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NorthGeorgiaWX

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  5. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Traveling out to Stellwagen National Marine Sanctuary to do some whale watching, June 5, 2019. Don't know the people in the image. 🙂
    Today in Weather History
    for June 16 

    June 16, 1806 
    A total eclipse of the sun was viewed from southern California to Massachusetts. (David Ludlum) 

    June 16, 1917 
    The temperature soared to 124 degrees at Mecca climaxing the most destructive heat wave of record in California history. (David Ludlum) 

    June 16, 1944 
    A tornado in Sioux City, IA, traveled an odd course. It spun in one place for about twenty minutes, made a U-turn, traveled southeast for about three miles, then traveled south, east, north, and finally east again. (The Weather Channel) 

    June 16, 1987 
    Temperatures soared above 100 degrees in the Upper Midwest, reaching 104 degrees at Lincoln, NE. Thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 96 mph at Valley City, ND, and baseball size hail near Red Oak, IA. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    June 16, 1988 
    After a brief respite, hot weather returned to the Northern High Plains Region. Late night thunderstorms in Montana produced wind gusts to 70 mph at Polson and north of Lake Seeley. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    June 16, 1989 
    Daytime thunderstorms produced severe weather from northern Florida to the Middle Atlantic Coast. The thunderstorms spawned eight tornadoes, and there were 138 reports of large hail and damaging winds. Thunderstorm winds gusting to 87 mph caused twenty million dollars damage at Columbia SC. Strong thunderstorm winds killed one person at McLeansville NC. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) 

    Data courtesy of WeatherForYou              
    View the full article
     
  6. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Nauset Lighthouse - This is the lighthouse on the bag of Cape Cod Potato Chips
    Today in Weather History
    for June 15 

    June 15, 1662 
    A fast was held at Salem MA with prayers for rain, and the Lord gave a speedy answer. (David Ludlum) 

    June 15, 1879 
    McKinney ND received 7.7 inches of rain in 24 hours, a state record. (The Weather Channel) 

    June 15, 1896 
    The temperature at Fort Mojave, CA, soared to 127 degrees, the hottest reading of record for June for the U.S. The low that day was 97 degrees. Morning lows of 100 degrees were reported on the 12th, 14th and 16th of the month. (The Weather Channel) 

    June 15, 1953 
    Dust devils are usually rather benign weather phenomena, however, two boys were injured by one near Prescott AZ. One of the boys suffered a black eye, and the other boy had two vertabrae fractured by wind-blown debris. (The Weather Channel) 

    June 15, 1957 
    East Saint Louis was deluged with 16.54 inches of rain in 24 hours, a record for the state of Illinois. (The Weather Channel) 

    June 15, 1987 
    Thunderstorms developing along a cold front produced severe weather in the northwestern U.S. A tornado damaged five homes and destroyed a barn near Salmon ID. It lifted a metal shed 100 feet into the air, and deposited it 100 yards away. Hail an inch and a half in diameter caused ten million dollars damage to automobiles at Nampa ID. (The National Weather Channel) (Storm Data) 

    June 15, 1988 
    Severe thunderstorms in the Central High Plains Region spawned five tornadoes around Denver, CO, in just one hour. A strong (F-3) tornado in southern Denver injured seven persons and caused ten million dollars damage. Twenty-six cities in the eastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 97 degrees at Portland ME was a record for June. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) 

    June 15, 1989 
    Thunderstorms produced severe weather over the Southern and Middle Atlantic Coast States. The thunderstorms spawned eight tornadoes, including strong (F-3) tornadoes which injured three persons at Mountville PA and four persons at Columbia, PA. There were 111 reports of large hail and damaging winds, including wind gusts to 80 mph at Norfolk, VA, and Hogback Mountain, SC. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    Data courtesy of WeatherForYou              
    View the full article
     
  7. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Mount Jefferson is the one with the snow. That snow doesn't melt until July. Incredible. A must do. Ride, don't drive. 

    If you ever get up to the New England states and you travel to New Hampshire, a visit to Mount Washington is something you do not want to miss. On a good day you will get to witness one of the most spectacular views anywhere in the country. Reaching 6288 feet into the New Hampshire sky, Mount Washington is the king of the White Mountains and is one of many peaks in the Presidential Range. If you look it up on Wikipedia, you'd see this...

    ​"The Presidential Range is notorious for having some of the worst weather on Earth, mainly because of the unpredictability of high wind speeds and whiteout conditions on the higher summits. Because of the poor weather conditions, the Presidential Range is often used for mountaineering training for those who go on to climb some of the world's highest mountains, including K2 and Everest." 

    One thing they tell you right before you get off the train at the top is "don't miss the train going back down",  You don't want to have to hike down this mountain. Even in the summertime, the top of Mt Washington is covered in fog 90% of the time. During the trip up and down the mountain on the cog railway you'll notice all of the stacks of stones known as cairnes (can be seen and talked about in the videos below). Those are used as trail guide markers for the hikers. Since you can hardly see in front of you in the fog, the markers are placed VERY close together to help keep you on the path and not fall off the mountain. As you approach the top of the mountain the Appalachian Trail crosses the tracks, and the hike across Mount Washington and the Presidential Range is considered to be the most difficult hike on the entire Appalachian Trail.  The Presidential Range of the White Mountains You have three ways to get to the top of Mount Washington, you can walk, you can drive, or you can take the cog railway, and that is the method we took. It's about a 4 hour hike to the top and then another 3-4 back down, so unless you are REAL adventurous and have perfect weather, that is probably out of the question. You can also take your own car to the top by driving on the Mount Washington Auto Road, but a word of caution. This road has no guardrails and if you mess up, there is nothing to stop you and your vehicle from tumbling to the bottom.  I haven't been on it but I hear from others that have that it's terrifying. It's makes it hard to enjoy the views when you have to worry about driving off a cliff. See the video at the very end of this post, then decide. ;-)

    So... that leaves the cog railway. THIS is the way to go. This is from their website: Here's a video of the train that took us to the top pulling into the station. They operate multiple trains up and down the mountain during the day and our engine is one of the bio-diesels that they run. The Cog Railway also has a couple of steam locomotives in case you want that old time feel to the ride.  Notice that the engine pushes the passenger car up the mountain instead of pulling. The engine has a cog (it's like a gear) that engages slots in the center of the track and that is how you get pushed up the mountain. The steepest grade is about 38%, so it looks like you're headed off into space at times. If not for the cog, the train would never be able to make it up the mountain.  The passenger car has two sections of seating. The left side of the car (facing forward) has three seats and across the aisle are two more seats. When you make your reservations (and you MUST or you probably won't get a seat and certainly not the best seat) you want to get the front seats on the left because the best views are on that side of the train. 

    The day we went up was about as good as it ever gets on Mount Washington, so the windows were down on the train. Keep in mind, some of the worst and wildest weather in the U.S. occurs on Mount Washington.  Most of the time the mountain is in the clouds with fog and mist. In the winter, that fog and mist become rime ice that covers everything up there.  For nearly sixty-two years Mount Washington held the world record for the fastest wind gust ever recorded on the surface of the Earth: 231 miles per hour, recorded April 12, 1934 by Mount Washington Observatory staff. To learn more about the day that wind speed was recorded, click on this link.  Another item to note, the tree line starts about 5000 feet. Out in the Rockies, that elevation is about 10,000 feet. 

    The maximum temperature ever recorded on the summit is only 72 degrees and the high the day we rode up was about 60 degrees, so it was a relatively warm day on the top. The image below shows the conditions right before we started the ride up (we had a 12:30 pm train). It was an incredibly warm day at the bottom, we had seen temps in the low 80's driving to the mountain so we knew the top shouldn't too bad. Even the winds cooperated that day and stayed at speeds that wouldn't blow you off the mountain like they normally do.  Notice that our visibility was about 80 miles... today it's 1/16 of a mile (see image below). Here's a link to the current data. The image below is from today, June 14th about the time we left the station. Compared to our visit, it is much colder with no visibility today. Not a great day to go to the top if you want to see a view.  Conditions at 12:26 pm June 14. This is about the time we left. Compare this to how warm it was last Monday the 10th Mansfield Station The elevation at the bottom where you start the ride up is about 1600 feet. It's funny, but Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park is 1529 feet high and you think that's tall when you're on top of it, so this being at the bottom helps put things in perspective. 
    ​
    The station has a gift shop, a restaurant, and restrooms. If you didn't purchase your ticket online, you get your tickets here.  There are no restrooms on the train so go before you board. 

    ​It's very cool looking up toward the top of the mountain from the station. You can barely make out the tower on the top, and off in the distance you can see the train tracks going up the side of the mountain.  Now... picture yourself hiking that. :-)  The top is on the top of the peak in the right of the image. You can see the tracks in the distance to the right of the flag. I mounted my GoPro on the window using a suction cup mount. Stupid me... I could have mounted the actual camera part of it in the open part of the window, but instead, the whole thing was behind the window. It doesn't seem to hurt the image to much but I'm sure it helped with reducing the wind noise. Granted, the train only moves about 4 MPH, so the wind noise doesn't come from the train movement. :-) 

    Anyway... here are my videos from the front of the train. I should have mounted the camera on the left side window to catch the views, and I was going to on the way down, but someone on the other side of the aisle asked if they could swap seats with us for the return trip. And being the nice person that I am, we swapped, so I didn't have the best view coming back down. And trust me, the left side is spectacular.  The pictures I have just don't do it justice.  The conductor was great and full of information, I was glad I captured his narration on the videos. It is a ride you'll never forget. I've added a few pictures below, but if you'd like to see them all, you can click on this link. Keep in mind that during times of bad weather, the train may not go all the way to the top. They will ride halfway and when there is snow, they stop at a newly built platform and everyone can get off the train and hang out at a bonfire and eat s'mores. We were very blessed with our weather and it couldn't have been more perfect. Because the weather on the top is so unpredictable and generally not so good, it makes it very tough to factor in to your plans. You plan for the worst and hope for the best, and in our case, that's the way it worked out, so your visit may or may not go as well. That's Mount Washington.

    Once you're at the top there are several places to explore, and if you're hungry you can grab a bite to eat eat while you're there. And there is even a United State Post Office on the top so you can send mail with a Mount Washington postmark. The Mount Washington Observatory on top is continuously staffed even in the winter time. Research is conducted on new weather instruments and manually taken weather readings occur on schedule 24/7. 

    Not much more to say except you need to add this place to your bucket list. I do recommend the train up, but if you think you may want to drive up, watch this video below. You will be amazed and terrified at the same time. :-) View the full article
  8. NorthGeorgiaWX
    EDIT: This RSS import really messes with the blog post. This is a better link: http://blog.northgeorgiawx.com/new-england-trip/day-3-saturday-we-arrive   We made it! We arrived in West Yarmouth about 4:30 pm on Saturday.  Along the way we stopped to visit two lighthouses in Rhode Island and eat a lobster roll. 🙂
    I've added a few pictures and a couple of videos below. Most were taken at the two lighthouses or on the way to them. Oh... and my lobster roll. 🙂 You can't forget the lobster roll. 

    We're just getting started so I'll have lots more pictures and videos. Now is when it starts getting good!                                     Here are a couple of videos I took on the ride, and both of these are from the Beavertail Lighthouse. I'll have more later. This first video is from the dash cam and the second video was taken using my S7 with polarizing filter.   
    View the full article
     
  9. NorthGeorgiaWX
    After the fiasco from yesterday, we have decided to skip the stop in Philly to see Independence Hall, and I think that decision proved to be a wise one.

    Also... if you travel and use Google Maps... just know that the drive times you see is probably not going to be the time you actually spend on the road. Obviously Google doesn't know how many times you're gonna stop, and it doesn't know how fast you'll travel among other things. 

    The bridge you see in the picture above is one of many on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut. Each bridge is a little different, but each one is very fancy. Those were kinda cool.

    Today we end up in Shelton Connecticut at a Hampton Inn. (EDIT: this was a GREAT place to stay). Tomorrow... onward through the fog!  
    View the full article
     
  10. NorthGeorgiaWX
    We made it! We arrived in West Yarmouth about 4:30 pm on Saturday.  Along the way we stopped to visit two lighthouses in Rhode Island and eat a lobster roll. :-)

    I've added a few pictures and a couple of videos below. Most were taken at the two lighthouses or on the way to them. Oh... and my lobster roll. :-) You can't forget the lobster roll. 

    We're just getting started so I'll have lots more pictures and videos. Now is when it starts getting good!
    EDIT: Here's the link to the photo album. 
    Here are a couple of videos I took on the ride, and both of these are from the Beavertail Lighthouse. I'll have more later. This first video is from the dash cam and the second video was taken using my S7 with polarizing filter.  View the full article
  11. NorthGeorgiaWX
    EDIT: The bridge and the bridges I talk about below were actually the next day, June 1. They are in Connecticut... I do know that. :-) We arrived at Shelton CT and stayed at a Hampton Inn (the best one of the whole trip) and then continued driving the next day on the road you see above. I think. The days all ran together. :-)

    After the fiasco from yesterday, we have decided to skip the stop in Philly to see Independence Hall, and I think that decision proved to be a wise one.

    Also... if you travel and use Google Maps... just know that the drive times you see is probably not going to be the time you actually spend on the road. Obviously Google doesn't know how many times you're gonna stop, and it doesn't know how fast you'll travel among other things. 

    The bridge you see in the picture above is one of many on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut. Each bridge is a little different, but each one is very fancy. Those were kinda cool. Here's a link to the picture album with images of 33 bridges. https://photos.app.goo.gl/xNYEnbYg5yvYVKhF8 . There are a total of 42 bridges that cross over Merritt Parkway. We will do another blog post about the bridges, there is a great story and history behind them.

    Today we end up in Shelton Connecticut at a Hampton Inn. (EDIT: this was a GREAT place to stay). Tomorrow... onward through the fog! View the full article
  13. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Home to Baltimore
    Here we go! Up early this morning for one of our two longest continuous stretches of driving. Our destination today is the Hyatt Regency at the inner harbor area of Baltimore Maryland. Thanks to @mudrun for all of the great information about the Baltimore area!

    This leg of the trip is about 650 miles and Google is estimating about 11 hours on the road, so it's going to be a long day. The plan is to leave at 4 am in order to miss rush hour traffic in Charlotte and DC.  The original plan was to travel I-85 to I-95, but after noticing that the back roads through Virginia only take 20 minutes longer, I think that's the route I'll take, and that's the route you see in the map above.  We'll get lots of pictures and videos along the way, and I'll be posting those as time permits. 

    We wanted to get past Washington DC to find a place to stay for the night, because early the next morning (Friday) we are going to Philadelphia to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. I didn't want to have to battle early morning DC traffic and we need to be at Independence Visitor Center when it opens (you need tickets), so Baltimore was a good stopping point.   From our place in Baltimore, it's about 100 miles and a little less than a 2 hour drive to the Independence Hall parking. We need to be there at 8 am as they start selling tickets at 8:30 even though it doesn't open until 9. 

    I don't mind the long haul driving, we drive 8 hours one way to see my parents in Sarasota, and when I go to the SCCA National Championships in Lincoln Nebraska we drive for 14-15 hours. My longest drive was 22 straight hours from Atlanta to Boston once, so 11 is very pretty doable. And since I don't normally like to ride with other people driving, so unless I can't keep my eyes  open, I'm it.  :-) With lots of different things to look at, the side roads won't be as boring as the interstates, so staying awake in broad daylight shouldn't be a problem.

    Update Friday AM: Well, we made it to Baltimore. No, not in 10-11 hours as planned, but instead it took us 15 HOURS to get here. If you think Atlanta traffic is bad, try DC traffic.  Let me say this... if you ever thought you might like to live in northern Virginia/Maryland... you'd better drive those roads before you decide. 

    One 14 miles stretch took 1:10 and after that the next 39 miles took 53 minutes. So 2 hours to go 53 miles. For those in Gwinnett that know the road, we took Lawrenceville Hwy all the way through Virginia. 🙂 Yes, highway 29 goes all the way through Virginia (NC too). For the most part, Hwy 29 was an awesome drive. The speed limit is lower, but it's a 4 lane divided highway, and you can sit back, stick it on cruise and relax. It's nothing like taking I-95. 

    We're off to our next overnight stop in Connecticut, this drive will be a lot shorter and we're going around NYC instead of through it.  
    View the full article
     
  14. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Home to Baltimore Here we go! Up early this morning for one of our two longest continuous stretches of driving. Our destination today is the Hyatt Regency at the inner harbor area of Baltimore Maryland. Thanks to @mudrun for all of the great information about the Baltimore area!

    This leg of the trip is about 650 miles and Google is estimating about 11 hours on the road, so it's going to be a long day. The plan is to leave at 4 am in order to miss rush hour traffic in Charlotte and DC.  The original plan was to travel I-85 to I-95, but after noticing that the back roads through Virginia only take 20 minutes longer, I think that's the route I'll take, and that's the route you see in the map above.  We'll get lots of pictures and videos along the way, and I'll be posting those as time permits. 

    We wanted to get past Washington DC to find a place to stay for the night, because early the next morning (Friday) we are going to Philadelphia to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. I didn't want to have to battle early morning DC traffic and we need to be at Independence Visitor Center when it opens (you need tickets), so Baltimore was a good stopping point.   From our place in Baltimore, it's about 100 miles and a little less than a 2 hour drive to the Independence Hall parking. We need to be there at 8 am as they start selling tickets at 8:30 even though it doesn't open until 9. 

    I don't mind the long haul driving, we drive 8 hours one way to see my parents in Sarasota, and when I go to the SCCA National Championships in Lincoln Nebraska we drive for 14-15 hours. My longest drive was 22 straight hours from Atlanta to Boston once, so 11 is very pretty doable. And since I don't normally like to ride with other people driving, so unless I can't keep my eyes  open, I'm it.  :-) With lots of different things to look at, the side roads won't be as boring as the interstates, so staying awake in broad daylight shouldn't be a problem.

    Update Friday AM: Well, we made it to Baltimore. No, not in 10-11 hours as planned, but instead it took us 15 HOURS to get here. If you think Atlanta traffic is bad, try DC traffic.  Let me say this... if you ever thought you might like to live in northern Virginia/Maryland... you'd better drive those roads before you decide. 

    One 14 miles stretch took 1:10 and after that the next 39 miles took 53 minutes. So 2 hours to go 53 miles. For those in Gwinnett that know the road, we took Lawrenceville Hwy all the way through Virginia. 🙂 Yes, highway 29 goes all the way through Virginia (NC too). For the most part, Hwy 29 was an awesome drive. The speed limit is lower, but it's a 4 lane divided highway, and you can sit back, stick it on cruise and relax. It's nothing like taking I-95. 

    We're off to our next overnight stop in Connecticut, this drive will be a lot shorter and we're going around NYC instead of through it. View the full article
  15. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Today in Weather History
    for May 29 

    May 29, 1951 
    A massive hailstorm, from Wallace to Kearney County in Kansas, caused six million dollars damage to crops. (David Ludlum) 

    May 29, 1953 
    A tornado, 600 yards wide at times, killed two persons on its 20 mile path from southwest of Fort Rice ND into Emmons County. Nearly every building in Fort Rice was damaged. The Catholic church was leveled, with some pews jammed four feet into the ground. (The Weather Channel) 

    May 29, 1987 
    Thunderstorms in West Texas produced softball size hail at Lamesa, and hail up to twelve inches deep east of Dimmitt. Thunderstorms also spawned seven tornadoes in West Texas, including one which injured three persons at Wolfforth. Thunderstorms deluged the Texas Hill Country with up to eleven inches of rain. Severe flooding along the Medino, Hondo, Seco, Sabinal and Frio rivers caused more than fifty million dollars damage. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) 

    May 29, 1988 
    A powerful cold front brought snow and high winds to parts of the western U.S. Austin, NV, was blanketed with ten inches of snow, and winds gusted to 75 mph at the Mojave Airport in California. Strong southerly winds and unseasonably warm weather prevailed in the north central U.S. Glasgow, MT, equaled their record for the month of May with a high of 102 degrees. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) 

    May 29, 1989 
    Wintry weather gripped parts of the northwestern U.S. for the second day in a row. Great Falls, MT, was blanketed with 12 inches of snow, which pushed their total for the winter season to a record 117.4 inches. Six inches of snow whitened the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    May 29, 1990 
    Afternoon and evening thunderstorms produced severe weather from north central Colorado to the northern half of Texas. Severe thunderstorms spawned four tornadoes, and there were seventy reports of large hail or damaging winds. Midday thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 90 mph at Hobart, OK, and produced up to three and a half inches of rain in eastern Colorado in four hours. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)


    May 29, 2009
    Strong thunderstorm produced a 52 mph wind gust at the Vidalia airport (Toombs County). This was enough to knock down a couple trees and power lines. In addition, pea sized hail was observed in the northern part of Toombs County near the town of Normantown. (NWS Atlanta)
     

    Data courtesy of WeatherForYou              
    View the full article
     
  16. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Today in Weather History
    for May 28 

    May 28, 1877 
    A "terrific" two day long sandstorm (sand) blasted Yuma, AZ. (28th-29th) (The Weather Channel) 

    May 28, 1942 
    The latest snowstorm of record for the state of Iowa left ten inches at LeMars, eight inches at Cherokee, and 7.5 inches at Waukon. Afternoon highs were in the lower 30's in parts of northwestern Iowa. (The Weather Channel) 

    May 28, 1947 
    A storm produced heavy snow across Wisconsin, with ten inches reported at Gay Mills. The snow damaged fruit and other trees, and downed power lines. The storm was followed by the coldest weather of the month for much of the High Plains Region and Missouri Valley. Williston ND reported a low of 21 degrees the morning of the 28th, and the next morning Cheyenne WY reported a morning low of 16 above zero. (David Ludlum) 

    May 28, 1987 
    Thunderstorms produced torrential rains in Oklahoma and northern Texas. Lake Altus, OK, was deluged with nine inches of rain. Up to eight inches drenched northern Texas, and baseball size hail was reported north of Seminole and at Knickerbocker. Ten to 13 inch rains soaked central Oklahoma the last five days of May resulting in an estimated 65 million dollars damage, and forcing several thousand persons to evacuate their homes, many by boat or helicopter. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    May 28, 1988 
    A sharp cold front began to usher cold, wet and windy weather into the western U.S. Thunderstorms in the Great Plains Region produced wind gusts to 80 mph near Brookings, SD. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) 

    May 28, 1989 
    Unseasonably hot weather continued in Florida. Five cities reported record high temperatures for the date. The record high of 98 degrees at Lakeland, FL, was their fifth in a row. Thunderstorms produced severe weather in Florida late in the day, with golf ball size hail reported at Kissimmee. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    May 28, 1990 
    Two to five inches of rain over southeastern Ohio on the 28th and 29th capped an exceptionally wet month of May, and triggered widespread flooding. Flooding which resulted claimed three lives, and caused millions of dollars damage. Numerous roads in southeast Ohio were flooded and impassable, and many other roads were blocked by landslides. (Storm Data) 

    Data courtesy of WeatherForYou              
    View the full article
     
  17. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park
    This is going to be the story of our two week vacation through the New England states, complete with all of the places we will see, things we will learn, and memories that we will make.  Amy and I will include as many pictures,  videos, links to the places and things we do, as well as any other information we can find to help document the  entire trip. (You know, just in case you'd like to go sometime 🙂

    When I was 16 years old my parents took us on a trip to the New England states and I still remember parts of that trip to this day. Since my wife Amy has never been to that part of the country (except for a trip to NYC), it will be a new experience for her and a great refresher for me, and there are a lot of places that we'll be going that I've never seen as well, so this ought to be fun!

    This is going to be a driving trip.  We thought about flying up and getting a rental car up there, but there are so many great places to see along the way, it would be a shame to not take the scenic route by driving versus flying. The total round trip length is about 3000 miles, so it's going to be a long haul with many days in the car. And since I didn't want to put that kind of mileage on my own vehicles,  we are renting a SUV (Ford Explorer supposedly) for the trip. We have most of the itinerary planned now, so I'll be posting maps and more details as we get closer in time. 

    Basically, we pick up the rental vehicle at on Wednesday the 29th, start the trip on the morning of the 30th,  and we return home on Wednesday, June the 12th.  During the time we are gone, we will pass through a total of 15 states, 11 of which Amy has never seen. On the way up we will travel through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and into Massachusetts.  We will set up home in West Yarmouth (next to Hyannis, see map below) in Massachusetts for a stay at the Holly-Tree Inn condo. From there we'll spend almost an entire week exploring Cape Cod and the surrounding area before we embark on a two day drive up the coast to Bar Harbor Maine where we'll stay another two nights at the Coach Stop Inn Bed and Breakfast. We plan on getting off the beaten path and hug the coast as much as possible in order to see all the sights along the way. Our route will pass through a very small section of New Hampshire (Portsmouth) on our way into Maine, and we will be stopping at numerous places all along the coastline before staying at Kennebunk Friday night. The next morning (Saturday) we take the back roads that will lead use to Bar Harbor. Sunday morning after arriving in Bar Harbor, we have to get up REAL early so we can go capture the sunrise (the sunrise is 4:50 am!!!)  from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. From there we will drive up to the US-Canadian border at Eastport Maine, maybe see the "Old Sow",  the largest tidal whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere, and eat a lobster roll at Quoddy Bay Lobster before heading back to Bar Harbor. 

    The return trip begins after breakfast on Monday the 10th, and the first day on the road will lead us across the beautiful forest and mountains of northern New Hampshire. We stop for a three hour round trip ride on the Cog Railway to the top of Mount Washington before continuing the trip south along the Vermont/New Hampshire border where we'll stop to sleep in Woodstock, Vermont.  After an overnight rest, we get up early the next morning to begin a long day of driving  toward the Cave Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast in Virginia. Rising with the sun on Wednesday the 12th, we'll drive on a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway through Virginia and North Carolina before hopping back on the interstate to finish the trip home. 

    We have a lot of things planned while we're gone, like stopping at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia, taking the ferries to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard islands for day trips, a  4 hour whale watching tour, a guided walking tour in Boston, a trip to the top of Mount Washington, and stops for what is supposed to be some of the best seafood (IE... lobster) and lighthouses anywhere.  In between, there will be a thousand other things to see and do, and I hope we can capture it all so you can follow our fun.  

    I'll break all of this out by making a new post for each day of the trip, so we should end up with a minimum of 14 different post. I'm sure I will also create a special post or three for those special side trips, highlights, and activities that we do.  I'm also sure the post will be delayed since I can't spend all my time writing blog post 🙂 Who knows... I've never documented  a two week trip before.  I'm just winging it right now 😉     The Hardware
    In order to capture all of the sights and sounds of the trip, I just "had" to buy more electronic gadgets and equipment.  Of course 🙂 The camera I really wanted to buy I just couldn't get right now, a Sony A6400 camera with a couple of nice lenses. Of course I couldn't just stop with the camera, I would also need a good gimbal to go along with it. By the time you add all of that up, I'm in the $2500 range (IF I'm lucky), so all of this will have to wait until sometime after the trip. That won't leave me with  a shortage of cameras though 🙂  
    Samsung S7 Edge 
    Even though this is my phone, this is one awesome camera. The picture quality is superb and it handles low light conditions with ease. While the camera can record 4K videos, I will have it set for 1080p resolution to help save space and make them easier to share. I plan of  doing a few time lapse videos using the camera and hopefully one of those will be the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.

    To make sure I get the best pictures and video possible from this camera, I purchased an EVO Pro Gimbal to help me keep things steady and a Sandmarc polarizing filter to help with the image quality/reflections in bright light conditions. The gimbal is the EVO version of the Zhiyun Smooth 4, and I have it paired with the FiLMiC PRO app (paid app) on my phone. I can control almost all of the cameras features from the handle on the gimbal, even things like exposure and focus, as well as start and stop videos and take pictures. The FiLMiC PRO app is a must have if you use your the camera in your phone for lots of photography and/or videos.  I'm also using another paid app called Lapse It Pro. Lapse It Pro is a full featured time lapse application for your phone.   EVO Pro Gimbal Sandmarc Polarizing Filter  
    GoPro Hero4
    I've had this camera for a while, and it's still a great little camera. This has been my autocross camera for 3-4 years now. It too will take 4K videos but I will be using this in 1080p resolution. I really love the quality of this camera. I also like the fact that I can set it up to do time lapse videos, so it will be used for those as well. And like my S7, I also purchased an EVO SS 3 axis wearable gimbal that I can use with this camera as well as the new Akaso 4K camera that I purchased (see below).  I might look stupid with it on, but I also have a Stuntman Chest mount that I can attach the gimbal to for hands free recording. If you'd like to see how smooth the gimbal is on a chest mount... take a look at the video below.      
    Akaso V50 Elite 4K Action Camera 
    I just got this camera for the trip. It was pretty inexpensive (cheaper than the GoPro) and packed with a lot of features, so I thought I'd see how it works compared to my GoPro. Preliminary thoughts are that the picture quality is not quite as good as the GoPro, which is a little disappointing. But I'll give it a chance and put it through its paces. Again, I will "probably" not be shooting 4K videos, but I might try to do one or two just to see how they turn out. 1080p is all that most people can stream, so I'm going to stick to that resolution for the most part.  

    This camera and the GoPro can be mounted on the EVO gimbal, a head strap, chest strap, pole, suction mount, roll bar mount, or any mount that a GoPro can mount on. I will have a lot of flexibility in how I mount and use these, so I'm going to try to be creative.  I'm really going to have to learn more about Adobe Premiere Pro to manipulate all my videos.     
    Rove R2-4K Dash Cam 
    One more. 🙂 This will be my dash cam for the trip.  I haven't had it in the car yet, but played with it in the house and really like this. This tiny camera has a ton of features: Built in WiFi and GPS Car Dashboard Camera Recorder with UHD 2160P, 2.4" LCD, 150° Wide Angle, WDR, Night Vision 4K ULTRA HD RECORDING – The Rove R2-4k dash camera can record videos up to a resolution of 2160p. The Ultra HD video recording quality is so good that you will notice much more clarity and quality difference than all other car dash cams. Revolutionary Super Night Vision Technology (Ultra-low light Sensor NT96660 + OV4689) helps to get comparatively clearer footage and images from the recording in low light condition BUILT-IN WiFi – Use the ROVE App to view and manage dash cam recordings instantly on your iOS and android devices. By using the app you can download your recorded 4K videos directly to your smart phone and then easily share these on social media with friends and family BUILT-IN GPS – Built-in GPS accurately records your driving location and speed. View your driving route and tracker on google maps via Wi-Fi using the App or with our Car DV Player. We provide FREE Firmware Upgrade for this car camera FEATURES WITH STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY INCLUDED – The car dashboard camera has f1.8 aperture (the largest in the industry), parking mode, motion detection, 150° A+ wide angle lens, G-sensor, loop cycle recording, emergency video lock, time-lapse video, slow-mo video, supports up to 128GB class 10 - U3 speed micro SD card   
    Samsung S4 (x2) 
    When you need a backup. We have two working S4 Galaxy phones that also shoot 1080p videos. We will use these as supplemental devices just in case.  I also have a Samsung tablet that is used for various miscellaneous uses that will go with us. 

    That's all I've got 🙂 I really hope we can get some great shots of the trip... if not it will entirely be my fault 🙂  
    I almost forgot a couple of items that I can't do without. I know I'm leaving out things like my tripod, power strips,  various mounts, all kinds of cables, flashlights, kitchen sink, and all types of other assorted pieces that you would possibly ever need. Or not.  Be prepared I say! 🙂

    Key Power Quick Charge 3.0  6-Port USB Wall Charger (x2)
    Because I have SO many devices that charge using an USB charger, I needed lots of charging ports. This is the latest charger that I've bought, and I bought two of them. Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Dual-Ports (5V/3A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A) for Galaxy S10 / S9 / S8 / S7, Note 5 / 4, Nexus 6 and HTC combines with additional four USB ports (5V/2.4A) for iPhone, iPad and more. Ergonomic, compact and portable design, much more space-saving and well-organized while charging your devices. Wide input voltage range of AC 100V-240V, compatible with all 5V USB-charged devices. With the built-in multi-protection system and premium microchips, no worry to the event of over-voltage, over-current, overheating or short circuits, perfectly protect your device. Package includes 6-port USB charging station, 4.7 ft power cord, Velcro straps and USB charger stand.  
    Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 5-Port USB Wall Charger
    This is the first charger that I purchased a year or so ago. These are the only way to  charge when traveling, especially if you have a lot of devices to charge, and I could really use one more like the one above. I believe I counted about 14 things that I own that need a USB charger. This one is a 60 watt/6.4 amp charger. 

    With all three chargers, I have a total of 17 charging ports. I have a separate 2 port charger for our Fitbit's, and a separate charger for the storage battery (see below).  
    Ultra High Capacity ZeroLemon ToughJuice 30000mAh 7A Output Portable Charger 
    While it says charger, it is a giant battery that you can use to charge your devices. This is a "MUST have" if you do any extended picture taking or recording and you aren't going to be near a power source. If you found yourself in that situation, this would be one of those items you wouldn't want to be without. High Capacity: World's Toughest USB-C/Type-C External Battery Pack @ 30,000mAh capacity.
    Charge iPhone X up to 11 times, iPhone 7 Plus/Galaxy S10/S10 Plus/S9 Plus/S9/S8 Plus/Google Pixel 2 XL/LG V30 7 times, and MacBook once. 7 amp outputs - 5 USB Ports: 1 Quick Charge 2.0 port (12V/9V) with legacy 5V/2A support, and 3 Ports for 1A charging. Convenient to charge multiple devices with only one ZeroLemon external battery pack. USB-C/Type-C Compatibility Anti-Shock Rugged Battery: Toughest Exterior with Largest Capacity USB-C/Type-C Battery  Another nice thing about the battery is that my laptop bag has an internal pouch for a storage battery and a pass-through to the outside USB port. The battery stays hidden and safe in the bag while I charge my devices outside the bag.   
    View the full article
     
  18. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Jordan Pond, Acadia National ParkThis is going to be the story of our two week vacation through the New England states, complete with all of the places we will see, things we will learn, and memories that we will make.  Amy and I will include as many pictures,  videos, links to the places and things we do, as well as any other information we can find to help document the  entire trip. (You know, just in case you'd like to go sometime :-) 

    When I was 16 years old my parents took us on a trip to the New England states and I still remember parts of that trip to this day. Since my wife Amy has never been to that part of the country (except for a trip to NYC), it will be a new experience for her and a great refresher for me, and there are a lot of places that we'll be going that I've never seen as well, so this ought to be fun!

    This is going to be a driving trip.  We thought about flying up and getting a rental car up there, but there are so many great places to see along the way, it would be a shame to not take the scenic route by driving versus flying. The total round trip length is about 3000 miles, so it's going to be a long haul with many days in the car. And since I didn't want to put that kind of mileage on my own vehicles,  we are renting a SUV (Ford Explorer supposedly) for the trip. We have most of the itinerary planned now, so I'll be posting maps and more details as we get closer in time. 

    Basically, we pick up the rental vehicle at on Wednesday the 29th, start the trip on the morning of the 30th,  and we return home on Wednesday, June the 12th.  During the time we are gone, we will pass through a total of 15 states, 11 of which Amy has never seen. On the way up we will travel through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and into Massachusetts.  We will set up home in West Yarmouth (next to Hyannis, see map below) in Massachusetts for a stay at the Holly-Tree Inn condo. From there we'll spend almost an entire week exploring Cape Cod and the surrounding area before we embark on a two day drive up the coast to Bar Harbor Maine where we'll stay another two nights at the Coach Stop Inn Bed and Breakfast. We plan on getting off the beaten path and hug the coast as much as possible in order to see all the sights along the way. Our route will pass through a very small section of New Hampshire (Portsmouth) on our way into Maine, and we will be stopping at numerous places all along the coastline before staying at Kennebunk Friday night. The next morning (Saturday) we take the back roads that will lead use to Bar Harbor. Sunday morning after arriving in Bar Harbor, we have to get up REAL early so we can go capture the sunrise (the sunrise is 4:50 am!!!)  from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. From there we will drive up to the US-Canadian border at Eastport Maine, maybe see the "Old Sow",  the largest tidal whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere, and eat a lobster roll at Quoddy Bay Lobster before heading back to Bar Harbor. 

    The return trip begins after breakfast on Monday the 10th, and the first day on the road will lead us across the beautiful forest and mountains of northern New Hampshire. We stop for a three hour round trip ride on the Cog Railway to the top of Mount Washington before continuing the trip south along the Vermont/New Hampshire border where we'll stop to sleep in Woodstock, Vermont.  After an overnight rest, we get up early the next morning to begin a long day of driving  toward the Cave Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast in Virginia. Rising with the sun on Wednesday the 12th, we'll drive on a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway through Virginia and North Carolina before hopping back on the interstate to finish the trip home. 

    We have a lot of things planned while we're gone, like stopping at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia, taking the ferries to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard islands for day trips, a  4 hour whale watching tour, a guided walking tour in Boston, a trip to the top of Mount Washington, and stops for what is supposed to be some of the best seafood (IE... lobster) and lighthouses anywhere.  In between, there will be a thousand other things to see and do, and I hope we can capture it all so you can follow our fun.  

    I'll break all of this out by making a new post for each day of the trip, so we should end up with a minimum of 14 different post. I'm sure I will also create a special post or three for those special side trips, highlights, and activities that we do.  I'm also sure the post will be delayed since I can't spend all my time writing blog post :-) Who knows... I've never documented  a two week trip before.  I'm just winging it right now ;-)The Hardware
    In order to capture all of the sights and sounds of the trip, I just "had" to buy more electronic gadgets and equipment.  Of course :-) The camera I really wanted to buy I just couldn't get right now, a Sony A6400 camera with a couple of nice lenses. Of course I couldn't just stop with the camera, I would also need a good gimbal to go along with it. By the time you add all of that up, I'm in the $2500 range (IF I'm lucky), so all of this will have to wait until sometime after the trip. That won't leave me with  a shortage of cameras though :-)Samsung S7 Edge 
    ​Even though this is my phone, this is one awesome camera. The picture quality is superb and it handles low light conditions with ease. While the camera can record 4K videos, I will have it set for 1080p resolution to help save space and make them easier to share. I plan of  doing a few time lapse videos using the camera and hopefully one of those will be the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.

    ​To make sure I get the best pictures and video possible from this camera, I purchased an EVO Pro Gimbal to help me keep things steady and a Sandmarc polarizing filter to help with the image quality/reflections in bright light conditions. The gimbal is the EVO version of the Zhiyun Smooth 4, and I have it paired with the FiLMiC PRO app (paid app) on my phone. I can control almost all of the cameras features from the handle on the gimbal, even things like exposure and focus, as well as start and stop videos and take pictures. The FiLMiC PRO app is a must have if you use your the camera in your phone for lots of photography and/or videos.  I'm also using another paid app called Lapse It Pro. Lapse It Pro is a full featured time lapse application for your phone.  ​EVO Pro GimbalSandmarc Polarizing FilterGoPro Hero4
    ​I've had this camera for a while, and it's still a great little camera. This has been my autocross camera for 3-4 years now. It too will take 4K videos but I will be using this in 1080p resolution. I really love the quality of this camera. I also like the fact that I can set it up to do time lapse videos, so it will be used for those as well. And like my S7, I also purchased an EVO SS 3 axis wearable gimbal that I can use with this camera as well as the new Akaso 4K camera that I purchased (see below).  I might look stupid with it on, but I also have a Stuntman Chest mount that I can attach the gimbal to for hands free recording. If you'd like to see how smooth the gimbal is on a chest mount... take a look at the video below.Akaso V50 Elite 4K Action Camera 
    ​I just got this camera for the trip. It was pretty inexpensive (cheaper than the GoPro) and packed with a lot of features, so I thought I'd see how it works compared to my GoPro. Preliminary thoughts are that the picture quality is not quite as good as the GoPro, which is a little disappointing. But I'll give it a chance and put it through its paces. Again, I will "probably" not be shooting 4K videos, but I might try to do one or two just to see how they turn out. 1080p is all that most people can stream, so I'm going to stick to that resolution for the most part.  

    This camera and the GoPro can be mounted on the EVO gimbal, a head strap, chest strap, pole, suction mount, roll bar mount, or any mount that a GoPro can mount on. I will have a lot of flexibility in how I mount and use these, so I'm going to try to be creative.  I'm really going to have to learn more about Adobe Premiere Pro to manipulate all my videos. Rove R2-4K Dash Cam 
    ​One more. :-) This will be my dash cam for the trip.  I haven't had it in the car yet, but played with it in the house and really like this. This tiny camera has a ton of features:Built in WiFi and GPS Car Dashboard Camera Recorder with UHD 2160P, 2.4" LCD, 150° Wide Angle, WDR, Night Vision 4K ULTRA HD RECORDING – The Rove R2-4k dash camera can record videos up to a resolution of 2160p. The Ultra HD video recording quality is so good that you will notice much more clarity and quality difference than all other car dash cams. Revolutionary Super Night Vision Technology (Ultra-low light Sensor NT96660 + OV4689) helps to get comparatively clearer footage and images from the recording in low light condition BUILT-IN WiFi – Use the ROVE App to view and manage dash cam recordings instantly on your iOS and android devices. By using the app you can download your recorded 4K videos directly to your smart phone and then easily share these on social media with friends and family BUILT-IN GPS – Built-in GPS accurately records your driving location and speed. View your driving route and tracker on google maps via Wi-Fi using the App or with our Car DV Player. We provide FREE Firmware Upgrade for this car camera FEATURES WITH STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY INCLUDED – The car dashboard camera has f1.8 aperture (the largest in the industry), parking mode, motion detection, 150° A+ wide angle lens, G-sensor, loop cycle recording, emergency video lock, time-lapse video, slow-mo video, supports up to 128GB class 10 - U3 speed micro SD card  Samsung S4 (x2) 
    ​When you need a backup. We have two working S4 Galaxy phones that also shoot 1080p videos. We will use these as supplemental devices just in case.  I also have a Samsung tablet that is used for various miscellaneous uses that will go with us. 

    ​That's all I've got :-) I really hope we can get some great shots of the trip... if not it will entirely be my fault :-) ​I almost forgot a couple of items that I can't do without. I know I'm leaving out things like my tripod, power strips,  various mounts, all kinds of cables, flashlights, kitchen sink, and all types of other assorted pieces that you would possibly ever need. Or not.  Be prepared I say! :-)

    Key Power Quick Charge 3.0  6-Port USB Wall Charger (x2)
    Because I have SO many devices that charge using an USB charger, I needed lots of charging ports. This is the latest charger that I've bought, and I bought two of them.Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Dual-Ports (5V/3A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A) for Galaxy S10 / S9 / S8 / S7, Note 5 / 4, Nexus 6 and HTC combines with additional four USB ports (5V/2.4A) for iPhone, iPad and more. Ergonomic, compact and portable design, much more space-saving and well-organized while charging your devices. Wide input voltage range of AC 100V-240V, compatible with all 5V USB-charged devices. With the built-in multi-protection system and premium microchips, no worry to the event of over-voltage, over-current, overheating or short circuits, perfectly protect your device. Package includes 6-port USB charging station, 4.7 ft power cord, Velcro straps and USB charger stand. Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 5-Port USB Wall Charger
    ​This is the first charger that I purchased a year or so ago. These are the only way to  charge when traveling, especially if you have a lot of devices to charge, and I could really use one more like the one above. I believe I counted about 14 things that I own that need a USB charger. This one is a ​60 watt/6.4 amp charger. 

    With all three chargers, I have a total of 17 charging ports. I have a separate 2 port charger for our Fitbit's, and a separate charger for the storage battery (see below).Ultra High Capacity ZeroLemon ToughJuice 30000mAh 7A Output Portable Charger 
    ​While it says charger, it is a giant battery that you can use to charge your devices. This is a "MUST have" if you do any extended picture taking or recording and you aren't going to be near a power source. If you found yourself in that situation, this would be one of those items you wouldn't want to be without.High Capacity: World's Toughest USB-C/Type-C External Battery Pack @ 30,000mAh capacity.
    Charge iPhone X up to 11 times, iPhone 7 Plus/Galaxy S10/S10 Plus/S9 Plus/S9/S8 Plus/Google Pixel 2 XL/LG V30 7 times, and MacBook once. 7 amp outputs - 5 USB Ports: 1 Quick Charge 2.0 port (12V/9V) with legacy 5V/2A support, and 3 Ports for 1A charging. Convenient to charge multiple devices with only one ZeroLemon external battery pack. USB-C/Type-C Compatibility Anti-Shock Rugged Battery: Toughest Exterior with Largest Capacity USB-C/Type-C Battery  Another nice thing about the battery is that my laptop bag has an internal pouch for a storage battery and a pass-through to the outside USB port. The battery stays hidden and safe in the bag while I charge my devices outside the bag. ​View the full article
  19. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Today in Weather History
    for May 27 

    May 27, 1896 
    A massive tornado struck Saint Louis, MO, killing 306 persons and causing thirteen million dollars damage. The tornado path was short, but cut across a densely populated area. It touched down six miles west of Eads Bridge in Saint Louis and widened to a mile as it crossed into East Saint Louis. The tornado was the most destructive of record in the U.S. up until that time. It pierced a five-eighths inch thick iron sheet with a two by four inch pine plank. A brilliant display of lightning accompanied the storm. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) 

    May 27, 1987 
    Severe thunderstorms in West Texas produced baseball size hail at Crane, hail up to three and a half inches in diameter at Post, and grapefruit size hail south of Midland. Five days of flooding commenced in Oklahoma. Thunderstorms produced 7 to 9 inches of rain in central Oklahoma. Oklahoma City reported 4.33 inches of rain in six hours. Up to six inches of rain caused flooding in north central Texas. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    May 27, 1988 
    Sunny and warm weather prevailed across much of the nation to kick off the Memorial Day weekend. Afternoon thunderstorms in southern Florida caused the mercury at Miami to dip to a record low reading of 69 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    May 27, 1989 
    Unseasonably hot weather prevailed in the southeastern U.S. Ten cities reported record high temperatures for the date as readings soared into the 90's. Lakeland, FL, reported a record high of 99 degrees, and Biloxi, MS, reported a temperature of 90 degrees along with a relative humidity of 75 percent. (The National Weather Summary) 

    May 27, 1990 
    Thunderstorms produced severe weather from north central Texas to the Central Gulf Coast Region. Severe thunderstorms spawned four tornadoes, and there were eighty-one reports of large hail or damaging winds. Late afternoon thunderstorms over southeast Louisiana produced high winds which injured twenty-seven persons at an outdoor music concert in Baton Rouge, and high winds which gusted to 78 mph at the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) 

    Data courtesy of WeatherForYou              
    View the full article
     
  20. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Today in Weather History
    for May 26 

    May 26, 1771 
    A famous Virginia flood occurred as heavy rains in the mountains brought all rivers in the state to record high levels. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987) 

    May 26, 1917 
    A tornado touched down near Louisiana MO about noon and remained on the ground for a distance of 293 miles, finally lifting seven hours and twenty minutes later in eastern Jennings County, IN. The twister cut a swath of destruction two and a half miles wide through Mattoon, IL. There were 101 persons killed in the tornado, including 53 at Mattoon, and 38 at Charleston IL. Damage from the storm totaled 2.5 million dollars. (David Ludlum) 

    May 26, 1984 
    Thunderstorms during the late evening and early morning hours produced 6 to 13 inches of rain at Tulsa OK in six hours (8.63 inches at the airport). Flooding claimed fourteen lives and caused 90 million dollars property damage. 4600 cars, 743 houses, and 387 apartments were destroyed or severely damage in the flood. (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel) 

    May 26, 1987 
    Thunderstorms in southwest Iowa spawned five tornadoes and produced up to ten inches of rain. Seven inches of rain at Red Oak forced evacuation of nearly 100 persons from the town. Record flooding took place in southwest Iowa the last twelve days of May as up to 17 inches of rain drenched the area. Total damage to crops and property was estimated at 16 million dollars. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    May 26, 1988 
    There was "frost on the roses" in the Upper Ohio Valley and the Central Appalachian Mountain Region. Thirteen cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Youngstown OH with a reading of 30 degrees. Evening thunderstorms in North Dakota produced wind gusts to 75 mph at Jamestown. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) 

    May 26, 1989 
    Thunderstorms in produced large hail in eastern Oklahoma during the pre-dawn hours, and again during the evening and night. Hail two inches in diameter was reported near Prague, and thunderstorm winds gusted to 70 mph near Kenefic. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) 

    May 26, 1990 
    Thunderstorms produced severe weather from eastern Colorado to western Arkansas and northeastern Texas. Severe thunderstorms spawned three tornadoes, and there were eighty-eight reports of large hail or damaging winds. Evening thunderstorms over central Oklahoma spawned strong tornadoes east of Hinton and east of Binger, produced hail three inches in diameter at Minco, and produced wind gusts to 85 mph at Blanchard. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary) 

    May 26, 2010
    Scattered afternoon thunderstorms developed across north Georgia and propagated along southwestward moving outflow boundaries. A few of these storms became strong to severe on the northwest side of Atlanta. In the far northwestern part of Cobb County, quarter sized hail was reported and more than half a dozen trees were down. (NWS Atlanta)

    Data courtesy of WeatherForYou              
    View the full article
     
  21. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Good Monday morning!
    Got rain? Let me answer that from here... yes you do. 🙂 
    Here's a look at the morning radar look at 4:30 am Lincoln time

    Lincoln-27.mp4  
    Radar estimated rainfall amounts

     
    Here's the word about today from the Omaha NWS office:
     
    So after the rain is over later this morning, it should be a fairly nice day at the airport. 
    Have a great day and a safe ride home!!! 🙂 
  22. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Good Sunday morning to everyone!
    Looks like Lincoln was brushed with some showers last night, but luckily the heavier stuff stayed to the south.

     
    From the SPC Severe Weather Outlook maps, it appears the severe weather is dancing all around Lincoln, but it's afraid to get any closer, so it waits until Tuesday before making an appearance. 

     
     
    All in all... not a bad day forecast. Most of the rain, if it rains, will fall in the evenings, leaving some nice dry concrete to go fast on! 
    Have fun for me! 🙂
  23. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Good Saturday morning to everyone! Decided to use the new blog site instead of the old one, so it may look a little different here today!
    But first, a reminder that I have a page that is devoted to the weather at Lincoln, so anytime you like to see what's going on there, use this link to check it out. 
    http://www.daculaweather.com/4_track_lincoln.php
    The bullseye for the severe weather keeps shifting around and luckily, Lincoln isn't in the worst of it. But even if it's not the worst, it's still the plains, and any big storm there can create significant issues. For the latest thoughts from the Omaha NWS office, here's a portion of their AFD, the highlights are mine.
    http://www.daculaweather.com/4_afd_all.php
     
    Here's the latest Severe Weather Outlook from the Storm Prediction Center for today
    SPC Day 1 Outlook - http://www.daculaweather.com/4_spc_day1_outlook.php | http://www.daculaweather.com/4_spc_graphical.php

     
    There is a frontal boundary running across Lincoln right now, separating the cooler, drier air to the north (upper 40's to mid 50's) from the warm moist air to the south (mid 60's right now), but there could be some light showers moving through the flow. So of course, being Lincoln... you get a little of both. 🙂 
     
    Temps and Dew Points - You can see that Lincoln is pretty much on the line, maybe a little on the warmer side right now.
    http://www.daculaweather.com/4_spc_meso_analysis_14.php

     
    Radar view from the Omaha NWS office - The dark line that you see passing through Lincoln represents the pressure, and the line just south of Lincoln represents 0.8" precipitable water values. The NWS is expecting those to rise to 1.5"-1.7" later today, indicating that the stationary boundary will shift northward.

     
    Again, it will probably be a good idea to try to keep everything secure up front, so in case bad weather rolls in you don't have to scramble to gather everything up. It will all depend on where that boundary shifts, further north the greater chance for rain, further south will mean cooler and drier. 
    Lincoln Forecast - http://www.daculaweather.com/4_track_lincoln.php

     
    I'll be watching it for you today, hope everyone goes fast with no cones! 🙂 And hey... at least it isn't 100 degrees! 
  24. NorthGeorgiaWX
    Today in Weather History
    for May 25 

    May 25, 1917 
    A tornado ripped through southeast Kansas, traveling 65 mph. The average speed was a record for any tornado. (The Weather Channel) 

    May 25, 1955 
    Two tornadoes struck the town of Blackwell, OK, within a few minutes time during the late evening. The tornadoes killed 18 persons and injured more than 500 others. Early the next morning a tornado virtually obliterated the small community of Udall KS killing 80 persons and injuring 270 persons. More than half the persons in the community were killed or injured by the tornado. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) 

    May 25, 1987 
    Thunderstorms spawned fifteen tornadoes in West Texas. One thunderstorm spawned a powerful tornado near Gruver, TX, along with golf ball size hail and 75 mph winds. A man on a boat on Lake Bistineau in northwest Louisiana was struck and killed by lightning, while the other three persons in the boat were unharmed. The man reportedly stood up in the boat and asked to be struck by lightning. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    May 25, 1988 
    Unseasonably cool weather prevailed in the Upper Midwest. Marquette, MI, reported a record low of 26 degrees. Thunderstorms in the north central U.S. produced wind gusts to 62 mph at Idaho Falls, ID, and produced 4 inches of rain in less than four hours in northern Buffalo County. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    May 25, 1989 
    Thunderstorms developing ahead of a strong cold front produced severe weather from Oklahoma to Ohio through the day and night. Thunderstorms spawned nine tornadoes, and there were 155 reports of large hail and damaging winds. Hail three and a half inches in diameter was reported at Dittmer, MO, and thunderstorm winds gusting to 90 MPH caused twenty million dollars damage at Rockville IN. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    May 25, 1990 
    Evening thunderstorms spawned four tornadoes in Kansas and Missouri, and there were three dozen reports of large hail or damaging winds. Thunderstorms produced hail two inches in diameter at Cole Camp, and wind gusts to 72 mph at Rosebud. Heavy thunderstorm rains produced flash flooding in central Missouri. Flood waters swept through Washington State Park southwest of Saint Louis, and nearly one hundred persons had to be rescued from water as much as twenty feet deep. The flood waters swept away a number of vehicles, some were carried as much as four miles away. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) 

    May 25, 2000
    Severe thunderstorms moved across parts of north Georgia during the late afternoon hours. Large hail and damaging straight-line winds were reported from Walker and Whitfield Counties southeast to Hall and Greene Counties. The largest hail was reported in Jasper in Pickens County where 1.25 inch hail fell. In addition, multiple reports of downed trees across north Georgia were received. Near Winder, in Barrow County, wind resulted in damage to a chicken house and blew over a food bin. (NWS Atlanta)

    Data courtesy of WeatherForYou              
    View the full article
     
  25. NorthGeorgiaWX
    If you'd like to better understand the sport I participate in, and the sport and competitors I do it for, just follow the videos below. Many of you reading this already know all of this and have also seen it all, so this would many be for those inquisitive readers that want to learn more. 
    BEST video link that explains what we do. The green car at the end is my main competitor. 
     
    2011 - In one of my more embarrassing moments in the car, they had to capture... no, just just capture, they had to highlight my spin. 
     
    2012
     
     
    2013
     
     
    2014 - Not me in this thumbnail picture, that's the guy that owns the car. Me and my son Matthew are in it though.
     
    2015
     
    2016
     
    2017
     
    2018 - The Great Flood. This is crazy
     

Various Links

These are links to various pages on my Daculaweather.com site

NWS Links

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