Friday, June 29, 2012

Scorching heat = fun experiment

We tied the high temperature record of 102 degrees yesterday... and that actually tied the record for the hottest day for June EVER since 1893 when the Dayton started officially recording the weather data.  Actually we may break a record this morning.  As of 4:38 AM we are still at 84 degrees.  The record for the warmest low temperature for this day is 80 degrees.  If we do not cool down below 80 we could walk away with that record.  I did a little research and for Dayton there has only been 6 days for the entire year EVER what we did not cool down below 80.  Think about that... we have always cooled down into the 70's or below every day for the last 119 years except for 6 days... maybe 7 this morning.  We will have to wait and see.  I will post an update to this blog at 9AM as to whether we broke the record.  I also have something else coming your way later this morning... so two reasons to check back in.

Earlier this week, in our post-show meeting I tossed out the idea and asked if anyone had a fun idea on how to "show" how hot it got.  Meghan Mongillo came up with the idea of putting things that melt in a car and have a competition to see what would melt the fastest.  We came up with lipstick, chocolate, and cheese.  The temperature in the car bounced up to about 170 degrees... CRAZY!  I will let you think about which one melted first... because the answer will surprise you.  I will post the final picture coming up at 9AM when I let you know if we broke the record or not this morning.

Well, I can sum up the week ahead with three words: Hot, humid, thunderstorms.  Yesterday was the dry heat with our high of 102 and humidity around 35%.  Today we will add the humidity and "only" warm into the upper 90's.  Humidity will not be going anywhere for the week ahead...staying sticky.  Our temps will be in the upper 90's for the weekend and then "cool" off into the lower 90's for next week.  With the humidity and temps so warm there is a chance for an isolated shower or storm every single day.  So we went from Arizona weather... hot, sunny, low humidity... to Florida weather... hot, humid, and a chance for rain every single day.  Stay cool this weekend and have a good one!  Make sure to check back in later this morning for the update.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

~~~ UPDATE~~~
Sadly, we did NOT break the record for the warmest low temperature.  The record was a low temperature of 80 and we were on pace for it, but we briefly dipped to 79 degrees at the Dayton International Airport.  Well, we gave it a run for the money.  Well here is the photo of the Melt-Off from the morning show... The photo below shows everything after sitting in the 170 degree heat. So the breakdown of the melting: The cheese moved first and flattened out, then the chocolate started to melt, then the lipstick, BUT the lipstick was the first to stop moving.  The lipstick melted very quickly and was done while the chocolate and cheese was still moving.  As a matter of fact, the cheese started boiling and bubbling, so the cheese never stopped.  So cheese moved first, lipstick was done first... you pick the winner.  By the way, NOT eating any of it.  Have a GREAT weekend.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Extreme heat today & heat breakdown

No way around it... It is going to be HOT today. The humidity will still be rather low so we will be dealing more with a dry, desert-like heat.  The low humidity will also allow for the huge temperature jump.  The heat does not have to heat up much moisture in the air... Think of it this way... Get two cooking pots.  Fill one full of water, fill the other only a quarter of the way with water.  Heat them both up on the stove with the same heat and see which gets hotter after five minutes.  It takes a lot longer to heat up the added water so the one with the lesser water will be much hotter.  So we will see our temps soar today to a high of 101... maybe even hotter in some of the traditional hot spots.  I was a little leery going that warm, but what Missouri saw yesterday will be similar to us today... but we will be slightly hotter since the winds will be stronger coming out of the southwest with warm air advection.  This will be the hottest high temperature I have ever forecasted for and the first time since August 17, 1988 that we have broke the 100 degree mark in Dayton.  At the bottom of the blog I included some 100 degree stats that the National Weather Service from the Wilmington, OH office put together... some interesting stuff.  Like... the record high temp for June EVER for Dayton is 102.  Enjoy.

The heat will start to subside a little... mid-upper 90's for the weekend.  The humidity slowly climbing will make it feel like the low 100's still.  With the humidity climbing and temps staying so warm we could fire off an isolated shower and storm any day after today.  It will be the spotty afternoon showers and storms so not everyone will see the rain, but some seeing rain is better than none of us.  Highs will stay in the low 90's for early next week and by the Fourth of July, next Wednesday, we will still be dealing with 90's and a chance for afternoon showers and storms.  Stay cool, enjoy the facts below, and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael


PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
1016 AM EDT WED JUN 27 2012

...LOCAL 100 DEGREE FACTS AND JUNE HEAT CLIMATOLOGY...

WITH THE TEMPERATURE FORECAST TO SOAR TO NEAR 100 DEGREES ON
THURSDAY...MANY QUESTIONS HAVE ARISEN REGARDING THE HISTORY OF 100
DEGREE WEATHER IN THE AREA AND HOW UNCOMMON IT IS THIS EARLY IN
THE YEAR. HERE ARE A FEW STATISTICS AND FACTS REGARDING HEAT FOR
OUR THREE PRIMARY CLIMATE STATIONS.

LAST OCCURRENCE OF 100 DEGREES OR GREATER...
COLUMBUS: JULY 31 1999
CINCINNATI: SEPTEMBER 3 2011
DAYTON: AUGUST 17 1988

LAST OCCURRENCE OF 100 DEGREES OR GREATER IN JUNE...
COLUMBUS: JUNE 25 1988
CINCINNATI: JUNE 25 1988
DAYTON: JUNE 25 1988

ALL TIME JUNE RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE...
COLUMBUS: 102 (JUNE 28 1944)
CINCINNATI: 102 (JUNE 27 AND 28 1944...JUNE 25 1988)
DAYTON: 102 (JUNE 27 AND 28 1944...JUNE 25 1988)

EARLIEST CALENDAR DAY OF 100 DEGREES OR GREATER...
COLUMBUS: JUNE 25 1988
CINCINNATI: JUNE 25 1988
DAYTON: JUNE 11 1911

TOTAL NUMBER OF DAYS OF 100 DEGREES OR GREATER IN JUNE...
COLUMBUS: 6 (SINCE 1878)
CINCINNATI: 7 (SINCE 1872)
DAYTON: 7 (SINCE 1893)

TOTAL NUMBER OF DAYS OF 100 DEGREES OR GREATER ON RECORD...
COLUMBUS: 55 (SINCE 1878)
CINCINNATI: 85 (SINCE 1872)
DAYTON: 66 (SINCE 1893)

TOTAL NUMBER OF DAYS OF 100 DEGREES OR GREATER SINCE 1950...
COLUMBUS: 15
CINCINNATI: 26
DAYTON: 13

TOTAL NUMBER OF YEARS WITH AT LEAST ONE DAY OF 100 OR GREATER...
COLUMBUS: 21 (SINCE 1878)
CINCINNATI: 26 (SINCE 1872)
DAYTON: 17 (SINCE 1893)

FOR REFERENCE...THE RECORD HIGH AT ALL THREE STATIONS ON THURSDAY
JUNE 28 IS 102 SET IN 1944. ON FRIDAY JUNE 29...THE RECORD HIGH IS
100 AT ALL THREE STATIONS...SET IN 1934 AT COLUMBUS...1934 AND
1944 AT CINCINNATI...AND 1934 IN DAYTON.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Terrible Tire Tuesday

The last few days I had been meaning to put air in my rear drivers-side tire. It was looking a little low. I had a large nail in that tire a month ago, but I plugged the hole and it was holding air great. I just figured it was leaking air...well it was...from TWO MORE nails. I am not positive where I am getting all these nails, but I almost think I am getting them on my commute to work. We are located across the street from a construction company and I pass the landfill on my way as well. Either way, I am getting tired of patching my tires only to get more nails. The good news is that I am becoming quite the expert... tire didn't lose any air when I checked it this morning.

Get ready for the heat. Today we will warm into the upper 80's with plenty of sunshine. Sure it will feel hot, but not compared to tomorrow. I am calling for a high of 99 tomorrow with humidity making it feel at least 100 in the afternoon...same for Friday with a high of 97. There is a Heat Advisory issued for Thursday and also a Fire Weather Watch (Red Flag Watch). There will be strong winds out of the southwest for tomorrow. Factor that with VERY dry conditions and we have the perfect recipe for brush fires to spread quickly. Avoid any open flames and if you smoke do not throw your lit butts out the window. Friday through Monday we could see an isolated shower or storm, but it will be hit or miss with the pop-up rain. High temps will stay in the low-mid 90's all the way through the middle of next week, so no relief from the heat. Back to the news...have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Extreme heat on the way

I am not calling for a 100 degrees, yet, but I am calling for 99 on Thursday. We have not broke the 100 degree mark in Dayton in 24 years and if we see enough sunshine I would not be surprised at all. Today will still be very comfortable with current temps near 50, but we will top out around 80 today...just like yesterday with low humidity. More sunshine tomorrow as we warm up into the upper 80's. Then the heat really kicks into gear with a high of 99 Thursday, 98 Friday, and then mid-low 90's for the weekend and early next week. So there is no cool down on the way and today will be the pick day of the upcoming seven. There is a very slim chance for a spotty shower or storm Friday and Sunday, but that is a very slim chance. With that chance we could have a few clouds, those days, which will also help shade us from the roasting sun. We could really use the rain, but not looking like much of it for the week ahead... possibly setting up to be one of the driest years we have had since the drought back in 1988... which is ironic that THAT is when we broke 100 degrees last, August 17, 1988. Get your air conditioner ready and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Monday, June 25, 2012

Packed weekend... extreme heat coming...


I know my weekends seemed filled to the brim... sometimes overflowing... this weekend was much of the same. Friday I took a nap to adjust my body to staying awake later. I then went down to Middletown to pick up a new intake for my Polini. One of the DAM Riders owns a body shop and he does AMAZING work. I picked up some pipes for us to make intakes and he did not disappoint at all with the intake he made...more on that shortly.  After picking up the intake, Dawn and I then went out to dinner on the patio at TJ Chumps and then joined a bunch of co-workers as we sent off Chris Cerenilli on his future endeavors.  Fun night.

Saturday I mounted up the new intake and boy is it sleek.
The new carb location is kicked back at a very low angle and I am still using the Polini two pedal reeds since that is how the cylinder is designed for the high velocity intake flow.  So many people go with the four pedal reeds, but then say that they lose some top end.  Love the new sleek look and I did notice a decent amount of power gain, but I up-geared to keep my RPMs lower since my points have been floating when I am screaming over 10,000 RPMs... Still looking to get that tach to accurately know what RPM I am actually getting.
I mocked up my Maxi and took it around the block then I had to get ready to head back to the farm.  My sister needed her Puch Maxi moped fixed.  Based on what they told me on the phone I tried explaining to them what the issue was and how to fix it.  They never got around to it and it only took a couple minutes to fix.  I spent a few extra minutes to give her bike an all-around check and after that... time to ride.  I talked my sister and my parents into taking it for a ride on the country roads.  It is surprising that she can get four more miles per hour out of the bike than I can... just because she is so light.  (I used a GPS to track the max speed)  It was a lot of fun watching my parents ride her moped... my mom was a little frazzled, but my dad couldn't stop smiling and commenting about how smooth of a ride it was compared to my brother's Tomos.  I loved hearing that because I dislike Tomos mopeds.  Puch, for the win.
I fixed her moped, hung out with the fam for a little bit, and then went over to one of my friend's couples wedding shower.  I went stag because Dawn has been so busy at work that she had to work Saturday.  It was great to catch up with old friends and I was asked to give the toast for the soon-to-be married couple.  They are getting married in Vegas in a month and I have to work and will not be able to make it.  I was able to get a dragonfly to land on my hand while I was there.  Not sure if that is a sign of awesomeness or if the little guy was asking for rain.
Sunday I went down to Cincinnati to ride mopeds.  One of our members of the DAM Riders (Dayton Area Moped Riders) lives all the way down there and he wanted to host a ride.  It turned out great, but hot.  We had nine riders and enjoyed the ride on the rolling hills that Cincinnati has to offer. Naturally, we had to get a photo of the bikes when we stopped by the river.  Fun times with fast bikes.
Yesterday we warmed up to 91 for the high at the Dayton International Airport, but we will not be near that at all today.  A cold front is moving through currently and that will keep our temperatures from warming up too much today...only up to 78 for the high.  The morning clouds will clear out for the afternoon as well.  Plenty of sunshine for the upcoming days as we start a warming trend.  80 for the high tomorrow, 87 for Wednesday...then...97 Thursday and 98 Friday... yes, you read that correctly.  The heat will really pump into the area later this week and it will feel closer to 100 with the humidity by the end of the week.  There will be another cold front by later Friday that will cool us off a little for next weekend...with highs for next weekend...about 90 degrees.  So not really cool at all.  Enjoy the cool temps while they are here.  I know I will be opening the windows to our house to let it air out before the AC works non-stop later this week.  I guess the heat is fitting since we are exactly six months away from Christmas.  Enjoy the sunshine and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Friday, June 22, 2012

Painting and Jealousy

I honestly do not mind doing work around the house. As a matter of fact we hardly use the dishwasher and I hand-wash all the dishes. But when I am painting one of the bedrooms and my brothers keep sending me photos from their road trip I have no option but to be jealous. Two of my brothers are going on a seven week road trip out west. They have a wedding this weekend and then another in early August and they plan on driving around the Western U.S. visiting national parks the rest of the time. I do enjoy getting all the photos from their trip and hope they keep coming. I will occasionally post some of their photos from their trip, so check back in on their travels.

There are a few early morning showers pushing through here at 5:10AM. The rain showers are with the cold front and it will be completely through the Miami Valley by 6AM. Then we start to dry out and clear out for the rest of the day with lower humidity and sunshine. Highs will be in the mid 80's for today and the weekend, but then rain arrives early Monday morning...(light, spotty rain)...followed by cooler temperatures. Early next week temperatures will be in the mid-upper 70's with even lower humidity. Looks like some great weather on tap for the next seven days after such a hot week. We could have used a lot more rain, but at least we will see a break from the heat. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Record flooding rain, headed our way

Talk about a crazy 24 hours for those in Duluth, Minnesota. A cold front stalled out into a stationary front yesterday over Northern Minnesota late Tuesday into early yesterday. Storms dropped over ten inches of rain in a short amount of time and the St. Louis River, that runs just outside of Duluth, has already reached a record height. The river went from 5.5 feet deep to 16.5 in about 24 hours and shattered the record by nearly a foot. Quite crazy how things changed so quickly. That front is now moving our way and will bring us cooler weather and a chance for rain later today, but not nearly as much rain...we will only see scattered showers and storms.

We will start off with plenty of sunshine for today with more clouds later. I think most of the rain will hold off until at least the late afternoon into the early evening. We will warm back to 92 for the high then highs in the low-mid 80's for the next three days with dry conditions after tonight. Another chance for rain Sunday night into Monday morning will cool us back into the mid-upper 70's for the first half of next week. So a two step cool down. I think our chance for rain tonight is still marginal for the entire area seeing the rain. We are nearly 6" below normal so we really could use as much as possible...and Monday's rain is looking even less than today since we will be drying out the atmosphere with lower humidity this weekend. At least we will be seeing a break from the heat. Stay cool and dry today and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

First day of Summer

Summer officially arrives at 7:09 PM EDT today and it will surely feel like it.  For a little fun on the morning show we are giving unique ideas on how to cool down.  I am reliving my college days by wearing a hunting vest I got back in college.  I REALLY dislike things in my pockets so I wore the vest to keep my belongings in the vest pockets instead.  I rocked that vest all over campus and my wife, then girlfriend, would be able to keep an eye on me from a mile away with the bright hunter orange.

Just for a bit of history... it started long before the vest.  I was Christmas shopping for my brother at Dick's Sporting Goods and I saw a fowl winter hunting coat on clearance while I was waiting in line.  It was normally $120, I think, and it was on sale for only $20.  It was Black Friday and I thought... what the heck, I needed a new coat and hunters have to stay warm in the cold while hunkered down... cheap, warm, fashionable?!... ehhh, I didn't care too much about fashion... I was in college.  I loved the coat.  Around the entire sides and back there is a HUGE pocket.  When you are hunting fowl you can put your hunting reward, birds, in your coat and just keep on hunting.  DISCLAIMER: neither the vest or coat have been used for this...I just loved the set-up of pockets.  I have even went on weekend trips where I put my toiletries, and clothes for the weekend in the coat... who needs luggage?!  So once winter passed I needed a vest to keep cool and keep my pants' pockets empty.  I couldn't find one on clearance so I had to pay full price...but worth it.

How does this relate to the first day of summer and how hot it is going to be today?  Well the high today is expected to be 92... the high temperature when I graduated THE Ohio State University...92.  (I just looked it up again to double check)  So to stay cool I bought 300 freeze pops and put them in my hunting vest to stay cool and hydrated.  I then put my graduation gown over it and you could hardly tell... just look like I put on 40 pounds.  I was actually getting really cold with the ice around me...everyone else was sweating crazily.
Throughout the three hour graduation I kept handing out the freeze pops to everyone around myself and the other meteorology students and it was a huge hit.  Later that night, random people were shouting out to me: "You're the freeze pop guy!!!"  Fun times and a unique way to stay cool and have a fun time in the heat.

So today I am sharing that story (and freeze pops) and we are having a little fun on the morning show since it is the first day of summer and we are coming up with unique ideas on how to stay cool since we will be back in the 90's.  Tomorrow we will be back in the 90's with clouds returning and then rain rolling back into the area in the evening and overnight as a cold front pushes through.  This will cool us back into the low-mid 80's for Friday and the weekend with more rain Sunday night into Monday morning... cooling us off even more.  So hot, warm, then mild.... and rain really only for Thursday night and Sunday night/Monday morning.  Stay cool today...vest or no vest, freeze pop or no freeze pop...and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Dam riding & new idea

Yesterday was cut short after work because I had to stay to monitor the radar in case any storms developed. Luckily things stayed quiet, but still stayed at work a couple hours later than normal. After mowing the grass, paying bills, doing dishes... I barely had much time left in the day. I did ride over to Moped Monday and we rode around a little bit. We stopped by the low dam between West Carrollton and Moraine. Nice little spot to get away and hear the rushing water. I think the spark plug was getting a little fouled from running rich with temps near 90.

For the tuning/mechanical nerds:
Only a few more rides left until the new intake set-up. I have been running with the 15 Bing because of the high velocity intake design of the Polini, but I had an idea... Keep the same two petal reeds, throw on a four petal reed block (without the four petal reeds), and then fabricate an intake to run my 20 PHBG. The best part is... I only needed to buy the conduit for the intake, which was only like $10, already bent. I already have the other parts. I want to see what the set-up will be able to do for me. I have hopes that the PHBG will add extra torque off the line so I can up-gear one tooth on the front sprocket so I can run 16x40 instead. This will also keep my RPMs down a little bit because I feel like it is screaming over 10,000 RPM after the MLM pipe's powerband hits. I have been wanting to get a tach and I think that may be happening soon... Just want to make it a temporary tach so it can float between bikes for tuning purposes.

I came home last night around 7PM and I was soaked in sweat from riding. Yesterday was definitely hot, but the next few days...even hotter...and more humid. High today 91, 93 tomorrow, and then 91 Thursday as the sunshine gives way to more clouds. A weak cold front will approach for Thursday evening with a chance for rain. This will cool us off into the mid 80's for the weekend with lower humidity and dry conditions until Sunday night into Monday when more rain is possibly on the docket. Stay cool and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Monday, June 18, 2012

Weekend weather, moped history tour, Monday rain

For anyone who didn't catch my special blog entry from Saturday, I was in Columbus much of the weekend. Our sister station needed some help so I helped them out to give a few of their meteorologists a day off since most of them have been working six days a week. I also passed by Handy Bikes in Columbus. I am pretty sure BJ doesn't work there any more since they sold all their moped inventory to 1977 Mopeds. BJ was such a great asset to the Ohio moped scene, and the entire country overall as well, since he spearheaded the legalization of several moped brands in Ohio and imported them. I have stopped in to see him a couple times over the last few years and it was a little sad to know that they only specialize in bicycles now. Sunday I drove down to Ike's Bikes in Georgetown, Ohio to pick up a Puch Maxi for a friend in Cleveland. Ike also has a long standing reputation in the Ohio moped scene. He bought the entire inventory of Montgomery Cyclery a couple decades ago. Here is a photo of of all the mopeds they had back in 1983 before they sold everything out to Ike. Ike is a pretty rad dude who had a few bikes that were amazing, still in his possession. He has a 1980 Puch Magnum MK II with only 44 miles on it. Absolutely beautiful! He also has a Tomos Revival with a Honda Goldwing gas tank. Complete with front pegs and all...this bike looks like an amazing ride. I picked up the Maxi for my friend and even bought a few NOS Puch parts he still had...condensors, points, springs...ya know...the little stuff that is hard to find New Old Stock...plus he made me a great deal on them. Quite a fun little weekend followed by a much needed Sunday nap.

Today we are going to see pop-up showers and storms. Even this morning, at 5:30AM, the atmosphere is unstable enough for a few showers popping up. This afternoon, as a warm front lifts through the Ohio Valley, we will see the showers intensify into a few storms. Not everyone will see the rain, but for those that do see it, will deal with a decent soaking....as a matter of fact, the lightning tracking just started picking up some lightning. The rain will leave later tonight as high pressure moves in and HOT conditions. Our highs will be in the lower 90's for the next several days and the humidity making it feel like the mid 90's. More rain later Thursday with a cold front arriving cooling us off a little heading into next weekend with highs back in the mid 80's. Gotta get back to tracking the showers and storms. Stay dry and cool...and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Special Saturday Delivery

This entry is coming your way, again, from Columbus, Ohio.  They are a little understaffed so they asked if I could come and help fill in.  I love Columbus and miss living here so of course I am willing to help out.  I filled in last night too and did live weather reports from BIA Parade of Homes in Lewis Center for the dinner time shows.  I did not see Dwayne Hoster there though.  I then helped my brother move out of his apartment.  He is a neat freak and I am sure excited to get out of the dirty college house.  We grabbed lunch at Tommy's pizza and I had the rest for dinner.  I do miss the food around campus, but I am sure I would need to hit up the Olentangy Trail a lot.  Anyway, just wanted to say hello from Columbus.

There were a few storms in Dayton and the Miami Valley earlier today.  The heating had finally broke the cap in the atmosphere and if you were lucky enough to see one of the storms you likely saw a decent amount of rain.  Some spots saw over an inch in a short amount of time. More storms are expected for tomorrow as a weak cold front tries to push through.  I use the term weak because temperatures will not take too much of a hit.  As a matter of fact, I expect to be in the low 90's for much of the middle of the week.  Next weekend it does look like we will see a slight cool down, but hot until then.  So storms Sunday, mainly late morning and early afternoon, and a possible lingering shower Monday...then dry til the end of the week.  I am going to be interested if we get any pop-up showers in the middle of the week because of all the heat though...  See you all back Monday morning...back to work.  Happy Father's Day & have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Friday, June 15, 2012

The heat is ON!

I hope your air conditioner is running in tip-top shape. It will likely be running for the week ahead. The next seven days have temperatures at least 85 degrees or warmer for the high temperatures. The humidity this morning is not too bad, but it will slowly climb today and then stay high for the entire week ahead. With the heat and humidity there will be a chance for a spotty shower or storm pretty much on any day, but our best chances will be Sunday, Monday, and then next Thursday as a cold front approaches to cool us off a little for next weekend. The rain will be isolated so not everyone will see the rain, but we are still about five and a half inches below normal...we ALL could use the rain. So most of the Miami Valley should stay dry this weekend, but all of us will be hot and humid. Stay cool and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

PS, I will have an entry coming your way tomorrow from Columbus... so check back in.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

A day on the boat

With the Reds taking on the Indians there doesn't need to be much more of a reason to head down to Cincinnati. Instead of going to the game, we took Dawn's cousins' boat out on the Ohio River. It is docked just up from Downtown Cincinnati and it was its maiden voyage for the year. Before the game the seven of us rode up the river to Riverbend, but we just missed the Beach Boys by one day. We then went down river and anchored outside Great American Ballpark. BEAUTIFUL evening. It was a late night and I laid down at 12:21AM and my alarms sounded at 1:15AM to get up for work. I did get a few hours of sleep yesterday afternoon and will be taking a nap FOR SURE later today. Fun times and totally worth the lack of sleep.

The beautiful weather will continue today with temps getting a little warmer. We will get into the lower 80's today and then the rest of the seven day forecast is upper 80's and possibly hitting that 90 degree mark. Humidity will also slowly keep pushing in for the next few days with a slight chance for rain Sunday and Monday. The chance for rain the middle of next week is kinda iffy because of the track of the coming systems, but the latest models have us dry for Tuesday and Wednesday. We will see if the models keep with that trend...but I do know it will be HOT! Enjoy the low humidity while it is here and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Competitors commune, awesome afternoon

With social media and the internet, communication is mind-blowing compared to just a few years ago. The morning meteorologists here in Dayton often chat back and forth, but with our busy schedules we rarely get a chance to meet in person. On a whim we all had yesterday free and we got together for lunch. It was great to chat and catch-up in person over a pizza. The time flew by and before we knew it, it was almost time for bed since most of us had been up since 1:30AM. We had to get a picture with all of us together: me, Jessica Heffner, Tara Hastings, and Rich Wirdzek. Lot of fun and laughs.

I rode my moped home and the long slight incline on one of the roads home really heated up my moped. I topped out at 433 degrees on my cylinder head. The timing is set borderline aggressive, but still within a safe limit for normal riding. I didn't even get close to 400 on my way there. Once I noticed I was so hot, I cooled it down and luckily no issues. When I see 380 or hotter I start to worry. I don't want a Polini paperweight. I have new crankshaft needle bearings for both my Polini and Metrakit so I may clean up the cylinders a little when I replace those. I am sure there is a little aluminum smear that my muriatic acid would love to dissolve.

Anyway, got home safe and then it was time to make dinner. We needed to get rid of hot dog buns so I fired up the grill. Not really a filling food, but I had a late lunch anyway. Dawn and I then went to TJ Maxx to find her an Indians shirt for the Indians-Reds game later today and then to Home Depot to get paint samples for one of the bedrooms we are getting ready to paint. We finally went to a swim meet with Dawn's cousins. Talk about craziness...we take a few minutes to relax only to realize one of the kids had seconds to be on the platform for the next race...which he won. Lot of fun yesterday, but I am TOTALLY taking a nap before heading to Cincinnati later today.

Today is going to be faaaaaantastic! We will see nearly wall-to-wall sunshine with highs in the mid 70's and low humidity. We bounce right back into the 80's with sunshine for the upcoming days with the humidity slowly climbing heading into the weekend with more clouds by Sunday. Rain looks to hold off until early next week as we deal with temperatures near 90. Enjoy the great weather on the way and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Back to where we met: Derby Hall, Ohio State

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, Dawn and I went up to Ohio State Sunday for my brother's graduation. While we were there we stopped for a quick photo at Derby Hall. This is where we had our meteorology classes. We really wanted to get a few wedding photos in front of Derby, but time flies on your wedding day and we only had time for pictures at Browning Amphitheater, Mirror Lake, the north rotunda of Ohio Stadium, and Out-R-Inn. Anyway, we had to get that photo and since my other brother rode with us, we had someone to take the photo. 11 months later, ehhh, just imagine us wearing a wedding dress and tuxedo, haha. Also fitting, Dawn had Cane's beforehand just like our wedding day. (I had one of the groomsmen surprise her with it on our wedding day since it is her favorite place to eat)

Well, keep that garden hose handy. Other than a very slim chance for a spotty shower for the Eastern Miami Valley this morning, we will be dry for the rest of the seven day forecast. Champaign County had a quick pop-up shower about an hour ago, but things are already dry again. We also have a little light fog this morning with partial clearing and winds calming down just a little bit. The cold front should push through the area later this morning and early afternoon. Once that moves through we will see the winds switch to the north and then slowly clearing out for the next few days. Plenty of sunshine through the start of the weekend and then a few more clouds will start to roll in Sunday and Monday, but any rain looks to stay just west of here. We will likely see rain the middle of next week, but nothing until then. Our highs the next few days will be near 80 and then mid-upper 80's for the weekend so the heat will be returning. Watch out for that fog and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Monday, June 11, 2012

2012 Ohio State Spring Commencement, 10,600+ students!!!

It was quite a busy weekend...as always. Dawn and I went out to dinner with her cousin Friday night, watched a few soccer games Saturday morning, graduation party for a friend Saturday afternoon, and then finished the weekend with Ohio State's graduation. My brother was among the 10,600+ students graduating, for their 400th commencement. It was the largest graduating class ever for Ohio State...and there is a good reason: switching from quarters to semesters. The university was actively trying to graduate students to avoid any credit issues during the transition. By brother got his degree in civil engineering and will be making more money than I will...that's for sure. It was great to be back on campus and we hung out afterward at the Browning Amphitheater for pizza and a little family picnic. It was a fun, hot day. Now that three of us siblings have graduated from Ohio State...my last brother will begin his studies there this fall, possibly majoring in bio-medical engineering. OH! I did see President Gee yesterday just before the ceremony began. He was in a hurry as he passed me, but I did snag a photo of him as he was heading back down to the lower level. Gordon Gee asked everyone to use the hashtag #OSU10000 to tweet about their times at OSU so for anyone who follows me on twitter, now you know why I was using that all weekend. Congrats Clark for getting your degree.

Rain showers this morning will be followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. The rain will leave early Tuesday and we start to clear out as we deal with lower humidity for the middle of the week. Highs will be in the upper 70's the next few days followed by the low to mid 80's as we approach next weekend with plenty of sunshine. We are not looking at a chance for severe weather today, but instead a little more of a steady rain this morning with the scattered storms this afternoon. We will see a few dry spells so not a complete washout, although it may seem that way. Stay dry and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Friday, June 8, 2012

Ready for the heat?

With the heat and humidity returning today and the weekend I wanted to take advantage of the cool temps and low humidity. The afternoon trio went for a ride again yesterday. We rode around Miamisburg and also on the west side of Dayton. One of my favorite roads to ride is Carillon Blvd. You round the river and downtown is visible in the distance once you pass UD Arena...great view. Pretty fun afternoon for about $1. Luckily it stayed dry for Montgomery County, but there were a few light rain showers off to the north yesterday.

The temps will be climbing this weekend into the upper 80's with the humidity making it feel like the low 90's. Rain will hold off until Monday and that will cool us back off for the middle of next week...back near 80 for the highs. The rain will stick around for Tuesday and early Wednesday possibly before we dry out... so not a horrible forecast... at least you can hit the water this weekend to stay cool.

For all of my very early morning readers... sorry the blog has been coming out about an hour later the last few days. I have been recording my forecast for my CBM Seal...Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal. The forecasts have to be more technical than what I normally would include so I have been focusing on nailing the forecasts and then doing the blog afterward. Back to the swing of things on Monday, but it has inspired me to include a few additional graphics on a more regular basis... maybe just not an entire blast of them. Anyway, just thought I would fill you in. I now send off the forecasts and wait about four months for my review. Stay cool this weekend and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Got a boat or pool? Got my number?

This weekend is looking like a GREAT weekend to hit the water. As much as you beg me to come with you, I have a lot planned this weekend. Saturday I have three soccer games in the morning and then a graduation party for a friend who has taken the 10 year plan for college. I HAVE to make sure I am there for my good pal Zack as he finally gets his degree. He has been taking a few classes here and there and working full time... lot of respect for his determination over the 10 years. Sunday my brother is graduation from Ohio State so I will be heading to Columbus for that. So that leaves me no time to hit the pool or water...but it sure will be warm enough to want to cool off.

Today we will see a weak trough of low pressure swing down to our north which may trigger an isolated light rain shower or two, but most of the area will be dealing with dry weather today. That will also push the high pressure from the U.P. of Michigan down to Northern Illinois. It will then move over us and then to the east and which will switch our winds to the southwest and really start warming things up this weekend. Plenty of sunshine for Friday and Saturday as we warm from 78 today to 82 Friday and then 85 Saturday. The humidity will also be increasing heading into the weekend and by Sunday and Monday we will top our temperatures near 90 with the heat index into the low 90's. Rain looks to slow down just a tad and arrive late Monday and remain around the area into Tuesday and Wednesday. Models right now are calling for close to an inch of rain... which we could really use. Stay dry and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Weird Holidays

For anyone who follows my Facebook or Twitter, I have been celebrating weird holidays the last few months.  It gives anyone with a bad day something to celebrate.  I mean, think about it.  If you are having a bad day today and you start playing with a yo-yo...how could you NOT smile.  Since today is National Yo-Yo Day, due to Donald Duncan's birthday, we are planning a lot of fun.  Dan Carroll picked up new yo-yos for the morning crew... We are going to see who has the best tricks after many rusty years.  Just something fun to have for your Wednesday.

Very slight chance for a spotty light shower or sprinkle today.  Most of the Miami Valley will be dry today, but the best chance for the light rain will be the Southeastern Miami Valley.  Same for the day tomorrow.  Mid 70's today and tomorrow then mid 80's for the weekend.  We will stay dry then until early next week with a better chance for more of a steady rain.  We are about four inches below normal for this time of the year, so we desperately need the rain.  Have fun with your yo-yo and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

1973 Puch Maxi Rebuild

To be honest this was one of my favorite builds and took very little time...15 hours between tear down, cleaning, and rebuild.  A few weeks ago I was riding my moped around the neighborhood during the neighborhood garage sale weekend and I happened to spot this Puch Maxi moped.  I stopped and talk to the guy and after some discussion he agreed that if I left $20 he would put the bike back in the backyard until I was back with the rest of the money.  It was the cheapest moped I have picked up and I was looking forward to rebuilding it. 
After doing a little research on the VIN number it was actually the first year they started making the Maxi.  I extrapolated the date and came up with December 23rd, 1973 that it rolled off the line.  The Maxi reached its height in the US between 1978 and 1980.  I did a little digging around on the bike and it appears this bike was imported because there are a lot of foreign features.  The bulb in the headlight is very odd and actually had "Britain" printed on it so I am guessing it was brought over from England.  The bike was already equipped with a 14 mm Bing carb so it has potential to be quite a peppy stock bike once all the dirt and grime was cleaned away.  I wanted to keep it stock because I miss riding stock.  Then my mom called and said my sister needed a moped to get around since my brother is going away to college.  She didn't know I was already sitting on this bike, but sometimes things happen for a reason.
 Despite the bike being super dirty, the inside of the stator was pristine.  I could not get spark and after trying a new spark plug boot and hard-wiring the lights, I got a beautiful, blue spark.  This is also the first e50, Maxi motor, with an internal coil that I have seen.  I thought the coil was bad and glad I didn't dig too deep too quick.  It also is the first Puch that I have worked on that only had four wires coming out of the stator... one from the main lighting coil, another from the smaller lighting coil, a third from the high tension coil for the spark plug and then a third from the points for the engine kill switch(which was never present... the wire just went to the wiring harness)
 Once I got spark and felt like I knew the motor would run reliably once it was rebuilt...I tore the entire bike apart for cleaning and rebuild.
When turning over the motor you could hear a little bit of noise and sure enough when I cracked open the motor I saw the culprit.  The main gear's bearing was shot and lost the spacer rings to keep the eight ball bearings apart to their appropriate spacing.  Fine with me...I love rebuilding the motors so I ordered new bearings and seals.
 Before getting too far along, I had one of the other DAM Riders weld up a tiny crack in the rear fender.  It was only a hair-line crack in the metal, but I was afraid that the vibrations of the bike would take that small crack and turn into a much larger crack.
 As I mentioned in yesterday's entry, my sister came to visit Friday and Saturday.  Friday we cleaned the bike top to bottom and get it looking as good as new...well, for a 39 year old bike. 
 
As she finished cleaning Friday, I rebuilt the motor with new bearings and seals so that was back together with spark.  Timing was checked and I threw new rubber strips, tubes, and tires on the wheels...and called it a day.
 
Saturday morning I woke up and ate the rust out of the gas tank with phosphoric acid.  We mounted the swing arm, forks, and then tossed on the wheels before taking a break.  
 I knew the final part of assembly would take a while so I decided to step away for a little bit and I took my sister to play disc golf for the first time in her life.  She was getting pretty good by the end and getting some good distance.  It is nice having a course right around the corner from where I live, but I haven't been there in a long time.  We grabbed lunch and then headed back to finish up the bike.
We finished up around 8PM and we both rode it around a little bit.  Pretty peppy bike, indeed.  I made sure the stock exhaust was de-restricted and I also filed down the skits on the piston a little to allow for more fuel.  Should be a pretty reliable fun bike for her to ride...with shoes.
 
 We went back home Sunday for my brother's graduation and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a picture of the bike in front of one of the cows on the family farm.... a moo-ped.
 Sure hope she likes the bike and takes care of it.  I am hoping that the time she spent helping me with the rebuild and cleaning will make her cherish the moped a little more.  If I would have still had the bike I totally would have rode stock to Moped Monday, but instead I rode my Maxi.  I ended up giving in to my better judgement and let some of the guys ride my bike up the street and back.  They all were interested in the disc brake on my Polini build and they loved it.  It was amazing that when one of the 90 pound guys got on the bike how quickly he took off.  More reason I need to go for a run this afternoon.  Or right after work before the rain arrives.
As mentioned, there is a chance for rain later today.  The rain will be moving in from the northeast and will be rather light and spotty.  The rain showers will be here for the late morning and afternoon.  Same for tomorrow, but even a less chance for rain.  The chances to see the rain are very small both days so keep the garden hose handy for your flowers and plants.  We will be a little cool today with a high around 69 and then tacking on a few more degrees each day heading into the weekend: 73 tomorrow, 76 Thursday, 80 Friday and then mid 80's for the weekend followed by upper 80's by Monday when our next chance for rain returns.  So this weekend is looking hot and humid.  Stay dry today and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Monday, June 4, 2012

Fun family weekend, Dry week ahead...kinda

My sister visited Friday and Saturday and we rebuilt the moped for her. She helped with the cleaning and assembly and by Saturday evening we were both riding the moped around the block. She was a great help in the garage and we figured up from the tear down to full assembly it took about 15 hours for the rebuild...including the motor. I will have a full write up tomorrow with PLENTY of photos of the rebuild so check back for that tomorrow. We did take a break Saturday to play a little disc golf. Sometimes taking a step away from a project is the only way to keep going at a good pace. We went back home Sunday for my brother's graduation from Arcanum High School. He will be the fourth of us boys to go to Ohio State... as for Amanda... she doesn't know yet. During the family photos the four of us got together for an OHIO photo. Congrats to Marcus and best of luck at Ohio State. The weekend seemed like it was five days long with so much going on, but I still think a nap is in order later today to catch up on sleep.

The temps were a little cool this weekend, especially Friday night when I had to close the windows around the house. We are back to seasonal temperatures for much of the week ahead. There is a slight chance for rain the next few days, but only a VERY slight chance. There is a cold front in the Plains that is weak and not moving much. A warm front off of that cuts off toward St. Louis. The rain showers are riding in front of the frontal system and we are getting the over-spray. Kinda like driving down the road and the car in front of you shoots windshield wiper fluid and it sprays over their car and onto your car. We will be getting that over-spray. Only enough to leave a little rain here and there. So keep the garden watered because other than the spotty light showers...no decent chance for rain for the week ahead. We will top out at 76 today, 70 tomorrow (behind the weak front) and then slowly warming up in the upper 70's by the end of the week and 80's for next weekend. The chance for rain next weekend is looking very small...so get those pool passes handy! Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Friday, June 1, 2012

Wicked good time

I was lucky enough to go and visit the Schuster Performing Arts Center yesterday with Dawn to see the Broadway musical Wicked. I asked Dawn if she wanted to go see the play and she yelled "YES!" She had seen the play several years ago and I had always wanted to see the musical. A little side story that I have never told you on my blog here. I was the President of Drama Club in high school. I have been in ten plays, two of which were musicals. I still got the knot in my throat when they bowed at the end. I get excited after a great performance and the bowing at the end is such a great feeling. As for Wicked: wickedly amazing! The crew and cast were fantastic and the talent of the cast was unbelievable. It was also my first time in the Schuster Center as well. I have been in the Victoria Theater and we are VERY lucky to have such a nice facility and devotion to the arts here in Dayton. I HIGHLY recommend seeing Wicked before it leaves town in mid June.

Witches would melt on a day like today...(see what I did there)...quite a washout with non-stop rain this morning. The Northern Miami Valley has seen the least amount of rain with around or just under quarter of an inch. The Southern Miami Valley is still climbing in and over that one inch range in a few locations. The rain will continue pushing north and then eventually pulling off to the east through the first half of the day. We still could pick up half an inch of rain, so a nice soaking. We need it. The low pressure system will park over Northern Michigan this weekend and we could see a few wrap around light, spotty rain showers. There is only a slim chance and Sunday is looking like the drier of the two days this weekend. A stronger system Monday will move through with a better chance for rain and kick all this out of here for drier conditions for later next week. Temperatures will be rather cool the next few days with a high of 63 day, 69 Saturday, and 74 for Sunday. We will top out in the mid-upper 70's for much of next week so right where we should be for this time of the year. Stay dry today and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

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