When I'm wondering about weather folklore and historical events this is the man I go to. With more than 50 years of statistical and observational research, he's the dude! When it comes to lunar cycles, woolly bear caterpillars, insects, bugs, and animals, he tracks them, records them, and establishes ties to weather patterns. He's a knowledgeable and interesting man. His name is Steve Gottschalk by way of Lowden, Iowa. I'm grateful to him for len...

Tuesday was a fun day for me as I witnessed the impacts of a tropical storm first hand. The winds were impressive but stayed just below the limit that would cause significant damage. It was eerie to hear the persistent howl of the winds which goes on for hours. The weird thing is we had very little rain. The worst of that went to our west along with the center of circulation. In three months in Maine, I've already dealt with a tropical depression...

It's Monday night and here in Portland, Maine (as in many parts of the east coast) the focus is on hurricane Isaias which formed Monday evening off the coast of South Carolina. While not overly strong for a hurricane, Isaias will be a force long after landfall as an unusually strong 120 kt jet keeps the storms circulation intact producing very strong wind gusts and heavy rain all the way into New England (where I am). In fact, my area is under a...

The future of our weather this week is going to be determined in a positive way by tropical storm (or hurricane) Isaias as it makes a run up the east coast Monday and Tuesday. While wind and heavy rain batters that area, high pressure on the storms backside will keep things nice and comfortable here in the Midwest.

This is the storm Sunday night as it churns off the coast of Florida. Winds are pushing 70 mph as it maintains high end trop...

I started hearing the cicada's singing here in Maine about a week ago. In Iowa, my source for such information Steve Gottschalk, says he heard his first song back on July 9th. So why would you care? Well, according to folklore the first shrill melody of the cicada is an indicator of when the first frost will occur. My mom passed that along to me many years ago and I always think of her when the cicada are doing their thing like they are now....