Friday, June 6, 2014

(AP Photo/Peter M. Fredin)

The threat of severe thunderstorms will continue over the southern Plains on Friday and extend toward the Southeast heading into the weekend.

Denver; Oklahoma City; Wichita, Kansas; Springfield, Missouri; and Little Rock, Arkansas are a few of the bigger travel hubs in the region that may see delays on the roads and at the airports as these storms roll through.

Thunderstorms through Saturday may also ruin outdoor plans from Colorado to Alabama as frequent lightning can make it dangerous for actives such as baseball games and cookouts.

Hail as large as baseballs and damaging wind gusts past 70 mph will be the main threat with these storms with the highest risk focusing around Oklahoma.

A few tornadoes are also possible Friday afternoon and evening from western Kansas into the Texas Panhandle with the tornado threat decreasing heading into Friday night.

If you live in this region, you should keep an eye on the weather and know where to go for safety if one of these storms hits your area.

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Flooding downpours will be an additional danger, especially in locations that are hit by several storms.

Rainfall amounts are forecast to total as much as 2 to 4 inches over a large area with local amounts upwards of 6 inches possible.

This will be enough rain to cause roads to flood and rivers to rise toward flood stage, forcing some people living closer to rivers and streams to take action.

Remember that if you come across a flooded roadway, it is advised that you do not attempt to drive through it since the water may be deeper than it appears. Turn around; don't drown.

Although these storms may cause flooding as the drop copious amounts of rain, they will bring some good news with them.

Portions of Kansas and Oklahoma that are in the path of these severe thunderstorms are currently experiencing an extreme to exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Storms over the past several weeks have already begun to reduce the severity of the drought as they delivered much needed rain across the region.

In Oklahoma alone, rainfall from rounds of thunderstorms have reduced the exceptional drought from 34 percent to 21 percent over the past two weeks.

Even though much more rain is needed to end the drought, this batch of storms will put another dent in the drought as rain fill rivers, lakes and water reservoirs.

This is the latest report issued by the U.S. Drought Monitor on June 5, 2014.

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Friday, June 6, 2014

Army troops wade ashore on "Omaha" Beach during the "D-Day" landings, June 6, 1944. They were brought to the beach by a Coast Guard manned LCVP. (Photo/U.S. National Archives)

One of the most important weather forecasts in world history would occur in early June 1944, as Allied meteorologists prepared to deliver the final word for the long awaited D-Day invasion of Normandy.

Thousands of lives and the tide of the war depended entirely on teams of Allied meteorologists who determined what constituted suitable weather conditions for the invasion in a small time window.

"The Allies had decided that they wanted to go in at low tide on the landing beaches and that the airborne needed basically a full moon to have the proper dropping conditions," historian and author John McManus said on the Diane Rehm Show.

High winds and rough seas could impede the amphibious assault and low clouds could block vital air support. The weather factors that would play a significant role in the invasion would be wind, visibility and cloud cover according to a MET article.

"On the Allied side, six meteorologists working in three different teams were responsible for the D-Day forecasts," according to a report by James R. Fleming, president of the International Commission on History of Meteorology.

By June 3, the forecasting team determined the June 5 would not be an ideal day for the invasion as high pressure over France and low pressure northwest of Ireland would maintain strong southwesterly winds in the [English] Channel, meaning seas too rough for landings and cloud coverage too thick for bombing operations, according to MET.

Years of preparation were at stake, but on June 4, hours before the launch of D-Day operations amid an approaching storm, British Group Captain James Stagg urged General Eisenhower for a last-minute delay, according to the History Channel.

According to History Channel, only a few invasion dates were possible because of the need for a full moon for illumination and for a low tide at dawn to expose underwater German defenses; June 5 was the first date in a narrow three-day window.

"The American team used an analogue method that compared the current weather with past conditions. Their forecast was overly optimistic and would have resulted in disaster on June 5, 1944," Fleming said.

At the last minute, following Stagg's advice and the other British forecasters', Eisenhower postponed the invasion.

"June 5 becomes quickly off the table because of a terrible storm that is coming in and it's going to make any invasion basically impossible," McManus said. "So, Ike has to postpone it a day and then he has to sift through dozens of weather reports to ultimately decide on June 6 as a kind of an opening in the system that allows weather that's at least good enough, while nowhere near ideal."

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German forecasters also predicted the hostile weather conditions; however, they did not expect the high winds or rough seas to weaken until mid-June.

The German forecasters did not have the same amount of forecast information as the Allied forces. The German Navy had few remaining vessels in the Atlantic and their weather stations in Greenland had been closed down, according to MET.

This would prove folly, as many Nazi commanders left their defenses.

"German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel even returned home to personally present a pair of Parisian shoes to his wife as a birthday present," the History Channel reported.

With a more accurate forecast from Allied forces, Eisenhower would commence the D-Day operations, setting a historic shift in the war.

LCVP landing craft put troops ashore on "Omaha" Beach on "D-Day," June 6, 1944. The LCVP at far left is from USS Samuel Chase (APA-26).(Photo/ U.S. National Archives)

"On Tuesday, June 6, 1944, under barely tolerable conditions, the largest amphibious landing force ever assembled landed on the beaches of Normandy," Fleming said.

More than 150,000 Allied forces would lead the charge to liberate France from the Nazi's control, leading to the death of nearly 2,500 Americans in one of the bloodiest days of the war, according to NPR.

Contributions to this article were made by AccuWeather.com staff writer Kevin Byrne.

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Across the world, some locations see incredible amounts of rainfall each year. Most of the major U.S. cities that see higher rain amounts are located in the Southeast.

"There are a lot of sources for moisture there," said Accuweather.com senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, continuing, "with the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean."

"It's also warm year-round for those locations," he added.

These conditions come together to create ample rainfall amounts that create these large rain totals.

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A bolt of lightning illuminates the sky behind downtown Denver late Thursday night, June 5, 2014. (Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

The loud roar of passing thunderstorms and other loud noises can spark fear in many animals, causing extreme anxiety not only for pets, but also their owners who must manage this stress.

In order to help animals cope with these phobias, pet owners can look for different solutions with the help of their veterinarians. According to Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Lauren Connolly, there are several techniques to calm an animal during a thunderstorm.

"Being afraid of thunderstorms is just a form of noise phobia," she said, adding that symptoms from dogs are often more noticeable than those exhibited by cats.

"(Cats) can also be afraid of loud noises and storms," Connolly said. "They often will go and hide under a bed or behind a couch. Because they are not as destructive as dogs, their fear often goes unnoticed."

(Sean Waugh NOAA/NSSL)

1. Calming Methods

Connolly said that techniques such as calming the animal by petting them or simply sitting with them may reduce anxiety.

Also, allowing a pet to have a "safe" quiet place where they can go and be undisturbed can be used.

Try to block out the lightning and play loud music to block out the noise if possible, she said, adding that a white noise may help.

Playing a game or distracting the animal with a favorite toy can also put them at ease, she said.

In some cases, a veterinarian may prescribe anti-anxiety medications such as Alprazolam that can be administered before a storm.

2. Conditioning and Behavior Modification

Other methods of reducing anxiety during storms may include conditioning a pet to not fear the sound.

"You can play recordings of storms and play them at a sound level just below where they will get scared," Connolly said. "They should be played in short, 3- to 5-minute intervals and no longer."

A concerned dog parent should work with their veterinarian to develop a safe and effective conditioning program, according to Connolly.

"Behavior modification is the best way to get your dog desensitized to storms," Connolly said. "It is important to not punish your dog during this time, they will just get more stressed."

Connolly said it is also important never to praise them and tell them it is "OK."

"By rewarding this behavior you can inadvertently encourage it," she said.

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Clancy wears his Thundershirt to comfort him from a storm. (Kristen Connolly)

3. Stress Relief Gear

Out of necessity, ThunderWorks.com CEO and Founder Phil Blizzard said his business was started after trying various methods of calming his own dog during thunderstorms.

"She's been afraid of thunder and fireworks," Blizzard said. "Anytime we had a thunderstorm, she would pant and shake."

In the middle of the night during a storm, Blizzard said his dog would often awaken him by climbing on top of him while he was in bed.

When methods recommended by the veterinarian didn't work, Blizzard and his wife started looking for another solution to alleviate her fear, which motivated the creation of the ThunderShirt.

"Someone had suggested a snug wrap, like swaddling, which applies a gentle, constant pressure," he said, adding that this concept is to provide stress release for animals and humans alike.

During Blizzard's research, he said they found that more than 30 percent of pet owners reported similar anxiety in their animals during thunderstorms.

"As the name ThunderShirt implies, thunder and noises was the first fear we tackled, but along the way, we found that simple pressure helped with a multitude of pet anxieties including separation, travel, vet visits and much more," according to the ThunderShirt website.

In 2008, with the help of partners and veterinary and trainer endorsements, Blizzard launched his website to sell the ThunderShirt. He now employees 25 people.

Connolly said similar products that apply this method of constant, gentle pressure seem to help some animals, but are not clinically proven. Since Blizzard started his business, he has received endorsements from several thousand trainers, veterinarians, rescue groups and pet owners.

"It is like a swaddle for a baby and did nothing for my dog, but I know others who have used it and loved it," she said.

Other products include a special lining to decrease animals' sensitivity to the static charge associated with storms, she said.

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Instead of falling toward the ocean and deploying parachutes -- as SpaceX capsules have done several times after completing robotic cargo runs to the International Space Station for NASA -- this Dragon spaceship was aiming for land. It fired its SuperDraco engines, extended four legs and made a pinpoint touchdown on a concrete landing pad not far from where it was launched into space.

"That is how a 21st century spaceship should land," SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk told a cheering crowd of employees and VIPs late late month as the landing -- which was an animation, not an actual event -- ended on two large video screens. [Meet Dragon V2: SpaceX's Manned Space Taxi]

Musk had just unveiled the first crewed version of SpaceX's spacecraft, known as Dragon V2, at SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. The invitation-only event gave attendees -- and thousands watching online -- a view of the improved spacecraft and one of the clearest views yet of Musk's ambitious space goals.

"It is, all around, I think, really a big leap in technology. It really takes things to the next level," said Musk, describing upgrades to the ship that could allow Dragons to fly up to 10 times without significant refurbishment.

The spacecraft is the company's entry into NASA's commercial crew competition, whose main goal is the development of a private American vehicle that can safely transport seven astronauts to and from the space station.

SpaceX is competing with Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp., which are developing a capsule called the CST-100 and a space plane called Dream Chaser, respectively. NASA is expected to award the next round of contracts in August. [Mars Sample-Return Idea with SpaceX Dragon (Images)]

Musk doesn't want SpaceX to simply become an orbital taxi service, however. His dreams are far grander: to transform the way in which space exploration is conducted, opening up the final frontier to widespread and affordable use. Musk's vision doesn't end in Earth orbit but rather stretches all the way to the frozen deserts of Mars.

The key is reusability. Musk said the crewed Dragon is designed to land softly back on Earth and be rapidly turned around for another flight -- possibly on the same day.

"The reason that this is really important is that, apart from the convenience of the landing location, is that it enables rapid reusability of the spacecraft," Musk told the audience.

"So, you can just reload the propellants and fly it again. This is extremely important for revolutionizing access to space, because as long as we continue to throw away rockets and spacecraft, we will never have true access to space; it will always be incredibly expensive," he added. "You can imagine a scenario where, if an aircraft was thrown away after each flight, nobody would be able to afford to fly. Or very few, only a small number of government customers. The same is true with rockets and spacecraft."

If SpaceX's engineers can pull it off, the crewed Dragon will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket that's also fully reusable. This past April, the first stage of a Falcon 9 maneuvered to a soft "landing" on the ocean, refiring its engines and extending four landing legs before hitting the water intact.

SpaceX's goal is to to recover a Falcon 9 first stage with a touchdown on land by the end of the year. The company would then re-launch the stage next year on a demonstration flight. The company's engineers are also working on the more difficult problem of trying to recover the Falcon 9's second stage, which reaches a much higher altitude.

Musk predicted that instead of flying into space a handful of times per year as we do now, humans would eventually be able to fly to space multiples times per day.

"I think 20 years for thousands of flights," Musk said in response to a question about increasing annual launch rates. "And I think we could probably get to the hundreds-of-flights level in 12 to 15 years."

Getting into space easily and cheaply would allow people to go almost anywhere in the solar system. Musk's focus is Mars. He has been talking to NASA about using a Dragon to land on the Red Planet, collect soil samples and send them back to Earth for analysis.

After that would come something even more ambitious -- human settlement. Musk and his engineers are already designing a bigger launch vehicle that could send large payloads to the Red Planet. Musk wants to establish a colony on Mars, where he plans to retire.

But first things first: If NASA provides additional funding to SpaceX, Musk believes SpaceX could launch a crewed test flight of Dragon V2 in about two years and begin ferrying astronauts to the space station by the end of 2016. That would be a year earlier than NASA's current schedule.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

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Sunday, June 8, 2014

As in this file photos,these storms may produce hail. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

The stormy pattern that has set up over the southern Plains will continue over the region right into the beginning of the new week.

Severe thunderstorms are forecast to erupt yet again from southeastern Colorado to northern Texas on Sunday afternoon before racing eastward on Sunday night.

Power outages may occur as these storms blast through with wind gusts powerful enough to knock over power lines and blow down large tree limbs.

A few brief tornadoes may spin up as well, particularly late in the afternoon in eastern New Mexico and western Texas.

Thunderstorms that develop will be capable of producing damaging wind gusts, large hail and torrential downpours.

Not only will damaging wind gusts and large hail impact the region, but there will also be the threat of flash flooding.

While storms expand eastward through Sunday night and into Monday, an area of steady rain is forecast to develop over Kansas, Nebraska and eventually Missouri.

Moisture getting drawn in from the Gulf of Mexico will help to fuel torrential downpours which can lead to localized flash flooding both in this area of rain and in areas hit by severe thunderstorms.

If you are driving and come across a flooded roadway, you should avoid driving through it. Turn around, don't drown.

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Although this rain may cause flooding, it will be good news for portions of the Plains that are currently experiencing an extreme drought.

Even though much more rainfall is needed to end the drought, the rain expected to fall into Monday will help to put another dent in the drought conditions.

The threat of severe weather in the southern Plains is forecast to continue into Monday, focusing from southern Missouri to northeastern Texas.

Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas, will finally have a break from thunderstorms as they shift to their east after being impacted by storms on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Storms are expected to continue to shift eastward on Tuesday, stretching from Kentucky to Louisiana and allowing dry weather to return from Nebraska to Texas.

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Sunday, June 8, 2014

(Joanna. W/Flickr)

As summer approaches, people are thinking about the beach and other outdoor activities.

Summer also means that lifeguards along the East and Gulf coasts are prepared to deal with one of the greatest dangers: rip currents.

Rip currents are narrow, fast-moving channels of water that move away from the beach due to irregularities along the shoreline such as sandbars and piers, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Andy Mussoline said.

More than 85 percent (more than 600 people) of all rescues during 2013 at the 5 miles of beach at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, were the result of rip currents, Ocean Rescue Supervisor David Elder of the Kill Devil Hills Fire Department said.

"Rips are a predictable hazard," Elder said. "With accurate and timely information, lifeguards work to decrease exposure to the hazards of not only rip currents, but all beach hazards."

If caught in a rip current, the best thing to do is to swim parallel to the shore out of the rip current, Elder said.

"Don't fight the current: It's basically like being on a treadmill," he said. "Once out of the current, swim back to the shore."

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We must look for new ways to reach out to beachgoers and try to keep them safe, Elder said.

He is working on one way to better alert the public of rip current hazards: a rip-current forecast system at the National Weather Service.

The new forecast system predicts the likelihood of rip current occurrence given wave field and water level inputs from the Nearshore Wave Prediction System (a numerical wave and water level model), Oceanographer Greg Dusek of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service said.

Rip currents are shown along a crowded beach on the Delaware shore. (Photo/NWS/Courtesy of Dr. Wendy Carey, Delaware Sea Grant).

Dusek started the research about nine years ago while a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and received help from Elder and the Kill Devil Hills Ocean Rescue.

"With the model, we can provide a hazardous rip current forecast every couple kilometers along the coast, every three hours, out for at least 48 hours," Dusek said.

The forecast model will be tested on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, including Kill Devil Hills, and near Miami.

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This stunning image of Mercury, the moon and Jupiter also showcases a historical landmark of the Italian city from which it was taken: the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Astrophotographer Giuseppe Petricca took this image on May 30 from Pisa, Italy. Petricca said he waited for the wide encounter between the three celestial objects. Mercury appears at the right of the image, while Jupiter shines from high above.

"The slender crescent moon was the first to appear, like a small thin cut in the sky, then the gas giant and finally the dim and little Mercury," Petricca wrote in an email to Space.com. [Amazing Night Sky Photos for June (Stargazing Gallery)]

The crescent moon was just 5-percent illuminated and two days past new phase when it passed Mercury and Jupiter as it waxed across the sky on May 30. Mercury arrived at its greatest eastern elongation, or its greatest angular distance to the east of the sun in the sky, on May 25 and has since started approaching the sun beginning to fade noticeably.

Petricca captured this photo using a Nikon P90 camera on tripod, ISO 100, f3.5, with 1.6" exposure.

To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by Space.com readers, visit our astrophotography archive.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Follow Space.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Additional rounds of severe weather, including some tornadoes, will continue to target the southern half of the Plains and Deep South through Monday.

A new round of severe thunderstorms will continue to erupt across central and southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle and westward through central Mississippi to northeastern Texas through Sunday evening.

Also through Sunday evening, another batch of severe weather will ignite from eastern Colorado to northeastern New Mexico and parts of West Texas. These violent thunderstorms will drop into western Kansas and more of western and central Texas and far western Oklahoma through Sunday night.

Cities in the path of the severe thunderstorms through Sunday night include Montgomery, Alabama; Jackson, Mississippi; Shreveport, Louisiana; Tyler, Dallas, Abilene and Amarillo, Texas; and Colorado Springs and Denver, Colorado.



Power outages may occur as these storms blast through with wind gusts powerful enough to knock over power lines and blow down large tree limbs.

A few brief tornadoes will spin up as well, particularly late in the afternoon in eastern parts of Colorado and New Mexico and western Texas.

Not only will damaging wind gusts and large hail impact the region, but there will also be the threat of flash flooding.

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While storms expand eastward through Sunday night and into Monday, an area of steady rain is forecast to develop over Kansas, Nebraska and eventually Missouri.

Moisture getting drawn in from the Gulf of Mexico will help to fuel torrential downpours which can lead to localized flash flooding both in this area of rain and in areas hit by severe thunderstorms.

If you are driving and come across a flooded roadway, you should avoid driving through it. Turn around, don't drown.

Although this rain may cause flooding, it will be good news for portions of the Plains that are currently experiencing an extreme drought.

Even though much more rainfall is needed to end the drought, the rain expected to fall into Monday will help to put another dent in the drought conditions.

The threat of severe weather in the southern Plains is forecast to continue through Monday and Monday night.

While the day may start with heavy and gusty thunderstorms, AccuWeather.com meteorologists are particularly concerned for severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes to erupt across eastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas Monday afternoon. Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Dallas lie in this zone.



The majority of the severe thunderstorms will wait until Monday night to reach places toward Memphis and Houston.

The violent thunderstorms--complete with damaging winds, hail and flooding downpours--will push to the south and east toward Houston and into the lower Mississippi Valley Monday night.

Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas, will finally have a break from thunderstorms on Monday as they shift to their east after being impacted by storms on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Storms are expected to continue to shift eastward on Tuesday, stretching from Kentucky to Louisiana and allowing dry weather to return from Nebraska to Texas.

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Some very hot conditions are being seen over northern India as the monsoon has yet to kick in for the capital city.

Temperatures over the past several days have climbed well above 100 degrees F, this after having some severe thunderstorms no more than a week ago for the city.

Normal high temperatures are 104 degrees F (40 C), and the past 5 days have seen high temperatures climb to 110 degrees F (43 C) or higher. The all-time record high for New Delhi for June is 116 degrees F (46.7 C), according to the India Weather Service.

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Friday climbed to 113 degrees F (45 C), which was the hottest temperature in New Delhi in 2 years.

For the Delhi region, temperatures climbed to 118 degrees F (47.8 C) in Palam, India, which is the hottest it has been in 62 years, also breaking a record for Sunday.

The heat is thanks to the hot and dry winds from the west and southwest. These conditions look to continue for the next few days, possibly ending on Thursday when the high temperature is expected to top out at 109 degrees. This is after the high for Monday is expected to climb to 116 degrees F (46.7 C), approaching the hottest temperature in New Delhi since 1945 of 117 degrees F (47.2 C).

This heat has not only been dangerous for anyone looking for relief from the heat, but has also lead to record energy use across Delhi.

According to the Times of India, the power demand on Thursday was as high as 108.6 million units, the highest ever recorded. The peak demand was 5250 megawatts, shy of the record of 5653 megawatts from 2013.

More extreme heat the next few days could push this record even higher. The temperatures on Monday and Tuesday look to remain very close to record highs, and the low temperatures at night have only been dropping to near 90 degrees F (32 C).

This heat will remain around the area as the monsoon will remain off to the southeast for the next few weeks yet. Once the monsoon does develop, the temperatures will not be as high, but the dew points and threat for storms will be found almost daily.

Story by AccuWeather.com meteorologist Alan Reppert

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Monday, June 9, 2014

Shutterstock

Unsettled weather will kick off the new week in the Plains, delivering another round of severe thunderstorms from Texas to Tennessee.

This will follow up what has been an active weekend across the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley with thunderstorms on Monday continuing the threat of damaging wind gusts, hail and flooding downpours.

Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Tyler, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Springfield, Missouri; and Memphis Tennessee, are a few cities in the path of thunderstorms on Monday with some storms continuing into Monday night.

If you plan on traveling around these cities, you should allow for extra time to reach your destination as blinding downpours can slow traffic on the roads and create delays at the airports.

Heading into Monday night, the threat of severe weather is expected to decrease as violent thunderstorms scale back in intensity.

However, a few gusty thunderstorms may still impact communities in the Deep South with wind gusts strong enough to blow over trees and cause power outages.

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An area of steadier rain is forecast to develop north of these severe storms with rain overspreading parts of Nebraska and Kansas.

Rain that falls over this area is not expected to be as heavy as the downpours associated with the thunderstorms from Texas to Tennessee. Instead, this will be a longer-duration rainfall, helping to ease the ongoing drought.

A steady, long-duration rain means that the ground has more time to soak in the much-needed rain water rather than it quickly running off into nearby streams and lakes as it does during quick bursts of heavy rain.

One to two inches of rain is possible through Monday night in areas of Kansas and Nebraska, with high temperatures struggling to reach the 60s in areas where rain falls through much of Monday.

As much as this rain will help to reduce the intensity of the extreme drought, much more is required to end the drought over the Plains.

Early indications show that after this system departs the region on Tuesday, there may not be another system similar to this that delivers a steady rain over a large area for at least a week, possibly longer.

This does not mean that there will be no rain across the region, however.

Thunderstorms may still develop across the region and deliver more beneficial rainfall, although this rain would be more localized rather than on a larger scale.

This graphic shows the amount of rainfall required in a one month period to end the current drought conditions. Photo courtesy of the National Climatic Data Center.

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