Musings While on Cloud Nine
John Ghiorse, GoLocalProv Meteorologist
Musings While on Cloud Nine
Just thinking …
While the weather story of the summer has been the relentless heat and humidity, it has overshadowed the fact that it’s been very dry as well. Admittedly some spots have had drenching thunderstorms every now and then but for most of us it’s been drought city. Officially since the beginning of summer there’s been less than 4” of rain at T. F. Green in Warwick but one look at the lawns in my neighborhood will tell you we’ve had less than that. We need a good general daylong soaking rain real soon.
The hurricane season continues to be a big dud but the gurus who tout their seasonal predictions maintain it will be a very active “late” season. In other words watch out for September and maybe October.
Weather Quiz: What was the last hurricane to hit Rhode Island in October and in what year did it occur?
The Red Sox season continues to be an injury nightmare (among other things). And the beat goes on … Ellsbury and Martinez return, Youk goes down … now Pedroia returns and Ellsbury is down again. Another BIG problem … the pitching staff is healthy but many of them are just not getting the job done … especially out of the bullpen.
Speaking of pensions … if GoLocal’s recent expose of some Providence and Johnston pensions isn’t an eye-opener, then you’d better call Koch Eye for an appointment real soon!
The Patriots’ starters looked good against the Saints last week … but depth on defense and in the offensive line may be their Achilles’ Heel this season. Injuries are a big part of football and I’m worried that the Pats might not have the answers if the big guys begin to topple.
Brandon Spikes (Pats rookie linebacker) looks like the real deal.
Let me hear you hoot and holler if you think this is the best beach season we’ve had in a loooooong while! Maybe ever!
Got my sports fixation on again this week … I continue to maintain that the Sox have a VERY tough row to hoe to get to the playoffs this year … and it’s getting tougher. Two weeks ago I pointed out that the Yanks and Rays needed to play only slightly better than .500 ball to keep the Red Sox out of it. Now it’s even worse. Here’s the math. As of Tuesday with 43 games left in the season, the Sox are 6 games down to the Yankees and the Rays in the loss column. If the Yanks and/or Rays slump (not likely) and are, say, 22 wins and 22 losses in their last 44 games, the Red Sox would have to be 28 wins and 15 losses through the end of the season to beat them for the wild card spot or division title. That’s a winning percentage of .651 and NO TEAM in baseball has been anywhere near that good this year. If the Yanks/Rays play like they have so far this season with a win percentage of .610, that would be 27 wins and 17 losses and the Sox would need to win 33 and lose only 10 the rest of the way! Ouch! But, I still believe in miracles … and the Beantowners will really need one this year.
Weather Quiz Answer: While have had many encounters with dying storms or storms that have become extra-tropical, there have been no Category 1 or higher hurricanes that have hit our shores in modern times. Colonial records and records from the 1800s tell of some storms in those times but there are no official records.
Sorry … gotta go and pack. The pension bus is leaving for Florida in a few minutes.