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Blastfurnace 2023


Storm the Field

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  • 2 weeks later...
19 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'm pretty sure we can retire this thread.

It is quite chilly in my house right now.  But gonna be about 75 on Christmas.  That's not nothing.  

But our moaning aside, the drought situation was temporarily not godawful, but it looks like shit again.  With wastewater averaging this month, I can better afford to leave Santa a glass of organic, conflict-free almond milk over a glass of water given the pricing of each.  

I like a bit of chill this time of year at night or early morning though.  But yeah, we need some more fucking rain.  This El Nino fellow was full of shit.  Careful what we wish for, blastfurnace gets any colder and our grid is crashing down.  There's a reason the former PUC commissioner is on sabbatical in a warmer climate with a less stressful job whilst dodging threats from ERCOT right now.

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Just now, YGIFS said:

With wastewater averaging this month,

I'm gonna get boned this year.  The toilet in one of my upstairs bathrooms (where I never go) was leaking and our water bill spiked.  My plumber is over for something else today and he said he'd put the flapper I replaced myself on his bill so I can show the city and get some of the excess water costs reversed, but I doubt it will help with averaging.

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Yeah, we were so dammed concerned with just keeping our yard barely alive this hellscape summer that I completely spaced out on wastewater averaging this year.  

csb/  Few weeks ago, I'm doing some work on our garage door and then restaining it.  Of course, being clumsy...I got a little bit of chain oil on the driveway and then a few drops of stain here and there (that's what she said).  So I usually use this nature-friendly de-greaser shit that washes stuff out with itself during rain.  But there's no fucking rain.  And the spots look shitty.  And the driveway is pretty long and has 8 "quadrants" so if you clean some of them, the rest looks dumb but I don't give a fuck.  I conserve water and I do projects myself, I don't pay some laborer $200 to power wash my driveway like my neighbors do.  So I get out my pressure washer to spray down the spots but I gotta clean the whole quadrant for my own mental well-being.  I finish and the one next to it now looks stupid.  But I stop myself and go inside for dinner and forget all about it.  Literally, the next morning as I'm getting the pressure washer out to at least do the one square next to it...a City of Austin Water dude pulls up in his Prius and asks me in the driveway if we have any leaks in our plumbing or irrigation system because the previous day we set off some trigger warning about water waste.  From 45 minutes of pressure washing.  Wife just shakes her head in disappointment.  We spent all that time and energy saving water during the worst fucking summer I can remember only to have my evil plan upended by some light pressure washing? Fuck!  Meanwhile, nobody from the City or my HOA gives fuck one about the incessant watering of our neighborhood park at noon every fucking day.  

Anyway, thoughts and prayers to y'all for the upcoming grid crash.  Seriously though-get Austin Energy out this month or next to prune your trees near power lines.  Better than relying on hydrocarbons to keep your grandparents from freezing to death.  

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6 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'm gonna get boned this year.  The toilet in one of my upstairs bathrooms (where I never go) was leaking and our water bill spiked.  My plumber is over for something else today and he said he'd put the flapper I replaced myself on his bill so I can show the city and get some of the excess water costs reversed, but I doubt it will help with averaging.

They just make it up anyway.  My HOA irrigation bill has been running 30-40 THOUSAND gallons a month.  There are no leaks.  We water once a week or however much the city allows during water restrictions.  The entire HOA is 4 duplexes.  We just got digital meters put in, so hopefullly we will finally see reality.  But I'm sure as shit not going to head up the task of going back to the city to try and get them to credit us for years of over charging.  I can't even imagine that nightmare.  The HOA prez can do that shit.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wrap-up on a shitty weather year.

2023 was Austin's hottest year on record since 1897, NWS says. 

Austin saw some of its most extreme weather last year, with hot, dry weather dominating the Capitol city for a large percentage of the year. The World Meteorological Organization had already predicted by November that 2023 would be the warmest year on record, citing an increase in greenhouse gases, rising sea levels, and death and devastation caused by extreme weather.

Records indicate 2023 hottest year in over a century
2023 was Austin's average hottest year on record in the 126 years since records have been kept by the National Weather Service. Austin's average daily temperature, recorded at Camp Mabry, was 72.3 degrees, an increase of 0.1 degrees from 2017, the previous record-holder.

From Austin to Del Rio on the southwestern border, meteorologists at the National Weather Service's Central/South Texas station chronicled record-breaking temperatures over the course of the last year.

When was the hottest month in Austin in 2023?
Temperatures at Camp Mabry averaged 91 degrees during the month of August — and soared to 110 degrees on Aug. 17 — making it the hottest month of the year. In total, there were 138 days over the year that reached over 90 degrees, with nearly 60% peaking over 100 degrees, meaning approximately 40% of the year experienced sweltering temperatures.

Temperatures did not plummet to a comfortable level until the end of October, when the Austin area had its last 90-degree day on Oct. 21.

72084931007-austin-camp-mabry-2023-weath

What was Austin's coldest day of the year?
The coldest days of the year, Jan. 31 and Feb. 8, reached a low of 29 degrees, while December was, on average, the coldest month, with an average temperature of 55 degrees.

What month saw the most rain in Austin?
The month of October was the wettest, with 7.15 in. of rainfall recorded. A third of the month's rainfall came down on Oct. 26, causing flash floods across Central Texas and Shoal Creek, flowing through downtown Austin, to swell.

Total yearly rainfall totaled 26 in., below the average of approximately 35 in. per year., with the vast majority of Travis County still experiencing "extreme drought" conditions, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.

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I know most Texans, due to A/C, don't think of 90 degrees as "hot", but we're getting close to 40% of our year being at 90*+.  That's fucking insane for flora and fauna who (checks notes) do not have access to HVAC.

Edited by YGIFS
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  • 1 month later...
7 hours ago, elfenix said:

too early to start blastfurnace 2024?

1 hour ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Probably not too early considering 300k acres in the panhandle has burned in the last 36 hours

Second largest fire in Texas’s history

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/texas-smokehouse-creek-fire-02-27-24/index.html

Its also burned 500,000 acres in 48 hours.

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On 1/3/2024 at 7:01 PM, YGIFS said:

I know most Texans, due to A/C, don't think of 90 degrees as "hot", but we're getting close to 40% of our year being at 90*+.  That's fucking insane for flora and fauna who (checks notes) do not have access to HVAC.

This pisses me off as I get more empathic to wildlife as I age.

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Yeah, the whole "we have plenty of energy production to keep our homes cool in longer and longer periods of heat" mentality is a literal paradox.  Because those same people consider themselves "Outdoorsmen."  We are fucking up wildlife for centuries right now.  Your mileage may vary, but where we are...the bluebonnets are spectacular and some of the Cypress trees and mountain laurels are just exploding in color.  And then right next to them are just these sad, dying trees and natural grasses.  We, thankfully had a pretty good start to the year in terms of rainfall but nature hasn't forgotten last summer and autumn's draught.  The wildfires are proving that out.  Nobody in Texas wants to acknowledge that every fucking year now is a brutally hot and dry summer and a multiple freezes, year over fucking year over fucking year.  This is not good for animals.  Their patterns are changing.  If you consider yourself a Sportsman/Sportsperson, just look around and use your brain.  They're not behaving the way they used to and we know it.  /rant

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I spent most of my 20s and 30s working my ass off now I want to be outdoors ALL THE TIME. It’s fucking brutal. I can feel the sadness and the pain in my chest in the summer.

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I have to tell you "The Sadness in My Chest" is not a great reboot name for the "The Farmer's Almanac", but I am willing to still subscribe to your meteorological newsletter.......

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35 minutes ago, troph said:

I spent most of my 20s and 30s working my ass off now I want to be outdoors ALL THE TIME. It’s fucking brutal. I can feel the sadness and the pain in my chest in the summer.

If it's daylight and I'm not working on something with the house, I NEED to be outdoors. I get so restless, and even depressed, when I'm cooped up for any period of time.

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In human history, Napoleon?  Like anyone could even know that.  

Wonderful news for my looming HVAC bill.  Every fucking summer is worse and worse.  Every winter has more and more freezes.  Less and less rain.  I realize it's all cyclical but it's the cycle we're living in.  Im super happy it was colder for the Wooly Mammoths 10,000 years ago.  Means a great deal to my yard.

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28 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

According to most recent forcasts, this summer is supposed to be 5-10% hotter than last summer, and will be the hottest summer in human history, by far, thanks in large part to El Nino

 

 

 

so like 115 every day? Splendid. 

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38 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

In human history, Napoleon?  Like anyone could even know that.  

Wonderful news for my looming HVAC bill.  Every fucking summer is worse and worse.  Every winter has more and more freezes.  Less and less rain.  I realize it's all cyclical but it's the cycle we're living in.  Im super happy it was colder for the Wooly Mammoths 10,000 years ago.  Means a great deal to my yard.

I know the weather is great now but I saw Dallas had a 90 degree high a week or so ago

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58 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

According to most recent forcasts, this summer is supposed to be 5-10% hotter than last summer, and will be the hottest summer in human history, by far, thanks in large part to El Nino

 

 

 

Well those same forecasts said we were going to have a wet winter and other than a foot of rain in January, we've gotten fuck all here.  These forecasts don't know shit.

That said, their forecast is going to be wrong because this summer will be 20% hotter than last summer.  Fuck this shithole.

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Been warm and muggy AF to start this week, but looks like temps should throttle back a bit after today, and the next 10-15 days to follow look much more seasonal.

Relatively chilly this weekend with highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's in much of state. Barring a surprise cold snap later in March, Saturday and Sunday are probably the 2 "coldest" days we'll experience until the first strong front of the Fall.

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1 hour ago, GreenspointTexas said:

According to most recent forcasts, this summer is supposed to be 5-10% hotter than last summer, and will be the hottest summer in human history, by far, thanks in large part to El Nino

 

 

 

El Niño is say “adios, via con dios”. La Niña will be taking its place. 

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19 minutes ago, Storm the Field said:

Been warm and muggy AF to start this week, but looks like temps should throttle back a bit after today, and the next 10-15 days to follow look much more seasonal.

Relatively chilly this weekend with highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's in much of state. Barring a surprise cold snap later in March, Saturday and Sunday are probably the 2 "coldest" days we'll experience until the first strong front of the Fall.

i've ever there was a need for two emoji responses. drool on the first, fuck my life on the second.

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57 minutes ago, Storm the Field said:

What it feels like in Houston this morning.

Glad to be heading out to the Hill Country later this morning. Gonna be a very pleasant Spring afternoon as much drier air rolls in behind those showers.

If South Austin's mom was a country. 

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  • 1 month later...

Necrobump because good news, it's going to get worse!  [No shit! emoji]. Our grandchildren are going to piss on their grand and great-grandparent's graves.

 

https://www.kvue.com/article/tech/science/climate-science/texas-hotter-wildfires-climatology-report/269-483d3038-e623-406b-b0e3-b322c0766d35

Hotter temperatures, more wildfires


The report states that the average annual surface temperature in Texas in 2036 is expected to be 3 degrees warmer than the 1950-1999 average and 1.8 degrees warmer than the 1991-2020 average. This would make a typical year around 2036 warmer than all but the warmest year experienced in Texas from 1895-2020.

In that same vein, the number of 100-degree days is expected to quadruple by 2036 compared to the 1970s and 1980s, with more 100-degree days expected in cities. The report found that extreme monthly summertime temperature trends imply an increase of about 2 degrees over the past 50 years. 

The coolest days of the summer are also expected to continue getting warmer.

What do these trends indicate for future wildfire seasons? Nothing good. The report said overall, the area of the state commonly impacted by wildfires may expand eastward. At the same time, higher temperatures will likely allow very dry conditions to develop earlier in the year, extending both the spring and summer wildfire seasons.

 

Anticipated increasing temperatures also apply to the winter. Researchers found that extreme monthly wintertime temperatures are expected to continue to warm at an even faster rate. That means typical wintertime extremes by 2036 are expected to be milder than most of the winter extremes in the state's historic record.

Edited by crash_davis
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7 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Necrobump because good news, it's going to get worse!  [No shit! emoji]. Our grandchildren are going to piss on their grand and great-grandparent's graves.

 

https://www.kvue.com/article/tech/science/climate-science/texas-hotter-wildfires-climatology-report/269-483d3038-e623-406b-b0e3-b322c0766d35

Hotter temperatures, more wildfires


The report states that the average annual surface temperature in Texas in 2036 is expected to be 3 degrees warmer than the 1950-1999 average and 1.8 degrees warmer than the 1991-2020 average. This would make a typical year around 2036 warmer than all but the warmest year experienced in Texas from 1895-2020.

In that same vein, the number of 100-degree days is expected to quadruple by 2036 compared to the 1970s and 1980s, with more 100-degree days expected in cities. The report found that extreme monthly summertime temperature trends imply an increase of about 2 degrees over the past 50 years. 

The coolest days of the summer are also expected to continue getting warmer.

What do these trends indicate for future wildfire seasons? Nothing good. The report said overall, the area of the state commonly impacted by wildfires may expand eastward. At the same time, higher temperatures will likely allow very dry conditions to develop earlier in the year, extending both the spring and summer wildfire seasons.

 

Anticipated increasing temperatures also apply to the winter. Researchers found that extreme monthly wintertime temperatures are expected to continue to warm at an even faster rate. That means typical wintertime extremes by 2036 are expected to be milder than most of the winter extremes in the state's historic record.

Schitts Creek Reaction GIF by CBC

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Texas really does seem to have excessive amounts of parking lots that go largely unused.  In the aggregate, I'm no physicist, does seem to bounce heat back up.  But yes, concrete and asphalt that are rarely, if ever, used are all part of a natural climatological cycle.  

I gotta get my HVAC checked out before July. 

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15 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Texas really does seem to have excessive amounts of parking lots that go largely unused.  In the aggregate, I'm no physicist, does seem to bounce heat back up.  But yes, concrete and asphalt that are rarely, if ever, used are all part of a natural climatological cycle.  

I gotta get my HVAC checked out before July. 

Simple fix.  All new parking lots must have a rooftop covered in low-water requirement plant life.  Start a program to retrofit existing lots.   Or we could take the easier approach and just eliminate parking requirements altogether, as our Austin council prefers.  Who needs to drive when public transport is so readily available?  All of those currently existing lots can be replaced with affordable $1,000,000 quadplexes.  It won't make it any cooler, but think of the graft!

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I'm for less parking regulation and as we can already see, commuting is just different now with work-from-home and rideshare.  This is completely anecdotal, but just look around Austin.  Even for a pretty green city like ours, there is so much impervious cover that goes totally unused.  Just just underused, but not used at all.  If we know a project is coming down to make way for a new one, just rip up the asphalt and leave it as dirt.  We took our daughter to Barton Creek Square the other day too get some stuff for her birthday, hadn't been there in a year.  It's gotta be dozens of acres of blazing asphalt that nobody uses except maybe the Saturday before Christmas.  And it was only like 70 degrees, but it felt like 90.  Nevermind the water runoff there is all fucked up because of the way the lots have buckled over the years.  /rant

There's a buncha simple shit we can do in the interim to at least knock a couple degrees in the urban heat pocket.  It's like mosquitoes.  Two of my neighbors used to have empty pots in their backyards with nothing in them except standing water.  And then were just baffled by how many mosquitoes we'd get a few days after a rainfall.  Before you get into chemicals and treatment services, try dumping out the fucking standing water in your yard, dumbasses.  

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5 hours ago, Samson's Wig said:

Simple fix.  All new parking lots must have a rooftop covered in low-water requirement plant life.  Start a program to retrofit existing lots.   Or we could take the easier approach and just eliminate parking requirements altogether, as our Austin council prefers.  Who needs to drive when public transport is so readily available?  All of those currently existing lots can be replaced with affordable $1,000,000 quadplexes.  It won't make it any cooler, but think of the graft!

I would like to see the math on if all rooftops were white. If it works out, require all new construction white (or your plant idea if they want to pay the extra l)

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7 hours ago, crash_davis said:

What do these trends indicate for future wildfire seasons? Nothing good. The report said overall, the area of the state commonly impacted by wildfires may expand eastward. At the same time, higher temperatures will likely allow very dry conditions to develop earlier in the year, extending both the spring and summer wildfire seasons.

Yeah, water is going to be a real fucking problem going forward. Even without people and businesses moving in.

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20 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Necrobump because good news, it's going to get worse!  [No shit! emoji]. Our grandchildren are going to piss on their grand and great-grandparent's graves.

 

https://www.kvue.com/article/tech/science/climate-science/texas-hotter-wildfires-climatology-report/269-483d3038-e623-406b-b0e3-b322c0766d35

Hotter temperatures, more wildfires


The report states that the average annual surface temperature in Texas in 2036 is expected to be 3 degrees warmer than the 1950-1999 average and 1.8 degrees warmer than the 1991-2020 average. This would make a typical year around 2036 warmer than all but the warmest year experienced in Texas from 1895-2020.

In that same vein, the number of 100-degree days is expected to quadruple by 2036 compared to the 1970s and 1980s, with more 100-degree days expected in cities. The report found that extreme monthly summertime temperature trends imply an increase of about 2 degrees over the past 50 years. 

The coolest days of the summer are also expected to continue getting warmer.

What do these trends indicate for future wildfire seasons? Nothing good. The report said overall, the area of the state commonly impacted by wildfires may expand eastward. At the same time, higher temperatures will likely allow very dry conditions to develop earlier in the year, extending both the spring and summer wildfire seasons.

 

Anticipated increasing temperatures also apply to the winter. Researchers found that extreme monthly wintertime temperatures are expected to continue to warm at an even faster rate. That means typical wintertime extremes by 2036 are expected to be milder than most of the winter extremes in the state's historic record.

I'm fucking out, man. Tell Colorado they're getting another Texpat. 

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