Author: Eugene

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TS Debby

Looks like the week ahead is going to be pretty wet and soggy thanks to TS Debby. Current forecast has it slowing down as it goes through FL and GA and dumping a lot of rain on the area in the process.

Tropical Storm Debby forecast 04-Aug-2024
5 day total rainfall forecast from Tropical Storm Debby 04-Aug-2024

From the 11AM 04-Aug-2024 NHC forecast discussion

After the system makes landfall, the steering currents are likely to weaken as a trough over the northeastern U.S. moves eastward from the area, which should result in a decrease in forward speed.  There is significant uncertainty in the track of Debby in the 2-5 day time frame.  Much of the track guidance keeps the center over the southeastern U.S. for the next several days as a ridge builds in over the Carolinas.

The cyclone will weaken after it moves inland, but since the system will not be far from the coastline for the next few days, it is not predicted to fall below tropical storm strength through 72 hours.

Should be an interesting week ahead.

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July Garden Progress

We got back from vacation a few days ago to a veritable explosion of roses. They’re a few days past their prime now, but I was surprised at how many of them there were. Time for a bit of pruning I think.

A rose bush full of blooming roses
Full of roses

The butternut squash plants are still growing and spilling out of the raised bed, but aren’t producing as many squashes as they were. I suppose as long as they’re still growing, I’ll leave them alone.

The jalapeno plants grew a ton over the last couple of weeks, and I spotted some pretty good size peppers on them.

I think the biggest grower over the past month has been the fig. There are two fig plants there and they’re kind of swamping the blackberries now. That’s a lot of progress from how they looked in late June. I’m thinking now that I might have put them a little too close to each other. Seemed like plenty of space when they were smaller.

Fig plants at the end of July
Fig plants in late June

There are figs too! They’re still pretty small, but it’s exciting to see them. They’re only on one plant though so far.

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First butternut squash harvest

This morning, I decided to harvest one of the first butternut squashes to start growing.

A butternut squash harvested from the garden, next to some bananas for scale.
First butternut squash harvested. Bananas for scale.

Might be a bit on the early side, but it looked pretty ready. It’s a pretty decent size and weight. This one came out on the oblong side and not very butternut squash shaped. The other ones still in the garden are much more butternut squashed shape, although on the skinnier side.

There are a few more that look like they might be ready for harvesting too, but I think I’ll leave them for a few more weeks.

Looking forward to seeing how this one has turned out.

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Tropical Storm Beryl

The second tropical storm of the season, Beryl, looks like one to keep an eye on starting the middle of next week. The forecasts show it becoming a hurricane in another day or so.

National Hurricane Center forecast map for Tropical Storm Beryl
The initial motion is 280/18 kt.  Beryl is on the south side of a 
strong subtropical ridge, and this feature should steer the cyclone 
quickly westward or west-northwestward toward and through the 
Windward Islands during the next 2-3 days. After that time, there is 
some divergence in the track guidance as Beryl approaches a weakness 
in the subtropical ridge near and east of Florida.  The GFS-based 
guidance calls for the storm to continue west- northwestward, while 
the ECMWF and UKMET models show a more westward motion. The 
consensus models lean more toward a west-northwestward motion, and 
the official forecast follows this guidance.  The new forecast track 
has only minor changes from the previous track.

Following behind Beryl is another system that seems likely to turn into another storm to watch in a week or two

An area of low pressure located several hundred miles southwest of 
the Cabo Verde Islands is producing an area of disorganized showers 
and thunderstorms.  Environmental conditions appear conducive for 
additional development of this system, and a tropical depression 
could form by the middle of next week while it moves generally 
westward at 15 to 20 mph across the eastern and central tropical 
Atlantic. 
* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...20 percent.
* Formation chance through 7 days...medium...60 percent.
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First blog post + 21

First blog post was 21 years ago!

Old enough to go out to the bar for a drink most everywhere now.

Post volume hasn’t gone up like I planned or thought it might a few years ago. I’ve definitely got more projects to ramble on about, but the free time thing is lacking. I’ll just keep posting when I can I suppose.