Do Squirrels Know Something?

I remember old Buddy D. calling some members of his audience "squirrels".  But that's not what I'm talking about.  I have 3 large water oaks in my backyard that have several squirrel nests and I noticed today that there were many open acorns lying on the ground in my yard.   We've talked about acorns in the past...do they mean anything when they start dropping early?  Is it a sign of an early Fall?   Perhaps the squirrels are feeding up because they know next Winter will be really cold?   What does the science tell us?   None of the above are proven theory, but I just throw it out there in case others have noticed similar signs of an early Fall?   On a day like today, when we see almost all day sunshine with only a couple of heat relieving storms, and highs reaching the middle 90s, all of us are looking for signs that might tell us when relief is coming.  The truth is, not for many, many weeks.  Boo!

The current set up remains the same with an upper high centered over the southern Rockies and an east coast trough that extends down into the central Gulf.  Models keep that set up in place through the weekend into next Wednesday.   Subtle daily differences will dictate who gets some rain while others stay dry.  However, late next week, models build the upper high eastward setting up for a hotter & drier NEXT weekend, not this weekend. 

The tropics are staying quiet as the wave near Florida has been given a 0% chance for development.  Farther out in the Atlantic, satellite loops still show a mid level circulation with a system NHC says has a 70% chance for development.  However, there are no T-Storms around it and models have backed off making it our next named storm.  Another system coming off of Africa has some spin with it, but models do nothing with it.  Let's hope this pattern (lack of development) continues into late September.   Hawaii appears to be dodging 2 systems with weakening Hurricane Erick predicted to remain well south of the islands while what's left of Tropical Storm Flossie turns northward before it reaches them.   I used to enjoy this time of the year because I knew my viewers paid more attention to me and my reports.    That "fun" ended with Katrina, a nightmare none of us ever want to relive again.  Stay tuned!