stormdigest

My Way News - Heat Wave Scorches Western States

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - When the mercury hit 104, Rick Overton took his colleagues tubing on the Boise River, thinking it couldn't get much hotter. A day later, parts of the West were in for a little relief, but not everywhere - Boise was expected to hit 107 degrees Friday.

"Once it gets that high - 105, 107, 109 - it just feels hot," said Overton, a copywriter for the digital marketing firm Wirestone.

Warnings of excessive heat were still posted Friday morning for much of Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Washington state. The Southwest was expected to cool off slightly, though, said weather service meteorologist Jamie Meier.

"The high pressure system that has been stubbornly parked over Southern California is on a weakening trend, allowing temperatures to cool down to seasonable temperatures," Meier said.

My Way News - Heat Wave Scorches Western States

The Denver Post - Hail bruises the metro area

A sudden storm dropped heavy rain and up to 4 inches of hail on the metro area, enough to turn streets white.

A tornado watch was issued for Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Elbert, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgewick, Washington, Weld and Yuma counties until 8 p.m.

The National Weather Service said that rain and thunderstorms could continue over the urban corridor until 6 p.m. Rainfall rates of one quarter to three-quarters of an inch per hour were possible and could add to flooding caused by the earlier storm.

The hail piled up 4 inches deep at Elitch Gardens amusement park in downtown Denver, a spokeswoman said.

Link: The Denver Post - Hail bruises the metro area.

Forecasters Lower Hurricane Predictions

The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season should be slightly less active than originally predicted, federal forecasters said Tuesday.

Link: BREITBART.COM - Forecasters Lower Hurricane Predictions.

Forecasters now expect there to be 12 to 15 named storms and seven to nine hurricanes, the National Hurricane Center and other National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agencies said.

Three or four could be major hurricanes with sustained winds of at least 111 mph, forecasters said.

Government scientists made their first prediction in May, saying the season could produce 13 to 16 named storms, and eight to 10 hurricanes, four to six of which could become major.

There have been only three tropical storms and no hurricanes so far, but August through October are typically the most active months of the season.

Forecasters warned coastal residents not to let their guard down.

U.S. HAS ITS SECOND-HOTTEST JULY ON RECORD;

August 7, 2006 — The continental United States suffered through its second-hottest July on record because of a blistering heat wave from California to Washington, D.C. The heat wave broke more than 2,300 daily temperature records for the month and eclipsed more than 50 records for the highest temperatures in any July, according to the NOAA National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The hottest July on record occurred in 1936, and the third hottest was 1934. (Click NOAA image for larger view of July 2006 statewide temperature rankings. Please credit “NOAA.”)

Link: U.S. HAS ITS SECOND-HOTTEST JULY ON RECORD; DROUGHT CONDITIONS WORSEN.

Heat, Heat and more Heat

Plains, Midwest Anticipate Heat Wave...

RECORDS SMASHED: 112 IN SOUTH DAKOTA...

Heat Map...

A global grip... 

Weather Conditions Prompt Fears Of Major Northeast Hurricane This Year... 

Hurricanes, Global Warming and California Heatwave

Global warming's effect on hurricane strength disputed in new report...

Hurricane 'spike' may not be accurate...

Death toll in California heat wave 126...

UPDATE: California heat kills 25,000 cattle...

Heatwave hits vegetable supplies....

It is Hot: Even the Drudge Report says so.

FEDS: First Half of 2006 Is Warmest on Record...

120 degrees in South Dakota?

Temperatures Hit Upper 90s Coast to Coast...

Temp Map...

Early warning system set up in Colorado to detect 'global warming'...

Link: Drudge Report

The Weather Channel "The Climate Code"

Link: Weather Cracks The Climate Code - 7/11/2006 2:04:00 PM - Broadcasting & Cable - CA6351545.

The Weather Channel is embarking on a major initiative to disseminate information on climate change and global warming. The network will launch new program The Climate Code with climate expert Dr. Heidi Cullen in October, as well as a broadband channel called "Oneº," aiming to become "as much a source for climate information as we are today for weather information," said Weather Channel President Deborah Wilson.

Weather Scrubs Shuttle Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Thunderstorms forced NASA to call off Saturday’s launch of Discovery, delaying the first space shuttle flight in a year by a day. More bad weather was forecast for Sunday and for the rest of the Independence Day weekend. Storm clouds moved in and out of the launch zone throughout the morning and early afternoon.
Space Shuttle Full Coverage on Yahoo! News

(via Yahoo!)

Sandstorm Causes Pileup in Texas; 1 Dead

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- A sandstorm blinded drivers on a Texas Panhandle highway Thursday evening, causing a series of accidents that left one dead and 12 injured, authorities said.

Twenty-seven wrecks occurred in an 11-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 62/82 shortly after 5 p.m., said John Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.

"We had a domino effect," Gonzalez told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in Friday editions. "We had crashes from the Hockley County line to five miles north of Brownfield."

Link: Sandstorm Causes Pileup in Texas; 1 Dead