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.

See forecast 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.

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.

Jesse's POW (August 7, 2011)

WHEN: August 7, 2011
WHERE: Charleston Park, North Charleston, South Carolina

See where this picture was taken, here!

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).

This is another video the team has produced

You can also see more on the team's website.

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..."

I stole this post's title from the Zac Brown Band and their most recent song release, appropriately about summer and being near the water.

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.

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.

Jesse's POW (July 31, 2011)

WHEN: July 30, 2011
WHERE: Charleston Harbor Marina, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

See where this picture was taken, here!

Capturing Cumulus

WHEN: July 24, 2011
WHERE: Our driveway

Bored?  No plans today?

Go take pictures!  

Need an idea?  Unless you live in a cave, why not try looking up...at the sky?

That's just what I did last Sunday.  I got the idea from my former high school science teacher, Mr. (Tom) Wagner, from recent pictures of the sky he uploaded in a Facebook album.  He is truly a skilled photographer, and very unique with what and how he chooses to photograph.  He can make the most every-day and mundane subjects come to life and his pictures are never boring.  And in case you're interested in recreating what he has done, he usually provides information on how he took the picture and where he was.

I have enjoyed clouds and weather for many years, probably since a younger age than most career meteorologists.  Even still, I have never took the time to learn the (many) cloud types. Clouds are so often beautiful and take so many shapes.  Like you, many times I've wanted to capture their beauty but it seems pictures never do them justice.  They seem so "every day" and difficult to capture correctly.  But with some simple post-editing, such as changing the picture's exposure, your mediocre cloud pictures can really come to life.  And that's just what Tom Wagner does (all the while describing how he did it).  This idea got me interested in photographing clouds again.

I thought I'd take my camera and tripod outside and see what I could capture.  You don't need a tripod as long as there is enough light but I chose to use mine anyway.  In fact, the abundance of light (that comes with essentially photographing the sun) allows for brilliant pictures; and pictures that allow you much more editing options afterwards.  That washed-out, over-exposed picture has more digital information stored in it than it would seem.  A few simple alterations can really bring out what was captured in your shot.

I walked outside at just the right time last Sunday.  Little did I know that a few puffy, somewhat dark (but harmless) cumulus clouds were just forming and moving over our house.  The clouds' dance with the sun provided frequent and different lighting opportunities in which to photograph the clouds.  In about 10 minutes (and about that much time to edit them), I had a couple dozens pictures; each one completely unique.  What are common, "every day", harmless clouds - with the right lighting and some simple editing - turned in to very impressive and menacing looking clouds.

Snow Days (2010-2011 Animation)

WHEN: October 1, 2010 - July 28, 2011
WHERE: The Contiguous United States

Who is thinking about snow in July??

Not me! 

But an animation like the one below makes me all the more grateful for summer (and the lack of snow). 

The animation below shows snow cover over the contiguous United States from October 2010 - July 2011. 

Click the links below and the animation will begin automatically.  You can adjust the animation speed by changing the frame rate in the "Speed in ms [milliseconds]" box.

View this season's (2010-2011) snow cover animation.

SEE ALSO
Snow cover animation for 2009-2010.
Snow cover animation for 2008-2009.
Snow cover animation for 2007-2008.
Snow cover animation for 2006-2007.
Snow cover animation for 2005-2006.

American Idol Comes to Town

WHEN: July 22, 2011
WHERE: North Charleston Coliseum

 

American Idol held auditions here in Charleston on Friday for Season 11 of the show.  Registration was open Wednesday and Thursday and auditions were performed all day Friday.  As if the fierce competition wasn't enough for the contestants to deal with, temperatures rose to the upper 90's this week, with heat indicies around 110°F.  Although Ryan Seascrest was in town Friday, the judges were not and auditions were performed in front of the producers of the show.

I still remember watching Season 1 with Stacie in the summer of 2002.  I remember watching a couple episodes on a 10" black & white TV outside on her patio.  We (along with the show's producers and country as a whole) had no idea how big the show would become.  We watched the first and second seasons but stopped watching it for several seasons afterwards.  It wasn't until 2008 (Season 7) that we began watching it again.

American Idol also held auditions in Charleston for Season 7.  Those auditions aired on January 23, 2008, two months after I had visited Charleston for the first time and two years before we ever knew we would live here.  We had just moved to North Carolina the year before and I remember that episode well.  Stacie and I watched that episode again this spring before it was even announced Charleston would be an audition city for Season 11.  Since we got back in to the show (during Season 7) I have recorded Seasons 7-10 on DVD.  Out of the 398 episodes to date that have aired, I have over 100 of them recorded.  But after last season and some of the poor choices the producers made (like asking Lady Gaga to perform...in her underwear...twice), we may have hit a dry spell yet again with AI.  American Idol does do some good things (like Idol Gives Back) but recently they have invited some less-than-notable role models on to the show - a show which is largely marketed to and highly consumed by teens and pre-teens.

Dry spell or not, this could have been my season!  Not only did they come to the city I live in, they came the same year I turned 28, which is the oldest a contestant can be.  If I was ever to have my chance to audition, it would be for Season 11.  Nevertheless, it's an opportunity I won't regret letting slip by.  I stopped by the North Charleston Coliseum Thursday on my way home from work to snap a few shots and see what was going on.  That was the closest I ever needed to get to the AI spotlight.

Auditions were held in Charleston this week at the North Charleston Coliseum

North Charleston Coliseum

Contestants registered for their auditions on Wednesday and Thursday.  Auditions were held Friday.

Season 11 American Idol winner??

Not out of the question.  Throughout the show's history, seven of the ten Idol winners, including the first five, have come from the southern United States.  That's right y'all!

There's geography to be found even within American Idol. :)  Geography is everywhere!

Season 11 airs on FOX, January 22 - May 23, 2012.

Jesse's POW (July 24, 2011)

WHEN: July 24, 2011
WHERE: Our driveway

See where this picture was taken, here!

Optical Illusion

Would you believe that squares A and B are the same shade of grey? 

They are!

Don't believe me?  See here.