If there's a weatherman in your family (or a weatherman-wannabee), then it will be pretty easy to come up with some unique weather-related costume ideas.

For the rest of us who need a little extra help, try brainstorming some costume ideas along these lines:

• hurricane
• flood
• mother nature
• global warming
• earth day
• hail
• clouds
• weatherman
• tsunami
• rain
• snow
• mother earth
• blizzard
• lightning
• wind
• stormy weather
• tornado
• snowman
   

Would you like to see some ideas from others who've made weather Halloween costumes along these lines? Check these out...

I saw a report a week or so ago on ABC News about weather insurance.

Sometimes it's referred to as vacation insurance or travel insurance.

Several online companies are offering what they call "vacation insurance," deals in which they will reimburse any parts of a vacation that are ruined.  "We will cover them if their vacation is rained out," Jeff Boyd, CEO of Priceline.com, told Good Morning America.  -- ABC News

These days, more and more companies and services are providing weather insurance to protect you from things like rain delays at sporting events and concerts, as well. And companies are even offering weather insurance for those times when a complete change of plans are required (due to the weather) at your own outdoor events, including weddings.

Here's more about weather insurance...

Here are some really fun pictures you can create using just a blue sky, some clouds in the sky, and various props of your of choosing. The best part: No photo editing is needed! Yet the end result will look so amazing, that people will think your photos aren't real. Have a look...

I think this is a great idea... especially in this day and age, where people are using cell phones like crazy. I mean, it's hard to find anyone who's not carrying a cell phone these days. Even kids carry cell phones everywhere they go!

So, for me, there is a small feeling of relief knowing that the FCC will soon be broadcasting emergency warnings on our cellphones.

The plan stems from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires upgrades to the emergency alert system. The act requires the Federal Communications Commission to develop ways to alert the public about emergencies. Source

The Fun Times Guide has yet another "roving reporter" that I'd like to introduce you to.

Meet Ron. He's currently in Montana, on the banks of the Clark Fork River between Butte and Missoula, working as a fly fishing guide.

Yesterday, Ron was groppled upon.

Hmmmm...Sounds like... FUN?!

Do you live in an area where there are lots of tornadoes or hurricanes? We used to.

Ever had the roof of your house damaged by high winds during a storm? Thankfully, we haven't (yet). But when we lived in Florida (especially when we were on the tiny little island called Gulf Breeze, near Pensacola) "roofs damaged by high winds" were a very common occurrence.

But I could never find any step-by-step details for making a temporary roof using a blue tarp. I never understood how the tarp stayed in place until I saw some simple instructions for making a temporary roof in an old issue of This Old House magazine (March 2005).

Perhaps others might benefit from this information as well...

No, it's not fun talking about the possibility of drowning in the event that your car is trapped underwater.

But with the recent bridge collapse in Minnesota, I'm reminded of a handy little tool that's been advertised for years.

Now I'm wondering how many have actually purchased one. Better yet, how many people have actually used one in an emergency?

The one-of-a-kind escape tool that everyone's talking about is the Life Hammer.