Chris Robbins 
A Few Interesting Facts and Myths About Daylight Saving Time 1. Terminology: Daylight saving time, not “savings”. 2. Bottling daylight most of the year. In the United States, we spend about 65% of the year (~238 days) in daylight saving time. 3. Two states do not observe DST: Hawaii and Arizona, except for the Navajo … Read more
…Daily rainfall record shattered at DFW on the 28th… …Also the most rainfall ever recorded on ANY day in February… …February 2018 is now the wettest on record for DFW… A heavy rain event on the last day of the month pushed monthly rainfall totals to record levels at DFW Airport in the Dallas/Fort Worth … Read more
Dallas/Fort Worth/North Texas Forecast Summary [Wednesday 10/25] ➤ As I discussed in my previous DFW forecast posted on Monday, the coldest air so far this season will overspread North Texas on Friday. ➤ Temperatures will be in the upper 80s to near 90º tomorrow (Thursday, October 26) thanks to downslope/compressional warming with southwest winds. ➤ … Read more
Forecast Discussion for DFW/North Texas [Posted on Monday 10/23/17] …Coolest air so far this season arrives Friday… ➤ Following highs in the low-mid 80s today, a weak cold front tonight will bring temperatures back down to seasonal levels tomorrow and Wednesday. ➤ A bit warmer on Thursday, ahead of the next cold front, with temperatures … Read more
Fall 2019 Begins: Monday, September 23 at 3:50 am EDT Duration of Fall 2019: 89 days, 20 hours, 29 minutes Related: How many days until winter? Number of days until spring 2019?
Going solar lets you slash heating bills, reduce your home’s carbon footprint, and embrace a green lifestyle. Installing solar panels can give you energy independence. However, you can still “go solar” and reduce heating bills without investing a fortune in expensive solar panels. Every unit of electricity you save is a unit you effectively generate. … Read more
Names for Tropical Cyclones in the North Atlantic and Caribbean Names for Tropical Cyclones in the East Pacific When Does Hurricane Season Begin? In the North Atlantic and Caribbean, hurricane season basins begins on June 1. In the East Pacific, hurricane season begins on May 15. What is the Difference Between a Hurricane and Typhoon? … Read more
Hurricane season starts on June 1st and runs through November 30. This time frame was created based on long-term statistics, but hurricanes can certainly occur outside of this range. In January 2016, for example, Hurricane Alex became the strongest Atlantic hurricane to occur during the northern hemispheric winter. So, irrespective of the date, take some … Read more
Do you have a dog that is terrified of loud noises such as thunder or fireworks? It can be devastating to watch as your dog shakes uncontrollably, pants, and paces every time a storm approaches or during Independence Day celebrations. Not too much is known as to why some dogs have a phobia of loud … Read more
Like humans, our pets can have phobias, such a stress-inducing fear of loud noises, fireworks, and thunderstorms. As a pet-owner, you have an awareness of your dog’s mood and her behavior likely alerts you to an approaching thunderstorm, even before you hear the first clap of thunder. She may cry or whimper, tremble, or scurry … Read more
While injury from lightning strikes has increased since 1940, fatalities have decreased dramatically. In fact, lightning deaths have become exceedingly rare relative to other weather phenomena, but they still occur. The most dangerous lightning strikes are those that occur when our guard is down; lightning strikes from a sky that appears to be clear and … Read more
What is Flood Insurance? Because standard homeowners insurance doesn’t cover damage from flooding, you will need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy to obtain coverage for your home and its contents. Fortunately, flood insurance is widely available from insurance companies that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a partnership between the Federal … Read more
Disasters can strike anybody at anytime, resulting in catastrophic property damage and loss. Fires in dwellings and natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, mudslides, and wildfires cause significant property damage every year across the United States. Although disasters usually strike without warning, there are measures you can take both before and after … Read more
The United States government is working in collaboration with local communities to provide expeditious financial assistance to victims of weather disasters in support of damage recovery. Financial aid is provided through a variety of means including disaster loans, grants, and casualty tax deductions for losses resulting from the destruction of property or unexpected calamities, such … Read more
Daylight saving time (DST) begins: Sunday, March 10th, 2019. ● When will DST end (return to standard time)? ● 2019 Countdown to Spring ● A few interesting DST tidbits ● Brief history of daylight saving time What is the Annual Duration of Daylight Saving Time? Answer: We spend 65% of the year, or 238 days, … Read more
Whether a natural disaster arrives in the form of an earthquake, tsunami, tornado, or hurricane, it is almost guaranteed that the poor will suffer from the aftereffects of the incident much more than wealthier individuals. This is due in part to the fact that individuals living in poverty often lack the resources that would help … Read more
It’s that time of year… Winter. The season when those unrealistic snow and ice accumulation maps, for an unlikely event 10 days into the future, that often go viral on social media. So, I wanted to briefly discuss the nature of internet weather hype and how you can learn to recognize it. As the National … Read more
DST ends and clocks return to standard time (“fall back”) at 2:00 AM on Sunday, November 3, 2019. States that do not observe the time change: Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii. How did DST get started? We have compiled an brief, but very interesting, history of daylight saving time When does DST … Read more
Important Update #1 [Monday 10/3 at 3 pm EDT] Since this page was created 8 hours ago, new model data have continued to trend the track of Hurricane Matthew westward, closer to the eastern Florida coast, tracking northeast along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. If future data continue to show this … Read more
This page provides some basic, but very interesting statistics about category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic basin since 1851. Category 5 storms are extremely rare. In fact, for the Atlantic Basin (including the Gulf of Mexico and Carribbean Sea) only 34* category 5 storms (~4% of all hurricanes) are found in the historical record. In … Read more
Friday 9/30/16 at 7:19 am A little over one hour ago, at 11:19 UTC (7:19 EDT), Rosetta sent its last signal to the European Space Agency’s European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany, after colliding with Comet 67P (Churyumov–Gerasimenko). This was a well-orchestrated “crash” landing, bringing Rosetta’s 12-year mission to an end. The comet is … Read more
Since the 1940s, the annual number of fatalities from lightning has been decreasing. In 1940, lightning was the #1 weather-related killer. In 2015, lightning was in last place. How many people were killed by lightning in 2015? Answer: Approximately 27 people were killed by lightning in 2015, according to NOAA records. This represents a 91% … Read more
This is an amazing satellite loop of Super Typhoon Meranti tracking toward southern Taiwan, with the eye passing just south of Taiwan’s southern tip. Meranti is now headed for the northern Philippines & southeast China. As of late Tuesday afternoon (9/13/16), Super Typhoon Meranti had become the strongest storm on Earth so far in 2016, … Read more
These forecast updates can also be found on our Facebook page. I have compiled them here for easy access as we track the first fall cold front, very early for North Texas, if this verifies. Note: Scroll down the page to see previous updates dating back to 8/27… Follow Up [Monday 9/12] The following … Read more
The standard homeowners insurance policy in the United States does not cover damages from flooding caused by rains, hurricanes, and storms that are common in many parts of the country. Flooding can cause property damages worth hundreds and thousands of dollars, so every American homeowner should know about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The … Read more
Atmospheric gravity waves, known as undular bores, are waves in Earth’s atmosphere that often show up quite well on satellite and radar imagery. They are notorious for creating wave-like clouds, which clearly propagate as waves when viewed in rapid time-lapse photography. Low-level atmospheric stability is implicated in the formation of undular bores. Large static stability … Read more
Definition of Heat Index: The heat index is an estimate of how hot the air “feels” to the human body and provides a relative indication of potential health risks. Among others, the two primary factors in the heat index equations are temperature and water vapor (i.e., moisture/humidity). Humidity affects the efficacy of perspiration to evaporatively … Read more
Interesting rainfall tidbits from the deluge in the Metroplex on Monday 7/4/16 The total rainfall at DFW Airport on the 4th of July 2016 was 3.20″ This shattered the daily record for 7/4 by 141% (previous record: 1.31″ in 2006) Compared with the entire month of July, as well as June + July… It ranked … Read more
Currently at Atlanta’s Hartsfield (ATL) The temperature is: ATL’s heat index is: °F Current Conditions Around Georgia How many days until fall? The summertime heat in the Southeast can be oppressive, despite the fact that actual air temperatures are relatively mild compared to those of the Great Plains and Midwest. For example, the average high … Read more
Currently at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) The temperature is: DFW’s heat index is: °F Current Conditions Around N. TX How many days until fall? It’s pretty much a given that summertime in North Texas will be hot. However, there is a fine line between “hot” and dangerously hot. In other words, “only” a few degrees can … Read more