Category: weather

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CAN IT GET ANY LOUDER IN HERE? (Post #284) 2/17/2012

I’ve reported a rattle coming from beneath the Range Rover before. This rattle seemed to get worse every time I drove her the past couple of weeks. We had what will qualify for “potential bad weather” early this week. Depending on the weather channel you watched we were either going to “all die from ice, freezing rain, and snow” OR “we would get a possible couple of inches of snow”. I chose to believe the latter and that’s exactly what we got.

To make sure I made it to AND from work that day I filled up the Range Rover with petrol on Sunday. Monday morning I drove her to work on the snow day that wasn’t. It started snowing before midnight on Sunday and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for a snow day on Monday. The University of Oklahoma announced they were opening at 10:00am so there was a slight chance of work interruption.

The weather was no challenge until Tuesday gave us some lovely freezing fog for the morning drive in.

I couldn’t find video for this image of the freezing fog. This is basically a picture of downtown OKC. It is of the top 15 floors or so of the 50 story Devon Tower extending above frozen fog bank engulfing the city.

Back to the muffler…I planned to drive the Range Rover in on Monday. If the weather hit us unexpectedly as it is known to do here in the central plains, I was confident I could get home. By Monday at lunch the rattling had become mostly unbearable. And by the time I got the Range Rover headed back to the office after lunch it was down right critically bad. So when I got back to the office, I knelt down on the wet pavement and snapped this picture of the failed muffler.

She was cracked nearly completely in half. The outer skin was very thin and the inner skin was also failing. The flaps of light steel were vibrating constantly and was making at least 110 decibels in the cab. Mrs. OkieRover was not happy at having to ride in her on the Sunday when it was just loud at certain RPMs.

This had to be fixed. When work ended Monday I turned north to N.E. 50th and Lincoln Boulevard and stopped at Discount Muffler. They have been in this neighborhood for as long as I can remember. I told them the problem they had me pull her in and quoted me 157$(US) for a new muffler and to fix the broken hanger in the rear. I said, “Do it.”

Driving her home after that was like driving a different vehicle. Unbelievable how much quieter she was with a new muffler. I could even hear the ABS pump running.

I drove her on Tuesday as well for good measure. I even snapped this picture from the inside of Neptune’s Submarine Sandwiches on North Classen Boulevard (this is the only location left of the once proud chain).

Their bread is to die for. The ladies behind the counter were kidding me during my visit. Before I arrived one of them must have exclaimed, “He always gets the special.” And when I ordered, she turned to the other and said, “See, I told you.” They then asked if I always get the special. I said, “No, I don’t get the tuna fish, I can’t afford the calories from the mayonnaise.” The owner then stopped and said, “So do you want the mayo on your turkey sandwich?” Their mayo is actually salad dressing. Like the salad dressing you would get in an old style school cafeteria. It really works with their bread. I told him, “Oh yeah, I love that stuff.” They laughed. I added, “My double standards go both ways.”

The number of wrecks Tuesday morning was ridiculous. My morning commute was doubled to 55 minutes. Tuesday night I found myself sitting in the Grand Reading Room in the Bizzel Memorial Library at the University of Oklahoma, studying for my Leadership class. It is still my favorite room in the entire university.

Next up for the Range Rover is getting the windshield seal sorted out. I’d like to get floor mats and sound deaden-er installed. After that I can start sorting out a new sound system. I love the sound of the Range Rover humming down the highway…but I’d love to have some tunes too. Perhaps a Bluetooth unit so I can have some Reverend Horton Heat Radio from Pandora blasting as I roll down the lonesome highway.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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Just a quick note (Post #262) 7/22/2011

Hello readers. I’m guessing you all thought I’d died. Well, I have not. It has been over a month since I last posted. I am sorry to report I don’t have much to say.

I’ve used the Range Rover to haul some fence materials around after the micro-burst weather events we have had lately.

As you can imagine, wind that hard knocked down some fences. My daughter Lecia’s fence took a beating. My son Diet Mt. Drew and I put it back up as best we could. I lost a few cross pieces and my fence was leaning pretty hard. I used the Rangie again with a tow strap to pull it closer to plum. In the video off in the distance you can see the rain blowing side ways. There are lots of videos on you tube. Just check out keywords Norman Microburst.

We have also been experiencing the hottest weather ever recorded in Oklahoma. Just today, July 21st we have tied the hottest recorded month of August 1936. If you know any history you’ll know this was in the middle of what is know as the “Dust Bowl“.

You can read for hours on the effects of the Dust Bowl on the economy and the people of this region. While we have not yet had dust storms, it wouldn’t surprise me if we don’t break out of the drought, that we would have them next year.

In any event we are well on our way to 50 consecutive days of 100 plus as a high temperature. The highest temperature I’ve recorded this summer was 114.9. I was told it went over 115 that day but I didn’t see it. I have two thermostats on the front porch which is on the shaded North side of the house. Both of them registered that temp.

Here in Norman we are in D3. The D4 zone shaped like a penis in this map is south of us and if the Texas map is any indication we will be swallowed by D4 by late August.

I have no idea what the heat index was that day, I’m sure it was over 125 degrees F. Today we had another 108 degree day. The heat index today was 114F in Oklahoma City. The Severe Weather Forecast Center said there were no weather models that showed any relief in the future. That seems a little open ended, but I think they are getting desperate to be the first one to spot a break in this brutal weather.

We have already lost our 5 ton air conditioning compressor on the house. That was the cost of a BUNCH of very nice upgrades to the Range Rover to replace, nearly five grand. I am not excited to see our next electric bill.

So let me share this with you. On February 9th Oklahoma recorded its lowest temperature, a frigid -31 degrees F. If you take into consideration the low temperature for Norman that day was somewhere near -7 degrees F that gives us a 121 degree change in temps in six months. That’s extreme. It is not nearly as extreme as Nowata though. Seven days after their record low of -31, the temperature was 79 deg F; a 110 degree F difference!

So when you see me pack both my winter clothes and my summer clothes for trips within Oklahoma in February – April and October – November now you know why.

A contractor in our office who hails from Maryland put it best…how do you people live here with all this dangerous weather? We are humble in our response, “We’re Okies…we are build of stubborner stronger stuff.”

I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I can imagine a week in the mountains though. Anything to get away from this heat if only for a few days.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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A Lazy Sunday (Post #258) 5/23/2011

Ah…a lazy Sunday in Oklahoma. Spring is upon us and each day we wonder if we will get some our famous southern plains weather. Saturday night Mrs. OkieRover and I enjoyed a steak, asparagus, and an adult beverage for me and watched as the thunderheads anvil out as they trekked across the state. I tried to capture a panoramic picture of the storm. Eh…I’m obviously not a photographer.

Panoramic due east to SSE

Sunset reflecting on the clouds

Fortunately for us they stayed to the south and east of us. We had 5 inches of rain this week, more on that later. We got more on Sunday tonight but again they are east and south of us.

Sunday morning I played hookie from church and wanted to work on my Range Rover. I went out to the garage with a cup of tea in my Rover’s North Coveted Mug, 1 each, and The Cars Greatest Hits.

First, the garage is a WRECK. Several factors have contributed to this fact. We bought a new couch and loveseat and that meant that the old couch went to the garage.

Also the city of Norman gave away rain barrels to the first 90 people to show up at Forest Lumber. Forest Lumber is my new hardware store. I won’t need to go all the way to Lowe’s now. That place was awesome. My pal Larry and I took the Range Rover down there and hauled the barrels back. When we were looking around Forest Lumber we were discussing America’s First Sergeant’s Zombie Apocalypse Preparation Post. We found a wrecking bar that would make a great zombie deterrent weapon. You can see how impressive it is. It has an awesome name too, the FuBar III. FUBAR is a familiar acronym to all Marines. After a few applications of this tool most things it touches will be FUBAR.

Also currently located in the garage is a TV, a dead TV. It previously graced the entertainment center until it unceremoniously fell due to the affects of gravity on a shelf. I’m not happy. The budget took a big hit this week. The rest is the normal condition of the garage…cluttered.

Sunday’s Range Rover project was the sun roof. As you may have read, it was working when I went to Fort Washita. When I came home from Fort Washita, it wasn’t. So I started by taking the headliner out. I’ve taken the headliner out so many times it takes only a few minutes using a powered drill with Phillip’s bit.

Once out I started by unbolting the sunroof. The sunroof system is kinda heavy so if you can get help you should. Again I’ve done this a few times so it’s no biggy. You can use the head rests as supports and leave the front bolts that hold the motor connected to the roof structure as one point and the head rests as the other.

Once I got it lowered I started trying to figure out what was causing the problem. I futzed with it for at least an hour. Once I got it working I bolted it back up only to find it was not working again. When you pressed the button to retract it would stop as if something was blocking it.

I could not figure it out. Finally I decided I should lube up the tracks. They looked pretty dry. So off to the chemical shelf and out with the silicone spray lube. I hosed it down and the window moved better but not great.

You can see in the above photo the red spray hose, it is important to control the spray as not to hose the interior with silicone lube. After a couple of trial refits and more and more silicone spray the sunroof works. It still has a little catch but it slides back and forth on its own. In the process I ran the battery down and had to jump the Range Rover with the Honda Civic. It was shameful but necessary.

Now, back to the rain. We had five inches of rain over night on Thursday and Friday this week. That is enough rain to tell me if there is a water problem with the windshield. There is. The pads were wet…as usual. I pulled them out to dry. I will probably throw them out. The windshield is obviously the problem. I’m not sure if it is the seal or rust.

I’m going to start with the windshield seal. The good folks at Binswanger Glass told me I should test it with a garden hose. It wasn’t necessary as I didn’t drive the Range Rover in the rain so it had to be from the seal. With the pads up, the rust is back on the floor pans.

Its probably surface rust or staining from the bottom of the pads. Either way it is annoying. Considering the trouble I went through to remove the rust and cover the panels with layers and layers of paint. I’m now thinking bedlining spray and more sound deadening material like I originally planned.

I buttoned up the Range Rover and went on to the other duties requiring my attention. With that much rain the grass went nuts. With the drought we’ve had this year, I’ve only had the mower out twice. I think we are still behind overall for the year on rainfall, but the grass hasn’t noticed.

I tried to organize the hardware and parts shelves but I ran out of steam. I need a budget infusion to do anything else on the Range Rover this year. The first money I’m going to use will be to sort out the windshield seal issue. I can’t move forward on the interior until that is all sorted out.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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Fire, lots and lots of fire (Post #251) 3/1/2011

Fire is this week’s theme. Friday, March 11th, Oklahoma experienced one of the scariest weather events we have. Tornadoes are pretty scary but even worse is prairie fire.

We experienced 32 grass fires across the state on Friday. The governor issued a state of emergency and Firefighters were out all over the state putting out fires that damaged and destroyed homes and barns and businesses. The fires in McClain county were started most likely by an arsonist. The origins were road side two miles apart. Some of the others were caused by careless smokers tossing cigarettes out of their cars.

The conditions were ripe for wild fires. 40-50mph wind gusts. Drought conditions. Low humidity. Idiot pyromaniacs and cigarette smokers. We see this every year here in Oklahoma. Why can’t people remember from one year to the next not to throw their cigarettes out of their cars? Its ignorance.

I took the Range Rover over to Newcastle to see if everything was fine at the family homestead and pick up mom’s mail. They had closed highway 9 on Friday due to smoke. It was open Saturday.

I expected to see more burned areas but the fire fighters were amazing and saved many people’s homes. I drove out to check on my friends that live just a mile and a half from the fires. All was well there at their homes. I had a nice chat and on my way out there was still a few fires burning. You can see a structure fire here in this picture and ahead of me on the other side of the highway a few hot spots were still smoldering in the woods there.

This week will also culminate in the first match of the Brimstone Cup, the annual competition between the Chicago Fire and FC Dallas. It is the closest MLS match to my home every year and it is sweeter that my Chicago Fire play in it. The match between the two teams has a long history which you can read about here.

I will be packing the tailgating gear into the Range Rover for the trip to Frisco, Texas. Tailgating with my friends who come down from Chicago is a treat.

I got a whopping 11 mpg out of the last tank of fuel. And with petrol now 3.29$(US) a gallon that hurts the pocket book. I’m not sure where to start to fix that problem. I’ve replaced the O2 sensors and have good spark. I’m guessing it is in the slipping of the transmission. I will have to get that sorted out this summer if I can get the money together.

So thankfully the fires are under control with a bit of weather change today (Sunday). The wind died down today and it is cloudy.

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Snowpocalypse 2: Electric Boogaloo (Post #247) 2/7/2011

The good people at the Accuweather.com are predicting another snow storm for late Tuesday and Wednesday this week. According to some local weather men on Sunday night we will get 6-12 inches of snow and high winds. Already on Monday morning that has been adjusted to 8-12 inches. According to weather people, who are not driven by local businesses selling furniture and cars a.k.a. fear mongering ad revenue whores, we are getting 3-6 inches of snow and some high winds.

According to another story on the Accuweather site we Okies should expect “light snow”.

One of our local television stations is today (Monday, February 7) predicting 8-12 inches of snow. Which in their minds is HEAVY SNOW (all caps, heavy typeface). This is channel KOCO (ABC affiliate), home of weatherman Mike “You are all going to die” Morgan. Scaring the elderly and people without cable TV is his JOB. Tune in tomorrow and I’ll tell you how a snow storm can murder you and all of your kin in a matter of seconds and if you have the technical savvy to do so, upload your really bad photos to our website so we can over hype this weather event EVEN MORE!!!111

None of it really matters anyway because we will have 40’s and 50’s over the weekend. But that won’t stop people from descending on the grocery stores and buying EVERYTHING IN SIGHT. I kid you not, as of noon on Sunday, there was not a single carton of eggs in any store in the entire OKC metro area. Seriously, sold out in every store. Most of this is due to the fear mongering weather men bent on getting people to tune in tomorrow for some more weather bad news. You see, bad news sells. No one watches the weather in San Diego…why? No bad news. Try baking a cake for your wife’s birthday after a snow storm in Oklahoma.

Now back to the title of this blog post and the term Electric Boogaloo. I have used it before but may not have explained it to you. Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo was one of the universally accepted worst sequels ever to be made. It is a phenomenon that is common in Hollywood. If a movie did well then we should whore it out for a sequel.

I’m sure I could have used Snowpocalyse 2: The Quickening. It would not be as well understood as Electric Boogaloo but serves the same point, only to a smaller audience of fans of the Highlander franchise.

I have knocked a few things loose underneath the BWB with all the driving on the bad roads. I am 90% sure I have destroyed the catalytic converters. They are rattling like crazy. I also have a brake caliper sticking on the left front. I know of at least one exhaust hanger weld broken loose. More things to check out if the weather improves in the coming weekend. Right after we check on my mom’s pipes to make sure they didn’t freeze.

Thanks for boogalooing reading and Happy Rovering.

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Oklahoma Blizzard (Post #243) 2/3/2011

In case you just woke up from a Rip Van Winkle style slumber the central states got smacked by a blizzard. A real deal, Snowpocalypse style, weathermen telling you we are all gonna die, go to the grocery store and buy everything even though you don’t need it, shut down highways and schools, blizzard.
It was pretty bad. Far worse than that has been the single digit temperatures. I think we got all the way up to 17 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday. The lowest temp I’ve seen was 5.3F for my neighborhood. That was the reading on the cheap car thermometer I bought last summer for my Range Rover. It now has an impressive 112.5F for it’s high and 5.3F for it’s low temperature. Such is life in Oklahoma.
Check out this pretty cool time (2:00 minutes) lapse video from three cameras. Considering this kind of weather event has only happened about a half dozen times since 1970, you can see how it shut down the state. 
I remember some notable ones. 1973 Blizzard, 1974 Blizzard, Ice Storm of 1987, Christmas Eve Blizzard 2009 and this week. I’m sure a more astute weather historian could fill in the blanks for us, but those are the biggies I remember.
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