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Rains have already soaked much of Northeast Texas and Arkansas and it now spreading into the MidSouth and heading towards the TN Valley as of 3 PM Tuesday. Over the past week, it has been cloudy and dreary with periods of rain, some of which has been heavy for much of the South from Northeast Texas-Northern Georgia. This area has seen an estimated 2”-6” of rainfall during this time with some isolated higher amounts. This has saturated the ground and unfortunately, more rain, some heavy, is on the way.

According to the National Weather Service, over 20 inches of rain has fallen on the Metro Atlanta area since Friday, and the subsequent flooding has closed schools and highways. Douglas County, GA, has declared a state of emergency, and people throughout the area are nervously watching the next line of storms heading east from Alabama. Through it all, some of the residents are comforted by their faith in the federal government. As emergency workers, work details, and homeowners begin to try to clean up damage or prepare for the next round of storms, local radio shows have been highlighting the...

Report: NKorea leader's grandson at pop concert By KWANGTAE KIM,Associated Press Writer - Saturday, July 18 SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's teenage grandson was seen at a concert by one of South Korea's biggest pop stars, singing along in the crowd, a news report said Saturday. Reclusive North Korea has been cracking down on South Korea's pop culture and other outside influences for years. But the 14-year-old watched the concert in the Chinese territory of Macau on June 27 with five South Korean friends who attend middle schools in Hong Kong and Macau, South Korea's...

Utilities: Smart Billing By Staff Reports Published: July 6, 2009 A little more than a year ago, the Wilder administration and the City Council backed off a proposed stormwater fee to underwrite infrastructure projects, many of which the council killed off for financial reasons. This year the council decided it could put matters off no longer, and adopted a budget that included a stormwater fee. City residents have received brochures. In a few weeks, they'll receive the bills, which typically will run in the neigbhorhood of $50 for the year. Businesses will have to shell out, too. Although we're not...

It's a rain race out there. In the meteorological equivalent of breaking the light-speed barrier, new research shows that the smaller droplets in a rainstorm often surpass what appears to be the speed limit for rain. The findings should help scientists devise models that could lead to more accurate weather forecasts. Common sense dictates that larger raindrops should fall to the ground faster than smaller ones because they weigh more and can better overcome wind resistance. But anecdotal meteorology data have shown that when drops land, smaller ones are sometimes going just as fast as the biggest ones. That irregularity...

FOLKSTON - Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge officials were concerned earlier this spring that near drought conditions could mean a tense wildfire season. Now they're dealing with flooded docks after two weeks of heavy rains saturated the ground and raised water to above-average levels, they said. "It wasn't quite a drought, but water levels were dropping pretty quickly," said Blaine Eckberg, a refuge ranger. "We had to stop doing prescribed burns because of dry conditions." More than 10 1/2 inches of rain has fallen in the swamp since May 15, pushing the water about 16 inches above normal for this time...

Who Owns the Rain? Hint: It's Not Always Homeowners Across the country, resourceful homeowners have embraced rainwater capture as a way of conserving community water supplies while maintaining healthy gardens. Unfortunately, rain barrels are sometimes at odds with the law. Facing certain water scarcity, cities and states have begun to wrestle with the conundrum of water rights versus conservation. When it all shakes out, will you own the rain that falls on your own property? =============================================================================================================== Capturing rain may be one of humanity's most ancient methods of acquiring water, but now it's coming back in vogue. Rather than press their...

Every raincloud that passes over her eastern Colorado ranch tempts state Rep. Marsha Looper to break the law. A long, hard drought has settled across the land, and on those rare occasions when the sky opens, Ms. Looper longs to set out some rain barrels to collect the bounty for future use. She'd like to use the rain to grow hothouse tomatoes. But she refrains. "I don't want to get thrown in jail," she explains. It is, in fact, illegal in Colorado to collect rainwater. State law is vague about the penalties, except to say that violators can be taken...

Meteorologist Kevin Martin predicted in the Summer of 2008 that the California rainy season would be above average in many spots and give an edge on the state's suffered drought. We are in a state of emergency due to the drought in California. We haven't seen much rain where it is needed for several years. That is just the way California is. SCWXA Meteorologist Kevin Martin expects March to bring more storms to help the drought situation.

With the winter drought showing no sign of abating, a ritual for rain yesterday is held for the first time in four decades at Yongdam Dam in Jinan, North Jeolla Province, attended by public officials, employees of the Korea Water Resources Corp. and residents clad in traditional attire. The dam has lost 74.6 percent of its water due to the drought.

Inaugural No-Nos: Strollers, Coolers, Backpacks and More... The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has posted on its Web site a number of tips to keep in mind for those planning on attending the Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony and parade. Among the list of items banned from the festivities are baby strollers, coolers, backpacks, thermoses, umbrellas and signs. Go here for the full list and other tips about what to wear and what to expect.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - November 25, 2008 (OWSweather.com) Severe thunderstorm threat possible. It's been months since Southern California has seen a good storm system move through. Lots have tried and many have failed. However one storm system managed to escape the grasp of the arctic jet stream and will make friends with the tropical moisture plume to the South to give us much needed rain. The rain will start this morning, increasing over the day and into the evening. The Ventura areas will likely see the rain overnight tonight into Wednesday morning as a plume of tropical moisture reaches the area....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Children who live in the U.S. Northwest's wettest counties are more likely to have autism, but it is unclear why, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. Michael Waldman of Cornell University and colleagues were searching for an environmental link with autism, a condition characterized by learning and social disabilities. They got autism rates from state and county agencies for children born in California, Oregon and Washington between 1987 and 1999 and plotted them against daily precipitation reports.

History has shown that rain disproportionately depresses turnout among Democrats. Well, not only is it raining in Democrat-heavy Chesapeake, Virginia, which is in the Hampton Roads area, it seems that rainy voters are dripping on the ballots and causing problems.

Could God be pulling for McCain-Palin? Take a look at Accuweather right now! It is raining in...

Good weather across the country is in the forecast for Election Day, which could be bad news for Sen. John McCain in his bid for the White House. Local Weather Central meteorologist Brian Olson said the advanced forecast for next Tuesday shows little precipitation anywhere in the United States, a bad sign for McCain if a study done last year holds true this election year. Three political scientists confirmed the old political saying that Republicans should pray for rain on Election Day, because voters "on the fence" about going to the polls have a tendency not to go if it's...

Women show off an information booth for Iraqi business women at the Sadr City Road Show, a business and employment fair, in the Sadr City District of Baghdad, Oct. 25, 2008. Photo by Maj. Michael Humphreys, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — Heavy rains flooded the streets in front of the Sadr City District council building, but that didn’t stop a deluge of more than 150 Iraqi business owners and hundreds more Iraqi residents from the first business and employment fair in the popular Baghdad district, Oct. 25. A colorful tent longer than a football...

ABC’s Sunlen Miller, Matt Jaffe, and John Berman Report: The rain pouring down, his jacket off, his white dress-shirt clinging to his body, Barack Obama played to a crowd in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat since 1964. Obama and his running mate Delaware Sen. Joe Biden took the stage at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., before a crowd of 10,000 to 20,000 people who had been waiting hours in the mud to see them. The weather in northern Virginia has been awful the last couple of days. And not long after Joe Biden’s introduction, just...

"I know some of you got a little damp," Obama told the audience gathered in the school quad. "I’d like to cover everybody’s dry cleaning bill here tonight, but I can’t because I got to use it on the campaign, so consider it one more modest contribution to our efforts to change the country." As the rain began to pour harder, Obama noticed his running mate’s stool close to the edge of the slippery stage. "I'm gonna ask Joe to move that stool up because I don't want to have to choose another vice-president," Obama joked. "I don't want...

Weak sun created cool oceans, lowered rainfall seven times in 7,000 yearsATHENS, Ohio (Aug. 19, 2008) – A stalagmite in a West Virginia cave has yielded the most detailed geological record to date on climate cycles in eastern North America over the past 7,000 years. The new study confirms that during periods when Earth received less solar radiation, the Atlantic Ocean cooled, icebergs increased and precipitation fell, creating a series of century-long droughts. A research team led by Ohio University geologist Gregory Springer examined the trace metal strontium and carbon and oxygen isotopes in the stalagmite, which preserved climate conditions...

Focus on the Family video asking everyone to pray for torrential rain during Obama's acceptance speech.

<p>June 25, 2008 -- The phrase "blame it on the weather" takes new meaning in light of research suggesting that regional climate may very well have been responsible for the evolution of lifestyle, culture and even religion in the Middle East.</p>

In Russia, sometimes it rains cement Tue Jun 17, 11:17 AM ET Russian air force planes dropped a 25-kg (55-lb) sack of cement on a suburban Moscow home last week while seeding clouds to prevent rain from spoiling a holiday, Russian media said on Tuesday. "A pack of cement used in creating ... good weather in the capital region ... failed to pulverize completely at high altitude and fell on the roof of a house, making a hole about 80-100 cm (2.5-3 ft)," police in Naro-Fominsk told agency RIA-Novosti. Ahead of major public holidays the Russian Air Force often dispatches...

Cloud Falls on China's Claim to Stop Rain Andrea Thompson LiveScience Staff Writer LiveScience.com Tue Apr 22, 2:02 PM ET Editor's note: Updated at 2:00 pm ET China's plans to force Mother Nature's hand with "cloud seeding" and keep rains at bay during the start of the Olympic Games this August may be all wet, one scientist said today. "I'm very skeptical about what they claim they can do," said Roelof Bruintjes, the lead researcher for U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., at an international symposium on weather modification held today in Westminster, Colo. Chinese officials will...

BEIJING - As they prepare to host the Olympics — an event whose very purpose is to push the limits of human beings — the Chinese are trying to do what man never has: Control the weather. With five months to go before the Summer Games come to Beijing, Chinese scientists say they are confident they can keep rain away from the opening ceremony, or summon a storm on cue to clear the city’s choking pollution.

Biological organisms play a significant role in the formation of rain and snow, according to a study released Thursday by the journal Science. The discovery of these organisms and their importance in the water cycle could help researchers improve climate forecasts and better understand the relationship between the biosphere and climate, the authors concluded. They could also one day be used to bring rain to dry areas, said lead author Brent Christner of Louisiana State University. Scientists have long known that the ice crystals in clouds which become rain or snow need to cling to some kind of particle, called...

Heavy rain can trigger earthquakes 13:44 25 February 2008 NewScientist.com news service Catherine Brahic The rain-induced tremors occurred in karst landscape. This forms a distinctive topography of soft carbonate rock, such as limestone, riddled with deep channels and caves in which water pressure could build Huge downpours of rain can trigger earthquakes in landscapes riddled with caves and channels by increasing pressure within underlying rock, suggests a new study. It was already known that rainfall could cause tremors, but the amount of water needed is much more than previously thought, says Steve Miller, a geologist at the University of Bonn,...

It is yet another attempt by man to triumph over nature. Determined not to let anything spoil their party, organizers of the 2008 Summer Olympics said Wednesday that they will take control over the most unpredictable element of all -- the weather. While China's Olympic athletes are getting ready to compete on the fields, its meteorologists are working the skies, attempting the difficult feat of making sure it doesn't rain on the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies.

Blizzard Warning West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada (California) URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA 613 AM PST THU JAN 3 2008 ...A SERIES OF POWERFUL STORMS EXPECTED TO HIT THE INTERIOR OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LATE TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY... .THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF STRONG STORMS IS FORECAST TO IMPACT INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LATE TODAY INTO FRIDAY MORNING BRINGING RAIN...WIND AND MOUNTAIN SNOW. A SECOND EVEN MORE POWERFUL STORM IS FORECAST TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA WITH HEAVY SNOW AND DANGEROUSLY HIGH WINDS ON FRIDAY. THE POWERFUL WINDS AND HEAVY SNOW ARE LIKELY TO CREATE WHITEOUT...

ATLANTA (AP) - Rain fell in the city for a fourth consecutive day Sunday, assuring that 2007 would not go down as the driest year on record for the drought-stricken Atlanta area. The most arid year ever recorded for Atlanta was 1954, when only 31.80 inches of rain fell. Meteorologists had feared this year would have even less rain, predicting that showers on Sunday morning would taper off. But the rain continued long enough to raise the 2007 cumulative rainfall to 31.85 inches. Dry weather was forecast for Monday. More than one-third of the Southeast is in a severe drought....

A storm rolling in from the Gulf of Alaska could dump as much as 8 inches of snow in Los Angeles County mountains overnight, weather forecasters said this afternoon. A snow and blowing snow advisory for Los Angeles and Ventura County mountains is in effect now until 8 a.m. Wednesday, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Blowing snow propelled by gusty winds could make it difficult for drivers to see, he said.

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is the subject of much chatter around the blogosphere for leading several hundred Georgia citizens in a public prayer for rain. Georgia has been in the midst of a drought this year, which is ruining agriculture crops and causing water shortages. So Mr. Perdue asked for divine intervention on Georgians' behalf. He and colleagues came together Tuesday to "pray for a storm." Sure enough, two days later, an unpredicted cloudburst dropped an inch of rain over the southeast. But the rain wasn't everybody's idea of a happy ending. The Atlanta Freethought Society staged a public protest...

Firefighters battled stubborn wildfires across Southern California on Saturday, but cloudy skies scattering rain showers brought a welcome improvement in conditions. Tropical moisture flowing from the south replaced the hot, dry, skin-cracking Santa Ana winds that roared in a week earlier and spread fires over more than a half-million acres, destroying more than 2,300 structures, including 1,700 homes. Drizzle fell as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited a command post near Orange County's Santiago Canyon fire to announce assistance for people with losses, warn of contracting scams, and pledge to find whoever set the nearby blaze that continued to threaten homes after...

Rain uncovers Viking treasure trove Published: 14th September 2007 08:30 CET A bout of torrential rain left a surprising legacy in the garden of one Swede: a Viking treasure trove. Two coins were uncovered by the rain on the lawn of farmer Tage Pettersson, on the island of Gotland, in early August. He called in Gotland's archaeologists, who last week found a further 52 coins on the site. Most of the coins are German, English and Arabic currency from the late 900s and early 1000s. But archaeologists are most excited about the presence of six very rare Swedish coins, from...

Extreme weather brings flood chaos round the world 18:40 30 July 2007 NewScientist.com news service New Scientist Environment and Reuters People in countries across the world, from China to India and Sudan to Indonesia, are coping with severe wet weather, highlighting the position of flooding as the most deadly of all natural disasters. While single events cannot be linked to climate change, the flooding come as research suggests that global warming will increase rainfall in some parts of the world, including the Indian monsoon, and increase the number of hurricanes – both due increased evaporation in a warmer world. One...

Pure vanity here! I am going to Seattle tomorrow. Have been there and love it, but wonder if there are any places my fellow conservatives recommend to visit. As well, as some to avoid, if needed. lol Thank you!

Texas Drought-Free After a Dry Decade Thursday July 26, 2007 9:01 PM COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - For the first time in at least a decade, Texas was declared drought-free Thursday. ``We've gotten so much rain this year, we've pretty much made up for the past few years' drought conditions in several areas of the state,'' said John Nielsen-Gammon, the state's climatologist and a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University. Only isolated areas in the northern Panhandle, far West Texas and along the eastern margins of the state are below normal when it comes to rainfall, and they're...

Oxford floods deepen as more rain is forecast By Richard Edwards Last Updated: 2:43am BST 26/07/2007 Flooding may have caused greater devastation in affected areas than the foot and mouth crisis, farmers warned last night, as the floods extended throughout the Thames Valley. Allotments in Oxford. Oxford became the latest area hit yesterday and parts of the city will be left under water for two days. There are further fears with forecasters predicting up to half an inch of rain today in some areas already suffering. The worst floods in modern history have now stretched more than 150 miles along...

UK floods: More rain forecast, worst to come By David Millward, Graham Tibbetts, Richard Edwards and Toby Helm Last Updated: 2:17am BST 23/07/2007 Gordon Brown's proposals to build three million homes in the South East could lead to even more flooding, the Government has been warned by its own planning consultants. With vast swathes of the country underwater, the Prime Minister's new government found itself under attack not only over its handling of the crisis, but also accused by the Tories of adopting policies that could make things even worse. Last night the Environment Agency issued 56 flood warnings across...

11 deaths reported as rescue crews struggle to keep up with emergencies. Rain poured down Thursday for the 16th straight day across Texas and Oklahoma, where flash floods and high winds have already killed 11 people. With little relief expected until the Fourth of July, emergency crews were being flown in from other states to help with rescue efforts.

www.news8austin.com Numerous rescues as Hill Country deluged by rain Updated: 6/27/2007 7:13:50 AMBy: News 8 Austin Staff The San Gabriel River in Williamson County is 30 feet higher than normal   Heavy overnight rains Wednesday created flood conditions in several Hill Country counties, including Williamson, Lampasas and Burnet. More than 18 inches of rain has been dumped on the area since midnight. There are multiple reports of people trapped in fast-moving water atop vehicles, on rooftops or clinging to trees.At 2:50 a.m. STARFlight rescued at least two victims from vehicles in fast moving water at San Gabriel Ranch Road/County...

Hi, folks! Getting some contradictory information, and I know you guys can straighten me out. KS particularly and OK somewhat also, have been very wet all year. That's fine until it's time to harvest wheat. I'm hearing tales that the crop is so wet that it's starting to sprout from the head. Questions -- Is this true? Is the ground really that wet? It has looked for a couple of days after Friday that KS and OK are no precip with a nice breeze, but...who trusts weatherguessers, eh? If anyone would care to offer a local weather report, esp. regarding...

SYDNEY (AFP) - Parts of parched Australia received its heaviest rainfall in years on Friday but farmers warned much more is needed if the six-year drought is to be broken. Towns in eastern Australia have experienced at least 25 millimetres (one inch) of rain since a wet weather system arrived on Thursday. The National Farmers Federation said the rain was vital to winter crops but more was needed to break the drought which is crippling farm production and threatening water supplies in major cities. "A system moving through like this doesn't break the drought, it provides relief, but we really...

Rain free Beijing opening guaranteed By Nick Mulvenney Wed Apr 25, 7:47 AM ET BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's meteorological bureau believes it can manipulate the weather to guarantee a dry opening ceremony at next year's Olympic Games, an official said on Wednesday. Rainfall is often made heavier by cloud seeding in the drought-stricken Chinese capital but scientists have also been testing "artificial mitigation of rainfall" and found it can be effective in small areas. "We are talking about limited areas, the area around the National Stadium," Zhang Qiang, head of the office of weather manipulation, told a news conference. "We...

HELENA, Mont. -- Thursday's meeting of the Montana Drought Advisory Committee was canceled, because of rain. The rain-out message was sent to council members by the office of Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger. The e-mail described the rain and snow Montana has been getting this spring as "wonderful inclement weather." Jackie Williams, executive assistant to the lieutenant governor, said drought committee members didn't want to travel through the storms. The next meeting of the Montana Drought Advisory board is next month, weather permitting.

********************************************* The latest Pacific storm to cross California will dip southeastward on its way inland Friday and Friday night bringing significant rainfall to central and even Southern California. Indeed, in Southern California, where the winter water season has been one of the driest on record, there is potential for this storm to leave the highest one-day rainfall since the rainy season begin in October. In Los Angeles, a paltry 0.42 of an inch on February 11 was the highest daily rainfall tally. This storm is showing good potential to deliver widespread amounts of one-half of an inch or more with...

Nov. 7, 2006— Will it rain on the Democrats' parade? Although most experts predict heavy voter turnout in today's midterm elections, some of the most hotly contested races in Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and New Jersey could be affected by bad weather. And some experts say that, based on history, Republicans should pray for rain. Brad Gomez, an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, examined weather data and its impact on elections in a study titled "The Effect of Bad Weather on Voter Turnout and Partisan Vote Share in U.S. Presidential Elections, 1948-2000." Gomez concluded that when it rains,...

Moon and rain could mean quakes 25 October 2006 From New Scientist Print Edition. A full moon may have triggered the Indian Ocean earthquake that caused the tsunami on 26 December 2004, a new study concludes. Between October 2004 and August 2005 Robin Crockett from the University of Northampton, UK, and his colleagues monitored tremors and collected tidal data along the Java/Sumatra trench. They found that major quakes were 86 per cent more likely around new and full moons, when tides are at their greatest. "At new and full moons the biggest mass of water is being loaded and unloaded...

Warmer climes have led to more rain and less snow falling in the Western U.S., a shift that could increase the risk of flooding and affect water supplies, according to a study by the U.S. Geological Survey. Researchers found that warmer weather in the last half century has led to an average decline in snowfall of about 20% in the 11 Western mountain states -- much of it falling instead in the form of rain. During that period, the average temperature in the region has risen by about one degree Celsius. Two years ago, a separate group of scientists at...

Prayers for rain answered in West Texas – and how! Reservoirs overflowing 1 month after officials made case to God Posted: September 4, 2006 10:39 p.m. Eastern © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com Heavy rains impact Lubbock, Texas (courtesy KCBD-TV) There was some snickering in certain parts of the country when city officials in the drought-stricken West Texas towns of Lubbock and Rockwall took their case for rain to God in the form of resolutions calling for prayer. While the votes made national news – sometimes in the "quirky" sections of big-city dailies and news services – the results didn't, until now. Within...