WHEN: August 9, 2011
WHERE: Charleston Park, North Charleston, SC
See where this picture was taken, here!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Come Rain or Shine...or Both!
WHEN: August 2011
WHERE: North Charleston, South Carolina
Written August 9, 2011
You know what a "heat index" is. Given we are in the middle of the dog days of summer, heat indices have been in the news for a while now and have probably affected some of your summer plans. For Stacie and I, the heat index has kept us off our bikes for most of the summer and forced Stacie to run (I bike along side) near or after sunset. The past week has been the most intense of this (already abnormally hot) summer so far.
See current heat indices across the US, here.
Additional heat index maps can be obtained from the National Weather Service, here.
The heat index reaches its highest point sometime each day (usually in the early afternoon or early evening) when temperatures are the warmest and the dew point is high. I'll call the highest heat index per day the "daily observed peak heat index" ("DOPHI" for short - because I'm a temperature nerd). But the point I'm making is that the average DOPHI at Charleston Air Force Base for the past 7 days (August 3-9) was 109.9°F (and 114.1°F for downtown Charleston)! The heat index reached or exceeded 105°F each of those seven days. For the past 3 weeks (21 days), the average DOPHI was 106.0°F. And conditions have been even more toasty in downtown Charleston (closer to the water), where temperatures are usually a couple degrees cooler but the the humidity is higher.
Written August 14, 2011
And with all that heat and humidity comes instability in the atmosphere...rain and thunderstorms! There have been some intense thunderstorms this week, due to all the instability in the atmosphere.
This was the wall of instability that rolled over our house on August 9. It was like someone was pulling an enormous quilt over our neighborhood, bringing gusty winds, falling temperatures, and eventually rain and thunder.
This was the larger picture of what was going on. Our house is the red pin in the upper right. As you can see, this was a very large and powerful system, stretching down to Florida and at least back westward to Mississippi.
These are infrared satellite images on August 6 (left) and August 9 (right). Dark reds and pinks are more often associated with tropical cyclones or systems that spawn tornadoes.
We got our largest rainfall of the month yesterday, with 2.83" measured at the airport and 3.76" measured at a station closer to our house. And that was all after receiving 2 inches the day before.
This was a picture I took of the sky tonight at the grocery store, after we got some more rain.
Meanwhile, I've been listening to Christmas music this past week. I always seem to do this every summer at some point. I've been listening even as I've put this post together.
This was a video I took at our house last week of an afternoon thunderstorm. The thunder never seemed to let up, as you can hear in this video.
Written February 2, 2012
Don't even get me started on the ridiculousness and non-story that is Punxatawney Phil. And just to spite the tradition, I am skipping over spring altogether and instead talking about summer, as I purposely ignore what some mammalian, underground rodent has to "say" about his shadow (on a cloudy day in Pennsylvania).
[end minor soapbox rant]
I thought I'd add a little 20/20 hindsight to last summer's record heat, and relate it to the content above.
Daily weather conditions at Charleston AFB (June-August 2011)
During this period, there were 23 days with a heat index at or above 105°, 6 days at or above 110°, and 0 days at or above 115°. The highest 7-day average was 109.9°F (August 3-9).
Leading the way with 113° (August 5)!
These are US lows on August 4
A new all-time record high-low (83°F) was set at the Charleston AFB on August 4.
A new all-time record high-low (83°F) was set at the Charleston AFB on August 4.
Daily weather conditions at the College of Charleston (June-August 2011)
During this period, there were 24 days with a heat index at or above 105°, 13 days at or above 110°, and 6 days at or above 115°. The highest 7-day average was 114.1°F (August 3-9).
The average low for August 2011 (at the College of Charleston) was 77.3°F.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Jesse's POW (August 7, 2011)
WHEN: August 7, 2011
WHERE: Charleston Park, North Charleston, South Carolina
See where this picture was taken, here!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Team iLuminate
WHEN: August 2, 2011
WHERE: America's Got Talent (NBC)
Stacie and I don't watch America's Got Talent (on NBC), but Team iLuminate may be cause enough to watch this show - or at least the rest of this season.
This was their performance in the quarter finals, which aired on August 2.
Team iLuminate's audition on America's Got Talent, May 31 (below).
You can also see more on the team's website.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Knee Deep in the Water Somewhere
WHEN: July 30, 2011
WHERE: Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
"...Only worry in the world, is the tide gonna reach my chair..."
Stacie and I went to the beach on Saturday - only her second time and my third time since we moved here last August. We moved here at the end of summer and did not really make a concerted effort to get to the beach before fall and winter set in. We went to the beach a couple times before this summer but never to get in the water. So this trip was still a big deal. It's a 45-minute drive to the beach and then a 1/2-mile walk in the heat, carrying food, chairs, an umbrella, towels and whatever else we decide to bring. We went to the beach about every weekend last summer in Virginia Beach. We were only 15 minutes away then. We are not as spoiled where we live now but I'm not complaining. The beach is worth every minute of the trip.
Saturday's trip was also a big deal because, to my recollection, it was the only time Stacie has spent the entire time with me in the water. And we were there for 3 hours! Yes...she was in the water with me for three straight hours. No sitting under the umbrella in her chair reading a book or playing on her phone. It was just her and I, for three hours, in the water. Stacie and the ocean. What more could I ask for??
There were two reasons, according to her, that she was out in the water with me the whole time.
One, the water was warm. Not only because it was the end of July, but because of the particular beach (Sullivan's Island). There were at least 4 sandbars at the beach we went to and all were exposed because it was low tide. The sandbars created a ridge-and-runnel system (bars and pools). These "pools" were only a couple inches to a couple feet deep. Separated from the ocean and shallow in nature, these pools became natural hot tubs in the hot sun. If I were to guess, some of the the shallower pools were pushing if not exceeding 90°F. Not to be cliche, but it literally felt like bath water! The water was barely a relief to the air temperature (in the upper-90s).
The second reason Stacie joined me the whole time was related to the first...the water was shallow and calm. Stacie doesn't like to be in the ocean because of what's in it (from animals to dirt to salt). Furthermore, she's not one to jump in and around waves and put her head under. The shallow and warm water and the complete lack of waves was the perfect recipe to get Stace in the water for 3 hours apparently. And I loved every minute of it.
Heading over the Ravenel Bridge on our way to Sullivan's Island and the beach
I took Stacie to the Charleston Harbor Marina and down to see the USS Yorktown for the first time.
I went down last fall when she was in Iowa but I had not been back here since.
I went down last fall when she was in Iowa but I had not been back here since.
She was a good sport and she said she even enjoyed going down there. (I have been known to drag her around from place to place against her desires, especially in the heat) :)
Wishing we had a boat but thankful we don't have one to pay for and maintain.
Sailboats in a row - part of the College of Charleston's sailing team
No better place to be in the summer than on the water!
Our second stop was an estate sale on Sullivan's Island. This is a picture I took of the house last fall, obviously unaware we would visit it this past weekend. Stacie bought a $4 book about decorating for Christmas (she's already over summer I think). You can see (all 203) pictures of the home's interior and items for sale here.
Last and most important stop...the beach!
"Wife and Water"...one of my favorite views! :)
Lucky guy!
I brought home a couple handfuls of shells from the beach. I laid them out to dry at home after I cleaned them. I counted that I had collected exactly 100 shells - totally unplanned.
My favorite person to be knee deep in the water with!
Our view from knee deep in the water at Sullivan's Island on Saturday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
