Tuesday, October 30, 2012

River Level Predictions (updated 10/30 10:15am)

NOAA 72 hour, river level predictions are understandably and necessarily conservative.  As an example, our road floods at around eight feet, so I appreciate knowing about the possibilities in advance.  NOAA also publishes the likelihood of specific river levels based on historical modeling, if you want to decide for yourself.

So I'm doing an experiment here.  I'm publishing static images of the gauge prediction (hydrograph) throughout the storm, and then also publishing the automatically updated version of the hydrograph at the bottom of this post.

The Satuday, 10/27 prediction for Tuesday at 7am, copied at 7pm, Saturday, 10/27/2012:

Snapshot Saturday, 10/27/2012, 7pm

Here is another forecast, almost 41 hours later (Monday at 1:15pm) than the one above:


A significantly reduced threat - 10am on Tuesday (10:15am)



The live (automatically updated) image for the same gauge:

Automatically update image.

Monday, October 29, 2012

NASA Super Rapid Scan Video

This is from the NASA Earth Observatory YouTube Channel.  There's lots of great Hurricane Sandy video there.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Construction Progress

We've nearly enclosed our new 60x36 shop, garage, and future teacher-training center along the South Branch.


Saturday, October 27, 2012

This is going to be bad.

This rainfall projections continue to evolve.  At 5:30am, the entire West Virginia portion of South Branch watershed (everything downstream of Bluegrass, Virginia) was within the 6" rainfall zone.  (Click to enlarge and check the lower left corner for the last update.)
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/zoom/Rainfall_Days_1-5.gif

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Alternative Agriculture

We have lots of inexpensive land in Hampshire County, and you can still find larger tracts of land for under $5000/acre.  But just 100 miles east, there are several places where land sells for over $5 million an acre, or closer to $8 million per acre in commercial districts.  People there are exploring alternative agriculture practices that could be replicated in backyards, porches, or even rooftops, just about anywhere.   In this video clip, you'll see an Oakland, California man has developed small-scale, high output practices with very low impact on the environment.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Frosty morning in Hampshire Co.?

Our temperatures fell to just below freezing along the river here in Green Spring, WV, but because we're down here at 600', surrounded by mountains on four sides and the river on three sides, we did not have a frost.  However, our friends up on Jersey Mountain, including Steve and Ruth at Church View Farm, apparently received a heavy frost.  Tell us where you are and whether you were frosted this morning.


Yes, I know the "North Fork South Branch Potomac River" label on the Google map above is wrong.  We've reported it.

Friday, October 5, 2012

From Meanders to Mitigation: FEMA Flood Maps

From Lauren's Meanders to Mitigation blog: FEMA Flood Maps:

If anyone is interested in learning about floodplains and how that information is used for flooding mitigation, flood zone delineation, and building requirements, here is a link to the Map Service Center. Let me know if you have any questions about using the site!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Fall and Winter Gardening


Shared by the Homesteading Survival Blog:  Free for Kindle right now. Fall and Winter Gardening: 25 Organic Vegetables to Plant and Grow for Late Season Food


Fall and Winter Gardening: 25 Organic Vegetables to Plant and Grow for Late Season Food