Heat Advisory/Poll Results/New Poll/Tropical Storm Carlos

HURRICANES AND WEATHER

Tropical Storm Carlos formed early today in the eastern Pacific. It is forecast to move west (away from land) and become a hurricane. Will watch it. Atlantic basin is quiet.



Much of the country will be hot this weekend...lots of 90s and 100s across the southern states and into the Intermountain Region. Highs will be in the 60s and 70s for western California and northern plains and northeast. Look for severe storms in east/southeast and western Nebraska. See figure at right.



Houston is hot and humid and there is a Heat Advisory through Saturday. There have been no 100 degree reading for five days but it has been close. With the ridge high and flat, it will be hot and humid for the next week or so. Rain chances are very low but an isolated storm or too could pop each day.



SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Let's do butterfly, or mariposa, pronounced mar-ee-POH-sah. Do you know the difference between a mariposa and a moth? Check out the And More section for the answer.



I am working a part time job which sometimes requires me to speak to Spanish speaking individuals. Although my Spanish is less than perfect, I can tell you that it is a tremendous asset to getting work done. There are Spanish speakers all over the place. Give your favorite youngsters the advantage of language. Order our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1 from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,%20www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.



AND MORE

My poll on ideal vacation spots is closed. Only one answer was allowed. 36% said they would like to go to a nice beach. 27% said they would like to got to the mountains. 9% would like to go on a cruise. 9% would like to go to Disney Land or Disney World. 9% would like to go to Europe. 9% would like to go to another country not in Europe. 0% said they would like to go to the desert, a lake, or other. Thanks to all who participated.



Someone I know is considering trading in their old SUV for a qualified fuel efficient vehicle and getting a big tax deduction. Are you considering this? Thanks in advance for answering.



One of the nicest surprises on our trip was the 80 mph speed limits in west Texas. After we came down Hwy. 285 from Santa Fe, New Mexico, it was super thrilling to see that sign after we got on I10 at Fort Stockton. I did not even know that there were any 80 mph speed limits in Texas. It was 80 mph until we got to Kerrville. Well, going that fast, I had a very hard time getting a picture of the speed limit sign...we just kept zipping by it. And I was taking a picture with my phone--2 megapixels resolution. But trust me, it was there.



Speaking of Fort Stockton...very soon after we got on I10 heading east, we starting seeing the giants...there were even more than we had seen between Abilene and Lubbock.



We are home now...actually got back on Thursday. Drove 1050 miles in 2 days...most of it in one day. We starting at 7 am (8 am central) in Los Alamos and made Bandera, TX at 8:30 pm. Not bad considering we had several stops.



Remember how I told you we went to the botanical garden in Albuquerque. They had some fun/interesting information tables. That is where I learned the difference between butterflies and moths. Butterflies fly around during the day. Moths are active at night. Butterflies wings are up in the air. Moths' wings lie down flat.



Have a wonderful weekend!

Cecilia Sinclair

Wonder Weather Woman

Hail Storm Report/Rain Totals/Amazing Views

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Storm Blanca is almost no longer a tropical storm. This storm is in the eastern Pacific and heading northwestward and away from land.

Ridge is building back into the south central US on Wednesday. Highs from Texas to the desert southwest will be in the 90s and 100s. Highs will be in the 80s and 90s across the southeast US in the pleasant 60s and 70s along the west coast and all of the northern states.

Houston enjoyed some heavy rain today (more than 4 inches just northeast of Tomball according to the Houston Office of Emergency Management rain gauge network). Parts of Missouri City had over an inch. It was a welcome sight and kept the high down to 91. Rain is much LESS likely on Wednesday and it will be warmer as the high builds back in. Ridge returns strong for end of the week...should get lots of high 90s and maybe a few 100s. Some scattered rain will become possible as early as the weekend as the ridge flattens and shifts northward. We shall see.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do river or rio, pronounced REE-oh. Do you know the name of the rio which runs from Colorado to the southern tip of Texas? See photo at right to find out.

There may not be mountains but there is some spectacular foliage in our award winning DVD. Kids love all the bright colors...Order your's today from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com, www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
Spent some time in the Los Alamos downtown area today. A photo at right shows some of the broken branches near the downtown lake. According to the Los Alamos Monitor, said that the hail storm lasted 45 minutes and thousands of vehicles were damaged. Some of the hail was bigger than golf ball size. This was the storm we missed yesterday by 3 miles, because we turned off to go to White Rock.

How would you like to have a spectacular canyon view practically from your backyard? The photo of the Rio Grande River is the view from an outlook about a mile from my sister's house. It's a really neat area, because it is at the end of the community park. This is the same place we saw an amazing (and very long) fireworks display 2 years ago. It was interesting to see these almost headwaters of the Rio Grande (actual start is in Colorado), because I grew up in Brownsville, TX about 2 miles from the Rio Grande, very close to where the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Hail Report/Artichoke Flowers/Route 66

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
The area of disturbed weather in the eastern Pacific became a tropical storm Blanca. Blanca, by the way, means white in Spanish. However, the storm is expected to move away from land.

Highs on Tuesday will be in the 90s and 100s across the southwest and Florida. It will be pleasant and mild along the west coast of California, the northern states and the northeast. Elsewhere, look for 80s. Note, the three areas where severe storms are possible.

Houston did NOT reach 100 today. And although the rain has failed to materialize, I do think there will be some thunderstorms tomorrow. High pressure moves east again by Wednesday and rain chances decrease. Then there could be some rain this weekend.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do artichoke or alcachofa, pronounced ahl-cah-CHO-fah. Did you know that alcachofa's have purple flowers? See photo at right from the Albuquerque Botanical Garden.

I like to eat artichoke hearts and so does Sarah. But for our video, we picked more traditional things for kids to eat. It's fun to learn eating vocabulary from our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1. Order today from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,%20www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/



AND MORE

As we left Edgewood this morning, we headed west on the historical Route 66 to Albuquerque. It passes very class to my sister's home. We enjoyed a pleasant morning at the Albuquerque Botanical Garden after dining at the The Owl Cafe. The Cafe is neat because there are lots of owls, especially near the front. They aren't live however. The Botanical Garden is a feast for the eyes which lots of native plants. There has been lots of rain lately in Albuquerque. In fact, sometimes, we had to walk around the mud. I enjoyed seeing some of the interesting plants including something called a chocolate plant, because it smells like chocolate...smells great and no calories. Don't know if it is edible. I did not know that artichokes make purple flowers. Once the plant gets old and if fully flowering, the choke (the heart that people like to eat) is no longer edible.

From there, we drove on to Los Alamos. We could see storms to the northwest and drove through some rain. My sister's home is actually in White Rock (which is where a lot of Los Alamos workers live). We found out later that we had missed a terrible hail storm in Los Alamos. And, yesterday, we drove through missed some rough weather in the Panhandle and the previous some in northwest Texas. Hope our luck holds out.

Hope you are having a great week whatever you are doing.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Windmill Farms/Texas Show Review/Thoughts on Sarah Palin

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Atlantic basin is quiet. There is a system that will probably become a tropical depression off the west coast of Mexico. But, it is moving away from land and will probably continue. I will let you know if this changes.

Storms are moving up and over the ridge over the southwest US. There will be plenty of 100s and 90 across the southwest and southern plains. Look for more comfortable conditions for the rest of the country with highs ranging from the 60s to 80s. Southeast will be quite humid. Severe storms are possible in two main areas...see figure at right.

Houston, this is the 3rd day in a row of record temperatures. Today, the high reached 101 at both Bush Airport and Hobby Airport breaking the old records set in 2005. It will be cooler due to showers and thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday. Enjoy!

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do windmill, or molino de viento, pronounced moh-LEE-noh DAY vee-EHN-toe. Look to the right to see a huge molina de viento.

Summer is a time for play and that's why we were able to get so many great shots of children having fun when we shot our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1. And kids love to watch other children having fun. The neat thing is they don't even realize they are learning while being entertained. Order today from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com, www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com

AND MORE
The photo at right shows a few of the giant windmills being used to generate electricity. These were on a plateau as we drove northwest on U.S. Highway 84 between Abilene and Lubbock. There were hundreds, possibly thousands of these windmills on and off over the span of a 100 miles are so. I have also seen some in eastern New Mexico, near Interstate 40 and my sister Julie tells me she has seen some near I10. in the desert southwest. One of the neatest things I saw was a place where they were storing the parts. The blades were huge...I would guesstimate 25 feet long.

The Texas show in Palo Duro Canyon was especially outstanding last night. And we were so lucky because there were storms east and south but none right where we were--to cancel the show. And the high clouds and sprinkles in our area kept everything nice and cool. It is the 75th anniversary of Palo Duro Canyon and the 44th year of the Texas musical in the canyon. At the end of the show, there was a bonus of a 4th of July fireworks display. As we drove away from the show, there was a lovely display of nature's own fireworks...lightning in the distance.

This morning, it was so pleasant...rain cooled air. The trip from Amarillo to Edgewood (just east of Albuquerque) was so easy. Now, we are in Edgewood. The air is dry and there was a brief thundershower that cooled the air even more. The windows are open and it is just sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo refreshing!!!

Even though on vacation, I haven't missed the news about Sarah Palin. My own feelings about this matter are that maybe, just maybe, the reality of her young son's care (and her new grandchild) are just too much. When I left television, my main reason was Sarah--who had extra needs that were at times all consuming. Many people I know were shocked that I left such a great career. But, my heart was breaking and it was too much to handle knowing that I was letting her down. Just my thoughts... For what it's worth, my brother-in-law says he thinks she is pregnant.

Hope whatever you are doing, you are having fun!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Rain Returns!/Poll Results/New Poll

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
There is one non-tropical area of low pressure in the central Atlantic...that probably won't develop. There is an area off the west coast of Mexico which has a chance to develop...but it will probably move away from land. Will keep watching.

High pressure over the south central US will start weakening and slipping westward over the weekend as an upper trough digs in from the northeast. Until then, stormy areas will be up and over the top of the ridge. See Storm Prediction risk areas at right. There will also be some thunderstorms in Florida. 100+ for much of Texas and Arizona. Pleasant along the west coast of California, northwest, northern plains and the northeast.

Houston's high of 100 on Friday tied the record of 100 from 1980. This was also the second day in a row of at least 100 degree weather. Look for a high very close to 100 for the Fourth and almost as hot on Sunday. But then, important weather changes!!!!!!!! Rain returns and it will be cooler with some scattered showers and thunderstorms through Friday. Yippee!!!

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do fire or fuego, pronounced FWAY-go. Remember the burn ban and any restrictions on fireworks...everything is really dry.

Don't just fire up the grill this summer. Fire up your child's interest in other languages. Order our award winning Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1, from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com, www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com

AND MORE
Our poll about how you like to network on the Internet is closed. More than one answer was allowed. 55% said they on are on Facebook. 11% use My Space. 11% use Twitter. 77% use email. 22% have their own blog. No one used a list server, was on Linked In, or had some other way. Thanks to all who participated.

The new poll has to do with ideal vacations. I am providing a list of possibilities and you can only choose one. Have fun dreaming!!!

It was like my childhood all over again. My youngest brother got some fireworks and we set them off. The sparklers were duds...could barely light them (even with a match!!!). But we had fun igniting some roman candles and some of those ones that spin on the ground. The kids, my nephews Toby, Zach and Joseph reacted in different ways. Toby was wary. Zach wasn't very interested and Joseph (the youngest) wanted to get way too close!!! Sarah was tired and nervous that I would get hurt. Then, we watched a community display which was actually very good. Before the fireworks, my brother had a cool inflated waterslide set up in his backyard. He cooked out hamburgers and hot dogs and his wife made yummy fruit kabobs. My sister Liz had brought over her 6 month old Golden Retriever, Boone. He is a doll and so fun to wrestle with. At 70 pounds, he is hard to handle. Liz said he is going to make it to 100 pounds. Yikes!!! It was a fun night!!!

Have a happy and safe fourth everyone!!!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Hotter Again/Thanks Law Enforcement/Happy Birthday

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropics are quiet!

Ridge has moved slightly back to the east and that means dry across the south central US. There will be plenty of 100+ temperatures in Texas and a few in the desert Southwest. The west coast, northwest, northern plains and northeast will be pleasant with highs in the 60s, 70s and 80s. There will be some severe storms over the north central US and a small area on the east coast. See figure at right.

Houston did not reach 100 today although many locations were close. Look for some 100 degree readings over the next few days (including the 4th) but it won't be the string of record breaking days we had before. Still, it will be a great weekend for the pool. Remember there is a burn ban in effect and there is also an Ozone Watch. So, the more you can do indoors, the better.

Let's do independence or independencia, pronounced ehn-deh-pehn-dehn-SEE-ah. Just a few more days until we celebrate our independencia.

Research shows that people who speak more than one language, on average, earn more than their monolingual counterparts. Get your kids excited about Spanish. Order our award winning Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1, from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com, www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com

AND MORE
As we look ahead to our nation's independence, let us not forget the men and women who keep us safe overseas and at home. Law enforcement will be extra busy this year with the long holiday weekend.

My good friend Leslie Williams-Dennis sent me another great article. The Gus George Law Enforcement Academy just graduated its last group of cadets in the original building it started graduating cadets 24 years ago. Next group will be celebrating in a new building. Thanks for the article Leslie!
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/6503014.html#

A special Happy Birthday to my step-daughter Megan who turns 21 on Thursday. Megan, you are such a joy! I'll never forget when I first met you...how you came bounding up the steps and gave me a big hug. You wouldn't let me go. We love you and hope you have the happiest birthday ever!!!

Have a terrific Thursday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Record Heat Ends/Amazing Facebook/Goodbye Comcast

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Sorry to be such a stranger of late...have a lot going on and will explain later. This is going to be a more concise blog entry and I'll try to do better soon.

Tropics are quiet.

Ridge over western US will ease back eastward but won't be as strong over the next few days. This means mainly dry weather over south central US starting Thursday and continuing for a few days.

Houston, today we did NOT break 100 after 7 straight days of 100+ and 6 new high records for Bush Airport. Also had a 2nd day of thunder and showers. A few thunderstorms are possible again on Wed. Still hot and humid with highs in the upper 90s. A couple spots in the area might hit 100 the next 2 days.

AND MORE
EPA is proposing adding a new standard for Nitrogen Dioxide. There has been one for an annual averaging period for a long time (more than 20 years). The new standard will be for one hour and it has to do with asthma woes. Will elaborate more as I learn more--especially if this new standard gets promulgated.

I have been working on consolidating/reducing some of my media/entertainment equipment and expenses. I am now using my smartphone to access the Internet (cost is only $30 per month through Verizon). I am fairly certain that I will be getting rid of Comcast high speed Internet. Now since I had a Verizon Wireless device, they are going to let me use that line to keep my home phone number on an old cell phone. So Comcast will lose my home phone. And I am planning to install Dish Network and get rid of Comcast digital cable. By the way, I offered Comcast the option of being kept for local phone and cable if they would waive the disconnect penalty fee. But they refused. I told them they are about to lose a customer.

So, all of these changes are eating up my time as I'm sure you all can relate.

I also got on Facebook and now I am having dreams about high school because all of my high school friends are contacting me. It is so weird...like we just left high school yesterday and now with Facebook, we are picking up where we left off. I just don't have time to play/converse like I would like. But it really is amazing!!! More to come on that!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman