Updates! Whats going on in the tropics!

Not all that much going on at the museum right now, with the exception of the planning out of two seminars, one in November 2009 while the other will be in march of next year. At this time, the November seminar will be geared more toward the lawyer aspect of the field and may not be open to the general public. It will be covering a good deal of forensic Meteorology, which is not nearly as dramatic as anything seen on CSI or NCIM. I don't think much is actually. If this does end up open to the public, there should be some good stuff to learn.

The second seminar is looking to be much bigger than any seminar we have done so far. With previous seminars we have focused primarily on southeast Texas, even with the climate change topic. Now, we're looking to go national and we'll be covering flooding, a severely under appreciated aspect of the weather (also something anyone in Louisville may want to pay attention to.) As of now, this is looking like a two day conference with a registration fee. Details are presently sketchy, but the committee is meeting as I type, so we'll have more information very soon. Should be open to the general public, as flooding eventually affects all of us in some way.

Did you know that flooding causes more weather related deaths than any other event? Tornadoes and lightening may look more spectacular, but they don't hold a candle to what flooding can do. And did you know that most every year Texas leads the nation in flooding deaths? Stop driving through standing water people! For more information of flooding check out http://www.floodsafety.com/texas/regional_info/regional_info/houston_zone.htm.

As for the tropics, there isn't much going on. Yesterday we did have a watch area in the eastern/central Atlantic, today it's gone as shower activity has greatly diminished in that area. There is a weak low floating around the eastern Atlantic, near 12N 33W. At this time, no development is expected, though it will be a good idea to keep an eye on it as it meanders west-northwest. Lets hope the season stays quiet, though we have the most active part coming up. August 15th to September 15th is traditionally when most development occurs. Keep them fingers crossed. On a more comforting note, Professor Gray revised his scale and brought the foretasted tropical activity down a small notch. Which actually brings it closer to our prediction. Nice job us!

Moving onto Houston. Not much to say as high pressure persists over the eastern and central Gulf keeping a hot and humid air mass over us for the foreseeable duration. We are under a heat advisory today and probably tomorrow also as we can easily foresee a few 100+ degree temps popping up in Harris County and the surrounding area. Stay inside as much as possible and drink lots of water.

Thanks all!