hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 31, 2004

87/64

Hows about a big round of applause for August 2004!!!

This Date in History

PRINCESS DIANA DIES:
August 31, 1997


Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in Paris' Pitie-Salpetiere Hospital after suffering massive chest injuries in an early morning car accident. Her companion, Dodi Fayed, was killed instantly in the 12:25 a.m. crash, as was driver Henri Paul, who was drunk and lost control of the Mercedes in a highway underpass. He was driving at excessive speeds in a reckless attempt to escape paparazzi photographers. Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees Jones, escaped with serious but nonfatal injuries. He was the only one wearing his seat belt. The death of Diana, beloved by millions for her beauty and good nature, plunged the world into mourning.

www.historychannel.com

Weather History

Where does August of 2004 fall among the coolest Augusts in Wichita Falls history?

here are the 5 coolest Augusts on record since 1924.

4. 1989
3. 1971
2*. 2004
2*. 1992
1. 1950

* = tie with 78.9 degrees

This August there were only 8 days where the high temperature was 95 degrees or higher. I'm going to go ahead and put my order in for the sam thing next year.

Nearly 5 1/2 inches of rain doesn't hurt either!

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 30, 2004

86/62

This Date in History

An Attempt to Redistribute America's Wealth
1935

President Franklin Roosevelt's Revenue Act, which aimed to take a cut out of the nation's fattest pocketbooks, was passed into law. Aptly referred to as the Wealth Tax Act, the legislation increased taxes on rich citizens and big business, while lowering taxes for small businesses. Though the taxes were a seeming boon to a nation mired in the Depression, they raised the hackles of business leaders and the wealthy elite. The president, himself a child of affluence, was branded a "traitor to his class," as well as a Communist. The Revenue Act hardly paved the way for a wholesale redistribution of wealth, but it did seek to rectify the imbalances in the American economy. "Our revenue laws have operated to the unfair advantage of the few," FDR reasoned when the act passed. "They have done little to prevent an unjust concentration of wealth and economic power."

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 29, 2004

87/67

the record high for this date is 106

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 28, 2004

84/68 (that's more like it!)

1.09" inches of rain was reported at the airport which puts us over 5" for the month, hence my green yard. In the words of The Waco Kid "Ahh, happy days!"

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 27, 2004

96/74

It will be late next week before temps threaten to get this warm again.
It may stay in the 70 tomorrow!

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 26, 2004

98/76

the average high for this date is 94

Picture This

Here are some snapshot of a lone supercell thunderstorm that went up over Montague county the evening of the 25th. Any time you have storms to your east with the sun setting in the west the result is absolutely stunning

Just a Thought

"I've never seen a monument erected to a pessimist."

-Paul Harvey

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 25, 2004

95/80

80 is the warmest low temperatures since July 22, 2003

hi/lo

Here are the temperature extremes for August 24, 2004

97/64

Would you believe that today was the first day in August that the high temp was above average.
That's kind of misleading beacuse in the 1st week of the month we had warmer temps, but back then the average highs were warmer too. On the 4th & 5th the high temperature was 98, which is also the average high for that date.

allrighty then...

F.Y.I

As it stands now, we're on pace to set the all-time record for Coolest August on record. Unless it gets incredibly hot this week, we'll certainly finish the month in the top 4. Maybe I should say 'bottom' 4.

Journal

I've accomplished something over the past few weeks that I wasn't sure I had the will to do.

I read a book

I know, I know, "big deal!" right?
Actually, yes.
Reading has never come easy to me. My Wife, who's field of expertise includes difficulty in speech and reading, feels that my problem with reading is very similar to dyslexia. Whatever the case, reading is a chore for me. Until recently, I've never read a book to be entertained. As an adolescent and y0ung adult, if I read a book, its was for research or improving my weather knowledge. My favorite "books" as a child were road atlases and almanacs. With those publications there was no obligation to follow a story, or concentrate on a plot or character development. I could read a page or two, pick up a quick fact (something to add to my cache of useless knowledge) close the book and hope to crack it open a few weeks down the pike.
Well, I can now say I've read a 450 page story from cover to cover. Not fiction, mind you, but a story none the less that took every ounce of commitment, determination, and concentration. The title of the book is Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road. Its a profound account of recent tragedies in the life of Rush drummer Neil Peart (author) and the months following his tremendous loss when he traveled over 55,000 miles trying to find himself again. The book is not real exciting, nor is the story very dynamic, so I really had to stay focused, especially with my kids and pets wanting something with every turn of a page.

Metaphorically speaking, I feel I've turned a page in my life. I honestly didn't know I could concentrate long enough to read a book of this length and battle the distractions in the corners of my own noggin. I really feel as if I have accomplished something. As a matter of fact, I have ordered the more recent book by the same author, and I'm actually looking foreward to reading it.

John Cameron

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 22, 2004

89/64

Journal

New addition to the family...


This is "Salvadore Dogi"


"Sal" was born this summer

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 21, 2004

84*/63

*84 is a new record for "coolest high temperature" for this date. The previous record of 85 was set in 1956.

The average high temperature for this date is 95.

hi/lo

here are the temperatures extremes for August 20, 2004

77/65

.44" of rain today, giving us 4.33" for the month(what?!)

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 19, 2004

81/68

.66" of rain was reported at the airport. The total for the month is 3.89"

Web Site of the Day

The most complete weather web site I'm aware of.
The webmaster is Meteorologist Jeff Haby, professor
at Mississippi State University.
www.theweatherprediction.com

This Date in History

The Police play their first gig
1977

Gordon Sumner (better known as Sting), Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers give their first performance as The Police at a nightclub in Birmingham, England. Sting and Copeland had formed the band several months earlier with another guitar player, Henry Padovani, who had quit the band, but this was the first show featuring the trio that proved to be a hit-making combination.

Sting, nicknamed for a black and yellow shirt he frequently wore to his early gigs, was born in Newcastle, England. Before becoming a full-time musician, he worked as a teacher and ditch digger. Playing bass, saxophone, and keyboards, as well as singing, Sting played in Newcastle jazz clubs in his early 20s, when he met drummer Stewart Copeland. Copeland was born to American parents in Egypt; his father was in the CIA. Summers, a classically trained guitar player from Blackpool, England, had played with numerous successful musicians, including Neil Sedaka, before joining the Police. Copeland and his brother created a record label that produced a single, "Fall Out," by the Police in 1978. A year later, the group signed a record deal.

The band toured America, then released a series of increasingly successful albums, including Regatta de Blanc in 1979 and Zenyatta Mondatta (including the song "Don't Stand So Close to Me") in 1980. The album hit No. 5 on the U.S. pop charts. Their next album,

Ghost in the Machine (1981), which included such hits as "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," was even more popular. Their 1983 album, Synchronicity, was their biggest success to date, boasting hits like "Every Breath You Take" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger." Synchronicity was the group's last studio album. The band took a "sabbatical" after the album, and although the members played together live a few more times, they never recorded together again. All three later released solo albums, but only Sting achieved international stardom as a solo artist.


www.historychannel.com

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 17 2004

91/65

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 16, 2004

88/65

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 15, 2004

78/63

2.78" of rain fell at the airport this morning giving us 3.23" for the month of August.

This Date in History

Steve Martin is born
1945

On this day, comedian, actor, and writer Steve Martin is born in Waco, Texas. The son of a real estate executive, Martin moved to Garden Grove, California, as a child, where he worked at Disneyland during his teens. At Disneyland, he entertained crowds with magic tricks and later with banjo music and comedy. He eventually studied theater arts at UCLA and broke into show business as a comedy writer. In 1969, he won an Emmy for his writing on the hit comedy show The Smothers Brothers and later wrote and appeared on other comedy-variety shows, including The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.
Meanwhile, Martin began performing his own comedy at nightclubs and on records. He was soon guest-hosting The Tonight Show and appearing on Saturday Night Live, notably in the role of the "wild and crazy guy."

Martin made his film debut in 1977 in The Absent-Minded Waiter, which he wrote. After playing small but entertaining roles in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) and The Muppet Movie (1979), he starred in his first big hit, The Jerk (1979). He appeared in numerous comedies in the 1980s, including All of Me (1984), Three Amigos (1986), and Roxanne (1987), a modern adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, for which he won the Writer's Guild Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 14, 2004

86/63*

*record low for this date

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 13, 2004

86/65

Web Site of the Day

National Hurricane Center
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

This Date in History

Alfred Hitchcock is born
1899

Alfred Hitchcock is born on this day, the son of a London poultry dealer and fruit importer. He became a highly influential director of suspense films in the 1940s and 1950s, known for sneaking his own cameo appearance into every film.

Hitchcock entered show business as a designer of title cards for silent films made by the newly formed London branch of Hollywood's Famous Players-Lasky (later, Paramount Pictures). He worked closely with screenwriters, who occasionally allowed him to direct a scene that didn't include actors. He became an assistant director and was promoted to director in 1925. He married film editor and script girl Alma Reville the following year and she helped him write a variety of screenplays.

Hitchcock continued to direct English suspense films, including The 39 Steps, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and The Lady Vanishes, but he moved to Hollywood in 1939 to take advantage of American filmmaking technology. His first American movie, Rebecca, won the 1940 Oscar for Best Picture and landed Hitchcock a Best Director nomination.

During the 1950s, he started to experiment creatively and produced some of the most popular films of his career, including Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo, and Rear Window. He became renowned for his psychologically complicated thrillers. In a Hitchcock movie, nothing on screen happened by accident: He carefully chose each camera angle and sound effect. He maintained strict creative control over his films.


www.historychannel.com

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 12, 2004

89/63

This Date in History

First Personal Computers
1981

By the early 1980s, the computer had shrunk from being a room-clogging behemoth to a relatively dainty machine that could fit on desks in homes and schools. So, IBM's introduction of its Personal Computer (PC) on August 12, 1981, didn't exactly signal a technical revolution. But that didn't stop Big Blue's PC from bursting onto the scene. Their new product sold 136,000 units in its first year and a half of release, propelling the companyýs stock on an upward climb that peaked later in the decade. IBM had seemingly served notice to the computer industry: the granddaddy of business computing was making a break from the boardroom and looking to conquer America's homes. Not as widely noticed was the fact that IBM's new machine was a pastiche of other company's components, including a processing chip courtesy of Intel and an operating system developed by a thirty-two person concern called Microsoft. Eventually, IBM would not only be relying on other company's technology, but would be chasing them for profits. Though recent years have been a touch kinder to the company, the early 1990s saw IBM posting annual losses that sometimes ballooned up to $8 million.

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 11, 2004

84/67

the average high temperature for this date is 97

Did You Know?

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Texas was 120F in Seymour on August, 12 1936!

That's why God made Iced Tea!

F.Y.I.

Here's a list of the number of 100+ degree days per year over the last 5 years.

'99 = 39 days
'00 = 63 days (electric company's dream come true)
'01 = 46 days
'02 = 16 days
'03 = 35 days
'04 = 4 days (so far)

I'd say we're back on speaking terms with mother nature!

This Date in History

The Camaro's Debut

1966

The first Chevy Camaro drove out of the manufacturing plant in Norwood, Ohio, on this day in 1966. The 1967 Camaro coupe was named just weeks before production; General Manager Elliot Estes, when publicly announcing the name, quipped, "I went into a closet, shut the door and came out with the name." Camaro is actually French for "comrade, pal, or chum." The Camaro was a hit with the public, sporting a base price of only $2,466 for a six-cylinder engine and three-speed manual transmission.

www.historychannel.com

hi/lo

here are the temperatures extremes for August 10, 2004

94/68

It may be Sunday before we see highs in the 90s again!

This Date in History

New state west of the Mississippi
1821

Missouri enters the Union as the 24th state--and the first located entirely west of the Mississippi River.

Named for one of the Native American groups that once lived in the territory, Missouri became a U.S. possession as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. In 1817, Missouri Territory applied for statehood, but the question of whether it would be slave or free delayed approval by Congress. In 1820, the Missouri Compromise was reached, admitting Missouri as a slave state but excluding slavery from the other Louisiana Purchase lands north of Missouri's southern border. Missouri's August 1821 entrance into the Union as a slave state was met with disapproval by many of its citizens.

Confession

As a child, I was scared to death of the muppet "Sweetums". As an adult I'm not completely at peace when I see him. He spoiled an otherwise joyous time watching the Muppet Show.

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 9, 2004


91/69

.19" of rain was reported

F.Y.I

The average high temperature for the first 8 days in August.

2003 = 105 degrees
2004 = 91 degrees

nice!

Just a Thought

"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man."

Elbert Hubbard
(1856 - 1915)

This Date in History

Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
1945

On this day in 1945, a second atom bomb is dropped on Japan by the United States, at Nagasaki, resulting finally in Japan's unconditional surrender.

The devastation wrought at Hiroshima was not sufficient to convince the Japanese War Council to accept the Potsdam Conference's demand for unconditional surrender. The United States had already planned to drop their second atom bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man," on August 11 in the event of such recalcitrance, but bad weather expected for that day pushed the date up to August 9. So at 1:56 a.m., a specially adapted B-29 bomber, called "Bock's Car," after its usual commander, Frederick Bock, took off from Tinian Island under the command of Maj. Charles W. Sweeney. Nagasaki was a shipbuilding center, the very industry intended for destruction. The bomb was dropped at 11:02 a.m., 1,650 feet above the city. The explosion unleashed the equivalent force of 22,000 tons of TNT. The hills that surrounded the city did a better job of containing the destructive force, but the number killed is estimated at anywhere between 60,000 and 80,000 (exact figures are impossible, the blast having obliterated bodies and disintegrated records).

Nixon leaves White House; Ford sworn-in

1974

In accordance with his statement of resignation the previous evening, Richard M. Nixon officially ends his term as the 37th president of the United States at noon. Before departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House lawn, he smiled farewell and enigmatically raised his arms in a victory or peace salute. The helicopter door was then closed, and the Nixon family began their journey home to San Clemente, California. Richard Nixon was the first U.S. president to resign from office.

Minutes later, Vice President Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States in the East Room of the White House. After taking the oath of office, President Ford spoke to the nation in a television address, declaring, "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over."

Ford, the first president who came to the office through appointment rather than election, had replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president only eight months before. In a political scandal independent of the Nixon administration's wrongdoings in the Watergate affair, Agnew had been forced to resign in disgrace after he was charged with income tax evasion and political corruption. In September 1974, Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed while in office, explaining that he wanted to end the national divisions created by the Watergate scandal.

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 8, 2004

81/69

.20" of rain reported at the airport

Just a Thought

"Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking"

-J.C. Watts

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 7th, 2004

85/71

Oh where, oh where has summer gone?

This Date in History

Atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima
1945

On this day in 1945, at 8:16 a.m. Japanese time, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world's first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman, discouraged by the Japanese response to the Potsdam Conference's demand for unconditional surrender, made the decision to use the atom bomb to end the war in order to prevent what he predicted would be a much greater loss of life were the United States to invade the Japanese mainland. And so on August 5, while a "conventional" bombing of Japan was underway, "Little Boy," (the nickname for one of two atom bombs available for use against Japan), was loaded onto Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets' plane on Tinian Island in the Marianas. Tibbets' B-29, named the Enola Gay after his mother, left the island at 2:45 a.m. on August 6. Five and a half hours later, "Little Boy" was dropped, exploding 1,900 feet over a hospital and unleashing the equivalent of 12,500 tons of TNT. The bomb had several inscriptions scribbled on its shell, one of which read "Greetings to the Emperor from the men of the Indianapolis" (the ship that transported the
bomb to the Marianas).

There were 90,000 buildings in Hiroshima before the bomb was dropped; only 28,000 remained after the bombing. Of the city's 200 doctors before the explosion; only 20 were left alive or capable of working. There were 1,780 nurses before-only 150 remained who were able to tend to the sick and dying.

According to John Hersey's classic work Hiroshima, the Hiroshima city government had put hundreds of schoolgirls to work clearing fire lanes in the event of incendiary bomb attacks. They were out in the open when the Enola Gay dropped its load.

There were so many spontaneous fires set as a result of the bomb that a crewman of the Enola Gay stopped trying to count them. Another crewman remarked, "It's pretty terrific. What a relief it worked."

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 6, 2004

87/68

now that's more like it!

The record high for today is 113 set in 1964

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here are the temperature extrems for August 5, 2004

92/75

This Date in History

Eisenhower warns of "ominous" situation in Asia
1953


Speaking before the Governor's Conference in Seattle, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warns that the situation in Asia is becoming "very ominous for the United States." In the speech, Eisenhower made specific reference to the need to defend French Indochina from the communists.

Eisenhower's speech marked the first appearance of what would come to be known as the "domino theory"--the idea that the loss of Indochina to communism would lead to other Asian nations following suit, like a row of dominos. The speech also indicated that the United States was fully committed to the defense of Indochina to prevent this possibility. After the defeat of the French in 1954, America took France's place in fighting the Vietnamese communist revolutionaries, thus beginning its slow but steady immersion into the Vietnam War.

www.historychannel.com

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 4, 2004

98/77

hi/lo

Here are the temperature extremes for August, 3 2004

98/74

Just A Thought

Minds are like parachutes. They only function when open.

-Thomas Dewar

hi/lo

here are the temperature extremes for August 2, 2004

97/73

the record high for this date is 112 set in 1943

F.Y.I

Did you know the transmission tower for Channel 6 is one of the tallest structures in all of southwest Oklahoma and north Texas? The tip of the antenna is 1,020 feet above the ground and 2,007 feet above sea level. If the channel 6 tower were an office building, it would be in the top 20 of tallest buildings in the world! Not only does the height of tower help broadcast great distances, but it also protects people on the ground from 100 kilowatts of radio energy.
The tower for KWTV in Oklahoma City is over 1,500' tall!

This Date in History

HITLER BECOMES FÜHRER
August 2, 1934


With the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler becomes absolute dictator of Germany under the title of Führer, or "Leader." The German army took an oath of allegiance to its new commander-in-chief, and the last remnants of Germany's democratic government were dismantled to make way for Hitler's Third Reich. The Führer assured his people that the Third Reich would last for a thousand years, but Nazi Germany collapsed just 11 years later.

Restart

"Wichita Falls Weather" can now get back 0n track now that my family and I are back from vacation. Looks like the heat took a vacation from Wichita Falls as well.

Here are the temperature extremes for the days I was gone.

Tuesday 81/66
Wednesday 78/69 1.87" of rain (yeah!)
Thursday 84/69
Friday 89/64
Saturday 93/68
Sunday August 1st 95/71