Friday, September 11, 2009

Rain!

It looks like the drought is slowly coming to an end!

2 weeks ago last Wednesday, we had 1.12" of rain. The next day, we had 0.24". Then nothing of consequence for 2 weeks. Yesterday, the rains began! We got barely 0.10", but other areas around Austin got several storms with plenty of rain.

Then this morning, we began getting rain! To the north of us, Jarrell, TX got at least 8 inches since last night, and both sides of I-35 are currently at a standstill up there! WOW!

The rain has been steadily coming down here at our house for the last 45 minutes or so. What a blessing! It's cool and humid out, which is a nice change from HOT!

Thank You, Lord!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Cumulonimbus photos!

I had a nice angle for taking some cloud pictures last Sunday evening (7/19). The storm was east of us and didn't give us any rain, but the sunset colors reflecting off of it were beautiful!

Here's the photo album: July 19th, 2009 Cumulonimbus

If you'd like a full-size copy of any of these photos, just email me and tell me the number under the picture, and the email address where you'd like it sent.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Summertime!

Well, summer has arrived in full force!

We have had at least a week of 100+ temps, possibly more. I haven't been keeping track! We need rain very badly. Last week at one point it was 107 degrees. Today it was "only" 105. Whew!

El Nino may be kicking back in later this summer, which could mean higher rain chances for us! Of course we know God is the One who controls all those things, including El Nino. ;)

There really isn't anything else to update on, weather-wise, so until next time....

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Science behind the Jarrell Tornado

I just found this link, and thought it was very interesting! Some of it is over my head, but it doesn't hurt to try to learn new information! :)

http://blogs.kxan.com/weather/2009/05/27/the-science-behind-the-jarrell-tornado/

May 27th, 2009, came and went very quietly, with a gorgeous sunset! Unfortunately I was unable to get pictures of it myself, but you can find pictures on http://www.kxan.com, in the weather section. It's hard to believe it's been 12 years since the tornado!

I am still disappointed that we didn't even get a glimpse of the tornado! It traveled along the west side of I-35 for many miles - the storm hit our area HARD, and we ended up underneath I-35 for 2 hours as it passed by. Only we were too far south to see the tornado at that point.

You can read my account of May 27th, 1997 here: http://oliveplants.com/elisabethswebpage/jarrelltornado.html

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Late Freeze!

It looks like we'll be having a later-season freeze here this morning! (Tuesday) The temperature is forecast to dip to 31. Of course we had to cover all the tender plants to help protect them from being "nipped" by the frost!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

March Storms!

Tuesday was rather drippy, and we got only about 0.07" of rain. Wednesday had a forecast of possibly severe storms. Little did we know!

A large supercell thunderstorm moved over us around 5pm on Wednesday, bringing golf-ball-size hail! Thankfully there was very little wind, and not too much rain (0.63").

Today (Thursday), we were again threatened by severe storms, but they bypassed us on the south, and we got very little rain here at the house (0.05"). Everything has greened up considerably lately, and looks wonderful!

The hailstorm wasn't too terrible here (though it was nerve-wracking at the time!) but a lot of people in northwest Austin had windows broken in their houses, and car windshields broken or smashed! However, it wasn't near as bad as May 14th and 15th, 2008!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

March Rains

Yesterday began another rainy spell - We received 0.58" on Wednesday, and the rain is forecast to continue through Saturday! This has been caused by the passage of a cold front, and overunning Pacific moisture.

We're currently about 25 inches behind on our rainfall, counting the deficit from last year along with this year. It's terrible! Thankfully the local wildflowers don't seem to be too bothered. We are seeing patches of bluebonnets along the highways! I'm hoping this nice rain causes even more to sprout in the days to come.

The temperatures are the only disagreeable thing about this rain event. It has been in the 40's all day long, and won't get out of the 40's until sometime Saturday. Brrrrrrr!