As of this post, the evening of July 26th we are still in an extreme drought across a majority of the FOX Charlotte viewing area.  Over the last two weeks, Charlotte Douglas International has only recorded 0.87" of rain.  We are now in the negative (barely) for the month of July. For the year, we are down 4.22" compared to a normal year. An active hurricane season and some tropical remnants are what we really need to make a true dent in this current longstanding drought. 

And now for something totally different...my wife Kristen and I are expecting our first child (A BOY!).  Actually the due date passed yesterday. She's a trooper, hanging in there as best she can in this humidity and with some major hip pain.

Some of our family & friends are telling us he won't arrive until we come up with a name for him, which we haven't.  We've each come up with names, but can't agree on anything. For some reason naming him after Kiefer Sutherland just does float with my wife.

Anyway, as soon as he does arrive, I'll post a few pics up on the site.  I'll be taking some paternity leave and the wonderful Steve Lyerly will be doing what he always does for everyone here, allowing us to be off by filling in.           

I am a weather nut.Especially when the weather gets bad,and i capture some pretty awesome pics.I will be posting them as soon as i get them.

Hope you enjoy,

BLu

Most of us have green grass, some of the plants look pretty good, BUT Charlotte is still in a severe drought. Gaston, Lincoln, Cleveland and other counties to our west are doing even worse, they are at the second worst level, extreme drought.  

It was about this time last year that things really started going downhill and it could again this spring/summer.  Unfortunately, so far in 2008 we're doing worse than in 2007.  Last year at this date, we'd received 15.27" of rain.  So far this year, we've only received 13.35" of rain.  We're already behind by over 3" from our normal. 

We can hope we don't get in the same hot, dry pattern as next summer of you can count on another round of severe summer water restrictions.

Reg, Tera, & I will continue to keep you up-to-date with the latest conditions on all our forecasts...If you ever have a drought related question, feel free to post it here.  We'll do our best to answer it.

Derek

We've seen a few showers so far today, but while you're sleeping the rain should get heavier.  Most of us will pickup another .25" to .5" of additional rain.  As I write this blog, Charlotte Douglas International Airport has only record a tenth of an inch.

We're only down .25" for this month (pretty good) but down about two and a half inches since January 1st (not so much). Valentine's Day will be full of sunshine with temps in the mid 50s.  Friday we'll see more sun and highs should make it into the low 60s, while Saturday night and Sunday will bring more chances for needed rain.

Now...the SHOCKING CONFESSION...dunt dunt duuuuh

I feel that Paula Abdul is one of the most annoying people on the planet, she is behind Britney, Lyndsay, Rosie, Fergie, Drew Carey (stop laughing at yourself MAN!) and Carson Daly (least talented person in the world). 

I caught Paula Abdul's attempted comeback during the Super Bowl XLII (42) Pre Game Show on FOX.  The song is called "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" and I LOVE IT!!  I know, scary that a guy who listens primarily to U2, Duran Duran, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, and The Police would like a bubble-gum pop song from Paula Abdul of all people.  I've been close to downloading the song off of I-Tunes, but so far I've kind of kept my credibility by not buying it.

 If you haven't heard the song yet, check this out.  And please don't judge me...I swear I'll redeem myself by buying some cool new wave stuff off I-Tunes this week.

More to come...

Derek

The bug is going around again.  It makes me glad I got a flu shot this year.  There is nothing worse than going to work during ratings period when you are sick.  The good folks here at FOX handed out germ-X and "wet ones" to help us out, but the coughing continues here.

I guess you just have to wash your hands and hope for the best.  I know what would be worse...being sick in space!

German astronaut Hans Schlegel was pulled off the first spacewalk of the mission shortly after he arrived at the international space station Saturday aboard Atlantis. Managers bumped the spacewalk and Columbus' hookup to the space station to Monday.

NASA declined to discuss the medical problem beyond saying it was not life-threatening, but a European flight controller confirmed Sunday that Schlegel had been ill and wished him a quick recovery.

The European Space Agency's Web site later said the illness was not contagious and probably would not prevent Schlegel from performing his other scheduled spacewalk.

(AP) This image provided by NASA, shows a slight protrusion of a thermal blanket on the starboard...

Full Image Schlegel, 56, a two-time space flier, sounded OK on Sunday morning when he spoke to Mission Control after waking up to music from fellow German Herbert Gronemeyer.

"Greetings to everybody in America, in Europe and in Germany, and especially of course to my close family and my lovely wife, Heike," he said.

He spent the morning helping his crewmates prepare for the spacewalk and looked fine as he floated around the station.

Someone always has it worse than you!

it was interesting.  with the current round of rain storms last night and the upcoming days, the weather people seemed to completely ignore the fact that we are in what is the equivalent of a national drought and reported something like, " now we are having a good amount of rain coming in, which will greatly help our amount of rain that we need, but let's not forget that our amount of rain we received this month (January) have done well in keeping with the amount of rain that we need here, but we still need more rain to keep up with the necessary amount of rain that we need."

my point is that we are in a serious period of drought, and when i say 'serious', i mean several YEARS worth of poor rain totals.  my son in the northern VA area has told us that THEY are in a drought (northern CA is not necessarily in a drought situation as reported by my parents).  this lack of rain appears to be more wide spread than is being reported. 

more later...

Ken White (our illustrious News Director) is usually pretty good about bringing in food on nights when we have to do extra shows.  You know, like a Sunday news cast after a Panthers' football game or a NASCAR race.  I think that is kinda cool.  It's like a bit of a perk.  We do extra work...they feed us.  Is this a ploy to keep us in the building? 

What would you like as a perk where you work?  Chair massage comes to mind!  No! That is not rubbing down a chair!  Or you could bring your pet to work...with a diaper on of course, unless your pet is a lizzard, then that would look funny with a diaper on!

Employers realize the best way to retain prized employees among the current talent crunch is to make them want to stay, often through first-rate perks. In addition to the standard comprehensive benefits package, some companies are taking things a step further, offering unique perks to keep current employees happy and new employees eager to stick around.

The company perks I came across ran the gamut from widespread to unique to downright unfair. Check out how companies, big and small, across the country are keeping their employees happy.  Here are a couple of them:

1. Barkley; Kansas City, Mo.
Great perks: This advertising agency has an annual “Kidnap Day,” when the company shuts down for the day and workers are taken to an undisclosed location, like an arcade. Additionally, there are break-time activities, like pool and ping-pong tournaments, and free Boulevard beer on tap after 4 p.m. To top it off, employees are given birthdays off (with $25 spending money); on-site yoga; and a rooftop observation deck with gardens, Wi-Fi access and barbecue grills.

2. SAS; Cary, N.C.
Great perks: Along with amenities like an on-site hair salon, massage therapy and car detailing, this software company also features subsidized day care centers and a free on-site healthcare center, complete with doctors, nurse practitioners and nutritionists.

 All "food" for thought!  What do you think?

In the last several years I've had many hardships that taught me how precious life is.  Many people were complaining today that they got stuck taking care of their kids today and couldn't go to work.  I know that paying the bills and buying things that make people happy are important, but those things are only temporary.  Material objects come and go, but when people go and missed chances to be with them go, they don't come back.  If everyone would slow down and grab the chance to spend quality time together they would find that they had a less stressful day and they would feel closer to the people they care about.  The memories would stay with them forever and make lasting effects on everyone's lives.

Today was the best day I've had in a long time.  I wish my daughter would have been able to be home to spend it with me, but she's having her way with the nurses right now.  My husband came home from work early around 4 am and we actually had a snowball fight right then!  I caught snowflakes on my tongue and spun around in the snow a few times.  We took lots of pictures so we could show our daughter later on what the first local snow of her life looked like.  After watching my kitty chasing snowflakes and trying to pounce on them when they were landing on the ground we went inside to get warm.

Luckily it was rather toasty inside.  Infact it was almost too hot.  We were just that lucky that the wood stove is keeping enough of our house warm since the oil ran out.  We can't afford to fill the tank since prices are so high, but luckily we have a sofa bed in the same room as our wood stove.  If we keep the rest of the house closed up we can stay warm in our den to watch tv and where we sleep.

My hubby went to sleep and I stayed up to watch Fox Rising to get a better idea of what the weather was going to do.  I fell asleep listening to the cast as I often do since I stay up at night until I can finally go to bed with my hubby.  Several hours later when we woke up we took a drive to the grocery store.  It was amazing looking at everything all covered in white.  My hubby said I was like a kid in a candy store.  I told him unlike you Ex-Yankees people from around here aren't used to seeing snow.

I ended up using some of my Christmas money to get a gallon of gas for our three-wheeler.  Spending quality time having fun with my hubby is priceless and I couldn't pass it up.  It was almost like the movies riding around with him looking at all the white in the woods bundled in layers of clothes.  He argued with me that he didn't need gloves, but he ended up getting socks after a while and cutting holes out of them for his fingers. 

Shortly after that our big dog that was chasing after us decided to go jump in the creek and lay in it.  We laughed at her and made her get out before she got too cold in it.  She wanted to stay out when we got back up to the house but we made her come in.  Its a good thing we did because she can barely get up off the floor because her arthritis is acting up so bad.  I wouldn't have traded this day for anything except for my daughter to be home and healthy.

My dog welcoming my hubby home...

My hubby glad to be off the nasty roads!

My dog after sitting in the snow for a while.

My kitty chasing the snow flakes...

Riding the three wheeler...

Wish all of the kids were here, but they can't be so I'm making the best of it with my hubby!  At least my step-kids get enough snow in the state where they moved to so they can play in it.

Later,

~Kitty~

Snow in Charlotte is a no win situation in the central part of North Carolina. I lived here over 20 years. The actual NEED and USE of snow removal equipment is less than minimal,BUT..THe CDOT and NCDOT folks in place now should be COMMENDED for doing their jobs well and keeping the roads as safe as possible with salt brine.

When Sue Myrick was Mayor of Charlotte and it snowed,all she did was organize a "Prayer Breakfast" at the Adams Mark Hotel.

I have no school age children,but feel that CMS & Peter Gorman should have our support when it comes to looking out for the safety of CMS students.

CMS has their hands full trying to keep them safe in school as it is, but when they are on the busses,in the street,CMS has no control outside of the driving skill and experience of the bus driver.This too is a lose.lose situation.People that complain that school was out and should have been in,would have compleined about school being out on a bad weather day after the first bus/ice/student injury had occured,just like they did today with school being out.

wow! i woke up at 5 AM. i saw white stuff on my grass. i was like so why can't we have snow for christmas? schools was close just because of little bit of snow eh wth! if teh school system keep on closing just because of this little bit of snow . please snow agian AHAHAHHA.! i don't wanna go school tommorow please close all school in cms because of the ice it sacre Me!

Hey everyone ....

we had a great snowday in Hickory ...... our kids went out at 7:30 a.m. to build a snowman..... he was 5 feet tall....be sure to check out my pics to see the snowman ....enjoy your day by the fire.

jenn

We're still holding to our earlier forecasts for this winter storm event on Thursday.  Here's a quick breakdown:

Mountains - Snow & Sleet, Then Some Freezing Rain, 2-6" of Snow, .10-.20" of Ice

Foothills - Snow & Sleet Quickly Turning to Rain, 1-4" of Snow, .10" of Ice

Piedmont - Snow, Turning to Rain, Slushy, Trace - 2", Light Icing

Below is a time line of precipitation and temperatures in Charlotte on Thursday morning.

Reg & I have been looking at the models for this winter storm that we expect to move in early Thyursday morning.  We know this...A winter storm watch will in be in effect for our viewers in Avery, Caldwell, Burke, Alexander, Catawba, Iredel, and Rowan counties from Wednesday Evening until Thursday evening.   

At this point...the high country could be looking at 2-4+ of snow, the foothills could experience a mix of snow & a little sleet, and around Charlotte maybe a little sleet, but mostly rain.  Those locations further north and west of Charlotte have the best chance of the snow holding on for a little while.     

More to come...Derek