A huge, destructive hurricane takes aim at a major U.S. city. The media creates a riveting drama, followed by millions of people, who watch in awe as the massive storm smashes ashore. Grimly, wind-blown reporters and concerned news anchors document the mounting death toll and billions in damage wrought, bemoaning nature's deadliest and most destructive weather phenomena--the hurricane.
We've got it all wrong. The hurricane is not nature's deadliest and most destructive weather phenomena. Yes, hurricanes have taken a terrible toll in the U.S. over the past 20 years. They've killed an average of 150 people and caused $15 billion in damage per year--mostly thanks to Katrina. But the nation's deadliest weather events are not destructive storms that shred cities. Nature's most innocent weather--high pressure systems that bring sunny skies and light winds--are our deadliest weather events, thanks to the witch's brew of pollution we pour into our atmosphere.
Figure 1. Pick your poison--a Category 5 hurricane, or a sunny high pressure system with light winds? If you're an asthmatic, or have heart or lung disease, you'd probably be better off picking the Cat 5 hurricane. Photo of Los Angeles smog courtesy of wunderphotographer boytonbeachboy.
How high pressure systems trap pollution
High pressure systems are regions where the air gradually sinks, warming as it approaches the surface. This warming, sinking air creates a layer of air aloft (typically near 3000 feet in altitude) that is warmer than the air beneath it. This "upper air inversion" acts as a lid on the atmosphere, keeping pollutants trapped near the surface. Updrafts carrying surface air into the inversion suddenly encounter air that is warmer and less dense, so the updraft dies and the pollutants that they were trying to carry aloft settle back down towards the surface. If the high pressure region is large, an extensive area of light winds at the surface will exist, keeping the pollutants trapped under the inversion from being blown away horizontally. If the high pressure system stays in place for several days, pollutants will accumulate day by day, reaching levels harmful to human health and triggering a sharp rise in the death rate. "Particulate matter," also known as particle pollution or PM, is the pollutant that causes the largest rise in the death rate. Particulate matter pollution can occur any time of year, when winds are light and an inversion exists. In summertime, a double-whammy dose of ozone pollution can also hit, if temperatures are warm enough to drive the chemical reactions that form ozone.
How many people does pollution kill?
Why is it that air pollution episodes that kill thousands of Americans don't receive the media attention that hurricanes get? It's because it is not obvious when someone dies from air pollution, and there is very large uncertainty in the numbers. The only way to see air pollution deaths is to analyze death rate statistics for multiple years, carefully filtering out other influences such as weather extremes. Over two thousand studies have been published in the scientific literature documenting the link between air pollution and higher death and hospitalization rates. Most of these studies concern fine particulate matter (less than 2.5 microns in diameter), which can get deep into a person's lungs and be passed into the blood stream. Recent studies have also documented higher death rates from ozone pollution. For example, in a 2004 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Michelle Bell, an air quality and health expert at Yale University, found that an ozone increase of 10 parts per billion increased the death rate by an average of .52% in 95 U.S. cities (containing 40% of the U.S. population) during the period 1987-2000. Bell's research implies that a change in the ozone standard from the current 80 ppb (parts per billion) to the newly proposed standard of 60 ppb could prevent nearly 8,000 premature deaths per year in those 95 cities. About half of the people who died prematurely in Bell's study were over age 75, but the death rate increased the same amount for both young and old. In some cases, the people who died were victims of strokes or heart attacks that had other contributing causes, such as high blood pressure or sedentary lifestyles. Thus, the "premature deaths" caused by air pollution are only partly attributable to breathing bad air, while drowning in a hurricane's storm surge is entirely due to the hurricane. Nevertheless, a great many children die of pollution-induced asthma attacks who would not have died otherwise, and the mortality due to air pollution in the general population is in the thousands or ten of thousands each year. Outdoor air pollution in the U.S. due to particulate pollution alone was estimated by the EPA in 1997 to cause at least 20,000 premature deaths each year. A 2005 study by EPA scientists (Particulate Matter Health Risk Assessment for Selected Urban Areas) estimated that over 4,700 premature deaths occur each year in just nine cities (Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Boston, Phoenix, Seattle, and San Jose)--even if those cities all met the current federal standards for particulate matter pollution. Extrapolating these data to the entire nation puts the annual death toll in the tens of thousands--but the EPA has not calculated that total. Some studies have placed the annual pollution death toll in the U.S. at 50,000 to 100,000 (Dockery, D.W., and C.A Pope III. Acute Respiratory Effects of Particulate Air Pollution. Annual Review Public Health, 1994, vol. 15,107-32.) The death toll is much higher in other parts of the world, where air pollution standards are not as stringent (see the photos below of pollution in Cairo and Hong Hong!) Globally, about 800,000 people per year die prematurely due to outdoor air pollution, according to a 2005 study published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. This represents about 1.2 percent of total annual global deaths.
Figure 2. Trends in fine particulate air pollution in the U.S. Since 1999, fine particles (less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) have decreased 15%. Image credit: U.S. EPA.
Progress is being made
Significant progress has been made in recent years in cleaning the nation's air. Between 1970 and 2004, total emissions of the six major air pollutants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dropped by 54 percent. This is particularly impressive when noting that the gross domestic product increased 187 percent, energy consumption increased 47 percent, and U.S. population grew by 40 percent during the same time. Fine particulate matter pollution, which causes the most deaths due to pollution, has dropped 15% since 1999 (Figure 2), although it did increase in some Eastern U.S. cities in 2006. In March 2005, the EPA instituted the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). This new rule will cost $3 billion per year to implement, but the EPA estimates annual savings of nearly $100 billion in health costs, plus the prevention of over 17,000 premature deaths, by the year 2015.
How you can avoid a premature death due to air pollution
- Pay attention to forecasts for high air pollution days to know when to take precautions
- Avoid exercising near high-traffic areas
- Avoid exercising outdoors when pollution levels are high, or substitute an activity that requires less exertion
- Eliminate indoor smoking
- Reduce the use of fireplaces and wood burning stoves
How you can help others avoid a premature death due to air pollution
- Support national, state and local efforts to clean up sources of pollution. When one hears talk about the high cost of cutting fossil fuels use to reduce global warming, keep in mind that any lessening of fossil fuel use will also reduce air pollution and all of its costs.
- Conserve electricity and set your air conditioner at a higher temperature.
- Choose a cleaner commute--share a ride to work or use public transportation. Combine errands and reduce trips.
- Bicycle or walk to errands when possible.
- Refuel cars and trucks after dusk.
- Limit engine idling.
- Get regular engine tune ups and car maintenance checks (especially for the spark plugs).
- Avoid spilling gas and don't "top off" the tank. Replace gas tank cap tightly.
- Properly dispose of household paints, solvents and pesticides. Store these materials in airtight containers.
- Paint with a brush, not a sprayer.
- Buy low VOC paints for indoor and outdoor painting jobs.
- Reduce or eliminate fireplace and wood stove use.
- Avoid using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment.
- Avoid burning leaves, trash and other materials.
- Use household, workshop, and garden chemicals in ways that keep evaporation to a minimum, or try to delay using them when poor air quality is forecast.
- Replace your car's air filter and oil regularly
For more information
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated this week as Air Pollution Awareness Week. Check out their Air Pollution Awareness Week web site to learn more.
My next blog will be Monday.
Jeff Masters
Hong Kong skyline through mist and pollution, as seen from "The Peak" park. South-East China.
This is a picture of the Pyramids at Giza taken from Cairo Tower at sunset. It highlights the pollution problem in Cairo.
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Just looked at the 18z GFS and it seems to loose the system all together. Looks like the high builds in strong and keeps the low from doing anything.
I think that is correct chicklet, but am not certain. I think it should reduce the shear that we saw last year more importantly. But maybe some one could elaborate better then I.
The Weather page at StormJunkie.com has finally been updated. So it is no longer blank!~) I will add another weather link page before too long. Have also added a couple of links to the Qucik Links page.
http://www.notroman.com/tmp/gianttornado.gif
http://www.notroman.com/tmp/gianttornado2.gif
...evidence is getting stronger to this acuity in forecasting of land-falling storms!!!
(more later...read on!)(story is dated, today, 5/4/07)
OTTAWA (AFP) - Bigfoot, the legendary hairy man-like beast said to roam the wildernesses of North America, is not shy, merely so rare it risks extinction and should be protected as an endangered species.
So says Canadian MP Mike Lake who has called for Bigfoot to be protected under Canada's species at risk act, alongside Whooping Cranes, Blue Whales, and Red Mulberry trees.
"The debate over their (Bigfoot's) existence is moot in the circumstance of their tenuous hold on merely existing," reads a petition presented by Lake to parliament in March and due to be discussed next week.
"Therefore, the petitioners request the House of Commons to establish immediate, comprehensive legislation to affect immediate protection of Bigfoot," says the petition signed by almost 500 of Lake's constituents in Edmonton, Alberta.
A similar appeal has been made to the US Congress.
Down through history, there have been numerous, if unsubstantiated sightings of Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch in North American folklore.
The beast is said to inhabit remote forests, mainly in the US Pacific northwest and western Canada, and many believe it could be related to the equally mythical Yeti said to have found its home in Tibet and Nepal.
While sometimes described as large, hairy bipedal hominoids, Bigfoot are considered by most experts to be a combination of folklore and hoaxes.
But the legend remains strong, and Bigfoot researcher Todd Standing, who was behind the petition, claims to have proof of its existence, and says he fears for its safety.
"When I get species protection for them nationwide, I will make my findings public and I will take this out of the realm of mythology. Bigfoot is real," Standing told Global National television news.
He said he has 12 seconds of video footage of Bigfoot roaming Canada's western Rocky Mountains included in a 30-minute documentary, but his detractors say it was staged with actors.
His supporters hail from Canada's westernmost provinces, but Bigfoot sightings have been reported across the country, which is 90 percent uninhabited.
...sitings down in the Keys, NOrleans, Cuba...all substantiate what's been happening with the big fellow's migration in the past few years...and consequently, representative of one of the contributing factors of more severe, and more land-falling storms.
....stay tuned!!!!!
Certainly, as "accurate" as the many casts (tunnels???) about this time of year...is there a low now? oh well, more "substance" to follow soon...have an open mind...casting is not as "scientific" as some on this blog would lead us to believe!!!
Have a GR8 weekend! (don't let the "smell" fool you...it's real!)
....they're around...watch for early storms this year...you'll see! the "smell" is definitely a factor.
Here is the article from the NASA website:
Link
If we have a La Nina this year, does that mean the winds will blow from east to west and not west to east as they did last year?
During Hurricane season, the lower level (Trade Winds) move from the east to the west, both in El Nino and La Nina! The winds above the surface are affected by ENSO (LaNina / ElNino) During a La Nina, the upper level winds (west to east) are much less than what you would see during an El Nino. They are still present during La Nina but, not in a destructive nature. El Nino enhances the west to east winds to a destructive nature, like 06.
A terrible situation unfolded in the area of Greensburg lastnight when a possible F4-F5 tornado causeing extreme damage in many areas.My thoughts and prayers go out to these folks.
I'll posting radar pics of this incredible hook echo caught on radar later today.For now here is video coverage out of the area.
Damage videos
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
805 AM EDT SAT MAY 05 2007
ATLANTIC...
MAIN FEATURE IN THE WRN ATLC CONTINUES TO BE THE SFC TROUGH
EXTENDING NE FROM THE TURKS AND CAICOS. THIS...ALONG WITH UPPER
DIFFLUENCE BETWEEN AN UPPER TROUGH OVER THE WRN ATLC AND AND
UPPER RIDGE OVER THE CENTRAL ATLC...IS SUPPORTING THE OVERCAST
CLOUDINESS WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS/ISOLD TSTMS N OF 20N BETWEEN
55W-72W. MODEL GUIDANCE HAS NOT BEEN HANDLING THIS SITUATION
PARTICULARLY WELL...THOUGH THE CURRENT CONSENSUS IS FOR
TROUGHING TO CONTINUE EXTENDING NE FROM HISPANIOLA/TURKS AND
CAICOS INTO SUNDAY WITH POSSIBLE WEAK WAVES OF CLOSED LOW
PRESSURE FORMING ALONG THE BOUNDARY AND MOVING NE. THE GLOBAL
MODELS ARE ALSO GRADUALLY COMING INTO BETTER AGREEMENT REGARDING
ANOTHER LOW TO DEVELOP OFF THE SOUTHEAST U.S. COAST DURING THE
SUN-TUE TIMEFRAME. THIS SYSTEM COULD HAVE SIGNIFICANT MARINE
IMPACTS FOR THE AREA INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...SEE OFFSHORE WATERS
FORECAST UNDER AWIPS HEADER MIAOFFNT3 FOR MORE DETAILS.
OTHERWISE MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF THE ATLC DISCUSSION AREA IS
DOMINATED BY THE SRN PERIPHERY OF A 1030MB SFC HIGH S OF THE
AZORES NEAR 36N29W. THERE IS AN UPPER LOW NEAR 27N35W THAT HAS A
TROUGH EXTENDING S ALONG 35W TO NEAR 10N...BUT DOES NOT APPEAR
TO BE GENERATING ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER.
$$
WILLIS
NHC center recognizing cut off low
OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST FOR THE SOUTHWEST AND TROPICAL NORTH
ATLANTIC AND CARIBBEAN SEA...CORRECTED
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
530 AM EDT SAT MAY 05 2007
OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST FOR THE CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N
ATLC FROM 7N TO 22N BETWEEN 55W AND 65W
AMZ088-051530-
SYNOPSIS FOR THE SW N ATLC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS
530 AM EDT SAT MAY 05 2007
SYNOPSIS
A NEARLY STATIONARY SURFACE TROUGH FROM 31N68W TO
THE SE BAHAMAS WILL BEGIN TO DRIFT E THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
SUN NIGHT. LOW PRES IS EXPECTED TO FORM ALONG THE TROUGH NEAR
26N66W THIS AFTERNOON WITH TRAILING TROUGH TO HISPANIOLA. THE
MOVES NE OF AREA TONIGHT. ANOTHER LOW IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP
N OF THE AREA LATE TONIGHT...THEN MOVE SE TOWARDS THE NW WATERS
AS IT INTENSIFIES SUN REACHING A PSN NEAR 32N72W LATE SUN NIGHT.
THE LOW THEN IS EXPECTED TO SLOWLY MOVE SW TO NEAR 31N75W LATE
MON...AND CONTINUE W NEAR 31N THROUGH TUE BEFORE TURNING NW AND
WEAKENING WED.
Looks like the models still show our feature off the E coast. Pretty interesting scenario shaping up!
NAM:
It is a paper storm for now, but none the less several models calling for a surface low in may that could douse some fires, and could also have an outside chance at becoming warm core is pretty interesting.
Good to see ya phillies. The CMC has been very bullish with this system. Will have to see what happens. The Nogaps takes a weak system all the way down to S Fla and then rides it back up the coast. Now that would be great!
Storms sweep through region
A strong spring downpour overwhelms pumps, knocks out power and downs trees, but Jazzfest takes it in stride
By John Pope and Mark Schleifstein
Staff writer
A two-stage storm dumped as much as 5 inches on the New Orleans area Friday, resulting in an epidemic of street flooding, power outages and swamped cars -- and exposed a persistent problem in New Orleans' stormwater pumping system.
Though the storm caused no major damage or injuries, it knocked down trees, and left thousands of people throughout the area without electricity at its peak. Firefighters rescued an 83-year-old woman from her car after it was inundated where Canal Boulevard crosses under a railroad trestle in Lakeview, where the water ultimately rose over the car's roof. A smattering of other motorists stalled while trying to cross impassable patches of roadway.
Though it didn't flood houses, the storm exposed persistent electrical problems in the city's antiquated stormwater pumping system -- for the second time in six months. Officials with the city Sewerage & Water Board acknowledged that a number of pumps temporarily lost power, among them a 20-minute outage at the massive Pump Station No. 6 on the 17th Street Canal along the Orleans-Jefferson line.
In December, the loss of electricity to some pumps in Pump Station 6 resulted in a drop in the amount of water it could dump into the 17th Street Canal, and contributed to street flooding in Orleans and Jefferson. That power failure also led to demands by Jefferson Parish officials to place one of its officials in the pump station, a request the water board refused.
Jefferson Parish reduced potential flooding Friday by using the flood-water retention ponds built since Katrina at Wally Pontiff Jr. Playground, the park formerly called Metairie Playground. The ponds had been created to provide an alternate destination for any floodwaters that threatened that part of East Jefferson.
Marcia St. Martin, executive director of the city Sewerage & Water Board, said her office kept Jefferson officials informed of the loss of power and pumping capacity.
The commercial power for the Orleans pump stations, produced by Entergy New Orleans, is delivered at 60 cycles. The water board produces its own 25-cycle power that is the primary power source for most pumps. The different cycle power supply dates back to the installation of large pump stations in the city at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Since Katrina, several independent engineering organizations have warned that the differing electrical supplies are a major trouble spot in the city's internal drainage system.
And on Friday, the loss of 60-cycle commercial electricity also knocked out a compressor that increases the pressure of natural gas to operate the water board's 25-cycle power plant, causing it to shut down, too.
Water board officials scrambled to switch to diesel fuel to operate the power plant, but the failure led to most individual pump stations west of the Industrial Canal being knocked out for periods lasting from a few minutes to 45 minutes, St. Martin said.
Most of Friday's street flooding was unavoidable, St. Martin said, despite the pump station problems, because nearly 4 inches of rain fell in much of the city within a few hours.
But she said the power failure remains a troubling problem.
"We're working with the corps to look at ways to protect the 25-cycle electrical system," she said. "We're also going through discussions with Entergy to bring in high-pressured natural gas, which would eliminate that one step in the generating process."
She said the agency also is attempting to rely more on diesel-powered backup generators, whose use has been limited by federal Environmental Protection Agency air emission rules.
"But the real key to this afternoon is, irrespective to our problems, the rainfall event was greater than our capabilities with everything working perfect," she said.
Two bouts of rain
The first round of rain began Friday before dawn, accompanied by loud bursts of thunder and bright, stabbing flashes of lightning. Rain fell again late Friday morning from dark clouds that had hung over the city and suburbs, and the downpour didn't let up until mid-afternoon.
Because so much rain fell so quickly, it outpaced pumps in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish.
At the London Avenue Canal in New Orleans, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested the Sewerage & Water Board shut down Pump Station No. 3 at 1:30 p.m. because the water level in the canal reached 4.3 feet. While that would not seem particularly high in a canal where the floodwalls extend 14 feet above sea level, the Army Corps has set conservative limits for those drainage canals that suffered catastrophic floodwall failure during Katrina and allowed a swollen Lake Pontchartain to empty into the city.
The safe water level for the London Avenue Canal is 4 feet. By contrast, the corps set the level at 6 feet for the larger 17th Street Canal, where the water reached 4.75 feet during Friday's deluge. Water in the Orleans Avenue stayed almost 5 feet below the safe water level, said corps spokeswoman Kathy Gibbs.
Water Board Community Relations Director Robert Jackson said shutting down Pump Station No. 3 on the London canal did not affect flooding in the area, as the water was simply rerouted to Pump Station 4 at a different location on the same canal. The rerouting, which lasted about 45 minutes, allowed the water in the canal to drop below the corps' 4-foot limit.
The corps hopes to eventually raise the limit on the London canal about two feet, but must first conduct tests of the walls by filling a portion of the canal and then the entire canal with water. Those tests have not yet been scheduled.
Rain fell too fast to pump
In Jefferson Parish, all the pumps were on and working properly, but they were no match for the deluge, said Deano Bonano, a deputy chief administrative assistant in charge of emergency preparedness.
The maximum amount pumps can drain is 1.5 inches in the first hour, and about a half-inch for each succeeding hour, he said. But, Bonano said, about 3 inches fell in two hours Friday afternoon.
The 17th Street Canal was nearly full near Metairie Road.
In mid-afternoon, Jefferson Parish dispatched fire engines to close off streets with the worst flooding on both sides of the Mississippi River. Some highways had as much as 3 feet of water, Bonano said.
In St. Tammany, minor street flooding was widespread. Many roadside ditches overflowed and some shopping center parking lots were underwater at mid-day.
At U.S. 190 and Carroll Street in Old Mandeville, an area that floods often, the lines of demarcation between highway, ditch and shopping center parking lot became invisible, prompting one motorist to drive headlong into the ditch.
There were a few reports of trees and power lines down, but not reports of major damage.
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway closed for a brief period at mid-day due to heavy rain and high wind.
In New Orleans, water covered streets and crept into yards in Gentilly, and St. Charles Avenue was flooded near Loyola and Tulane universities. Water levels rose where water levels usually rise in such storms, including underpasses on Canal Boulevard, Interstate 10 and South Carrollton Avenue, and cars stalled out in the resulting ponds.
One of the trapped vehicles on Carrollton Avenue was a beer truck. The situation prompted Tony Mazza to say, "We're thinking about swimming over to the Miller Lite truck."
In an attempt to keep others from meeting that fate, a man in a red parka stood, with a flashlight, in the middle of the street just ahead of the Carrollton dip, trying to get people to do U-turns to avoid getting stuck.
In St. Bernard Parish, which drowned in Hurricane Katrina, streets filled quickly, but parish Council Chairman Joey DiFatta said that "as far as I know, no homes that had been rebuilt had any flooding," he said.
Jazzfest goes on
Despite the pelting rain and high wind, the music never stopped completely at the Jazz and Heritage Festival, spokesman Louis Edwards said.
The outdoor stages were shut down for about 90 minutes Friday afternoon, he said, because of the possibility that lightning might strike electronic equipment -- and the musicians and crew members using them.
People waited out the rain in performance tents, watching performers lucky enough to have been scheduled indoors.
When music resumed on the outdoor stages, all but a handful of acts went on, Edwards said, although some sets had to be shortened to be squeezed into a shorter amount of time.
Despite the downpour, Edwards said he is optimistic that the Fair Grounds infield will be dry today.
"There was a lot of rain last night," he said Friday afternoon, "but when we came out today, it was dry. We think tomorrow, it will be dry."
On Friday night, the Chase Zoo-to-Do, the major annual fund-raiser for the Audubon Nature Institute, went on as scheduled at the Audubon Zoo.
However, a combination of severe weather and a drop in water pressure in the building forced New Orleans' Civil District Court to close, and a lightning strike closed a school in St. Charles Parish.
In some neighborhoods plagued by street flooding in the past, and hit hard by Hurricane Katrina waters, Friday's deluge brought few difficulties, and there were actually words of praise about the drainage system's performance.
Residents of the Broadmoor area said drainage-system upgrades years before Katrina, including the replacement of a major line along Napoleon Avenue, seemed to pay dividends.
Holly Lapeyre, who lives in the 5400 block of South Rocheblave Street, noticed minor street flooding Friday afternoon, but nothing that would cause problems.
"This street and all these streets through here were perfectly dry" not long after the storm passed, she said. "I know that everyone thinks that Broadmoor floods, but unless the levees break, it doesn't flood. I've been very pleased."
Several blocks away in the University section, Versailles Boulevard resident Sherry Palermo said she moved her car onto the grassy neutral ground during the storm.
But, she said, not enough water accumulated in the street to pose a threat.
However, other parts of the city reported serious flooding -- enough to bring back memories of the days after Katrina hit and water stood in some streets for weeks.
In Hollygrove, Alvin Branch said the sight of water in the street shook him, even though none got into his house or car.
"If it would have continued, you don't know what would have happened," he said. "It was rising. We don't need no more of that.
"I had 5 feet in my house (after Katrina). I don't want to go through those changes no more. No, indeed."
Global models still hanging on with the solution off developing a low then moving it west to southwest partly associated with the backdoor front set to move offshore late sunday.If the 00z Nogaps were to verify florida would probably get some much needed rain in some areas.Iam leaning towards the GFS solution keeping it offshore as it falls apart or slowly moves NE.
I had to walk through the parking lot of Tulane University up to my knees in water to reach my car, then had to drive to work!!
Next time there is a forcast of "whole lotta rain coming your way", I'm taking my truck and not my little Ford Focus, I thought I was going to get swamped numerous times.
What a nightmare... and I really wish I had had my digital camera to take pics for you all. If you've never seen the wake that an 18 wheeler makes, you're in for a suprise.
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