Is It Supposed to Rain This Weekend?

We’re not just chatting about the weather. I mean, we are…but there is also social commentary and a bit of moral outrage. This episode is longer than most because we left in more of the silliness. It felt called for.

REFERENCES

A warning for a tornado outbreak:

National Weather Service. “Summary of Significant Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Outbreak of March 14–15, 2025.” https://www.weather.gov/pah/Mar14-15_2025Severe

Footage of 18-wheelers getting blown off the road around Amarillo:

The Weather Channel. “Powerful Winds Flip Trucks, Cause Texas Pile-Ups” [YouTube video]. March 14, 025. https://youtu.be/r64Jn4F8lXU?si=zz1e1zIZje2kSkcN

The National Weather Service…

https://www.weather.gov/

...it’s part of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)…

https://www.noaa.gov/

…they are in the Department of Commerce:

https://www.commerce.gov/

In case you’re not that kind of engineer:

NOAA. “What is Bathymetry?” https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/bathymetry.html

NOAA was created in 1970:

NOAA. “NOAA Heritage.” Updated October 24, 2024. https://www.noaa.gov/heritage

One of two uniformed services:

Vergun, David. “What’s in a Name? Demystifying the Collective Services.” March 18, 2019. U.S. Department of Defense. https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/1787716/whats-in-a-name-demystifying-the-collective-services/

NOAA has their own small fleet of ships that do things like soundings:

NOAA. “Ships of NOAA.” https://www.omao.noaa.gov/marine-operations/ships-noaa

Is that why we have a surgeon general?!

Hutchison, Floyd. “Surgeon General of the United States.” January 17, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/surgeon-general-of-the-United-States

Ships no floaty no more:

BoaterExam.com “Running Aground (Ship Grounding).” https://www.boaterexam.com/boating-resources/running-aground/

We shouldn’t overlook tsunami warnings:

National Weather Service. “Understanding Tsunami Alerts.” https://www.weather.gov/safety/tsunami-alerts

With apologies to Mack, it is, indeed, the U.S. Geological Survey:

https://www.usgs.gov/

National Weather Service originally started as part of the Army Signal Corp:

NOAA Library. “U.S. Army Signal Corps/Weather Bureau Annual Reports, 1861–1942.” https://library.noaa.gov/weather-climate/wb-annual-reports

They took it from the Signal Corp to the Department of Agriculture:

Chapin, Brenda.  “Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin.” USDA. https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/weekly-weather-and-crop-bulletin

If you need a taco metaphor for the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning:

13 On Your Side. “Severe Weather Awareness Week: Differences Between a Watch and a Warning” [YouTube video]. March 18, 2025. https://youtu.be/lG5oIQD601w?si=0wqII507VeL_C592

Tornado emergency:

National Sever Storms Laboratory. “May 3, 1999 Oklahoma/Kansas Tornado Outbreak.” NOAA. https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/about/history/may3rd/

The Galveston hurricane, the deadliest weather event in U.S. history:

Weather Underground. “Hurricane and Tropical Cyclones.” Updated April 2007. https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/articles/deadliest-us-hurricanes

An excellent book, by the way:

Eric Larson. Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History. (Vintage Books, 2000).

Not to get into who was more at fault:

Edwards, Chris. “Hurricane Katrina: Remembering the Federal Failures.” August 27, 2015. CATO Institute. https://www.cato.org/blog/hurricane-katrina-remembering-federal-failures

Talking about storm surge:

NOAA. “Storm Surge Overview.” https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge

Katrina, offshore, was a category 5 but by the time it hit, it was category 3:

National Weather Service. “Extremely Powerful Hurricane Katrina Leaves a Historic Mark on the Northern Gulf Coast.” https://www.weather.gov/mob/katrina

The categories, in case you don’t know, are based on the wind speed:

National Weather Service. “Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.” https://www.weather.gov/mfl/saffirsimpson

Harvey was larger than Katrina in terms of breadth:

Texas Division of Emergency Management. “Hurricane Harvey DR 4332.” https://tdem.texas.gov/disasters/hurricane-harvey

They developed inside the flood control dams:

Satija, Neena, Collier, Kiah; and Shaw, Al. “Houston Officials Let Developers Build Homes Inside Reservoirs: But No One Warned Buyers.” October 12, 2017. The Texas Tribune. https://apps.texastribune.org/harvey-reservoirs/

Don’t go swimming in that water:

Coulson, Morgan. “The Visible and Unseen Dangers Lurking in Floodwater.” July 30, 2024. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/the-dangers-of-floodwater

Houston is a swamp:

Armstrong, Peter. “Houston Was Warned It Was a ‘Sitting Duck’ for Major Flood.” September 2, 2017. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/houston-flood-concrete-planning-1.4271740

By “long time” Steve means two years:

Texas A&M University. “Malaria in Texas: What You Need to Know.” July 7, 2023. https://stories.tamu.edu/news/2023/07/07/malaria-in-texas-what-you-need-to-know/

Right after a measles outbreak:

CDC. “Expanding Measles Outbreak in the United States and Guidance for the Upcoming Travel Season.” March 7, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/han/2025/han00522.html

In case you don’t know what mosquito fogging is:

CDC. “Truck Spraying.” https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/mosquito-control/truck-spraying.html

DOGE set its sights on the National Weather Service:

Bickerton, James. “DOGE Weather Balloon Cuts Spark Tornado Warning Alarm.” March 29, 2025. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/doge-weather-balloon-cuts-spark-tornado-warning-alarm-2052550

What does the National Weather Service do:

National Weather Service. “About the NWS.” https://www.weather.gov/about

Back in ye olden days, it was private fire fighters. It should be noted, though, that the London Fire Brigade takes umbrage with the notion that they would refuse to put out fires for nonpaying customers:

London Fire Brigade. “Early Fire Brigades.” https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/museum/history-and-stories/early-insurance-brigades-brigades/

Benjamin Franklin started the first citywide fire protection in the U.S.:

Hall of Flame. “Benjamin Franklin: Founding Father, Scientist…Firefighter?” https://hallofflame.org/benjamin-franklin/

The example of AT&T:

Waters, Jennifer. “AT&T Corporation.” Updated March 31,2025. Britannica Money. https://www.britannica.com/money/ATandT-Corporation

The community needs to thrive in order for members of the community at all levels to thrive:

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “Social and Community Context.” https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/social-and-community-context

One time when they backpedaled:

Kapur, Sahil; Alexandar, Peter; and Santaliz, Kate. “Trump Administration Rescinds Order Attempting to Freeze Federal Aid Spending.” Updated January 29, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-administration-rescinds-order-attempting-freeze-federal-aid-spen-rcna189852

The shocked Republicans:

Layne, Nathan and Michalska, Aleksandra. “DOGE Job Cuts Bring Pain to Trump Heartland.” March 8, 2025. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/doge-job-cuts-shake-trump-voting-west-virginia-town-2025-03-07/

Members of congress:

Tait, Robert. “Republican Backlash to Trump Tariffs Grows as Senate Rebels Decry ‘Bad Policy’.” April 3, 2025. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/03/republicans-rebuke-trump-tariffs-canada

Texas didn’t do that to public education or anything:

Edison, Jaden and Reid, Rob. “Texas Officials’ Claim That School Funding is At an All-Time High Ignores Inflation and Temporary Federal Money.” Updated April 1, 2025. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/28/texas-school-funding-explainer/

About that continuing resolution:

Freking, Kevin and Mascaro, Lisa. “Senate Approves Funding Bill Hours Before Shutdown Deadline, Sending to Trump for Signature.” Updated March 14, 2025. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-trump-gop-chuck-schumer-86385e644239a3dc1558b37d13094234

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was very straightforward:

Murray, Isabella. “‘Tremendous Mistake’: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Blasts Schumer Over GOP Funding Plan Vote.” March 14, 2025. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-blasts-schumer-gop-funding/story?id=119793415

Pelosi came out against Schumer:

Whisnant, Gabe and Aitken, Peter. “Nancy Pelosi Delivers Remarkable Rebuke to Chuck Schumer.” Updated March 14, 2025. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/nancy-pelosi-delivers-remarkable-rebuke-chuck-schumer-2045007

Division among the Democrats:

Brown, Matt. “Democrats Clashed Over Shutdown Strategy, But Part’s Crisis Runs Far Deeper.” March 19, 2025. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democrats-clashed-over-shutdown-strategy-but-partys-crisis-runs-far-deeper

Pritzker, the Governor of Illinois, put out a statement:

State of Illinois Newsroom. “Gov. Pritzker’s Statement on the Government Funding Bill in Congress.” March 14, 2025. https://gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/gov-pritzkers-statement-on-the-government-funding-bill-in-congress

The Republicans in 1994:

Kennedy, Lesley. “The 1994 Midterms: When Newt Gingrich Helped Republicans Win Big.” Updated March 2, 2025. History. https://www.history.com/articles/midterm-elections-1994-republican-revolution-gingrich-contract-with-america

A Manhattan:

https://www.liquor.com/recipes/manhattan-2/

An odd procedural anecdote of congress:

Erickson, Bo. “House Republicans Block Congress’ Ability to Challenge Trump Tariffs.” March 11, 2025. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/house-republicans-block-congress-ability-challenge-trump-tariffs-2025-03-11/

Pi Day:

Anderson, Curt. “What’s Pi Day All About? Math, Science, Pies, and More.” Updated March 14, 2024. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/pi-day-celebration-math-infinite-number-f426c8659529cb07655b5f07b99ce1dd

What’s an emergency:

Estreicher, Samuel and Babbitt, Andrew. “Are Tariffs an Emergency Power?” April 3, 2025. Lawfare. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/are-tariffs-an-emergency-power

Is time real:

Kuhn, Robert Lawrence. “The Illusion of Time: What’s Real?” August 26, 2022. Space. https://www.space.com/29859-the-illusion-of-time.html

We can talk proton decay if you want to:

Lincoln, Don. “Will Protons Last Forever? Why Scientists Are Searching for Signs of Decay.” November 5, 2024. Big Think. https://bigthink.com/hard-science/will-protons-last-forever-why-scientists-are-searching-for-signs-of-decay/

There’s a whole Orwellian angle:

Tavlin, Noah. “What ‘Orwellian’ Really Means” [YouTube video]. TED-Ed. https://youtu.be/oe64p-QzhNE?si=YQA8aPjpFuu09tEd

In fact, Indiana wanted to pass a law that pi is 3.2. Still wacky. Still bad rounding:

Gotsch, Nathan. “Pi Has An Amusing Footnote in Indiana History.” March 13, 2023. Indiana Capital Chronicle. https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2023/03/13/pi-from-the-sky/

Civics on the Rocks could not verify that in San Antonio it’s still on the books that it’s illegal to repair your own furniture.

But if you find something, let us know.

King Canute commanded the tide to stop:

Van Way III, Charles. “King Canute’s Court.” 2017. National Library of Medicine. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6140090/

Caligula ordered his soldiers to attack Neptune:

Meddings, Alexander. “Caligula–the Mad Emperor Who Declared War on the Sea.” Walks Inside Rome. https://www.walksinsiderome.com/blog/caligula-war-on-the-sea/

Indiana, in fact, wants R. Dean Taylor:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=xeUAxcQBup0&si=-YOH_0A361noDAyL

A classic geometric thing:

Ornes, Stephen. “Is It Actually Impossible to ‘Square the Circle’”? December 16, 2022. Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/is-it-actually-impossible-to-square-the-circle

Lots of people who are like no, it does not go at the same rate, at all:

Lasky, Ronald C. “Does Time Tick at the Same Rate for Everyone?” October 24, 2014. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-time-tick-at-the-same-rate-for-everyone/

“If I Could Save Time in a Bottle”—but The Muppets version:

https://youtu.be/vqUrxN0bo58?si=IjPwgQLcaUFe4DyB

Chicago doesn’t really know what time it is (nor do they really care):

https://youtu.be/9FzCWLOHUes?si=o9Igtl9LJzIPOejq

What does that have to with the price of eggs:

Yurkevich, Vanessa. “Egg Prices Are Falling. But There’s a Catch.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/02/business/egg-prices-fall-usda/index.html

If we’re talking bird flu, which can jump to human beings:

CDC. “H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation.” https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html

The American Poultry Association:

https://amerpoultryassn.com/

ConFORmation, not conFIRmation:

American Kennel Club. “Get Started in Conformation Dog Shows.” https://www.akc.org/sports/conformation/get-started/

The Poultry Grading Manual from the USDA:

https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/poultry-grading-manual

The Cornell Library, dear listener, remains intact:

https://www.library.cornell.edu/

If you would like to read about the namesake of the James E. Rice Memorial Poultry Library:

Cornell University Faculty Memorial Statement. “James Edward Rice” [PDF]. https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/eccc45f4-c6a2-4860-8e6e-4ad231fa307f/content

Good news, everyone, there’s still an American Standard of Perfection for Poultry. The latest revision was published in 2023:

https://amerpoultryassn.com/store/

American National Standards Institute:

https://www.ansi.org/

No relation to this podcast:

The Livestock Conversancy. “Dorking Chicken.” https://livestockconservancy.org/dorking-chicken/

Dark ‘n’ Stormy:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/222547/dark-n-stormy-cocktail/

Economic signs that boycotts are working:

Melville, Doug. “Do Boycotts Work? As Target’s Traffic Declines, Tesla and Others See Consumer Shifts.” March 17, 2025. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougmelville/2025/03/17/do-boycotts-work-as-targets-traffic-declines-tesla--others-see-shifts-with-consumers/

Tesla board members have been selling stock:

Rubin, Olivia and Zahn, Max. “Tesla Board Members, Executive Sell Off Over $100 Million of Stock in Recent Weeks.” March 8, 2025. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/tesla-board-members-executive-sell-off-100-million/story?id=119889047

Alternatives to Amazon for buying books:

https://bookshop.org/

https://www.thriftbooks.com/

This tariff thing:

McDonell, Stephen. “China and US Are At Each Other’s Throats on Tariffs, and Neither is Backing Down.” April 4, 2025. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4grlzegewno

The Great Depression:

Duignan, Brian. “Causes of the Great Depression.” June 29, 2018. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/story/causes-of-the-great-depression

Inflation is rising:

AP News. “Federal Reserve Chief Says Trump Tariffs Likely to Raise Inflation and Slow US Economic Growth” [Video].  April 4, 2025. https://apnews.com/video/federal-reserve-chief-says-trump-tariffs-likely-to-raise-inflation-and-slow-us-economic-growth-ad772b43acc64914b0e43aa1c8ed2701

And Captain Kangaroo was a children’s television show. But you already knew that. Maybe. How old are you?