Albedoman

Guys, Earlier this spring I know many of you gave me the name drought man. While I do not mind, It was never my prediction to bring all of this smoke with no humidity. I knew it was going to be bad with the drought since I was calling for this drought since February but this is ridiculous. With two red flag warnings this week and additional fire special weather statements unless we get some beneficial rains on Monday- Tuesday, we are heading into a drought emergency and not just a warning. The real killer has been in the last 2-3 nights is the lack of humidity in order to reach critical dewpoints. With no overnight moisture availability for the vegetation, once the smoke clears out and the heat returns, its into the oven for the vegetation. By the way look at the trend section below for the Lehigh Valley- its really bad https://www.airnow.gov/?city=Macungie&state=PA&country=USA

OMG the smoke in Macungie is unreal. You can actually see among the trees. I have never seen it this bad. I smell the wood burning as if it was in the neighborhood. Its coming your way guys. WE got Nada for rain. Enjoy the rain if you get it.

holy hell, 25 rain drops on my deck. What a drencher. They should be gone in about ten minutes Those raindrops consisted of 50% smoke dust and 49% pollen and 1 % water LMAO

The 15 day models are promoting a major hurricane in the GOM. If that happens, Cat 4-5 maybe Camille or Katrina style. However, that will cut off any available moisture for us until the the remnants of the potential storm dies out over the US. Until then, we will be in a drought warning next week- 3 weeks too late IMHO. I see a drought by the end of the month. In the LV , the newspapers and other media are talking about it drought everyday now. The Little lehigh has gravel bars exposed in places now. Pictures/videos of dry trout stream beds with dead trout in the next two-three weeks are coming. I am waiting for the next hot topic- well drillers going deeper for existing wells will become too busy to get to everyone to redrill as residential shallow wells start to go dry. Corn ans soybean yeilds will be down 25-50% too.

Nada here in sw lehigh county. The lawns literally baked in the 95+ degree heat today. some are so crisp that walking on them will actually destroy the lawn. well , as i predicted, the last two days in the local media has been upping their game on discussing the drought conditions. The Little Leigh Creek , if it runs dry, will be devastating as this is the main source of water for hundreds of thousands of people and businesses. The stream flow is less than a foot in my backyard. https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/pennsylvania/water-levels-at-waterways-in-lehigh-valley-low-amid-warm-and-dry-conditions/article_129be86c-017f-11ee-8640-0f0191b69f2f.html#tncms-source=More-from-newsroom-(right-column)

sand mound septic systems are notorious for the lawn to dry our right away

2002 summer was even worse gentlemen. I was in my early 40's. Streams went completely dry. 1999 was also a diminishing year of a La Nina pattern. But there is hope. In the winter of 2003 we had a wonderful snowy winter after the drought. see link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_blizzard_of_2003

This is really getting bad folks. No significant rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future. Now comes the huge heat dome for next weekend. The lawns here are literally going to be thrown into the air fryer. The lawns will be brown by the end of next weekend with temps in the low to mid 90's. The smaller stream base flows will fall by inches everyday as people suck water out their wells continuously by watering their gardens and lawns. My predictions for the upcoming weeks 1. Localized stream beds will become dry in sections and disappear 2. Residents who have shallow wells will begin to dry up. Well driller companies will be busy. 3. People will start complaining to the media and provide bleeding heart stories that their gardens are dying, farmers cannot get corn to grow etc will begin to appear in the local newspapers. 4. No more stocking of trout in some streams 5. Some lakes and even some streams like Blue Marsh will close- high algae /bacteria counts as cold clean fresh water sources to the lakes dry up. 6. PADEP is crazy as hell right now. They are worthless for issuing drought watches/warnings. LCA in lehigh county which supplies water to all of the water bottling companies and municipalities like Allentown as shut down/diminished pumping their wells near the Little Lehigh already. That means if you drink Deer Park, Nestle, Dasani, Niagra , Pierre and other bottle water, the water sources are taking a huge hit right now. We should be in a drought warning right now but I will sit back and water the crap out of my garden/lawn until the creek runs dry and PADEP finally issues a drought warning. The hit on local produce this year will be bad. Any hydrologist forecaster worth his weight in gold should have seen this coming back in mid January and looked at previous fading La Nina years. The handwriting is on the wall. Pray for a tropical storm sitting off the Chesapeake Bay as that is our only saving grace right now with these continuing and dominating Canadian HP sitting over the Great lakes. Every cold front since the end of April has dried up before reaching eastern PA as the GOM/ Atlantic moisture is being shunted away for our area.

I counted 50 drops. . 0001 in of rain LMAO. Nice drying NW breeze to wipe out any moisture and to solidify the pollen into concrete on the cars.

just received my 2-5 minute spotty light shower. Real gully washer , LMAO But alas, the bird crap is still on the sidewalk and driveway. well something is better than nothing

heck no way, just enough to seal the pollen to the glass LOL

Just wow. Drizzle around noon. Air too stable to even spit out enough moisture to wet the road. The front is already falling apart as I type this . May get here with just some sprinkles to wet the blades of the parched grass. Thats it. I mowed the yard and some parts are already starting to be stressed crazy but not from the heat but the lack of humidity as dewpoints are not being achieved from the dry winds. Folks, this is getting pretty serious. I see no significant rain until AFTER THE FIRST WEEK IN JUNE. The farmers just seeded the dust fields in Lehigh County with corn/soybeans. That planting will not come up for weeks now. Late harvests may have normal yields if we get good rains in late June into July especially when the soil temps were already two - three weeks behind with the cool spell in early May. Again, stream flow is my big concern. As people really start sucking water out of the ground to keep their garden going and lawn and golf course from being stressed and turning yellow so early, the water tables will fall even faster and stream flows will begin to disappear, especially in the karst topography areas of south central and eastern PA.

tell the person that the Bermuda High is on Vacation until further notice. Tell her the Niagara Falls High has taken over LOL

well here comes the misery time: The last day of the month indicates ont eh latest run of the GFS daytime temps rebounding from the cool 70's right into the 90 degree oven with no rain. Talk about a farmers nightmare. Seed is finally in the ground this week, no moisture to sprout the plant and now the sun bakes the dry soil even more. Not a good combination thats for sure. The lawns will begin to yellow once we get into the upper 80's at the end of the month without some rain. Just like 2002 again.

This issue is not just "droughty" but historical. Folks, we are in serious trouble for historical disappearing ephemeral streams and low major stream base flows in the next two months without some serious weather pattern change. Yes a tropical storm can change the pattern but we cannot wait until September. I am sorry to say but we need an "Agnes" type of tropical storm event in June and I just do not see that happening. Its the late 60's and early 2000's all over again. here is my proof

I know that you guys may not like to hear this, but not having any precip in two weeks in the middle of Spring is not a good thing. The heavy rain we had at the end of April only served to help green us up. The stream levels are down big time as the base flow was was not even touched in the streams, especially the LV and other karst areas of central and eastern PA. We are still in a moderate drought for streamflow. We really need days of daily convective t- storms to help recharge the stream base flows since we had no snow this year. I see no convective type weather for us until maybe the end of the first week of June, if we are lucky. You all may like this cooler 70 degree weather and little to no rain showers but believe me , the farmers sure don't. It will be another 2-3 weeks before the corn even sprouts and maybe longer if we do not get any significant rain. Corn yields will be down significantly if we do not get some type of convective weather pattern going in the next few weeks.

for our baseball fans- umpires are going away? The Phillies LV Iron Pigs demonstrates robotic umpires this Saturday. Going to the game. Comments? https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/arts-culture/entertainment/from-man-to-machine-ironpigs-prepare-for-debut-of-robot-umpires

When will we see crackin t -storms again? Its been so long it seems like years. These piddly rain showers with embedded heavier rain is pathetic. I want all of the tree pollen bags off the trees and not dangling in the limbs just to pour out in a slight breeze.

in my 35+ years of living here, I have never seen a chance of snow this close to the LV in May. The current radar indicates snow/rain mix near Hazleton but the NWS is even calling for thunder snow/mix in the point forecast for the Jim Thorpe area. Really unique. I hope this a tell tale sign for next winter. Today Showers likely, mainly between 10am and 2pm. Cloudy, with a high near 46. West wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Tonight A chance of rain showers before 4am, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. West wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. Wednesday Rain likely, possibly mixed with snow showers before 8am, then rain showers. Some thunder is also possible. High near 48. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

I am here. I watch this page daily. Nothing to comment on as it has been pretty stagnant weather so far. I want to see some convective production with temps in the low 80's. Yes, this weekends rain will put in a moderate dent in our rainfall deficit but the base stream flows are down big time because of the lack of snow cover this past winter. We need weeks of this type of moderate rain to put a significant dent in the drought. The trees, grass and gardens are drinking big time right now as they green up but the groundwater levels are still falling.

I can validate this big time. My severe short term drought is over after today. I live in the Ancient Oaks area. My rain gauge had 3.5 in of rain. I was at my sons house near Telford all day , - he received only .05 in. When I got home this evening, I was floored . Debris from the flooded street was in my driveway. Had a little water in the basement. That is hardest rain in four years here. I am just glad that we got rain. That was a million dollar plus rain for the farmers in western LV. Salisbury Township and areas near my house had quarter size hail and flooded streets. The pollen was knocked off the trees and I can breathe again.

Brush fire in eastern Berks County threatens homes Crews responded to a 3- to 4-acre brush fire in the area of Huffs Church Road and Cherry Drive in District Township Brush fire in eastern Berks County threatens homes By KEITH DMOCHOWSKI | [email protected] | Reading Eagle PUBLISHED: April 12, 2023 at 3:21 p.m. | UPDATED: April 12, 2023 at 4:44 p.m. Fire crews responded Wednesday afternoon to a two-alarm brush fire in the area of Cherry Drive and Huffs Church Road in District Township. Calls around 2:10 p.m. reported a 3- to 4-acre fire moving toward properties on Cherry Drive. Crews from multiple fire companies responded shortly after, and a second alarm was struck. An air drop was requested about 2:50 p.m. and numerous spot fires were reportedly breaking out. Firefighters were battling the flames with several hose lines as well as leaf blowers, and water was drawn from a large pond on Cherry Lane, according to emergency reports. Additional assistance was requested from Montgomery and Lehigh County fire departments. The flames were stopped by a creek on one side, and crews were containing the blaze and awaiting an imminent air drop at 3:40 p.m. The airdrops largely extinguished the active fire, and crews were moving back in for cleanup at 4:15 p.m. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/environment-science/lehigh-valley-under-red-flag-warning-as-massive-fire-burns-in-new-jersey

One of the most prevalent varieties of pine trees in PA is “Pinus strobus,” commonly known as the Eastern White Pine. This pine tree is tall – growing quickly to a height of up to 100’ – with a full crown of dark needles and pinecones that drop every year. If you haven’t noticed the pinecones on the tree, you’ve certainly noticed them on the ground! Especially this year. Have you ever wondered “why are there so many pinecones this year?” It boils down to survival. Trees have different reactions based on the climate and weather around them. In years with a healthy amount of rain, the tree will focus more on growth and less on seed production. However, in years where there just isn’t enough rain (like this past winter/spring) the tree will compensate by producing an abnormal number of seeds (to encourage propagation). On a pine tree, these seeds are found in pinecones that will eventually drop to the ground.

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ 924 AM EDT Wed Apr 12 2023 PAZ054-055-060>062-070-071-101>106-130000- /O.UPG.KPHI.FW.A.0001.230412T1500Z-230413T0000Z/ /O.NEW.KPHI.FW.W.0002.230412T1500Z-230413T0000Z/ Carbon-Monroe-Berks-Lehigh-Northampton-Delaware-Philadelphia- Western Chester-Eastern Chester-Western Montgomery- Eastern Montgomery-Upper Bucks-Lower Bucks- 924 AM EDT Wed Apr 12 2023 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA... The National Weather Service in Mount Holly has issued a Red Flag Warning for gusty winds and low relative humidity, which is in effect until 8 PM EDT this evening. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect. * AFFECTED AREA...Carbon, Monroe, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, Delaware, Philadelphia, Western Chester, Eastern Chester, Western Montgomery, Eastern Montgomery, Upper Bucks and Lower Bucks. * TIMING...Wednesday. * WINDS...West 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 25 percent. * TEMPERATURES...Afternoon high temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s. * IMPACTS...Critical fire weather conditions are expected. There will be increased risk for rapid wildfire growth and spread. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly due to a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and dry fuels. Any fires that develop may quickly get out of control and become difficult to contain.