Hopefully that's covered by insurance

From the annals of awesome headlines: "Sinkhole swallows SUV as storms slam Wisconsin.

Not to be outdone, south Florida is getting hit by a storm of the non-LeBron variety in the form of (weak) Tropical Storm Bonnie. After it's through with Florida, the oil spill in the Gulf and New Orleans are next in line. Like enough bad things aren't happening there right now.

Vacation's all I ever wanted?

Tired of Grand Canyon? Do you think the Black Hills are dull? Is the beach too sandy? Then try a little storm chasing. That is sure to exciting. Unless it doesn't, you know, storm.

Not that it'll stop anybody

Well, the so-called "Climategate" "scandal" is over. Not that there was anything to it to begin with.

Not that it'll stop the usual suspects from doing what they do so well.

It's strange really, when you think about it. The east coast is in the midsts of a record-breaking heat wave and there's not much chatter about global cooling. But the east coast gets hit with a couple of blizzards and it's obviously because of global cooling. Funny how that happens.

Of course, it must be said that what happens in the eastern third of the U.S. one week in July is not the harbringer of global warming doom, just like the a snowstorm in Buffalo in January does not mean climate scientists are a bunch of liars. That's because weather is different from climate. Duh.

As for climate... dude, it's warming. Actual experts say so. Who are you going to believe? Peer-reviewed scientists or people who get their money from oil companies?

Inside the beast

Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers can be an addicting show, in part because of the force of nature and in part because the people in it are crazy. How crazy? Try this crazy. I might be a meteorologist, but I'm not big on, you know, sitting in a car while a tornado passes by overhead.

Heat wave of the century!

Not really. It was an ongoing joke when I lived and worked in the Midwest that every time a snowstorm hit the East Coast, that storm was the Storm of the Century! for that particular year. Big media types tend to live on the east coast, and of course it's happening to them, so therefore...

Well, there is one heck of a heat wave expected for the northeast this week, with temps in the low 100s possible. That might seem like nothing to someone in the desert Southwest, but with dew points in the low 70s as well, that means some pretty high heat indexes. The rest of the week doesn't look quite as hot, but it'll still be hot and humid, with highs in the 90s in many places.

If you're living or visiting the northeast, make sure to drink lots of water and find someplace cool to spend some time. Heat like this is a dangerous thing, and I would hate to have your face melt off like that dude of Raiders of the Lost Ark.