A little bit of a reprieve from widespread showers & storms Tue. & Wed. We'll still have a few storms, but they'll pretty widely scattered. Less rain & less cloud cover will mean hotter temps. with afternoon readings reaching the low to mid 90s.
But rains will pick up again by Thu. & Fri. as a "slug" of tropical moisture surges north into North Fl./South Ga. The combination of a weak tropical wave moving from the Caribbean into the Gulf of Mexico & a trough of low pressure over the Gulf will spread the moisture north which should trigger widespread showers & storms with locally heavy rain. Rain may not be confined to just the afternoon/early evening due to the deep moisture + an onshore southeast wind. So it looks like our wet season will be "doing its thing".
This is "Lightning Safety Awareness Week". This from the National Weather Service:
In the United States, an average of 62 people are killed each year by lightning. Already in 2008, 8 people have died due to lightning strikes. In 2007, 45 people were struck and killed by lighting in the U.S.; hundreds of others were injured. Of the victims who were killed by lightning:
98% were outside
89% were male
30% were males between the ages of 20-25
25% were standing under a tree
25% occurred on or near the water
Click here for more info. on lightning from the N.W.S.
The "United We Care" blood drive is Tue., June 24th at the Avenues Mall. I'll be there from about 4:30-6:30pm. Click here for all the info.
So I'm coming off a beautiful week at "home" in Iowa. Despite all the national headlines about flooding, my hometown is mostly on high ground, & we had a gorgeous stretch of weather. Probably the nicest week of weather since last fall for Iowans. Crops on higher ground are actually doing pretty well, but the amount of water is amazing with some estimates that the latest flooding was a 1-in-500 yr. event. Realize there was flooding in places that were not considered to be in a flood plain. After the break from widespread rains last week, a more stormy pattern is returning to the Midwest this week. Click here for a look at Midwest rainfall for the first 15 days of June (on top of what was a wet spring & snowy winter).
The Midwest has had its share of tornadoes too...read this "Science Daily" story.
Earth Gauge: Pest Control
A 2006 study by the U.S. Geological Survey found at least one pesticide in all streams studied, and pesticides were detected nearly year-round (97 percent of the time) in streams in urban areas. As a matter of fact, common herbicides and insecticides were often detected in higher levels in urban areas than agricultural areas. Pesticides can harm or kill aquatic wildlife, and affect wildlife that eat fish from impacted streams.
Tip: If you're dealing with a backyard weed or pest, identify the best control before applying treatment. If you must use a chemical, wait for dry weather and follow application directions carefully. Rain will wash pesticides away from your yard, into the storm drain, and directly to local
streams and rivers.
Remember this: Only five to fifteen percent of the "pests" in a yard are actually pests. Many bugs, including lady bugs and praying mantises, actually help to control pests!
