hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for July 26, 2004
 
85/63
 
63 is a new record low for this date. The previous record was 64
set in 1924

Weather on the Web

Here's a link to one of my favorite weather web sites.

http://www.wunderground.com

This Date in History

FBI FOUNDED
July 26, 1908

On July 26, 1908, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is born when U.S. Attorney General Charles Bonaparte orders a group of newly hired federal investigators to report to Chief Examiner Stanley W. Finch of the Department of Justice. One year later, the Office of the Chief Examiner was renamed the Bureau of Investigation, and in 1935 it became the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

hi/lo

If you thought it felt unusually cool out today...you were definately right! That cold front did its job well in ushering Canadian air into Texoma.

Todays high temperature was 73 which is by far the coolest "high" temperature ever for July 25th in Wichita Falls. The previous record was 82 set in 1975.
73 just happens to be the average low temperature this time of the year.
The avearge high is 98. The record high for this date is 111 set in 1964.

This morning's low was 64. 

hi/lo

Here are the temperature extremes for July 24,2004
 
90/70

0.12" of rain was observed this date. The last time rain was
 reported in Wichita Falls was July 7.  2.83" is the total for
the month (so far). 17.89" is the total since January 1st.


    
 

This Date in History

MORMONS SETTLE SALT LAKE VALLEY
July 24, 1847

After 17 months and many miles of travel, Brigham Young leads 148 Mormon pioneers into Utah's Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Gazing over the parched earth of the remote location, Young declared, "This is the place," and the pioneers began preparations for the thousands of Mormon migrants who would follow. Seeking religious and political freedom, the Mormons began planning their great migration from the east after the murder of Joseph Smith, the Christian sect's founder and first leader.

Just a Thought

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."
 
-Bertha Calloway

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for July 23, 2004
 
101/73
 
should be a while before we see triple digit heat again

Confession

I still get a little anxious if not nervous when I anticipate the "tornado" scene in The Wizard of Oz. I think its the most realistic tornado in motion picture history.

John Cameron

F.Y.I.

Weather Glossary

Dewpoint: The temperature at which a parcel of air would have to be cooled to reach saturation (100% humidity)

A practical way to think of dewpoint is: The temperature at which fog or dew will form. Temperatures are most likely to cool to the dewpoint around sunrise, making that the most likely time to encounter dense fog and heavy dew.

Dewpoint is a better way to guage the amount of water vapor in the air than using relative humidity. Relative humidity is relative to the actual air temperature. For example 100% humidity at 40(F)degrees is less total water vapor than 100% humidity at 90 degrees. With dewpoint, the closer the dewpoint to the actual air temperature the higher the moisture. During the summertime, dewpoints in the mid and upper 60s is an indication of very muggy and sticky air, whereas dewpoints in the 30s will be much more comfortable.

Dewpoints are very important in forecasting severe weather in the spring. The higher the dewpoint the higher the potential for severe weather. If dewpoints reach the 60s on a spring afternoon there is a lot of fuel for thunderstorms in the air.
Forecasters often look at dewpoint readings at weather observation sites across Texas to determine where drylines are.

John Cameron

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for July 22, 2004

98/71

This Date in History

1991 Cannibal and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is caught


Milwaukee, Wisconsin, police officers spot Tracy Edwards running down the street in handcuffs, and upon investigation, they find one of the grisliest scenes in modern history-Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment.
Edwards told the police that Dahmer had held him at his apartment and threatened to kill him. Although they initially thought the story was dubious, the officers took Edwards back to Dahmer's apartment. Dahmer calmly explained that the whole matter was simply a misunderstanding and the officers almost believed him. However, they spotted a few Polaroid photos of dismembered bodies, and Dahmer was arrested.
When Dahmer's apartment was fully searched, a house of horrors was revealed. In addition to photo albums full of pictures of body parts, the apartment was littered with human remains: Several heads were in the refrigerator and freezer; two skulls were on top of the computer; and a 57-gallon drum containing several bodies decomposing in chemicals was found in a corner of the bedroom. There was also evidence to suggest that Dahmer had been eating some of his victims


www.historychannel.com

Just a Thought

"It's very hard to take yourself too seriously when you look at the world from outer space."
 
-Thomas Mattingly II
Apollo 16 astronaut

hi/lo

Here are the temperature extremes for July 21, 2004
 
98/70

This Date in Weather History

On this date in 1989...

...Corpus Christi equalled their record morning low of 71 and later that afternoon tied their record high for for this date of 97.


www.weatherforyou.com

Did You Know?

Over North America nearly 6 times more water is carried within moving currents of air than is transported by all of the continent's rivers!

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for July 20, 2004
 
101/68

F.Y.I

The Cameron Necktie

Once every 2 weeks or so you'll catch me at the weather wall with what appears to be questionable selection of neckties. Its bad enough that the tie is plaid. Furthermore the combination of colors (red, green and yellow) can be unsettling to the meek.

I'm certainly not trying to stay on the cutting edge of fashion. I'm merely acknowledging my Scottish heritage. That "plaid" design is known as a tartan.
That combination of colors and stripes is worn as a family "flag" of sorts. Anyone well versed in Scotish history can probably guess a person's surname simply by looking at the color and pattern on thier kilt. Clan Cameron used this tartan for over 5 centuries. Anyone whom can trace their bloodline back to Scotland or Ireland will likely find a tartan that represents their history and heritage.

John Cameron
www.clan-cameron.org

This date in history

ARMSTRONG WALKS ON MOON
July 20, 1969


At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." A moment later, he stepped off the lunar landing module Eagle and became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.

Humor

After the airline pilot had managed to land his plane -- albeit bumpily -- following a descent through exceptionally heavy weather, he came out of the flight deck to bid his passengers farewell as they gratefully entered the jetway on their way back to terra firma. The most memorable comment he received was from a little old lady who asked him politely whether he would please satisfy her curiosity on just one point: "Did we land, or were we shot down?"

from weatherimages.org

Confession

I'm young enough to love rap music, yet old enough to have had a record player as a child and adolecent. Ok, I admit it....I tried doing that "scratching" thing several times. It's harder than it looks.

John Cameron

Journal

I walked around the block again this morning before I got ready to go to work. It was as if God turned the world off so that we(or those whom may have been sleeping) may sleep peacefully. There was no apparent wind. Nary a leaf quivered on this silent night. The only creature I saw was a toad. A toad that was so fat it looked like one of those Mrs Baird's sesame seed hamburger buns, the big ones. As I rounded the block for the second time I realized why this toad was so plump. He doesn't obviously move much. I'll assume his position was strategic in nature. He was parked under a corner street lamp awaiting bugs drawn in by the light. I didn't notice any bugs even close to within striking distance. Judging from the toads weight problem, he may have already eaten everything in sight.
Anyway, the stars were amazing again. To heck with constellations. I could have built schematics for a super computer with all the stars available to me.
Being so very early in the morning, one fear I have is having the police called on me. Of course, someone would have to be awake in order to call the authorities.

John Cameron

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for July 19, 2004

99/67

Forecasting Fun

-Rumor has it that the new Miami baseball team will be called "Humidity" so that fans in Florida will be able to say, "It's not the Heat that's so bad, it's the Humidity."

-The U.S. has only three hurricane warning centers - Coral Gables, FL, Guam, and Honolulu, HI (recently completed). All three have faced Category 4 hurricanes in the past month. Which only goes to show: If you build it, they will come!

-It was so hot today I saw a robin picking earthworms out of the ground with a pair of tongs.

-What happens when the fog lifts in California? UCLA.

-How to predict weather in Seattle: If you can see Mt Ranier, it's going to rain. If not, it already is.

-An honest weatherman says, "Today's forecast is bright and sunny with an 80% chance that I'm wrong."

-Why did the lady go out doors with her purse open? Because she expected some change in the weather.

- There's a technical term for a sunny, warm day which follows two rainy days. It's called Monday.

-A postcard home: The weather is here. Wish you were beautiful.

-Two Viking invaders are trudging up the beach in the pouring rain. One looks skywards and says, "So this is England. What's it like?" The other snarls, "Well, if you like the weather, you'll love the food."

-There was a communist named Rudolph. One day he looked out the window and said, "It looks like a storm is coming." "No it isn't," said his wife. "Besides, how would you know?" "Because," he responded, "Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear."

-A weather forecaster took a job in another part of the country. When asked why he transferred he replied, "The weather didn't agree with me."

Forecasting Fun

The Weathercaster's Dictionary

Words to use when giving a compelling, confident forecast.

Partly sunny
Mostly cloudy
Chance of showers
Storms Possible
Probably won't rain
Snow Likely
could be foggy
around midnight
Some storms will be severe

This date in History

1935 Parking Meters Debut

The first automatic parking meter in the U.S., the Park-O-Meter invented by Carlton Magee, was installed in Oklahoma City by the Dual Parking Meter Company. Twenty-foot spaces were painted on the pavement, and a parking meter that accepted nickels was planted in the concrete at the head of each space. The city paid for the meters with funds collected from them. Today parking meters are big business. Companies offer digital parking meters, smart parking meters, and, even more remarkably, user-friendly parking meters. The user-friendly parking meters are an attempt to stem the tide of "violent confrontations" between users and their meters.

Just a Thought

"I think TV remotes should have a button that allows you to kill the person on the screen."

-George Carlin

Outlook

July Cold Fronts?!!!

You know, I've been doing weather for Channel 6 either as a substitute or a full-time weathercaster since February of '99. Not to mention, I've lived in Texoma since I was 6. I would like to think I know what our skies are capable of. It's rare in July that I get to center the weekly forecast around the anticipation of a passing cold front. This week's outlook focuses in the 3rd cold front in as many weeks. A ridge of high pressure will keep us hot and dry through mid-week. As the late-week cold front approaches, rain chances will improve. Right now it looks like the window of opportunity for rain will open Thursday evening and close Saturday morning. If this front is as powerful as the surface prognisis suggests, I wouldn't be suprised we saw highs in the upper 80s on Saturday or maybe Sunday. Below is a chart showing the forecasted position of the front 5 days from now.

John Cameron

life

it's all about perspective
 

Just A Thought

"Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon."
 
-Susan Ertz

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for July 18, 2004
 
94/68

This Date in History

1969 Incident on Chappaquiddick Island


Shortly after leaving a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts drives an Oldsmobile off a wooden bridge into a tide-swept pond. Kennedy escaped the submerged car, but his passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, did not. The senator did not report the fatal car accident for 10 hours.

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for July 17 
 
94/73

Just a Thought

"Oh it aint gonna rain no more. Baby it aint rain no more. How the heck can I wash my neck if it aint gonna rain no more"
 
-Tom Waits

hi/lo

here are the temperatures extremes for July 16
 
104/73

Just a Thought

" It's not the heat, it's the inhumanity"

-Neil Peart

Forecasting Fun

The tranquility of summer poses quite the challenge to TV weathercasters. Not so much in forecasting the weather, but in keeping weathercasts interesting. When the weather is hot and dry every day for weeks, its tough to avoid redundant, boring presentations. We have to be creative and find new angle at telling the same story. It could be just a matter of using different words than "hot" and "dry". Thesauruses prove helpful during the summer and so does weather history. I'm a big fan of climatology, which offers a myriad of statistics regarding temperature and precipitation extremes for the area. If the weather isn't particularlly interesting on a given day, climate data from the past can be compelling and really give an otherwise mediocre weathercast some drive.

John Cameron

Journal

Usually when my alarm sounds in the morning, I play snooze button commando for 45 minutes. On this day I decided to walk around the block and see if I can get the blood flowing as I start my day. If you've ever dreamt of a peaceful world, you should walk around the block at 3:00 in the morning. Aside from the occasional bark of a hound, the world is uncommonly still. I see myself as a city boy. One day I would like to live in a large metro area. But, you know, when when you look up on a summmer night and see what appears to be every star in the universe (from this side of the planet) that's a great testament to small town livin'. Maybe city folk need to see the stars more often.

John Cameron

hi/lo

the heat is on!
 
here are the high & Low for July 15th
 102/68

forecasting fun

Since is doesn't rain in "these parts" In July the biggest challenge day to day is forecasting (guessing) what the hottest afternoon temperature will be. It seems that we wear triple digit heat like a badge of honor around here. I have some neighbors that dont break out their short pants unless its 95 or better. Well, let our pride swell today! Its just past 11AM and the thermometer reads 93.

Let's get this party started!

Well "blogging" seems to be the word of the day when it comes to things online. I set this site up to archive the day-to-day weather events (and non-events) occurring over the Red River Valley of Southwest Oklahoma and Western North Texas. I wont have to put much effort into coming up with material because weather is my job. That's right! I'm a weathercaster for a local TV station, or as the natives say "You're the weatherman!"

If there's one thing this part of the country is known for, it is very hot summers. In fact, I would wager that from year to year, this little nook of Texas is one of the hottest places east of The Rocky Mountains.
So, what better time to kick off this blog than on [what appears to be] our first day of 100 degree heat. At least that's what my forecast is saying.
Due to the tranquility of summer, I should have ample time to keep this blog up to date. I hope to create a diary of sorts of North Texas weather and the occasional personal note. The Good Lord knows people here in "Texoma" love to talk weather, so I'm hoping a few folks will stumble across this sight and offer wisdom or anecdotes.

John Cameron
"Red Rover"