Date: Thu Sep 1, 2005 10:16 am 
Subject: August 2005 Newcomerstown Weather 
 

Average High 86.4
Average Low 63.9
Mean Temperature 75.1
Precipitation 5.33"
Heaviest 24 HR precipitation 3.23" on the 30th-31st
Heaviest 24 HR Snowfall n/a 
Snowfall 0"
High Temperature 98 on the 4th
Low Temperature 51 on the 24th
High Gust 35 on the 20th
Average Gust 13.2 mph
Don Keating #106
Newcomerstown 1S

Date: Thu Sep 1, 2005 12:36 pm 
Subject: Personal Happenings with Katrina 
 

My wife and I did receive a phone call yesterday morning from our
youngest son in Memphis. He didn't know what we may have heard and
thought we may be concerned. He said what normally takes him a half-
hour to get to work too him two hours. Thousands of people are still
without power in the Memphis area. There is no hotel space in the
area because of the hurricane evacuees that headed north. Schools in
the area are admitting children from the hurricane-ravaged area to
attend school since many won't be able to return for many months.

My wife received a phone call last night from her brother saying his
oldest son, who is in the National Guard, got orders among other
Ohio National Guard companies to ship out by noon today to head into
the Gulf Coast area. He just returned from Iraq about a year ago.

Anyone else have some personal stories to pass on regarding the
hurricane aftermath? I know Barb had a son in the Louisville area
that I hope all is well.

People are calling this the worst natural disaster to hit the U.S.
We need to keep the prayers going and be thinking of helping anyway
you can with the relief efforts.

Jack
Wooster 7N


Date: Fri Sep 2, 2005 7:03 am 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] Personal Happenings with Katrina 
 

My son and family are OK, Jack.

Just got word that the 324th Military Police National Guard unit from Middletown has been mobilized and will be 
moving out at 7 a.m. this morning, first to Mississippi and then to points unknown.

Barb
Middletown OH


Date: Sat Sep 3, 2005 11:34 am 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] Katrina Rainfall 
 

Rich, Jack and Group:

That makes two of us with the gray hair. Been away from my email the
last few days but with 0.24" on the second day of the storm, my storm
total for Katrina topped off at 5.04". Considering I measured this with
my tipping bucket rain gauge, it could be a tad low.

I have been reading about the levee's in the New Orleans area and the
fact that it was common knowledge that they needed upgraded. The money
was requested of the fed's but evidently not provided because of other
budget needs. Given the terrible situation down there, I wonder how
much of this could have been avoided had the money been spent. Without
getting political, I personally think that its about time that a lot of
the money being spent overseas right now be spent in this country on
needed infrastructure and other things (yes hindsight is 20/20).
Several years ago, I attended the Skywarn training that Summit Co. put
on. They had a guy there from Oklahoma that talked about "large venue"
disasters and how catastrophic they could be. He was primarily talking
about the potential for F5 tornados hitting big cities, such as the one
in Oklahoma City. I don't think that even he envisioned this.

As far as Katrina and the Waves, does anyone remember their big hit song
(big might be overdoing it)? The name is ironic given what the storm
just did. Scroll down for answer.







Answer: Walking on Sunshine

So much for my trivia questions.

Gary L
Ravenna


Date: Sat Sep 3, 2005 12:34 pm 
Subject: Katrina 
 

Gary, I've heard the same thing and I'm sure many are having and will
be having the same frustrations as time goes on. I'm sure there will
be a lot of changes in the coming months and years on emergency
preparedness.

This hurricane seems to be making quite an effect locally as time goes
on. My daughter, who is an EMT, and her husband who is a paramedic
said FEMA has put out a call this morning asking for help from
emergency services in some of the counties in this area to help in the
Gulf coastal area.

I think we need to keep the prayers going not only for the victims but
for all the thousands that are helping.

Jack


Date: Sun Sep 4, 2005 3:47 am 
Subject: Cost 
 

Gary:

I agree. Penny wise and pound foolish and short sighted. I imagine
fixing the levees would have cost millions but now it will cost billions
to clean up and rebuild! Everything is a matter of priorities. What are
your politicians voting to spend your money on? Soon the school system
in Iraq will be better than in Cleveland!

Jim Kosarik


Date: Sun Sep 4, 2005 8:10 pm 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] Cost 
 

Jim and Group:

Regardless of one's political affiliations and beliefs, one has to begin
to wonder. It used to be that wars were fought to gain territory which
was considered to be valuable. More recently, since WWII, the political
reason to fight wars has been to prevent the spread of communism and
currently, to battle terrorism. There are and have been ecomonic
reasons to fight wars. When I was younger, I used to hear people say
that the best way to bring the country out of a recession was to get
into a war. The war would create demand (production) and therefore
boost the economy. Some people thought that when we took up military
action in Iraq and other places in the Middle East under Bush I, that
the reason for this was to try to maintain some control over oil
production and pricing. While other factors have come into play on gas
prices, the Bush I strategy, if that was the strategy, did not work too
well.

After 9/11, the current administration created the Department of
Homeland Security. The purpose of the department was to organize
various agencies to be more effective in preventing, planning for and
responding to terrorist attacks. The war in Iraq is to put down
terrorism, but has it? As it will turn out, perhaps the worst event of
all (including 9/11), was caused by an act of mother nature named
Katrina. While no one could know for sure when a severe hurricane would
hit this area, it was inevitable that it would happen. It was widely
known that the infrastructure of the levees around New Orleans would not
stand up to a severe hurricane but our government could not spend the
money to upgrade the system. Even if it cost millions to upgrade, that
money is trivial to the cost and human suffering that will be seen in
that area in the years to come. As you say Jim, it is a matter of
priorities. It does not appear that Americans are at the top of the
list. I'm proud to be an American but I'm not proud of our political
leaders (either party) right now.

I apologize if this offends anyone and I apologize for getting political
in a weather chat group. If any of us lived in New Orleans right now,
we would be fighting for our lives and livelihoods, not talking on the
computer. Ok, I'm done now.

Gary L.


Date: Sun Sep 4, 2005 11:27 pm 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] Cost 
 

Gary and group, 
I read somewhere about a year or so ago that New Orleans was the closest we (The U.S.) have to a third world city. 
The life expectacy there was somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 years less than for the U.S. as a whole. There 
were a bunch of other similar statistics too. Infant mortality, nutrition, education, etc. After watching the political 
leadership of that town in action, those statsitics make perfect sense to me now. It is depressing to see what is 
happening down there but not altogether unpredictable. I will never understand why people live in places where 
hurricanes or earthquakes are not only likely, but an absolute certainty. It is only a matter of time before LA or San 
Francisco gets devastated by an earthquake or Miami finds itself in a similar situation to New Orleans. When that 
happens, I will feel bad but certainly not responsible in any way to help out. 
I know quite a bit about the insurance/risk industry having worked in it as an actuary some years back. I understand 
about risk spreading but I think people who intentionally make high risk life choices are not entitled to be bailed out 
time and again by those who live responsibly. Many sociological studies indicate that people behave differently 
when they don't think that somebody will always be there to bail them out (e.g. taxpayers, insurance companies, 
etc.) when things go awry, as they inevitably must. In the insurance industry, this is called moral hazard. This is the 
phenomenon that people tend to engage in risky behavior if they think there are no consequences to their 
afforementioned risky behavior. 
While I feel bad for the people of New Orleans, I neither feel sorry for them nor do I feel any need (or obligation) 
whatsoever to foot the bill for their stupidity. What can one expect if they not only live in a hurricane zone, but one 
that is several feet below sea level to boot. Has the whole concept of taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for 
one's actions, no matter how ill-advised, been lost in this country? 
Just my opinion! 
Doug Brady 
Hambden Twp. 
Northern Geauga County

Date: Mon Sep 5, 2005 7:03 am 
Subject: Montly report, for Aug. 
 

Aug. 05 
Ave. Max.: 86.8F 
Ave. Minn.: 65.3F 
Ave. Temp. 76.1F( 5.3F above normal) 
Highest was 95F on the 12th 
Lowest was 54F on the 23rd 
Precip. 3.32"/ 24 hours total 1.28" on the 30th 
Highest Baro. 29.86" on the 7th 
Lowest Baro. 29.00" on the 30th 
Highest wind gust 33 M.P.H. on the 13th 
Had 9 day's with precip./ & 22 day's without 
4-E 
Phil & Bonnie

Date: Mon Sep 5, 2005 9:31 am 
Subject: August Statistics for Ravenna 1SE 
 

Hi Everyone:

Getting away from politics and back to weather, here are my numbers for
August. The best way to describe the month was wet (when it did rain).
Even without Katrina, I had two other days with 1"+ rainfalls. This was
my second wettest month since I began keeping records in 2003. Other
than the flooding in the area from Katrina, no severe weather was observed.

Mean High Temp - 82.55
Mean Low Temp - 62.52
Mean Temp - 72.53
High Temp - 92 on 8/2/05
Low Temp - 52 on 8/24/05
Total Precip - 8.54"
Total Precip Days - 8
Thunderstorm Days - 4
Highest 24 hr Rainfall - 4.80" on 8/30/05


Gary Locke
Ravenna 1SE
OWON #121


Date: Tue Sep 6, 2005 6:11 am 
Subject: August's Weather Data for Centerville 1W 
 

Weather statistics for the month of August for Centerville 1W.
High Temp (Date) ... 97ø / 13th 
Low Temp (Date) ... 54ø / 24th 
Mean High .. 86.5ø
Mean Low .. 65.2ø
Monthly Mean ... 75.9ø
Total Precipitation ... 3.31"
Max 24 hr Precipitation (Date) ... 1.71" / 30th
Number of Precipitation Days... 8
Total Snowfall... 0.0"
Max 24 hr Snowfall (Date) ... 0.0" / 
Max Snow Depth at time of observation ... 0" 
High Wind Gust (Date) ... 30 MPH / 20th
Thunderstorm Days ... 2 
Highest Barometer (Date) ... 30.33" / 5th
Lowest Barometer (Date) ... 29.49" / 30th
Average High Wind Gust... 14.9 MPH
Year To Date Precipitation . 30.31"
Robert Flory - KA5RUC
Centerville 1W
Southeast Montgomery County
Ohio Weather Observer Network #82
Wilmington NWS Skywarn ID OMT405

Date: Wed Sep 7, 2005 7:07 am 
Subject: Katrina - National Geographic story 
 

Have any of you seen this story from National Geographic, written in
October 2004?

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/

Positively spooky.

Barb
Middletown OH


Date: Wed Sep 14, 2005 11:12 am 
Subject: Winterizing Your Weather Station 
 

Group:

I don't know if anyone else feels like I do but it "seems" like this
summer is drawing to a close much earlier than normal. Maybe because
of us having a late Spring?

Anyway, it is that time of year that I mention that people need to be
thinking of preparing and winterizing their weather stations for the
upcoming winter now while we still have some warm weather left. If you
go to the "Files" section and read the file titled "Winterizing Your
Weather Station" you can read through the steps that apply to you. I
did do some revisions so anyone who read it before may want to review
it again.

If anyone has any questions or has something they would like to add
please let me know and I will make the necessary changes.

Jack Sisler
OhioWx Group Moderator


Date: Wed Sep 21, 2005 7:28 pm 
Subject: Notes of Interest on Hurricane Rita 
 

With Hurricane Rita now as a Category 5 I noted that at its current
size it is producing tropical storm force winds or greater to an area
that would be twice the size of Ohio. Also, the 5 p.m. RUC model was
showing signs of her circulation at the 200 millibar (53,000 feet) or
greater level.

Talk about energy!!

Jack
Wooster 7N


From: Ryan Peterson  
Date: Wed Sep 21, 2005 8:56 pm 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] Notes of Interest on Hurricane Rita 
 

Also, another little piece of info is that it is in the top 5 most powerful hurricanes and ranked 5th of the top 5 lowest 
pressures with 888 mb!!!!!!!! wow!!!!!!!!


Date: Fri Sep 23, 2005 4:49 pm 
Subject: "Rita" Coverage; Hype... ? 
 

Group; 
It's been exceptionally quiet on this list as of late, so let me see if I can stimulate some conversation here, shall I? 
"Rita" appears to have maxed out in as far as "maximum sustained winds" at 175 mph, the same peak MSW as what 
"Katrina" had. However, it bottomed out at the third lowest pressure ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin. 
I know MWS speeds must be 111 mph or higher for a "Major" hurricane. As of 2 p.m. eastern time "Rita" still had 
MSW at 125 mph. Granted, this is a major drop of 50 mph from her peak MSW, but still a "Major" cat 3 storm. 
My whole point for this is as follows... media outlets have been making such statements today as "much weaker", 
"not as bad" and so on. My point is that with the media making such statements, I would tend to think those in the 
path of the storm are going to become 'lax' or less cautious. I would never expect serious weather people to make 
such statements, yet this morning on TWC [The Weather Channel] an on air personality made a statement similar to 
those quoted. I think it's totally uncalled for and a bad choice of words, a terrible choice of terms, etc. Cat 3 
Hurricanes are not considered "Major" storms for no reason at all. 
I might have expected to have heard such stupid comments from an on air personality on TWC, but from other 
media outlets.... incredible. I'm afraid those comments have been made by comparing "Katrina" strength to what 
"Rita" strength will be at landfall. 
OK, I'm off my soapbox now., Any other comments??? 
Don Keating

Date: Fri Sep 23, 2005 5:06 pm 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] "Rita" Coverage; Hype... ? 
 

Hi All! 
I have a question. With the storm surge being so much higher in Katrina (I at one point heard 40' in 
Mississippi - I don't know what the official is - if there is even one yet) than what is predicted for the Cat 4 
and it seems now with Rita that the storm surge predictions are higher than the normal prediction - is that 
because of the enormous size of these hurricanes? I hope that question makes sense. 
With regards to the media - most of what I have heard today - it seems most are being careful to say that 
it is still a major, dangerous hurricane despite the weakening. I've been thinking what we're going to hear 
about all the Texas evacuees that begin grumbling once it is over that they didn't have to evacuate. It 
seems that no matter what, you can't make everyone (or anyone) happy. 
Amber

Date: Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:31 pm 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] "Rita" Coverage; Hype... ? 
 

Saying Hurricane Rita has weakened and is "only a Category 3 storm" is
like saying "We have good news! You're not going to be hit by a train,
or even by an 18 wheeler... Just by an SUV!"

Elizabeth Stapleton - bandimal@yahoo.com


Date: Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:34 pm 
Subject: Re: "Rita" Coverage; Hype... ? 
 

Don and group:

In my opinion TWC's coverage has been pretty sane compared to the
silliness on the other cable networks. Steve Lyons and Jim Cantore
have been quite rational during Rita and Katrina. The morning crew
on TWC leaves something to be desired.

I think the hype award of the century has to go to Joe Bastardi of
Accu-weather who continually said Rita would come ashore as a cat. 4
or 5 and every time the winds decreased he would say they would
increase at landfall.

Bastardi's continued appearances on Shawn Hanity's show on FOX were
embarassing in retrospect. Bastardi was downright critical of the
National Hurricane Center's forecasts. However, the NHC's forecasts
were pretty well right on and Bastardi, who continued to predict 100
mph winds in downtown Houston as late as Friday evening, was a
disgrace.

Every time I got sickened by the cable networks I would find that
TWC was doing pretty well. In fact, the best news coverage of what
was going on in New Orleans after Katrina was from TWC, certainly
not from Geraldo Rivera and Shephard Smith!

As for the "much weaker" comments, Rita was much weaker at landfall
than what it once was and it took the media a long time to figure
out Rita wasn't roaring ashore in downtown Houston as a Cat. 5. Joe
Bastardi is probably still expecting Rita to resurge and head toward
Houston. That said, a Cat. 3 in those vulnerable coastal areas is
still bad news and nothing to sneeze at, especially when the storm
is a former Cat. 5 with the attendant surge.

I do believe TWC is not what it once was but I think you're being a
bit hard on them, especially when comparing them to the alternatives.
Saturday night TWC was way ahead of the other networks in showing
extent of damage, which is impressive in some areas.

Ron Rothhaas


Date: Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:54 am 
Subject: Re: "Rita" Coverage; Hype... ? 
 

Don, Ron and Group,

Too much of who can do better or blame the other instead of groups
working together whether it be government or private.

As for the AccuWeather issue I totally agree with Ron. In one of the
news segments when they tried to pin him down he was dead
seriousness when he (AccuWeather) expected Rita to have 200 m.p.h.
winds when it made landfall.

Remember the discussion we had with this group a few months ago when
Liz made the post regarding a bill sponsored by Senator Rick
Santorum, R-Pa, who said the NWS was threatening the private
forecasting business and was going to put a stop to it? (See Post
8358). Do you know who it was that has given thousands of dollars in
political contributions to Santorum to have this done? Bingo!! Don't
think for a minute there isn't a method to their madness.

Jack Sisler
Wooster 7N


Date: Sun Sep 25, 2005 10:08 am 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] Re: "Rita" Coverage; Hype... ? 
 

Bridget, Ron and Group:

I did not see this but your observations are interesting. It appears
that the folks at Accu-weather have become politically active given
their efforts through Rick Santorum (PA Congressman) to reduce the NWS
to practically nothing. The fact that Bastardi has made it to Fox News
is not suprising but if his forecasts fell flat on their face with
regard to Rita, perhaps it will become obvious to more people that
privatizing almost all of the weather forecasting functions is not a
good idea. Fox News is the media arm of conservatives, and Mr. Hannity
is one of the more outspoken. After our NEOCAMS meeting yesterday, some
of us were talking about this. This is my opinion but I do not think
that privatizing the forecasting business at the expense of the NWS is
beneficial. NWS, even with some of the criticism it gets, still tries
to generate forecast products based on scientific analysis. The
Accu-weathers and such only care about making money and getting media
exposure, to the point of sensationalizing events. We have seen this
with TWC. This does not serve the public well and may in fact cause
public panic and harm. I like having NWS as the basic source of
information and then, at my chosing, being able to select private
services (if I am so inclined) that provide additional information or
package that information in a way that I like. I used to subscribe to
Accu-weather but do not anymore. Anyone who is concerned about what
Accu-weather and Mr. Santorum are trying to do should send a message by
boycotting Accu-weather and their services. For what they charge, I
don't think they are worth it anyway.

Gary Locke
Ravenna 1SE


From: "seesaw_106"  
Date: Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:49 pm 
Subject: Re: "Rita" Coverage; Hype... ? 
 

RE: I like the road crew of weather channel, but find their desk
jockeys kind of phoney.


Date: Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:59 pm 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] Re: "Rita" Coverage; Hype... ? 
 

I had two points in my e-mail, which appear to have gone past everyone. Point #1 was that an on air personality with 
TWC (someone IN STUDIO) was already saying Rita was getting much weaker when she was still a strong Cat. 4 
storm. Point #2 was that alot of on air news people were making Rita look like she'd be a pussy cat when making 
landfall compared to Katrina. Maybe I didn't spell it out correctly, but now I am. I'll shut up on it now. 
Ciao, 
Don Keating

Date: Sun Sep 25, 2005 11:49 pm 
Subject: AccuWeather's Rita forecast 
 

Wx Group, 
This is a really interesting topic. 
Ron, what exactly did Joe Bastardi say about the National Hurricane Center's forecast? 
There is a contrast between private companies like AccuWeather and The Weather Channel. AccuWeather is critical 
of the NWS much of the time, while The Weather Channel at least works in conjunction with the NWS (e.g., 
broadcasting severe weather statements and suggesting that people purchase a NOAA Weather Radio). 
Shawn Trueman 
St. Cloud, MN

Date: Mon Sep 26, 2005 5:08 pm 
Subject: Rains From Rita 
 

Group,
Here at Ravenna 1E, I recieved a total of 1.54" of
rain from the remnants of Rita. According to my rain
log, rain started about 215 AM this morning and ended
around 120 pm this afternoon.
Monthly total for Sept. is now 2.36".
Rich Rabatin
Ravenna 1E
Portage County


From: "seesaw_106"  
Date: Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:26 pm 
Subject: Re: AccuWeather's Rita forecast 
 

RE: Accuweather really had Katrina right, except they over-predicted
the death toll, thankfully.It was a different fellow than the
aforementioned Bastardi.


Date: Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:19 am 
Subject: Rita's rainfall (Medina County) 
 

We received a total of 1.93" in Brunswick. 
Amber

Date: Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:23 am 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] Rita's rainfall (Tuscarawas County) 
 

Hello All; 
I ended up with a total of 1.10" here in my guage in Newcomerstown. Not nearly as much as many of you, but 
enough to keep me in the grass mowing business for at least a couple more weeks. :-) 
Don Keating #106 
Newcomerstown 1S

Date: Tue Sep 27, 2005 5:28 pm 
Subject: [OhioWx] Rita's rainfall (Medina County) 
 

North Wadsworth:

1.85"




- Patrick


Date: Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:08 pm 
Subject: Rita's Rainfall (Lakewood) 
 

1.32 inches in the rain bucket in Lakewood from Rita's remains.

Matt Higgins


Date: Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:33 pm 
Subject: Newcomerstown (Ohio) weather site updated and revised 
 

Hello; 
I just wanted to let you know I've attempted to make my weather site a little more "eye appealing" and informative 
in the past few days. You can visit it at http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/nctohwx I have added an Ohio temperature 
map, a different graphic for Astrnomonical date and a new weather forecast graphic. I have also added a static 
background photo that I personally took in January of 2004 and will be updating a couple of web links at the bottom 
of the site as well. I'm going to schedule my weather link equipment to update the current conditions every couple or 
three hours. Be advised my Davis Instruments Wind Direction has been on "North" for the past few months and will 
be as I simply don't have the funds to send it away to get it repaired. I also apologize for the pop-up ads. I would like 
to secure a domain one day, but as with everything else, it takes $$$. 
Any comments, suggestions, etc may be sent to me at eobic@yahoo.com Take care and I hope you enjoy your visit 
to my weather site. 
Don Keating 
Newcomerstown, Ohio (USA) 
Skywarn I.D. --- TU - 093 (OH) 
OWON I.D. --- #106 Newcomerstown 1S 

Date: Thu Sep 29, 2005 8:21 am 
Subject: Early Wakeup Call 
 

I think the winds associated with the strong cold front that went
through early this morning woke a lot of people up with or without
electricity. My highest wind gust was 49 mph @ 2:57 a.m. Had a few
small limbs down and some items "misplaced" and only about a quarter
inch of rainfall.

Anybody get any damage there way?

Jack Sisler
Wooster 7N
Wayne County


Date: Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:42 pm 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] Early Wakeup Call 
 

Hi Jack; 
I recorded a wind gust of just 34 mph, but I'm guessing it was higher because the Buckeye tree in the front yard is 
blocking the anemometor. I awoke to hundreds of additional Buckeyes in the yard and it took me an hour to rake 
them up and haul them away! I hate that tree! The only good thing is the shade it provides. 
Anyhow... I had 0.40" of rainfall on top of the gust. Nothing major, but yet noticeable. 
Don Keating #106 
Newcomerstown 1S

Date: Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:59 pm 
Subject: Re: [OhioWx] Early Wakeup Call 
 

Jack and Group:

I saw some small limbs down around town but not a whole lot. I measured
0.47" of rain.

Gary Locke
Ravenna 1SE