It'll be wetter the next few days. Thunderstorms will be locally intense but pretty widely scattered Wed. evening confined to mainly the area between I-10 in Florida & U.S. Highway 82 in Ga. The air aloft is pretty cool & upper level winds are strong so storms will be capable of large hail & damaging winds as they move quickly east/southeast before weakening by late evening then dissipating. An impressive severe storm moved over St. Simons Island in Ga. Wed. afternoon with the ASOS station reporting the following:
KSSI 211950Z AUTO 02041G57KT 3/4SM +TSRA SQ FEW006 BKN045 22/17 A2971
The storm apparently knocked out the instrumentation. ASOS stands for "Automated Surface Observing Station"....KSSI is the identifier for St. Simons Island...211950Z is the date (21st) & time in zulu hours (Greenwich Mean Time) -- 3:50pm....02041G57KT is the wind direction & speed in knots -- so from the north/northeast at 41 knots (47 mph), gusts to 57 knots (66 mph)...3/4 SM is the visibility in statute miles -- 3/4 of a mile...+TSRA is current weather -- thunderstorm with heavy rain...then you have cloud information (coverage & height or ceiling)...then the altimeter reading -- 29.71 inches.
Showers & storms will again fire Thu. afternoon as moisture pushes northeast from the Gulf of Mexico along with a series of upper level disturbances. We'll also have the leftover front stationary across the area. Severe storm parameters look weaker but storms will still be capable of gusty winds, small hail, frequent lightning & very heavy rain. The set-up becomes even wetter Thu. night through Fri. with widespread showers & storms as tropical moisture streams into the First Coast.
Rainfall totals through Fri. night should avg. 1-2" with some spots soaked with 3"+!
The forecast for the holiday weekend still hinges on the movement of a pretty strong cool front Sat. Showers & storms will develop with the front Sat. but Sun. & Memorial Day look breezy, cooler & much less humid BUT with a serious rip current risk at area beaches.
Weather folklore from "The Old Farmer's Almanac":
When spiders build new webs, the weather will be clear.
Listen for the sound of the first cicadas. The first frost of the year will occur about three months later.
An open anthill indicates good weather; a closed one, an approaching storm.
When the down of a dandelion contracts, it is a sign of rain.
The sunflower raising its head indicates rain.
Look what's new at our Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens:
NEW BABY STINGRAYS LEARNING TO “FIN” FOR THEMSELVES AT
JACKSONVILLE ZOO AND GARDENS
May 20, 2008 – Jacksonville, FL – Two baby Southern Stingrays (Dasyatis americana) are now at home at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens’ Stingray Bay exhibit. The two female rays were born early morning on May 14, 2008. The rays, named Aquata and Nelamie, were born to Ariel, who has a disc span of 21 inches and weighs approximately 75 pounds. At birth Aquata weighed 11 ounces with a disc width of six inches and Nelamie weighed 14 ounces and is seven inches across. Stingray mothers have nothing to do with their young after birth; therefore, for their protection, the babies were placed in separate, make shift “play pens” that have colorful floating devices attached. Visitors can see the babies in the pens, but cannot touch them until they are released into the open pool (usually about one month).
“The babies were rolled up like a newspaper while inside the mother and spread their fins when they entered their new world,” said Dennis Pate, executive director of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. “We are delighted at these new additions to our exhibit that will add even more to our guest experience.
It is not known whether Ariel became pregnant before or after she came to the Zoo in March. There is no normal gestation period; however, it is usually from four to 10 months. They lived on mother’s milk until they were born and now are fed brine and other shrimp and lake smelt. The babies will remain in the pens until they are large enough to adequately compete for food.
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens’ Stingray Bay exhibit opened in March and will be opened until the end of September this year, and will reopen again March 1 through September 30, 2009. The exhibit, which is 30 feet wide and 40 feet long and holds 17,000 gallons of heated and treated water, contains a total of 31 stingrays including Cownose and Southern species. The exhibit is owned and managed by Living Exhibits, Inc.
