--- Scroll Down for an Update From CNN --- The National Weather Service, again, has serious communications issues. Local NWS offices are having to resort to messages like these: The NWS has had 13   30-minute delays on the Weather Wire (the pipeline for tornado, flash flood and other urgent warnings) this afternoon. *Update*  The delays reached 30 minutes at one point!   [8:49pm] [resume original text] The issues with this agency are overwhelming and, as far as I can tell, there is little urgency to fix them. Instead, they are talking about what they will do with AI in 2-5 years.  CNN's Andrew Freedman has more on the outage. {2:38pm Wednesday}

Light hatching = wind gusts stronger than 75 mph possible into this evening. The thick hatching is a forecast of wind gusts above 85 mph between now and 1pm.  If you live in the hatched area and it is safe to do so, please put your car and lawn furniture inside. There is a great deal of lightning with these storms and it is a higher than average threat. 

 

....to the people or organizations that licensed eleven  of my images in the past week. It is much appreciated! When you have a moment, stop by the gallery and take a look. 

Heavy to excessive rain forecast from Colorado/Nebraska to the Appalachians this week. The rain is neededed in the western part of the area but the forecast 3 to 5 inches east of the Mississippi may lead to flooding. 

Some of the chatter online from O Gauge train fans (as Shelton Cooper of the Big Bang Theory  put it, "It's O Gauge or no gauge") has been, What does the package carrying the 2026 Lionel Super Chief Super Set look like? I received mine and it is below. This is the most extensive set ever from Lionel. Four locomotives (3 powered) and passenger cars with sounds (e.g., sounds of a restaurant from the diner car).  If one is being shipped to you, be careful. It weighs a ton.  I have not run it yet but since people wanted to see the packaging, I thought I'd post it for everyone. 

As the media has been correctly reporting: a record El Nino is developing in the east Pacific. Statistically, strong El Nino's cause heavy rains in the Southwest. If it is a record event, it is possible that widespread excessive rainfall will occur that will help refill Lake Mead, Lake Powell, et cetera.  However, there's no way the situation will materially improve without flooding. Please keep that possibility in mind.