Severe Weather (Fort Worth, Haltom City, Sherman: zip code, radio, ranked)

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by seahawksweetie

what does the chance of severe weather look like for this evening and tomorrow? Hubby is out there in Addison area and will be roaming around the Fort Worth area looking at the different communities and such for when we move out there.

Lots and lots of rain, and the temperatures are really mild (mid to upper 80s for highs; yesterday's high was 74 where I live). He may get the impression that it's like this every June, but he'd be wrong! Severe weather it is not. I don't think there's any chances for severe thunderstorms, just continual rain through Monday.

[seahawksweetie]

Thanks, I think he's just thrilled to know that it does actually rain. I am so tired of never seeing rain where we are.

[Synopsis]

Actually, I meant to say mid to upper 70s for highs today. It's 77 right now and looks as though the rain has stopped in Tarrant County for the time being. This summer will probably be a repeat of 2004 when it was extremely mild the whole summer. It hardly ever rose above 95 that summer, and most days it was in the upper 80s to low 90s. My yard is the greenest green it has been in years - I love it (hate mowing so often though!).

[beowulf7]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

Actually, I meant to say mid to upper 70s for highs today. It's 77 right now and looks as though the rain has stopped in Tarrant County for the time being. This summer will probably be a repeat of 2004 when it was extremely mild the whole summer. It hardly ever rose above 95 that summer, and most days it was in the upper 80s to low 90s. My yard is the greenest green it has been in years - I love it (hate mowing so often though!).

I heard 2004 was a great year, weather-wise. I just moved here last year, so I def. am hoping for a milder summer than what I experienced last summer! The downside is more mosquitoes.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by beowulf7

I heard 2004 was a great year, weather-wise. I just moved here last year, so I def. am hoping for a milder summer than what I experienced last summer! The downside is more mosquitoes.

I'm willing to bet that this will be almost a carbon-copy of '04 beowulf; it's all about the rain, and we've gotten our fair share, the same as in '04. Also, the summer temps have alot to do with how warm it gets prior to the summer equinox, and we haven't had but a few days in the mid 90s thus far. Regarding the mosquitoes - I've got a solution for you. Go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy some of the stuff that attaches to your garden hose to spray your yard for mosquitoes. I forget the name but it works like a charm. Hose down your entire yard and it will definitely cut down on the mosquitoes. My neighbors had it bad a couple of weeks ago. You couldn't walk into their yard without getting hit with a swarm. They hosed down their yard with this stuff the other day and we stood around for 45 minutes last night and didn't get a single bite, and that was without repellent.

[beowulf7]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

I'm willing to bet that this will be almost a carbon-copy of '04 beowulf; it's all about the rain, and we've gotten our fair share, the same as in '04. Also, the summer temps have alot to do with how warm it gets prior to the summer equinox, and we haven't had but a few days in the mid 90s thus far. Regarding the mosquitoes - I've got a solution for you. Go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy some of the stuff that attaches to your garden hose to spray your yard for mosquitoes. I forget the name but it works like a charm. Hose down your entire yard and it will definitely cut down on the mosquitoes. My neighbors had it bad a couple of weeks ago. You couldn't walk into their yard without getting hit with a swarm. They hosed down their yard with this stuff the other day and we stood around for 45 minutes last night and didn't get a single bite, and that was without repellent.

I hope you're right, Synopsis! So you're saying that since we've had a relatively mild spring, then even summer in Aug. should be mild? I'm praying.

If you can find out from your neighbor the product he bought to repel mosquitoes from his yard, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

All right, time to head down to the family room and watch my Yankees play the Mets on ESPN.

[beowulf7]

Wow, it's pouring pretty good outside! I even heard thunder. I don't think I've ever seen a location where it could rain and then stop raining (clear up) then rain again ... where the process continues like 8 times in 1 weekend! Crazy! In NJ, when it rains, it rains the entire day or 2 (or maybe 3) and then it's gone. But it doesn't keep teasing you with rain and sun in a back-and-forth manner like the weather teases you here in TX!

Ouch, another loud clap of lightning. My lights just flickered.

[Guingirl]

Yah!! This storm is pretty crazy tonight. A ton of lightning and thunder. Mostly just a lot of rain with it, no hail which is a good thing. Some really strong claps though pretty close!!

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by beowulf7

I hope you're right, Synopsis! So you're saying that since we've had a relatively mild spring, then even summer in Aug. should be mild? I'm praying.

Correct. I once heard the following question posed to a weather/climate expert.

"If June 21st (Summer equinox) is the longest day of the year and all days after that start getting shorter, then why does it get hotter after June 21st?"

In short, since June 21st is the longest day, it should also be the hottest, correct? The same with December 21st (Winter equinox) being the shortest and should therefore be the coldest, logically. But that's not what happens in either case.

His response was that the earth is like a giant sponge that soaks up heat and the heat that is released from the earth coupled with the regularly hot ongoing summer temperatures cause the temperatures to build even after that date until the sun is no longer as much of a contributing factor (late Fall).

Any extreme heat and/or lack of rain (because dry ground heats faster) prior to June 21st contributes greatly to this cumulative effect. Therefore, the hotter (and drier) that it gets prior to June 21st, generally the worse it will be after that date. Now, this doesn't preclude abnormalities such as heat waves and the infamous "Mexican Plume" that we get here in the summer from time to time, but that's generally the way I understand it to work. Think of an oven that is preheated as opposed to one where the heat is turned on and has to build up and only has a preset period of time to reach a certain temperature.

And it makes perfect sense too; the wetter and cooler it is before June 21st, the wetter and cooler it has turned out to be for the remainder of the Summer, in my experience. I hope this makes sense.

As for the Ortho product, it's called "Mosquito-B-Gon Tree, Shrub & Lawn Concentrate Ready-to-Spray." It hooks up to the end of your garden hose. I haven't used it myself but I've seen (and felt) the results over at my neighbor's. Ortho products seem to be some of the best for pest control. Home Defense is the best pest control on the market for spraying the perimeter inside and outside the house, in my opinion. That stuff works for 6 months or even more, even though it only advertises that it works for 3 months.

We had some pretty bad storms here last night too. It would rain really, really hard off and on for about 15 minutes, and then it came a downpour that lasted for about 2 hours.

[beowulf7]

^ Excellent info., Synopsis! I always wondered about the summer and winter solstice in why the longest and shortest days of the year aren't the historically warmest and coolest. But the sponge analogy you mentioned makes sense.

Thanks for that Ortho product name. I'll check it out the next time I go to Home Depot (which I tend to visit on a weekly basis!).

I wish I could rep. you some more but the forum is telling me: "You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Synopsis again."

Looks like another chance of t-storms tonight and then we'll be in a heatwave for the week (low to mid 90s). I'll have to crank up the A/C again, but hopefully not 'til tomorrow.