Tropical Update Wed. Evening 7/21/10

Just a quick update this evening to tell you that the Gulf disturbance will be a rainmaker mainly for northern Mexico and south Texas. Other disturbance over eastern Bahamas will mainly impact Bahamas, Cuba, Florida. Will keep an eye on both.

Houston...more hot and humid weather with scattered showers and thunderstorms through the end of the week. Rain chances slightly lower for weekend.

Will have more in next post.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Tropical Update/Rent a Photo Booth/My Oil Platform Visit

WEATHER
From the National Hurricane Center -
An area of disturbed weather of the western Caribbean has a 10% chance of developing in the next 48 hours (so not a very good chance). But it will be a rainmaker for Central America and the Yucatan. In the Pacific, Tropical Depression 6E is poorly organized and not expected to strengthen as it moves westward. There is also another area off the coast of Mexico with only a 10% chance of developing in 48 hours.

High pressure is dominating the weather over much of the southern 2/3rds of the country. To the north of that...in particular over the upper Midwest and portions of the Great Lakes, there is a slight risk for severe storms today. The high pressure ridge is weakening slightly but will continue to be fairly dominant over the next 5 days or so. All of the country will have highs that are at least in the 70s. Phoenix and Vegas will sore into the 110+ range. The northern tier of states will have highs in the 70s and 80s. Most of the south and southeast and low elevations of the west will hit the 90s.

Houston, look for more hot and humid weather through the weekend. Sunday, there is a slight chance of storms with some scattered storms on Monday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do cup or copa, pronounced KOH-pah. What happens when you take a styrofoam copa down 4800 feet below the ocean surface? Find out in the AND MORE section.

I finished my edits on the text for the soon to be released Volume 3 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, my award winning Spanish language DVDs for children. I had to do some slightly different things and it turned out great! You can find Volumes 1 and 2 on the shelf (in the education section) at Barnes & Noble stores or you can order them from http://www.frankandpaco.com, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
Answer My Poll
Don't forget to answer my latest poll...closes in 2 days...what is your favorite thing about summer. Hopefully, I included your favorite on the list.

Tourette's Doesn't Stop Him
Met an inspiring man at ChickFilA last night. He works 3 businesses even though he has Tourette's Syndrome. In case you are not familiar, Tourette's can manifest physically in any part of the body and is characterized by involuntary spasms/ticks in the body and even outbursts. Stress tends to make it worse. Sean Wolfson grew up in Sugar Land. His symptoms began at the age of 10 and he was shunned by kids who had been his friends. His teachers struggled to work around his condition...sometimes asking him to move to the back of the classroom so he wouldn't distract the other students. With medication and maturity, he gained some control over his condition and began Wolfson Financial in 2005. Now, he also owns a Photo Booth Rentals company and told me that the photo booth rental business for personal purposes has really exploded in the last year. We went to a wedding in January where a photo booth had been rented. Guests were invited to take a series of pictures and the booth printed out two identical strips of the photos--one to keep and one to put in a special memory book for the bride and groom. I loved the idea!!!

So, Sean gave me his card and told me that his 2 hour rental fee of $450 is much lower than the competition that typically charges about at least $695. For full disclosure, he said that if you contact him and tell him you read my blog, he will give me a $100 referral fee. So help me out!!! Ha! Ha! Anyway, you can call him at 281-732-7808 or 832-642-5761 and check out his website at photoboothrentalsofhouston.com.

My Trip to a Gulf Oil Platform
When I worked at FOX 26, Bill Read, now the Director of the National Hurricane Center called to ask me if I would visit the workers on an oil platform and give them a talk about hurricane safety. He normally would do it, but he had a conflict. So I said yes, not realizing that I would be going to the rig that was the furthest out in Gulf...about 125 miles southeast of Galveston. It was quite an experience making the 90 minute trip out on a Sikorsky S80 helicopter. It was a big chopper with pontoons and 2 engines and 2 pilots. And, it held 14 passengers...most of them guys going out to work. I was told that the pilots made the trip out and back 4 times a day! The scenery did not change once we got out over the Gulf...just water as far as the eye could see and a boat or rig here or there. We flew at about 1000 feet...at that time the optimal height to minimize turbulence.

We had to wear life jackets during the trip ("just in case") and ear protection. I had taken a dramamine because I expected a lot of turbulence. But it was if I was on dry land once we arrived. There was no movement at all. The platform was on a single ballasted column (with sea water) and held perfectly still. I was told that when a storm passed close by, it might sway a bit. We were treated to lunch in the amazing cafeteria. Most of the workers were there for 30 day stints with 12 hour days. As a parting gift they gave me a plastic cube with a tiny styrofoam cup. They had taken a regular coffee cup and taken it to the bottom where they drilled at 4800 feet. The extreme pressure caused by the tremendous weight of water at that depth had compressed the cup to a tiny fraction of its original size. I think of that often as I hear about the difficulties being faced in trying to fix the BP Horizon leak in the Gulf.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Forecast through Weekend/Exotic Hurricane Names/Twilight Poll Results

WEATHER AND HURRICANES
Tropical Atlantic is quiet but there is an area of disturbed weather in the eastern Tropical Pacific which has a 20% chance of developing (according to the National Hurricane Center).

On Monday, highs will reach the 90s across the southern plains, Rockies, southeast and eastern seaboard up to New York City. There were be 100s in the desert Southwest and 60s along the California coast and Pacific Northwest. Elsewhere expect 70s and 80s. There is a slight risk for severe storms in the central US and Ohio Valley.

Houston will be hot, humid with only the slightest chance for rain through Friday. Expect a few more scattered thunderstorms over the coming weekend.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do name or nombre, prounced NOHM-bray. What are some hurricane nombres from other parts of the world. See the AND MORE section.

Got my first look at the soon to be released Volume 3 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, my award winning Spanish language DVDs for children. It was the best one yet!!! I am working on a few more font graphics for my editor. So, I have been really busy with that. You can find Volumes 1 and 2 on the shelf (in the education section) at Barnes & Noble stores or you can order them from http://www.frankandpaco.com, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
So we didn't get a Bonnie out of Tropical Depression #2. I got to looking at the names for the rest of the season and then I started looking at the names for storms in other parts of the world. The National Hurricane Center has 10 lists of names for 10 regions of the world. These names are common to that area. Here are some examples of interesting ones:
From the Central Pacific:
Akoni
Ema
Hone
Iona
Keli
Lala
Moke
Nolo
Olana
Pena
Ulana
Wale
I don't know about you, but I've never met anyone with names like these. But you see, these are for the Central Pacific...so many of the names are Hawaiian.

How about these for the western North Pacific? These are names from Japan, Korea, the Phillipines, Cambodia, China, Vietnam and more
Jebi
Mangkhut
Utor
Trami
Kong-rey
Yutu
Toraji
Man-yi
Usagi
Pabuk
Wutip
Sepat
Fitow
Danas
Nari

And here's some from the Fiji region:
Ami
Beni
Cilla
Dovi
Eseta
Fili
Gina
Heta
Ivy
Judy
Kerry
Lola
Meena
Nancy
Olaf
Percy
Rae
Sheila
Tam
Urmil
Vaianu
Wati
Zita

Here's some from Papua New Guinea:
Epi
Guba
Ila
Kama
Matere
Rowe
Tako
Upia

Here's some from the northern Indian Ocean:
Onil
Agni
Hibaru
Pyarr
Baaz
Fanoos
Mala
Mukda

And some from the southwest Indian Ocean:
Anja
Bongani
Cleo
David
Enzani
Fami
Gelane
Hubert
Imani
Joel
Kanja
Lunda
Mohono
Nigel
Olympe
Pamela
Quentin
Rahim
Savana
Themba
Uyapo
Viviane
Walter
Xangy
Yamurai
Zanele

These aren't all by any means...but it is a nice sampling.

The poll on who you considered more attractive from the Twilight series, Jacob the Werewolf or Edward the Vampire, is closed. Only one answer was allowed. 83% said Jacob the Werewolf and 16% said Edward the Vampire. Guess we have a little rounding problem. I ordered a Team Jacob shirt for Megan for her birthday and it is still on back order. Thanks to all who participated.

My new poll is about summer...what is your favorite thing about it? Only one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for answering.

And if you have a baby on the way and want a unique name, take a look at the lists above! Have a great week everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Tropical Depression #2 Means Heavy Rain and Coastal Flooding

Tropical Depression #2 has formed in the Gulf and will probably become Tropical Storm Bonnie before making landfall in northern Mexico or south Texas. Biggest problem will be flooding rains (Houston could get 5 to 6 inches) on top of saturated ground and swollen waterways. The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch which is in effect into Thursday evening. Also, there is coastal flooding already and a Coastal Flood Warning is in effect for Galveston, Chambers and Brazoria counties and a Coastal Flood Advisory is in effect for Harris County.

Here is the official advisory:
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A
COASTAL FLOOD WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO
7 PM CDT THURSDAY. THE COASTAL FLOOD WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

TIDES ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING 2 FEET ABOVE NORMAL. EXPECT LEVELS
TO INCREASE ANOTHER 1/2 FOOT TONIGHT AS MODERATE TO STRONG SOUTHEAST WINDS
AND SEAS INCREASE. AFTER ADDING THE ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDE OF AROUND 2 FEET
TO THIS...IT WILL PRODUCE A TOTAL TIDE BETWEEN 4 AND 4.5 FEET ALONG THE GULF
FACING BEACHES WHICH WILL CREATE COASTAL FLOOD PROBLEMS AT THE SUSCEPTIBLE SPOTS.
THIS INCLUDES THE BOLIVAR PENINSULA...WESTERN GALVESTON ISLAND...BLUE WATER HIGHWAY
AND SURFSIDE. WAVE RUN UP WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO EVEN HIGHER LEVELS. THE LOWEST
LYING BAYSIDE LOCATIONS COULD ALSO SEE WATER LEVELS PUSH ABOVE BULKHEADS
AND INTO YARDS AND ROADS. THE HIGHEST THREAT OF FLOODING WILL OCCUR AROUND
HIGH TIDE AT EACH LOCATION. IN ADDITION TO HIGH WATER LEVELS...HIGH SURF WILL
CREATE STRONG RIP CURRENTS SO SWIMMING IS DISCOURAGED.

THIS WARNING MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT.

NOTE...HIGH TIDE LEVELS ARE REFERENCED FROM MEAN LOWER LOW WATER.

LOCATION TIDE TIMES EXPECTED
WATER LEVEL
ROLLOVER PASS...
WED 10:50 PM 1.9 FEET
THU 8:59 AM 3.4 FEET

EAGLE POINT...
WED 10:25 PM 2.0 FEET
THU 10:41 AM 3.5 FEET

GALVESTON CHANNEL (PIER 21)...
WED 7:38 PM 1.5 FEET
THU 4:50 AM 3.5 FEET

GALVESTON PLEASURE PIER...
WED 6:31 PM 2.1 FEET
THU 3:14 AM 4.4 FEET

FREEPORT USCG...
WED 6:12 PM 2.1 FEET
THU 3:53 AM 4.1 FEET
THU 6:58 PM 2.1 FEET

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR
IMMINENT. COASTAL RESIDENTS IN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR
RISING WATER...AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION TO PROTECT LIFE AND
PROPERTY.

Rio Grande Valley concerns include a very swollen Rio Grande River.

Pay attention to the weather and remember not to drive through flooded areas.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Tropical Systems Mean Heavy Rain

Just a quick update this evening to tell you that the Texas and Louisiana coasts could get a 1-2 punch...first the tropical wave that will bring some rain (heavy at times) on Wednesday into Thursday morning and then the disturbance moving from the Yucatan into the Gulf (bringing rain as early as Thursday and potentially continuing into the weekend). We've had a lot of rain...so pay attention to what is happening.

Also, there is a coastal flood watch for Galveston and Chambers counties due to the tropical wave just east of the Houston area. Higher than normal tides are expected.

Have a safe Wednesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Here We Go Again in Tropics?/Twilight Cutie Award - Edward or Jacob

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Don't look now but there are 2 systems we are watching on the Atlantic side (note: the Pacific is quiet). Most immediately, there is a non-tropical low south of Louisiana that the National Hurricane Center says will move north or northwest over the next day or so. Models show a northwest movement and rain returning to the Houston area by Tuesday. Fortunately, there is only a 10% chance of development. So, it looks like this one most likely will be a rainmaker.

In the western Caribbean, it's almost deja vu...another system getting it's act together and this one has a 30% chance of development of becoming an organized tropical system within 48 hours. Models show a track across the Yucatan into northern Mexico and strengthening to a hurricane. over the next 5 days. Now, remember that with Alex at this point, the models were all over the place with impact location. So, be prepared for anything!!!

Across the nation on Monday...many areas with scattered thunderstorms...see figure at right. Storms are to the right of the lines with errors. These areas include the plains into the Great Lakes and the southeast. Desert Southwest will be hot with highs in the 100s. Look for 90s in the south and eastern seaboard (New York City in the high 90s--yikes!!!)...also Reno will be in the 90s. Southeast will have highs in the 80s. 60s and 70s for the west coast of California and Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies.

Houston will be hot and humid Monday and Tuesday with highs in the 90s. Some scattered thunderstorms as early as Tuesday with more widespread rain the rest of the week--keep in mind keeping a close eye on tropical developments in the Gulf.
SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do fireworks or fuegos artificiales, pronounced FWAY-gohs are-tee-fee-see-AWL-lehs. Hope you got to enjoy some fuegos artificiales on the 4th!

Going on vacation soon! Take an entertaining and educational DVD with you--my award winning Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco Volume 1 and/or 2. By the way, we just finished the back end graphics and the 1st draft of the front end for Volume 3 (soon to be released). You can find them on the shelf (in the education section) at Barnes & Noble stores or you can order them from http://www.frankandpaco.com, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
Polls (Results and New Poll)
My poll on when you plan to watch the new Twilight Movie is closed.
0% said they would watch it at the first Midnight showing (which was early Wednesday the 30th). 14% said they would see it on Wednesday 6/30. 14% said they would see it during the July 4th weekend. 14% said they would see it after the July 4th weekend. 28% said they would see it when it comes to video. 28% said they would never see it. Thanks to all who voted. By the way, my buddy Marilyn pointed it that I missed a time on this poll--apparently there was at least one premiere on the 29th--a 9:30 pm showing at the Edward's Theater. Sorry I missed that one folks!

July 2nd was Megan's 22nd birthday. Her Dad had given her an early birthday card (about a week) ago which posed the question: For your birthday, what would you choose--A Smokin' Hot Werewolf or Super Cool Vampire? She has switched recently from Team Edward to Team Jacob--yes there is a lot of Team Jacob and Team Edward hoopla--so, my new poll is about just that. Whom do you find more attractive--Edward the Vampire or Jacob the Werewolf. Only one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for voting. And Happy Birthday Megan dear!!!

ALERT***ALERT***MOM SPELLING CORRECTION!!!
In my last blog post, I talked about the "dieing" storm Alex. Well, Mom contacted me right away to say that I should have spelled that dying. Whoops!!! I knew better really Mom!!! Did I ever tell you all that my Mom coached a student to the National Spelling Bee twice? Yep!!! We have a very educated reviewer for this blog. Thanks Mom!!!

SPECIAL 4TH OF JULY MESSAGE
My buddies, Lew and Meresa Fincher sent out a special greeting in case we forget what today is all about! 234 years ago today our original 13 colonies declared their independence from Great Britain.

Speaking of that...I remember learning in Middle School that the Declaration of Independence was signed over a period of about one month. Mr. Werner, a history buff to the extreme, was my teacher. He told us that there were actually some signatures on July 2nd, some on July 4th and more in August. Not everyone who signed could be in the same place at the same time. It took some time to get the document in front of everyone.

Great Movie Deal!!!
Gordy and Megan went to see the new Twilight Eclipse movie yesterday morning around 11:30 am. Gordy was thrilled to learn that at AMC theaters, all movies before noon on Saturdays cost only $5. What a deal (at least nowadays)!!! So check it out!!! BTW, he thought the 3rd installment was pretty good.

Remember God and Our Country Are Connected
At church this morning, we sang some patriotic songs and I was happy to notice that they all talked about God and our country. Let us never forget we are One Nation Under God!!!

Have a safe and fun Fourth everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Heavy Rain in Houston Forecast/Twilight Midnight Madness

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
According to the National Hurricane Center, Alex made landfall about 105 miles south of Brownsville this evening and had 105 mph winds at landfall (a Category 2 hurricane). Very heavy rain has fallen in the valley (8 inches as of 8 pm this evening in Cameron County--where I grew up). So far, there have been 3 tornadoes in the valley, one in Refugio, and one in Matagorda. South Texas is under a tornado watch until 4 am. Ongoing concern is flash flooding and numerous counties in Texas are under a flash flood watch (see figure at right). This includes the hill country and counties along the Rio Grande. With weak steering environment, we will have to watch the dieing storm for copious rains that lead to deadly flash flooding. Almost all of the models track the storm west and then northwest and north into just west of the Texas Hill Country.

Houston area, be on the lookout for heavy rain with the heaviest potentially on Friday. Also, there has been some coastal flooding and a coastal flood warning remains in effect.

Here is the advisory from the National Weather Service:
...COASTAL FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THURSDAY...

WATER LEVELS ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING 1.8 TO 2.6 FEET ABOVE NORMAL IN THE BAY
AND 3 FEET ABOVE NORMAL ALONG THE BEACHES. THOUGH MOST AREAS WILL BE
GOING INTO LOW TIDE IN THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS...EXPECT LEVELS TO REMAIN
ABOUT AS THEY ARE OR SLIGHTLY DROP...THEN GO BACK UP TOWARD HIGH TIDE AROUND
815 AM. THERE IS ONGOING COASTAL FLOODING TAKING PLACE. PORTIONS OF HIGHWAY 87
ON BOLIVAR PENINSULA ARE CLOSED. WATER 18 INCHES DEEP IS BEING OBSERVED COVERING THE
INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 87 AND HIGHWAY 124. OTHER COMMUNITIES ON THE WEST END
OF GALVESTON ISLAND ARE REPORTING WATER OVER BULKHEADS AND SOME WATER IN YARDS.
LONG PERIOD SEAS OF 8 TO 14 FT SHOULD PERSIST OVERNIGHT CAUSING WAVE RUN-UP ISSUES
ALONG GULF FACING BEACHES.

THE THREAT OF STRONG RIP CURRENTS IS HIGH WITH THE COMBINATION
OF THE LARGE BATTERING WAVES AND EXTENSIVE BEACH FLOODING. SWIMMERS
SHOULD AVOID THE GULF FACING BEACHES.

THESE HIGH TIDE LEVELS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON THEN
BEGIN TO VERY SLOWLY RECEDE.

So there have been some flooded roadways in the usual trouble spots.

Some models hint at development that moves up the eastern seaboard middle of the coming week...stay tuned.

On Thursday, there is a risk for severe storms in Montana and North Dakota.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do rain or lluvia, pronounced you-VEE-ah. The lluvia could get very heavy, even in Houston.

Hers's something to do on a rainy day, have your child be entertained and educated by watching Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. I just saw them on the shelf of Barnes and Noble in Sugar Land today. Or, order my award winning DVDs, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. They are on the shelf (in the education section) at Barnes & Noble stores or you can order them from http://www.frankandpaco.com, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
Megan and I went to a midnight showing of Twilight (early today). It was amazing how many people were there including mothers with several youngish children (like 9 or 10). The atmosphere was supercharged and there were lots of gals sporting Team Jacob or Team Edward tops. I thought the movie was great and very close to the book with some minimal treatments as necessary so that the film be around 2 hours. Jacob was smoking hot as noted by the screams from the audience every time he made an appearance. I asked one of the theater employees when she would be getting off work and she said 7 am. She added that there would be a 3 am showing and then another showing at 7 am. I would have liked to have seen how many people came for the 7 am. I can tell you that we got into the theater at 11 pm and most of the seats were taken. And when we came out, there were people waiting to see the show at 3 am.

I also noticed at a couple places with Twilight stuff (including Barnes & Noble today), that is there is more Edward than Jacob stuff. That could be because all of the Jacob stuff is getting bought up or the suppliers gave the retail outlets more Edward stuff to sell. What do you think? By the way, I'll have the results of the Twilight poll on my next post.

Have a good Thursday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman