The Weather Thread

[1moretimeagain]

My son's friend had just moved to Camelot Village the end of June. Somehow putting nothing but roofs in the Blue Zone (flood plain/swamp) was according to the planning department the best way to get density near the major traffic corridor. Oops.

Wow. That is significant.

 

[SmilingJack]

This has happened to Camelot Village about every three years since I got to town in 1981. Supposedly it used to be worse but JP Goforth did a concrete ditch or something when he did the Oaks S/D.
ETA the lowest spot in Chapel Hill is the duck pond behind the Rainbow Soccer fields. There's a lift pump there to pump the poop to Finley.

 

[1moretimeagain]

Google AI says the 1932 flood only resulted in 7 deaths. Maybe the area wasn’t very populated.

 

[donbosco]

 

[doctor_octopus]

Walked down to Bynum yesterday. Highest I've ever seen the water, and I've been down there several times a week for the last ten years.

 

[altmin]

Ted Cruz ensured Trump spending bill slashed weather forecasting funding

Senator on vacation abroad while Texas was hit by deadly floods, a disaster worsened by forecasting cuts, critics say

www.theguardian.com

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Senator on vacation abroad while Texas was hit by deadly floods, a disaster worsened by forecasting cuts, critics say

Oliver Milman
Mon 7 Jul 2025 18.53 EDT
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Ted Cruz has had quite a week. On Tuesday, the Texas senator ensured the Republican spending bill slashed funding for weather forecasting, only to then go on vacation to Greece while his state was hit by deadly flooding, a disaster critics say was worsened by cuts to forecasting.

Cruz, who infamously fled Texas for Cancun when a crippling winter storm ravaged his state in 2021, was seen visiting the Parthenon in Athens with his wife, Heidi, on Saturday, a day after a flash flood along the Guadalupe River in central Texas killed more than 100 people, including dozens of children and counselors at a camp.


The Greece trip, first reported by the Daily Beast, ended in time for Cruz to appear at the site of the disaster on Monday morning to decry the tragedy and promise a response from lawmakers.


...

But before his Grecian holiday, Cruz ensured a reduction in funding to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (Noaa) efforts to improve future weather forecasting of events that cause the sort of extreme floods that are being worsened by the human-caused climate crisis.

Cruz inserted language into the Republicans’ “big beautiful” reconciliation bill, prior to its signing by Donald Trump on Friday, that eliminates a $150m fund to “accelerate advances and improvements in research, observation systems, modeling, forecasting, assessments, and dissemination of information to the public” around weather forecasting.

A further $50m in Noaa grants to study climate-related impacts on oceans, weather systems and coastal ecosystems was also removed. Cruz was contacted by the Guardian with questions about these cuts and his trip to Greece.

 

[Icky Mettle]

Do you live anywhere near St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church? That place is awesome. One Sunday afternoon after the local PBS station aired a special about it, I drove over to see it and take some photos. Shortly after my arrival, a guy walked over from a neighboring house and I immediately mentioned the PBS special and added that I had no idea something like this was even in Charlotte. He smiled, identified himself as the Treasurer of St. Nektarios, and said, "Would you like to see the inside?" And it is more impressive inside than it is outside.

No, I looked it up (I hadn’t heard of it before your post), and that’s pretty far from me. I’m a couple blocks away from Park Road Shopping Center.

 

[altmin]

That state and local officials did nothing about Camp Mystic after the 1987 flood was bad enough, but if this summer camp is rebuilt and reopened it will be even more criminal and negligent if local, state, and federal officials do nothing to ensure that the camp is built on higher ground, away from and well above the floodplain. Sadly, I'm guessing that officials will continue to do nothing to prevent this camp or anyone else from building in the floodplain or dangerous areas.

I think the owner has been confirmed dead in the flood, so looks like it will be a decision for the new owners.

 

[uncsig]

I think the owner has been confirmed dead in the flood, so looks like it will be a decision for the new owners.

Generationally owned. Dick Eastland, the owner who died, was the son of the previous owner. His and his wife's children are all involved in various aspects of the Camp ownership/management.

Believe there is less than a 5% chance the camp will be rebuilt.

 

[donbosco]

hawriverballroom

Just so everyone knows - and because we are getting so many concerned calls and emails and texts (which we deeply appreciate all you sweet people ) The Ballroom, and all the upper mill businesses have not been affected by the flood - we are fine and our power is on ——however the lower parts of the Rivermill, including @haw_river_canoe_kayak @paperhandpuppet @thebridgewellnesscenter @saxapahawcampground and some cottages and apartments have been flooded at different levels of severity - the bridge is closed - and much of Sax doesn’t have power - (if you need to charge anything come to @cup22sxphw and plug in!) there is a community meeting at 3 o’clock for anyone who wants to join in who needs help or can help —link in bio for the zoom for that meeting. Thanks everyone for your love and care!!!