Labor Day weekend, Birds of the World Exhibit at Houston Zoo | Forecasting with Friends

A little change all the time. When the weather is fine. Well the weather is fine for some in Houston today. For others, they're waking up to some showers. It's been hit or miss. Pretty much all week. I think what everybody can agree on is yes, you go through a round of storms, but then it cools you down a little bit. And that is very, very welcomed. At the end of August here in Southeast Texas. And it's a long holiday weekend, maybe some folks were sick today, you know, want to have four days off. I don't know, I'd be jealous of you if you did so, but good for you. If you do have those outdoor plans, you know the sun will be out. Maybe for a little bit, then some clouds, then some storms and sunny again. It's going to be one of those deals where it's really going to be isolated in nature. So you just have to be flexible with your plans. You know, I don't know if you joined us on the after show, but I was with Sally, Mac and Shelby Rose and they were like, it feels like every holiday weekend we have some sort of, you know, rain moving in or something like that. And, you know, yeah, that's going to be the case, but it's not going to be a complete washout, which I think is really good news. Now, some spots of the country might be seeing some storms pulse up. My brother lives in Minneapolis and he's texted me the last few days and he's like, there's been storms. He did have some tree damage to his roof because of the severe weather that rolled through, but then others are going to be all about the heat, and it's going to be a good time to go to the beach. So it really just depends on where you are. And we will have a friend joining us in just a bit. Hopefully soon here, who is in coastal Georgia. So talking about Labor Day, that domestic travel is actually up by 9% this weekend compared to just last year. Now. I mean, it makes sense. Maybe more people are going to be out and about triple A, is the one letting us know those statistics, but the cost to get out of town definitely could be a little bit more expensive. So I want to bring in our friend Chelsea Torres, who is live in Tybee Island, Georgia. First off, Chelsea, I am so jealous. I love Tybee Island. I have a sweatshirt that says Tybee Island on it, so I wish I could be wearing it with you. But from afar. What are people saying? Are they excited to be traveling this Labor Day season? Allison, I can tell you this since you've been here, you know what the weather feels like. And honestly, it feels a lot like in Galveston. It's humid and it's hot, and that's exactly how it's been all morning today. But a lot of travelers are telling me that really budget was top of mind when they thought about heading out for Labor Day weekend. But also, budget has been top of mind when they had any trips planned for the entire summer. Triple A says that travel costs, though, are down 2% this year than they are compared to years. Last. I spoke to a managing editor from The Points Guy, a travel website, and they say that people are really more conscious of travel costs this year than they have been in years past. They say inflation caused several people to actually rethink their travel plans, which the points Guy says brought on more hotel and even airline deals. NerdWallet says hotels are down nearly 3%, but they are actually up 10% just before the pandemic. So that goes to show just how much prices have increased. One couple tells me they had several trips planned this summer, but did choose which ones to splurge on and which ones to keep on a tighter budget. It's not where we want to go. Then we budget into it. My son researches everything and plans out, and they even sit for months watching the restaurants and getting reviews and things. So he helps me a lot too. Even if we do have the money, we still budget out. Now about 80%. So a majority of people that are traveling this weekend are traveling within their region. And triple A even says that those flight tickets, those plane tickets are actually pretty cheap. If you're going to be flying within the country. But if you're trying to fly outside of the US, just know those prices have gone up nearly 11% from last year. So they're definitely a little bit pricier. If you're planning an overseas trip in Tybee Island, Georgia. Chelsea Torres, back to you. Thanks, Chelsea. Well, I have a few questions for you because it doesn't look like there's too many folks behind you yet, but do you think it's going to get really busy there this weekend? So yesterday it was pretty slow. I didn't really see too many, actually. The past few days I've been kind of making my way to Tybee Island just to see what it's like and not too many people. It just started picking up though, here near the pier. In the past I'd say hour, hour and a half, but even then it's not packed to what you're used to seeing, even out in Galveston, or maybe out along the Texas coast. So not as jam packed as you're typically used to seeing. So if you're ever out on this side of Georgia on the East Coast, this is probably a nice quiet type coastal beach town to come to. Oh, that's so nice. Because when I used to live in Florida, it was like one of those deals where you couldn't even, like walk down the beach. There were too many people. But if you are there, we went to a really good ice cream shop. I don't remember what it was called, but it was like right on the little strip there. So hopefully you can have some ice cream to cool off because it looks pretty warm out there. Yeah, Allison, it is hot and it is humid and I've been melting. I'm definitely going to find that ice cream I've already found a coffee shop, so ice cream is next on my list. Yes. And then you got to get a shirt or something because Tybee Island is awesome. Well, Chelsea, thank you so much. Have a fabulous Labor Day weekend. Hopefully you get to enjoy it with some friends. Thank you Allison. You have a good weekend too. Bye. Well, you know, there's a lot to do here in Southeast Texas over your Labor Day weekend. I want to take you out to some graphics that I made. So first I want to talk about the rain now and then kind of transition into some of the fun events. But you know, it's going to be hit or miss. But take a look at the radar. All the rain is basically from League City to Galveston to Boulevard Peninsula. And then out toward coastal East Texas and then even into coastal Louisiana. So hey, that's good for the start of your Friday. But I think a lot of folks are saying, hey, I wish the radar looked like this Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Is it going to? Well, I think there's going to be a few more scattered showers. So if you live in Pasadena, South Houston, Friendswood, even probably Pearland could be seeing a few showers coming up. But the good news is there's no lightning right now. But let's talk about that flood risk. So maybe you are going to hop on I-10, head east. You have family in Beaumont. You know, even out toward New Orleans. We're looking at a two out of four flood risk close to the coast. That does include Galveston Island. But you can see the one out of four marginal risk. Does include Jersey village, Houston, just on the outer edge of the Woodlands, and then all the way down to Matagorda, Angleton, Palacios. So something to keep in mind. So maybe you have those plans this weekend. Now, I will say that these icons make it look like it's going to be a complete washout, but that's definitely not the case, which is good news. And when you do see a shower, it will cool you down just a bit. So we like that. But maybe you're planning on heading out to a Friday Night Lights game. OU Texas High school football on a Friday. There's nothing better, but you will need to keep an eye on the radar because I will say rain is going to be a higher likelihood than lightning, but still going to be a possibility. I know that if there's lightning, they're going to stop the game. Everyone's going to have to go get in their cars or find shelter. So just make sure that you know where that path is just in case it happens. Or maybe you have the kiddos and you want to head out to Westchase Park. So I just saw that they were doing this summer movie night series, and today is cocoa happening at 7 p.m, but again, chance for that rain. And you know, I was kind of looking at pictures for the park and it doesn't look like there's any really big overhang. At least the views that I were seeing. I was seeing. So, you know, just I would definitely have a backup for the kiddos there. But starting today and continuing through the weekend, it is the first weekend of the birds of the world exhibit, and I'm actually going to have a story coming up that our Sally Mac went out and you can kind of see some of the birds and know what to expect when you go, but the good news is it starts today. And then obviously this is going to continue for a while. So you have time. But that might be something fun to do. And it's nice when you go to the zoo because there are areas of shade you can get a snow cone, you know, whatever it is, that's something to look forward to. Okay. Then comes Sunday. It's called Labor Day at Waterway Square. So this is in The Woodlands, 5 to 9. They are doing an event. There's going to be music. I think there's an apple pie eating contest. It sounds like fun, but the chance for rain again, I don't think it's going to be all four hours that there's rain, but we're just saying, hey, there's a chance that within this time frame we could be seeing a shower or two. So I guess that just means you can go out to, you know, one of the restaurants, one of the shops, and kind of take shelter. And then once it stops raining, the music will be had. And then Monday I also found a fun event in Friendswood, old Fashioned ice cream Social 5 to 7:00. So on your Labor Day again, chance for a few showers. But if you don't see the rain, it is going to be warm and probably humid. Highs right around that 90 degree mark, so something fun to do. But let's get into kind of the business of your labor Day. More than 17 million people are expected to pass through airports across the country. But guess what? Even more will be hitting the road. That means delays if you're driving. Triple A advises getting to the road early or late to avoid getting caught in any type of traffic. And hey, we're used to the traffic here in Houston. I will say one silver lining cheaper prices at the pump. Triple A says that the average in Texas is 2.92 a gallon. In Harris County, it's 296. That's down $0.40. Yeah. From this time last year. Okay, that works for me. But we want everybody to be safe this holiday season. My husband was the first to tell me that yesterday. And then for the next four days there is football. So I know folks are going to be excited. They're going to be happy people out to watch the games. But the Houston Fire Department wants to make sure that everybody is going to stay safe while doing it. So they did share some tips that if you are grilling at home this weekend, they say your grill should be at least ten feet away from your house. If you have a gas grill, make sure that there are absolutely no leaks, and if you have a portable extinguisher or water hose, close by just in case something happens. They always acknowledge the start of college football like I mentioned, and tailgating is returning, so make sure you're staying safe. If you decide to tailgate and you want to grill outdoors in the parking lot, make sure your grill is a good amount of space away from your vehicles. Never grill in the back of your truck or in the bed of your truck. And when you're finished grilling, make sure those coals are saturated with water before disposing of them. And that's good tips, because, you know, people will be probably going into the game if there are any here around town. Well the Houston airport system says it will greet more than 880,000 passengers. Yeah, you heard that right during the five day period. And that began yesterday or today rather, and then ends on Tuesday with the single busiest day being today. Yes, that's 4% more travelers than last year. 10% more than 2022. And the airports recommend, as always, arrive early if you can reserve your parking online, especially at Bush Intercontinental, that there's been a lot of construction and you know how much of a mess that is now. So just try to plan ahead and it's easy and you are guaranteed a spot that you have those off site ones as well, which is always you know, a good option because it's definitely a bit pricier the closer to the airport that you are. But if you are picking up a package, they say please wait at the cell phone lot until your passenger is ready and arrives and has their bags. That's like the key, because I know when I've tried to pick up and you try to loop and then you're stuck in traffic and they're like, okay, I'm ready. And you're like, I just passed like be there in ten minutes. So, you know, words of the wise, well, coming up, hey, it's Friday and of course we have animal stories for you, so we'll have more details on that. And even an update on when the astronauts that are stranded in space could be coming right back to Earth. Make sure you stick with us. All the time when the te and The Missing, please pick up the phone and call the police. Remember, you can remain anonymous. The Fox 26 YouTube page like and subscribe today. A little change over time when the weather is. Hello friends. It's not a Friday on forecasting with friends without our animal friends, right? I mean, I wish I could just share pictures of my dog Ryder, but hey, I think a gator will be good. Okay, so listen to this. Let me set the scene. Police officer in Fulshear showed his best wrangling skills when he responded to a call about an alligator at someone's home. Check this out. Come on, come on, come on, come here. He got him. He got him. One try. No fear. No hesitation at all. Lieutenant Bill Henry dives right in to wrangle that loose gator, catching it with his bare hands. As you can see, it kind of hissed at him there, like he was like, he's like, don't come at me. He's like, no, no, no, I got it. Thankfully. No bites, no nothing. And the gator was safely relocated. But the lieutenant was telling reporters, you can't take the boy out of the country. Oh, you can take the boy out of the country rather, but you can't take the country out of the boy. That is so crazy. And I mean, it doesn't look big, but that is a feisty little guy. Yeah, he could put his hands around him, but take a look at him trying to do the death roll like we talk about with Gators. The big ones. If they get you, they'll roll, roll roll roll and you can't get out of their hands. So here he does, the little hiss. Very impressive. Thank you so much, officer. I bet the homeowners were like, please, I can't let my dog out the front door. I don't know, that's crazy. Well, remember I had mentioned that there is a new exhibit at the Houston Zoo? Well starting today you can learn more about birds from all over the world. And you don't have to go anywhere right here in H-Town. The Houston Zoo is introducing their newest exhibit, birds of the world and our very own Sally Mack got a closer look at the new birds of the world exhibit here at the Houston Zoo opens to the public. This Labor Day weekend. I have Rick Urban, curator of the exhibit, here, to tell us a little bit more about it. Congratulations. Yes, thank you very much. So what do you want people to know about this brand new exhibit? Well, this is our birds of the world exhibit, and it features three different aviaries. We have a bunch of brand new birds that nobody has ever seen here in Houston. We've got our North American songbird aviary, the African Savanna Aviary, and our South American Wetlands Aviary. How many different species would you say is in each aviary? Well roughly about 15 species per aviary right now. It's not completely full, but we're working on it. You know, over the next couple of weeks, we'll have a right now, approximately 33 species and about 25 of them are brand new species to the Houston Wow Zoo. And people can actually go into the South American Aviary. That's where you have the flamingos. You're going to get up close and personal with our flamingos. You get right up to the water's edge, and you can really see the amazing things that flamingos do in their daily lives. This is included in the cost of admission to the zoo. Okay, so it's a permanent exhibit. Birds of the world. You'll find it right next to the Galapagos Islands exhibit. Rick, thank you so much. Appreciate i. Birds of a feather flock together. That's what they say. Guys. Come on out. Cool. Sally and we mentioned flamingos, so of course we're going to show you. This was a few weeks ago when they were on the move, moving right into their new home. Take a look at the crowd of people that literally got to stand there. I mean, they're just steps away and take video and the flamingos are like, okay, I'm checking it out. Yeah, look at that one up front. It's like, follow me crowd. Follow me. That is so cool. They are such beautiful animals. And I haven't been to the zoo yet, but oh my gosh, look at them. They're like dancing. I mean, obviously they're running, but it looks like they're doing a little dance. Wow, that is so cool. So there they are, walking literally into their new home. And there they are beautiful. They're probably cooling down in the heat. You know, it's hot out there. That is so fun. I love I mean obviously pink is my favorite color. So I absolutely love to see it. Okay, moving on to a different type of bird wildlife experts in Missouri were concerned about a bald eagle. There he is. They thought that he was injured. Turns out perfectly healthy. It was just too fat to fly after eating a really large meal. Okay, there is the x ray there and it looks like parts of maybe a raccoon paw inside of the eagle, suggesting that the bird feasted on some roadkill in the area, and he was just too fat and he couldn't fly. But you know, digestion happened the whole deal, and it was released in the area. It was found. Okay. So we actually pushed the story out maybe a few days ago or last week, and I was like, okay, we have to get this in the show. Too fat to fly. Poor little guy. But there he is, spreading his wings. He's ready to fly. Fly away. That's really awesome. Well, I want to show you this crazy video. I don't know if you saw it on social media, but it was the moment a tree came crashing down. Here we go. Big, big lightning strike. And this cyclist literally flipped over the tree. I mean, but can you talk about the timing? So I was I've been watching this and I think they zoom in. But what happens is you can see that the friend that's walking the umbrella turns inside out. So I actually think that the cyclist was turning and looking at his buddy. And so he literally didn't have time to stop. Okay, ready? Here's the guy walking the umbrella is inside out. His buddy that's biking looks at him and just goes, whoa. And then just runs into the tree. Now I don't have any official reports, but I don't think either of them were injured. But you can see how close that lightning strike was. I mean, it's just impressive. Again, this was in Milwaukee a bit earlier this week, and there's been a lot going on. Now let's talk about a volcano in Iceland okay. First off the northern lights. But it's spewing lava. The eruption sparked from a new, series of earthquakes in the region. It's the sixth eruption. This volcano had since this past December. Authorities are warning residents and tourists not to get too close to the site. But, I mean, I hate to say it, but it's beautiful to see all that lava that is rushing down, and it looks like you could see the moon in the distance. But when there's the northern lights, you got to see it, right? Very cool. Okay, well, I promised you an update on NASA, and Boeing says the Starliner capsule will unlock from the International Space Station no earlier than 6:04 p.m. on September sixth. And it will land on the white Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Now, this one is without the astronauts on board. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will come home on a SpaceX Dragon capsule. They've been stranded since June. Their return to Earth is scheduled in February. Now it is going to be on a SpaceX vehicle, so Elon Musk is going to help them out, but they're not going to be able to get on that one. That is early September. They're rather waiting for February. So a lot going on guys. I'm going to have to do one more quick story before we're going to have to go. But I did want to give you an update on the roof at NRG Stadium. Remember that Hurricane Barrel blew off a portion of it? Well, they are hoping to have one of the panels repaired before the Texas Texans season home opener against the Bears on Sunday, September 15th. Second panel, though expected to be repaired before their home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 29th. So, hey, we'll take at least getting one panel. NRG officials say that they will be informed on the weather and make sure that you prepare to dress accordingly, especially if you're under it and it's hot. You're going to be toasting, but if it's rainy, you're going to be raining anyway. Okay, stick with us. We'll have one more update on your forecast coming up next, little change over time sits ine missing. Please pick up the phone and call the police. Remember, you can remain anonymous. Fox 26 YouTube page like and subscribe today. Welcome back friends. I do want to take you out to our Fox grad radar, showing you the only rain that we are seeing inland right now. It's passing just to the south of Pasadena, just to the east of Pearland. Could be seeing a few isolated showers heading toward Alvin, Texas City and Galveston. Elsewhere, it's dry, but really gloomy, so our latest models have been doing a pretty good job at showing. The east side of the viewing area has a higher likelihood of seeing those isolated storms. I'd say if you're out toward College Station, even into Wharton, it looks like the rain would potentially be moving in a bit later today. But coastal showers and storms possible tomorrow morning. But then take a look at coverage begin to increase by the afternoon. Much more scattered in nature, but the good news is the rain should be on and off, and