorded at Sky Harbor International Airport and flights delayed.

According to the government only 25% of the oil spilled remains in the Gulf. According to researchers at the University of Georgia this is not possible and they estimate 80% remains.

In Sudan seven children are killed when lightning strikes a religious school they were attending.

The World Bank releases 900 million dollars to help fund flood disaster relief in Pakistan.

8-18- Last night’s rainfall put the Phoenix monsoon total at three inches. The average rainfall for all of the monsoon season is 2.75 inches. Flagstaff has received eight inches, twice that of a normal monsoon rainfall amount.

Golf ball size hail and severe winds ruin wine vineyards in Senoita, Arizona.

A Swiss woman has drowned trying to cross the swollen Teklamika River in Alaska. She and her husband was trying to reach the abandoned bus made famous in the movie “Into the Wild”, the true story of Chris McCandless who died there trying to survive in the wild.

So far it seems hurricane season has been tame but the most active stretch is mid August through early October. Based on models one researcher says “Now the game is on.”

Latest mudslides in China leave 67 missing.

A school collapses from mudslides in India killing eighteen. Ten children aand two teachers are missing.

A Great White shark “chews” on a man’s kayak off the northern California coast. The man was unhurt even after the shark overturned his boat.

8-19- Flash flooding in Putnam county, Tenessee washes away a bridge, a home and derails a train.

Flooding in the Washington D.C. area results in a dozen motorist rescues stranded on flooded roads.

And yet another landslide leaves one dead and 90 missing in China.

8-20- A twenty two mile long invisible mist of oil is hanging far below the Gulf of Mexico from the blown out BP oil well according to researchers. The chemicals in the oil are found as far down as a half mile below the surface. Earlier this month “top federal officials” declared the that the oil from the leak was gone.

8-21- Today is the last average day for temperatures to reach 110 degrees in Phoenix. (God, we could use a break!)

Major flooding on the border of China and North Korea. 51,000 are evacuated after the Yalu River breaks its banks.

Floodwaters submerge towns in Pakistan’s south from the swollen Indus River. 150,000 people are forced to move to higher ground. There are already 600,000 thousand people in relief camps from flooding over the past month.

A Tropical Depression forms in the Atlantic and could become a hurricane by 8-23. It is 580 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

In the Pacific a Tropical Depression forms and is forecast to move parallel to the coast of southern Mexico. A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued.

Six suspects are arrested in Acapulco, Mexico for possessing 3,756 sea turtle eggs. The eggs are from Oliver Ridley turtles and are protected under Mexican law.

A live goat stuffed into the trunk of a Virgina driver’s car leads to a ticket for animal cruelty. The woman told police she bought the goat from a farmer to give to the four passengers in her car.

8-22- Two hikers and eight people in a cabin are evacuated by helicopter as a wildfire consumes 2000 acres of grassland in rural San Diego. The fire is 10% contained.

In Illinois a woman and man were riding in a car that got stuck under an overpass on a flooded road. When they got out to help push the car the woman fell into a flooded uncovered manhole and drowned.

Yesterday your fine staff reported about two Tropical Depression forming, one in the Pacific and one in the Atlantic. Frank has turned into a Tropical Storm in the Pacific near Mexico and Danielle is a Tropical Storm in the Atlantic.

The evacuation number in northern China due to flooding rises to 94,000 people. Four people have been killed and a FOOT OF RAIN fell yesterday.

In New Zealand eleven beached Pilot whales are rescued and forty seven others die. They were beached more than twelve hours leading to the high death toll.

8-23- Excessive Heat Warning issued for Maricopa County until 8-25. With the humidity index temperatures could reach 115 degrees.

The drought and excessive dry conditions in the South West could become normal in the coming years. Richard Seager, a climate scientist for Columbia University said “changing climate conditions push the prevailing storm tracks farther north and away from Arizona and other desert states.”

Danielle upgraded to a hurricane.

After all that southern China has been through in the last two months Tropical Storm Mindulle is expected to deliver heavy rains and strong winds. Large ships are prohibited from leaving ports and 20,000 fishing boats ordered to take shelter in safe harbors.

Food shortages mean Yellowstone’s grizzlies will be more hungry this fall. A favorite food for bears, nuts from white bark pinecones, is scarce. So as grizzlies look to put on pounds for the winter they will be looking for another protein source, meat. Two people have been mauled to death this summer in Wyoming and Montana. That is the most in one year in over a century for the Yellowstone region.

8-24- Flash Flood Advisory issued for Maricopa County. 50 mph winds logged and 4400 without power.

Danielle becomes a Category 2 Hurricane with sustained winds of 100mph.

Personal protection beacons are becoming more popular but are designed to only be used in truly life and death situations. A Grand Canyon Park ranger said out of twelve alerts received this summer only two were valid. One alert was for bad tasting water! (Editor’s Note: I have one of these devices and I carry it in my back pack. I hope I never have to use it and treat it like a loaded gun. It is registered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is updated every two years. If I “pull the trigger” the first thing they do is call the contacts on the list I provided to them. The next thing they do is deploy any and every source (SAR) available to rescue my miserable ass. That means by air, ship or foot any where in the world. It is my understanding that if I send a false alarm I pay the bill. And I’m reading some fucking idiot sent an alarm for bad tasting water?)(When Mrs. Blueduck was in Baltimore at NASA she was at the building that does the dispatching for these calls....these people are VERY serious and although I didn't see it, I bet they have an idiot wall up for the dumb ass things people signal for....the water dude, probably made the wall.)

8-25- Tropical Storm Minduelle hits north central Vietnam blowing off roofs and 14,000 people are evacuated. It has sustained winds of 73mph.

Flooding has completely cut off 800,000 in Pakistan and aid can only be delivered by air.

Two alligators have been caught in the Chicago River. City animal control officials believe they are abandoned pets.

8-26- During the storms in Phoenix two nights ago a microburst occurred damaging the Mayo Clinic at Tatum and Deer Valley. A twenty foot by 15 foot section of a wall was blown off.

Minduelle kills four and leaves ten members of fishing boat missing in Vietnam. 4,000 homes and 62,000 acres of rice are damage.

Hurricane Danielle gathers strenght and threatens Bermuda.

8-27- Well, my fine readers we had a high of only 86 degrees at The Land today with .34’’ of rain. But the miserable trade off was 65% humidity and a dew point of 76 degrees.

High winds fuel two wildfires in the West. The largest threat to people and property is in central Idaho. Another fire burning out of control is in the Helena National Forest in Montana.

“The Daisey Chain” is lining up in the Atlantic. Danielle is now a Category 4 hurricane, Earle behind it is a Tropical Storm and Fiona is a new Tropical Storm behind Earle. (If you look at satellite imagery the three appear to be three massive spinning tops cutting through the Atlantic and headed north.)

Eight million people are now displaced from flooding in Pakistan.

Torrential rains set of floods and landslides in northern Turkey killing twelve.

8-28- An inch and a half of rain per hour and pea size hail reported at 23rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road in Phoenix late this afternoon. A Sixty-nine car crash reported on I-10 in Phoenix because of heavy rain and poor visibility. One mass collison alone involved 35 vehicles.

The swollen Indus River in Pakistan breaks through levees sending thousands more to seek higher ground.

8-29- Yesterday’s storms caused extensive roof damage to the new library in the lovely town of ‘Copa, Arizona.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the arrival of Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans. (They say you remember where you were when a catastrophic event strikes. I don’t remember that about this day but I do remember our kids were supposed to fly to New Orleans for a vacation. I am thankful they didn’t.)

Twenty-eight cities from Washington, D.C. to Maine set all time heat record highs for average temperatures from March to August.

Dangerous rip currents from Hurricane Danielle, although hundreds of miles away, result in dozens of swimmer rescues off the Florida coast.

Earl turns into a hurricane and threatens the northern Caribbean. Emergency shelters are set up, flights cancelled and cruise ships diverted.

Mexico’s gulf state of Tobasco in the south evacuating 7,000 people. Weeks of steady rain has caused a half dozen rivers to overflow.

8-30- Earl has turned into a “dangerous” Category 4 hurricane and could effect the Carolinas later this week along with thirty million people and dozens of states later.

8-31- “Monster Earl on path for North Carolina and then due north.” A Hurricane Watch is posted.

A Hero dog in Phoenix saves six of her puppies and her owners from a burning house by jumping up and down on the man’s chest and barking while he was asleep.

TwinkyDuck told me she thought some of her migraines may be attributed by barometric pressure changes. The Lovely Mrs. Blue Duck and others have said the same thing. So out of sympathy for such pain I decided to record extreme dives of pressure. On August 5th and the 29th the pressure bottomed out. Were you in pain those days?

Your fine staff at Blue Duck weather would like to thank conributions by TwinkyDuck and a new contributing editor this month, DarDuck. My eternal thanks goes to the Lovely Mrs. BlueDuck for her contributions and agonizing editing of this piece of shit.

As a salute of hope to Pakistan and China the song of the month is, “Storms Never Last, Do They Baby?, by Waylon Jennings and Jesse Colter.

Until next month, remember Pioneers took bullets, Settlers took land.

The Distinguished and Honorable Professor MR BlueDuck