[Leanan]

Yesterday, there were hailstones the size of tennis balls in Alabama. Really.

Also in the news, some experts are predicting the return of the Dust Bowl.

USA Today asks Is nowhere safe?

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')here was almost a 20% increase in natural disasters worldwide in 2005, according to the United Nations and Belgium's Louvain research center.

Damage reached $159 billion, up 71% from 2004, almost entirely because of destruction from Hurricane Katrina.

As images of devastation flashed onto TV screens, those far from the tempests may have felt some satisfaction that they had chosen homes in safe havens. But not so fast. From East to West, the USA is a patchwork of danger zones.

[eric_b]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', 'Y')esterday, there were hailstones the size of tennis balls in Alabama. Really.

[Eli]

Well I live in Oklahoma and it has been freakishly hot and dry.

We are in the midst of a severe drought, and this spring we have had virtually no rain. It was 95 degrees on Easter Sunday when the normal high would have been 72. It has cooled off since then but the temps are quickly marching back into the mid 80's and still no meaningful rainfall in sight.

This Summer is going to be ugly, that story about the dust bowl days makes the point that low pressure centers, once they set in, tend to stay for long periods of time and feed off themselves. The Low pressure pushes out all the rain increasing the temps and then as things dry out the temps are driven higher and there is even less rain.

During the Dust Bowl Kansas saw a record high of 121 degrees and a string of days in 110 range. That is friggin scary hot.

[Leanan]

Wow. Nice photo of the hailstones there. I can only imagine the damage they must have done coming down.

[mermaid]

paradise has gone. there is no safe place on earth.

[jsb1969]

Here's a qoute from the great Chinese zen master Lin-Chi:
"The world is unstable, like a house on fire. This is not a place where you stay long. The haunt of impermanence comes upon you in a flash, no matter whether you are rich or poor, old or young."

A different era? (Lin-Chi d. 867) Yup, but same fire.

[bobbyald]

No place is safe or free from the effects of PO.

If there was such a place so many people would descend upon it that it would soon become hell.

[Pops]

The drought story points to some of the conservation measures that have been instituted since the dust bowl and to those I’d add that fire suppression has increased woodlands quite a bit – many farms were just plowed up prairie 100 years ago and though the loss of tallgrass is a shame at least there are more windbreaks now. There are lots of terraces and intentional windbreaks around here now and marginal land is mostly pasture.

No-till planting is widespread which is a big help – you hardly see any plowed ground around here.

Here in SW MO we are in pretty bad shape, we’ve received some rain but not nearly enough to make up for the 12in deficit of the last year. Grass is short and hay is expensive and most small and medium sized ponds are dead dry.

I sold a steer and heifer this week. There were double the number of head at auction as usual – got about $100 a head less than I expected – there are other reasons as well for the low price but drought is the main culprit.


We also had at least goofball size hail back in March when the tornados went through – a record number for that early in the year in fact, as well as record highs in the 90s last week.

Great…

[Specop_007]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'T')he drought story points to some of the conservation measures that have been instituted since the dust bowl and to those I’d add that fire suppression has increased woodlands quite a bit – many farms were just plowed up prairie 100 years ago and though the loss of tallgrass is a shame at least there are more windbreaks now. There are lots of terraces and intentional windbreaks around here now and marginal land is mostly pasture.

No-till planting is widespread which is a big help – you hardly see any plowed ground around here.

Here in SW MO we are in pretty bad shape, we’ve received some rain but not nearly enough to make up for the 12in deficit of the last year. Grass is short and hay is expensive and most small and medium sized ponds are dead dry.

I sold a steer and heifer this week. There were double the number of head at auction as usual – got about $100 a head less than I expected – there are other reasons as well for the low price but drought is the main culprit.


We also had at least goofball size hail back in March when the tornados went through – a record number for that early in the year in fact, as well as record highs in the 90s last week.

Great…

[NeoPeasant]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '
')We also had at least goofball size hail back in March ...

[Pops]

Nah, like I always say; no one leaves CA because of the weather!

The weather there and here has essentially flipped this year – wet there and dry here.

My brother-in-law in central ca has almonds and tells me that some trees have one nut on the whole tree due to the rain during and after blossom.

They have been standing in water for about three weeks and almonds don’t like that a bit – they’ll be dead before long.

Should a big wind come along at least he won’t to pay to have them pushed over…


Neo, the hail on our fornt yard was between 1-1/2 and 2 inches across - beat quite a few hole in the cheap vinyl siding on the summer kitchen.

[MadMarcus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NeoPeasant', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '
')We also had at least goofball size hail back in March ...

[gnm]

Been dry as hell here in New Mexico too... They've never seen it this bad. Truly off the charts temps and drought. Winter was basically non-existent except for a little brutal cold in Dec. and lots of wind in general and still. No precip to speak of (just a couple of 1/10th inch flurries) since LAST October. I am in the mountains and where we would normally get 5-7 feet of snow over the course of the winter we have gotten barely 4 inches... Man the fire season is gonna suck this year!

Welcome to Arrakis.

Its depressing.

-G

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MadMarcus', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NeoPeasant', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '
')We also had at least goofball size hail back in March ...

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'U')SA Today asks Is nowhere safe?

[TommyJefferson]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mermaid', 'p')aradise has gone.

[Leanan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he world has never been "safe". It will never be "safe".

[killJOY]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')ow big is a GOOFBALL exactly?

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he world has never been "safe". It will never be "safe".

[frankthetank]

Up here we've been lucky. Mild weather, decent rain, no softball size hail, no tornadoes and a mild winter. I'd worry more about getting in your car and making it to work/store/etc then a tornado sucking you up.

Rainfall