Dog Days?

[Riley Smith]

The Normally Wrong Service did what they do best today and we didn't get that 115F weather they predicted. I'm for once ok with that. What happened is the Dog Days weather pattern appeared and clouded up the sky and it rained a big portion of the day. That happens in south Mississippi this time of the year but it seems a little early for that pattern. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and no returns on radar when I woke up. Plenty of thunder and rain by 2pm though. (North Mississippi is a whole 'nother weather pattern).

In the summer here, you do (outside) things early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Only mad dogs and Englishmen will brave the noon day sun. With sailing there are problems in that approach, as the early mornings will have zero winds and the afternoons will have lightning. Usually starting about 2pm. Later in the afternoon, if the storms finish early, it can be very pleasant though.  I don't sail much this time of the year and usually regret it if I do, but the pool is a very nice place, even if the sun is like a laser in the sky.

My dad always told us that the mockingbird doesn't sing during actual Dog Days. I haven't really paid attention to it though, since I've become addicted to air conditioning. I do have coffee with the resident Carolina wren in the mornings and watch the Mississippi kites begin another day of soaring. I thoroughly enjoy the little wrens and look forward to their song every morning.
 
 One of the racers off the coast capsized in winds I heard. Big boat and I only know about it by happenstance. Nobody was hurt but it CAN get serious. If you've never seen one of those squalls blacken the northern sky and come roaring south toward the gulf like a freight train you've missed something. We had a special weather statement predicting 40 mph winds for the afternoon but that didn't materialize in my area either. They seemed to break up around my area and then reform along the coastline. Mr. Bean cowered all afternoon hearing the thunder.

And next week, we get to track Beryl. I'm hoping not to have to deal with it but you never know. The NWS is a little better with those storms. I guess those supercomputer runs take up all the memory and there isn't any left for your garden variety popcorn storms. I'm not in much shape right now to sail anyway or deal with hurricanes, and have been avoiding heavy weights and work like the plague. At the moment I'm scheduled to get a neck rebuild on the 17th, so recuperation and heat will kill the whole summer most likely. As if I raised a sheet to the sky then anyway. So I'm already looking for fall, the best time of year.

[noelH]

You can keep your heat:).  Send about 10F up in January.

Up here along the Western Southshore of L. Superior temps have more or less been "normal".  But you need to like rain. Lake level was very low this May. Guessing back to normal or maybe above level. June, greater than 50% of the days it rained. Way above normal. Also, the amount of rainfall. June winds can be nice. Not this year. Drifters or F6. Or both within an hour. Zero days sailing. Missed one day that would have been nice (F3-5).  Race Week is usually scheduled anywheres between the week before to the week after the 4th. A few recreational or training boats out yesterday, but glassy stretches. Today's forecast 5-10 S building to small craft advisory as the wind shifts E.  Right now 0-3kts S.nearshore.  Devils Is. way out off shore is reading 8kts. Buoy 24nm NE of Outer is reading low single digits. But it is Sunny and in the mid 70F.

[Riley Smith]

I'd be agreeable to get a little cool from y'all occasionally. Actually, the cool, dry air coming down from the sky after some violent and terrible storm, filled with lightning and torrential rain, can feel SO good. It's almost like heaven. The problem with all THAT is, it is a self perpetuating cycle for a time and the cool only last hours and sometimes minutes. The rain comes EVERY day too in that cycle. Maybe only for 30 seconds, but it can rain 1/2" in those thirty seconds. The air is clean and nice then, but if the sun reappears somehow, it turns into an actual sauna, with steam rising in the air. The mugginess is unbelievable; it really feels like a blanket.

No rain today, so I guess we aren't quite there yet. We did Mobile today, and got out of our 15 mile smart city radius. It's even hotter in the city with no shade. Parking spots with shade are absolutely gold. Beryl looks to be the real deal at the moment and I'm glad I don't live in the Leeward Islands. The Yucatan has been taking a beating this summer. It's another "thumb" like Florida, and the spaghettis favors Beryl smacking it once again.

[Norm L.]

It's no time to have stock in Mexican tourist resort hotels. The safest place may be down inside a Mayan pyramid.

There will be prayer, well wishes, hopes, and thoughts and whatever else works to help you through the neck surgery.

[noelH]

Correction. Did sail one day in June, the 7th. So long ago I forgot. Good thing for log book.  Yesterday was the first day since then. Bit lumpy with the long fetch running the full length of the Bay (~12nm). But from F2 when setting up to launch. To solid F4. Broad reach N to go watch a Race Week race. 45 sailboats ranging from cruisers to full out racing yachts. Late start due to no real wind in the AM. Plan was to make the ~4nm to Oak Pt due E of the marina. Then ~3nm NW to Houghton Pt, ~2nm NE to Long Is. Pt, ~2nm to Grant's Pt on the S. tip of Madeline Is. But the fleet was using the Grant's Pt red buoy as a mark. So just a back and forth until I got bored of watching slow ballasted monohulls in moderate winds. Back into the Bay. The wind was picking enough to set a reef. Ended up 2nd reef. Bit underpowered in the softer air, but happy sailor when the hard winds kicked in. Supposedly gusts to 25kts, but not really gusty. Just sustained winds at maybe low 20s. Of course by the time I'm ~1nm from the marina the wind does it 1800 shut down. Too lazy to set full sail. So I just drifted along at ~3kts.

20C/68F, RH ~50%, mostly sunny sky. Warm enough that when hit by spray it was not bone chilling L. Superior cold. Just refreshing. Probably cold for people who laugh when I say it's hot (aka 80F).

[Riley Smith]

I even pulled all the reserves from the Cayman's Norm    I'm hoping that blocking high pressure over the SE will hold long enough to keep that scallywag away from MY house, although I'm expecting the impending razing of the Yucatan to slow it down some. Expected return to duty will be early Oct. but any good wishes aren't discouraged!

[Doug SC]

It's 100F here in SC and no wind to speak of. We need rain and the NWS says we have a 405 chance of thunderstorms. Really hoping they rain on us. here's to a speedy recovery. October has to be one of my favorite months right up there with April.

[Riley Smith]

We're staying inside and in the pool. It's too hot to do anything else. This was the first year in a long while we didn't have a pool party on the 4th. Most every year a thunderstorm runs us inside. Everyone was going in different directions this year, so it was quiet. The predicted track of Beryl keeps moving east and that's not good for me. Here's hoping it doesn't stall and intensify again.

[Norm L.]

The large area of highs and a little low area near the coast of lows changed over the past days. They did hold the storm south but seem to have grown with a shallow low front across the southern US. I guess that's what gave the storm some space to move a little more north before going ashore.
Now there are big highs behind that low front so that should keep everything unwanted west of Houston. I'm surprised that the rain forecast for you and I is much less than I expected since we are still on the far side edge.
The rain, or at least overcast, is welcome as it makes a 10 degree difference in the temps.