Andy Parker's Blog

It's been a very active severe weather season for much of the central and southern states. Tornados have been occurring at a record pace and along with them a rising death toll. As of today there have been more than 900 reported tornados and 100 deaths which makes 2008 the 12th deadliest season and we are only about at the halfway point.

While here in WNY we only experience weak F0 to F1 funnels, other parts of the country often times find themselves in the path of a killer F5 monster twister. Below is the Fujita Scale for storm measurement. Check out how the type of damage increases with the levels.

F0 50-73mph Light damage. Some damage to chimneys; branches broken off trees; shallow-rooted trees pushed over; sign boards damaged.

F1 73-112mph Moderate damage. Peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving autos blown off roads.

F2 113-157mph Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars overturned; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated; cars lifted off ground.

F3 158-206mph Severe damage. Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forest uprooted; heavy cars lifted off the ground and thrown.

F4 207-260mph Devastating damage. Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weak foundations blown away some distance; cars thrown and large missiles generated.

F5 261-318mph Incredible damage. Strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters (109 yds); trees debarked; incredible phenomena will occur.

LARS in Cheektowaga

GARY in West Seneca

So why the second bow you ask? They occur when light is reflected a second time within the raindrop. When this happens it refracts at a different angle and creates a second bow... and much like when you look in a mirror the colors (ROYGBIV) are reversed.

Thanks to all our viewers who emailed in their great shots!

So here's the deal on the Birds and the Bridge. First off... I love the Christian Menn design. Actually I liked most of the Superspan options that were on the table. I am pro-bridge and would love to see one built before I need someone else to drive me over it!

That said, it absolutely baffles me as to how after years of debate and discussion that a design was chosen that has very little chance of meeting environmental concerns. The Niagara River is a superhighway for migrating birds and any group be it the Peace Bridge Authority or the Independent Board Members who were selected to choose a design with public input should have taken that into consideration when going over the designs.

If the Department of Fish & WildLife gets to weigh in on the fate of the bridge why weren't they included in the process along the way? and if they were why didn't the groups listen?

How is it that we selected a design, announced a design and now are back at a standstill or even worse square one? If it doesn't go forward get set for pile of finger pointing and in the end no one organization or person will be take the blame... Oh no, this will be one of those multi-organizational dysfunctional calamities that allow ignorance and incompetence to leave us with something that we didn't sign on for.

I personally can't wait to see how this plays out... but folks, don't blame the birds, blame the people who didn't do their jobs and realize they were there!

We all have heard it... advertisers use it all the time. "It's Springtime Fresh", "Fresh Spring Smell". Sometimes there's truth in advertising and if you have had the opportunity to get outside recently you might have noticed. After a wealth of sunny & warm weather today's April showers created a noticeable aroma in the air. After drawing in a deep breath this morning I could almost taste it. Something about the rain, growing plants and the sun that followed combined to fill the air with molecules of moisture that when inhaled felt cool and clean to the nose and tasted almost sweet on the tongue. Not sure what causes it, but it's like the difference between a salad made of tired, slightly brown veggies and one that has crisp, bright and moist ingredients. Either way it makes for a start to the day.

It's great to see what kind of photos come in from our viewers to us through wgrz.com. For a long time now they have been snow photos... thank goodness that is over. Then we had a rash of flooding images and this week for whatever reason it was waterfowl. these images both lit up my screen with brilliant colors and I thought they were worthy of sharing with my blog readers. Just about everyone will recognize the duck (Jason in Williamsville), but do you know the other one? If you guessed a Blue Heron you are correct. WNY is within the breeding ground for these birds. They are certainly large enough to get your attention with a wing span of up to 5 feet. This one was caught on camera hanging out in Clarence in Hatte's backyard. Thanks to all our viewers who share photos with us... who knows what you will decide to send us this week?

Andy

Say What? It's one of those things that either you know right away or it leaves you guessing. You know they are back when you hear them... That cricketlike sound that continues to grow until all you hear is the echo of hundreds of the little guys chirping up a storm. I'm talking about the little tree frogs that populate many yards around WNY. They arrive on the scene in the form of tadpoles then quickly change into the chirping little frogs which signal the arrival of spring. If you really want to experience what I'm talking about click here and you can hear them for yourself!

Overall the '07/08 winter hasn't been oppressive by Buffalo standards, but here we stand at the threshold of the spring season and see nothing but more cold in the 7-day forecast. The month of March has proved to be more of an extension of winter rather than a transition to spring. We've received the largest snowfall of the winter and more than 20% of our snow for the season this month. 40+ degree days are in the minority so far, which could make this one of the coolest March months in recent memory.

The reasons why we are cool have to do with La Nina and the North Atlantic Oscillation... we could make this a 400 level weather class at this point, but I'll just get to the good news. There are signs that these controlling factors will release their chilly grip on good ole Buffalo. It looks like we're in for at least one more cool stormy week before spring will be sprung as we usher in April.

If you are wondering about the photo above... I have to credit our faithful viewer Robbie out in Amherst who sent this in after the March snowstorm. She built this by herself and says all the kids in the neighborhood just love the snow bunny. We like it too!