Wild Weather

[Soldier4Christ]

Cold Temperatures Freeze Gardening Season


MARION – All of this cold weather is freezing the start of the gardening season. Now, outdoor fans are eager for a warm-up.

"I'm 71-years-old and I've never seen spring come this late," Robert Ciesleck said.

Ciesleck and his family look forward to gardening together every spring. This year, they're not sure when they're going to be able to get their hands dirty.

"When it starts getting into mid-March and April, then things should change fast, but not this year," he said.

On a typical Sunday afternoon, the Culver’s greenhouse would be packed with people, but the recent cold temperatures scared away a lot of customers.

"All the plants are right here. All you can do is come and look for now. I'd hate to take any home quite yet, but it's getting really tempting,” customer Rhonda Kaczinski said.

Cold temperatures aren't the only problem. This winter's snow and ice storms drenched the soil and left it soggy.

"If you can pick up a handful of soil and still wring moisture out of it, it's too wet to plant," Culver’s employee Sherri Baldonado said.

Even though it might be too cold for flowers to take root, Culver's employees recommend buying plants now and storing them in a warm place like a garage.

"I have a saying for people -- If you see it and you like it, take it now, because it may be gone the next time you come back," Baldonado said.

Ciesleck and his family eventually found a few plants they like, and they plan to visit the greenhouse again soon.

Even if we do get some warmer weather, a spring frost is still possible all the way until mid-May. Culver's employees try to warn all of their customers about that possibility.

To put in into perspective, Cedar Rapids and the surrounding Midwest has been consistently colder than normal since December. In Cedar Rapids, December averaged 3.0 F below normal, January 1.9 F below normal, February a whopping 8.3 F below normal, March 4.9 F below normal and so far in April 4.4 degrees below normal.

[Shammu]

Sandstorm blankets Iraqi capital, forcing airport closure

By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer Thu Apr 17, 2:28 PM ET

BAGHDAD - A thick layer of yellow dust blanketed houses and cars in the Iraqi capital Thursday as a heavy sandstorm over central Iraq sent dozens of residents to hospitals with breathing difficulties.

The spring storm, one of the worst in years, forced the closure of the Baghdad International Airport. It also appeared to hamper military flights.

None of the helicopter patrols that regularly roar over the city of 6 million people seemed to be airborne. The deadliest helicopter crash in this war occurred during a sandstorm that sharply reduced visibility in 2005, when a CH-53 Sea Stallion went down, killing 31 U.S. troops.

Apparently taking advantage of the reduced aerial activity, militants from eastern Baghdad repeatedly shelled the Green Zone, which houses diplomatic missions and much of the Iraqi government.

Explosions were heard across the city as salvos of rockets or mortar shells were fired into the high-security district. The U.S. Embassy confirmed the attacks but said no casualties were reported.

Many shops in the city were closed, and only a few cars were seen on the deserted streets.

AP Television News footage also showed Iraqi traffic policemen wearing masks over their mouths as protection from the dust whipped up by the hot winds.

Shukri al-Naimi, owner of a shawarma grill in the northern neighborhood of Azamiyah, said he also closed four hours earlier than usual. "I cannot use the outside grill with dust blowing everywhere around it and there are too few customers anyway."

A doctor at the Ibn al-Nafis hospital in eastern Baghdad who identified himself only as Dr. Wissam said the emergency room was crowded with people complaining of breathing problems because of the dust clogging the air. At least two elderly women and one elderly man were in critical condition and he said he expected the numbers to rise if the bad weather continues.

Sandstorms are a regular occurrence in Baghdad, which is shielded from the desert by a thin strip of arable land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Sandstorm blankets Iraqi capital, forcing airport closure

[Soldier4Christ]

Blizzard forces Earth Day event inside
'On a day like today you don't necessarily think of global warming'

 So much for global warming. Earth Day festivities went ahead despite the blast of frigid weather yesterday.

Vendors and presenters from various eco-friendly groups, including Bullfrog Power, CO2 Reduction Edmonton and the local solar energy society, crammed into a lone tent in Hawrelak Park after a blizzard forced them to abandon their original locations.

Organizers crammed over 40 groups in a space that would normally be occupied by half that number. Presenters' booths were initially planned to have been spread out between at least five tents, with far larger displays.

"We're normally here with a lineup of cyclists for our free bike repair service. No bikers came today. Big surprise," said Chris Field of Mountain Equipment Co-Op.

A handful of visitors still took the time to inquire about several solar-powered products on display at the M.E.C. booth and browsed several others before running off toward the lone heater in the tent to warm up.

 A lemonade vendor towards the front might as well not have been there.

"Obviously we'll have fewer people than we would have liked, but to cancel an Earth Day event because of weather would kind of be the antithesis of what this is all about," said organizer Janice Boudreau.

"This isn't about celebrating just the parts of the Earth that we like, it's about celebrating all of it."

Eco-Air representative Eric Gormley couldn't convince local kids lobbying city council for an anti-idling bylaw to brave the cold yesterday, but happily stepped up on their behalf, offering stickers and information about greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

"We're here to raise awareness of the problem, even though on a day like today you don't necessarily think of global warming," he said.

"We especially want to encourage young people in school to join us. It's the youth that have the power to make real change."

[Soldier4Christ]

Vancouver sees latest snowfall ever on record
Dump represents more than any on an April day since 1940

All that April snow this weekend was more than surprising -- it was also record-setting.

The flakes that fell across the Vancouver region Friday night and Saturday represent the latest snowfall ever on record.

At its peak, the storm dumped 2.5 cm of snow at the Vancouver International Airport, with 8 cm at Lynn Valley and 30 cm at Mount Seymour. Vancouver Island recorded 6.4 cm of snow at Victoria International Airport by 11 a.m. Saturday -- more than any on an April day since 1940. But the big record dump came in Nanaimo, where the city hadn't seen measurable snow on April 19 since 1947. As of 11 a.m., 24 cm covered the ground at the airport.

[Soldier4Christ]

Cyclone kills hundreds in Myanmar
'It reminded me of when Hurricane Katrina hit the United States'

A powerful cyclone killed more than 350 people and destroyed thousands of homes, state-run media said Sunday. Some dissident groups worried that the military junta running Myanmar would be reluctant to ask for international help.

Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit at a delicate time for the junta, less than a week ahead of a crucial referendum on a new constitution. Should the junta be seen as failing disaster victims, voters who already blame the regime for ruining the economy and squashing democracy could take out their frustrations at the ballot box.
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Some in Yangon complained the 400,000-strong military was doing little to help victims after Saturday's storm.

"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said a trishaw driver who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962. Its government has been widely criticized for human rights abuses and suppression of pro-democracy parties such as the one led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for almost 12 of the past 18 years.

Last September, at least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained when the military cracked down on protests led by Buddhist monks and democracy advocates.

The Forum for Democracy in Burma and other dissident groups outside of Myanmar urged the military junta Sunday to allow aid groups to operate freely in the wake of the cyclone — something it has been reluctant to do in the past.

It would be difficult for other countries to help unless they received a request from Myanmar's military rulers.

"International expertise in dealing with natural disasters is urgently required. The military regime is ill-prepared to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone," said Naing Aung, secretary general of the Thailand-based forum.

Storm leaves ‘utter war zone’
At least f ive regions of the impoverished Southeast Asian country have been declared disaster zones.

Of the 351 people killed, at least 162 lived on Haing Gyi island off the country's southwest coast, state-run television said. Many of the others died in the low-lying Irrawaddy delta.

"The Irrawaddy delta was hit extremely hard not only because of the wind and rain but because of the storm surge," said Chris Kaye, the U.N.'s acting humanitarian coordinator in Yangon. "The villages there have reportedly been completely flattened."

State television reported that in the Irrawaddy's Labutta township, 75 percent of the buildings had collapsed.

“Utter war zone,” one Yangon-based diplomat said in an email to Reuters in Bangkok. “Trees across all streets. Utility poles down. Hospitals devastated. Clean water scarce.”

Many roofs were ripped off even sturdy buildings, suggesting damage would be severe in the shanty towns that sit on the outskirts of the sprawling river-delta city of 5 million people.

“I have never seen anything like it,” one retired government worker told Reuters. “It reminded me of when Hurricane Katrina hit the United States.”

No water, power in Yangon
Although the sun was shining by Sunday morning, the former capital was without power and water.

An Electricity Board official said it was impossible to know when services -- hit-and-miss at the best of times in one of Asia’s poorest countries -- would be restored.

“It is very hard to say when we can resume supply. We still have to clear the mess,” the official, who did not want to be named, said.

United Nations disaster experts said it would be days before the extent of the damage was known in a country ruled since 1962 by secretive and ruthless military regimes.

The U.N. planned to send teams Monday to assess the damage, Kaye said. Initial assessment efforts have been hampered by roads clogged with debris and downed phone lines, he said.

"At the moment, we have such poor opportunity for communications that I can't really tell you very much," Kaye said.

Bunkered down in Naypyidaw, a new capital 240 miles to the north of Yangon, the ruling generals will almost certainly have avoided the worst of the storm.

“There does not seem to be a high number of casualties but for sure there is a lot of damage to property and infrastructure,” Therje Skavdal, regional head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), said.

“It’s early and it will take a few days before we get an overview of the damage,” he told Reuters in Bangkok.

Another United Nations official said a formal offer of assistance had been made although the junta was yet to respond.

Damage severe outside Yangon
Outside Yangon, the damage appears to have been severe.

More than half of buildings had been damaged or collapsed in some towns in the Irrawaddy delta, where the massive cyclone landed on Friday night having gathered steam in the tropical waters of the Bay of Bengal, official newspapers said.
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Authorities are slowly making contact with outlying towns and villages along the coast, where weather forecasters had predicted a storm surge of up to 12 feet.

Official media said four vessels sank in Yangon harbor.

Yangon residents ventured out Sunday to buy construction materials to repair their homes. The price of gasoline jumped from $2.50 to $10 a gallon on the black market and everything from eggs to construction supplies had tripled, residents said.

Some people expressed anger that the military-led government in Myanmar, also known as Burma, had done little so far to help with the cleanup.

"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said one man, who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."

The Forum for Democracy in Burma and other dissident groups outside of Myanmar called on the international community to provide urgent humanitarian assistance and urged the military junta to allow aid groups to operate freely — something it has been reluctant to do in the past.

"International expertise in dealing with natural disasters is urgently required. The military regime is ill-prepared to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone," said Naing Aung, secretary general of the Thailand-based forum.

A Western diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said it was difficult for other countries to help unless they received a request from Myanmar's military rulers.

"We have to be welcomed by the host government," the diplomat said. "The international community is willing to provide humanitarian assistance. There has been tremendous destruction. At the end of the day, the government needs to let in the assistance."

Michael Annear, a regional disaster management delegate for the International Federation of the Red Cross in Bangkok, said his agency had teams in Yangon on Sunday distributing shelter kits and other relief supplies.

The state-owned newspaper New Light of Myanmar, meanwhile, reported that the international airport in Yangon remained shut but state-run television said it could be opened by Monday. Domestic flights have been diverted to the airport in Mandalay.

The cyclone came only days before a May 10 referendum on the country's military-backed draft constitution. Authorities have not yet said whether they would postpone the vote.

A military-managed national convention was held intermittently for 14 years to lay down guidelines for the country's new constitution.

The new constitution is supposed to be followed in 2010 by a general election. Both votes are elements of a "roadmap to democracy" drawn up by the junta.

Critics say the draft constitution is designed to cement military power and have urged citizens to vote no.

[Shammu]

Record-setting iceberg season predicted off Newfoundland
Source: CBC News
Posted: 05/10/08 5:39AM

A chilly spring is being credited for a massive parade of icebergs off Newfoundland, making for what experts say will be a stunning season for onlookers."This is going to be a record-setting year for icebergs," Lt. William Woityra of the International Ice Patrol told CBC News."We've certainly seen more icebergs already this year than we've seen in the past four years combined."The International Ice Patrol keeps track of ice-infested waters, and has been doing so since the Titanic disaster of 1912, when the doomed luxury liner sank in the Atlantic Ocean after striking an iceberg.

So far this year, the patrol has counted 890 bergs.Icebergs glide by Newfoundland each spring, melting gradually as they head further south.This year, however, has been a bonanza for iceberg spotters, with many communities offered one choice view after another of various shapes and sizes."Beautiful, breathtaking, spectacular," said Brenda Ellis, a tourist from Ontario, said while gazing at bergs near the Avalon Peninsula community of Cappahayden. "Just gorgeous.""Some of them look like ships, and some of them look like apartment buildings to me," her husband, Bob Ellis, said."You can make up your own mind, but they all are very fascinating.

It's amazing to see them for the first time."Woitrya said weather conditions this year contributed to the spectacle."[It was] the colder weather, particularly in the months of March and April," he said. "So far this year, the ice conditions were perfect for a heavy iceberg season."The icebergs have made for a spectacle for tourists and residents alike, but Woityra said there is a significant reason why the Ice Patrol exists."It's a very serious impediment to transatlantic shipping, since the shipping lanes normally run very close to the Avalon Peninsula," he said."This is forcing those ships to move further south and out of their way than they would normally have to."

Record-setting iceberg season predicted off Newfoundland

[HisDaughter]

Record-setting iceberg season predicted off Newfoundland
Source: CBC News
Posted: 05/10/08 5:39AM

"This is going to be a record-setting year for icebergs," Lt. William Woityra of the International Ice Patrol told CBC News."We've certainly seen more icebergs already this year than we've seen in the past four years combined."


This year, however, has been a bonanza for iceberg spotters.



"[It was] the colder weather, particularly in the months of March and April," he said. "So far this year, the ice conditions were perfect for a heavy iceberg season

Okay....I'll leave it alone.

[Soldier4Christ]

Okay....I'll leave it alone.

Not me. I'll keep pushing it in front of the greenies and keep on laughing.

[HisDaughter]

[Soldier4Christ]

Not only with scientific debate but with something more powerful ... GOD's WORD!

[HisDaughter]

Not only with scientific debate but with something more powerful ... GOD's WORD!

Exactly!  I loved your other posting on Global Warming today.  I'm going to paste into email and send it to all my friends and family!

[Soldier4Christ]

Be my guest, sister. The more God's word is spread the better.

[HisDaughter]

Tornadoes Tear Across Central U.S., Killing 23

PICHER, Okla. —  Crews and search dogs hunted Sunday for survivors or bodies in piles of debris after tornadoes and storms rumbled across the region a day earlier and killed at least 23 people in three states.

Seven people died in Picher, once a bustling mining center of 20,000 that dwindled to about 800 people as families fled lead pollution here, and officials held out hope that they wouldn't find any more bodies.


Residents said the tornado created a surreal scene as it tore through town Saturday afternoon, injuring 150 people, overturning cars, damaging dozens of homes and throwing mattresses and twisted metal high into the canopy of trees.

"I swear I could see cars floating," said Herman Hernandez, 68. "And there was a roar, louder and louder."

Ed Keheley was headed to town to help out Saturday night when he heard a woman screaming. He looked over to see her hand reaching out of debris.

"She was sitting in the bathtub, she had curlers in her hair and she wanted out of there," said Keheley, who along with several others pulled her out.


The same storm system then moved into southwest Missouri, where tornadoes killed at least 14 others. The storms moved eastward; on Sunday, storms in Georgia killed at least two people.

"The federal government will be moving hard to help," President Bush said. "I'll be in touch with the governors and offer all of the federal assistance we can."

In Seneca, Mo., about 20 miles southeast of Picher near the Oklahoma state line, crews on Sunday combed farm fields looking for bodies and survivors. Ten of the dead were killed when a twister struck near Seneca.

Nineteen people were hospitalized in Newton County, which includes Seneca, said Keith Stammer, acting spokesman the county emergency operations. He did not know the extent of their injuries.

Susie Stonner, a Missouri emergency management spokeswoman, said it was unclear how many homes were damaged or destroyed. But she said Newton County officials had initial estimates of 50 homes damaged or destroyed there.

Jane Lant was sorting through the debris of her bridal shop about 10 miles north of Seneca. A body wrapped in blue tarp lay next to the shop. Her husband's feed store and a home across the road were also destroyed.

Lant said they were thankful the store had closed an hour before the twister hit.

"We would have had people in here at 6 when it hit," she said.

In Picher, some homes were reduced to their foundations, others lost several walls. In one home, the tornado knocked down a bedroom wall, but left clothes hanging neatly in a closet.

"People were just wandering up and down the streets. Some had blood on them, some were dazed," Keheley said.

A Best Western hotel sign was blown miles before coming to rest against a post. At one home, a basketball hoop planted in concrete had its metal support twisted so the rim hung only about 3 feet above ground.

Broken glass was strewn around the inside of 30-year-old Michael Richardson's home, but a wrapped Mother's Day gift and a laptop computer were left unscathed on the kitchen counter.

Frank Geasland, Ottawa County's emergency manager said, a government-sponsored buyout of homes in the town left some residences vacant, and this may have prevented a greater loss of life.

The National Weather Service sent out a tornado warning at 5:26 p.m., 13 minutes before the tornado hit Picher, said David Jankowski, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Tulsa. Tornado sirens warned residents to take shelter.

The twister was the deadliest in Oklahoma since a May 3, 1999 twister that killed 44 people in the Oklahoma City area.

The National Weather Service estimated that at least eight tornadoes had been spawned in Oklahoma along six storm tracks. Three teams were dispatched to assess damage, meteorologist Steve Amburn said.

On Sunday, storms rumbled across Georgia, killing at least two people in Dublin, about a 121 miles southeast of Atlanta, authorities said. Weather officials had not yet confirmed whether the storms produced any tornadoes.

The two bodies were found in the rubble of a mobile home, said Bryan Rogers, the Laurens County administrator. Two children were also found in the wreckage but they were unharmed, Rogers said.

By Sunday afternoon, Georgia Power officials said about 72,000 residents are without electricity across the state, mostly concentrated in the metro Atlanta area and the Macon area.

In storm-weary Arkansas, a tornado collapsed a home and a business, and there were reports of a few people trapped in buildings, said Weather Service meteorologist John Robinson.

Tornadoes killed 13 people in Arkansas on Feb. 5, and another seven were killed in an outbreak May 2. In between was freezing weather, persistent rain and river flooding that damaged homes and has slowed farmers in their planting.

Click here for more on this story from MyFOXKansasCity.com.

[HisDaughter]

Where are you Tom?  Was this near?

[nChrist]

Where are you Tom?  Was this near?

Hello Grammyluv,

I live in Lawton Fort Sill - far Southwest Oklahoma near the Texas border. In fact, Texas is my back yard. I think this was several days ago in far Northeast Oklahoma near the Arkansas border. If I remember correctly, this involved a series of storms, and the worst we got here was 70 mph winds. Sadly, things like this are common and frequent during this time of the year for this part of the country. The only thing that's changed over the last several years is the majority of the worst storms are hitting further and further North.