WEATHER BY THE NUMBERS

* 9 is how I would rate Alabama weather today (on a scale of zero to 10 with 10 the best) Just took a long walk with a certain little 9-pound friend, the brisk east wind and 39-degree dew point was perfection. It will not be long when it will be 90-something this time of day with a dew point about 74.

* 10 is the latest confirmed death toll at Greensburg, Kansas from their super powerful (EF5) tornado. A town policeman was taken off life support today right after his daughter was married in his hospital room. A movie will have to be made about Greensburg later and, for sure, several books.

* 10 is how many counties were under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning late this afternoon. (6 in West Texas, 2 in NW Louisiana and 2 in SW Oklahoma). A Tornado Watch continues for parts of West Texas and a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Central and North Central Texas.

* 70 below zero was the temperature at Vostok Antarctica. It is autumn there now and winter is ahead.

* 12.20 inches is the 2007 rain shortfall at Birmingham Airport as of today. That is almost a 21/2 month’s supply.

* 30% is the official rain chance for Waycross, Georgia tomorrow. That is not much but Waycross is in the heart of the South Georgia wildfire country where more than 100,000 acres have been burned over.

* 742 is the numbers of tornadoes reported this year in the USA as of yesterday. That number will be adjusted after all the confirmations are complete. The final total is usually significantly lower than the preliminary numbers.

* 69 is the number of tornado deaths so far this year in the USA.

* 68 of those deaths occurred within and during a Tornado Watch. Excellent record.

* 1 is how many was outside a Tornado Watch. In fact, no watch was in effect for that fatality at Holly, in the east edge of Colorado on March 28.

* 81 degrees below zero is the lowest ever recorded for all of North America at Snag, Yukon. Have intended to write a feature story on that event for some time. Will do so soon. It is a very interesting story.

* 41% of the USA (not counting Alaska) drains into the Gulf of Mexico.

* 600,000 square miles is how big the Gulf of Mexico is.

* 643 quadrillion is how many gallons of water in the Gulf (estimated, of course)

* 26 was the low in Jefferson, N.C., this morning. It was 28 on Mount Mitchell, N.C.

* $200 Million is the estimated damage that Dallas-Fort Worth suffered during a super hailstorm on May 8 1981. It was the worst hailstorm in the Metroplex history. Grapefruit hail was accompanied by 100 MPH winds. Hail accumulated to a depth of 8 inches. This means that an unusually large number of windows were broken out of homes and other buildings because the 100 mph gusts would not let the hail fall straight down.

* 0 is how many times I have been to Dothan, Ala.

* 0 is how many college basketball games I have seen in person and it is my second favorite spectator sports event.

* 0 is how many poptarts, sausage balls and moon pies I have had this year. Life is getting dull.

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