Real Name: David Tewes Member Since: September 24, 2007 Last Signed In: July 02, 2008 Profile Views: 1155 Blog Views: 2359 Nature's own July 4 show What a nice rain Global warming - hype or fact? This summer's start earliest since 1896 Are you expecting a hurricane this year? Hurricane Hunter Tours Weird stuff in the night sky Double spaceship flybys It's not the end of the world Early Morning Gems September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 
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If we can get a clear sky, there will be two shows over Victoria on July 4.
One, of course, will be the city’s annual fireworks display at the Victoria Community Center. The other is a parade of planets visible to the unaided eye. Red Mars and ringed Saturn converge just to the left of the bright star Regulus, according to the science.nasa.gov Web site. Click on this link for a sky map. But that is just the beginning, according to the Web site. On Saturday, July 5, a crescent moon joins the show. Saturn, Mars, and the moon trace an even brighter line than the night before: sky map.
It was no drought breaker, but Tuesday's rain was a welcome relief.
Officially, the National Weather Service rain gauge located at the Victoria Regional Airport only recorded 0.30 of an inch. They're going to have to clean the bird nest out of that thing. ;>) Weather radar estimated some areas of Victoria County might have received as much as 2 inches. Anyone have any reports to pass along?
It almost sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but a panel of researchers has concluded:
Do you you believe global warming is occurring? If so, how much of it do you think is being caused by people?
Unless you live under a rock, you’re probably aware last Friday was the first day of summer.
What you probably didn’t hear was that is the earliest summer solstice since 1896. Summer typically starts on June 21, but this year it began on June 20. The simple explanation is because 2008 is a leap year. For a full explanation, check out this Earth & Sky article.
There are no guarantees, but at least one forecaster believes there will be a near-normal number of hurricanes and tropical storms this year.
More importantly, AccuWeather.com's forecast calls for a relatively large percentage of those storms to strike the United States. AccuWeather forecaster Joe Bastardi believes that risk is 1.6 times the norm. He also believes the best chance for early storm development is in the western or central Gulf of Mexico. This is based primarily on very warm water in the western and central Gulf, cool water in the western Caribbean Sea, the expected June steering currents in the central Gulf, and a drier-than-normal pattern in the northwest Caribbean. The forecast holds that the primary period of hurricane threat will run from mid-August to mid-October and will encompass the entire Gulf and Atlantic. Anyone else care to venture a forecast? Corpus Christi and Galveston are among the five Gulf Coast cities that will be visited by a hurricane hunter aircraft the week of April 14. Let me know how it was if you get to make one of the tours.
One of my coworkers told me this week she saw something really interesting in the sky over east Victoria.
I'll call it a UFO for lack of a better term, although I don't believe we're being visited by ETs. Julie said she was enjoying the stars about 8:20 on Saturday evening, Feb. 23, when the outline of a dark object caught her eye. It was shaped like a V and had what appeared to be a row of lights on two sides, but they were not illuminated or they were very dim. The object made no noise and took about 10 or 12 seconds from the time she saw it until it passed overhead and out of sight. My best guess is that it was some type of military aircraft. I'm wondering if anyone else saw it or if you have any clue what it might have been.
Space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station Monday morning, promising to provide sky watchers an interesting view of the two.
The two spacecraft will appear as a tight pair of lights gliding across the night sky Monday and Tuesday. For the Victoria area, the two will appear in tandem low in the west-southwest sky on Feb. 18 at 7:56 p.m. They'll be about 10 degrees above the horizon and visible for about a minute before disappearing to the southwest. The pair will be brighter and higher in the sky on Feb. 19. They will come into view at 6:41 p.m. to the northwest. The space station and shuttle will be about 50 degrees above the southwest horizon at 6:44 p.m. Let me know what you see.
A cold front headed for South Texas this weekend could bring severe weather Saturday and a wildfire threat Sunday.
The front should move into South Texas late Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Showers and thunderstorms are forecast to develop ahead of the front. It appears that all the ingredients will be in place for some storms to become severe late Saturday afternoon and evening. The biggest threat will be hail and high wind, although there is a slight risk of tornadoes. Strong northwest winds will develop behind the front Saturday night and Sunday. If the cold air lags behind the front, there is a chance for an increased risk of wildfires. Click here for the latest severe weather threat updates from the Storm Prediction Center. Venus and Jupiter will light up the pre-dawn sky over Victoria the next few mornings, coming so close together they almost appear to touch. |
