Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Tue, Jul 03 2007
Hot, dry, shaken
This is what an elderly friend of ours, who has since passed away, used to call earthquake weather, which they tell us is a misnomer and that there is no such thing. Nevertheless, we were treated to some small local shakers last week and then yesterday we got a gentle roll for several seconds that turned out to be a 4.3. There were some tiny aftershocks we didn't feel, but now this morning they tell us there were two more light quakes, close to where the others hit. They do appear to have been on or near the San Andreas Fault but that may not mean anything significant. There are many quakes of similar magnitude in various U.S. locations at any given moment.
If you want to go by weather conditions, the place that should shake this week is the Antelope Valley area of the state, which is forecast to have temps as high as 115 degrees in the next 2-3 days. I recall traveling in that area one time and stepping out of the car at a rest stop to a hot wind that made your eyes so dry you could open and close your eyelids after a few seconds.
All this heat is just in time for the July 4 holiday in a year when we've had not nearly enough rain during the last several (so-called) rainy seasons. We're all being cautioned to watch the grills, sparks and open flames. Some local gatherings and park locations are banning all smoking for fear that a stray butt will ignite a hillside into a scene like that straight out of a Hollywood disaster movie.
Wherever you are, I hope you have an enjoyable Independence Day tomorrow. I'll be on the local roads with my spouse, in an old truck that has no air-conditioning. I'll try to just pretend we're reenacting a scene from a Steinbeck novel.
posted at: 10:43 | category: /Miscellaneous | link to this entry
This is what an elderly friend of ours, who has since passed away, used to call earthquake weather, which they tell us is a misnomer and that there is no such thing. Nevertheless, we were treated to some small local shakers last week and then yesterday we got a gentle roll for several seconds that turned out to be a 4.3. There were some tiny aftershocks we didn't feel, but now this morning they tell us there were two more light quakes, close to where the others hit. They do appear to have been on or near the San Andreas Fault but that may not mean anything significant. There are many quakes of similar magnitude in various U.S. locations at any given moment.
If you want to go by weather conditions, the place that should shake this week is the Antelope Valley area of the state, which is forecast to have temps as high as 115 degrees in the next 2-3 days. I recall traveling in that area one time and stepping out of the car at a rest stop to a hot wind that made your eyes so dry you could open and close your eyelids after a few seconds.
All this heat is just in time for the July 4 holiday in a year when we've had not nearly enough rain during the last several (so-called) rainy seasons. We're all being cautioned to watch the grills, sparks and open flames. Some local gatherings and park locations are banning all smoking for fear that a stray butt will ignite a hillside into a scene like that straight out of a Hollywood disaster movie.
Wherever you are, I hope you have an enjoyable Independence Day tomorrow. I'll be on the local roads with my spouse, in an old truck that has no air-conditioning. I'll try to just pretend we're reenacting a scene from a Steinbeck novel.
posted at: 10:43 | category: /Miscellaneous | link to this entry
