Weather phenomena

[Tony_]

 Hi, Linda - am glad Fritz and Earl are ok.  Would post this in the Diner, but it seems more appropriate here.

 The situation in Virginia is unsure.  News people seem to be on vacation  .  Even so, about 12 deaths, and they are not clear whether it is 1 million homes without power, or 1 million people.  But the power company says it could be weeks for some to be restored. And there's a state of emergency.
 Norfolk got the bottom line of the derecho, and it was very weird, the sky lighting up completely.  These weren't thunderstorms.  Straight line high winds.  It cooled us off (86 degrees, today), but am wondering if it's still on for 100 tomorrow, and more storms and we get hit here, somewhat worse.
 I feel very bad for the millions suffering, as they also are not getting any reprieve from the heat.  And am still whacked out over derechos even existing.  Never heard of them before.  So, what else is out there ?
 Oh, yeah, it was surrealistic, watching the White House and Capitol Building being wildly splatted, live, on tv., last night.

[killersmom]

I was wondering at the lack of national coverage. I will watch tonight and see what is said. I had never heard that term before either. My husband had been an insurance adjuster, and I learned the difference between the straight line wind damage, down draft wind damage and of course tornado or rotating wind damage.

[CellarDweller115]

I'd never even heard of a derecho.  If I hadn't read the last page of the Diner, last night, I wouldn't have known one was moving this way.

I've never heard of them either.

A derecho (Spanish: derecho "straight", pronounced [de̞ˈɾe̞tʃo̞][1]), is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms in the form of a squall line usually taking the form of a bow echo. Derechos blow in the direction of movement of their associated storms, similar to a gust front, except that the wind is sustained and generally increases in strength behind the "gust" front. A warm weather phenomenon, derechos occur mostly in summer, especially June and July in the Northern Hemisphere. They can occur at any time of the year and occur as frequently at night as in the daylight hours.

[Tony_]

  Have been reading in the Diner, for any news on Fritz and Earl.  We have heard, in Virginia news, that most should have power back in 3-4 days (starting from the storm day), but some up to a week.  I hope Fritz is in the first category, as he could be back by tonight or tomorrow.  How he would get to work, I don't know.
  Meanwhile, some hype here for another derecho over Indiana that could hit the East Coast again.  All I saw on national radar was a fat blob that isn't really moving.
 Now we are getting de-stupid-o's : fast forming t-storms that knock out more power even as they try to fix previous downs.  We had one last night.  And they are forecast for much of the SouthEast all through next week.
 Am not sure about all this stuff.  Used to be, you had a big storm, and then things cleared up.  But no, now it's derechos and destupidos, day after day.

[killersmom]

I did talk to him yesterday morning around 11 am, but the last I have heard. He keeps his cell phone off and the house phone works on electricity. I did call and leave a message in case he checks it. Fritz can go to work tomorrow and has AC there, but Earl is retired. Good luck on the new bad weather.

I am not sure they are at home. I was kinda hoping they had somewhere to go with AC.

[killersmom]

I just looked at the radar, maybe the rain will cool things off for them.

[Tony_]

 I sure hope so, Linda !  And you're probably right about A/C at work, as they would have generators. At least we know they're ok, otherwise, and many thanks to you for finding that out !

[killersmom]

Fritz works for the German Air Force at Dulles Airport, so I would imagine they may not have been without power.

[killersmom]

I talked to Fritz today. He called me on his lunch time from work. They are still without power. They are in surprisingly good spirits. Fritz cracking his droll funny jokes. They have adapted and are just taking it a day at a time. He wanted me to thank each and every one of you for your thoughts and prayers (I mentioned everyone) and said he will post first thing when the power is restored. I know he misses everyone!

[killersmom]

With another day of record heat all across the country, 45 wildfires burning across the western states, unusual storms forming and causing huge amounts of damage, there was a report on the news tonight, about the climate change across the US. Norton, KS had a record high of 118° last week, hotter than Death Valley. For most of the last century, record high and low temperatures have been about even. This year alone there have 15,055 record highs and only 1,343 record lows. This is a ratio of about 11:1 and is a clear evidence of climate change. This information is coming from the federally funded National Center for Atmospheric Research.

[fritzkep]

Hey y'all, after 111 hours (almost exactly), we finally got power back, a Virginia Dominion Power truck rolled up the street, did some work on a transformer line that was drooping lower than it should have (Earl and several neighbors had been calling the power company for days about it), and a few minutes later, we had electricity again! In 100 degree heat, it's especially welcome to have the A/C back. I wouldn't care to go back to the good old days, though some were saying that because of the power outage, we could celebrate the 4th of July and party like it was 1776!

Anyway, thank y'all for your thoughts and concern!

[huntinbuddy]

Another record high broke here today in Columbia.   105 over the old record of 104 for this date.   Actually, six new record highs in the past 10 days.   Tomorrow is forecast to be 105 again, which will also set a new record.    Forecast also says we have tomorrow and Saturday of triple digits....and then it falls to the upper 80's for Sunday, Monday and perhaps Tuesday.   Damn, I might have to break out the blue parka! 

[fritzkep]

Way way way too hot, Charlie!

[huntinbuddy]

Way way way too hot, Charlie!

Yeah, sure is.   Just got home from work and here at 4pm it is 106.  Old record for this date is 101.   Today was day 11 in a row at triple digits.  One more to go.  The forecast for tomorrow is also 106, and then only in the 80's for Sunday, with possible rain.   It's to late for the agricultural crops.....they are already toast unless they have been irrigated.

[fritzkep]

This is an unusually long stretch of above 95 temps into the 100's, and well into the 100's for the heat index, for us, Charlie.