Friday Morning Texas Thunderstorms Have Put Me On Flood Alert

You can not see via the view from my secondary viewing portal on the outer world that lightning is striking this Friday morning, half way through the month of June.

I did not get many hours of sleep last night. I don't know what time it was I started hearing thunder booming. It was strange. I heard thunder, sort of constantly, but saw no flashes of lightning.

The lightning free thunder went on for quite a long time.

And then all hell broke loose. A downpour arrived simultaneously with a lightning bolt with the thunder boom also simultaneous. It felt like the lightning struck right outside my window. This was then repeated several times.

Sleeping was not possible.

I see, via my computer based weather monitoring device, that the National Weather Service has issued a Flood Alert.

When I went to bed last night I did not know that a thunderstorm was in the forecast. And now I have to be alert about a flood.

This is all very stressful.

I think I will go swimming now and try to alleviate some of my stress.

Early Morning Texas Thunder Booming Thinking About Singing The Billion Dollar Boondoggle Blues With J.D. Granger Tonight At Fort Worth's Botanic Gardens

Looking through my patio prison cell bars you can not tell it is raining before the arrival of the sun on this 2nd Wednesday 12th day of October.

Thunder began booming sometime around 3 this morning. Some of the lightning strikes were so close the flash and the boom occurred at the same time.

After a few explosions the downpours started.

And the wind.

My computer was being a bad girl, overheating whilst running some Microsoft Security Essentials thing that seems to be the worst virus/infection/malware annoyance I regularly experience.

So, I decided to walk away from the computer before doing my morning blogging duties and go swimming instead.

I'd not gone swimming since Sunday morning in the rain. The rain had ceased by the time I hit the surprisingly warm water this morning.

Tonight, at 6:30, at Fort Worth's Botanic Garden's Conservatory's Lecture Hall I may be singing the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Blues with J.D. Granger. See you there.

A Little Texas Thunder Action Last Night With Ibuprofen Taking Away My Pain

You are looking out my window at a visual representation of my aches and pains on this Tuesday morning of Wednesday, November 16.

I am starting to wonder and worry if I might not be developing an "itis" or an "ism."

As in arthritis, bursitis or rheumatism. I don't recollect doing anything strainful, but something has strained my right shoulder to the point that the pain can be excruciating, especially whilst trying to roll over in bed.

Last night I resorted to taking pain/anti-inflammatory meds in the form of Ibuprofen. This seemed to quickly lessen the aggravation. I'm not a big fan of taking Ibuprofen. But, I am also not a big fan of having an aching pain.

Other than a few bouts of excruciating pain I had a most excellent night's sleep, with no disturbing nightmares that I recollect. And I woke up without the feeling of impending doom that haunted me yesterday.

I heard one thunderclap last night, sometime before midnight. Rain fell for a very short time. Weakest Texas Thunderstorm in my memory. Looking outside this morning at the blue sky and dry ground you'd never guess we had any weather action last night.

A Late Friday Afternoon Texas Thunderstorm Rumbled In After I Got Back From Wimberley

This afternoon I took a virtual trip down to Texas Hill Country, to Wimberley.

Soon after I was done with my Wimberley trip the sky began to darken. Soon after the sky darkened I started to hear thunder rumbling in the distance.

You are looking at the view from my patio soon before that dark cloud started sending down an awful lot of water, along with some lightning bolts.

Upside of this latest storm, it dropped the temperature from the 90s down to the 70s. So, off with the A/C, open with the windows.

The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Watch for my zone of North Texas. I don't think it rained enough to do any flash flooding, at least in my location.

Oh oh, I thought the storming was over, but a big boom just rattled my cage. I saw no flash, but the strike had to be close to rattle my cage that much.

I've heard from the Queen of Wink. She'd gone missing. Again. Due to both technical electronic issues and due to going undercover, once more, in her ongoing San Antonio Top Secret Operation.

The Thunder Is Rolling Thursday Night In Fort Worth!

That is the Thursday at 7 in the early evening view from my computer room window. You can not hear it, due to my picture taking skills not including audio ability, but right now Thunder is Rolling.

LOUD.

Real LOUD.

It is raining hard with a bit of hail tossed in the mix.

And windy.

This was totally not predicted by our weather predictors. And WeatherBug is silent. Worthless. I need to remove WeatherBug from my computer.

Today, at noon, looking north, from Arlington, I could see a heavy rain squall in the distance, creating a strange vertical line in the sky. So, I knew rain was possible today.

But. What is happening out there right now is a drenching. A major downpour. The first in a long, long time.

I turned off the A/C and opened my windows. I'm loving the noise and the smell of the rain. And the loud booms of the thunder.

The rain is coming down in sheets now.

I must go now, and prepare to batten down the hatches.

A Very Very Short Wednesday Texas Thunderstorm With A Few Balls Of Hail

About a half hour ago, some time after 10am, the predicted thunderstorm arrived. Along with hail.

I do not have a good view from my location, so I quickly headed over to Miss Puerto Rico's balcony, hoping to get pictures of some good lightning bolts and big balls of hail.

But, by the time I got to my photo perch, the thunder had stopped booming, the hail had stopped falling. All I was left with was a dark sky and rain.

I waited for about 10 minutes for some fresh incoming flashes, but all I got was continued rain. So, I left my Thunderstorm Observation Post and came back here.

This was the shortest Thunderstorm I have yet to see in Texas. And now it is sort of brightening up out there. Is this storm now over for the day? The National Weather Service has the Severe Thunderstorm Watch continuing til 3 in the afternoon.

The birds are back in full chirp mode, a clear indication that the storm has passed.

No Texas Clouds Booming In My Zone Of Texas Last Night

Yesterday's predicted Two Inch Hail and Tornado Spewing Thunderstorm did not make it to my location.

Instead it was a very quiet night here in my zone of North Texas.

While I was watching American Idol last night there were none of the annoying "important" weather interruptions by hyper-excitable local weathermen. Instead a nice little message was placed in the upper left corner saying this, that or the other place was having some storm action.

I suspect if I'd been watching something on ABC, instead of the #1 show in TV, I would have seen Pete Delkus doing all sorts of drama queening over a slightly rotating cell somewhere in North Texas that had a remote chance of turning into a tornado. Or producing hail.

I just Googled "Pete Delkus" to make sure I had the name spelled right and was surprised to see this very blog come up. I really do not have a very good memory. It was less than a year ago I mentioned Pete Delkus in a blogging, in March of 2009, title "The Texas Clouds Are Booming & Pete Delkus Is Twittering."

Anyway, that's my morning view in the above picture. A nice blue sky.

Stayed in the pool at least twice as long as any previous time this new year. I'd never thought to take the temperature of the pool water before, but did this morning. Took the hot tub thermometer and stuck it in the pool.

54 degrees.

That fits with my operating belief that the pool water temperature pretty much is an average of the air temperature over a 24 hour period. Which means it will be even warmer tomorrow.

I'm off on a photo assignment this morning. With no danger of running into Gestapo Goons.

Noisy Thunderstorming & Gas Drillers In Fort Worth

As you can clearly see, last night's extremely long lightning storm totally zapped me, aging me greatly overnight.

Ever since late July, when I eye-witnessed a lightning strike starting a fire in a heavy downpour, I have grown more concerned when a big storm pops up, particularly when the lightning strikes are simultaneous with the concussive thunder boom.

Last night there were 3 directly overhead strikes. I lay in bed waiting to smell smoke or hear the fire alarm go off.

This morning I did not feel like wading through the lake that formed overnight between me and the swimming pool, so I didn't.

It was cold last night, in the low 60s, so the windows are open, with no A/C. I do not remember being able to have the windows open so much in summer before here. I read today that Global Warming has the Arctic its hottest in over 2000 years. Why are we not warmer here in HOT Texas?

With the windows open I am hearing some high pitched metallic squealing coming from the Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling site across the street. I thought that type noise coming from there ended a long time ago. I will not be shocked, when I step outside today, to see that a drilling tower has popped up overnight. I hate it when that happens. There it goes again.

More storms are expected today, tonight and tomorrow. I know a pretty young lady in Haltom City who gets very worried when the weather here takes a turn for the worse. She had a rough night of monitoring possible lethal creek flooding.

We Are Watching For Lightning & Tornadoes Tonight In Texas

We've gone into triple digits for the first time in a couple weeks. And just as WeatherBug turned the temperature red, which it does whenever it gets over 100, the little bug also started flashing and chirping. Nothing I do seems able to stop this.

But, this time it was a more serious weather warning than telling me something I already knew, as in it is HOT. This flashing and chirping was due to the NWS Storm Prediction Center issuing a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 10:00 CDT tonight.

I'm blogging about this almost at the same time I got the warning, so that a particular Haltom City resident has plenty of time to alter her plans for the evening, in case she feels the need to do some flash flood watching.

Below is the NWS Warning....

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 10:00PM CDT

Urgent - Immediate Broadcast Requested Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 664 Nws Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 325 PM CDT Wed Aug 5 2009

The NWS Storm Prediction Center Has Issued A Severe Thunderstorm Watch For Portions Of Extreme South Central Oklahoma North Central Texas.

Effective This Wednesday Afternoon And Evening From 3:25 PM Until 10:00 PM CDT.

Hail To 2 Inches In Diameter, Thunderstorm Wind Gusts To 70 Mph, And Dangerous Lightning Are Possible In These Areas.

The Severe Thunderstorm Watch Area Is Approximately Along And 65 Statute Miles North And South Of A Line From 60 Miles North Northwest Of Fort Worth Texas To 80 Miles East Of Dallas Texas. For A Complete Depiction Of The Watch See The Associated Watch Outline Update.

Remember, A Severe Thunderstorm Watch Means Conditions Are Favorable For Severe Thunderstorms In And Close To The Watch Area. Persons In These Areas Should Be On The Lookout For Threatening Weather Conditions And Listen For Later Statements And Possible Warnings. Severe Thunderstorms Can And Occasionally Do Produce Tornadoes.

Thursday Morning Thunderstorm In Texas

Mother Nature has been throwing a temper tantrum this morning. She woke me up before 5 with a light show with loud concussive sound effects.

The National Weather Service has issued 6 Alerts this morning. Among them are several Thunderstorm Alerts, a couple Flash Flooding Alerts and at least one Tornado Alert.

I have not heard the Tornado Sirens this year. I'm guessing we are due.

In this morning's Seattle Post-Intelligencer I saw that 1 more degree was added to yesterday's record high, making 103 the new temperature record in Seattle.

Meanwhile, here in currently frigid Texas, it's in the 60s out there. And raining.

It Is Thursday And We Are Still Heavy Duty Storming In Texas

That's my closed in stormy view at 11 this morning. We have now been storming here in Fort Worth and North Texas for about 17 hours, give or take a few.

This is the worst Mother Nature behavior I can remember in a long time. The caretaker of the Haltom City creeks is having a lot of extra worrying being forced upon her today, due to Mother Nature and the inept local powers that be who have done nothing to fix the Haltom City creek flooding woes in all the time since their deadly flash flooding a couple years ago.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has just issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 6 pm.

I had planned to go to Veterans Park in Arlington and then to Arlington's Chinatown. I don't think that is going to work out.

This is the first good test of how all that new paved parking at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium is going to affect runoff into Johnson Creek. Johnson Creek flooded into Six Flags, even before the Dallas Cowboys removed a lot of acreage of water absorbing land, replacing it with water repellers, like asphalt and a huge stadium. I'm guessing 6 inches in 2 hours and we'll be looking at a Dallas Cowboys Stadium caused massive flooding of Six Flags.

That'll be interesting. I suspect the Johnson Creek problem will get fixed before the flooding problem in Haltom City, that has killed people, gets fixed.

Texas Thunder Booming All Night & Insomnia

It's been a loud, rough night here in my Fort Worth zone of Texas.

I must have misunderstood the chattering TV weather guys. I thought I heard that yesterday's storm that rolled in to my location about 6, moved on east and was done, once it moved past ones location. I heard nothing about more incoming.

The worst of it did pass quickly, maybe an hour of heavy wind and rain and thunder. But, then a few hours later it started up again, not so much with the wind, but heavy rain and thunderstorming.

I didn't even try to go to bed til after midnight. Partly due to uploading a video of the storm to YouTube, which had some complications that took longer than normal. If I remember right it was almost quiet when I finally went to bed.

And then at some point after that the storming started up again, with everything but the wind worse than the first storm, I had 2 direct lightning hits. You know, where you see the lightning and hear the boom at the same time, with the boom hitting with a concussive force, like a bomb.

Which makes it really hard to try to get to sleep when you are in what amounts to a bomb shelter.

A tornado was confirmed to have touched down in Plano. Daylight needs to arrive before damage can be assessed. Thousands of people are without power. I am not one of them.

More storms are predicted for today. Right now it appears to be the calm before the next storm.

Well, ignore the previous sentence. I'd barely put the period on it when I saw a flash and a quick boom. It's starting up again. And another flash and boom followed that period.

I love this time of year in Texas.

June 10, 2009 Texas Tornado Thunderstorm

It's coming up on 11. I can see I am going to have another night of insomnia. Though the worst of tonight's storm has been over for a couple hours, lightning continues to strike and thunder continues to roll.

I took video during the worst of the storm with my new Canon camera. Trying to get that video off the camera failed a couple times. I had to do a re-start of the computer to get it to work. And even then it took a long long time. When it was done I saw why. The video was over half a gigabyte big.

After I'd made the video into a movie it was just a bit over 42 megabytes. YouTube is processing the video right now. In the video you'll be watching the storm from my balcony window. In the background you'll hear the nonstop TV weather guy chatter on channel 5. You'll hear mention made of a tornado being spotted.

Big Storm Hitting Knocking Power Out

Power has gone out 3 times. Very windy. Big hail. Picture taken at just before 7. Getting very stormy. TV out.

This is being the worst storm we've had for awhile here in Fort Worth.

I'm hitting the publish button and turning this off.

Wednesday Night Windy Lightning Hail Storm In Texas

I can hear thunder rumbling to the west. I'm seeing lightning flashes in the distance.

The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning a few minutes ago. It should be here soon. I have already heeded the warning to be in a sturdy shelter and not near a window.

Below is the NWS Warning....

Bulletin - Eas Activation Requested Severe Thunderstorm Warning National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 608 PM CDT Wed Jun 10 2009

* Severe Thunderstorm Warning For, Denton County In North Central Texas, Parker County In North Central Texas, Tarrant County In North Central Texas, Wise County In North Central Texas

* Until 715 PM CDT

* At 608 PM CDT, National Weather Service Meteorologists Detected A Line Of Severe Thunderstorms Capable Of Producing Golf Ball Size Hail, And Destructive Winds In Excess Of 80 Mph. These Storms Were Located Along A Line Extending From 5 Miles East Of Bridgeport To 4 Miles South Of Springtown To 21 Miles Southwest Of Cool, And Moving East At 45 Mph.

* Severe Thunderstorms Will Be Near, Decatur, Weatherford, Reno And Briar By 615 PM Pelican Bay, Azle And Aurora By 620 PM Willow Park, Pecan Acres And Hudson Oaks By 625 PM

For Your Protection Move To A Sturdy Shelter And Stay Away From Windows Until The Storm Has Passed.

If You Are Caught Outside, Seek Shelter In A Strong Building And Stay Inside, Away From Windows Until The Storm Has Passed.

This Storm Has A History Of Producing Destructive Winds And Large Damaging Hail. Seek Shelter Now Inside A Sturdy Structure And Stay Away From Windows!

Morning Morning Thunderstorm in Texas

That was the view out my patio door this morning about 6. Biggest Thunderstorm in a long time. It is now 4 hours later and it's still booming out there.

About an hour ago I got a direct hit that had this place rumbling like an earthquake. I'd not felt anything quite like it since my last earthquake, which would have been sometime in the last century.

I've never had any luck getting a picture of a lightning bolt before, til this morning. The strikes were coming so fast and furious it was easy.

I think I've mentioned before that I like to go swimming early in the morning. There are plenty of things taller than the swimming pool that lightning would strike first, so it seemed pretty safe to go swimming during a raging Thunderstorm. When you are already totally soaked by a downpour, the pool feels like relief from the cold.

I suspect there will be no hiking, biking or roller blading today. And for several days to follow if the weather forecast is correct. Which it seldom is.

Texas Thunder is Making My Head Hurt

We have been under assault here in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone of North Texas for hours now. It's coming up on 8am and it is still very dark out there.

And wet.

It appears I will not be doing any outdoor activity today.

I don't know when this loud bombing began. I had my earplugs in so as not to hear the air conditioner cycle off and on. Sometime after 5am I started seeing bright flashes. When I pulled out the earplugs I knew what was causing the flashes when I heard some big booming.

That big booming has gone on for hours now. It's making my head hurt. I want it to stop now. But it seems to be getting worse. WeatherBug says this could continue til noon.

Maybe I'll put my earplugs back in. Oh oh, I hear a siren. I don't think it's a tornado siren. But, I think maybe I should keep my hearing at full function.

If this is the last you hear from me today it means I've either lost power, been struck by lightning or been blown away by a tornado, or some combo of all three.