Tag Archives: drought

Draining Lake Travis

Posted on September 25, 2007 | Comments Off on Draining Lake Travis

Some people worry a lot about Lake Travis, especially when new municipalities start negotiating with the Lower Colorado River Authority for access. The lake is a reservoir, with customers downstream, and a certain vulnerability to the weather. So it goes up and down, and up and down. Last year it was waaaayyy down. Which is when this outfit got started and used one of my photos, which they have finally attributed, for which I am grateful. Cute cartoon, too. Check it out.

UPDATE:  And, then, I don’t when, they went toes up and the photo also disappeared.

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Posted in Sailing, Texana, Weather/Climate

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Goodbye to dry

Posted on June 3, 2007 | Comments Off on Goodbye to dry

droughtmonitor.jpg

This, compared with this from last December, shows how our south central part of Texas (and the  rest of the state) has come out of a big drought in the past six months. In the last two hours, we added another inch or so of rain as some big storms swept through from the northwest. Lowered the temperature about 20 degrees, into the upper 60s. Some urban and small stream flooding, and enough lightning to leave about 7,000 people without power. We weren’t affected. Mr. B. got a little excited by a few close lightning strikes, however. Lot of hail reported. Probably see the damage from that tomorrow.

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Texana, Weather/Climate

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Water, water everywhere

Posted on April 20, 2007 | Comments Off on Water, water everywhere

LakeTravis1.JPG

Anderson Mill Marina on Lake Travis is back to normal after all the recent rain. Until a few weeks ago, however, it looked like this, which is what it had looked like since last summer thanks to the drought which now seems to be pretty much over. Lakes and aquifers are up. Goodbye to dry. 

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Posted in Scribbles, Texana, Weather/Climate

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El Nino returns

Posted on September 12, 2006 | Comments Off on El Nino returns

Austin meteorologist Bob Rose says the federal Climate Prediction Center made the call Monday and the weather service will issue a news release on it tomorrow. Big rains a’comin’, probably.

"…the Climate Prediction Center stated that atmospheric conditions and oceanic temperatures in the Pacific have reached a critical threshold to declare El Nino conditions. Water temperatures in the tropical Pacific have been warming over the past couple of months. This warming combined with increased westerly trades and a negative Southern Oscillation Index all indicate the onset on El Nino.

"…El Ninos often bring Texas and the southern US increased rainfall during the fall and winter months. They also tend to bring our region cooler temperatures during the winter. El Nino will likely play a large role in our region’s weather over the next several months."

Like they say, in Texas it’s either droughtin’ or floodin’. We’ve had the former for almost a year (some say more) and the latter looks to be on the way. Some of the fall-winter storms we’ve had in El Nino years have been hellacious.

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Posted in Weather/Climate

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And the rains came

Posted on August 29, 2006 | Comments Off on And the rains came

Sounds silly, maybe, to make much out of the quarter to a half inch of rain that fell in torrents this morning as Mom left to take Mr. Boy to school, but it’s like that in Texas. Especially in a drought.  Enlivens the spirit. Afterall, it hadn’t rained like that for two months. You can almost hear the grass growing in gratitude. Wet ground also will keep the temps down below the 100s for a few days. It’s only in the 80s at the moment. Coolest day since June. Mercy.

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Posted in Weather/Climate

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The drouth

Posted on August 27, 2006 | Comments Off on The drouth

drmon.JPG

Drouth is the old-timey Texas spelling [straight out of the King James Bible] of drought, an on-again, off-again condition around here. Some old weathermen say that drought is the normal state of affairs in Texas. When you have a really good, long one, the ground gets so dry that the air just gets hotter and hotter, and here we are, coming up on thirty days of triple-digits. So it’s no surprise that Texas agriculture is starting to look like the drier parts of Rancho Roly Poly.

"Estimated drought losses for Texas have reached $4.1 billion, eclipsing the $2.1 billion mark set in 1998, Texas Cooperative Extension economists reported Friday…said Dr. Travis Miller, Extension agronomist. "Much of the corn and soybean crop has been harvested for silage or hay; pastures are bare and hay barns are empty. Much of the hay being fed is from out-of-state or along the upper coast, which has received favorable rains. Livestock water supplies are disappearing and ranchers are unable to sustain herds with purchased hay and dry tanks."

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Posted in Weather/Climate

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Goodbye Red Oak

Posted on August 24, 2006 | Comments Off on Goodbye Red Oak

So we’re sitting in the kitchen last night going over some elementary school handouts for parents when we hear this big sound, just a big whoosh. We go outside to find it is the second Red Oak to give up the ghost in two months, except this one was two feet in diameter, versus about six inches for the other one that took out part of the fence. The new one seems to have done little damage, missing the house by inches, but sadly it sheared off the west side branches of the Red Bud, and of course it is blocking access to the back yard pretty good. The landscaper, who can’t come to start the chainsaw chorus until tomorrow, blamed it on the drought, but it also might be oak wilt. Looking on the bright side, we will now have more sunshine for the planting of more antique roses to keep safe from more deer, etc.

UPDATE  Something I forgot. Mr. Boy, getting into the spirit of our nightly readings of The Lord of The Rings trilogy, glanced at the fallen tree in the back yard and pronounced it Treebeard, cut down by the Orcs in mid-battle for Isengard. "Back to Fangorn!" he shouted to the other trees. 

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Posted in Antique Roses, Rancho Roly Poly

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