Free Republic

For the first time in the history of the burgeoning U.S. wind industry, a wind farm got hit by a hurricane—and it was back producing power within days. Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of more than 130 miles an hour a week ago Friday about 20 miles from the Papalote Creek Wind Farm near Corpus Christi, Texas. One section of the onshore wind farm was producing electricity on Thursday and the other was expected to be back online on Friday, according to its owner, German power company E.ON SE .“Papalote actually survived really well,” said...

The e-book published to accompany Al Gore’s new climate change film is ranked #51,031 for purchases in the Kindle Store, according to Amazon.com. Meanwhile, Climatologist Roy Spencer’s rebuttal e-book, “An Inconvenient Deception,” is ranked #1,201 for Kindle Store purchases. Spencer’s book critiques the “bad science, bad policy and some outright falsehoods” in Gore’s latest movie and book, which were released in August, The Daily Caller reported in its sales analysis on Monday. …

National Weather Service meteorologists will be sending weather balloons up into the sky four times a day, instead of the normal twice-a-day launches, to help forecasters gain better insight into Hurricane Irma's likely course. ... After the weather instruments were calibrated, the radiosonde was brought outside to the launch shed. ... "It does seem like old technology. I'm sure there are going to be better methods of sampling upper air data, but right now measuring it with the instrument going through the parcel of air is the best we have," Kern said. The reason for the extra launches came down...

A little curious with Kim Jong Un WALKING CRAZYTOWN.

Hurricane Irma strengthened into a powerful Category 5 storm on Tuesday, with sustained winds of up to 175 miles per hour. Americans in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Florida are stocking up on supplies for a storm that's expected to hit the Leeward Islands first on Tuesday or Wednesday. Florida Governor Rick Scott declared the state of emergency for all 67 counties in the state on Monday after some forecasts showed the powerful storm could be headed for the East Coast.

Spring Branch, where Interstate 10 and Beltway 8 meet, has dropped 4 feet since 1975. Jersey Village, along Route 290 and to the west of Beltway 8, is almost 2 feet lower than it was in 1996. And Greater Greenspoint, where Interstate 45 intersects with Beltway 8, has given up about 2 feet in the last decade alone, according to USGS data. "When you lose that much, it makes an area prone to floods when they weren't historically," said Mark Kasmarek, a hydrogeologist for more than 30 years with the USGS.

"We must not forget this tragedy as we did the one in 1929. Houston has been visited by four serious floods in the last 40 years, each worse than the preceding one. The Chronicle has pointed out repeatedly since 1929 that the improved drainage in the western part of the county, the development of widespread Houston residential sections, with storm sewers turning floods of water into the bayou after every rain, has steadlily increased the hazard. Added to this now, is widespread WPA drainage work, which turns water from broad areas more rapidly into the bayous and speeds it through...

As the waters in Houston and surrounding areas begin to recede in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, there's no doubt looters are getting ready to take advantage of empty homes. Some looting has already started. But one Texas Sheriff has a stern warning for those who seek to prey on victims: You do so at the risk of your life. [snip]

[snip] J.C. Spencer said the moment calling Chick-fil-A was hilarious to him. "We had to get out of there so I called Chick-fil-A, now that sounds kind of funny," J.C. Spencer said in an interview on "Good Morning America" Wednesday. "I ordered two grilled chicken burritos with extra egg and a boat. And can you believe that one of the managers of Chick-fil-A, she sent her husband to pick us up and we are so grateful."

A Texas homeowner returned to his flood-marred home Friday in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey to a shocking surprise: a 10-foot gator in his dining room. Brian Foster made the discovery while assessing how badly the water had damaged his house near Lake Houston, north of Houston, he said. "I walked through the house and was looking at demo-ing the house, when I turned around and walked back through my dining room. I looked down, and there was a 10-foot alligator in my dining room," Foster told CNN affiliate KTRK.

When Shayda Habib heard that people near her Sugar Land, Texas Pizza Hut were stranded in their homes and running low on food, she knew what she should do

I have heard it said that Trump supposedly pledged $1 million dollars to Hurricane Sandy victims back in '12. Does anyone here know about it?

Hurricane Harvey made land fall in Texas this week and the flooding was historic. What is shaping up to be the most costly natural disaster in American history, the storm has left refineries shut down, interrupted wind and solar generation, caused a constant worry about gas explosions, and caused a chain of events that led to explosions and fires at the Arkema chemical plant that is only the beginning. The two nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project plant near Houston were operating at full capacity despite wind gusts that peaked at 130 mph as the Hurricane made landfall. The...

Houston (AFP) - The traffic jams are back on the vast highways lacing through the heart of Houston, and the sun is shining again. Many Houstonians are still trying to salvage what they can from their flooded homes. But one word captures the mood in the most racially diverse US city: solidarity. ---Snip--- Behind him, his aunt, 54-year-old Lisa Plack, is scrubbing metal dishes in a tub near wet chairs and sofas that are drying out on the lawn. "We're seriously exhausted," she said. "But the way people come together, it's very satisfying. Just the community spirit." "You hear nothing...

I saw a little girl who spent all her tears, in a shelter squeezing her mother’s fingers. The other hand held tight on her shirt, assuring herself she wouldn’t be swept away again. Her face was dirty, wet hair strewn across her cheek like a scar from battle. The eyes were wide in a stance of frightened anticipation on what’s next. No one could comprehend the horror of the monster that day. They don’t teach that in Kindergarten. Then someone asked her if she would like some ice cream. Her mouth blossomed, a smile hatched as her eyes turned down...

Scientists have been trying to come up with ways to weaken hurricanes since the 1940s. Nothing that has been tried so far has worked, but that hasn't stopped a virtual cottage industry of researchers from hatching the next big, bold proposal. The latest idea, published in the August issue of the journal Atmospheric Science Letters, comes at it from a new angle and at an opportune moment: A study published last week in the National Academy of Sciences concluded that large, damaging hurricanes will happen with greater frequency as global temperatures climb. Early efforts at hurricane modification involved "seeding" clouds...

As the donations for Harvey flood victims come pouring in, one celebrity faced a backlash on Twitter for her donation. Ruby Rose, star of the hit Netflix show "Orange Is The New Black" posted on her social media pages that she was going to donate $10,000 to help Houston's LGBTQ flood victims. Soon trolls on the internet began attacking her, complaining that she was singling out one group to help instead of all Harvey victims. One commenter wrote, "This is so wrong. All lives matter. Not just lgbt (sic)." Another angry comment read, " I dont understand the quality being...

Above: Microwave satellite image of Irma at 4:24 am EDT Thursday, August 31, 2017. An eye is visible as a lighter spot in the solid ring of red that is the storm’s eyewall. Image credit: Navy Research Lab, Monterey. Here comes trouble. Hurricane Irma built an eyewall over the warm waters of the Eastern Atlantic on Thursday morning, and is now rapidly intensifying, becoming a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds at 11 am EDT. Irma is the fourth hurricane of this active Atlantic hurricane season, and comes three weeks before the usual September 21 date for the season's...

OK Freepers, what is the best charity to give to support Harvey? The Red Cross? I have been hearing them panned since Vietnam. What about the Salvation Army? Hey, the Clinton Foundation did great work in Haiti, just ask Hillary. What are your suggestions?

A hawk sought shelter in a Houston man’s taxi while Hurricane Harvey approached Texas on August 25. William Bruso came back to his taxi after stopping to stock up on food and supplies for the storm, when he realized a Coopers hawk was sitting in the passenger seat of his car.