General Update

We had some strong storms move through the area yesteday, including one apparent tornado in Cherokee County, between Woodstock and Holly Springs. Central Fulton County was under a tornado warning at one point at the tail end of rush hour, but we did not get any damage, and in fact hardly got any rain at all from the storm. But GEEZ, this is like the 5th tornado this season (since February) to hit the Atlanta metro area...others have hit Carroll County, south Atlanta, downtown Atlanta and northwest Atlanta suburbs.

Speaking of rain, the governor got a bill passed saying that his rules superseded those of local municipalities. What that means for me is that now I can hand-water my yard for up to 25 minutes on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursday (because I have an odd address) as long as it is after midnight and before 10 AM. In addition, because I planted new landscaping and passed the online test, I can water with a sprinkler my newly planted lenten roses and hydrangeas. Now I just have to get my timer working again since I took out the batteries last September.

Big Brown won the Preakness Stakes easily, so he's looking very good for the Belmont (which I will be in Charlottesville for and therefore have to find a television set to view it). I was at Country Fair tailgating at the time, but we found a small bar behind a Chevron Station on Pryor Road (no it was not sketchy) so we got to drink a beer, use the bathroom, and watch the horse race. Good times. Country fair itself was okay. The tailgating was excellent however the concert was not that good...Pat Green sang only "corporate", not Texas, songs, and Travis Tritt seemed to sing only sad songs.

We're off to Richmond/Deltaville/Williamsburg/Charlottesville this weekend for 2 weddings and a day on the Chesapeake Bay/Rappahannock River with my folks. The weather is supposed to be beautiful!

Finally nothing in the tropics to report yet, however the season starts 1 week from Sunday.

Tornado watch for NW Georgia; Almost hurricane season

There is a tornado watch posted for northwest Georgia, as close as Bartow, Polk & Haralson counties, until 7 PM EDT. So far there has been nothing of merit, but there are potential tornadoes that are rolling through the northern and southeastern suburbs (including Vestavia, Hoover and Homewood) of Birmingham/Jefferson County, Alabama. We'll keep an eye on this one...fortunately I've got my trusty phone which sends me the text messages of potential severe weather. I'm sure Action 2 and 11 Alive will have everything on in high def should it come to that (let's hope it doesn't).

Other than that the new drought maps came out this week and they are about the same, putting us in the 2nd highest drought category still, while the SE suburbs are in the next lower category. It's going to be a long summer and I can see my grass starting to dry out. In addition, it is getting hot enough that the annual ryegrass is dying out. Funny thing that less than a month ago we were talking about snow!

Also, I watched the Derby even though I was dog-tired. I'm excited that Big Brown won because I think he has a real shot to win the Triple Crown, but I'll be excited enough if he can first win the Preakness. I think Eight Belles' death was horrible, except I think the only "fault" lies in how horses are bred these days. It was not the fact she raced with the guys, it was not the track and it was not the jockey.

Are yo ready for the REAL cold?

Last night I did end up covering the plants to be on the safe side, and although it was windy and some of the plastic blew off, there were no ill effects. Tonight however there is a freeze warning in effect north of this line from 5 AM to 9 AM. If we get below 32, we'll break the record for April 16.

In addition, there is a Frost Advisory west of this line.

Finally, frost is expected as far south as Dixie County, Florida, which is on the Gulf west of Gainesville, Florida.

Today is also tax day, except for Fulton & DeKalb, and a few other counties in Georgia. That is because those areas are Federal Disaster areas due to last month's tornado.

Finally, tomorrow is the anniversary of the Virginia Tech tragedy. School there is cancelled for tomorrow.

Tornado footage

More to come later on the tornado, but here is a very scary video...I watched this live on Saturday afternoon on WSBHD, Channel 2.

March comes in like a lion...

Ok, I'm sure I'm not the only one that has said that, but it is a stormy day today. Nothing too severe yet, but I can't see out my window and it's pitch black out. There are tornadoes in southern Alabama and southern Mississippi, but then again, when aren't there tornadoes there? Reminds me of a joke:

What's the similarity between an Alabama tornado & an Alabama divorce?
A: Either way someone is going to lose a trailer.

I was looking today at tours of Southfork Ranch in Collin County, Texas. It's $9.50/person, but I think well worth the money & the 28 mile trip up from Dallas. I can hear the theme music now.

Also, El Nino is gone, which means 2007 might be a bad hurricane season for the Atlantic. We shall see. To make matters worse, not only is El Nino gone, but La Nina might be coming, which enhances hurricane activity.

UPDATE:
Looks like the most severe storms with Tornadoes are staying to the south of us, around Columbus and Macon. However, it is very dark here, unusual for just 5:40 at night.

Also, tonight is the HUGE VT/UVa game...whoever wins this is at least tied for 1st place in ACC play, and if Georgia Tech beats Carolina (here in Atlanta), the VT/UVa winner takes ACC outright (at least for now). Go Hoos! Go Ramblin' Wreck!