h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The curse of SXSW has struck with a vengeance this morning. Rain, and lots of it (as Flossie has already informed many of you ). Still, today is pretty much the last official day of the festival so the weather wasn't too bad this year. It does seem very queer though that once again (I remember the same pattern from this time last year) we get nice weather during the week, and then it rains at the weekend

Oh my goodness! A massiva and intense line of thunderstorms has just waltzed in from west Texas and we're under tornado watch until 3am

Just went outside (clutching Dewey ) and had a look in the general direction the stroms are approaching from - that's some of the scariest looking lightning I've ever seen Gonna turn off the PC now.

And there was me just getting ready to go to bed.

Chilly this morning! It got down to 41F/5C at Camp Mabry last night, and we probably won't even make it into the 60s today (normal daiy maximum for this time of the year is in the low to mid 70s).

We're having a late March cold snap. It's rare for Austin to be this cold at this time of the year - only a degree or two above freezing last night and not much warmer tonight. In fact I've had the heat turned on for the past two days and it's on right now. Camp Mabry only made it to 57F/13.9C yesterday, which is a good 15F below normal. It's going to get warmer as the weekend progresses but it looks like there'll be another cold front around the middle of next week which might bring some rain and will drop the temperatures again, but nothing like as much as right now, thank Bob.

Last week of winter and we were hot, first week of spring and we're cold. Typical Texas weather.

Our unseasonable coldness would appear to be abating. Tonight I went round turning off radiators and opening windows!!

Jules

Very heavily overcast this morning - so much so that I've got almost all the lights on! And lots of rain in the forecast for the next two or three days too. There's a 40% chance of rain by sunset tonight, a 50% chance overnight, a 60% chance of rain tomorrow (Tuesday), and a 50% chance on Wednesday

The weather reports here this morning said that we'll be getting that rain tonight but that it should remain dry during the daylight hours. So, I rode my motorcycle to work. I just got back from lunch and it looks like I'll have a wet ride home.

Dang

However, I can both report and confirm that we have indeed had rainage here in Austin In fact it's raining right now and I'm having a very comfortable day off with lots of nice hot cups of and slices of

Tomorrow however will be a different matter - then *I* have to go to work

Well, if I thought it was dark here this time yesterday, it was postively sunbathing weather compared to this morning. It's black as night out there and it's raining... heavily. I was rudely woken by a clap of thunder at about 6.30am. I managed to get back to sleep until around 7.45 when the rain (and more thunder) arrived. It looks like it's going to last about another hour, which would suit me fine cos I need to to some shopping.

Thanks for the warning. I'll see it in a few hours. (In the car today with my umbrella.)

Maybe, maybe not. Looking at the radar http://www.news8austin.com/Content/Weather/SatelliteRadar/Doppler/Texas/?WeatherImage=RADAR_SCUS&SecID=99 the rain is travelling from south westish to north eastish and might not get as far as south as Houston. I'm damn glad I didn't have to deal with the rush hour this morning, but I really do need to go to the shops, so it can stop raining any time it likes now. We've had a number of very close lightning strikes so I'm not going out with my umbrella

Wow - the rain gauge downtown at the News 8 Austin offices is already registering more than half an inch, and that's only from about an hour's worth of precipitation! It looks like there's a significant amount to come too. This could well become what they call 'a significant rain event' around these parts... and now we're under a flash flood warning - that's *warning*, not watch. There's a storm drain about 30 feet from my balcony and it's already overflowing There's little chance of me getting flooded out though - I'm a good four feet above the grassed area where the water is settling.

I just looked at the radar and the same system hitting you is just hitting the North side of Houston. (I live closer to Galveston).

I notice that you are under a bright yellow/red patch.

We currently seem to have the same windage as you've got rainage

A short while ago we were under a deep purple patch

The rain seems to be easing off and it's significantly brighter out there, but the local radar still shows plenty coming up from the SW. I think I might put on me waterproofs and venture out. Can't have brekkers till I get me sausages

Ooh, don't, am one week into my diet !

I mean 'don't tease' not 'don't go out' btw.

I did. Go out, that is. There was a whirlpool at the bottom of my complex There's a drop of about 10 - 15 feet from the entrance to the complex down to where I live, and there's a big metal grid at the bottom where all the water goes when it rains. There's a drain underneath this grid which in turn leads to the aforementioned storm drain. There was so much water coming down the roadway that it actually made a huge whirlpool which swirled around and then into the drain

Time to play Pooh Sticks. (I'm referring to the bear of course).