Category Archives: Weather

Gwynne Dyer: Happy(??) Climate New Year

Welcome to ‘Uncharted Territory’

Gwynne Dyer, January 2, 2025

New Year is when we do the accounts for the year, and the bad news always gets top billing: how many wars are going on, how big were the natural disasters, etc.? Climate change now has its own slot in this annual accounting, and here is what the climate pundits will say.

First they will acknowledge that 2024 has been the hottest year since we began keeping records a few centuries ago. This will be accompanied by the usual clucking about how naughty we have all been, not cutting our greenhouse gas emissions fast enough. Continue reading Gwynne Dyer: Happy(??) Climate New Year

Debby – Durham Update: The Eye’s Wide Open

3:10 PM – August 8, 2024

We’re still here, the rain has paused, the wind is light, and sunlight feels close to breaking through.

But . . . . The radar says Debby, or this end of it/her, is west of us, swirling lazily counterclockwise, and could come around and do another dump on us tonight on the way north up the coast.

The weather people are predicting  this.  We had two warnings, now there’s three: besides more heavy rain tonight, thunder & lightning too, with a chance of tornadoes. Did I mention I’m not a fan of twisters?

Our personal forecaster, Ms. Kitty, is feeling cautious. On non-stormy days, she is mostly outside. Right now, she’s keeping a cautious eye out.

We’ve had two power outages, relatively brief.
I’m going to do some editing, if I can concentrate. And stay dry. Then maybe check on the action on the weirdness front.

Debby’s Done Dithering — Durham is Getting Dumped On

6:00AM EDT August 8, 2024

The sun is not up, but the rain is pouring down. Outside, in the pre-dawn murk, the trees are moving, but winds are not yet strong. Emergency alerts have been beeping nonstop on the phone & Ipad, urging us to get the hell away from here. But we’re going to ride it out. There’s no thunder/lightning at this point. No power outages yet

The house is halfway up a rise; the water will have to come up many feet to reach us. My guess is the main hazard would be from trees falling.  Last spring we cut back several tall but dying ash trees close enough to land on the house, which should have reduced that threat. But after this soaking, any burst of strong winds will bring big trees down in the area, and power outages could follow. Continue reading Debby’s Done Dithering — Durham is Getting Dumped On

We Interrupt Your Jury Vigil for An Urgent Bulletin on — Canadian Tulips!

Prince Edward Island, Atlantic Canada

The  Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that the end is near —

Tulips-purple-PEI

—for the annual crop of tulips in this small but historic province:

“For full bloom and perfect photos, visit around May 25th or later. Tulip season typically lasts about 21 days and is projected to end by June 10th. Bloom percentages are 25-40% from May 18-24, 50-80% from May 25-31, and full bloom from June 1-10, though the season’s end is nearing. Continue reading We Interrupt Your Jury Vigil for An Urgent Bulletin on — Canadian Tulips!