Stormy

3 hours ago, Hawkeye said:

I got 0.36" of rain today, pretty close to the middle of the model range.  The grass is very lush and green.  Cedar Rapids has been downgraded from "extreme" drought to "severe".

I ended up with 0.42". It was much heavier to the south. The lawns are lush and green here as well. I mowed one lawn twice and another not once yet, but should.

I wanted to comment about the weather on Tuesday, but I always get sidetracked in doing and looking at other things. Plus I was helping with storm cleanup for people from my church that evening. The first batch of showers Tuesday afternoon was heavier then it appeared on radar as PWATS were quite high, but I was in a gap between heavier cells of course. Still ended the first round with exactly 0.40". Then a short period of sunshine preceded an ominous shelf cloud from the last brief intense line of storms. The sky looked greenish, and I was out shooting video (with iPhone 15 Pro Max) and photos till the last second! But only 0.24" rain from that line with wind gust only around 43 mph and not as windy at my location as early in the afternoon. But had some decent hail with a few of the largest stones at 1" diameter. But 2 farms approximately 3-4 miles se. of me had buildings destroyed from a possible little spin up tornado or microburst? One building was totally flattened and the other farm had half of the roof gone among other damage. Total rainfall on Tuesday was only 0.64". 

The drought maps may be off for my location since we've had very good rains in March, and especially this month. Field tile lines are running since the heavy rains of early April and water is standing in roadside ditches after each rainfall. With today's rainfall I'm approaching 4" for the month. And it looks active again by late April.

Just checked my weather station and I'm just over 4" for the month now, with over a third of an inch so far today.

We had a chance of showers yesterday, but I wasn't really expecting anything more than a few hundredths at most. But some on and off showers traversed my area starting by 3:00 p.m. with brief downpours and barely pea-sized hail multiple times. Even heard some thunder a few times. Ended up getting 0.32" while my sister's place 2/3rd mile ne. got nearly a half inch as did another sister 7-8 miles se. I was going to plant some garden, but plans changed. A plenty chilly rain anyway. 

You're probably wondering why I mention siblings living here and there, and jfyi, I have 4 brothers and 4 sisters. And one brother's winter home may be @Tom's neighbor!? Not sure what his exact address is, though it's in Fountain Hills. 

4 hours ago, Hoosier said:

Viewing through binoculars was amazing.  Almost felt like you could reach out and touch the eclipse.

Overall I was very pleased with the viewing experience.  One thing I missed out on again were the shadow bands.  They are tough to see unless you have the right background, and I just couldn't find any in 2017 or this time.  Did have a much better look at the dramatic darkening of the western sky immediately prior to totality.  Didn't pay enough attention to that in 2017 and mostly missed that last minute darkening.  Really helps to sort of map this stuff out in your head in advance.  There is so much to take in in so little time.  Totality is short-lived even in the best of circumstances and I can't understand why anybody would be content with very brief totality (say less than 1 minute) if there's a chance to get to a better spot.

Yes that last minute darkening was surreal, and we couldn't see any shadow bands either, though some climbed onto the house roof and other structures for a better view. One thing I didn't realize was that sunspots are readily visible through a spotting scope etc. I don't make a habit of looking at the sun! Lol

2 hours ago, Andie said:

Answered this elsewhere, but not really. We had high thin clouds and they worked as a filter.  I could actually see well for about 20 seconds without the glasses. But I didn’t take chances. They went back on fast.  
I could see the corona flares which were the highlight for me.  

That's good that it was decent viewing for you. I could see the flares throughout totality, but it looked better through binoculars. 

Here are a few photos from my friends iPhone.

IMG_1153.HEIC IMG_1147.HEIC

My first total eclipse was an awesome and enjoyable experience! Took off for southern IL just after 2:00a.m. and arrived at our destination (my cousin's farm near Carbondale) in only around 5.5 hrs. as traffic was a non-issue and had good roads. And the weather was perfect with only a few thin cirrus at times with a high temp around 80⁰! Had over 100 people there (mostly from my community) to watch it and enjoyed 2 hearty big meals (brunch and supper) plus snacks in-between! Had several spotting scopes on tripods for people to use, and later mounted a camera on one during the eclipse. We also did some experiments and someone gave a presentation about eclipses, etc. My nephew flew his drone before and during the eclipse, which mostly flew itself so he could enjoy the sights. We also had a thermometer recording the temp which dropped 12⁰ f in the shade and still more in the sun, if I remember correctly. One thing I forgot was sunscreen, so I got burned a little even if I tried staying in the shade at times. We left for home around 6:30p.m. hoping traffic would clear out some. Had one little stretch of heavy, slow traffic, but mostly good travelling most of the way, arriving back in around 6 hrs. Trees were much greener in s. IL. 

Oh, I forgot to mention my brother down there took us on a ride to his place nearby with a farm tractor and trailer afterwards. Had 60+ people on the flatbed trailer! 

15 hours ago, MNTonka said:

High clouds or haze could still be pretty great. In 2017 we had similar conditions and once it started to get close to totality, it actually cleared up. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced! I’m hoping for a similar scenario this year. Don’t give up hope! Good luck! 

A similar thing happened in Mo. where my brother went to watch in 2017. It was all cloudy, but  clearing occurred just in time for the eclipse with clouds moving back in soon after! It's was sunnier in IL. that time. 

I plan leaving around 1:00 am. Monday with a van load of friends. In fact a bus load of people is leaving from my community to see it. Makes for less traffic going together! Lol

As of now the NWS point forecast is calling for sunny skies on Monday near Carbondale.

Oops, I couldn't clear the editor for some reason, then kind of reposted things. I will need to edit this. 

On 3/23/2024 at 8:18 PM, Hoosier said:

Just some thoughts/suggestions for those traveling to a total solar eclipse for the first time.  

It wouldn't be a bad idea to have some way of knowing where you're going that doesn't rely on internet/GPS.  Cell service can be an issue in rural areas in the best of times, but the system may get overwhelmed by the influx of people and in general, I just wouldn't want to rely on technology in the event that something goes wrong.  For the 2017 eclipse, I actually went old school and bought those large paper state maps and traced the boundaries of the path of totality.  Was glad that I did that as service was indeed sketchy at times.  Might just download some maps onto my phone this time, not sure yet.  

Anticipate heavy traffic (especially after the eclipse), even in some of the rural areas.  Some of these towns will probably have more people coming through on April 8 than they've ever seen before.  Funny story from the morning of the 2017 eclipse... I stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom in a town called Ava, IL on my way into far southern IL.  It has about 500 people.  The line for the bathroom was out the door... there were dozens of people in line... no joke.  

Gas up when you can and have some snacks/beverages in the car with you.

My brother went down in that area to see it in 2017, but I couldn't make it. This time though, I'm going to the Carbondale, IL area (not far from Ava) where another brother lives. Lucky for people there, being it's the only area where both total eclipses cross, which I'm sure you knew! 

On 2/14/2024 at 9:29 PM, OttumwaSnomow said:

This data just blows my mind. Ottumwa  and Fairfield  Iowa one of snowiest  locations  east of Rockies. 

What blows me away yet more is that most of the snow fell within 1 weeks time during a season that only had around 2 weeks of real winter, and that most of it melted by early February!! And it basically all soaked into the thirsty unfrozen soil, similar to the previous winter's precipitation. In January I totally expected to see more of January's snow hang around till some time in March, but even the very deepest drifts have mostly disappeared! The winter of '07 - 2008 was the snowiest of my records, but does anyone know if that was also an elnino winter too? It seems like NINO winters are more active in my area. 

7 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

I do not care if the country is less white. As long as those coming in adhere to the law, contribute to society, and assimilate into our culture. Except they take a wrecking ball to our culture, tell us we have no culture, and replace it with vapid consumerism and Taylor Swift. 

I don't care either, but the Marxist racists do. 

1 hour ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Well an illegal alien is automatically a criminal, so your point is mute. Any crime committed by a criminal alien towards a citizen is 100% preventable. I don't understand why you believe we have no right to national sovereignty? If you have no borders, you have no country. Why is this administration obsessed with allowing our country to descend into complete madness? 

They are doing it for a number of reasons including needing more democrat voters, changing congressional districting control (they are moving them to some areas to be counted in the next census), making the the country less white, and so on. They are committing treason by not protecting this nation that they swore under oath to protect!

8 hours ago, Andie said:

List of Ststes back Gov. Abbott and the State of Texas.   
Thank you!

State governors standing with #Texas on border security, sending public messages of support

Idaho Gov Brad Little
Nebraska Gov Jim Pillen
Tennessee Gov Bill Lee
Alabama Gov Kay Ivey
Oklahoma Gov Kevin Stitt
South Dakota Gov Kristi Noem
Montana Gov Greg Gianforte
Virginia Gov Glenn Youngkin
West Virginia Gov Jim Justice
Georgia Gov Brain Kemp
Utah Gov Spencer Cox
Florida Gov Ron DeSantis

I thought my governor was sending national guard , but I'm not sure. Kristi Noem (if I remember correctly) was sending razor wire. 

I nearly lost my 88 year old mother around Christmas when she supposedly had Covid for the first time? Not sure how she managed to never have it before now because nearly everyone around her had it at some point. But she also had UTI, another light stroke, and possibly sepsis all at the same time and she still survived!! Just got her out of rehab yesterday. (I'm pretty sure I had covid twice, the last time around 2 years ago.)

10 hours ago, Iceresistance said:

I never got the virus, against all odds!

You might've had covid without realizing it since symptoms were/are basically non-existent for some people. 

On 1/26/2024 at 7:03 AM, OttumwaSnomow said:

Just absurd numbers here. Another .66" rain  yesterday's  sys. Too many systems  to count! Still 8" snow of thick slush covers  the landscape  evenly! 

4.35" precip Jan

6.72" precip since dec 15th

38.7" snow in January 

43.2 snow for season

This is area with sparse and somewhat inaccurate  data. So my goal it  show exactly  what happens  here. I strongly  believe  that winter precip, particularly  frozen precip has bee grossly  under reported.  Thats based on comparisons ive been  seeing for years.  I firmly  believe  based  on what ive observed  since 2008 that  snow and winter precip  averages  are considerably  higher  than what most sources say.  In 2018 2019 I measured  67 inches of snow here. Even last winter i had 28".

 

I totally agree about the under reporting! Precip. amounts here are similar to yours. I haven't checked yet, but this month is likely the wettest January of my records, with most of it from snow! The first snowstorm had insane amount of liquid, but I won't post it as I'm still not sure if I really believe it or how accurate it was. 

The last system brought 0.58" of rainfall bringing my weekly total to 0.83". Heavier rainfall occurred south of here in far se. IA 

I knew about this for several weeks and it's finally coming out in the mainstream news. It's likely true because her lovers signed affidavits, or had written depositions is what I heard earlier. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12970377/Nikki-Haley-cheated-affair-husband-affidavits-witnesses.html

https://youtu.be/-QBNpIS5sGk?si=aFLVhxHYzeGmwcR8

This morning's video by Benny Johnson (formerly from Iowa) has some clips of Nikki saying she got into politics because of Hillary. 

https://youtu.be/KAIV7VrdaPM?si=7jjrypN9Dj9VBD8z

And the video that Benny is live streaming now had something about Joe Manchin jumping into the race, but I only listened to a few minutes and didn't catch much of it yet. 

21 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

For all the celebrating and coronations MAGA wants to do today for their King Emperor, it should still be noted that half of voters in extremely conservative Iowa voted for someone other than Trump. This goes to show there is a real appetite within the Republican Party to try and move on from his cancer, no matter how much MAGA wants to make it seem like any Republican who doesn't vote for Trump is just a RINO. 

Whether it will ultimately matter in a broken primary system where extreme candidates always do better than they should, who knows. But it's heartening to see none the less.

So why did you move to an extremely conservative (by your definition) state? SD is even more conservative than Iowa, especially before IA turned redder. You're surrounded by Trump supporters and even your governor who I really like endorsed Trump! I guess you like the benefits of conservatism, but definitely aren't one.

I heard Nikki was urging democrats to register as republicans so they could vote against Trump, which some were doing in my county. You're Queen Empress Nikki is basically a democrat, kind of like Hillary. She wasn't wealthy when she got into politics, but suddenly she's very rich and has a multi-million dollar home. She probably got rich from the military industrial complex system, so expect wars to continue under her leadership! 

19 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

Rural counties go for Trump? What?!? Let me guess, the next thing you are going to tell me is water is wet... 

I'm not in a rural county by Iowa standards, and I was talking about my precinct which is a small part of the county. I was expecting DeSantis to do better in my precinct, but it basically ended up like average Iowa polling showed. Another thing is that Iowa was basically a purple swing state not so many years ago, but the the people are waking up. 

20 minutes ago, Minny_Weather said:

Oh boy I'd love to see your source on this one

It was all over the news and a quick search in YouTube or elsewhere yields tons of results. And I'm pretty sure she didn't actually know and almost seemed panicky when asked. Then she was trying to do damage control. And she's from SC and should surely have known. I was going to share a link, but figured you saw it and didn't take it the way most people did plus it's so easy to find. 

4 hours ago, Stormy said:

Sorry guys for not keeping you posted on my weather here lately. If I check this forum only maybe twice a week there's no way I can keep up during winter storms! Lol Anyway we had some epic winter snows here in se. Iowa with approximately 2'+ of snow last week, which probably makes for the snowiest week that I can remember of! We got 13" from the first storm about a week ago and another approximately 11.5" from the second storm. There's snow everywhere, but it blew into big drifts after the last storm making it a little easier to walk in a few places. It was difficult walking anywhere with snow reaching up to my knees at times! Some of the lower level house windows in the walk-in basement are half covered by snow. And the snowplows had to mount the huge blades like back in the 2007- '08 winter. Plus the road guys also used other equipment to clear roads. There were stranded people all over during the storms. 

I forgot to mention the weak system between the two big storms also produced only 1" of snow. 

Speaking of cold, the minimum temperature yesterday was - 19⁰ around 1:00 a.m! I'm not a fan of bitter cold, but that's to be expected with deep snow. It now has been below zero for approximately 2 days. 

Oops, I just noticed this comment should probably just be in the January thread. I'll just add a comment of the cold temperatures which should make it a little more relevant to this thread.

Sorry guys for not keeping you posted on my weather here lately. If I check this forum only maybe twice a week there's no way I can keep up during winter storms! Lol Anyway we had some epic winter snows here in se. Iowa with approximately 2'+ of snow last week, which probably makes for the snowiest week that I can remember of! We got 13" from the first storm about a week ago and another approximately 11.5" from the second storm. There's snow everywhere, but it blew into big drifts after the last storm making it a little easier to walk in a few places. It was difficult walking anywhere with snow reaching up to my knees at times! Some of the lower level house windows in the walk-in basement are half covered by snow. And the snowplows had to mount the huge blades like back in the 2007- '08 winter. Plus the road guys also used other equipment to clear roads. There were stranded people all over during the storms. 

I forgot to mention the weak system between the two big storms also produced only 1" of snow. 

20 hours ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

But who cares, anyhow. They are members of a culture-destroying race. Interfering with a final solution to our immigrant problem is counterproductive. /sarc

Texas "physically barred" Border Patrol agents from trying to rescue migrants who drowned, federal officials say

Right off you're posting the deaths of a few people because of others trying to have some border security, but you fail to mention the many, many deaths from fentanyl poisoning, and human trafficking and possibly slave labor, which is a result of open borders. Not to mention potential terrorists etc coming through as well. But I think any human death and suffering is no bueno!