The Central Texas Floods of 4 Jul 2025: Tragic Loss of Human Lives

A Lack of Critical Thinking: Many in the Media got the Wrong Answer.

Robert W. Endlich
INTRODUCTION

My heart sank when I found out about the loss of life, including many young girl campers, during a flash flood event on what should have been a joyous 4th of July holiday weekend along the Guadalupe River in Texas.

Image by Pixabay

Although I’m originally from New Jersey, the Air Force, and later the Army, sent me many times to Central Texas, journeys which crossed Texas’ scenic Hill Country numerous times. When they were small, duty at Ft Hood frequently found me within 2 hours’ drive of Daughter Carol and Grandkids Daryl and Reina, and an excuse for me to take them on a ‘Saturday Adventure with Grandpa Bob,’ usually to drive and visit across the Hill Country. I know this area well.

This post describes Geography, Rainfall Records, Flood Records, pertinent Continue reading “The Central Texas Floods of 4 Jul 2025: Tragic Loss of Human Lives”

Analysis of the January 2025 Los Angeles’ Wild Fires

. . . and claims they were “human-caused by <CO2-fueled> climate change.”

 Robert W. Endlich

 INTRODUCTION

This analysis examines the causes behind the catastrophic January 2025 fires in Los Angeles by exploring both environmental triggers and human failures that contributed to the disaster.  There are two main parts to this analysis, which are described below.

Image by Pixabay

Section A provides an analysis of the extant climate today, and the weather and fire events which unfolded in Los Angeles during the early days of January 2025.

The first of several catastrophic fires began and continued during an extremely powerful (and well-forecast) Santa Ana Wind event.

The analysis here reveals a diagnostic pattern for these types of fires found in the sea surface temperature time series in the Nino 3.4 Region along the Continue reading “Analysis of the January 2025 Los Angeles’ Wild Fires”

The Flawed Conversion of James Delingpole from Climate Skeptic to now Alarmist? PART ONE

Robert W. Endlich

Author’s Note: This is Part ONE of a multi-part post.

INTRODUCTION
Image by Pixabay

James Delingpole is an English writer who has written extensively about the allegedly human-caused, CO2-fueled global warming alarm. Wikipedia calls his writing “climate change denial.” But, Delingpole’s recent Substack post, “Valencia: Man Made Climate Change is REAL  Or: Why I No Longer Talk to Climate Sceptics” seems to me, at least, enough of a change in Delingpole’s thought and writing process that I call it his “flawed conversion.”

One of Delingpole’s books is ”Watermelons, The Green Movement’s True Colors,” in which he correctly characterizes the Global Warming Alarmist movement as allegedly Green (conservation-aligned) on the outside, but (Communist) Red on the inside.

So Delingpole’s 5 November 2024 Substack post changes that. James now says that aircraft-generated contrails, which he (and other ignorant and/or deluded individuals) now calls Continue reading “The Flawed Conversion of James Delingpole from Climate Skeptic to now Alarmist? PART ONE”

The Flawed Conversion of James Delingpole from Climate Skeptic to now Alarmist? PART TWO

Robert W. Endlich

Author’s Note:  This is Part TWO of a Two-Part post.

James Delingpole’s new belief, as he writes on Substack, concerning his book WATERMELONS is

“In the original version, I claimed that man-made climate change wasn’t real. Of course it is, though.  Look at Valencia…Or, indeed, look at North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. Or Florida after Hurricane Milton.”

Image by Pixabay

And

“…This is what chemtrails look like, you morons!”

And

“…What I find particularly interesting, as a veteran combatant of the climate wars, is the reluctance of my old, climate skeptical comrades to acknowledge the role of chemtrails, the use of Directed Energy Weapons and such like in generating extreme weather events.”

STRENGTH OF HURRICANES HELENE AND MILTON, AGAIN

Let’s delve into James Delingpole’s notion that the power of 2024’s Continue reading “The Flawed Conversion of James Delingpole from Climate Skeptic to now Alarmist? PART TWO”

Death Valley World Record 134 deg. F is Biased ~10 deg. Too High

Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.

[This blog by Dr. Roy W. Spencer was originally published on his blog site on 8 November 2024.  It is reproduced here under the fair use doctrine and with standing permission from the author. Ed]

Key Points:

      • Over the years, a few commentators have have argued that the world record highest temperature of 134 deg. F at Death Valley, CA recorded on July 10, 1913 is physically implausible.
      • Here I show quantitatively that the 134 deg F temperature is biased high, by about 10 deg. F.
      • Extensive historical research by William T . Reid has suggested the person making the temperature observations at Greenland Ranch likely replaced the official measurements from a thermometer in a Stevenson screen shelter with other measurements made next to the adobe living quarters.

Update #1 (11/8/2024): Fixed a few typos.

Update #2 (11/8/2024): For those messaging me about Furnace Creek temperatures reaching 130 deg. F in recent years, see Bill Reid’s summary of side-by-side measurements made there [and reported at an AMS meeting] showing the non-aspirated “official” equipment produces temperatures 2-3 deg. too high during light wind conditions.

Update #3 (11/9/2024): Bill Reid corrected my use of the term “mountain” stations to describe those not in Death Valley. Many of those stations are at desert plateau sites, so I have changed the term to “higher elevation” stations. I have also asked Bill to provide additional thoughts on this issue, which will be the next blog post here.

BACKGROUND

The “official” world record highest near-surface air temperature is 134 deg. F, recorded in Death Valley, California on July, 10, 1913 at Greenland Ranch, California an isolated location with no similarly sited stations with which to compare (say, within 10 miles and below sea level). Greenland Ranch was a man-made oasis created by the Borax people around the turn of the 20th Century, with water piped in from a nearby mountain. It has a rich history, but always against a backdrop of oppressive summer heat that few visitors (and even workers) could endure.

Continue reading “Death Valley World Record 134 deg. F is Biased ~10 deg. Too High”