130 passengers on American Airlines Flight 1897 from San Antonio to Phoenix on Sunday (June 3rd) had a scary ride as their aircraft slammed head-on into a hail storm at 34,000 feet over South-Central New Mexico. Ultimately, this aircraft decided to make an emergency landing in El Paso - apparently using on-board instrumentation and a cockpit side-window to land since the windshield was shattered by golf-ball to tennis-ball size hail. A wide swath of thunderstorms - including severe weather - was occurring through West Texas and New Mexico through the afternoon and evening. The normal jet route would take the Airbus A319 airliner along the same route as the Interstate 10 through West Texas - but due to weather, it appears Air Traffic Control routed traffic above just west of Odessa, Texas to Carlsbad, New Mexico, to near Capitan, New Mexico. That's where the real trouble began. Attempting to avoid the strongest storms, the flight was routed over the Sierra Blanca mountain range north of Ruidoso, New Mexico, where - at first look on the radar - appears to show a decent break in the weather. A slight blip of rainfall on the above image is shown just ahead of the nose of the aircraft, but does not appear to be of much significance. Weather radar on-board the Airbus has not been released, but may have likely showed a different story. Here's what I found when I did some digging... As you can see, significant weather radar reflectivity is noted in at the same place as the first image - why the difference? This is because the first image (top-down look) showed "Base Reflectivity" - the scan of the radar at the lowest level. The cross-section image shows the entire storm, and is likely to show a bit more of what the on-board weather radar would have shown, although it is possible that the frequency may have been attenuated (degraded by heavy precipitation) at some point - or the angle at which the airplane radar was broadcasted did not solicit correct feedback returns. From the looks of things based on the top-down view and base-reflectivity imagery, this route appears to be the best way around a long line of storms. However - the atmospheric cross-section above proved that this was one of the worst places to cross. Unfortunatly, this part of New Mexico is plagued by some radar dead-spots. It's rural, and the nearest radar (Alamogordo) sits on the west side of a mountain while this aircraft was approaching from the east - and the weather was on this east side of the mountain - making it a bit more difficult to "see". The next nearest radar on the east side of the mountain (Clovis, New Mexico) is about 120 miles from the site of the incident. This is much further away than the Alamogordo radar (only 45 miles away), but due to terrain and the radar scan tilt at that distance, it actually captured a better view of the storm. This base-reflectivity, top-down radar image (above) shows a different story.
Why did Air Traffic route this aircraft into a hail storm? How come the pilots didn't "see" this weather and avoid it? The investigation will likely tell on this one, but it certainly wouldn't have been my advice. Fortunately, a miraculous landing in El Paso with little visibility out of a shattered windshield concluded this flight - nothing less than expert piloting figuring that one out.
Who is this guy? Like just about everyone else that does a double-take the first time they see Chito, I didn’t know what exactly to think. My first impression, however, was nothing further from the truth.
Jose Angel “Chito” Martiarena – a Del Rio native often seen pushing a train of children’s wagons with flashy balloons and road cones attached to a lawnmower down Veteran’s Boulevard, continues to inspire me. Before you read any further, you have to watch this 9-minute video from the Texas Country Reporter.
He inspires us to give our time, effort, talents, and passions to our community, simply because it’s our home. He inspires us to embody and encourage hard work and sense of duty over laziness and irresponsibility. “Entitlement” doesn’t exist in Chito’s vocabulary, even though he has that right more than most of us. Chito exemplifies how priorities should be arranged in life – family, community…and lastly – himself. He is the epitome of a dedicated, hard worker – not because it results in personal gain, but because it’s just the right thing to do. It’s not about glory, wealth, or even long-lasting health for Chito – it’s about using the gifts God gave him at their max potential solely for the purpose of making a difference here in Del Rio. Chito has taught me more about life than any life-skills coach could ever teach me, and yet he hasn’t spoken a distinguishable word to me.
If you’re interested in supporting Chito, he’s not hard to find. Look for the trail of wagons attached to an old lawnmower with a bunch of balloons and road cones. Tell him you appreciate him, thank him, pat him on the back, and spend a moment or two talking to him (and he’ll understand you). Chito gives it all for Del Rio, the least Del Rio can do for him is offer their gratitude (and a bottle of water, perhaps). -Dan Del Rio Texas - It’s Watermelon Time! Summer Melon Business Booms For Local Farmers, Vendors6/8/2017
It’s June in South-Central Texas, and local watermelon farmers in Quemado, a small town between Del Rio and Eagle Pass along Highway 277 and the Rio Grande, are harvesting sweet, savory melons by the ton.
It’s always about this time of year that local vendors park their pick-up trucks loaded with melons along the busy roadways of Del Rio. If you’re like me, you drive past them every day and wonder who they are and how they make a living selling giant fruit on the side of the road.
Well, curiosity finally reeled me in when I was thinking of my next article to write about the unique and awesome culture of Del Rio. I decided to interview a couple of these local vendors to get a better idea of what exactly I’ve been missing on my way home from work every day this week.
I didn’t really need to send any formal invitation for an interview – I just happened to pull off Highway 90 near the Del Rio Middle School and end up at Dionisio’s watermelon truck. Dionisio has lived in Del Rio since 1957, originally growing up outside of Acuña. He sells his watermelons for anywhere between $3 and $5, depending on the size, and has been selling them for about seven years. Dionisio fills his truck, equipped with a camper-top, full of melons for $390 from a farm in Quemado. When I asked him how much money he made from his sales, he replied, “Not much…but it [gives me] something to do”. Although not a man of many words, Dionisio explained that weekdays are not as good for business as weekends are. “If they stop [to purchase a melon], they stop. Otherwise they keep going,” he remarked as we watched rush hour resume on the highway, closing in on 5:00 PM.
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Learning how to prepare the food you’ve raised should also be free, she said. “It’s something that used to be passed down from generation to generation,” she commented as she reflected on receiving a notebook of gardening tips and tricks from her grandfather who farmed through parts of Texas in the years past – a notebook that she’s used personally, with a team of volunteers, to transform a vacant lot near San Felipe Creek into a beautiful arrangement of vegetable plants, new saplings, and flowers.
“We have a Farmer’s Market on the first Saturday of every month,” said Maria. “We need more vendors and local farmers, it’s a free gathering place.”
The Del Rio Community Garden is part of the Del Rio Parks Foundation – a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to enriching the quality of life for the community through the development of outdoor park and recreational spaces in the City of Del Rio. If you are interested in becoming involved with this organization, visit their website at http://delrioparksfoundation.com/ and follow their various Facebook pages at Del Rio Parks Foundation, Del Rio Community Garden, and Del Rio Community Garden Volunteers. Article written by Dan Schreiber.
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