* 82,000 is how many acres burned by the wild fires in South Georgia (2 separate fires) as of today. Reports are that the fires are 70% contained but they may not be totally contailed till it rains. Northerly winds blew some of the smoke as far south as Orlando over the weekend.
* 30 is how many days until the official opening day of hurricane season. However, there is usually not much action in June. The first five namnes on the 2007 roll call is Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dean and Erin. If we go all the way through the 2007 list and go to the Greek Alphabet, God forbid, the last name on the regular list is Wendy. Appropriate name although spelled slightly different.
* 36 is the lowest temperature ever recorded in Birmingham in the month of May. It occurred on the 4th in 1971. So if we have another frost/freeze it will be the first time in recorded weather history wirth records going back over 120 years.
* 99 is the all time high for May in Birmingham, on May 28, 1962 and the 29th way back in 1898. We have never had 100 in May.
* 100 degrees (the earliest ever) was recorded on June 5, 1985.
* 3.07 inches is our average rainfall per month so far in 2007. That won’t cut it. We need far more than that, especially by March and April when the growing season gets underway.
* 11.10 inches is the most rain that we have ever had in May and that was in 1969.
* 0.11 is the least and that occurred in 1898. Might as well not have rained at all that month.
* 17 degrees was the difference in temperature this morning just across Jefferson County. From a cool 49 in Pinson to 66 at the downtown Birmingham Skycam atop the Daniel Building. Big temperature inversion.
* 15 degree contrast in East Alabama from 51 at Anniston Airport to 66 atop Mt. Cheaha.
* 1953 on this date is when a tornado struck Warner-Robbins AFB at Macon killing 18 people. A very memorable video came out of that event. It showed a building being lifted completely into the air and then disintegrated.
* 13.05 inches is how much rain New York City received in April which is five times as much as Birmingham.
* 24.03 is the Big Apple total for the year so far compared to only 9.20 for Birmingham.
* 5 is the number of names retired after the tragic 2005 hurricane season. That is an all time record. Previous record was 4 retired names in in 1955, 1995, and 2004. Intresting that 9 names were retired in only two seasons.
