Rainy day thoughts....
...Albuquerque, according to Wikipedia, gets 9.47 inches of precipitation a year. Oak Ridge, according to Wikipedia, gets 55.05 inches of precipitation a year. According to NOAA and the reports listed for 8/22 and 8/8 (respective to Albuquerque and Morristown-what they list as local for Oak Ridge), current drought conditions in Albuquerque are not too bad, being anywhere from 50-75% of normal precipitation, and listed as "ABNORMALLY DRY". However, for Oak Ridge, which gets approximately 6 TIMES more rainfall than Albuquerque, we're in "SEVERE DROUGHT" conditions, but precipitation is, for the Knox metro area, 77% of normal.
HUH?
So Albuquerque, which is overall drier to begin with, gets to 75% of normal and gets 'Abnormally Dry".... Knox area gets 77% and it's SEVERE DROUGHT... What boggles the mind is that 7 inches of rainfall is abnormally dry, but 42 inches of rainfall equates with drought.
Again.
HUH?
So what I'm used to for 'drought' in Albuquerque (watch for blowing sand, run the humidifier in the house, drink lots and lots of water, don't wash your car and you're only allowed to run your sprinklers every third Sunday of months ending in the letter R) doesn't hold here. First, you don't have to worry about anyone running sprinklers. Even the farmers don't have irrigation set up (it's TRUE! Last summer, one of the counties around here that had more than enough water offered to sell water for irrigation to farmers for a price cheaper than the local utility boards regular rates. They found NO TAKERS because 'Waaaal, we'uns ud have to set up sum kina pahpin' system. We'll jes wait for the rain.' ). The only places I've seen sprinkler systems is businesses that require that deep poisonous green when everything else is turning brown and crunchy. Don't drink water, drink SWEET TEA... Nothing else is better for beating the heat (I personally prefer unsweet, which causes people to look at me like I've grown 2 heads). People don't typically wash their cars anyway, and well... We have a 50-75% humidity thing going on anyway, so we need DEhumidifiers, even in the SEVERE DROUGHT conditions.
So what's the point?
YOU CAN WATCH THE GRASS GROW WHEN THERE IS RAIN.
Yes.
You can. I did just now.
A patch of grass in the front yard that was crunchy (last night) and 2 3/4 inches long when I got back from Tommy's Motorsports is now vibrant green and 3 inches long.
Really.
I have watched grass grow.
Now. Who's up for watching paint dry?
HUH?
So Albuquerque, which is overall drier to begin with, gets to 75% of normal and gets 'Abnormally Dry".... Knox area gets 77% and it's SEVERE DROUGHT... What boggles the mind is that 7 inches of rainfall is abnormally dry, but 42 inches of rainfall equates with drought.
Again.
HUH?
So what I'm used to for 'drought' in Albuquerque (watch for blowing sand, run the humidifier in the house, drink lots and lots of water, don't wash your car and you're only allowed to run your sprinklers every third Sunday of months ending in the letter R) doesn't hold here. First, you don't have to worry about anyone running sprinklers. Even the farmers don't have irrigation set up (it's TRUE! Last summer, one of the counties around here that had more than enough water offered to sell water for irrigation to farmers for a price cheaper than the local utility boards regular rates. They found NO TAKERS because 'Waaaal, we'uns ud have to set up sum kina pahpin' system. We'll jes wait for the rain.' ). The only places I've seen sprinkler systems is businesses that require that deep poisonous green when everything else is turning brown and crunchy. Don't drink water, drink SWEET TEA... Nothing else is better for beating the heat (I personally prefer unsweet, which causes people to look at me like I've grown 2 heads). People don't typically wash their cars anyway, and well... We have a 50-75% humidity thing going on anyway, so we need DEhumidifiers, even in the SEVERE DROUGHT conditions.
So what's the point?
YOU CAN WATCH THE GRASS GROW WHEN THERE IS RAIN.
Yes.
You can. I did just now.
A patch of grass in the front yard that was crunchy (last night) and 2 3/4 inches long when I got back from Tommy's Motorsports is now vibrant green and 3 inches long.
Really.
I have watched grass grow.
Now. Who's up for watching paint dry?