Midwest flooding still going strong, worse than predicted, California baking in the heat.

"Amid the battle to hold back the swollen Mississippi River, some towns in northeastern Missouri and Illinois got an unwelcome surprise Saturday as river levels rose higher than projected.
National Weather Service meteorologist Ben Miller speculated that forecast models simply had been unable to account for the amount of water flowing into the Mississippi from the three rivers that saw major flooding in Iowa - the Cedar, Iowa and Des Moines rivers.
"Honestly, the models didn't do well with it because it was so far out of the range of normal," Miller said." LINK

And out on the West coast,

"On the second official day of summer and the fourth consecutive day of the heat wave, hundreds of thousands of Angelenos flocked to city pools and beaches as temperatures rose to triple digits in many areas.
...The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had 50 crews working to restore power to about 4,000 customers in North Hollywood, Canoga Park, Reseda, Northridge and other areas.
..."This is a combination of extreme heat and, consequently, extraordinary demands for energy and a strain on our system," Ramallo said. Officials urged people to avoid running major appliances in the afternoon, when energy demand is highest, and to keep thermostats at 78 degrees." LINK

And more wildfires, too!
"Wildfires were scattered around Northern California on Sunday, many of them started by lightning, as crews farther south were close to containing a blaze that had forced thousands to evacuate." LINK

About 1 out of every 300 people in the US lost power in the ice storm. Wow.

Ok, is my math off on this? This is astonishing. The ice storm has knocked out power to

135,000 homes and businesses in New York and New Hampshire
312,000 homes and businesses in Missouri
112,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma
127,000 homes and businesses in Michigan
---------
686,000 homes and businesses

Assuming (roughly) 2 people per domicile, so roughly 1.2 million people, that's (roughly) 1 out of every 300 Americans who are sitting in the dark right now. That's some kick-ass weather.

The Ice storm's US death toll at 30 now.

"A state of emergency has been declared and the National Guard called out in Missouri after the storms knocked out power to 200,000 homes." LINK

Holy mackerel- the ice storm is epic.

This is a biggie- wow.
"NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FORT WORTH TX
330 PM CST FRI JAN 12 2007
...ICE STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO6 PM CST SUNDAY......MAJOR ICE STORM EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND..."

"Farther north, there can be some icing from eastern Kansas to Missouri and Illinois, including the city of Kansas City. Sunday into Monday, the threat for frozen precipitation will spread into Chicago, Detroit and Boston. Another story with this overall stormy pattern is the first true plunge of arctic air since the beginning of winter. Temperatures in parts of the northern Plains have dropped by as much as 50 degrees. The temperature in Grand Forks, N.D., reached 24°on Thursday; this morning it has plummeted to -18°. "
LINK