Captain's Log 9 Aug '21 Hot & Dry with Tropical Storms!

Happy Monday! :)

It was a long 10 month process, but we are officially "LIVE FROM ONE BETHLEHEM PLAZA" in downtown Bethlehem, PA! We share some of the cool features of our new suite up on the 8th floor. Top Secret for now, but you'll likely see a lot of weathertrends360 in the weeks ahead. CLICK ON IMAGES FOR A LARGER VIEW.



We'd like to send a big THANK YOU to the teams that worked hard over the past months to make our new home a reality. The construction team from Shields Construction, feels like Ed, Rob and team are practically family - we'll miss seeing you! The folks at Gola were instrumental in helping us navigate all the moving parts every week - big thanks to Kim and Shane. The building owners with Diversified Capital really bent over backwards supporting our crazy ideas, we are so thrilled to be "Live from One Bethlehem Plaza" - thank you Bryce, Jack and Aron.



Lyndsay, Ken and Chuck at Corporate Environments helped design a super creative furniture plan....and did we say we have a rolling white board and chair covered in fake grass! :) Dawn with Baglivo Associates architects REALLY listened to the vision we had for our new environment. Sabrina with Mission Plant helped us with the vision of brining the outdoors inside with trees and shrubs throughout the office. Bringing the outdoors inside was a big consideration and it wouldn't have been possible without Mark from Artificial Sky. Adding an LED video wall brought it all together - a big thank you to Chuck and Greg with Worship Productions. So many other folks to thank, but tomorrow we have local famous photographer Frank Smith's artwork going up as wall-to-wall murals as you enter our office. Again - a big THANK YOU.



This week (9-15 Aug) heats up after a cool week last week...and it heat's up a lot! For the U.S. overall, the week looks to trend +0.8F warmer than last year making this the warmest 2nd week of August in 34 years, 2nd hottest in over 36 years. The cool spots are very limited to the Southwest border areas. Rainfall is way down, 46% drier than last year, driest in 14 years and 2nd driest in 36 years for the U.S. overall.



While dry in the interior, we need start watching the Atlantic Basin as a tropical cycle is becoming very favorable for activity. This week we'll have Tropical Storm Fred (#6) heading in the general direction of Florida this weekend! The peak of the tropical season now through middle October will very likely be non-stop, so now is the time to insure you're ready in the Southeast with storm related merchandise. Florida remains our top pick for a couple direct hits.



Next Week (16-22 Aug) the hot/dry trends continue with the U.S. trending +0.4F warmer than last year, 5th warmest of the past 36 years. Dry, Dry, Dry overall with the U.S. trending the driest in 36 years with much below average national rainfall, 22% drier than last year.



The 2-week World aggregate (9-22 Aug) shows a generally warm pattern for much of the world.

We hope you have a great week, and don't forget to follow us on social media for updates: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Linkedin

- Captain Kirk out.