Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina

Awesome late Summer early Fall weather

I love September I really do! This stretch of weather we have now - leading up to the first day of fall, which arrives Sunday, September 23 at 5:55 in the morning will be spectacular. We are expecting temperatures to be in the mid to upper 20's with sunshine right into next week across Ontario, Quebec and New York. Enjoy it!

We are watching with interest a low pressure area off the Florida coast that is producing rough surf and heavy rain from the Carolina's southward. The storm is expected to cross Florida and move into the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow night. Afterwards - most models expect the system to become Tropical Storm Jerry and threaten the Texas and Louisiana coasts by the weekend. Sound familiar?It should, this is eerily similar to Hurricane Humberto last week.

I will be offline for a couple of weeks.....while I will not be writing this blog, the links at the left will remain active for your weather information. Check back often for current weather and watch for any warnings which appear in RED in the forecast boxes.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate your support - slow down and be safe!!!!

Humberto's flooding in Texas

Fall vs Summer

Lots to talk about in the weather...First and foremost I am back among the cyber living. My 7 week ordeal without the Internet at home is over. A big thanks to Cogeco for hooking me up.....I would recommend them highly compared with that other B company that kept me waiting for 6 weeks!

Now the weather......Hurricane Humberto surprised everyone when he rapidly intensified over a 12 hour period from nothing to a Category 1 hurricane. The storm caused severe flooding and wind damage along the upper Texas coast and into Louisiana. It was a very serious situation and showed us just how lethal these storms can be and how quickly they can develop.

Tropical storm Ingrid is way out in the Atlantic with no signs of strengthening, however when we say watch these things we mean watch them.

As we talk about a very summer-like scenario think about the Prairies. It was very cold in southern Saskatchewan this morning with record lows set in Regina at-7.9C (-5.0 1949), Weyburn at -6.6C (-6.0 1993), Moose Jaw -5.5C (-2.4 1999) and Assiniboia -4.2C ( -4.0 1993). Coronach in the southern part of the province was -9.7 the coldest in the province. It was the earliest freeze since 1993. There was also snow flying in the air, enough to measure in Manitoba and northwest Ontario.

Meanwhile the leading edge of that Arctic airmass is moving into southern Ontario and Quebec tonight. Ahead of the system very warm temperatures near 27C are occurring. It will turn windy and colder tonight with showers and thunderstorms. The weekend will be chilly with scattered frost before a warm up next week.

Gabrielle whips sand across NC 12 on the Outer Banks Sunday. AP Photo

Humberto forms in Gulf Of Mexico

TD #9 forms in Atlantic

Tropical storm warnings are flying tonight along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts as tropical storm Humberto has formed about 70 miles southeast of Galveston Island. The storm is expected to come onshore tonight with gusty winds to 50mph and heavy flooding rains over 10 inches in places. The area has had a soggy summer and unlike North Carolina, does not need anymore rain.

Meanwhile Tropical Depression#9 is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm Ingrid later tonight about 1130 miles east of the Lesser Antilles in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. This storm will be closely watched over the next day or two.

Please take time to remember today.

Gabrielle on the Carolina coast

Looking a bit disorganized, Tropical Storm Gabrielle has moved inland over extreme eastern North Carolina near Cape Lookout with pounding surf and heavy rains. The weather seems to be confined to the eastern part of the state and along the Outer Banks. A tropical storm warning is in effect from Wilmington northward to Cape Charles, Va. The area is expected to feel the effects of the storm till tomorrow morning. The storm is expected to dump up to 4 inches of rain on the parched state. Most of the heavy thunderstorms are confined to the southeast quadrant of the system. Recently wind gusts to 49 mph were reported in Ocracoke and 45 mph at Cape Hatteras.
I know the area very well and will be down there in a few weeks, maybe chasing storms. Gabrielle should be swept out to sea tomorrow as a cold front moves south and east.

Riders of the Storm

Hurricane Hunter aircraft in the eye of Felix

You need to check out this awesome video of a flight by the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft into the eye of Hurricane Felix as a Category 5 before it made landfall in Mexico. http://www.airshowbuzz.com/videos/view.php?v=9f061057

Another worthy note from Hurricane Felix, the flight just prior to the one above was in a NOAA P-3 Orion Hurricane Hunter airplane N42RF (AKA "The Princess"). It had a wild ride in Hurricane Felix on September 2 as it intensified into a Category 5 storm. The airplane hit what the Hurricane Hunters fear most, a powerful updraft followed a few seconds later by an equally powerful downdraft. The resulting extreme turbulence and wind shear likely made the aircraft impossible to control. This very likely pushed the aircraft to its limits. The aircraft commander wisely aborted the mission and returned safely to their base in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.The airplane was out of commission for the next day, however, the aircraft later passed a detailed six-hour inspection to look for damage, and has been cleared to fly again.

• A Smog Advisory has been issued for Leeds/Grenville in eastern Ontario. Southwest winds are bringing hot, humid and polluted latent air into our area. It was over 30C today with humidex readings well into the 30's. Tomorrow will be evn warmer before a cool down on Friday.

Storm on east coast slow to develop
Surprise nocturnal thunderstorms in North Grenville

The low pressure area southwest of Bermuda this morning has been very slow to develop. Interests along the east coast should continue to be aware of this threat. It is still expected to approach the coast of the Carolina's by Sunday night. In what form is yet to be determined, but expect windy rainy weather from the Outer Banks northward towards Long Island by the end of the weekend.

In local weather- a line of thunderstorms formed unexpectedly overnight. Thunder & lightning and around 5-10mm of rain occurred in Kemptville. We are expecting warm and humid weather today and Friday with highs around 30C (86F).

Possible tropical threat for eastern seaboard

A Hurricane Hunter Recon flight is currently underway along the east coast of Florida about 350 miles out at sea. A an area of low pressure is expected to become TD7 and possibly Tropical Storm Gabrielle within the next 24 hours. The storm is then likely to retrograde back towards the coast as high pressure to the northeast blocks its movement. We could be seeing a tropical system moving along the coast from the Outer Banks northeastward towards New England by the weekend. There is still much uncertainty among computer models with many different scenarios as to the track of this potential storm. I will keep a close eye on the system and update the blog tomorrow morning.

Hurricane Felix at Landfall this morning in Central America.

Bits and Bites and a little complaining


Ah where to begin. First and foremost my battle with Bell continues. I have been waiting over a month for delivery of a modem promised to me in one to two business days from Bell Sympatico Internet Service. That was August 6. So far nothing so I am switching to Cogeco, I will let you know how that goes. So my entries have been limited, I apologize.

We have just witnessed a second Category 5 storm of the 2007 season to hit Central America. This is very far south for these storms, they are record breakers. Hurricane Felix followed Dean's path for awhile, but then moved a little more south into Honduras, Nicaragua and Belize. Winds gusted over 165mph as the storm roared inland with a 15-20 foot wall of water. The rain will be a big problem in the mountainous areas - with up to 20 inches of rain possible. Hurricane Mitch in 1998 hit this area with over 10,000 deaths reported mostly from flooding and mudslides. No deaths at this point.

Frost - you heard right frost is expected in the Adirondacks and Green Mountains tonight with lows around 32-37F expected. It will rebound into the 80 plus temperature range by Wednesday. You have to love fall in the north country. It should remain above freezing with no frost in North Grenville and the Seaway tonight.

What a Labour Day Weekend in The Seaway.

This is St. Lawrence Park in Brockville, Ontario this past Sunday.

Lines of Severe Thunderstorms hit area


Severe Thunderstorms are moving through Eastern Ontario tonight. Warnings and Watches have been posted for all areas. It was a very muggy day in the province with temperatures in the low thirties and very humid. A cold front is slicing into the muggy air with the result being several waves of storms. I was in west end Ottawa tonight experiencing one of the storms. It was fairly tame with the exception of the lightning, which was amazing. Several cells on radar in the upper Ottawa Valley are approaching severe limits - so more weather is on the way tonight.

Dean crossing the coast as a Cat 5 yesterday

Dean weakens to Tropical Storm

The remains of Hurricane Dean will ring itself out over the mountains of central Mexico tonight which as much as 20 inches of rain. The rain will produce life threatening mudslides and flooding in the area. The Storm moved onshore for the final time today near Veracruz, Mexico. Meanwhile the Yucatan is recovering and slowly cleaning up from yesterday's brush with the Category 5 storm. Remarkably no deaths were reported so far in Mexico. Jamaica's south coast is cleaning up also with total destruction is some cases. 13 deaths occurred there and also in the Lesser Antilles.

The storm behaved well and was exceptionally forecast by the National Hurricane Center. That, and a quick response by authorities along the track of Dean, prevented a far greater catastrophe. It also helped that the storm skirted islands and made landfall in an area of the Yucatan with little population. Sadly it still managed to destroy many home in and just north of Chetumel, Mexico.

Dean getting stronger

Hurricane Dean is just shy of Category 5 status at this hour. The storm is located about 330 miles east of Belize City in the western Caribbean Sea heading slightly due north of west. The storm is expected to make landfall overnight tonight on the Yucatan south of Cozumel. The storm is then expected to cross the peninsula and emerge into the Gulf of Mexico before approaching Tampico on the Gulf Coast of Mexico Wednesday- possibly as a Category three hurricane. What all this means is that massive evacuations were expected along both coastlines as Dean approaches. Thousands of tourists were boarding planes away from the Yucatan yesterday and today.

It appears that the damage was extensive along the south coast of Jamaica but not as bad as feared. Ten deaths have been blamed on the storm so far. Residents in extreme south Texas near Brownsville were being asked to leave the low lying coastal areas prior to landfall in Mexico as a precaution.

Dean spares Jamaica

Serious damage - but it could have been worse

Hurricane Dean wobbled south of Jamaica yesterday producing heavy rain, mudslides and 115mph winds. It could have been far worse. The Cat 4 storm is moving west of the Island nation this morning and is about 415 miles from the Belize coast. The next target will be that country and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. The area will be hammered by the storm which we expect will be a Category 5 by then, producing 155mph winds and gusts to 185. The damage could be catastrophic in places. The area has just finished rebuilding from Wilma in 2005.

I apologize for the problems providing updates on this blog. My home computer is out and I am working on it. In the meantime the Hurricane City link on the left has all the latest information and links 0n the storm.

• The remains of Tropical Storm Erin meantime rung itself out over Oklahoma yesterday morning with 9 inches of rain in just a few hoursin and around King Fisher County. The result was severe flash flooding. At least 7 deaths were blamed on the storm. Numerous water rescues were carried out all day, reminiscent of Katrina in 2005. The storm is producing rain across Missouri, Kentucky and Illinois today.

Next update will be around 5pm today....

Dean a Cat 2 storm

pounding Lesser Antilles

Hurricane Dean is pounding Martinique and neighboring islands this morning with fierce winds and rain. Winds have been reported up to 87mph overnight. The storm is producing 5-10 inches of rain and waves and storm surge of up to 10 feet in places. It is expected to move away from the islands later today. Next in the storms path will be Jamaica, Cuba and the Cayman Islands. The storm is riding the southern edge of the Bermuda high that has been baking the US southeast. That is good news for that area but very bad news for south Texas. Projections have the storm heading for coastal Texas by the middle part of next week as a major hurricane.

Dean becomes Hurricane
Severe Thunderstorms in Ontario


Several lines of severe thunderstorms are passing across the St. Lawrence Valley and Eastern Ontario this afternoon. The air is very unstable and a weak cold front is slicing through it. Temperatures rose rapidly behind a warm front this morning up to around 29C.The storms should taper off by the supper hour.Warnings and Watches are in effect for all of eastern Ontario and Upstate New York.

Hurricane Dean continues to strengthen as it heads rapidly westward through the Atlantic and Caribbean. The storm is expected to brush the Lesser Antilles and Windward Islands tomorrow before taking aim at the Yucatan, Cozumel and Cancun. The storm is forecast to become a major Category 4 Hurricane by Sunday. All interests in the Gulf and Coastal Mexico should pay close attention to this potentially dangerous storm.

Meanwhile Tropical Storm Erin moved inland over south Texas northeast of Corpus Christie this morning with heavy rain, flooding and isolated tornadoes. Full details can be found at this link: http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6942390

Tropical Storm Erin approaching the Texas Gulf Coast

Dean continues west

Erin forms in Gulf of Mexico

The tropics continue active today as Tropical Storms Dean and Erin have developed. Dean is expected to continue west while intensifying and could become the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2007 season. The storm is expected to approach the Dominican Republic and Haiti by weeks end, potentially as a major hurricane.

In the meantime Tropical Storm Erin formed only hours ago in the Gulf of Mexico about 250 miles east of Brownsville. Tropical Storm Warnings have been raised for the lower Texas Coast south of Freeport into northern Mexico. The biggest threat from Erin will be torrential tropical rains in excess of 5 inches and up to 8 inches in places. The official update can be found at this link: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT5+shtml/151536.shtml

The expected path of Tropical Storm Dean

Hurricane Flossie moving south of the big island of Hawaii today

The Tropics heat up

Hurricane Flossie is skirting the big island of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean today. Towering waves of up to 25 feet are expected to cause some flooding along the south coast of the island. Also heavy rains may produce flash flooding and mudslides. Winds are expected in the 40-60mph range over extreme southern areas.

Meanwhile in the Atlantic midway between the African coast and the US Virgin Islands, we find Tropical Storm Dean. Forecasters are expecting Dean to continue moving towards the west northwest along the southern edge of the Bermuda high. By Friday the storm should be approaching the far eastern Caribbean Islands as a hurricane. All interest in the US southeast should monitor this storm as it looks to be the first of the season to threaten the area. Keep in mind we are over a week away from this happening if at all.

A car sits under a washed out section of road near Placentia Bay.

Tropical Strom Chantal floods Newfoundland
High heat and humidity in Ontario/ Quebec

Southeast Newfoundland received between 100-150mm of rain in as little as six hours yesterday morning causing serious flooding in the southeast part of the province. Many roads were washed out and homes flooded. Several motorists narrowly escaped death when there cars were washed into culverts. Sections of the Trans Canada Highway were washed out near Placentia Bay. Roads in St. John's were flooded as well. Tropical Storm Chantal, the third of the season, brushed the southeast part of the province late Tuesday night. The storm formed over the the open Atlantic east of North Carolina and raced northeast.

• High heat and humidity warnings continue in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto today. Heat emergencies have been declared and cooling shelters opened. Record highs can be expected today with the mercury soaring into the mid 30's over many areas. Humidex values will push over 40C. Drink plenty of water and limit outdoor activities, unless it is a beer by the water!

Tropical Depression Three
off East Coast

• Blazing Heat continues - spreads east

• A friend turns 200,000

• Just a few quick notes this wonderful July morning. The month is almost over. What started as a rainy and unseasonably cool month will end very hot for most of the country. This will be Ontario's hottest week of the year to date. High temperatures will be over 30C right into the weekend. Temps in the west have been close to 40C in Saskatchewan once again. A humidex reading of 53C was recorded in that province on the weekend, the warmest ever!

• This weekend the NASCAR Busch cars are in Montreal. I will be there, needless to say. The weather sunny and warm, awesome, thank you weather gods!

• The third tropical depression of the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane season has formed about 310 miles southeast of Massachusetts. As you can see on the map above the storm is expected to become Tropical Storm Chantal. it is forecast to skirt the Avalon off Newfoundland with gusty winds and heavy rain. The tropics are heating up, with forecasters watching several other waves developing. I imagine our quiet season to date is about to come to an end. Please stay away from the Outer Banks!

• An important friend of mine turned 200,000, kilometres that is, at exit 619 on the 401 on Thursday. My Saturn SL1, while not the 69 Charger I have always dreamed of, has taken me everywhere. It has not only taken me to and from the ones I love but has also proved a valuable friend in storm chasing, and it has the hail dents to prove it. Thank you Little Limo! My beautiful daughter below with the car in the background (red) in line for the Glenora fery, on our latest adventure to Sandbanks!

Close to 90mm of rain fell in Kemptville

Blazing Heat in Saskatchewan

Heavy Rain in Ontario

The rain of last week created havoc and flooding across parts of Eastern Ontario. Radar estimates and observations showed that as much as 150mm of rain fell in less than 24 hours, smashing records in places. Kemptville had over 90mm. Flooding was reported in area businesses. In the Renfrew area many fields were underwater with bales of hay floating away. Part of the embankment under the tracks on the Wakefield Steam Train line north of Ottawa were washed away.

In Saskatchewan it is the lack of rain and the blazing heat. A record and dangerous heatwave is underway in that province as well as Manitoba, the Dakotas and Montana. Temperatures soared to 38C in Val Marie, Saskatchewan yesterday and again today. Some place will reach 40C tomorrow. Only slight relief is on tap the middle part of the week with a stray shower or two, then back into the mid thirties to end the week.