The Front Porch

[Trevor]

That was pretty much the scene for Hurricane Elvis back in 2003 in Memphis. Roofs ripped off, power poles snapped and dangling, etc. See my post in the Severe Wx thread for more info.

[Eric]

I assume most of you can see through internet scams, but just a heads up that a variation of the Nigerian Prince scam is now going around. This is just a portion of a letter I got in my inbox. Ironically, this guy was stupid enough not to change continents. 

I've resigned myself to believing that anyone who actually falls for such a scam deserves what he gets.  Or, in this case, loses.

[Localonthe8s]

That was pretty much the scene for Hurricane Elvis back in 2003 in Memphis. Roofs ripped off, power poles snapped and dangling, etc. See my post in the Severe Wx thread for more info.

hurricane elvis? Memphis? Lol sry couldn't be more fitting :'p but really we could get a repeat tonight

[Trevor]

Yeah, lol. The Memphis TV stations started using that term, because it really wasn't a hurricane, just a derecho that packed winds of 100+ MPH.

[Localonthe8s]

I got my power back!!!!

[WeatherWitness]

Wow, the NWS is really me off right now.  I am trying to go the local forecast pages, and all I get is this error message:

Array ( 0 => Could not connect to host server: mysqlread.md.nids.noaa.gov Can't connect to MySQL server on 'mysqlread.md.nids.noaa.gov' (4) )

Frustrating.

[Trevor]

There looks to be a server error. No warnings are being shown on the big map right now either.

[Mr. Rainman]

It's down for all local pages. Grand Forks is putting up an error message as well.

[Zach]

This is what happens whenever too many people try to access the NWS for local weather simultaneously.. it happens mostly in major weather situations. Right now there are both severe weather potentials up for the country and a major heatwave going on for 50%+ of the country. I would wait another 15-30 minutes before trying to access because when so many try to get onto a server that's down, it can push back the recovery time.

[Zach]

Just caught the Chicago radar go into "Clear Air" mode when there's obviously activity on the radar

First image is the latest composite (in "Clear Air" mode) and the latter image is the latest base image not in "Clear Air" mode.

[Austin M.]

Wow, the NWS is really me off right now.  I am trying to go the local forecast pages, and all I get is this error message:

Array ( 0 => Could not connect to host server: mysqlread.md.nids.noaa.gov Can't connect to MySQL server on 'mysqlread.md.nids.noaa.gov' (4) )

Frustrating.

I hate it when webpages in an error state display information like that to the public. Just that database name could open it up as a target for hackers to get into the mainframe.

[TWCCraig]

Ugh... NOAA and the NWS are having so many server problems right now. I can't even access the GOES project science satellite imagery. 

[Stephen]

I hate it when webpages in an error state display information like that to the public. Just that database name could open it up as a target for hackers to get into the mainframe.

Not really. A database name alone isn't exactly a vital piece of information that a hacker could use. I'm sure, also, as a governmental entity, that their site is pretty secure and safe from hackers. A hacker would need a lot more than just a database name to compromise the site.

[Localonthe8s]

I don't knwo what you're talking about. I was on NWS's site numerous times after the storm and never once encountered a problem. Maybe it's a regional error?

[Zach]

I don't knwo what you're talking about. I was on NWS's site numerous times after the storm and never once encountered a problem. Maybe it's a regional error?

Maybe because the posts from above were during the storms?

I hate it when webpages in an error state display information like that to the public. Just that database name could open it up as a target for hackers to get into the mainframe.

Not really. A database name alone isn't exactly a vital piece of information that a hacker could use. I'm sure, also, as a governmental entity, that their site is pretty secure and safe from hackers. A hacker would need a lot more than just a database name to compromise the site.

I agree with you, Stephen. For a government site, it would be difficult to compromise, and only bringing down the database would do less harm than gaining FTP access and adding malware.*

*This post isn't meant to endorse such action.