Tropical Storm Rafael Still Going Strong & Felix Baumgartner

Rafael is a strong tropical storm, still expected to become a Hurricane as he moves slowly to the NNW at 9 mph. He is still forecast to become a hurricane sometime later today.

What is interesting to mention is that Rafael has a very, very long tail and it is STILL raining in parts of the Leeward Islands. These strong rains can produce mudslides, flash floods and life threatening conditions...so although the center of Rafael has moved to the north "weather" is still happening in the Northern Islands. More so ... dangerous rip currents at the beach are a problem as the perception that the storm is gone persists and people don't take the proper precautions at the beach. These squalls can also have a big impact in the boating/sailing community.

This image at Noon on Monday shows a strong red line of squalls going through the islands as I type this post, while people in Bermuda look forward to stronger surf and feeling some wind from Rafael as she moves to the right of the island.



Note the NHC will not give up the ghost of him becoming a Hurricane... this is the discussion at 11AM. That's the same thing they said last night at 11PM by the way. He has a lot of shear to deal with, but he is moving slow enough over warm water and should be able to achieve Hurricane status.

""BULLETIN
TROPICAL STORM RAFAEL ADVISORY NUMBER 12
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL172012
1100 AM AST MON OCT 15 2012

...RAFAEL EXPECTED TO BECOME A HURRICANE LATER TODAY...
...TROPICAL STORM WARNING ISSUED FOR BERMUDA..."
Please note the area behind Rafael that may or may not develop, but it maintains it's color well and that's a good sign. Currently the NHC is not discussing it, but they may add it in to the Tropical Update if it hangs in there and continues to look like a player.

Not much to say here as he is just a tropical entity ... not the prettiest storm we have have had but a storm none the less and as we segue into winter that is interesting and worth noting.

Also worth noting, long range models show a tropical cyclone of some sorts IN THE GULF around Halloween. That's very far out... but it's worth watching the trend and seeing if it continues. It's also worth watching any westbound tropical wave that gets into the area that could develop later and/or any area in the SW Caribbean that looks like it's wants to go north. The Gulf of Mexico and Florida are on the wrong side of the fronts this time of year... if something forms... the front pulls it in, sucks it in... grabs it and slings it across Florida and or Alabama/Mississippi. A lot depends on how the weather plays out the next week or so to see if this long range forecast will play out in reality.

That's it for now... not much else to say on Rafael.

As for other world events...

Yeah, the sky diving from outer space was wild... mesmerizing.
I thought it would be interesting to post his biography here so that you can see a bit beyond the surface as to where this man came from ...and who he was before he became a man who flies through space and lands as if it was some sort of James Bond movie stunt or Superman flying, fast down to earth to save Lois from Lex Luthor's latest scheme.

Official bio link from the Red Bull site:

http://www.redbullstratos.com/about-felix/felix-baumgartner-pilot-biography/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Baumgartner  <--- less official bio with lots of information

For a friend of mine who loves to do Weather Astrology and who reads me regularly, I'm going to add in a few thoughts of my own from an astrological forecast. Now, you may think that's crazy, but I'm a Capricorn who kind of thinks jumping out of a balloon is a bit crazy ;) but I watched so I hope you will read along.

Astrological Chart for Felix Baumgartner

He has an interesting chart. Predictably he is a late degree Aries with his Venus in Aries showing he really knows himself well and does what he loves and he loves adventure. Add in Mars in Sagittarius who loves to travel, take chances and experience life it is not surprising he would jump out of a plane. Note...not one planet in cautious Capricorn. He has a what is called a "Finger of God" also known as a "YOD" which is shown in green in the image above. It is a VERY RARE astrological aspect and almost looks like a green parachute on it's site. His Neptune in Scorpio aspects his conjunction in Pluto of Jupiter and Pluto (both blow things up in BIG larger that life ways" closely aspecting Uranus in Libra at Zero Degrees.. they point to the apex of the the Yod... Saturn in Aries. This is a man who loves danger, loves pushing the edge, taking chances and yet who does so carefully, methodically in a very Virgo like manner. My strongest memories of the jump was his going through his long check list number by number before "taking his leap" down, down to Planet Earth. His moon is in Gemini and he is indeed in love with being in the air... the flow of the air..the feel of air. His sun on the Cusp of Aries and Taurus shows his interest in sky diving... taking chances...in the air...going back down to earth.

Without his time of birth, which I believe is a little later.. I did a 6am chart... either way he's born on the Cusp of Aries and Taurus... cusp babies always have both signs mixed in them...this cusp in particular is very interesting with his mercury in Taurus and his Venus in Aries. He talks practically, logically about his love of adventure...

As an old friend always said... it's always in the aspects. IF Felix was a Hurricane.. he'd have been a Category 5 Hurricane and not one that danced wildly out at sea, but a real Cape Verde Storm most likely bound for Florida and places beyond.

His birthday is very close to my husbands, a way different year. I know that mindset well in that we can be at a beach and I am staring at the waves, the sky, the water, the foam and the shells on the edge of that place between water and earth... in love with every drop of water in every form as befits my double, grand harmonic water trine and I'll hear him say "Wow, I'd like to do that!"   I pull myself out of my reverie and notice he's pointing to some guy up in the air, hanging from a string doing Kite Surfing. To be honest, I barely noticed the kite surfer gliding through the sky across Biscayne Bay, how could I? I never take my eyes of Biscayne Bay..or any bay.

Also, worth noting... 1969 is a very cool year to be born. I know.. I dated a very nice, cool, interesting man who was born in 1969. He has that love of love, love of life, love of adventure and seeing things, going places... trying new things. Books have been written on 1969 from both a historical perspective and an astrological one... it was a wild year and just before that Summer of Love in America Felix was born, a baby in Austria... who ever thought he would jump out of a balloon from outer space in a spacesuit with a team of meteorologists on the ground watching along with his space team? Who knew? Maybe his mother knew...

So, that's my take on the tropics and the space story of the year so far... Felix jumping down to Planet Earth sponsored by Red Bull and watched by millions everywhere.

Thanks for reading and keep watching the tropics. It's not over til the models say it's over and the models do not say it's over.

Besos Bobbi

Ps... I bought this one:



and this one...



Let's see how they feel on me... I have such a problem wearing winter coats, being a Miami girl I like wearing sandals, I hate layers and they all feel so heavy. All I can think is if I fell in the pool I'd probably drown....go straight down... faster than Felix....but I need a winter coat so I ...sometimes a girl's got to do what she's got to do...