Hurricane Hillary is now a tropical storm, but she has a lot of water to disperse before retiring to the north.
Check out EarthSchool for a current snap of the potency and location (zoom in for best results).
For a majority of SoCal residents, this is the first major tropical storm of their lifetimes. The last time Los Angeles County had a disturbance of this caliber come ashore, it was 1939 and Franklin D. Roosevelt was President.
Silver linings percolating today:
~ The rain will significantly reduce the fire threat, but increase the prospect of floods, rock slides and mudslides.
~ The moisture is drawing some frogs and toads out from their late-summer slumber. This nearly translucent amphibian was on our patio wall this morning, coming in at ~3 inches total length from head to outstretched webbed feet.
~It’s also been a very good day for juvenile snails. It’s as if they’ve been hiding away in moist crannies, waiting to leap off the casting couch onto the stucco and cement surfaces and rasp their way to adulthood. This one is about an inch from the eyes on the top of the tentacles to the end of the foot.
~ The local hummingbird family has been visiting alstroemerias, slurping up the nectar. Click here to watch.
~Last night’s sunset was more colorful than those seen this month. It reminded me of the January sunsets we saw while living on Point Dume in Malibu.
~Perhaps the Salton Sea will get a much needed addition of fresh water, a plus for the migrating birds who rest and eat there en route to Central and South America.
~ Early-bird beachcombers may be rewarded with unusual shells and flotsam after the storm passes through.
~This weather event may impact Western Monarch butterfly and bird migrations this autumn. Let’s hope it’s positive.
But Wait! There’s more.
As I was writing this, Mother Nature decided she had another card to play.
Thankfully, Bob’s welcome chuckle at the absurdity of today’s events gave me peace and reminded me to focus on the important things. And he wryly observed that the baby snails and frogs of the area got to experience their first earthquake today!
Mashabu 