WebsterGroves's Blog

A St Louis weather blogger made a startling prediction this morning at a press conference attended by national media that is making waves in the international weather community.


An area weather blogger outlines her prediction that flood levels in St Louis will reach remarkable 10,000 year levels

This weather blogger, who prefers to remain nameless due to the sensitivity of her research and the dramatic outcomes she predicts, predicted unprecedented flooding at "the 10,000 year level", resulting, she surmises, in "violence, chaos, and quite likely, rampant arson throughout the area."

"I come to you today bearing horrible news. I predict that within 36 hours the St Louis area will reach flooding at the ten thousand year level, which we have not seen in 500 years," she announced to the stunned crowd. She then produced a photo from 1505 showing what the area can expect if her predictions come to fruition.

A serf's hut floats by the Gateway Arch in this file photo from the "Great Flood of 1505"

"At the levels we saw back then, the St Louis area, going as far west as I-270, would be completely under water," she proclaimed as a collective gasp rose from the crowd.

"Now, I am not a hydrologist, but I believe my calculations to be accurate and my research methods impeccable," she reiterated to skeptics asking questions. "However, I must refuse to divulge my methods due to copyright issues. Rest assured, I used a lot of math," she continued.

As the media scattered for their live shots, St Louisans wait uneasily to see if this latest prediction comes true and, if so, as Brian Williams somberly intoned: "God help us all, because there is no sand bag machine capable of saving this city. I do, however, promise to anchor 'The Nightly News'" from here with newly produced dramatic "devastating flood music."


Brian Williams fanning the fears of area residents by somberly intoning that the St Louis area should be prepared for panic and arson

In anticipation of what is expected to be a long wait for the next measurable snowfall in the St Louis area, weather bloggers have turned to group therapy sessions to combat the anxiety, depression, paranoia, and the resultant unhealthy behaviors associated with the frustration of waiting for snow.

The weather bloggers hold their thrice-weekly group therapy sessions at an undisclosed location

Those weather bloggers who are not currently incarcerated, awaiting trial, or banned for threatening behavior have agreed to meet approximately 3 times a week for support and coping strategies.

One blogger, chain smoking with lit cigarettes in each hand and balancing a warm tumbler of whiskey on his knee, voiced the concern the group has regarding the fear they have that it will never snow again. In a shaking voice he told his story and ended it on a desperate note. "I mean, I had over a foot on that last one. I just know that is never going to happen again, man. Ever. Do you HEAR ME? I'm so scared that it's over." He inhaled deeply and began quietly sobbing, "It's going to be so #$%#$ hot here this summer, I don't think I can get through this again. Someone is going to have to pay." Other group members nodded and murmured their concerns.

This is an odd and eclectic group whose secrecy borders on outright paranoia. No Channel 2 employees or staff members are allowed to attend and the group demands to meet in a locked, password-protected room, provided and paid for by Fox2. As members took turns telling their personal stories, they were occasionally interrupted by text messages from other bloggers wanting to come in the room.

"Hey...anyone know W--------?", asked a college-aged blogger, "he wants in and keeps asking for the password...yes or no?"

"NO!", many of the bloggers instantly responded. A particularly authoritative-bordering-on-obnoxiously-rude blogger screamed "Do not even answer that text...do you hear me? Do NOT answer him...ignore him!"

Other requests were met with replies of "Oh yeah, that person's cool, let 'em in" or "I don't know" repeatedly until the person making the request gave up after texting increasingly angry and curse-laden messages.

These interruptions continued to pepper the storytelling with the occasional blogger being let in and welcomed warmly by the bloggers.

There are moments of hope, such as when one blogger brought up the recent earthquakes and aftershocks. All agreed it was a great moment that left them elated, but fearful of hoping for more. "Look, we need at least a 6 here before I can start to get happy about this," said one blogger, "and I would really be jazzed by something in the sevens - not that I would hope for any death or destruction, of course. I mean who wants THAT? Well, you know, not much any way. Not really. I mean, what happens, happens, and it's not my fault if a huge friggin quake splits the earth...."

A volunteer group leader cleared her throat and suggested that the group should perhaps "move along." One blogger suggested that maybe the group could "get into" crop circles since it's "kind of a spring and summer-type occurrence" and
"we have all of southern Illinois...it could happen." A quick vote of the group nixed that idea since all agreed it was not really "weather". An erudite young blogger summed it up by noting that "waiting for a front that to move in that will probably dissipate right before it hits the metro is agonizing enough....can you imagine how strung out we'd all be waiting for crop circles??"

At this point. things took a turn for the worse. Possibly sensing the inevitability of a frustrating wait all summer for the chance to wait for snow in the fall, the mood turned ugly and the paranoia flared.

"Hey, when did he get here," one of the members said, pointing to a blogger who goes only by the number "2" and who had thus far remained silent. "Who let him in?"

A weather blogger confronts a silent group therapy member suspected of being a management interloper. Paranoia is common among the bloggers.

The group quickly turned en masse on this particular person firing questions at him "Who ARE you, anyway? Did management send you? Are you keeping a log?"

"No," was his only response, with no further explanation of whether or not he was indeed a "Fox news overlord" as he has been accused of in the past. And just like that, what had seemed like a dangerous situation about to dissolve into chaos and violence, possibly involving arson, now abated into a calmer, albeit fetid, atmosphere.

"What is the point of having a password if Fr------ is just going to give it to every Gomer who asks for it," sighed one even-tempered member. "This room belongs to all of us, not just him, he shouldn't do that."

One by one, the group members slipped away, some noticeably intoxicated, most very quiet, and few happier for the experience. All, however, agreed they would be back in a couple of days.

"You know the crop circles thing," mused one Illinois blogger who lives near a corn field, "I can see how that just might work."

In what can only be described as a dramatic turn of events in what has already been an unsettling weather pattern, an anonymous weather blogger has claimed responsibility for not only the record snowfalls of last winter but, astonishingly, the recent earthquakes that have rattled the St Louis area.

Regular bloggers will recall the startling announcement this unidentified blogger made last Fall regarding a "weather machine" he built that he claimed would make it snow. In a tirade laced with expletives and threats of violence and tinged with flashes of coherence, the Pacific-area businessman demonstrated how the machine would make it snow. With only this reporter and a fellow blogger in attendance, the "snowman maker" (not his real name) explained how this seemingly simple metal device hidden in a cornfield would produce snow for the area.

A Pacific video store owner demonstrates his weather machine to a fellow weather blogger. Chicago meteorologist Tom Skilling was also spotted darting furtively in the corn.

National Weather Service mets scoffed at the "machine" at the time. "Sure, I can easily see how he could control the weather for Pacific," said a met who only wished to be identified as TRUETT, "but for the whole St Louis region? I think NOT!"

One TV meteorologist said "I kept thinking the snow would end in 30 minutes, but by gum if it didn't snow for, like, 6 more hours. Literally."

Now, few are laughing and many skeptics are converts to the "weather machine" concept of controlling the weather.

We were recently invited to see previously unseen components of the weather machine complex, provided we did not identify the Pacific video store owner and Union resident's identity. We immediately agreed.

After the obligatory trek through the corn to see the "mother ship", "Snowman" took us to see the actual snow-making contraption and even turned started it up for a quick demonstration. We were allowed to take a photo as long as all identifying landmarks were blocked out. We believe the photo below of this new technology will blow your mind.

Snowman99, weather blogger at Channel 2, turned on his snow-making machine, which he claims was responsible for the record snowfalls this past winter

The most bizarre and astonishing device was yet to be seen, however. We were invited into the basement of the video store, where a beaming "Snowman99" showed us his latest machine. "I call it the 'earthquake machine' ", he said. "The wires are infused with electricity while the big wheel spins - creating what scientists call a 'vortex of circumlocution'. Or is it circular electricity? I always get those 2 mixed up."

Basically, the high levels of electricity spinning on the spools create an energy field that reacts in a seismic fashion to disrupt plate tectonics and create earthquakes.

The weather blogger stands in front of his "earthquake machine" which he claims is responsible for the recent seismic activity in the St Louis area. It runs off a small battery (in case of power outage) and includes a small warning note to himself to turn off his cell phone before switching on the machine.

"I'm actually an earthquake skeptic", he said, noting that he does not believe earthquakes occur naturally but are only controlled by anthropogenic sources. "I'm going to increase the size of these spools to the ones they use for telephone wire (do they still use those?) and then we'll see this place REALLY shake!" he promised.

"My control needs a little fine-tuning," he laughed. "This morning I was like 'dude, that was totally NOT supposed to be in Fenton'", explaining that he intended it for the Belleville area. "I'm trying to keep them on the east side or down in New Madrid, but I had a call come in on my cell right at the critical point and well, I use Cingular, so there was interference."

When asked if there was by any chance ANOTHER machine responsible for the flooding, he leaped over the counter with one fist pulled back as if to strike, and said in a threatening manner, "If I didn't have to go wait on a customer right now, I would not let you leave here without a good beating." This leads us to believe that there is yet more to be discovered at this unidentified video store in Pacific.

Although there is not much going on right now in weather, I'll start up a blog so the weather bloggers have a place to gather with fresh weather news. I'll leave it to those with a greater ability than I at interpreting the models to flesh out their forecasts in the comments.

There is the potential for severe weather tomorrow, so check the comments for updates.

• 3.3 earthquake/aftershock at around 12:30 Thursday morning - 7 km ( 5 mi) NW of Mount Carmel, IL

• Models have slowed somewhat with the next system to push through - instead of Thursday evening, it looks like more of a Friday/Friday night event with potential for severe storms; KC area is looking at the potential for thunderstorms and tornadic activity Thursday evening;

• SNOW in the west - Rapid City, SD, could see 1-3 FEET!

What's going on in your weather world?

As many here know, Sunday will be the last day on the air for the next six months as he is deployed as a member of the US Air Force Reserves. Chris is a weather officer with the United States Air Force Reserves (12th Operational Weather Flight) at Scott Air Force Base.

We weather bloggers have truly appreciated Chris' tireless answers to our many questions, his explanations, and his willingness to consider analysis from others.

We'll miss you while you're away, Chris, but appreciate what you are doing. I would like to say I speak for all of us when we say we'll be thinking of you and your family during your absence and will look forward to whatever you can post as time and circumstances allow.

Chris will be back just in time to start tracking our winter storms!

Godspeed, Chris!

Please use the comment section to post your message to Chris.

At 10:15AM we are shaking here again...not as much as this morning but definitely  happening again. I had two separate rumbles....did you feel this one?

Did you feel the earthquake this morning?

I am in Webster Groves and was awakened around 4:40am by what felt like an earthquake. It went on for approximately 30-40 seconds.

JUST IN: Preliminary reports indicate that it was located 127 miles East of St Louis, 5.4 at 4:36.

Where were you when it hit? Post your location and experience below!

Wow...Is this America?

An 80-year-old church deacon was removed from the Smith Haven Mall yesterday in a wheelchair and arrested by police for refusing to remove a T-shirt protesting the Iraq War.

Police said that Don Zirkel, of Bethpage, was disturbing shoppers at the Lake Grove mall with his T-shirt, which had what they described as "graphic anti-war images." Zirkel, a deacon at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Wyandanch, said his shirt had the death tolls of American military personnel and Iraqis - 4,000 and 1 million - and the words "Dead" and "Enough." The shirt also has three blotches resembling blood splatters.

Police said in a release last night that Zirkel was handing out anti-war pamphlets to mallgoers and that mall security told him to stop and turn his shirt inside out. Zirkel refused to turn his shirt inside out and wouldn't leave, police said. Security placed him on "civilian arrest" and called police. When police arrived, Zirkel passively resisted attempts to bring him to a police car, the release said.

So some mall cops didn't think he should be allowed to peaceably protest the war so they forcibly removed him. In my understanding of the legal implications, the Supreme Court has upheld that malls are private property and they are within their legal rights to do this. However, there are arguments that this is the proverbial "public square" and Zirkel was practicing free speech.

There will be some knee jerk reactions saying this man "doesn't support the troops". This is a specious argument. The troops didn't send themselves there and it is indeed "supporting the troops" to not want them to die for lies.

And, really, arresting people because we disagree with their political views? Is that really the kind of country we want to live in? That sounds more like Iraq than the USA.

Here is some background on why malls are allowed to limit freedom of speech from 5 years ago:
Last week, 61-year-old Stephen Downs was arrested for refusing to remove a T-shirt with the words "Peace on Earth" and "Give Peace a Chance" in a shopping mall in Albany, N.Y. Why don't citizens have the same free speech rights in shopping centers that they do on city streets and parks..

Because malls are private property, and our constitutional rights are triggered only when the government (and not a private citizen) tries to limit our freedoms. As malls expand to include outdoor boulevards, movie theaters, and coffee houses, many contend that we should have free expression rights in these "private forums." Their argument is that malls play the same role city streets and town squares once played in our democracy.

The first cases asserting free speech rights in privately owned shopping centers were successful. In the 1946 case of Marsh v. Alabama, the Supreme Court held that the business district of a privately owned "company town" was the same as a public street for First Amendment purposes, finding that "the more an owner, for his advantage, opens up his property for use by the public in general, the more do his rights become circumscribed by the statutory and constitutional rights of those who use it." A 1968 case—Amalgamated Food Employees Union v. Logan Valley Plaza—held that a privately owned mall was the "functional equivalent" of the business district in Marsh.

...and was invited to lunch with Presidents.

Yes, amidst all the manufactured angst from those who believe Barack Obama hates America and is secretly hoping for its demise (along with all those scary Democrats who are going to vote for him) a little historical perspective is helpful.

Evangelical Preacher Francis Schaeffer said this:

If there is a legitimate reason for the use of force [against the US government]... then at a certain point force is justifiable.


Good Lord! Sound the klaxons and alert the media!! Surely that's what happened, right?

Erm, no. His son Frank Schaeffer writes that "he was invited to lunch with presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr. "

Oh. The guy who wrote this.....
There does come a time when force, even physical force, is appropriate... A true Christian in Hitler's Germany and in the occupied countries should have defied the false and counterfeit state. This brings us to a current issue that is crucial for the future of the church in the United States, the issue of abortion... It is time we consciously realize that when any office commands what is contrary to God's law it abrogates it's authority. And our loyalty to the God who gave this law then requires that we make the appropriate response in that situation...


...was celebrated by Reagan, Ford, and Bush Sr. So, not only did the  preacher advocate violent overthrow of the United States, he compared the US to "Hitler's Germany." And the Fords invited him to be their guest and spend the night in the White House.

Indeed, consider this:

My dad's books denouncing America and comparing the USA to Hitler are still best sellers in the "respectable" evangelical community and he's still hailed as a prophet by many Republican leaders. When Mike Huckabee was recently asked by Katie Couric to name one book he'd take with him to a desert island, besides the Bible, he named Dad's "Whatever Happened to the Human Race? " a book where Dad also compared America to Hitler's Germany.

Hypocrisy is a funny thing, isn't it?

Over the past several days, the presumed GOP Presidential nominee, John McCain, has been making a major foreign policy gaffe. He apparently STILL does not know the difference between Sunni and Shi'ite.

McCain said it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate."

Huh? Psssst....McCain? Al-Qaeda has not been going into Iran, a primarily Shi'ite country. Al-Qaeda is predominantly Sunni. Many Shi'ites blame the Sunnis for massacring the Shi'ite. The schism between the Sunni and Shi'ite began in 632 AD. John McCain was maybe even around then to see it happen. Regardless, this should be basic knowledge for anyone who aspires to be the leader of the free world.

It must be fun to work at Google. To not only get paid to sit around and imagine creating cool stuff, but to actually see it get implemented.

Such is the case with Google Sky.

Think Google Earth but bigger. Much bigger. Like for the Universe.

Viewing options include the Solar System, Constellations, Hubble Showcase, Backyard Astronomy, Chandra X-Ray Showcase,  and more.

Check it out when you get a chance.

Now that the traditional chat has been disabled, some of us weather bloggers have regrouped on the IRC.  The webteam has indicated there will eventually be a weather chat, but until then we on on the IRC, underground, #stlweather. No password.  Patrick deleted my original post explaining how to get to the IRC ( with an explanation) but said it was ok to re-post this.

Here's how to get on the IRC (Internet Relay Chat):

Step 1: Get Firefox and use it as your browser;

Step 2: Get the ChatZilla add-on

Step 3: Open Firefox and under "Tools" at the top, click on Chatzilla;

Step 4: Once Chat is open, click on "undernet" on the list at the bottom. Follow the instructions. Once you're logged on, type /nick and choose your nickname. Type /join stlweather.


Don't have Firefox or don't want to get it? Get mIRC. Download, install, follow the instructions for set up and follow Step 4 above.

See you on the IRC.

Despite the blogger's last minute anger at the NAM for losing the storm last night and making it look like the St Louis area would get nothing, we ended up with a healthy little storm here. The "haves" got a 7,10 or a foot or more, the "have-nots" got little to nothing.

And so, with all the vigor of a FoXXXXXXXXXXX!!2 reporter hitting the station ID on a hand-off, Winter gave us a nice end-of-season snowstorm.

Please post your location and total below so I can post it on the blogger map. I may have already added it, so please check the map (you can find your name to the left of the map) and see if it's already there. If you would like to update a previous storm total, I will be happy to add that as well. Thanks!

View Larger Map

What a GREAT storm. A little sluggish in getting here, but in the end the area ended up with a solid 7-9", just as predicted on Chris's Corner.


Here in Webster Groves, I ended up with just under 8". Hopefully, you read "How To Measure Snow" (see my previous blog for the link) on Chris Higgins's website: www.morethanweatherstl.com. Please post your totals below and I'll add it to the blogger map.

View Larger Map

As many of you know I have created a weather bloggers map that shows where we all are. I've also updated with snowfall totals as reported from the December 15th storm.

View Larger Map

In anticipation of the next winter storm that we're expecting, I'd like to update it with the new bloggers who have joined us. Not sure if you're already on the map? Just click on it to check. If you're not on and would like to be added, just leave your approximate location in the comments, getting as specific as you'd like. Your town name is fine, or, if you'd like to give cross streets, that works, too - it's up to you.

After the storm, I'll do another blog asking for storm totals. If you're planning on measuring your snow, please check out Chris Higgins's website for How to Measure Snow at Home
for the most accurate reading and so we're measuring consistently. Enjoy the weather!