John Downs❄️❎

Taught science/technology NC public schools 20+ yrs, Interests:photography, weather, nature, Irish heritage, my schnoodle dogs, Christmas Trees/farming.🇮🇪🎄

[Brad Panovich @wxbrad]

I had a lot of questions today about the summer forecast from NOAA and the Climate Prediction Center. June-August is meteorological summer, and the forecast for the Carolinas is for above-average temperatures and near-average rainfall. Not great for the drought, but normal rainfall would at least keep it from getting worse. The biggest issues in the summer are that rain is always scattered, and water usage and evaporation rates are the highest of the year. We need 1" per week just to not get worse in the #drought department. #cltwx #ncwx #scwx #wcnc

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

@trywaytenn The one silver lining of a drought like pattern is it usually keeps humidity levels at bay even when it warms up. It sounds like that mostly will be the case this weekend so there’s that anyway. 🤞👏

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

I know there are people that like 👍🏻 hot sticky weather maybe for the pool
Or the beach but I personally never get tired of comfortable weather.

[Tim Buckley @TimBuckleyWX]

If you're tired of being comfortable, don't worry!

Heat Is coming back for the weekend.

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

I know this is concerning for our family members on the Christmas tree farm who also raise cattle. I hope this doesn’t spread and can’t imagine it will be good for Americans at the grocery store 😑

[NBC News @NBCNews]

A flesh-eating parasite that had been kept out of U.S. livestock for decades has been detected in Texas, threatening the nation’s cattle industry and food supply at a time when prices are already high. https://t.co/p011Q4crOe

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

The hot weather coming will only worsen these maps. 😑🌵

[Tim Buckley @TimBuckleyWX]

Drought map this week remains largely the same as last week.

Slim reductions in extreme drought category - especially for Surry / Stokes counties in our area.

Parts of WNC even reduced further to moderate drought.

#ncwx

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

It feels like the pattern keeps “wanting” to default to drought like with scant chances for rain here and there.

[Dylan Hudler @DylanHudlerWXII]

Rain chances return on Sunday - Monday.

Until then, just hot and dry.

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

Burying our heads in the water 🤷‍♂️

[PBS News @NewsHour]

Starting this month, more than 900 deep-sea ocean sensors will be pulled out of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans off the coast of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, North Carolina and Greenland. https://t.co/jmm86WQNcY

[Give A Shit About Nature @giveashitnature]

The bird repeatedly attacking your window or car mirror is a male trying to defend his territory and family.

Northern Cardinals are the most common culprits, but American Robins, Northern Mockingbirds, Eastern Bluebirds, and Eastern Towhees do it too. The behavior peaks during breeding season when males are actively defending nesting territory.

The bird sees what looks like a rival in his territory, can't drive it off no matter how hard he attacks, and exhausts himself fighting an enemy that won't leave.

It can go on for weeks, and the consequences can be severe. The bird damages its beak, distracts itself from feeding chicks, and burns calories it should be using on its actual brood.

The fix is simple. Hang or tape something opaque on the outside surface: a sheet of paper, a piece of cardboard, opaque tape, a removable window film, or a rubbed-on layer of bar soap. Leave it up for 2-3 weeks while the bird establishes territory elsewhere.

Cardinals are a special case. They maintain year-round territories and can attack windows any season, not just spring. If a cardinal keeps doing it after you take the cover down, put it back up for another two weeks.

Car mirrors get the same treatment, drape a plastic bag or cloth over both side mirrors when the car is parked at home.

The bird is doing his job: defending his family. And you can't fault him for that. The kindest thing you can do is let him see something other than himself.

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

Picture perfect weather in Winston Salem, NC today at @VisitReynolda Gardens. Temperatures in the 70’s and dew points in the 40’s. Wish it could stay this way all summer long. #ncwx

[Vintage Maps @vintagemapstore]

The Topography of the Appalachian Trail

by u / eon_james

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

@2dawgdawnpatrol I wouldn’t count on that 🤪

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

Dipped in to the 30’s at several locations in the mountains this morning. #ncwx

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

🥶

[Al Conklin WBTV @AlConklin]

🥶Welcome to June!
Longtime @WBTV_News watcher & good friend Eric Brooks with 38F & rooftop frost in Boone, North Carolina at sunrise!! Only 2nd time after May 31st in 25 years. #ncwx #cltwx #scwx @spann @nwsgsp @NWSBlacksburg @spann @WataugaOnline

[Fun in Geoscience @meerkat_geo]

@awkwardgoogle I got another one for Geology. Hope you guys know what is geology.

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

😍🌈

[Watauga County Schools @WataugaSchools]

A beautiful double rainbow spotted at Watauga High School!!
It is GRADUATION WEEK and we love this vibrant showing of good luck, hope, and new beginnings for Watauga seniors!
🌈🩵

📸 WCS Parent Allison Schlake

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

😍

[Try Way Tenn @trywaytenn]

That really is a beautiful and distinctive landscape! In this homogenized world that we live in, it's actually nice to see places that look exactly as you would imagine them to be.

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

Doesn’t seem good.

[Patrick De Haan @GasBuddyGuy]

46.3 million barrels: that's how much U.S. gasoline inventories have fallen since january, the largest such drop on record going back to 1996. it's 54% bigger than the second-largest ever recorded, 2022's 30.3 million barrel plunge.

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

From the valley of rainbows 🌈, a rainbow in Valle Crucis, NC this evening, a 1/4 mile from the @MastStore . We had about .12” of rain with this line of showers. #ncwx

[Antidepressant Content @depressionlesss]

The moment a rescued chimpanzee thanks Dr. Jane Goodall in a way no one expected

[John Downs❄️❎ @gradyryan1]

🥶

[Tim Buckley @TimBuckleyWX]

June or April?
Temperatures will dip down into the 40s for many on Wednesday morning.
Be careful if you open those windows!