In The Vortex

Author: David Drummond

  • 4th of July Lubbock Style

    Today will be a full day for me. I will be getting started before dawn up to Lubbock to meet up with some of the KCBD team, gonna decorate my chase vehicle which is going to drive in the parade along with Steve Miller TX and his chase vehicle representing NewChannel 11 in full storm chaser gear.

    The parade is in downtown Lubbock and starts at 9 a.m. Central time. I am doing something a little out of the ordinary, and will be streaming video from the dash from inside the parade. Over 150,000 spectators are expected at the parade, and you can ride along with us and see what it’s like to ride in a fairly big parade on the LIVE ChaseCam. Again, it starts at 9 a.m. Central, but I will probably fire it up once we get in the staging area so you can see some of the behind the scenes stuff.

    Not sure what all I will be doing during the day, but in the evening a free concert featuring Mac Davis will be held in the park prior to the fireworks. The plan right now, assuming I can get a fairly secure staging position and someone to watch the laptop, is to stream the fireworks, which I expect will start sometime between 9 and 10 p.m. Central when it starts getting dark. I would start watching for the LIVE cam to actually go live sometime around 8 p.m. Central. Hopefully I can bring you guys a pretty good fireworks show for those that stayed in tonight. I am going to try real hard anyway.  If I can tag into some broadband, I’ll also be trying to send audio as well as the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra.

    By all means, leave a comment and let me know if your going to be watching or if you did watch!

  • Lightning Safety Awareness Week June 22-28, 2008

    As part of Lightning Safety Awareness Week, the National Weather Service Office in Lubbock would like to remind everyone of the dangers associated with lightning and provide some resources for your awareness efforts.

    Lightning is a potential hazard to people outdoors and indoors and results in millions of dollars in economic losses each year. Lightning kills an average of 67 people in the United States each year, and is second only to flooding in terms of weather related fatalities. Exceeding the number of fatalities are the estimated 600-700 survivors that are left with debilitating health effects each year. West Texas sees a maximum of lightning in the late Spring and Summer months as thunderstorm develop across the southern High Plains.

    Casualties are more likely to occur in open areas such as golf courses and playing fields, but lightning’s deadly strike can hit anytime during the year and in all segments of the nation. Lightning is a serious danger. With the information provided below, we hope you’ll learn more about lightning risks and how to protect yourself and your loved ones.

    NOAA Lightning Safety Website http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/
    Lightning Safety Data http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/more.htm
    Lightning Overview http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/overview.htm
    Current Lightning Data http://www.uspln.com/images/uspln.jpg