A few days ago I was bemoaning the uber-hot weather down here in southeast Texas. Now the temperatures are 15 degrees cooler....thanks to Tropical Storm Erin which is rumbling outside my house even as I write. It came in south of here, so we're on the "dirty side" of the storm.
Here's the deal: the hotter it gets, the more likely tropical storms and hurricanes are likely to form in the Gulf of Mexico and blow inland, reducing the temperatures with the rain and clouds. I've seen this phenomenon all my life as a native of the area.
As tropical weather goes, this is not a concern. Even the hysterically overanxious local tv weathermen are relatively laid-back about it. For them.
But it's only two years after Katrina and Rita, so we find ourselves paying much closer attention to every blip on the radar screen in the Gulf of Mexico then we did before 2005. Now whenever I see the temperatures climb into the 100's, I begin to watch for the formation of the storms.
This is one reason why August is not the best month to plan events in Houston, but hopefully the Presbyterian Global Fellowship event that kicks off this evening will be unaffected. Welcome, Presbyfriends! I hope you packed your umbrellas!
Here's the deal: the hotter it gets, the more likely tropical storms and hurricanes are likely to form in the Gulf of Mexico and blow inland, reducing the temperatures with the rain and clouds. I've seen this phenomenon all my life as a native of the area.
As tropical weather goes, this is not a concern. Even the hysterically overanxious local tv weathermen are relatively laid-back about it. For them.
But it's only two years after Katrina and Rita, so we find ourselves paying much closer attention to every blip on the radar screen in the Gulf of Mexico then we did before 2005. Now whenever I see the temperatures climb into the 100's, I begin to watch for the formation of the storms.
This is one reason why August is not the best month to plan events in Houston, but hopefully the Presbyterian Global Fellowship event that kicks off this evening will be unaffected. Welcome, Presbyfriends! I hope you packed your umbrellas!
3 comments:
A few months back my colleague and I noted that both of our names are this year's Hurrican Name List. We weren't sure if that was a good or bad omen.
Thought of you all there as I watched the news. Especially when they said that because of all the rain so far this year, Houston faces unprecedented flooding if Erin dumps the expected rain. Praying it is NOT so.
Looking forward to the PGF coverage.
I've got family in Houston and I am a Rita survivor who was surprised at the uneasiness I felt while listening to the news on these weather events.
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