JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — To become a part of the First Alert Neighborhood weather station network - scan below &/or click * here *:
A siege of much needed heavy rain over a one week period from May 7th-13th dropped more than the average rainfall for all of May. The culprit was a cutoff closed upper low that moved slowly along the Gulf coast drawing tropical moisture northward while “pinwheeling” little disturbances to the north & northeast across NE Fl. & SE Ga. It was the perfect recipe for rain & storms with widespread 2-4 inch amounts but some areas manages 6-8 inches!
We will now dry out, however, with little significant or widespread rain until at least the last week or so of May.
Our First Alert Neighborhood Weather Station Network below shows the highest & lowest rainfall reports for each county:
Atlantic Beach is expanding their lightning prediction system. Using electrostatic energy, the system is said to be able to predict lightning 8-20 minutes ahead of time within a 2-mile radius. The blast of a horn is used to sound the alarm. From Atlantic Beach:
- Warning Signals:
- A 15-second uninterrupted horn blast will sound.
- A white strobe light will activate and continue flashing until the threat has passed.
- All Clear Signal:
- The horn will sound three short 5-second blasts.
- The strobe light will turn off.
Safety Guidelines:
- Seek Shelter Immediately: Upon hearing the warning horn or seeing the strobe light, go indoors or into a fully enclosed vehicle at once.
- Remain Sheltered: Stay inside until the all-clear signal is given.
- Exercise Caution: Even without a warning, always use your best judgment during threatening weather.
These Thor Guard systems operate seven days a week, continuously monitoring the atmosphere to ensure our community’s safety.
May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. From the American Academy of Dermatology Association:
- Practice Safe Sun.When you Practice Safe Sun, you reduce your risk for skin cancer and developing early signs of skin aging like deep wrinkles and age spots. To Practice Safe Sun:
- Seek shade.
- Wear sun-protective clothing.
- Apply sunscreen (broad-spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, and water resistant) every time before going outdoors.
- Reapply sunscreen.When outdoors, you want to reapply sunscreen:It’s essential to reapply because sunscreen wears off over time, which reduces its ability to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays. You also want to reapply after swimming, sweating, or toweling off because each removes sunscreen from your skin.
- Every 2 hours
- After swimming
- After sweating
- After toweling off
- Forget about indoor tanning.Evidence from many studies has shown that using indoor tanning devices can increase the risk of developing melanoma and other skin cancers.4Indoor tanning devices include tanning beds, sun lamps, and tanning bulbs. All emit harmvul ultraviolet (UV) rays. The amount of the radiation produced during indoor tanning is similar to that of the sun, and in some cases might be stronger.If you use or have used an indoor tanning device in the past, make an appointment to see a board-certified dermatologist, who can check your skin for signs of skin cancer. When found early, skin cancer is highly treatable.
- Skip getting a base tan, as it cannot prevent sunburn.Tanning is not a safe way to protect your skin from sunburn. Every time you tan, you damage your skin. As the damage builds up, you increase your risk of developing skin cancer.
- Use a self-tanner if you like the look of a tan.A self-tanner doesn’t expose your skin to harmful UV rays. It also cannot protect your skin from harmful UV rays, so you want to continue to Practice Safe Sun.
As we move into late spring & summer & temps. warm, a reminder about your ceiling fans. The summer setting is counter-clockwise which forces air downward giving you a cooling effect vs. clockwise during the winter which forces warmer air near the ceiling to the walls then down to the floor. The switch to change the direction of your ceiling fan is usually located on the side of the casing just above the blades of the fan.
And the 2025 Jags schedule has been released. The first weekend of the season is a home game against the Panthers. The average high temp. is near 90 degrees! We do get a Monday night home game - on Oct. 6th against the Chiefs. While the avg. high temp. is still in the 80s, the game will be after sunset which should help.
The road schedule does not include any games north of about 39 degrees N with several that are indoors. But road games to Cincy the second week of the season could be very warm with a potentially wintry game in Denver just before Christmas. The midweek Oct. game to London is usually cool with an average high in the upper 50s.