Display of force: Members of the Gaza police service loyal to Hamas (click on title. thank you.)
SoCal driest since 1880s (click here)
LOS ANGELES, June 30 (UPI) -- This last year has marked the driest in Southern California since rainfall records started being kept in the 1880s.
Los Angeles marks its driest year at midnight Saturday with just 3.21 inches of rain between July 1 of 2006 and June 30 of this year. Pasadena, Riverside and other cities within the region also have seen record drought, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
"We all love a new record," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge. "But this one's on the hate list. And it's a long list."
Southern California firefighters are bracing for the run-up to July 4 as fireworks go on sale just as temperatures are predicted to soar above 100 degrees.
The scorching conditions have made hillsides more susceptible to sparks from fireworks, said Capt. Stephen Miller of the L.A. County Fire Department.
"It's almost like gasoline out there with all the dead fuel," Miller said of the dry conditions combined with already dead brush.
LOS ANGELES, June 30 (UPI) -- This last year has marked the driest in Southern California since rainfall records started being kept in the 1880s.
Los Angeles marks its driest year at midnight Saturday with just 3.21 inches of rain between July 1 of 2006 and June 30 of this year. Pasadena, Riverside and other cities within the region also have seen record drought, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
"We all love a new record," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge. "But this one's on the hate list. And it's a long list."
Southern California firefighters are bracing for the run-up to July 4 as fireworks go on sale just as temperatures are predicted to soar above 100 degrees.
The scorching conditions have made hillsides more susceptible to sparks from fireworks, said Capt. Stephen Miller of the L.A. County Fire Department.
"It's almost like gasoline out there with all the dead fuel," Miller said of the dry conditions combined with already dead brush.
Record rainfall no help in Fla. drought (click here)
MIAMI, June 30 (UPI) -- A record-breaking but spotty rainfall on the east coast of South Florida will not ease the region's drought, an official says.
That's because while Coral Gables got seven inches of rain early Friday and Fort Lauderdale received four inches, Lake Okeechobee and the area to its north that feeds the lake got almost none.
"This is a classic example of getting rain in the wrong place," Nestor Yglesias, a spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District, told The Miami Herald.
In Coral Gables, the rain was so heavy the swimming pool at the Biltmore Hotel overflowed. In Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, the rainfall was two times or more the previous record for the day.
Meteorologists say a tropical weather system that has been sitting over the region for several days and coastal winds are responsible for the rainfall.
Restrictions on watering lawns and gardens and other non-essential water uses remain in place.
"Turn off your sprinklers -- Mother Nature is helping with the water supply," said Yglesias.
MIAMI, June 30 (UPI) -- A record-breaking but spotty rainfall on the east coast of South Florida will not ease the region's drought, an official says.
That's because while Coral Gables got seven inches of rain early Friday and Fort Lauderdale received four inches, Lake Okeechobee and the area to its north that feeds the lake got almost none.
"This is a classic example of getting rain in the wrong place," Nestor Yglesias, a spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District, told The Miami Herald.
In Coral Gables, the rain was so heavy the swimming pool at the Biltmore Hotel overflowed. In Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, the rainfall was two times or more the previous record for the day.
Meteorologists say a tropical weather system that has been sitting over the region for several days and coastal winds are responsible for the rainfall.
Restrictions on watering lawns and gardens and other non-essential water uses remain in place.
"Turn off your sprinklers -- Mother Nature is helping with the water supply," said Yglesias.
Put away your umbrella and read this: The U.S. Drought Monitor shows Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is now in a severe drought, a worse condition than the moderate drought of last week.
Yes, the designation doesn't take into account recent rains that fell. The monitor is updated weekly and reflects conditions as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, before scattered thunderstorms dropped close to an inch of rain on us.
Still, just because it's damp outside doesn't mean the ground isn't pretty dry underneath, said Jeremy Sites, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
"The rains that have been falling will help, but even if we get normal rainfall from now on, it will help the crops that are in the ground but won't replenish the ground water we missed out on," he said.
As of midnight, we had 1.43 inches of rain in June, which is 2.72 inches below normal....
Yes, the designation doesn't take into account recent rains that fell. The monitor is updated weekly and reflects conditions as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, before scattered thunderstorms dropped close to an inch of rain on us.
Still, just because it's damp outside doesn't mean the ground isn't pretty dry underneath, said Jeremy Sites, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
"The rains that have been falling will help, but even if we get normal rainfall from now on, it will help the crops that are in the ground but won't replenish the ground water we missed out on," he said.
As of midnight, we had 1.43 inches of rain in June, which is 2.72 inches below normal....
