Harvey damage: broken tree limbs

Posted on August 28, 2017 | Comments Off on Harvey damage: broken tree limbs

If you can make out the three yellow spots (click on the photo to biggerize it) you’ll see the broken limbs from a tree on the north side of the rancho. Tool shed visible through the branches. Super-saturation with rainwater combined with 45 mph gusts brought them down. Now to clean them up. May take a few days to get it scheduled with a tree service. “Is it an emergency?” asked the receptionist. “Because we’ve got trees fallen into houses and onto cars.” Well, no. I can wait.

UPDATE: Our landscaper got a crew out Tuesday and cleared all this away. Said one good result is the grass will grow better now without the shade.

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Historic flooding

Posted on August 27, 2017 | 2 comments

Not at the rancho, fortunately, as we are on the northwestern side of Austin at a higher elevation than most of the rest of the city. But more likely in the downtown area, along Shoal, Waller and Onion creeks, and definitely south and east of I-35: Bastrop, La Grange, Giddings, Kyle, Lockhart.

Because as of 1 a.m. Sunday they have had upwards of 17 inches of rain. With much more to come. Wave after wave. Through Thursday. Rain all day, every day. All because Harvey has stalled about 80 miles due south of Austin and is stationary and pulling Gulf moisture up and around Austin. In a counter-clockwise rotation. Like a fire hose. With no atmospheric event to stop it.

Houston likewise is being hit hard already. A town where 4 inches of rain causes flooding has, so far, had 15 inches and more. With more to come. This is as KVUE’s chief meteorologist Alberto Ramon says an historic event. A potentially catastrophic event as the Colorado and Guadalupe Rivers get out of their banks.

There’s been nothing like this in a hundred years or more.

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Posted in History, Rancho Roly Poly, Science/Engineering, Texana, Weather

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Power’s been out, will be again

Posted on August 26, 2017 | 2 comments

Power’s been out at the rancho since noon. Just came back on about 6:30 p.m. Charging iPhone and Fire tablets and quick checking the weather radar which still shows lots of yellow rain bands swirling overhead. Training, the weather liars call it.

Had about three inches of rain since midnight. Plus the wind is gusting to 20 mph or so now. So I expect we’ll lose power again soon. Doesn’t take much wind speed to knock the power lines down in our neighborhood.

Nevermind Harvey. This is the third time this year, second time this month. You’d think the city would want to fix it. You’d be wrong. My theory: There’s not enough minorities live over here to make it worth their while politically.

UPDATE: Nothing posted by JD since Friday so he may have cleared out. Andy’s hanging in, but he’s well west of most of the action. He’s sure right about the state planning ahead. No repeats of Katrina here yet or likely to be either. Hell, we bailed out New Orleans and Houston took hundreds of refugees.

MORE:  Power lost again late Sunday night for a couple of hours.

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Science/Engineering, Weather

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If Charlottesville were reversed…

Posted on August 25, 2017 | Comments Off on If Charlottesville were reversed…

Another in our continuing series of quoting good commenters, this time at the Power Line Blog:

“If you reverse the political parties and the ideologies of all the players involved in the Charlottesville incident,” comments Steve Katz, “the mayor, the governor, the protesters, the counter protesters, the assailant, the victim, and the POTUS. the media would put 100 percent of the blame on the “Right Wing mayor” and the “Right Wing governor,” for ordering the cops not to intervene, and purposely allowing a riot to ensue.

“And the only comment they would seek from the Democrat POTUS, was an affirmation that the Right Wing mayor and the Right Wing governor were to blame for the whole thing.

“It’s unfortunate that so many seemingly intelligent people can’t figure out how this game is played. Did they learn absolutely nothing from comparing the media coverage of the shooting of Gabby Giffords to the media coverage of the shooting of Steve Scalise? Apparently not.”

Via Power Line Blog

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Posted in Blogosphere, Fake News, Mediacrats, The Culture, Trump

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Rain totals

Posted on August 24, 2017 | Comments Off on Rain totals

Six to eight inches of rain could fall on the rancho this weekend. A pittance compared to what some others will get but plenty enough for us.

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Drudge Report: Hell Storm

Posted on August 24, 2017 | Comments Off on Drudge Report: Hell Storm

These things usually look worst on the approach to the coast, when the weather liars and the bobbing heads sound, sound, sound the alarm. Although that’s pretty low country in the storm’s path. So not surprising Rock Port and Port Aransas are already ordering mandatory evacuation. How many will actually leave, however… Here at the rancho, we’ll just prepare for a lot of rain. And no power. Doesn’t take much to knock Austin’s power out—about which our liberal city council has done absolutely nothing. With too many downed trees, it could be quite a while before the electricity is restored.

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Posted in Texana, Weather

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Harvey’s rainfall potential

Posted on August 23, 2017 | Comments Off on Harvey’s rainfall potential

Looks like just 1 to 4 inches of rain for the Austin area, which is good. No likely flooding for us. According to KVUE: “The most significant tropical storm locally in recent memory affected Central Texas in 2010. Tropical Storm Hermine brought 14-16″ of rain in Williamson County and 7″ at Camp Mabry [in central Austin]. Three people died at low-water crossings.” JD, down at the Mouth of the Brazos, could be in for a lot more.

UPDATE: Forecast for us Thursday morn (the 24th) has upped the rain totals considerably. Depends how fast Harvey moves and how far west. JD’s expecting to lose a pecan tree and, as usual, the power lines. We lose our power lines to a stiff breeze.

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