Hurricane Earl is packing winds near 140 mph as it blows its way toward North Carolina on Thursday. The Eastern Seaboard up to Maine is on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain.

UPDATE: Hurricane lowered to Category 2.

STORMPULSE Hurricane Earl Tracking Map | NOAA CONE

Reports Watches, and Warnings Thursday 8 EDT

NEW YORK
Tropical Storm Watch
HURRICANE EARL LOCAL STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
644 PM EDT THU SEP 2 2010

…THE CENTER OF HURRICANE EARL EXPECTED TO PASS EAST OF THE
AREA…BUT IMPACTS WILL STILL BE FELT…

.AREAS AFFECTED…
THIS LOCAL STATEMENT PROVIDES IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS FOR PEOPLE AND MARINE INTERESTS IN SELECT
LOCATIONS AND COASTAL WATER LEGS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK…
NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY…SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT AND ADJACENT
COASTAL WATERS. [Follow New York link above for latest]

**********************

Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Hurricane Warning
Statement as of 8:00 PM EDT on September 02, 2010

Bogue-Inlet-NC 34.63n 77.13w
NC/VA-border 36.55n 75.87w

555 PM EDT Thu Sep 2 2010

… Hurricane Warning remains in effect…

… New information…
updated wind probabilities… winds… and shelter information.

… Precautionary/preparedness actions…
precautionary/preparedness actions…

There is a mandatory evacuation order for residents and visitors
to Ocracoke.

There is a mandatory evacuation for all visitors throughout Dare County… and
for residents and visitors for south Nags Head and Hatteras
Island. In addition… residents along the ocean front are advised
to relocate due to coastal flooding and ocean overwash that will
occur. [Follow Cape Hatteras link above for latest]

****************

Washington D.C.

Coastal Flood Advisory
Statement as of 3:33 PM EDT on September 02, 2010

… Coastal Flood Advisory now in effect until 6 am EDT Friday…
… Coastal Flood Watch is cancelled…

The National Weather Service in Baltimore MD/Washington has
cancelled the coastal Flood Watch. The coastal Flood Advisory is
now in effect until 6 am EDT Friday.

Southeast winds and lowering pressure in association with
Hurricane Earl will allow water levels to increase to 1 to 2 feet
above normal by tonight. These departures are expected to produce
minor tidal flooding during times of high tide tonight.

******************

Boston, Massachusetts

Tropical Storm Watch
Statement as of 8:00 PM EDT on September 02, 2010

Hull-MA 42.30n 70.91w
Eastport-ME 44.92n 67.05w

612 PM EDT Thu Sep 2 2010

… Tropical storm watch remains in effect…

…

… Probability of tropical storm/hurricane conditions…
the chance for hurricane conditions at this time is very small.
Also… the chance for tropical storm conditions at this time is
up to 56 percent. Tropical storm conditions are most likely to
begin Friday evening.

**************

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Tropical Storm Warning, Hurricane Watch
Statement as of 8:00 PM EDT on September 02, 2010

NC/VA-border 36.55n 75.87w
Sandy-Hook-NJ 40.46n 74.00w

800 PM EDT Thu Sep 2 2010

NC/VA-border 36.55n 75.87w
Cape-Henlopen-de 38.78n 75.09w

536 PM EDT Thu Sep 2 2010

… Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect…
… Hurricane Watch remains in effect…

… Precautionary/preparedness actions…
precautionary/preparedness actions…

…

… Probability of tropical storm/hurricane conditions…
the chance for hurricane conditions at this time is very small.
Also… the chance for tropical storm conditions at this time is
up to 75 percent. This represents a general steady trend since the
last forecast.

*************

Norfolk, Virginia

Tropical Storm Warning, Hurricane Watch
Statement as of 8:00 PM EDT on September 02, 2010

NC/VA-border 36.55n 75.87w
Sandy-Hook-NJ 40.46n 74.00w

800 PM EDT Thu Sep 2 2010

NC/VA-border 36.55n 75.87w
Cape-Henlopen-de 38.78n 75.09w

536 PM EDT Thu Sep 2 2010

… Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect…
… Hurricane Watch remains in effect…

… Precautionary/preparedness actions…
precautionary/preparedness actions…

Final actions to protect life and property should be completed
before conditions deteriorate. Cover windows and doors with
shutters or plywood. Move patio furniture and other loose outdoor
objects inside. Brace all exterior doors… including garage
doors.

Comply with any evacuation orders issued for your area. If you
live in a Mobile home… leave it for more substantial shelter. If
your home is vulnerable to high winds… or you live in a surge
zone or any location prone to flooding… evacuate to a designated
shelter or ride out the storm in the sturdy home of family or
friends outside of evacuation zones.

… Probability of tropical storm/hurricane conditions…
the chance for hurricane conditions at this time is very small.
Also… the chance for tropical storm conditions at this time is
up to 75 percent. This represents a general steady trend since the
last forecast.

*****************

Nantucket, Massachussetts

Hurricane Warning
Statement as of 8:00 PM EDT on September 02, 2010

Nantucket 41.27n 70.04w
Marthas-Vineyard 41.38n 70.63w

612 PM EDT Thu Sep 2 2010

… Hurricane Warning remains in effect…

… New information…
updated all sections.

… Precautionary/preparedness actions…
precautionary/preparedness actions…

Make the final preparations to protect life and property. Rush to
completion the hardening of your home or business by closing
shutters and bracing garage doors.

If evacuating… leave as soon as possible. Guard against being
stuck out on roadways when dangerous winds and heavy rains
arrive. Again… do not stay in a Mobile or manufactured home.
Remember… pets are not allowed in most official shelters… so
check ahead with your intended shelter.

If staying in a home… turn the refrigerator to maximum cold and
keep it closed. Turn off propane tanks and unplug small
appliances. Fill the bathtub with water in case the tap water
becomes unavailable after the storm. This is for cleaning and
Flushing purposes. Do not drink it.

… Probability of tropical storm/hurricane conditions…
the chance for hurricane conditions at this time is up to
24 percent. Also… the chance for tropical storm conditions at
this time is up to 83 percent.

… Winds…
sustained hurricane force winds around 75 mph are expected across
Cape Cod and islands. However… the highest probability of
hurricane force winds are expected at Nantucket where gusts up to
90 mph are possible. For the rest of the Massachusetts and Rhode
Island coastline… tropical storm force winds of 40 to 60 mph are
expected… with the strongest winds closest to the Cape Cod canal.
In this area wind gusts to hurricane force are possible. The
period of strongest winds should occur from around 8 PM Friday
into the predawn hours and then diminish toward Saturday morning.
Given trees remain fully leaved combined with heavy rainfall…
winds of this magnitude will easily be capable of Downing or
uprooting trees… especially across Cape Cod and the islands.
Therefore expect at least scattered power outages across Cape Cod
and Nantucket.

… Storm surge and storm tide…
with the present track projection and timing… storm surge
flooding is not a major concern along the Massachusetts coast. A
storm surge of 2 to 4 feet is possible along Nantucket Harbor…
the east side of Chatham… and the northeast facing coastline of
Martha/S Vineyard around the time of the Friday evening high tide.

Although a low risk at this time… more serious coastal flooding
could occur Friday night in Wellfleet and Provincetown Harbor…
if Earl should track farther west and pass very near the Outer
Cape. However this closer track is not expected at this time.

… Inland flooding…
the axis of heaviest rainfall is expected across far southeast
Massachusetts including the cape and islands. 2 to 4 inches of
rain are possible… with isolated amounts up to 6 inches. Much of
this rain may fall in a 6 hour period late Friday into Friday
night… which would be enough to produce urban and poor drainage
flooding along with areas of minor small stream flooding. The
axis of heaviest rainfall is track dependent and could shift
depending on the eventual track of Earl.

… Rip currents…
high surf and dangerous rip currents will continue into Friday
across the southeast Massachusetts shoreline. This includes Cape
Cod… Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard. The worst of these dangerous
beach conditions will be Friday as Hurricane Earl makes its
closest approach to southern New England. Earl will exit into the
Canadian Maritimes Saturday… however the southern New England
ocean waters will remain very turbulent into the weekend despite
improving weather conditions. Therefore expect high surf and
dangerous rip currents to persist into at least Saturday and then
slowly easing Sunday and especially Monday. Beach-goers should
check with local beach patrols and lifeguards before entering the
water. Swimming restrictions are likely with possible beach
closures Friday and possibly into Saturday. The most dangerous
surf conditions are expected at south and east facing ocean
exposed beaches.

GET THE LATEST REPORT, WARNINGS AND WATCHES FROM THE LINKS TO EACH CITY (AND SEARCH OTHER CITIES ON THOSE LANDING PAGES)

Video of storm that pounded Chicago, Elmhurst, Hillside, Westchester and other western suburbs especially hard Friday, as viewed from Payton Hill in Arlington Heights. Elmhurst and Westchester are on the horizon when the camera is panned left-center.

Video of intense electrical storm and rain storm that hit Chicago, Elmhurst and Westchester especially hard Friday night. By 11:30 p.m. underpasses were flooded, some as high as car roof tops in Elmhurst. Video shows intense cloud-to-ground lightning in the storm viewed from Payton Hill in northwest suburban Arlington Heights. About 7 inches of rain fell near O’Hare International Airport. Cloud-to-ground lightning visible is about 16 to 20 miles away to the south-southeast.

View Chicago Storm 7.23.2010 in a larger map
Google map of viewing vantage point and viewing field toward Elmhurst and Westchester.

iPhone screen shot about 11:30 pm. Friday, July 23, 2010, of storms in a line from Indiana to Iowa — passing Chicagoland just south of O’Hare International Airport and drifting north.

Airbus A380 at Farnborough Airshow 2010 Monday, July 20, 2010.

Farnborough International Airshow
The Farnborough International Airshow is a seven-day international trade fair for the aerospace business which is held biennially in Hampshire, England. The airshow is organised by Farnborough International Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of British aerospace industry’s body the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) to demonstrate both civilian and military aircraft to potential customers and investors. It (along with the Paris Air Show) is an important event for the aerospace industry particularly for the announcement of new developments and orders.

There are four indoor exhibition halls and an outdoor aircraft static display. Demonstrations flights and a flying display are held each day of the show. On the last two days the general public are admitted, and some non-commercial items are added to the static and flying displays. Since 1996, the show has had its own official radio station operated by the staff and students of near-by Farnborough College of Technology. In 2004 there were more than 1,300 exhibitors and 150,000 trade visitors.

Initially an annual event, in 1962 the air show changed to its present biennial format. The second change was that it became an international event with exhibitors from all over the world, the exception, until recently, being those countries from behind the Iron Curtain. It is currently held at Farnborough Airfield in mid July in every even numbered year, alternating with the Paris Air Show and is therefore held in the same years as the Berlin Air Show (ILA).

The Farnborough Airshow has its origins in the annual RAF Airshow at Hendon (1920–1937) and was established by the Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC), which had been founded in 1916. The SBAC held a small exhibition at Hendon on 27 June 1932 as the show-piece for the British aircraft industry, at which 35 aircraft were exhibited by 16 companies. With a break for World War II the show recommenced at Radlett (the site of Handley Page’s airfield) in 1946 and was held there until 1948 when the show moved to its present location of Farnborough home of the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Hampshire, approximately 30 miles south west of central London. The headquarters of the UK’s principal aerospace firm, BAE Systems, is also in Farnborough.

Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. The largest passenger airliner in the world, the A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France, and made its first commercial flight on 25 October 2007 from Singapore to Sydney with Singapore Airlines. The aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX during much of its development phase, but the nickname Superjumbo has since become associated with it.

The A380′s upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage, and its width is equivalent to that of a widebody aircraft. This allows for an A380-800′s cabin with 5,146 square feet (478.1 m2) of floor space; 49% more floor space than the next-largest airliner, the Boeing 747-400 with 3,453 square feet (320.8 m2), and provides seating for 525 people in a typical three-class configuration or up to 853 people in all-economy class configurations. The postponed freighter version, the A380-800F, is offered as one of the largest freight aircraft, with a payload capacity exceeded only by the Antonov An-225. The A380-800 has a design range of 15,200 km (8,200 nmi), sufficient to fly from New York to Hong Kong for example, and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h or 560 mph at cruising altitude).

VIDEO: Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flying over Toys “R” Us.

The term “black helicopter” is often used to describe conspiracy theories in general, and is often used jokingly to respond to someone who says something with a tone of conspiracy. For example, when someone makes a statement of paranoia about the government watching or following our every moves, the response might be, “You’ve been seeing ‘Black Helicopters’ again?”

On Tuesday, June 29, 2010 a dark or black helicopter was circling the area west of Golf and Meacham in Schaumburg. The helicopter, which appeared to be a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, also appeared to be doing touch-and-go landings at the Schaumburg Municipal Helipad behind John Barleycorn and Toys “R” Us. No markings were visible on the helicopter.

“Black helicopters” is a term which became popular in the United States militia movement and its associated political circles in the 1990s as a symbol and warning sign of an alleged conspiratorial military takeover of the United States. Rumors would circulate that, for instance, the United Nations patrolled the US with unmarked black helicopters, or that federal agents used black helicopters to enforce wildlife laws. The concept springs from the basic truth that many government agencies and corporations do use helicopters, and that some of these helicopters are dark-colored or black. For instance, dark-colored military helicopters were deployed in the standoff at Ruby Ridge. Earlier tales from the 1970s linked them with UFO conspiracy theories.

The concept of ‘black helicopters’ was first popularized in the early 1990s by Mark Koernke, also known as “Mark from Michigan”, in appearances on Tom Valentine’s radio show and in public speeches which were widely circulated on videocassette, and shortly thereafter by Linda Thompson in her film America Under Siege. In Alex Jones’ film Police State 2000 unmarked black helicopters are shown flying low in surprise urban warfare training missions with Delta Force operators and foreign troops.

Jim Keith wrote two books on the subject: Black Helicopters Over America: Strikeforce for the New World Order (1995), and Black Helicopters II : The End Game Strategy (1998).

Media attention to black helicopters increased in February 1995, when first-term Republican northern Idaho Representative Helen Chenoweth charged that armed federal agents were landing black helicopters on Idaho ranchers’ property to enforce the Endangered Species Act. “I have never seen them,” Chenoweth said in an interview in The New York Times. “But enough people in my district have become concerned that I can’t just ignore it. We do have some proof.” Chenoweth made the charges at a press conference without ever consulting with the Department of the Interior.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which enforces the act, says that they do not own any helicopters nor have ever used them in Idaho. The only green and black military helicopters known to be used in Idaho are used by the National Guard.

The black helicopters theory resonates well with the belief held by some in the militia movement that troops from the United Nations might invade the United States. The John Birch Society published an article in The New American detailing how the existence of the covert aircraft was mostly the product of possible visual errors and a tendency towards overboard caution.

Reported uses of black, dark or unmarked helicopters:
Black helicopters without FAA-required running lights are regularly used by the drug interdiction office of the DEA. In addition, most U.S. Army helicopters (such as the Black Hawk or UH-60 Blackhawk) are finished in a very dark chocolate or olive matte paint.

At least some sightings of black helicopters are very likely to have been helicopters on exercises and/or missions. Some of them are flown by units of the Army National Guard and are actually black (not dark olive or chocolate brown) when seen in ordinary light. The Department of Homeland Security operates a dozen black-and-gold UH-60 Blackhawk under the US Customs Service. The American military does in fact operate helicopters painted in black or dark colors, particularly the Pave Low which is optimized for long-range stealthy insertion and extraction of personnel, including combat search and rescue.

U.S. Army and National Guard helicopters painted olive drab will appear to be black in the reddish light of dawn or dusk, or under other low light conditions during the day when their shadow side is viewed against the sky with the naked eye. The Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment use helicopters primarily painted black.

The U.S. Army regularly conducts both exercises and operational missions in American airspace. Some of these exercises have taken place in densely populated cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, San Francisco, Oakland and Washington, D.C. Most operational missions are tasked in narcotics interdiction in the American Southwest and out of Florida and Puerto Rico. By extensive use of IR, Radar, GPS and night vision devices, as well as other classified means, they are able to fly in zero visibility conditions with no running lights. At this high intensity level of operation, training is necessarily almost as dangerous to pilots, other air traffic, and the public as actual combat. Frequent practice is necessary to retain proficiency. Frequent practice results in frequent sightings by concerned members of the public.

The UH-60 entered service with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division in June 1979. The U.S. military first used the UH-60 in combat during the invasion of Grenada in 1983, and again in the invasion of Panama in 1989. During the Gulf War in 1991, the UH-60 participated in the largest air assault mission in U.S. Army history with over 300 helicopters involved. In 1993, Black Hawks featured prominently in the assault on Mogadishu in Somalia. Black Hawks also saw action in the Balkans and Haiti in the 1990s. UH-60s continue to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A variation of the UH-60 is the two-tone painted VH-60N, which transports the President of the United States.

At 10:21 UTC on 04/05/2010 one of the final four Space Shuttle missions lifted off for Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Space Shuttle Discovery and her crew of 7 will be bringing Leonardo to the International Space Station for a two week and three EVA stay. This is the HD Ascent video as seen on Spacevidcast in the live HD channel.

Great video of the space shuttle launch on April 5, 2010 — the last pre-dawn space shuttle launch.

Read more from The Cardinal …

The National Weather Service at 10:40 a.m. Saturday issued a Frost Advisory for late tonight, early tomorrow morning. The latest day on record to fall to 32°F is May 25, 1992. The latest day to fall below 32°F is May 21, 2002 when the temperature fell to 31°F.

URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1040 AM CDT SAT MAY 8 2010

…FROST ADVISORY LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY SUNDAY MORNING…

.COLD AIR WILL SETTLE OVER NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST
INDIANA TODAY. A LARGE HIGH WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL ILLINOIS BY
SUNDAY MORNING. THE WIND IS FORECAST TO DECREASE TO LIGHT AND
VARIABLE BY SUNDAY MORNING ACROSS THE REGION. THE SKY IS EXPECTED
TO CLEAR BY MORNING SO FROST IS POSSIBLE WITH SOME ISOLATED
FREEZING TEMPERATURES EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.

Here are some low temperatures expected tonight …
Arlington Heights 37°F at 4:00 a.m.
Aurora 35°F at 4:00 a.m.
DeKalb 37°F at 4:00 a.m.
Kankakee 38°F at 4:00 a.m.
Lake Geneva, WI 34°F at 4:00 a.m.
Rockford 36°F at 4:00 a.m.
St. Charles 35°F at 4:00 a.m.
West Chicago 35°F at 4:00 a.m.
Wheeling 37°F at 4:00 a.m.