Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, June 19, 2021, or: Adios, Claudette!

Hi there, Dear Reader. It’s late morning here in New Hometown, Florida on Saturday, June 19, 2021.  It’s hot, summery outside. The current temperature is 85˚F (30˚C) under partly sunny skies. With humidity at 52% and the wind blowing from the southeast at 10 MPH (16 KM/H), the heat index is 93˚F (34˚C). The forecast for today calls for mostly cloudy skies and a high of 92˚F (33˚C). Tonight, the skies will remain mostly cloudy, and the low will be 77˚F (25˚C). The Air Quality Index (AQI) is 87 or Moderate.

As the National Hurricane Center predicted yesterday, Tropical Storm Claudette formed last night and came ashore early this morning over Louisiana. According to a report in the Weather Channel’s website, Claudette is going to dampen – literally – this Father’s Day weekend across the Southeast.

Per the Weather Channel:

Tropical Storm Claudette formed over Louisiana earlier this morning and continues to pose a threat of flooding rain across the Southeast this Father’s Day weekend. This system could also contribute to coastal flooding, dangerous rip currents and gusty winds.

Right now, Claudette is affecting swaths of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and its track will take it across much of the Southeast, including Georgia and the Carolinas. And since the feeder bands extend to the east and northeast,

Here is the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami:

BULLETIN

Tropical Storm Claudette Advisory Number   8

NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL       AL032021

1000 AM CDT Sat Jun 19 2021

…HEAVY RAINS AND TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS CONTINUE ALONG

PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN GULF COAST…

…TROPICAL STORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR A PORTION OF THE NORTH

CAROLINA COAST…

SUMMARY OF 1000 AM CDT…1500 UTC…INFORMATION

———————————————–

LOCATION…31.0N 89.7W

ABOUT 75 MI…120 KM NNE OF NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA

ABOUT 95 MI…155 KM WNW OF MOBILE ALABAMA

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…40 MPH…65 KM/H

PRESENT MOVEMENT…NNE OR 25 DEGREES AT 14 MPH…22 KM/H

MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…1007 MB…29.74 INCHES

WATCHES AND WARNINGS

——————–

CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for a portion of the North

Carolina coast from Cape Fear to Duck, including Pamlico and

Albemarle Sounds.

The Tropical Storm Warning has been discontinued from the Mouth of

the Mississippi River westward to Morgan City, Louisiana, and for

Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Metropolitan New Orleans.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…

* Mouth of the Mississippi River to the Okaloosa/Walton County line

Florida.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…

* Cape Fear to Duck, North Carolina

* Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are

expected somewhere within the warning area.

A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are

possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours.

Interests elsewhere along the northern Gulf Coast and across the

southeast U.S. should monitor the progress of this system.

Although I live close to the Gulf Coast, New Hometown is too far south of Claudette’s current position, and since the storm is moving away from us, I doubt that any of its feeder bands will affect our weather.

I don’t have much in the way of other news today; I am still keeping an eye on my package with the Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection 4K UHD Blu-ray box set. According to the tracking information provided by UPS, it was last scanned in a carrier facility in Lakeland, Florida at 5:15 AM Eastern. Lakeland is less than 35 miles away from here, so in theory it’s possible – but not likely – that UPS will deliver the package today. The delivery window at both Amazon and My UPS Choice say it’s scheduled for a Monday delivery, so I won’t pin my hopes on an expedited arrival of Dr. Jones and his adventures.

Here’s what consumers can expect from the new box set, per the info on its product page on Amazon:

 From legendary filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, comes one of the greatest movie franchises of all time in 4K Ultra HD. Collected together, all four original Indiana Jones movies have been visually remastered with HDR-10 and Dolby Vision, and state of the art Dolby Atmos for optimum picture and sound quality. Dive into the spectacular stunts and groundbreaking effects with seven hours of special features on one disc. Spanning the globe, on death-defying archeological endeavors, if adventure has a name… it must be Indiana Jones.

Today is one of my two days off from writing, so I plan to try and spend more time outside of my room and away from my desk. I have quite a few books that I’ve bought, started to read, but put aside, so maybe I ought to go to the living room and read for a while. If it weren’t so hot outside I’d even go to the park, sit on a bench, and read there. But I hate hot, humid weather, so I’ll just stick to staying indoors.

On that note, Dear Reader, I will close for now.  Stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.

Sources: https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2021-06-17-potential-tropical-depression-storm-claudette

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT3+shtml/191438.shtml?