# Weather



## Alli

It’s hurricane season. Yippee. This is where I live, at the bottom of this stack of spaghetti.


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## Thomas Veil

Oh, man. I saw the news tonight and they were talking about two tropical storms headed that way. They were coming from slightly different angles, but you could see the possibility that they could converge.


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## Alli

Thomas Veil said:


> Oh, man. I saw the news tonight and they were talking about two tropical storms headed that way. They were coming from slightly different angles, but you could see the possibility that they could converge.




Whether they merge or not, it’s gonna get hella wet here.


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## DT

FFS, we have a gaggle on deck.  I just scored some new Gorilla 4" patch tape, some 2" waterproof duct tape, and this new 24' water inflatable barricade.   I have a 20' x 100' 10 mil plastic roll, I'm going to put the cars into waterproof "sacks".


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## Alli

D_T said:


> FFS, we have a gaggle on deck.  I just scored some new Gorilla 4" patch tape, some 2" waterproof duct tape, and this new 24' water inflatable barricade.   I have a 20' x 100' 10 mil plastic roll, I'm going to put the cars into waterproof "sacks".




We replaced the generator this summer. We had it installed after being without power for a month following Katrina. It was also supposed to guarantee we’d never get another major storm here.


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## Eric

Alli said:


> We replaced the generator this summer. We had it installed after being without power for a month following Katrina. It was also supposed to guarantee we’d never get another major storm here.



Wow that is scary stuff! Hope you all stay safe, hang in there.


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## Alli

Eric said:


> Wow that is scary stuff! Hope you all stay safe, hang in there.




Just keep watching until the plots are more definite. I guess we’ll do some shopping tomorrow.


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## Renzatic

Yeah, I was about to say. It might be time to board up the windows, and buy some beans. 

Though that's my advice for everything, so take it with a grain of salt.


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## DT

What in the what ... 

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1296795414738477056/


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## Alli

D_T said:


> What in the what ...




Like I said - we're gonna get wet.


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## DT

I'm ready ...


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## lizkat

Alli said:


> Just keep watching until the plots are more definite. I guess we’ll do some shopping tomorrow.




Tempted to post some link to a Catsklll Mountains realtor for ya.


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## Edd

Alli said:


> It’s hurricane season. Yippee. This is where I live, at the bottom of this stack of spaghetti.
> 
> View attachment 108



Do you live in NOLA? I do enjoy that place. Only been twice but I did my duty assaulting my body with booze and food.


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## Alli

lizkat said:


> Tempted to post some link to a Catsklll Mountains realtor for ya.




No thanks. I've had enough of NY winters, both upstate and city burbs. I'll take the occasional hurricane, tyvm.



Edd70 said:


> Do you live in NOLA? I do enjoy that place. Only been twice but I did my duty assaulting my body with booze and food.




Despite what the Weather Channel would have you believe, there are cities between New Orleans and Pensacola. New Orleans isn't even the original home of Mardi Gras in the US. Hah! They stole it from Mobile AL. We're more family friendly, but just as much fun. I used to go to NOLA a lot, these days I pretty much only go if I need a visit to the Apple store. Two hours and two states away, it's the closest.


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## lizkat

Alli said:


> No thanks. I've had enough of NY winters, both upstate and city burbs. I'll take the occasional hurricane, tyvm.




After a few particularly harsh winters here I was tempted by conversations with a pal here (who has kin in Kentucky and in Tennessee) to prowl around in the latter state for a winter hangout that wouldn't be like Florida but wouldn't show me -20ºF out the kitchen window in winter either.    Eventually settled for a better woodstove. 

Now I don't burn wood any more and the winters aren't as brutal (or haven't been for awhile), but in the meantime the idea of moving house again has grown less attractive.   And judging from some news accounts of at least Tennessee and covid-19, I might not be thrilled by their political views of the virus, even if there's some of that politicization around here too.   As for Kentucky, well...  it would be nice to be able to help kick Mitch out of office, but I'm not wanting to move there to do it.


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## DT

Anyone here in the storm(s) path?  Marco appears to have been a cream puff, Laura looks like a raging bitch.


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## Alli

D_T said:


> Anyone here in the storm(s) path?  Marco appears to have been a cream puff, Laura looks like a raging bitch.



Marco fell apart. More than enough rain though. I'm hoping Laura continues her Westerly trajectory. No offense, Texas.


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## Eric

Alli said:


> Marco fell apart. More than enough rain though. I'm hoping Laura continues her Westerly trajectory. No offense, Texas.



Sounds like good news so far, hang in there.


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## hulugu

Good luck folks. I'm just sitting here with an excessive heat warning, with the temp hovering around 104 and no rain. 

A pipe in the street exploded earlier this week, and a good chunk of water ended up in my front yard, so now my trees don't look like they'll wither and die. But, without any rain my rainwater harvesting system is running short, so the pump won't run, and now I have to hand-water the back acres. (I'm making the kid haul Home Depot buckets out there to toughen him up.) 

The mountain house on the other hand is reporting a nearly full tank, but I might have to discharge some of the water because it's got a bunch of ash from two fires in it. So, 2020 continues to be garbage.


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## DT

Alli said:


> Marco fell apart. More than enough rain though. I'm hoping Laura continues her Westerly trajectory. No offense, Texas.




Flee more to the south (southeast).  We have LOTS of booze, the clothing requirement here is extremely optional, I'm busting out a longboard, I mean, nothing goes better with alcohol than night surfing ...


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## Alli

hulugu said:


> The mountain house on the other hand is reporting a nearly full tank, but I might have to discharge some of the water because it's got a bunch of ash from two fires in it. So, 2020 continues to be garbage.




Sounds scary! Take care of the.


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## hulugu

Alli said:


> Sounds scary! Take care of the.




Neither fire threatens the house, but there was a huge fire earlier this year, and then one far north, then the California fires were dropping ash here, and now we've got another fire in a different mountain range. The mountain house is all stone work, with a metal roof, but one bad lightning strike and we could lose it. I'll have to head up and check the water system, and possibly have to dig out the Pulaski's and start carving a new fire break.  

I'm worried about the cottonwoods if this keeps up. The little shrubby mesquites are basically glorified weeds, but I've got a few big, old cottonwoods that shade the house and yards. I have a bad feeling that my son's kids won't get to see them.


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## Alli

hulugu said:


> I'm worried about the cottonwoods if this keeps up. The little shrubby mesquites are basically glorified weeds, but I've got a few big, old cottonwoods that shade the house and yards. I have a bad feeling that my son's kids won't get to see them.




We had cottonwoods when I lived in Wyoming. I haven't seen any since, so about 50 years. It was one of those that my brother climbed...and then got stuck. We had to call the fire department to get him down.


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## hulugu

Alli said:


> We had cottonwoods when I lived in Wyoming. I haven't seen any since, so about 50 years. It was one of those that my brother climbed...and then got stuck. We had to call the fire department to get him down.




Yeah, I climbed up to cut down a branch, and had a moment of "I regret this," even while wearing climbing gear. They're huge for southern Arizona. Compared to the redwoods in California, they're weeds, but still.


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## DT

Jeebus.









						Hurricane Laura bringing "catastrophic storm surge" in parts of Louisiana
					

The storm intensified rapidly into a Category 4 hurricane as it barreled toward the Louisiana and Texas coasts with ferocious 150 mph maximum sustained winds.




					www.cbsnews.com
				




Cat 3, likely becoming a Cat 4 this afternoon, weather sources are saying storm surge will reach 30 miles inland.


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## DT

A buoy located near Laura clocked a wave height of 37 feet Wednesday morning.

For people without height perspective,  if you live in an average 2-story house, that's generally 20-25 feet, so if it was actually 3-story, that wave would go over the top ...


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## Alli

Hopefully Laura will move fast without the pressure dropping.


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## Eric

Alli said:


> Hopefully Laura will move fast without the pressure dropping.



They're saying it's going to be brutal, are you in its path?


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## Alli

Eric said:


> They're saying it's going to be brutal, are you in its path?




No. Fortunately it's headed well west of us.


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## hulugu

Twitter this morning was full of bad portends. There's live footage of air tankers picking up water in California, footage of a 17-year-old shooting people in Kenosha, and the line "unsurvivable" linked to storm surges because of Hurricane Laura. 

Jesus Christ. Everyone in the gulf region, get high and seek shelter. Wish everyone the best. 

Newsroom zoom this morning was on point. We talked about gearing our reporters, and the budget is almost entirely survival/safety equipment. Forget cameras or laptops. It's helmets and respirators, water-filters, medicine, etc. We had a whole discussion about body armor, with some asking me what it's like to wear it—it sucks—and whether that was something we should invest in to cover stories in the U.S. RSF has given this stuff out for years, but maybe we need our own supply. 

I remember our fixer stuffing an AKM into the backseat, and asking me if I knew how to use it. But, that was in a dusty part of the world far from here. But, I'm wondering if a reporter going to Wisconsin needs a fixer who can strip and clean an AKM while drinking tea.


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## Alli

It actually feels like fall this morning. Already after 9 and still under 80 degrees. Yes, in the south, that’s fall. I wonder if it will last. I’ll go for a walk tomorrow if that’s the case!


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## Eric

We would welcome any sort of fall weather or even some rain here in CA, most days we don't see the sun with the smoke and when we do it's a deep orange color. The heatwaves are like nothing we've ever seen as well, today's high is supposed to be 109 (hit 112 yesterday) and we're breaking records for the month of September. It's downright oppressive right now.


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## Renzatic

It's quite pleasant in my neck of the woods.


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## Alli

ericgtr12 said:


> We would welcome any sort of fall weather or even some rain here in CA, most days we don't see the sun with the smoke and when we do it's a deep orange color. The heatwaves are like nothing we've ever seen as well, today's high is supposed to be 109 (hit 112 yesterday) and we're breaking records for the month of September. It's downright oppressive right now.




My mother was just telling me that this morning. Our turn to laugh at the perfect weather relatives in San Diego. 100 does not fall in my description of perfect.



Renzatic said:


> It's quite pleasant in my neck of the woods.




Where is your neck of the woods?


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## Renzatic

Alli said:


> Where is your neck of the woods?




North Georgia, just south of the Tennessee state line.


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## Alli

Renzatic said:


> North Georgia, just south of the Tennessee state line.




Almost my part of the world. But as they say - misery loves company! Please vote for John Osoff so he’ll stop emailing me.


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## Renzatic

Alli said:


> Almost my part of the world. But as they say - misery loves company! Please vote for John Osoff so he’ll stop emailing me.




Ossoff has really been going to town with all the adverts and crap, hasn't he? 

I don't think he has a chance, personally. A democrat is about as likely to win in Georgia these days as an ice cream vendor setting up a successful franchise in hell.


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## Alli

Renzatic said:


> Ossoff has really been going to town with all the adverts and crap, hasn't he?
> 
> I don't think he has a chance, personally. A democrat is about as likely to win in Georgia these days as an ice cream vendor setting up a successful franchise in hell.




Which is a shame, cause the south needs it more than anyone else. We’re drowning in racism and stupidity.


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## Renzatic

Alli said:


> Which is a shame, cause the south needs it more than anyone else. We’re drowning in racism and stupidity.




It's funny. If you asked me 5 years ago if we were more racist than any other part of the nation, I would've said no. Sure, there are the occasional backwoods towns you'll come across where they're still longing for the days of Jim Crow, but they seemed few and far between. 

...a lot's changed since then.


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## Lostngone

We have bracing and building codes to
mitigate earthquake damage where I live and earthquakes are random and few and far between. If I lived in hurricane country I would build an underground house, assuming I wasn’t in a flood plain or out of concrete and kevlar with flood walls and pumps that could unsink the titanic(and a generator to power them).


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## Alli

Renzatic said:


> It's funny. If you asked me 5 years ago if we were more racist than any other part of the nation, I would've said no. Sure, there are the occasional backwoods towns you'll come across where they're still longing for the days of Jim Crow, but they seemed few and far between.
> 
> ...a lot's changed since then.




Not sure anything has changed. It’s just more visible today. 



Lostngone said:


> We have bracing and building codes to
> mitigate earthquake damage where I live and earthquakes are random and few and far between. If I lived in hurricane country I would build an underground house, assuming I wasn’t in a flood plain or out of concrete and kevlar with flood walls and pumps that could unsink the titanic(and a generator to power them).




Hard to build anything underground when you’re at sea level. I only know of one home in our area that has a real basement - it’s not safe during a hurricane. Most of us just have homes built on pillars.


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## Alli

Here we go again. Wheeeee!!!


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## Renzatic

Well, poop, Alli. I take it you've got a nice 5th wheel you use for these occasions, right?


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## Alli

Renzatic said:


> Well, poop, Alli. I take it you've got a nice 5th wheel you use for these occasions, right?




We’ve been through this so often it’s routine.


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## Eric

Alli said:


> We’ve been through this so often it’s routine.



Hoping you get spared this time around.


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## Eric

@Alli is this hurricane heading your way?


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## Alli

ericgtr12 said:


> @Alli is this hurricane heading your way?




Yup. Although they had planned on having children return to school tomorrow, that’s now been delayed until Wednesday due to the incoming storm. Doesn’t look like it will be much wind-wise, but we should get plenty of water.


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## Eric

Alli said:


> Yup. Although they had planned on having children return to school tomorrow, that’s now been delayed until Wednesday due to the incoming storm. Doesn’t look like it will be much wind-wise, but we should get plenty of water.



Okay, well hang in there!


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## Thomas Veil

*Geez* it got cold last night. 46 here in Ohio.


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## Alli

Thomas Veil said:


> *Geez* it got cold last night. 46 here in Ohio.




We won’t see that until December. And then we may not actually see it because it will happen in the middle of the night. Hurricane Sally has cooled things off considerably here. It’s only 0730 and still under 80!


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## Thomas Veil

Sending good thoughts to you, @Alli, as Sally makes landfall in your state.


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## lizkat

Thomas Veil said:


> Sending good thoughts to you, @Alli, as Sally makes landfall in your state.




Yes,  keeping a good thought for you, @Alli -- and your family and neighbors...  let us know when you can how you all have fared in Alabama.


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## Alli

Rough night. First time I wasn’t able to just sleep through it. Here’s a short video from 3 a.m. when I couldn’t sleep, followed by this morning. Wind is still really high, but not as much rain as we’d feared.





__





						iCloud
					

Sign in to iCloud to access your photos, videos, documents, notes, contacts, and more. Use your Apple ID or create a new account to start using Apple services.




					share.icloud.com
				








__





						iCloud
					

Sign in to iCloud to access your photos, videos, documents, notes, contacts, and more. Use your Apple ID or create a new account to start using Apple services.




					share.icloud.com


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## Eric

Alli said:


> Rough night. First time I wasn’t able to just sleep through it. Here’s a short video from 3 a.m. when I couldn’t sleep, followed by this morning. Wind is still really high, but not as much rain as we’d feared.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> iCloud
> 
> 
> Sign in to iCloud to access your photos, videos, documents, notes, contacts, and more. Use your Apple ID or create a new account to start using Apple services.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> share.icloud.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> iCloud
> 
> 
> Sign in to iCloud to access your photos, videos, documents, notes, contacts, and more. Use your Apple ID or create a new account to start using Apple services.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> share.icloud.com



Wow that's looking pretty flooded and the skies look ominous as well. Hope all stays well throughout this thing for you.


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## lizkat

@Alli wow that video during the night...   okay to me there's nothing more distressing than rain pouring down in torrents like it will never end.   Even when there are blizzards up here I shrug and figure well it will pile up and mostly evaporate before spring.  But when we get one of those hurricane aftermaths up here that parks and dumps rain, I freak out waiting for it to quit because there's sometimes no place for it to go except into cellars.   At least we're all pretty close to bedrock here --the other plight of hill farmers--  so it's not about potential mudslides.    Hope your power stays on or doesn't go out for long.

Love your windchime there in the corner of that one video!


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## Alli

lizkat said:


> Love your windchime there in the corner of that one video!




Fortunately our neighbor (now leeching power from our generator) also loves chimes. Between the two us us we must have 5 sets of chimes. Dunno how our other neighbors feel about it, but they haven’t been here as long as we have, so who cares. 

We figure the power will be out 2, maybe 3 days. We got the generator after Katrina, when we were without power for 3 weeks. It was miserable.


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## lizkat

@Alli So what are they telling you about power restoration in your area now?


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## Alli

lizkat said:


> @Alli So what are they telling you about power restoration in your area now?




Yesterday there were 1,700 power workers in the area. They are expecting 3,000 today. The mayor says everyone should have power before the weekend is out.

We will all be grateful - the sound of the generator is beginning to get on our nerves.


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## lizkat

Meanwhile NOAA releases its latest 3-month drought forecasts.  Every time I see one of these as the southwest and western drought conditions persist,  I end up thinking how vast Lake Ontario always seemed to me as a child (couldn't see across it as we could with some of the little upstate lakes) and yet how small the Great Lakes look overall these days in the larger scheme of things.


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## Alli

lizkat said:


> Meanwhile NOAA releases its latest 3-month drought forecasts. Every time I see one of these as the southwest and western drought conditions persist, I end up thinking how vast Lake Ontario always seemed to me as a child (couldn't see across it as we could with some of the little upstate lakes) and yet how small the Great Lakes look overall these days in the larger scheme of things.




I’m surprised that nobody has put in some kind of water pipeline from east to west yet. We always have more than our fair share of rain, and they never have enough.


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## lizkat

Alli said:


> I’m surprised that nobody has put in some kind of water pipeline from east to west yet. We always have more than our fair share of rain, and they never have enough.




Well they did always say that water would eventually be the oil of the 21st century....

There have already been lawsuits over private companies bottling water out of lakes that are in or that border NYS, I think, and I suppose that's just the front edge of what's coming. 

And that's not all.  Groundwater is now threatened in oil and gas drilling states by abandonment of very old deep-drilled oil and gas wells, without plugging them w/ cement, which in itself is not a long term solution to corrosion of the piping.   LA Times just ran a piece on it the other day.   California agriculture is what lands a lot of food on not just sunny Cal plates...  and they're gonna need those ground water aquifers.









						The toxic legacy of old oil wells: California’s multibillion-dollar problem
					

Thousands of wells across California, including many near residential areas, have been left inactive for decades and are in need of cleanup




					www.latimes.com


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## Alli

lizkat said:


> Well they did always say that water would eventually be the oil of the 21st century....




I thought that was information.


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## lizkat

Alli said:


> I thought that was information.




Heh, yeah...  until the advent of "fake news" put all that into question!


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## Thomas Veil

Alli said:


> Yesterday there were 1,700 power workers in the area. They are expecting 3,000 today. The mayor says everyone should have power before the weekend is out.



I always think it's cool when they start trucking in workers from out of state. At least _some_body in this country still works together for the greater good.

Glad to know you're all right. I hope the power is back on soon.


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## Alli

Thomas Veil said:


> I always think it's cool when they start trucking in workers from out of state. At least _some_body in this country still works together for the greater good.
> 
> Glad to know you're all right. I hope the power is back on soon.




Ya know, it’s funny you should mention that. Why can’t the states model cooperation based on the power companies. Those people have it together!

Power is back, btw. It came on shortly after I went to bed last night.


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## Alli

So here we go again. Too early to predict landfall, but right now we’re on the east side of hurricane Delta, which is already a Cat 4.

C’mon 2020, give us a break.


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## Eric

Alli said:


> So here we go again. Too early to predict landfall, but right now we’re on the east side of hurricane Delta, which is already a Cat 4.
> 
> C’mon 2020, give us a break.



Wish you could send some of it our way, we're at nearly 8 months with no rain and fires still burning everywhere.


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## Alli

ericgtr12 said:


> Wish you could send some of it our way, we're at nearly 8 months with no rain and fires still burning everywhere.



We need a pipeline.


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## lizkat

So today in the wee hours,  the usual Halloween snowstorm duly ran a beta test and dumped a couple inches of the white stuff to make sure all systems were go. 

But it apparently used up all the ice or whatever it makes snow out of,  because tomorrow it's supposed to be back up to balmy weather for around here at end of October, i.e. 40-45ºF and sunny.   Too bad so few in the area have plans for trick or treating with their little ones...  it will be one of the first times in years we're not going to have horrible trudging-around weather.   Well there's still going to be a handout drive-by at the firehall for trick or treat goodies. 

Anyway, can now mark off "first snowfall" event for the year,  roughly on time.  Of course it has melted off and the sunshine promised for tomorrow has even shown up ahead of time.  No complaints here.


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## Alli

Gosh, and all we got was another lousy hurricane. My neighbor has already fixed and replanted the downed tree.


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## lizkat

Wow...    You guys along the Gulf Coast just cannot catch a break this year...


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## DT

Alli said:


> Gosh, and all we got was another lousy hurricane. My neighbor has already fixed and replanted the downed tree.
> View attachment 1032




It's been fucking relentless in your neck of the woods!


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## DT

We're enjoying a little cool-ish weather, it was like mid-60s this morning, sunny and 73° this afternoon, finishing up some code, having a Celebration Sierra Nevada, and we're doing a __full__deployment__ on our Halloween goodies tonight, have to put the frame for the crank ghost back together, going to hang it in the garage this year.  Got another batch of these slick little multi-color/function LED tea lights, using them for all sorts of lighting FX


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## JayMysteri0

I walked in 81° weather yesterday in just a tee, sweated a little.

Today I needed my hoodie.

WT_?!!


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## Yoused

lizkat said:


> ice or whatever it makes snow out of



I have seen the stuff. One Saturday morning, as we finished up about 3am, I went out to the parking lot to find Kelly (a former Californian) staring in rapture at the crystal fog swirling in the glow of the streetlights. I stood next to her and gazed at it as well, because, really, one does not see it all that often, and it is quite relaxing to watch that massive swarm of glittering minutiae. Then, of course, everyone else came out and started their cars to go home, the warm, wet clouds of exhaust driving out of the sky. "Oh, damn," she said softly.

That is what it makes snow out of, only, way up in the cloud tops.


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## Alli

lizkat said:


> Wow...    You guys along the Gulf Coast just cannot catch a break this year...






DT said:


> It's been fucking relentless in your neck of the woods!




And can you believe there’s another disturbance forming in the gulf?


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## Eric

Alli said:


> And can you believe there’s another disturbance forming in the gulf?



And it's not Trump?


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## lizkat

Yoused said:


> I have seen the stuff. One Saturday morning, as we finished up about 3am, I went out to the parking lot to find Kelly (a former Californian) staring in rapture at the crystal fog swirling in the glow of the streetlights. I stood next to her and gazed at it as well, because, really, one does not see it all that often, and it is quite relaxing to watch that massive swarm of glittering minutiae. Then, of course, everyone else came out and started their cars to go home, the warm, wet clouds of exhaust driving out of the sky. "Oh, damn," she said softly.
> 
> That is what it makes snow out of, only, way up in the cloud tops.




Back in the day we used to put trays out to catch snowfall and make icy desserts out of it.  There was a time I figured with the EPA regulations we'd be able to do that again.   Now I dunno...  but I don't set out trays to catch the stuff any more.


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## lizkat

Thanksgiving weather?


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## Thomas Veil

It’s not even Dec. 1 yet and we’re experiencing what could be a real winter blast. Six-15” of snow is what they’re saying, depending on where you live.

it’s too early for this crap.


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## lizkat

Thomas Veil said:


> It’s not even Dec. 1 yet and we’re experiencing what could be a real winter blast. Six-15” of snow is what they’re saying, depending on where you live.
> 
> it’s too early for this crap.




Too true.  Sometimes we get a Thanksgiving blizzard in the Catskills,  but generally those 12-18" snowfalls don't show up early enough to interfere with deer hunting season...  they wait until Christmas Eve when Santa's trying to complete his rounds.

First Christmas for me in this house was far more exciting than I had figured on:  it got down to -22ºF and the heavy snow blew around so much there were seven foot drifts out there by Christmas morning. 

My dog at that time was a Norwegian Elkhound,  and she definitely thought that snowfall was a wonderful gift.  Me, not so much, even if I do like cold weather.  We hadn't even begun to renovate the place and there was zilch for insulation really, so there was nothing for it but keep stoking the woodstove 24/7 the whole time,  and hang out by that stove in the kitchen when not under a pile of blankets.    Finally understood what people mean by "a three dog night" and I wouldn't have minded having had a couple more dogs on hand that weekend.


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## Alli

It went down to freezing last night, and at 0840 is still only 35 degrees. When I talked to my daughter in NYC yesterday afternoon, it was 20 degrees warmer there! I just looked at the 10 day forecast, and we’re looking at 60’s from tomorrow through the foreseeable future. I can live with that.


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## lizkat

We just had a passing hailstorm, yeah almost grape sized hail for about  30 seconds,   more or less out of the otherwise sunny and fairly balmy blue.  Think Canada  briefly lost track of some of its marbles.   For a minute there I thought a window pane had fallen out and the house was open to the weather, the hail blast was so loud.   Might be time to put the rest of the storm windows on.

Weirdness abounds.   They say it will be a La Niña winter.  





So far weather gods having trouble leaving autumn, fine with me as long as it's sunny.  But in the grey parts of the run-up to the solstice, I long for January and real winter,  mitigated by return of a sun that finally remembers how to get over the southern ridge before 8:30 am.


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## Renzatic

All I know is that it's cold, and I don't like it.


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## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> All I know is that it's cold, and I don't like it.




Everyone in favor of shipping this stuff back up to the far far north where it currently really belongs,  put on your kicking shoes.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Everyone in favor of shipping this stuff back up to the far far north where it currently really belongs,  put on your kicking shoes.




I've been outside huffing and puffing in a northerly direction, but I don't think it's doing much.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> I've been outside huffing and puffing in a northerly direction, but I don't think it's doing much.




Hmmm,  could you maybe aim that like a little more west of north...    it's snowing here now in upstate NY.  

Got a funny email from a pal in NYC, expressing envy upon noticing *the sun sets a couple minutes later here than there*... although of course we're in the same time zone: "Life is so unfair...  -- I hope you make best use of your bonus daylight."

I do actually understand that sort of preoccupation with the short length of daylight this time of year.  Around here you often can't even tell when the sun has officially risen,  thanks to usual late autumn overcast, unless some wintry weather's moving in.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Hmmm,  could you maybe aim that like a little more west of north...    it's snowing here now in upstate NY.




It'll probably weird you out when I tell you that I had to mow my neighbor's lawn today. It's 46 degrees out, cold as hell, but hey, it was in the 70's last week, so the grass kept growing. A trimming was required.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Yeah, that's the weird part about living up north. The latest I've ever cut my grass was late November, but Dec. 2 isn't that much of a stretch.

The flip side is the spring, when it sometimes rains so much that the grass gets tall and if you don't cut it on _that single, particular day_ when it's not raining, you'll have to wait another four or five days when you'll find the grass is practically too high to cut.


----------



## Yoused

We put up these mountain things. The weather comes from the west, off the big wet spot and gets tangled up 8n the mountain things, often dumping its wet load on us. But it tends to be warmer that way. Youse guys on the other side of these mountain things end up getting your weather from the gulf or the muskeg. That stuff coming off the muskeg is freaking cold. We rarely get that, except for those few times that the Alaska swirl breaks loose and runs down on us.

Right now, it has been almost shirtsleeve weather between 1:00 and 1:13 in the afternoon (50s+), but once the sun gets low, the air turns into tiny broken things that scrape at the skin. I have been hit by those pineapple things, where you are outside in forty degree weather in the evening and suddenly, in minutes, it is over 60. Then you start looking for raingear, because you know it is bearing down.


----------



## Alli

This is the best time of year as far as I’m concerned. Very cold at night so I can snuggle in bed, and cool during the day unless you are directly in the sun.


----------



## Huntn

Two days ago a cold front brought our first frost In Houston.  The elephant ear plant took it on the chin, wilting most of it’s ginormous leaves,  but it is energetic bounces back quickly. Honestly, I’m not sure what it would take to kill it. I prepared by bringing in 3 hanging pots, a rat tailed cactus, and two succulents, I covered a large outdoor pot of succulents, the wife’s fairy garden with cloth, and finally based on my experience last year, covered a desert rose in a large pot which does not like freezing temps at all! 

The small pink and red flowers in the photo are on azelias that bloom twice a year down here. 


Sad droopy frosted leaves​Regarding hurricane season, I think it just ended, but the manual electric generator switch I ordered in August, due to being back ordered for so long, was cancelled. My goal this coming year is to get one purchased and hooked up, so that if I actually  do need the generator it will be a cinch to hook up to the house circuits. 


Yoused said:


> We put up these mountain things. The weather comes from the west, off the big wet spot and gets tangled up 8n the mountain things, often dumping its wet load on us. But it tends to be warmer that way. Youse guys on the other side of these mountain things end up getting your weather from the gulf or the muskeg. That stuff coming off the muskeg is freaking cold. We rarely get that, except for those few times that the Alaska swirl breaks loose and runs down on us.
> 
> Right now, it has been almost shirtsleeve weather between 1:00 and 1:13 in the afternoon (50s+), but once the sun gets low, the air turns into tiny broken things that scrape at the skin. I have been hit by those pineapple things, where you are outside in forty degree weather in the evening and suddenly, in minutes, it is over 60. Then you start looking for raingear, because you know it is bearing down.



Where do you live?


----------



## Huntn

Alli said:


> This is the best time of year as far as I’m concerned. Very cold at night so I can snuggle in bed, and cool during the day unless you are directly in the sun.



I turn the thermostat heat setting down to 65 and enjoy the cool. Last night got more rain, another cold front, Right now it’s 67 in the house (49 outside) and I’m gladly wearing my light weight sweats and hoody with the ceiling fan on.


----------



## Joe

It's starting to get a bit nipply in Htown.


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## Yoused

Huntn said:


> Where do you live?



On the edge. Always on the edge (this state has a name that causes confusion, and I think renaming it "Edge" would be most fitting).


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> It'll probably weird you out when I tell you that I had to mow my neighbor's lawn today. It's 46 degrees out, cold as hell, but hey, it was in the 70's last week, so the grass kept growing. A trimming was required.




My lawn care guy should still do a last mow and leaf-mulch but all his free days to do it lately have ended up too darn cold, rainy or snowing!   Oh well...   we'll have a couple weird days in December yet where everyone regrets having put on their storm windows and we all end up opening kitchen doors to savor the "free heat" of a warm and breezy day in the high 60s.   But by then he'll have had the good sense to stash his mowing gear away until spring.  I'll likely have a leaf-littered hayfield for his first lawn mowing adventure next April in between late threats of snowfall.   Won't be the first time for that gig either.

Today it's sunny and gorgeous out there, mid-40s.   Rest of the week looking more like winter and that's fine by me, a few snow flurries make the hills look festive.   The deer won't make out well behind that shift though: a light snow makes them easy to track as they wend their way ever higher, trying to challenge hunters not ready for those steeper climbs.

 Deer would rather it be like today where who the heck knows where those critters are hanging out.  They could be napping in the shade of your barn pretending to be Jersey milk cows and hoping your dog is asleep at the switch.  Most all the Holstein farmers around here keep at least a couple Jerseys for the extra butterfat and I bet the damn deer know that too.


----------



## Huntn

Yoused said:


> On the edge. Always on the edge (this state has a name that causes confusion, and I think renaming it "Edge" would be most fitting).



I was hoping you could name a state, no problem.


----------



## Yoused

Huntn said:


> I was hoping you could name a state, no problem.



It should be easy enough to tease out. This state has a name that matches the name of an important city on the far side of the country. We tend to refer to that city as the "other" one.


----------



## Huntn

Yoused said:


> It should be easy enough to tease out. This state has a name that matches the name of an important city on the far side of the country. We tend to refer to that city as the "other" one.



Ok I pulled this up, lol, fine it's a secret, as I wonder why?  But really not a problem. with weather swings, I might guess Colorado.








						US Cities Named After A Different State
					

Can you name the US cities or towns with another state in its name?



					www.sporcle.com


----------



## Alli

Huntn said:


> Ok I pulled this up, lol, fine it's a secret, as I wonder why?  But really not a problem. with weather swings, I might guess Colorado.



Washington isn’t ringing any bells?


----------



## Huntn

Alli said:


> Washington isn’t ringing any bells?



Actually I was thinking that backwards for some reason.  I’ve been to Seattle, Whidbey Island, and Concrete, but this was just too difficult. Thanks for the helping hand!


----------



## DT

OMG, it's glorious today, actually starting getting a touch warm.  Left the house this morning about 9:30a, it was in the mid-low 50s, of course, TNU even at 5x   Wound up back at the house about 11a, mid-upper 60s, really sunny, had to shed the hoodie!


----------



## Alli

DT said:


> OMG, it's glorious today, actually starting getting a touch warm.  Left the house this morning about 9:30a, it was in the mid-low 50s, of course, TNU even at 5x   Wound up back at the house about 11a, mid-upper 60s, really sunny, had to shed the hoodie!



I went and sat on the deck today for the first time in over a week. Glorious is right!


----------



## lizkat

Snow gods gettin' ready to party down.   Going to slide farther inland than earlier forecasts.  Could get pretty messy with up to two feet of snowfall in the western reaches,  ugly mix of snow and rain easterly.     And on Beethoven's birthday, gee.   No manners.


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> Snow gods gettin' ready to party down.   Going to slide farther inland than earlier forecasts.  Could get pretty messy with up to two feet of snowfall in the western reaches,  ugly mix of snow and rain easterly.     And on Beethoven's birthday, gee.   No manners.
> 
> View attachment 1887



My daughter said yesterday that she was waiting until after the storm to go to the drug store. I said “wait, what storm?!” Looks like you guys are in for a rough time. Stay warm!


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> My daughter said yesterday that she was waiting until after the storm to go to the drug store. I said “wait, what storm?!” Looks like you guys are in for a rough time. Stay warm!




Here it will be all snow, starting late afternoon and mostly during the overnight, supposed to add up to around 14" but the winds will make for a lot of drifting, so the plowing crews will be making overtime for sure.


----------



## lizkat

Well we certainly overshot the mark on the forecast of snow for this weather system...  official NWS reports are snowfall of 2 or 2.5 feet around this part of the western Catskills,   3 feet at points about ten miles west of here,  and a whopping 41" inches over in Binghamton.   No one's going anywhere any time soon although the county road has been kept more or less plowed...  it's the damn driveways are the issue and will promptly set up with speedbumps at their ends when the temperatures fall later on.

Power stayed on here except for a brief outage when they switched us to or from a substation, a typical thing for some reason.   But we did lose phone and net service for awhile.    That was restored around 10am.   Happy camper here, and not least for having a topped off pantry.     "See y'all in the spring!"  will be the watchword hereabouts for awhile.   

Hope everyone else in the path of this thing has fared ok.   Biggest challenge for some of us will be finding out how our kin are doing, or letting them know we're ok.   When communications capabilities drop then my tribe always figures we all have at least the wit of a barn cat to try to look after ourselves, so we resort to "assume we're ok until someone you don't know calls to say otherwise."


----------



## JayMysteri0

lizkat said:


> Well we certainly overshot the mark on the forecast of snow for this weather system...  official NWS reports are snowfall of 2 or 2.5 feet around this part of the western Catskills,   3 feet at points about ten miles west of here,  and a whopping 41" inches over in Binghamton.   No one's going anywhere any time soon although the county road has been kept more or less plowed...  it's the damn driveways are the issue and will promptly set up with speedbumps at their ends when the temperatures fall later on.
> 
> Power stayed on here except for a brief outage when they switched us to or from a substation, a typical thing for some reason.   But we did lose phone and net service for awhile.    That was restored around 10am.   Happy camper here, and not least for having a topped off pantry.     "See y'all in the spring!"  will be the watchword hereabouts for awhile.
> 
> Hope everyone else in the path of this thing has fared ok.   Biggest challenge for some of us will be finding out how our kin are doing, or letting them know we're ok.   When communications capabilities drop then my tribe always figures we all have at least the wit of a barn cat to try to look after ourselves, so we resort to "assume we're ok until someone you don't know calls to say otherwise."



My best friend is sending me pictures of his backyard covered in snow.

I of course had to taunt.

"Do you have to wear some sort of heavy coat when you try to remove all that stuff?"  "I don't remember."


----------



## Thomas Veil




----------



## lizkat

Thomas Veil said:


> View attachment 1918




Supposed to be one degree above 0ºF here tonight, which usually translates five or eight degrees lower...     not what you want to hear as the end of the month approaches and no one can even get out to their gas tanks to see how much fuel is left, gee.   Some places around here have eight-foot drifts wherever something put a pause on the wind and the stuff piled up.


----------



## JayMysteri0

When you are committed to THAT night out
https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1339616454925152256/

_I loved the photo._


----------



## Renzatic

Thomas Veil said:


> View attachment 1918




It finally dropped down below 60 here. I hate it so much.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> It finally dropped down below 60 here. I hate it so much.




Yeah but now you get to flaunt your winter-weather clothes!  Or cheat the season and put on thermal underwear...  that way you can get back to some serious sweating while mowing the lawn.    Here we just about do a dance when the snow buries the pesky grass under a couple feet of "mulch".  I can't even imagine living someplace where ya have to mow the lawn all year round.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> I can't even imagine living someplace where ya have to mow the lawn all year round.




We don't have to mow the lawn year round around here. There's that little span of time between December to March when the grass turns brown, and doesn't grow. We call those the salad days.


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## Scepticalscribe

Horrid hailstones here. 

Ugh.


----------



## Alli

We’ve had crazy cold weather here. I know it doesn’t compare, but it’s gotten down into the 30s and 40s overnight for the last week. That worries me, since we don’t usually get winter until late January or early February.


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> We’ve had crazy cold weather here. I know it doesn’t compare, but it’s gotten down into the 30s and 40s overnight for the last week. That worries me, since we don’t usually get winter until late January or early February.




Yeah, it's been weird. I might even see a white Christmas this year.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> Yeah, it's been weird. I might even see a white Christmas this year.




And yet y'all still seein' fit to ship your tsuris up here for us...   even got mention in our local forecast discussion

Now, into Thursday:  A deep trough digs into the central US. Strong​south/southwesterly flow over our area (up to 60 to 70 knots) will​help to advect in some *Gulf moisture, aiding in touching off a few*​*rain/snow showers by early Thursday morning which should change over*​*to all rain into the daytime hours as temperatures climb up well*​*into the 40s.* Rain becomes most likely for the afternoon and evening​ahead of a strong frontal passage as the trough takes on a negative​tilt.​​This will cause *a shift to rare cold southwesterly flow, **and a*​*rapid drop in temperatures Thursday evening and night. With guidance*​*hinting at a potential for higher precip rates and accumulations, we*​*will need to keep an eye on this system. We have the existing*​*significant snowpack to consider, and the implications for*​*additional runoff.*​​Said "significant snowpack"  sits currently at 2.5 to 4 feet before drifts in my county.  What we don't need is rain on top of that and 40ºF temperatures.   Last time the weather gods ran something like that around here we lost a lot of maple trees in our local yards due to their not caring for drowning in lakes and then sitting in slush or ice in the overnights.  Made great firewood though...  and fewer leaves to rake...

So keep yer potentially white Christmas where it belongs, we already got enough to fix Canada's wagon if we could just do what y'all plan on doing and ship it north!


----------



## Scepticalscribe

I'm not quite sure what it is that I dislike most about hailstones: The cold (hailstones are a form of frozen water, after all), the wet (they are not solidly frozen, but damp yet freezing), but above all, that threatening, lowering, charcoal coloured sky, that dreary, light-deprived darkness of this time of year.


----------



## lizkat

Scepticalscribe said:


> I'm not quite sure what it is that I dislike most about hailstones: The cold (hailstones are a form of frozen water, after all), the wet (they are not solidly frozen, but damp yet freezing), but above all, that threatening, lowering, charcoal coloured sky, that dreary, light-deprived darkness of this time of year.




What auto insurers don't like about them are the claims!!


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> So keep yer potentially white Christmas where it belongs, we already got enough to fix Canada's wagon if we could just do what y'all plan on doing and ship it north!




The high's only gonna be 58 this Monday! By next weekend, the lows are gonna be dropping down below freezing!

That's terrible, Liz. TERRIBLE! It's like February weather...IN DECEMBER! I'm gonna have to wear a sweater AND a jacket!


----------



## lizkat

^^^I don't care.  It was 4ºF when I got up this morning. Stayed in bed as long as I could bc didn't wanna know.  Under the layers of bedding upstairs it must have been at least 98.6 degrees.


----------



## Renzatic

If it makes you feel better, it was chilly enough last night to force me to break out my wool blanket.


----------



## Alli

Renzatic said:


> The high's only gonna be 58 this Monday! By next weekend, the lows are gonna be dropping down below freezing!
> 
> That's terrible, Liz. TERRIBLE! It's like February weather...IN DECEMBER! I'm gonna have to wear a sweater AND a jacket!



I totally empathize! I finally had to close the window AND turn off the fan. And it’s only December!


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> I totally empathize! I finally had to close the window AND turn off the fan. And it’s only December!




It's getting so bad, I might even have to plug in the space heater.

Hell, we might as well be living in Antarctica the way things are going.


----------



## Alli

Renzatic said:


> It's getting so bad, I might even have to plug in the space heater.
> 
> Hell, we might as well be living in Antarctica the way things are going.



It hasn’t gotten that bad here yet, although I did turn on the heat and put on a robe.


----------



## lizkat

Well this was gonna happen after all the snowfall in PA and NY states....  rain...  and then flooding,  for Christmas Eve and Day.  Ugh.

259 PM EST Tue Dec 22 2020​​...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY​MORNING...​​The National Weather Service in Binghamton has issued a​​* Flood Watch for portions of central New York and northeast​Pennsylvania, including the following areas, in central New York,​Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schuyler,​Steuben, Sullivan, Tioga and Tompkins. In northeast Pennsylvania,​Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northern Wayne, Pike, Southern​Wayne, Susquehanna and Wyoming.​​* From Thursday afternoon through Friday morning​​* Heavy rain will move into the area Thursday and continue through​Thursday night. The rain will fall on a deep snowpack leading to​snow melt. This snow melt combined with 1 to 3 inches of rainfall​could cause urban and flash flooding. Flows in rivers may increase​quickly and rise above flood stage.​


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> It hasn’t gotten that bad here yet, although I did turn on the heat and put on a robe.




In the local paper here this morning, they said it's supposed to be warmer in upstate NY (low 50s) tomorrow than down in Florida.  Weird.  And they're still forecasting 2-3" inches rain then ( Xmas Eve)  then a flash freeze on Christmas night.    Shades of 1996 when we lost our maple trees to the crunch between flood and ice skating rink.    Looks like might need to set up the sponge pump in the cellar as a precaution.  Always fun trying to get the cellar door open with 2 feet of snow and ice on it.   Easier to shovel that thing off today while it's still just snow.

I knew there was some reason I indulged in this coffee mug a couple years ago:


----------



## Alli

When I opened Facebook this morning it showed me a memory from two years ago with the overnight low on Halloween of 38, and the temp on Christmas Day of 75. Alabama. Go figure. The weather is as absurd as our politicians.

On the bright side, today is marvelously sunny and very mild.


----------



## lizkat

File under "Sometimes does not pay to get up too early"...  We are in for 2 days of seriously dicey weather.   From the 6:45am update provided in the National Weather Service regional forecast disscussion:
​


> Just adding an extra word to stress, that this is no ordinary Flood Watch; flooding is not just possible but indeed expected, and it will likely be quite significant for much of the area - both the initial flash flood/small stream phase late today into tonight, and the main stem river phase late tonight through Friday. Some of the signals that we look for in the models for flood potential, such as mean integrated water vapor transport, precipitable water, and southerly component of 850 mb winds *are either off-the-charts or nearly so for this time of year.*
> 
> This is a rare set up. This would be a problem even in the absence of snow cover, but unfortunately was also have plenty of water that will be released from deep snowpack in the warm moist and windy conditions later today through tonight - especially the Susquehanna and Upper Delaware basins. Anyone living in a flood- prone area should have a plan and know what to do in the event high water threatens. High impact storm system is now encroaching the region, and unfortunately this will be a rather memorable one. The main reasons for the confidence in significant flooding are as follows. *The amount of anticipated rainfall; a widespread 1.5 to 2.5 inches with higher terrain reaching 3 to 4 inches.* Also, dewpoints that surge to mid 40s- lower 50s with stiff south- southeasterly winds, which will cause quick melting of the snowpack that exists for a large chunk of the area.
> 
> The timing of heaviest rainfall appears likely to coincide with the rapid running off of snowmelt. Finally, a strong wave of low pressure forms along the front, hanging up its progress while prolonging the window of both melting and the moderate to heavy rainfall.




Gee, I have never seen a four-inch rainfall here.   Past that my brain refuses to venture at the moment.

So it sounds like the weather gods are going to be extra mean to Santa Claus making his way through downpours, slush and even rushing water.   Right around here people do know not to drive into what looks like a puddle on a road in flood season, thanks to some notorious deaths in past years from cars diving into 50-foot-deep washouts filled with a creek gone out of banks. 

Welp... by end of month the gas delivery guy might actually be able to locate the tanks. Meanwhile there's no way I can even get out there to check the gauges thanks to snowdrifts.  Next question is how long the deep freeze will last that is supposed to complicate the flooding problems by dropping in here at the weekend after all that rain. 

The weather gods seem to have no sense of humor left in 2020.   Can hardly blame them but still, why take it out on humans?


----------



## DT

Just ran down to the liquor store, top down, t-shirt and shorts 


Freeze Watch?  Pfft, I'll watch it NOT freeze


----------



## lizkat

DT said:


> View attachment 2061
> 
> 
> Just ran down to the liquor store, top down, t-shirt and shorts
> 
> 
> Freeze Watch?  Pfft, I'll watch it NOT freeze




Hah, I think you guys will end up though with colder weather tonight than we have way way north of ya.  Weird!


----------



## DT

lizkat said:


> Hah, I think you guys will end up though with colder weather tonight than we have way way north of ya.  Weird!




I know, right?  The weather swings down here are insane.  The high/low the other day from 72°/36°, exactly double/half ...


----------



## lizkat

DT said:


> I know, right?  The weather swings down here are insane.  The high/low the other day from 72°/36°, exactly double/half ...




Our high today will be 54 but the low tonight (during all the rain, ugh) will only be 47.   Gonna be hell to pay with the dissolution of a 41" snowpack.   It's already happening....


----------



## lizkat

Xmas recipe for upstate NY:   take 41" snow, add 2.5 to 4" rain at 50ºF, stir with SE winds,  behold biblical flooding.


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> Xmas recipe for upstate NY: take 41" snow, add 2.5 to 4" rain at 50ºF, stir with SE winds, behold biblical flooding.



Nope. Don’t miss that at all.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> Nope. Don’t miss that at all.




We do have some leftover warm breezes, if the weather gods would just locate that 90º-rotate button.


----------



## lizkat

When we have 5" fresh snow on the roads at 930am,  but the forecast says to expect one inch "mainly after 5pm" should I be as surprised as the road crews must have been today?   They came by around half past noon and again just now.  The second pass was presumably because another couple inches have fallen and we're still to expect "another inch" before 11pm.  Guess the road crews have figured out the new measurement of one inch and are acting accordingly. 

By time we're done we'll have a foot of festive decoration on the ground if this keeps up.    I am reminded of when one of my younger siblings asked me as a seven-year-old  (while detailed to shoveling out the driveway one afternoon) "So this came down just since breakfast, right...  and so... but it can't snow at night, right?"


----------



## Thomas Veil

After the horrifying events of the past week, we are experiencing two days of sunshine and clear blue skies. It may still be cold, but it’s like the calm after the storm.


----------



## lizkat

Now contemplating the fallout (literally) from a forecast of "highly elevation-dependent" precipitation for the next few days.

From scouting around the area it would appear what that means is that at 2K' above sea level here,  we're gonna get three inches of snowfall but 10 miles east of that where the hills top out at 3K' maybe five or six inches.   "Well it's January after all."


----------



## Arkitect

I love me some wintry snow.

One of the benefits (according to my husband) and downsides (according to me) of living in the South-West of England is the lack of the white stuff (snow!)…

Right now the rest of England, Wales and Scotland have "Heavy Snow" warnings issued… here? If not exactly balmy, it is hardly cold. We'll just get the rain.

*sigh*


----------



## User.168

.


----------



## Arkitect

theSeb said:


> I am in the south west too and no snow. This upsets me greatly as snow brings out the child in me.



Same here. Some snow really brings out my inner child.


----------



## lizkat

theSeb said:


> I am in the south west too and no snow. This upsets me greatly as snow brings out the child in me.




Yep I'd far rather have the snow than rain.  We narrowly dodged a flood bullet in the Catskills awhile back with a 24-36" snowdump followed by rain and temperatures around 50ºF for a few days.    My ugliest experience here is occasionally having to pump a couple inches of water off the cellar floor while the daytime temps hover just above freezing...  can't leave the hose outside overnight.  Once the meltoff and rain occurred so soon after the snowstorm that I had to shovel four feet of collapsing snowdrift off the slanted cover of the cellar door just to be able to run the hose outside.  Ugh.   Asked about getting an automatic submerged pump setup and no one wants to risk it because one guy down the road who did that hit a spring just drilling through the cellar floor.   I'm almost ready to roll the dice on that possibility though and offer them more money to do it.   I'm getting too old for this routine of setting up for a sponge pump operation when the water table gets high and every little rainstorm feels like a mortal threat!


----------



## User.168

.


----------



## lizkat

How you know you're on the highway to February...

40% chance of snow showers. Cloudy with a high near 25.
40% chance of snow showers. Cloudy with a high near 25.
40% chance of snow showers. Cloudy with a high near 25.
40% chance of snow showers. Cloudy with a high near 25.
40% chance of snow showers. Cloudy with a high near 25.
40% chance of snow showers. Cloudy with a high near 25.
40% chance of snow showers. Cloudy with a high near 25.
40% chance of snow showers. Cloudy with a high near 25.
40% chance of snow showers. Cloudy with a high near 25.

Tracking what actually happens in January is a lesson in probabilities.

In the Catskills we call this "the season of sneaky snow" because every day the total daytime accumulation is forecast to be about a half inch.

Today for instance I woke up to an invitation to make snow angels in about three and a half inches of "fresh canvas" for the effort.

I limited my disturbance of the landscape to shoveling along the usual little path maintained for the gas delivery guy at end of month.  But I have to say my inner child was tempted by that expanse of new snow and the beauty of its decoration of the shrubs and trees.


----------



## Alli

Meanwhile down south it's sunny and mild. No jacket required.


----------



## lizkat

Big snowdump yesterday afternoon, evening and into the night...   another of those misbegotten forecasts of "total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible" followed by same forecasts for rest of the day, evening and overnight.   Six inches and counting as of half an hour ago, and of course it's blowing around so the plows have been by about three times too.

I am growing more fond of GWBush's invented word "misunderestimated".    Rhymes with January.


----------



## shadow puppet

Rain is an event in Southern California dontcha know.  Weather.  What a concept, eh?


----------



## shadow puppet

So apparently it snowed in Malibu today.


----------



## Pumbaa

It snowed in Stockholm, Sweden, as well.

Slightly less surprising than the Malibu snow I guess, we are supposed to have snow here wintertime after all.


----------



## Alli

It will now snow here. I don’t believe it can snow when the temps are in the 70’s, but I could be wrong. Of course, it will still rain. Because...this is Mobile, and that’s what happens here.


----------



## lizkat

Tomorrow night it's forecast to be -4ºF (-20ºC) and right here we have to subtract maybe 8 degrees F on a clear night.  So -12 coming up towards a reminder of what February may soon enough have on offer.   Well I did say I liked winter and good thing too, since the real thing is about to land.

I don't suppose this is Canada saying thanks a lot for cancelling the XL Pipeline permit but one can wonder.  Meanwhile I predict in advance that that groundhog in Punxsutawney PA will opine that he has at least six more weeks of winter hibernation ahead of him.

Just to warm this thread up for Groundhog Day...  a leftover from 2014.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Tomorrow night it's forecast to be -4ºF (-20ºC) and right here we have to subtract maybe 8 degrees F on a clear night.  So -12 coming up towards a reminder of what February may soon enough have on offer.   Well I did say I liked winter and good thing too, since the real thing is about to land.




Hey, don't complain. The nicest weather we have to look forward to around in my neck of the woods is this Sunday, when it may hit a frosty 61 degrees.

You may think that's high, but for us, it may as well be -50.

I hate it when I have to put on a jacket. HATE IT!


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> Hey, don't complain. The nicest weather we have to look forward to around in my neck of the woods is this Sunday, when it may hit a frosty 61 degrees.
> 
> You may think that's high, but for us, it may as well be -50.
> 
> I hate it when I have to put on a jacket. HATE IT!




Yeah but see 61ºF is a degree higher than I have my thermostat set in the daytime!  Think we've been through this discussion in that other place so I won't expand on it here,  except to say that my choice makes sense to me because *the mean temperature here* _*on a summer night*_ is only 55ºF. 

Just never did make sense to me to pay good money to make the place much warmer in winter than it naturally is in summer, except to make sure the pipes don't freeze along the north wall of my kitchen.

Of course I layer my clothes because i like to feel nice and cozy too.   Thermals and wool sweaters are my constant companions...


----------



## Renzatic

I keep my thermostat set to 65, and drag a portable radiator around with me in the house during the winter.

The way I see it, if I have to layer up or, god forbid, put on a jacket, it's too cold.


----------



## Pumbaa

Renzatic said:


> I keep my thermostat set to 65, and drag a portable radiator around with me in the house during the winter.
> 
> The way I see it, *if I have to layer up* or, god forbid, put on a jacket, it's too cold.



I’ve been browsing US sites for too long, read that as ”if I have to _lawyer up_”...

That could actually make sense in my situation. We have central heating and individual apartments can‘t really control the temperature. Too cold? Lawyer up!

This weekend it is forecast to be down to -16ºC (3ºF). The central heating typically won’t keep up with larger temperature changes outside, it takes a couple days to adjust usually. I’ll have to rely on my portable radiator just to reach a cozy 65ºF.


----------



## Renzatic

Pumbaa said:


> This weekend it is forecast to be down to -16ºC (3ºF). The central heating typically won’t keep up with larger temperature changes outside, it takes a couple days to adjust usually. I’ll have to rely on my portable radiator just to reach a cozy 65ºF.




65 is cozy to you? What frozen hellscape do you live in?


----------



## lizkat

Pumbaa said:


> I’ve been browsing US sites for too long, read that as ”if I have to _lawyer up_”...
> 
> That could actually make sense in my situation. We have central heating and individual apartments can‘t really control the temperature. Too cold? Lawyer up!
> 
> This weekend it is forecast to be down to -16ºC (3ºF). The central heating typically won’t keep up with larger temperature changes outside, it takes a couple days to adjust usually. I’ll have to rely on my portable radiator just to reach a cozy 65ºF.




When I lived in NYC,  most of the time I was in a 15-story rent-controlled building with steam heat from a boiler in the basement. The higher floors were still mostly large apartments,  often still occupied by couples or widows who'd been young children when the places were first built back in the 1940s.  The place was two blocks east of the Hudson River and any buildings between there and the river were just five-story brownstones, so you can imagine the winds howling onto those upper level suites in winter.

The little old ladies used to bang on the steam pipes with a skillet to wake the super's assistant down in his apartment, conveniently located near the boiler room, whenever they felt it was too damn cold.  The guy would eventually tire of the noise and pour on the heat then... but, everyone on the lower floors would be opening their windows like three inches to keep from getting roasted, so I dunno if it ever really got warm up there in the heights!


----------



## Pumbaa

Renzatic said:


> 65 is cozy to you? What frozen hellscape do you live in?



Sweden, about 59.4º North. Pretty nice overall thanks to the Gulf Stream, lakes and stuff. The lack of sunshine is usually more of an issue than low temperatures here wintertime. When the sun returns in the spring and outdoor temperature reach 65 people will run around in shorts and t-shirts, enjoying life. 

End of November was a bit less than cozy I admit, bedroom dropped to 61 before I finally got the portable heater up and running.


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> Yeah but see 61ºF is a degree higher than I have my thermostat set in the daytime! Think we've been through this discussion in that other place so I won't expand on it here, except to say that my choice makes sense to me because *the mean temperature here* _*on a summer night*_ is only 55ºF.



I agree. I keep trying to explain to my husband that if 62 is too cold to set the AC, then why would you allow it to get that cole in the winter? And if you’ll only heat the house to 68 in the winter, then why can’t you cool it to 68 in the summer? I want to set the thermostat to 68-72. Heat or cool, whichever is necessary. Meanwhile, in the winter I’ll keep the window open and the fan on.


----------



## shadow puppet

Rat Creek in Big Sur, CA this morning after the deluge of rain they've had.


----------



## Eric

shadow puppet said:


> Rat Creek in Big Sur, CA this morning after the deluge of rain they've had.
> 
> View attachment 3142



Are you in the area? I know further north at Devli's Slide HWY1 would get washed out enough that they finally had to build a tunnel through the mountain to bypass it. These cliffs are always eroding, growing up in the area I've seen so much lost to it, you would think they would know better than to build on it.


----------



## shadow puppet

ericgtr12 said:


> Are you in the area?



I wish.  I love the natural beauty of the area.  I live on the Westside of Los Angeles.  About 4 miles inland of Venice Beach.


----------



## shadow puppet

Manhattan Beach (about 30 minutes South of me) showing off after the rain.


----------



## Clix Pix

Snow in the forecast for my area!   This time a real snowstorm, not a puny one or two inches.   Maybe 4-6 inches, perhaps 6-8.....  ??  It is supposed to start Sunday and may or may not actually dump more on us than anticipated, so it's still going to be a wait-and-watch-and-see-what-we-get.   It'll be pretty when it is coming down, I always like watching it, but after the storm stops and people start tromping around int and mar the pristine beauty, it's not so much fun any more.   I figure I'll be hanging out here at home for a few days until the roads and parking lots are cleared up.


----------



## shadow puppet

Clix Pix said:


> Snow in the forecast for my area!   This time a real snowstorm, not a puny one or two inches.   Maybe 4-6 inches, perhaps 6-8.....  ??  It is supposed to start Sunday and may or may not actually dump more on us than anticipated, so it's still going to be a wait-and-watch-and-see-what-we-get.   It'll be pretty when it is coming down, I always like watching it, but after the storm stops and people start tromping around int and mar the pristine beauty, it's not so much fun any more.   I figure I'll be hanging out here at home for a few days until the roads and parking lots are cleared up.



Hopefully you can grab some snaps before people muck it all up?


----------



## Clix Pix

shadow puppet said:


> Hopefully you can grab some snaps before people muck it all up?



That's what I'm thinking and hoping!  Snow always makes for great photo ops!


----------



## Pumbaa

Beautiful weekend. Snow everywhere, clear skies, no wind and around -10ºC/14ºF daytime. Amazing seeing the sun for a few hours!

As expected, our central heating isn’t keeping up with the change in temperature. Less expected was a message from the utility company about a broken boiler reducing the heating capacity for the entire frigging municipality. Expected to be resolved by 7:30 PM next year. Hopefully a typo, really won’t like my next few electricity bills otherwise.


----------



## Alli

Pumbaa said:


> Beautiful weekend. Snow everywhere, clear skies, no wind and around -10ºC/14ºF daytime. Amazing seeing the sun for a few hours!



I was with ya for the first two words. It was raining here this morning, but I still went out. Instead of sitting on the deck, I sat under the carport. It was just too beautiful to stay indoors. The rain has now stopped, the skies are blue, and it’s in the 70’s. This is more like it!


----------



## Runs For Fun

Seems like there was supposed to be a big snowstorm moving across the Midwest and the east coast and everyone was supposed to be getting a bunch of snow. We just got a dusting despite being right in the path.


----------



## Alli

RunsForFun said:


> Seems like there was supposed to be a big snowstorm moving across the Midwest and the east coast and everyone was supposed to be getting a bunch of snow. We just got a dusting despite being right in the path.



Yes! My daughter moved into her new apartment in St. Petersburg, Florida yesterday, and boy is she happy about her timing in getting out of NYC!


----------



## Pumbaa

First half of the day as beautiful as the weekend with snow glistering in the sun. 

Now we’re apparently in for a week of snow & overcast. No worries. We have ways to traverse our frozen hellscape.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> Yes! My daughter moved into her new apartment in St. Petersburg, Florida yesterday, and boy is she happy about her timing in getting out of NYC!




Some pretty photos coming out of NYC on Twitter this morning but "the mess is yet to come"....

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1356266869251076102/

Here they forecast between 6 and 14 inches...  what a range!   gives a clue of how variable the outcome can be from a convergence of fronts and models unsure about duration and a possible stall of the storm off New Jersey.

 Meanwhile we had sneaky snow all night as a prelude.  Deceptively enough,  right now the sun is strong through the overcast of our approaching storm.  Guess that's a  kind of teaser about Groundhog Day coming up, eh?   Think there won't even be enough sunshine to make a shadow tomorrow.  Maybe that ol' woodchuck should skip its annual take on how long before spring. and just stay in bed.


----------



## Runs For Fun

Well we got about 2 inches of snow last night. I would have liked some more. I actually like snow.


----------



## Clix Pix

We got about three inches yesterday and today, while it has occasionally spit out a few snow flurries, we haven't had any further accumulation.   Fine with me!  I feel for the folks in NY, CT, NJ, eastern PA, etc.....ouch!


----------



## lizkat

We ended up in one of those heavy snowbands slowing moving west this morning...   we're out of it just now but the kicker is the main winds here now are from the north so it's on to the enhanced lake effect snow coming downstate from Lake Ontario and over Cayuga Lake down into the western Catkills.   Fun.  So another five inches by nightfall they say.  But for once Ithaca's still going to get more of a snowdump out of this by the weekend than we do down here.

 I read someplace that the groundhog did see his shadow in Pennsylvania today and big surprise he says six more weeks of winter.   Heh, I say "the fix was in" and they let him have a good look last night during a break in the snowfall... so he saw his shadow in the light of the now waning Wolf Moon.


----------



## Huntn

Holy moly, not sure It’s an Artic vortex coming but our serene Winter maybe getting a bit ugly in the US South. I realize you guys up North are used to this, but we are projecting 4 days in a row of freezing to below freezing temps in the Houston area and down to 13 degrees. That temp is laughed at in Minnesota, but here not so much. Now I have to consider how many plants we’ll lose. The lantana, boganvilla  and hibiscus are likely goners. One I stuck in our shed, maybe a I’ll fit a couple more potted ones in there. And my lemon tree, hmm. 

​


			Arctic Blast Grips U.S., Upending Markets, Setting Records
		




shadow puppet said:


> Rat Creek in Big Sur, CA this morning after the deluge of rain they've had.
> 
> View attachment 3142



That seems to be not that uncommon if an occurrence in California, as I recall. Some beautiful areas out there.


----------



## fooferdoggie

Been several years since we had real snow in portland. But then we end up more frozen rain then anything else. Left ice on everything. Waking where cars have not gone is esy up I don’t sink in but where cars have been it’s like loose sand. It got down to 24 degrees and lots of wind all night you heard the ice bouncing off the windows. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## Clix Pix

Brrrr, it's cold and it's icy and it's miserable here!   Glad I have nowhere I need to be as it would sure be tricky getting there!  My lovely car is all icy looking and the sidewalk and parking lot pavement looks slippery.....


----------



## Alli

I will stop complaining about how cold I am cause it went down to the 40’s.


----------



## Scepticalscribe

Clix Pix said:


> Brrrr, it's cold and it's icy and it's miserable here!   Glad I have nowhere I need to be as it would sure be tricky getting there!  My lovely car is all icy looking and the sidewalk and parking lot pavement looks slippery.....




Yes, Decent Brother and I were chatting about the weather earier today.

Yes, the days are a bit longer, but it doesn't (remotely) feel like spring.


----------



## DT

Holy hell, I'm not sure if our friends from outside the US saw this ... but there was a ~130 car pileup in Ft. Worth, TX:









						At least 6 dead in 130-car pileup on icy Texas freeway
					

"This is a major catastrophe in our city," Fort Worth fire spokesman Mike Drivdahl said of the ice-related crash on Interstate 35.




					www.nbcnews.com
				




6 dead, and some real time video of the event, which is just goddam horrific.


----------



## fooferdoggie

the busses stopped running thats really unusual I have seen it worse and they still ran. but covid I guess. glad we have our feet to get out.


----------



## Thomas Veil

DT said:


> Holy hell, I'm not sure if our friends from outside the US saw this ... but there was a ~130 car pileup in Ft. Worth, TX:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> At least 6 dead in 130-car pileup on icy Texas freeway
> 
> 
> "This is a major catastrophe in our city," Fort Worth fire spokesman Mike Drivdahl said of the ice-related crash on Interstate 35.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.nbcnews.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 6 dead, and some real time video of the event, which is just goddam horrific.



Unfortunately we in the north are all too used to watching people in states like Texas skid wildly out of control on a half inch of snow because they’re not used to driving on the stuff like we are.

We might even allow ourselves to feel superior when the worst result is some dented car bodies. But freezing rain and black ice are a bitch no matter where you live. I say that as someone who’s experienced personal physical injury because of it. This—this is horrible. Horrible and sad.


----------



## Huntn

Alli said:


> I will stop complaining about how cold I am cause it went down to the 40’s.



How cold is it getting where you are at?

Not a sight I often see, freezing rain, sleet, snow.  Tonight it’s headed down to 12F which is brutal for this area (Houston). The brown tent on the other side of the pool is my car cover I’m using to try to protect both the lemon tree (small) and a Bird of Paradise. I’ve got 5 plants covered and 3 in the shed, which works well for frost, but a hard freeze is more iffy.


​


----------



## JayMysteri0

IF this can happen to you, DON'T leave the house!!!
https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1361058200305475586/


----------



## Pumbaa

Huntn said:


> How cold is it getting where you are at?
> 
> Not a sight I often see, freezing rain, sleet, snow.  Tonight it’s headed down to 12F which is brutal for this area Houston). The brown tent on the other side of the pool is my car cover I’m using to try to protect both the lemon tree (small) and a Bird of Paradise. I’ve got 5 plants covered and 3 in the shed, which works well for frost, but a hard freeze is more iffy.
> 
> View attachment 3507​



Nice little ice rink you got there!


----------



## Huntn

Pumbaa said:


> Nice little ice rink you got there!



I’d get quite wet if I tried to skate there.


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> I will stop complaining about how cold I am cause it went down to the 40’s.




What's the point of living in the sub-tropics if we still get winter?


----------



## Pumbaa

Huntn said:


> I’d get quite wet if I tried to skate there.



Citius, Altius, Fortius! Especially the first one.


----------



## Huntn

Renzatic said:


> What's the point of living in the sub-tropics if we still get winter?



Because it’s a rare event, not a usual event. I’ll also take this opportunity to clarify that my living in Texas was a compromise I made for my wife’s  sake. If it was up to me solely, we’d be living someplace with much more winter and less baking.


----------



## fooferdoggie

Huntn said:


> How cold is it getting where you are at?
> 
> Not a sight I often see, freezing rain, sleet, snow.  Tonight it’s headed down to 12F which is brutal for this area Houston). The brown tent on the other side of the pool is my car cover I’m using to try to protect both the lemon tree (small) and a Bird of Paradise. I’ve got 5 plants covered and 3 in the shed, which works well for frost, but a hard freeze is more iffy.
> 
> View attachment 3507​



ya that cold I don't think they will survive.


----------



## Alli

Huntn said:


> Not a sight I often see, freezing rain, sleet, snow. Tonight it’s headed down to 12F which is brutal for this area Houston). The brown tent on the other side of the pool is my car cover I’m using to try to protect both the lemon tree (small) and a Bird of Paradise. I’ve got 5 plants covered and 3 in the shed, which works well for frost, but a hard freeze is more iffy.



I don't recall seeing any of that since I've lived here. We were supposed to have a hard freeze last night, but it never got down to freezing. Now they're saying tonight. We'll see. Right now it's pouring and in the 40's. Just traditional nasty.


Renzatic said:


> What's the point of living in the sub-tropics if we still get winter?



We didn't used to get real winter. I've always joked that we get 6 days of winter here. The only time I ever needed a coat was to stand in the wind to do bus duty. On the bright side, I don't have to do that anymore so I have no real complaints.

We'll see what happens tonight and tomorrow.


----------



## DT

JayMysteri0 said:


> IF this can happen to you, DON'T leave the house!!!
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1361058200305475586/




Holy hell, I wonder how far that slide before they got it stopped!


----------



## Thomas Veil

However far it was, I'll bet it lasted until they hit something.


----------



## shadow puppet

My brother's house.  In Austin.  This is nuts.


----------



## Pumbaa

shadow puppet said:


> My brother's house.  In Austin.  This is nuts.
> 
> View attachment 3519
> 
> View attachment 3520



Purdy!

Meanwhile we’re forecast to lose our snow by the end of this week. Sad 59.4° North noises.


----------



## Huntn

fooferdoggie said:


> ya that cold I don't think they will survive.



The issue for some people are bursting pipes due to lack of adequate insulation for such conditions. Houses with crawl spaces under them can be vulnerable. 


Alli said:


> I don't recall seeing any of that since I've lived here. We were supposed to have a hard freeze last night, but it never got down to freezing. Now they're saying tonight. We'll see. Right now it's pouring and in the 40's. Just traditional nasty.
> 
> We didn't used to get real winter. I've always joked that we get 6 days of winter here. The only time I ever needed a coat was to stand in the wind to do bus duty. On the bright side, I don't have to do that anymore so I have no real complaints.
> 
> We'll see what happens tonight and tomorrow.



Good luck. I don’t think the cold incursion is equal across the South based on latitude. Texas seems to be at the center of it. Right now it’s 14F with a high expected of 33.


----------



## Huntn

shadow puppet said:


> My brother's house.  In Austin.  This is nuts.
> 
> View attachment 3519
> 
> View attachment 3520



Texas is known for it’s blizzards on occasion.


----------



## DT

Holy smokes, we had two severe storms blow through (I mentioned it in the WAYDT thread ...), both with tons of cyclonic motion, hail, tornado sirens, emergency weather notifications, it blew by slightly north so we only got two rounds of super heavy rain, lots of electrical activity, and a couple of short bursts of very high winds.

And now, it's beautiful and sunny, with a slight temp drop ...


----------



## Joe

I lost power 2am Monday morning. I woke up at 5am this morning and it was back on. I went 24 hours without power in this freezing weather. It was chilly, but bearable inside my home. I slept with 4 blankets on top of me. I don't wanna do that again.


----------



## Alli

Huntn said:


> Good luck. I don’t think the cold incursion is equal across the South based on latitude. Texas seems to be at the center of it. Right now it’s 14F with a high expected of 33.



It actually went down to 21 last night. Good grief! The biggest problem is, like most homes on the gulf coast, our house is built on pillars so all the pipes are exposed. We remembered to let water drip in the sinks last night, but I forgot my fancy tub, and there's no way to let the toilet run...so guess what's frozen this morning. Ugh.


DT said:


> Holy smokes, we had two severe storms blow through (I mentioned it in the WAYDT thread ...), both with tons of cyclonic motion, hail, tornado sirens, emergency weather notifications, it blew by slightly north so we only got two rounds of super heavy rain, lots of electrical activity, and a couple of short bursts of very high winds.



I heard about that! My sister-in-law spent the morning in the closet with the dog. My brother is actually down here selling the Alabama store.


----------



## lizkat

Thomas Veil said:


> Unfortunately we in the north are all too used to watching people in states like Texas skid wildly out of control on a half inch of snow because they’re not used to driving on the stuff like we are.
> 
> We might even allow ourselves to feel superior when the worst result is some dented car bodies. But freezing rain and black ice are a bitch no matter where you live. I say that as someone who’s experienced personal physical injury because of it. This—this is horrible. Horrible and sad.




Yeah there was a time most people living in the northeast thought "BFF" meant Bridges Freeze First,  although interstate ramps and slopes facing north come a close second..

I remember my first voyeur's experience with black ice...  fortunately saw it happening before my own vehicle was caught up.    I was about to exit to an upsloping ramp off an interstate at night in weather that was alternating between rain and sleet, and there wasn't much traffic.   To my complete befuddlement,  just as I had slowed to take the exit,  I saw that a ways ahead of me on the exit ramp,  taillights were turning into headlights and then into spinning tops like the strobes at a dance club.    I had enough space left to just pull over on the interstate shoulder and watch the ensuing show as cars slid back down to nearly where I'd have been if I'd taken the exit.  It was indeed horrifying, and it took almost an hour for the 10 or so cars to get extricated from their jumble at bottom of that hill.

My only personal meetup with black ice was on a little bridge one night about 8 miles from here.  As I crossed it I had that sinking feeling you get when you realize your steering wheel means nothing...  so i took foot off gas in hopes I'd glide straight until traction was regained but alas there's an upslope there and then a curve so I knew I was in for an adventure...   I went round and round and round,  seeing the same couple of sheds  of a farm there go past me quite a few times, coming closer as the spin spiraled off road center towards the edge but still on ice.   I ended up with the back end landing in crunchy snow at the shoulder... but my car back then was rear-wheel drive,  so I was able to drive out.  For the next 20 years of crossing that bridge even in daylight and summer,  my brain wanted me to take foot off the gas despite my knowing there was an upslope there before the curve.


----------



## Huntn

JagRunner said:


> I lost power 2am Monday morning. I woke up at 5am this morning and it was back on. I went 24 hours without power in this freezing weather. It was chilly, but bearable inside my home. I slept with 4 blankets on top of me. I don't wanna do that again.



Where are you? Sorry if I should know that.  On NPR this morning they are talking about rolling power outages due to the demand for natural gas because of the cold. Homes heated with natural gas, like mine, and power companies using natural gas to generate electricity for the grid.


----------



## Huntn

Alli said:


> It actually went down to 21 last night. Good grief! The biggest problem is, like most homes on the gulf coast, our house is built on pillars so all the pipes are exposed. We remembered to let water drip in the sinks last night, but I forgot my fancy tub, and there's no way to let the toilet run...so guess what's frozen this morning. Ugh.
> 
> I heard about that! My sister-in-law spent the morning in the closet with the dog. My brother is actually down here selling the Alabama store.



Understood, have seen many houses in South Texas with crawl spaces under the house, and the pipes are supposed to be wrapped, but I suppose wrapping only helps for a brief time. We are supposed to be below freezing until Wed, although briefly it will hit 33F today. Our friend who lives in Tulsa in a fairly new house on a concrete slab wondered if she should let her faucets drip (she’s from Texas) and I told her that if it made her feel good, but that with a house like hers, it was not necessary.


----------



## Huntn

fooferdoggie said:


> Been several years since we had real snow in portland. But then we end up more frozen rain then anything else. Left ice on everything. Waking where cars have not gone is esy up I don’t sink in but where cars have been it’s like loose sand. It got down to 24 degrees and lots of wind all night you heard the ice bouncing off the windows.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro



What kind of weeping ? tree? Or is that just cause of the ice on it?


----------



## DT

JagRunner said:


> I lost power 2am Monday morning. I woke up at 5am this morning and it was back on. I went 24 hours without power in this freezing weather. It was chilly, but bearable inside my home. I slept with 4 blankets on top of me. I don't wanna do that again.





Last night, during the peak of the 1st storms, there was a massive flash and boom, I mean, like a very close lightning strike, the power, bounced off for a few seconds ...


... when it came back on, the little G had just sort of appeared on the sofa downstairs (she was up in her room), with a wide eyed look, hahahaha ....


----------



## fooferdoggie

just ice.


----------



## shadow puppet

Huntn said:


> Texas is known for it’s blizzards on occasion.



My brother has lived in Austin over 30 years.  He's never shared photos and info of weather on this scale.


----------



## lizkat

Seen in a letter to the editor in our local paper, one that serves four counties in upstate New York...   signaling to longtime residents just the return of traditional winter at least for this year,  thanks to the polar vortex slipping its usual bounds,  but also pointing out to newbies having bought property up here during the Covid pandemic what that sort of traditional winter is actually about:

 ON WINTER:  “To all our new friends and neighbors, welcome  to mid-winter upstate New York. It will be followed by late winter and soon enough by next winter.  For future reference,  anything less than 6 inches of snow is a flurry, and if you mention that it’s 15 degrees outside make certain to clarify above or below zero.”


----------



## Huntn

fooferdoggie said:


> just ice.



When living in Tennessee, we feared ice worse than snow.


shadow puppet said:


> My brother has lived in Austin over 30 years.  He's never shared photos and info of weather on this scale.



I’d say snow in West Texas is more common. Last time we got snow just a little in Houston was like 3 years ago. Last year we had several frosts. This time, I’m curious to see how the covered plants faired, and also the huge Elephant Ear out front to see if it survived, or just got knocked back. That is easy to replace.  I won’t uncover the plants until Saturday when the lows are back up in the 40s.


----------



## Alli

It’s now up to 36F. Pipes under the house were flowing until hubby turned off the main line. Hopefully a plumber will show up. Ugh. I did not move south for this!


----------



## shadow puppet

Today's update from my brother in Austin.

_"Found out that half the neighborhood uphill from us has been without power for 34 hours. That means no lights, no heat and no cooking food. Maybe even no water if the pipes freeze up. People are running their cars outside to keep their cellphones charged. We've been without cable/internet for two days now. Can still "surf" with our phones, but that consumes data without the house Wi-Fi being available."_

Not sure how far buried these plants are!


----------



## SuperMatt

shadow puppet said:


> Today's update from my brother in Austin.
> 
> _"Found out that half the neighborhood uphill from us has been without power for 34 hours. That means no lights, no heat and no cooking food. Maybe even no water if the pipes freeze up. People are running their cars outside to keep their cellphones charged. We've been without cable/internet for two days now. Can still "surf" with our phones, but that consumes data without the house Wi-Fi being available."_
> 
> Not sure how far buried these plants are!
> 
> View attachment 3560
> 
> View attachment 3561



We have a word for such weather in Western NY:



Spoiler



April


----------



## JayMysteri0

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1361757992123727873/


----------



## lizkat

^^  Been the equivalent of there, yep...   walked out of a diner licking a soft ice cream cone after lunch one day and had it turn to something with the consistency of granite before I got to the parking lot,  because it was twenty below zero.   I was surprised how fast that happens.


----------



## JayMysteri0

What... the... F...






Elsewhere...


> In Athens, rare snow blankets Acropolis, halts vaccinations
> 
> 
> ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Heavy snowfall blanketed the Acropolis and other ancient monuments in Athens, caused power cuts and halted COVID-19 vaccinations in the Greek capital on Tuesday as the weather brought many services across the country to a standstill...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> apnews.com







https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1361898920763301897/

And...
https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1361825228201066498/


----------



## lizkat

JayMysteri0 said:


> What... the... F...





There was a tweet from some official account in Canada to Texas, to effect of "We're right there with you"...

I was thinking that was pretty much tongue in cheek since the weather in TX came from up there.

But hey, maybe it was a charitable gesture and offer of help,  ya never know.


----------



## Huntn

*Houston, Texas, *what seems to be an extreme weather event for Texas and other Southern States, we lost elec power at 11pm central Tuesday night when temps dropped to 13F. Fortunately we have a gas fire place, and a gas water heater with a permanent pilot light. My understanding it was turned off so power could be restored to other areas hit before us.

My impression is that it was a combination of record cold temps and  the demand for natural gas by homes heated with it (bunches of them) and electrical utilities that are using natural gas for electricity generation, failed generators and a shortage of natural gas. 

Just got it back 22 hrs later. Apparently a huge mess. Lots of nightmarish burst pipes In homes. Gov Abbott went on Fox  and complained about wind turbines shutting down, but got egg on his face when he was reminded that some operators of Texas located windmills opted not to put deicing on them. The corporation that controls the grid, http://www.ercot.com/ apparantly catching heat because it is not accountable to State or Local governments. So I have to wonder how this came about and what demands for  changes will be insisted upon.  For example, I would think if windmills are not considered reliable for winter conditions, you would need to have a proper excess of available power capacity available.

My understanding is that Windmills up North, Minnesota, Iowa, run through out the winter. When the power came on at 9pm, outside 35F and  House temp was 60F. The 2’ of cellulose insulation  in our attic helps. When we moved in we had barely 4” of fiberglass batting. It was a challenge managing battery power of our iOS devices.


----------



## Alli

Gonna stay in the 40’s tonight. Yay!

In the meanwhile, the plumber taught us a great lesson yesterday. When you’re expecting freezing weather overnight, turn off the water main and empty all your faucets. In the morning, turn the water back on. Worked a treat. Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll have to repeat this trick again tomorrow night. But then we’ll be going back to the 60’s and 70’s where it’s supposed to be.


----------



## Huntn

Alli said:


> Gonna stay in the 40’s tonight. Yay!
> 
> In the meanwhile, the plumber taught us a great lesson yesterday. When you’re expecting freezing weather overnight, turn off the water main and empty all your faucets. In the morning, turn the water back on. Worked a treat. Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll have to repeat this trick again tomorrow night. But then we’ll be going back to the 60’s and 70’s where it’s supposed to be.



When your insulation is questionable, some people will let their faucets drip to a slow stream over night. For a house like ours when the heat drops  off,  on a concrete slab, this would be pipes on the outside walls like our kitchen sink, and our master bathrooms sinks. Also leave the cabinet doors for those sinks open to the room, and yes, if really bad turn off water outside and drain your faucets.

For us this was compounded when you lose the heat in your house. It went from a _not really worried about it_, to when the power shutdown, to _oh crap_. What's interesting is that they are calling these rolling blackouts, but they are doing that in Tulsa and our friend there is losing power for 2 hrs and then it's back on.  When you lose power for 1-4 days, then that is not a great description. Even having the power off for 6 hrs, then on for 18 hrs would be workable.

What is interesting is that insulation does 2 things, keeps the cold out, cold in, heat out, heat in. In Minnesota 8" exterior walls is a standard, but not the case in Houston. When I was putting in the 2' of insulation in the attic, my wife's brilliant friend asked, why do that, it does not get that cold here.  Yeah well the attic insulation knocked our AC bill almost to half of what it was. And if more houses here had 8" walls filled with insulation, it would have a huge positive impact on freak events like this cold spike and save money in the summer too.


----------



## Alli

Huntn said:


> When your insulation is questionable, some people will let their faucets drip to a slow stream over night. For a house like ours when the heat drops off, on a concrete slab, this would be pipes on the outside walls like our kitchen sink, and our master bathrooms sinks. Also leave the cabinet doors for those sinks open to the room, and yes, if really bad turn off water outside and drain your faucets.



We have great insulation. We recently had insulation placed under the house to keep the heat (or cold) from dissipating through the floorboards. Unfortunately, the house is not on a slab. (Very few homes on the gulf are built on slabs.) Like every other home around here, the house is on pillars. That means all the pipes are pretty much exposed to the wind and cold (which we rarely get). Even wrapping each pipe doesn't give a lot of protection from an icy wind. Live and learn.


----------



## JayMysteri0

Not something you see often
https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1362196368631074822/


----------



## lizkat

Huntn said:


> My understanding is that Windmills up North, Minnesota, Iowa, run through out the winter.




Yeah, yer genius gov Abbott was reading propaganda talking points.   Windmills even run in Antarctica....

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1362127602123702273/


----------



## Huntn

Texas is getting knocked. 4million citizens lost elec  power and/or water.  The State prides itself in shoving away regulation, yet the business interests involved failed to spend the money to prepare their equipment for cold, icing conditions as if that never happens in Texas.  Profits are music to their ears, except now... who knows?

I think some regulatory changes maybe coming. When you have a corporation managing the Texas electrical power grid, the State’s own grid without State oversight, and don’t need no stink’n regulations, well then maybe 4M citizens take it on the chin for your wallet.  

My sister inlaw lives in a fancy newish house over by Lake Austin, my understanding is they had not lost electrical power when a water pipe burst Inside their home. As a veteran of Minnesota winters, I have to ask, _what kind of houses are they building in Texas?? _To myself, not them.


----------



## fooferdoggie

well the snow is melting. it goes fast in portland. but a road I came home on with some snow slush. well it was 37 out but that one stretch I guess it had frozen and it was pretty tricky on the bike.  but now its just what's left from the plows but that can cover the bike lanes in places. saw this poor tree when I came home. so many beaches down from older trees. but this was the biggest I saw.


----------



## fooferdoggie

Huntn said:


> Texas is getting knocked. 4million citizens lost elec  power and/or water.  The State prides itself in shoving away regulation, yet the business interests involved failed to spend the money to prepare their equipment for cold, icing conditions as if that never happens in Texas.  Profits are music to their ears, except now... who knows?
> 
> I think some regulatory changes maybe coming. When you have a corporation managing the Texas electrical power grid, the State’s own grid without State oversight, and don’t need no stink’n regulations, well then maybe 4M citizens take it on the chin for your wallet.
> 
> My sister inlaw lives in a fancy newish house over by Lake Austin, my understanding is they had not lost electrical power when a water pipe burst Inside their home. As a veteran of Minnesota winters, I have to ask, _what kind of houses are they building in Texas?? _To myself, not them.



Dont bet on it. I remember after that chemical plant blew up they made it impossible for people to know what the plants are and they actually reduced the overbite of them.


----------



## Eraserhead

Huntn said:


> When your insulation is questionable, some people will let their faucets drip to a slow stream over night. For a house like ours when the heat drops  off,  on a concrete slab, this would be pipes on the outside walls like our kitchen sink, and our master bathrooms sinks. Also leave the cabinet doors for those sinks open to the room, and yes, if really bad turn off water outside and drain your faucets.
> 
> For us this was compounded when you lose the heat in your house. It went from a _not really worried about it_, to when the power shutdown, to _oh crap_. What's interesting is that they are calling these rolling blackouts, but they are doing that in Tulsa and our friend there is losing power for 2 hrs and then it's back on.  When you lose power for 1-4 days, then that is not a great description. Even having the power off for 6 hrs, then on for 18 hrs would be workable.
> 
> What is interesting is that insulation does 2 things, keeps the cold out, cold in, heat out, heat in. In Minnesota 8" exterior walls is a standard, but not the case in Houston. When I was putting in the 2' of insulation in the attic, my wife's brilliant friend asked, why do that, it does not get that cold here.  Yeah well the attic insulation knocked our AC bill almost to half of what it was. And if more houses here had 8" walls filled with insulation, it would have a huge positive impact on freak events like this cold spike and save money in the summer too.



My house has pretty good insulation mostly for the winter, but when it is super warm in the summer you can keep the temperature close to the nighttime minimum inside by closing the curtains and opening the windows at night.


----------



## Huntn

fooferdoggie said:


> Dont bet on it. I remember after that chemical plant blew up they made it impossible for people to know what the plants are and they actually reduced the overbite of them.



Several plants have blown up over the years the one I remember is the West Fertilizer Plant (ammonia nitrate) in a facility in the middle of the town of  West Texas. At one point, I also remember entities in the State either making or trying to make new regulations to keep the location of large amounts of ammonia nitrate secret from average citizens though official reporting.  









						Feds: Deadly Fertilizer Plant Explosion Was 'Criminal Act'
					

A fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people and injured 160 others in April 2013 was caused by a criminal act, federal officials said Wednesday.




					www.nbcnews.com


----------



## Huntn

Alli said:


> We have great insulation. We recently had insulation placed under the house to keep the heat (or cold) from dissipating through the floorboards. Unfortunately, the house is not on a slab. (Very few homes on the gulf are built on slabs.) Like every other home around here, the house is on pillars. That means all the pipes are pretty much exposed to the wind and cold (which we rarely get). Even wrapping each pipe doesn't give a lot of protection from an icy wind. Live and learn.



They have rubberized sleeved to wrap the pipes in which you most likely have on those exposed pipes.


----------



## Huntn

Eraserhead said:


> My house has pretty good insulation mostly for the winter, but when it is super warm in the summer you can keep the temperature close to the nighttime minimum inside by closing the curtains and opening the windows at night.



Where are you?


----------



## Eraserhead

Huntn said:


> Where are you?



The UK. My house was mostly built in 2018 so building standards are pretty high.


----------



## Alli

Huntn said:


> They have rubberized sleeved to wrap the pipes in which you most likely have on those exposed pipes.



We have them on most of the pipes. No one wants to crawl under the house amidst the cat shit and dead things to rewrap all of them.


----------



## Huntn

Eraserhead said:


> My house has pretty good insulation mostly for the winter, but when it is super warm in the summer you can keep the temperature close to the nighttime minimum inside by closing the curtains and opening the windows at night.



Adding 2’ of cellulose insulation to the attic has made a huge difference in our summer cooling bills.


----------



## Huntn

Eraserhead said:


> The UK. My house was mostly built in 2018 so building standards are pretty high.



I thought so, sorry,  it’s just that you were momentarily out of context here at talkedabout.  As a rule my impression is that the UK does not deal with frigid cold or stifling hot.


----------



## Huntn

Alli said:


> We have them on most of the pipes. No one wants to crawl under the house amidst the cat shit and dead things to rewrap all of them.



You need them on all of the pipes or else, said with the warmest of intentions..


----------



## Eraserhead

Huntn said:


> I thought so, sorry,  it’s just that you were momentarily out of context here at talkedabout.  As a rule my impression is that the UK does not deal with frigid cold or stifling hot.



True to an extent. But it still regularly gets down to freezing point or a little below and some times gets to 35 degrees C.

To be clear here you could get away with passive cooling only. Whereas in America that would be crazy.


----------



## Alli

Huntn said:


> You need them on all of the pipes or else, said with the warmest of intentions..



Can I get you to make a quick call to my husband?  He's already got them on the list for our next trip to Lowe's. And now we won't need them for another 6 years. Already back to the normal 60's here.


----------



## Joe

Huntn said:


> Where are you? Sorry if I should know that.  On NPR this morning they are talking about rolling power outages due to the demand for natural gas because of the cold. Homes heated with natural gas, like mine, and power companies using natural gas to generate electricity for the grid.




I'm in west Houston.


----------



## Pumbaa

It is now officially spring in Stockholm. 

Technically spring arrived a week ago, February 19th, but meteorological spring as defined by SMHI, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, requires (among other things) seven consecutive days with “spring temperature” so we never know for sure until a week later. Slightly concerning though that spring is a month early...

Anyways, amazing day today, clear blue sky, singing birds, 10*°*C/50*°*F.


----------



## Alli

Pumbaa said:


> Anyways, amazing day today, clear blue sky, singing birds, 10*°*C/50*°*F.



We would still call that winter here. Almost 80F here today. It was lovely.


----------



## Huntn

Alli said:


> We would still call that winter here. Almost 80F here today. It was lovely.



80F low humidity is quite nice.


----------



## DT

Huntn said:


> 80F low humidity is quite nice.




OMG, yeah, the weather here is amazing ... er, but not to be a Debbie Downer, the pollen is insane and the spring breakers can FO ...


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> We would still call that winter here. Almost 80F here today. It was lovely.




No wonder those photos of daffodils!   Mine are under snowbanks knowing even April Fool's Day will be too soon.

Anyway this county got by without power failures last night despite sustained northwest winds that blew from around midnight to about an hour ago, with some nasty 50mph gusts that put a breeze into front rooms even around edges of the storm windows a few times even this morning.

I'm grateful for the tree trimming the crews did along roadsides this year since the air temperature overnight was even colder than forecast,  ticking down to 2 below zero rather than stopping at 7ºF. Not a great night for anyone facing a power outage, for sure.    Also grateful for whoever built this place (ca.1865) because they knew better than to put any windows in the upstairs of the house facing the road and that northwest blast straight off Lake Ontario hundreds of miles away.

Good practice along here is put a few conifers between road and house, otherwise 7-foot drifts find the first floor's front-facing windows and porch.  Best practice upstairs is pile on the quilts and stay there until desire for coffee overcomes dislike of emerging from 90º coziness to a 50º bedroom and making a mad dash for downstairs.    I tell myself it's like camping out in the state parks during autumn, only better because here I can go down to a kitchen warmed by more than the rising sun.


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> No wonder those photos of daffodils! Mine are under snowbanks knowing even April Fool's Day will be too soon.



Today the daffodils, and everything else, are submerged. It doesn’t even matter if it’s hot or cold. It’s just raining and gross.


----------



## Clix Pix

We have sunshine today although the temperature only got into the low 40's.....  That's OK, I'll take it, since there was no rain, no snow, no ice, impeding my way when I needed to go out to run a couple of errands.

Our daffodils are still merely green leaves shooting up from the ground, no flowers as of yet.  In the meantime I cheered myself with the promise of things to come by buying a lovely little bouquet of yellow tulips.   They're sitting on the dining table now in a vase, adding delightful springlike color to the entire main living area.....    Along with daffodils, I love tulips because of their intriguing shape. After I got back from the store I did have a brief shooting session with one and the results of that will be appearing in tomorrow's photo of the day.....   .


----------



## Alli

Clix Pix said:


> Our daffodils are still merely green leaves shooting up from the ground, no flowers as of yet. In the meantime I cheered myself with the promise of things to come by buying a lovely little bouquet of yellow tulips. They're sitting on the dining table now in a vase, adding delightful springlike color to the entire main living area..... Along with daffodils, I love tulips because of their intriguing shape. After I got back from the store I did have a brief shooting session with one and the results of that will be appearing in tomorrow's photo of the day..... .



My daughter buys herself a bouquet every week. She's done it for years. She just loves having fresh flowers on the table.


----------



## Clix Pix

I don't treat myself to flowers too often, but every now and then, especially during the winter when there are no flowers to enjoy outdoors, I get the urge to bring some floral beauty and wonderful scent into the house.   This bouquet just called out to me when I was walking past the flower section, and how could I resist that luscious yellow color and their wonderful, elegant shape?    I've been smiling ever since!


----------



## lizkat

Cloudy tonight so we're catching a break and expect low of only 15ºF overnight...  but clearing off tomorrow with winds resuming and yep, the low will dip down to single digits for one more go at serious winter.    Then some pretty spring like days setting in mid week.   Everyone here wondering if there's one more good snowstorm on tap or we're going to have to settle for the glaciers we already have at ends of our driveways. 

The guy who's plowing my drives this season hasn't dropped off his bill for February yet,  so maybe he's figuring to tack on the tab for March and be done with it.  I hope he's not painting the devil on the wall with that idea.  The previous guy preferred to bill for the season, and last time he sent his bills out at the end of March, we got a blizzard on April 11th...


----------



## lizkat

Thinking about those in the south who were in the path of terrible tornadoes overnight and early this morning.   Hope you all are safe.

The weather can be violent even here when a warm pre-spring spell lands in the mountains.   Today we have had severe T-storm warnings twice already, plus advisories of sustained southwest winds over 30mph with gusts to 55,  so with warnings to drivers of high-profile vehicles.  The wind that strong from the southwest is very unusual for here.   The temperatures continue on a rollercoaster too:   a record of 72ºF was set here yesterday, but next Thursday snow is in the forecast and the overnight is forecast as 17ºF.   March is  trying to leave like the lion in came in as.   Thought if it came in strong it was supposed to leave like a lamb...


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> Thinking about those in the south who were in the path of terrible tornadoes overnight and early this morning.   Hope you all are safe.
> 
> The weather can be violent even here when a warm pre-spring spell lands in the mountains.   Today we have had severe T-storm warnings twice already, plus advisories of sustained southwest winds over 30mph with gusts to 55,  so with warnings to drivers of high-profile vehicles.  The wind that strong from the southwest is very unusual for here.   The temperatures continue on a rollercoaster too:   a record of 72ºF was set here yesterday, but next Thursday snow is in the forecast and the overnight is forecast as 17ºF.   March is  trying to leave like the lion in came in as.   Thought if it came in strong it was supposed to leave like a lamb...



We’ve been very lucky so far. The worst weather has been at least two hours north. All we’ve gotten is rain, and nothing really out of the ordinary for the rainiest city in the country. I’m ready for a day without a flash flood warning though.


----------



## Renzatic

I was lucky. If I were 15 miles to either the north or the south, I would've been slammed by last night's storm. Fortunately, they just skirted my town, so all I got was the offdraft.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Holy cow it was windy Thursday night/Friday morning. I pity anyone who had to put their trash cans out.

When my wife woke up and asked “How’s it going?” I said, “Well, the car’s laying on its side,” and she was like, “Really?”


----------



## lizkat

Thomas Veil said:


> Holy cow it was windy Thursday night/Friday morning. I pity anyone who had to put their trash cans out.
> 
> When my wife woke up and asked “How’s it going?” I said, “Well, the car’s laying on its side,” and she was like, “Really?”




Yah one of my big ol' maple trees shed a 15' upper limb into the area of my veggie garden after a time of sustained winds very late Thursday night. Probably snapped off at some juncture that had looked convenient for a bird's nest, so after 20, 30 years of serving that purpose it may have developed enough rot to attract a woodpecker who made further inroads,  et voila...  so now the guy who mows my lawn will come down here with a chainsaw and collect part of his next year's firewood:  most of the fallen limb (main parts of which are about 6" or 8" in diameter) looks in good shape for that purpose.  Glad that thing didn't fall on my kitchen, I might be looking at replacing more than just shingles.


----------



## lizkat

And... here comes the punch line from ol' man winter:   four to six inches of snow due here overnight.  Gee.  I'm ready for daffodils but it sounds like I might have to wait awhile yet.    Anyway March is exiting not exactly like a lion but not like a lamb either.   Heavy wet snow but warm enough it will just make a mess for a day or so, few plowmen will want to be trying to plow up wet snow off grassy driveways in ground that is already thawed.   Glad I don't have to go anywhere!


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> And... here comes the punch line from ol' man winter:   four to six inches of snow due here overnight.




Snow? In March? My god...


----------



## Runs For Fun

Renzatic said:


> Snow? In March? My god...



We've gotten snow in April before. Weather here be crazy.


----------



## Pumbaa

RunsForFun said:


> We've gotten snow in April before. Weather here be crazy.



You could probably get away with “Weather be crazy”...

Here we traditionally make use of the term “April weather”. Sunshine and summer temperatures one day, rain/hail/snow and freaking cold the next. Today was thankfully closer to the former than to the latter.

And the days keeps getting longer — Sunrise today at 06:15, sunset at 19:30, and we’re just getting started! Woohoo!


----------



## Thomas Veil

RunsForFun said:


> We've gotten snow in April before. Weather here be crazy.



It's April 1st and we've got snow here.

Hey God. If you really exist...I suppose you think this is funny.


----------



## Runs For Fun

Thomas Veil said:


> It's April 1st and we've got snow here.
> 
> Hey God. If you really exist...I suppose you think this is funny.



Also got a few inches of snow here. Ugh.


----------



## Alli

RunsForFun said:


> We've gotten snow in April before. Weather here be crazy.






Thomas Veil said:


> It's April 1st and we've got snow here.



My son was born on April 9th. We brought him home from the hospital on April 13th (which would turn into his sister's birthday 4 years later). It snowed the day we brought him home. And that, children, is why I moved south.


----------



## lizkat

RunsForFun said:


> Also got a few inches of snow here. Ugh.




Here too...  enough so the plows came out three times.   The highway crews were not laughing if that snow was an April Fool's Day joke.    Most schools in our county were closed Thursday or had two-hour delay of start.

There's still a bit of snow drifted up alongside the foundations of the house even today on the north side.  It started to melt Thursday but then set up in the cold snap overnight Thursday and Friday when it got down below 15ºF both nights. 

No one was crazy enough to plow out their driveways though,  the ground is not really frozen any more even though it seems like it right at the surface after a cold night.   Anyone with just a stone and grass driveway had fun navigating snow turning to 4 inches of slush / mud. 

Oh well.  Easter Sunday is turning out to be sunny and the week promises to be milder even overnight, so maybe Spring is really here now!


----------



## Alli

We complained because it dropped below 50 overnight and took until noon to reach 70. I'm tired of this bipolar weather.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> We complained because it dropped below 50 overnight and took until noon to reach 70. I'm tired of this bipolar weather.




It's not your imagination.   This is a clip of the March highs and lows for Binghamton, NY about 60 miles west and slightly south of here,


----------



## Pumbaa

April 5th, woke up to everything covered in snow. Didn’t last the day, but long enough to wreck plenty of cars nationwide. Sad.


----------



## Thomas Veil

We’re looking at mid to high 70s temperatures for the entire week, with some sparse rain.

I wish I could ⌘-C, ⌘-V this weather all winter long.


----------



## lizkat

Thomas Veil said:


> We’re looking at mid to high 70s temperatures for the entire week, with some sparse rain.
> 
> I wish I could ⌘-C, ⌘-V this weather all winter long.




Honestly I'd settle for that during the month of May...  and any day like it now in April feels like a real gift.   June gets more reliable for nice days.


----------



## lizkat

Back in the snow belt again for April 20 per forecast for nearby city. 

This is gettin' ridiculous even for here in the Catskills.

​

​


----------



## Runs For Fun

Yep snow in the forecast for Wednesday.   This is ridiculous.


----------



## lizkat

RunsForFun said:


> Yep snow in the forecast for Wednesday.   This is ridiculous.





The snow potential's no big deal really, a couple inches will melt off fast,  but the lingering low temperatures this late into April are a pain in the back for anyone trying to protect prematurely emerging perennial foliage that's less hardy than stuff like daylilies and forsythia.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> The snow potential's no big deal really, a couple inches will melt off fast,  but the lingering low temperatures this late into April are a pain in the back for anyone trying to protect prematurely emerging perennial foliage that's less hardy than stuff like daylilies and forsythia.




It's only barely getting into the 70's here, and it just makes me so mad. I mean, it's spring, damnit! Be spring!


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> It's only barely getting into the 70's here, and it just makes me so mad. I mean, it's spring, damnit! Be spring!




Ma Nature done forget what "spring" means.    She thinks it has something to do with bounce.   Like 70º days, 25º overnight.


----------



## Eric

Renzatic said:


> It's only barely getting into the 70's here, and it just makes me so mad. I mean, it's spring, damnit! Be spring!



In the 80s in the central valley here in CA, typical for this time of year and the air conditioning is in full swing. I have a small fan pointed ay my HDMI hub near the back of my TV because it gets hot during these months and it's set to come up when my thermostat hits 75 degrees using a Smartthings automation, it came on for the first time this year, one of the first signs of summer in my house.


----------



## Alli

Mother Nature is waiting until the Apple event today so she can provide the Spring.


----------



## Eric

Alli said:


> Mother Nature is waiting until the Apple event today so she can provide the Spring.



Ooh, there's an Apple event today? I finally have a reason to visit MR.


----------



## Runs For Fun

lizkat said:


> The snow potential's no big deal really, a couple inches will melt off fast,  but the lingering low temperatures this late into April are a pain in the back for anyone trying to protect prematurely emerging perennial foliage that's less hardy than stuff like daylilies and forsythia.



Yeah it's supposed to be 60° by Friday lol. I'm more irritated by the temperatures too. It's supposed to be Spring! I also know some people who have some early plants sprouting that are basically going to get killed by this.


----------



## Clix Pix

It's a lovely Spring day here:  71 degrees with a gentle breeze and plenty of sunshine!  Delightful!


----------



## Pumbaa

ericgtr12 said:


> Ooh, there's an Apple event today? I finally have a reason to visit MR.



Just be careful with the comment sections in case Apple highlights diversity. Showing the wrong people using or benefiting from Apple products is apparently shoving the BLM and/or LGBT agenda down your throat!

In other news: It’s been a lovely sunny spring day. Not sure about the temperature, didn’t look, but a t-shirt might have been an option during the day.

Sunset scheduled for 20:14. Apple Event at 19:00 with temperature forecast to be 13°C/55°F.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> Mother Nature is waiting until the Apple event today so she can provide the Spring.




I have to say I really like the Apple "spring" squiggle they put up as their reminder of the event. Like a rainbow Slinky toy.

​
​


----------



## Pumbaa

lizkat said:


> I have to say I really like the Apple "spring" squiggle they put up as their reminder of the event. Like a rainbow Slinky toy.
> ​



The iSlinky springs to life after a long winter! Love it!


----------



## lizkat

Pumbaa said:


> The iSlinky springs to life after a long winter! Love it!




About time to tune in.    First I need to hide my wallet.


----------



## User.191

What the actual fuck? It's late April and we get this?


----------



## Alli

MissNomer said:


> What the actual fuck? It's late April and we get this?



Where in hell has frozen over are you?!


----------



## User.191

Ohio - you know, the frozen freaking North...

It all melted off during the day and now it's started bloody snowing again.

I'm so over this. My poor plants are being taken in and out the house so often they don't know if they're coming or going.


----------



## Runs For Fun

MissNomer said:


> Ohio - you know, the frozen freaking North...
> 
> It all melted off during the day and now it's started bloody snowing again.
> 
> I'm so over this. My poor plants are being taken in and out the house so often they don't know if they're coming or going.



Hey another Ohioan!


----------



## User.191

RunsForFun said:


> Hey another Ohioan!



I'm in the South West corner - where be you?


----------



## Runs For Fun

MissNomer said:


> I'm in the South West corner - where be you?



I’m from the North East area. We had a few inches on the ground this morning. It has mostly all melted by now but we’re still getting random flurries. Ugh.


----------



## User.191

RunsForFun said:


> I’m from the North East area. We had a few inches on the ground this morning. It has mostly all melted by now but we’re still getting random flurries. Ugh.



Well, Cleveland - say no more...

Least it's not Wisconsin - Winter 300 days of the year, miserable the remaining 65 

I'm stealing myself for our next pilgrimage up to that snowy wasteland next month...


----------



## Runs For Fun

MissNomer said:


> Well, Cleveland - say no more...
> 
> Least it's not Wisconsin - Winter 300 days of the year, miserable the remaining 65
> 
> I'm stealing myself for our next pilgrimage up to that snowy wasteland next month...



Yep Cleveland, where Spring includes snow.


----------



## Alli

MissNomer said:


> Ohio - you know, the frozen freaking North...






RunsForFun said:


> Yep Cleveland, where Spring includes snow.



All of Ohio includes snow in the spring. My son was born in Toledo. Brought him home from the hospital on April 13 - in the snow. Don’t miss it.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> All of Ohio includes snow in the spring. My son was born in Toledo. Brought him home from the hospital on April 13 - in the snow. Don’t miss it.



We got about four inches total around here yesterday of which two stuck as the temperatures dropped.  Today flurries... which are also sticking since it was only 18 degrees out there early this morning...   guess we're aiming at 34º high today.

Fortunately the lingering snow showers are not enough to deter power utility crews from continuing to work on the direct and related damage to local grid when a professional logger got careless or overoptimistic or something and dropped a very big tree on the infrastructure yesterday...  

The force of the drop on the wires managed to destroy crossarms on five utility poles...  which were far enough out in the boondocks so the power crews had fun carrying repair materials onto the site for repairs. 

Some customers only lacked power about three hours but there was related damage to a transfer station's switching equipment so a couple thousand rural co-op customers experienced power outages for up to ten hours while that got addressed.    Of course this stuff can't happen on a day when it's 60ºF outside and losing power is an inconvenience instead of potentially life threatening.   I do like April better when the ground thaws enough in March that loggers give it up to the mud season sooner.


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> We got about four inches total around here yesterday of which two stuck as the temperatures dropped. Today flurries... which are also sticking since it was only 18 degrees out there early this morning... guess we're aiming at 34º high today.



Good gods. Why haven't you done like every other respectable older New Yorker and moved south?


----------



## Pumbaa

April weather today. Again. Plenty of hail, no rain. Looked pretty funny when the wind got its hands on the frozen pellets of hurt lying on the ground. Failed to get it on video though so I guess it didn’t happen. 

Later saw a patch of blue sky and felt the sun shine. We live in mysterious times. 



Alli said:


> Good gods. Why haven't you done like every other respectable older New Yorker and moved south?



Heck, even non-respectable older New Yorkers move south.


----------



## Alli

Pumbaa said:


> Heck, even non-respectable older New Yorkers move south.



Exactly. Even my daughter, who just turned 34, finally left NY in January for the sunshine state.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> Good gods. Why haven't you done like every other respectable older New Yorker and moved south?




Born in cold climate (about 40 miles from here actually) and I'm gonna die in one.   tbh I can't stand the heat so a place with mean night temps of 55º is perfect for me, once we get past the seasons where the meaning of "mean" is "brutal" rather than "average".

Anyway I still do find winter up here more pleasant than battling the winds off the NYC rivers...  just have to put up with the fact that winter lasts way longer in the Catskills most years.   We're not part of New England but I buy into the idea that the seasons in some years can break down into "nine months of winter and three months of damned poor sledding."  So far 2021 is looking like one of those years!

Also the cost of living in a stone broke county has always been lower, so as a NYC resident while I was working,  there was more room in the budget for Apple gear and everything else discretionary including this then seasonal residence.   After all, I'm living in a place I had bought for $15k in the 80s and only poured about $50k more into over the years.  Those numbers are not adjusted for inflation but even if they were,  ya get that picture.   

But I have my limits and a winter like this one has been testing my patience.  I like to be outside this time of year, sans parka.


----------



## DT

OMG, it has been amazing the last few days, sunny, a bit windy, in the upper 60s, peaking at like 70-72 mid afternoon.  Went to the store, and drove around to the island to pick up these amazing homemade pierogies this local chef sells around this time (Greek Orthodox Easter ...), front tops out, all the windows down, even opened up the rear glass 

Picked up another ~2MPG, it's showing 40MPG, hahaha, it's really almost none, as we haven't used any gas for the last week


----------



## lizkat

DT said:


> OMG, it has been amazing the last few days, sunny, a bit windy, in the upper 60s, peaking at like 70-72 mid afternoon.  Went to the store, and drove around to the island to pick up these amazing homemade pierogies this local chef sells around this time (Greek Orthodox Easter ...), front tops out, all the windows down, even opened up the rear glass
> 
> Picked up another ~2MPG, it's showing 40MPG, hahaha, it's really almost none, as we haven't used any gas for the last week




Keep looking over your shoulder...  the more northerly residents pining for spring are definitely coming at ya for that post.

EDIT:   I just had to put a storm window back onto the weather side of my kitchen...  one of the old window panes said ok already and finally gave it up to a gust of wind that probably topped 35mph on this breezy and deceptively sunny afternoon.  The wind angles in from the northwest and works at the caulk in those panes until one of them flips out yet again.   I walked out there for a cuppa coffee and discovered the curtains were fluttering for "no good reason".    Ugh!


----------



## lizkat

Supposed to snow in the Catskills on Friday night with wind gusts over 40mph.

Yeah.   April 30th.   This is getting in the range of comical to absurd...   even if it is just one inch of snow expected.

*Friday Night*​Snow showers likely, mainly before midnight, then a chance of flurries with a slight chance of snow showers after 5am.  Cloudy, with a low around 29. Breezy, with a northwest wind 21 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 46 mph.  Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.​
So...   I didn't realize April going out like a lion was a thing but I guess that's where we're at now.


----------



## SuperMatt

Interesting weather report in Minnesota:


----------



## MEJHarrison

RunsForFun said:


> Yep Cleveland, where Spring includes snow.




I was born in Warren, near Youngstown.  Haven't been back there since 2006 or something like that.  Can't say I miss it.  There's one aunt I'd like to see.  The rest of the family is just fine where they are.


----------



## Runs For Fun

MEJHarrison said:


> I was born in Warren, near Youngstown.  Haven't been back there since 2006 or something like that.  Can't say I miss it.  There's one aunt I'd like to see.  The rest of the family is just fine where they are.



Meant to post here we had frickin snow last Sunday. In the middle of May. FFS


----------



## lizkat

RunsForFun said:


> Meant to post here we had frickin snow last Sunday. In the middle of May. FFS




Yep, same here plus some weird hail/snow mix not long ago.    My thermostat is set to 54 for overnights and still kicks in during the wee hours because it's still getting down to freezing outside then. The end-April gas delivery is supposed to last through September!   True spring is supposed to happen this week at last, I guess.    Lows overnight in the mid 40s and low 50s sound like heaven.  Meanwhile the season of winter debris cleanup and garden prep has been a seriously slow go;  who wants to work towards setting out a garden when it's been rainy and 43 degrees  in the daytime with a stiff northwest wind?!

Trying to reminid myself that I loathe the summer heat so I should be living it up during this lingering cold spring.   Somehow that's not working.


----------



## Clix Pix

MEJHarrison said:


> I was born in Warren, near Youngstown.  Haven't been back there since 2006 or something like that.  Can't say I miss it.  There's one aunt I'd like to see.  The rest of the family is just fine where they are.



I spent some of my early years in East Liverpool, Ohio......then we lived in Illinois for a while, then back to East Liverpool again.  When I went to college and grad school that was the end of my living there with my parents, and they eventually moved to Florida, so I have not been back to ELO for quite a number of years now.   I definitely don't miss it!   From what I understand the town has been ravaged by the opium crisis -- really sad.


----------



## Thomas Veil

RunsForFun said:


> Hey another Ohioan!



 Same here.

 That snow on Mother’s Day…Jesus, winter, let it go already!


----------



## tranceking26

Here in England it has been cloudy, rainy and windy for like a week, and it doesn't seem to disappear as we near summer!


----------



## Pumbaa

tranceking26 said:


> Here in England it has been cloudy, rainy and windy for like a week, and it doesn't seem to disappear as we near summer!



Isn’t that, like, the only weather you guys got over there?


----------



## tranceking26

Pumbaa said:


> Isn’t that, like, the only weather you guys got over there?



For like 85% of the year, yes lol. For a while it was actually nice and sunny though...

I even prepared for summer by buying a foldable chair and tidying my balcony, but then the usual dull weather returned!


----------



## Pumbaa

tranceking26 said:


> For like 85% of the year, yes lol. For a while it was actually nice and sunny though...
> 
> I even prepared for summer by buying a foldable chair and tidying my balcony, but then the usual dull weather returned!



Give it a few more days, summer is coming!


----------



## tranceking26

Pumbaa said:


> Give it a few more days, summer is coming!



yeah! but it just started pouring with rain again


----------



## Alli

We’ve actually had almost a full week with no rain. Blue skies, sunshine. It’s almost scary. I’m already worrying about the coming hurricane season.


----------



## Pumbaa

Alli said:


> We’ve actually had almost a full week with no rain. Blue skies, sunshine. It’s almost scary. I’m already worrying about the coming hurricane season.



People are different. A friend of mine has traveled to the US more than once for tornado chasing safaris.


----------



## Alli

Pumbaa said:


> People are different. A friend of mine has traveled to the US more than once for tornado chasing safaris.



I find those people more than a bit off.


----------



## User.168

.


----------



## Alli

theSeb said:


> Day 24 of May. It still hasn't stopped raining. We had a very dry April (driest on record, I think) and then it started raining at the end of April and has basically been raining ever since. Looks like it will finally be warming up and this week with sunshine from tomorrow onwards.



Good lord! Sounds like here last month.


----------



## Deleted member 199

Pumbaa said:


> A friend of mine has traveled to the US more than once for tornado chasing safaris.






Alli said:


> I find those people more than a bit off.




Tell me about it. They have the good fortune to be born somewhere else, but still feel the need to go to 'Merica.


I kid I kid.. sort of.


----------



## Ulenspiegel

Raining all the time I can't wash my car.


----------



## Eric

Ulenspiegel said:


> Raining all the time I can't wash my car.



Oregon?


----------



## Ulenspiegel

Eric said:


> Oregon?




No, Central-Europe (atm), Eric.


----------



## fischersd

To those lamenting about snow in off times of the year.  July.  Southwestern Ontario.  No joke (the area, as global warming has continued, is very prone to tornadoes)

Was sunny, hot, typical July day (likely 22-27C) - then, suddenly got really cold and cloudy and we got about an inch of snow.  Obviously, it didn't stay, but, still, freaky weird!!! 

This was many moons ago...when I was in grade school...and didn't even know what global warming was....likely the 80's.


----------



## tranceking26

I had a great view of the moon last night but the rain clouds kept getting in the way


----------



## User.191

tranceking26 said:


> I had a great view of the moon last night but the rain clouds kept getting in the way



Rain clouds. In England? Tell me it ain't so!


----------



## Pumbaa

MissNomer said:


> Rain clouds. In England? Tell me it ain't so!



Of course not. On the moon,


----------



## User.191

Pumbaa said:


> Of course not. On the moon,



You absolute BASTARD. I just laughed up a gob full of orange spice tea over my keyboard and desk... It'll take me ages to clean this up.


----------



## Pumbaa

Rain. More rain. Even more rain. Rain forecast for all 24 hours today, every single one, for a total of 30.7mm. So far they’ve been absolutely right. But it is kind of nice going to bed and listen to rain descending on the roof and windows.

Sunrise scheduled for 3:53 AM. Sunset at 9:38 PM. Temperature between 7 and 9 degrees Celsius. Yummie!


----------



## Pumbaa

Yay.

*Warning class 1*: High water discharge.
Locally flows can reach class 2 levels.

*Warning class 1*: Heavy rain.

Heading out, wish me luck. Or duck, perhaps? ️


----------



## Runs For Fun

So we went from 50°s to 80°s and now we're going to be heading back to 50°s. **sigh**


----------



## Pumbaa

Runs For Fun said:


> So we went from 50s to 80s and now we're going to be heading back to 50s. **sigh**



I knew I clicked on the thread “Weather” but my first thought was still “Time travel, cool!”


----------



## Deleted member 199

Pumbaa said:


> High water discharge.



Might want to see your doctor about that.


----------



## Deleted member 199

Runs For Fun said:


> So we went from 50°s to 80°s and now we're going to be heading back to 50°s. **sigh**



That’s one thing I will miss when we leave here: the weather is very consistent (temperature wise), for most of the year.


----------



## lizkat

Runs For Fun said:


> So we went from 50°s to 80°s and now we're going to be heading back to 50°s. **sigh**




Yeah and right quick too.    Guess we've had spring, moving on past our preview of summer to a hailstorm followed by more winter I guess.

I'm trying to keep up.   It's dizzying.


​


----------



## User.191

lizkat said:


> Yeah and right quick too.    Guess we've had spring, moving on past our preview of summer to a hailstorm followed by more winter I guess.
> 
> I'm trying to keep up.   It's dizzying.
> 
> View attachment 5474​



Yesterday we hit the early 90's. Today the mid 70s and by Saturday sounds like we'll be lucky to get to the north side of the 60s...

#SpringtimeInOhio


----------



## Ulenspiegel

Today was a shiny, warm weather. I cleaned all the garden furniture.
If it doesn't change tomorrow I'll wash my car.
Still chilly in the evening... and in some days its June...
Talk about climate change...


----------



## lizkat

Stephen.R said:


> That’s one thing I will miss when we leave here: the weather is very consistent (temperature wise), for most of the year.




Here in the Catskills they say if you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes...

The climate data for May so far in the region bears that out for sure.


----------



## Deleted member 199

lizkat said:


> Here in the Catskills they say if you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes...
> 
> The climate data for May so far in the region bears that out for sure.
> 
> View attachment 5476



Melbourne (where I lived before thinking 365-day testicle soup was a good idea) is like that. Four seasons in a day basically.

i don’t generally get sick here. I went back to Melbourne several years ago and within 24h of being there was feeling the effects of the fluctuating weather.


----------



## fischersd

Yesterday morning was supposed to be the super-flower-blood-moon, but, of course it was cloudy here *sigh*









						When Is The Next Full Moon? 3 Reasons Why May 2021’s ‘Super Flower Blood Moon’ Eclipse Will Be A Very Big Deal
					

It’s almost time for another “Blood Moon” eclipse in North America—the first for over two years. Here's all you need to know about the coming total lunar eclipse.




					www.forbes.com


----------



## lizkat

Stephen.R said:


> Melbourne (where I lived before thinking 365-day testicle soup was a good idea) is like that. Four seasons in a day basically.
> 
> i don’t generally get sick here. I went back to Melbourne several years ago and within 24h of being there was feeling the effects of the fluctuating weather.




I welcome the still fairly reliable cool temperatures during summer overnights in the mountains here,  it's just that otherwise in the spring season particularly, the range from low to high is often WAY broader than it used to be.    I still had one winter coat downstairs here through mid-May, which is unusual.

Somehow the barn swallows still manage to nail the safe time to show up and start counting on bug hatches large enough to support them as they reclaim their turf and reburbish nests for the breeding season ahead.     The month of May has been really cold in the low range this year,  but it didn't get below freezing right here after the 14th, and the barn swallows showed up on the 16th.   Big bug hatch on the 17th, like a restaurant opening for the season!   Dunno how those barn swallows figure this out, nor why we apply a derogatory term "bird brain" for humans we decide have done something stupid.


----------



## Deleted member 199

lizkat said:


> it didn't get below freezing



That's still something that is hard to contemplate for me too... I mean I've been to snow in the mountains.. but living in it.... sheesh.


----------



## Renzatic

Stephen.R said:


> That's still something that is hard to contemplate for me too... I mean I've been to snow in the mountains.. but living in it.... sheesh.




Speaking as someone who sees snow roughly once every three years or so, it's great the first night, when it's freshly lain upon the ground, and everything looks all mystical and brand new, but you're pretty well sick of it once 24 hours have passed.


----------



## lizkat

Stephen.R said:


> That's still something that is hard to contemplate for me too... I mean I've been to snow in the mountains.. but living in it.... sheesh.




I still laugh remembering a weather-connected sequence of events from back when I was paired up with a girl from Mexico City in a high school student exchange program.

She came up to our place first, and it was winter, and she was fascinated by the snow (of which our location near Lake Ontario provided plenty back then, as 3-foot snowfalls were not uncommon).   She couldn't get enough of sledding and (mild) snowball fights and cross country skiing.  We had a blast.

Right, so six months later it was my turn to go live at her place.   I walked into their living room for the first time and there enshrined on top of their console piano, as if some kind of prized statuary, was the pair of fake-fur-topped snowboots we had bought for her as a gift when she'd arrived up North...


----------



## Deleted member 199

We don’t have a rain gauge in the traditional sense... it’s just a case of how many meters horizontally the water reaches up the slightly sloping front yard... ~4 hours rain tonight resulted in about four meters, I’d guess it’s between 30 and 50cm deep at the low (ground) end...


----------



## Runs For Fun

Did I say 50°s? Apparently I meant 40°s. FFS


----------



## lizkat

Runs For Fun said:


> Did I say 50°s? Apparently I meant 40°s. FFS




Yeah,  forecast high was 50.  We didn't get there.  Now it's 38 and rain rain rain.

More same tomorrow and Sun and Mon?!    Nice holiday weekend if you're a newt or a trout.


----------



## Deleted member 199

Currently on 3rd day with rain. The lake in the front yard isn't getting any smaller (it didn't help that a fuckup by contractors working on the road meant the mains water pre-flooded it and thus the ground was saturated before it rained). I guess the wet season is here.


----------



## Pumbaa

Stephen.R said:


> Currently on 3rd day with rain. The lake in the front yard isn't getting any smaller (it didn't help that a fuckup by contractors working on the road meant the mains water pre-flooded it and thus the ground was saturated before it rained). I guess the wet season is here.



Congrats on the lakefront property!

Over here the rain has stopped for now, clear skies since yesterday evening. 17°C/63°F outside, getting warmer again each day according to forecasts. Life is good.


----------



## Eric

Could really use some of your guys' rain here in CA, we are in a pretty severe drought right now and the fire season is in full swing (technically it's year round now). It's supposed to be 106 F tomorrow and it's still only May.


----------



## Deleted member 199

Pumbaa said:


> Congrats on the lakefront property!
> 
> Over here the rain has stopped for now, clear skies since yesterday evening. 17°C/63°F outside, getting warmer again each day according to forecasts. Life is good.



Well the other end of the property is a canal so we'll probably have a private island soon.


----------



## Deleted member 199

Eric said:


> Could really use some of your guys' rain here in CA, we are in a pretty severe drought right now and the fire season is in full swing (technically it's year round now). It's supposed to be 106 F tomorrow and it's still only May.



We're expecting 38c (~100 f) later this week, and that doesn't really mean it isn't going to rain either.


----------



## Pumbaa

Eric said:


> Could really use some of your guys' rain here in CA, we are in a pretty severe drought right now and the fire season is in full swing (technically it's year round now). It's supposed to be 106 F tomorrow and it's still only May.



What, and miss out on random green stuff like this?


----------



## Alli

I’m enjoying the current weather and not thinking about the coming hurricane season. It’s been a full week without rain and it’s been a really nice change for the rainiest city in the country. Everything is happy. Just look at this!


----------



## lizkat

Couple days ago the region here saw temps in the 80s.  Last night, the 30s.

_Thank you CANADA....  get a grip already! _​
I guess last Monday was true Spring, then we leaped into Summer and back to Winter in three days.



​


----------



## tranceking26

Things have changed here in England. Sun and clear skies for most of the day. Apparently it'll be this way for weeks, so I hope to head down to my fave spot and maybe take some photos. Might see some horses.


----------



## tranceking26

So yesterday was a return of the rain, but it seems to have been just a day of it, as it's pretty nice out there today. Bit cooler but that's fine by me!


----------



## Deleted member 199

Still waiting for the impromptu pond formed in  #341 to dissipate. It's back to just very muddy ground at the highest end, but the 'deep' end near the font fence is still pretty deep, and we're forecast for possible thunderstorms for the next 10 days.


----------



## Pumbaa

Sunny. 25°C/77°F.

Forecasts squawk rain and thunder for tomorrow. My nose tells me differently, Thor intends to grace us with a visit today.


----------



## Renzatic

All I know is that I saw exactly one bolt of lightning last night. Hardly the storm that was predicted.


----------



## Pumbaa

Renzatic said:


> All I know is that I saw exactly one bolt of lightning last night. Hardly the storm that was predicted.



That’s the Green New Deal. Or the Pride Month. Or the vaccine. Or something. Not enough coal or masculinity to power proper lightning.


----------



## Renzatic

Pumbaa said:


> That’s the Green New Deal. Or the Pride Month. Or the vaccine. Or something. Not enough coal or masculinity to power proper lightning.




I'll burn tires in my backyard to appease the Thunder Gods then!

FORGIVE US, OH LORDS OF THE TUMULTOUS SKIES, FOR OUR NEWFOUND RELIANCE UPON WUSSIE SOURCES OF ENERGY!


----------



## User.168

.


----------



## lizkat

Here the TL;DR comes down to* imma gonna get up by four a.m. for a one-hour attempt at skywatching...?   *

From the forecast: 







> Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 2am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain.  *Patchy fog before 4am, then patchy fog after 5am.   Otherwise, cloudy, *with a low around 66. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.


----------



## tranceking26

lizkat said:


> Here the TL;DR comes down to* imma gonna get up by four a.m. for a one-hour attempt at skywatching...?   *
> 
> From the forecast:



Narrow window  bet it's good when the conditions are right though.


----------



## lizkat

tranceking26 said:


> Narrow window  bet it's good when the conditions are right though.




It was a little better before the village ran street-lighting up farther along a county road out of the village proper.  But the view to the south here at high angles (over a steep and forested ridge) is just fabulous on a clear night, yep.   In lower ambient light like that, one realizes the insignificance of any single planet in the overall visible heavens,  no matter how limited that view may be.     It's pretty humbling, but in awesome way, not as humiliation.    I love August when the Perseid meteor showers roll around again...  much better chance here of a clear night than in November when the Leonid showers turn up and usually get buried in layers of clouds around here.   Besides by then it's damn cold out there...


----------



## Deleted member 199

We had a few hours of drizzle last night, and then perhaps 30 or 40 minutes of pretty decent rain again late this afternoon. That swamp out the front doesn't look like it's going to go away any time soon.


Pretty soon it's going to attract larger and larger wildlife until one day: 
(Yes we do get monitors like this in our yard from the canal at the back. Yes they do often get this big. No I don't huge them.)


----------



## tranceking26

lizkat said:


> But the view to the south here at high angles (over a steep and forested ridge) is just fabulous on a clear night, yep.



Sounds good. Unfortunately I'm in the city so there's nowhere close by to get a proper look.


----------



## User.45

Stephen.R said:


> We had a few hours of drizzle last night, and then perhaps 30 or 40 minutes of pretty decent rain again late this afternoon. That swamp out the front doesn't look like it's going to go away any time soon.
> 
> 
> Pretty soon it's going to attract larger and larger wildlife until one day:
> (Yes we do get monitors like this in our yard from the canal at the back. Yes they do often get this big. No I don't huge them.)
> View attachment 5921



Aren't these dragons one of the nastiest venomous* bastards on the planet??

AFAIK, it's not venom, it's bacteria they use...


----------



## Deleted member 199

Yeah I believe their mouth is like a party where everyone’s got the plague.


----------



## User.168

.


----------



## Deleted member 199

theSeb said:


> Isn't that an Asian water monitor? Recent studies have shown that many of the sub-species do in fact have venom glands.



Yes, it is. I don't know specifically if they have venom or not, I don't want to be bitten either way. Mostly we get juveniles around here. They're quite funny to watch on man-made surfaces like tiles or concrete because they can't quite get a grip so there's lots of _action_ but not an equivalent amount of _movement._

The biggest we had that was close, was probably similar to that one in the photo, but it was basically being chased by 3 decent sized dogs, so it basically ran back to the canal.


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## User.168

.


----------



## Huntn

*Hurricane season 2021*, so it begins. 

​


----------



## Pumbaa

Huntn said:


> *Hurricane season 2021*, so it begins.
> 
> View attachment 6094​



Time to stock up on sharpies!


----------



## Deleted member 199

We continue to get rain at least every other day, if not daily. I'm pretty sure the water has gone back up a bit in the front yard-turned-swamp.

At least we don't get hurricanes though.... just the remnants of typhoons...


----------



## R2LFC2020

I TalkedAbout the weather.


----------



## Eric

R2LFC2020 said:


> I TalkedAbout the weather.



And you're off and running, welcome.


----------



## Pumbaa

Mostly clear blue skies, around 22°C/72°F. Have had a few nice days here now. Getting warmer, though.

SMHI, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, has issued messages regarding high temperatures. They do that if the forecast calls for three or more days with temperatures reaching 26°C. Not a formal warning, mostly a heads up aimed at caregivers. Mortality rates increase by 10% at these temperatures.

A ”Class 1 warning for _very high temperatures_” is issued if 30°C or more is expected for three consecutive days. Mortality rates increase an additional 10% at these temperatures.

The threshold for a “Class 2 warning for _extremely high temperatures_” is 30°C or more for five consecutive days or 33°C or more for three consecutive days. Didn’t see any numbers published for this step, but I don’t think the mortality rate is lowered.

It’s a different world up here.


----------



## Eric

We're heading back into the the 100-110s for the next few days, typical for us in the California Central Valley though, the biggest issue for us is the severe drought and fire danger.


----------



## Deleted member 199

Pumbaa said:


> three or more days with temperatures reaching 26°C.






Pumbaa said:


> Mortality rates increase by 10% at these temperatures.




TIL the population of Sweden consists of a significant number of of snowmen.



Eric said:


> the biggest issue for us is the severe drought and fire danger.



Well, you know what to do. Get your rake and go fix it. Also don't forget your anti-jewish-laser umbrella. 

The problem isn't gonna solve itself.


----------



## Pumbaa

Stephen.R said:


> TIL the population of Sweden consists of a significant number of of snowmen.



You should see the snowwomen!


----------



## Deleted member 199

Pumbaa said:


> You should see the snowwomen!



Gives a whole new meaning to the term 'ice queen'.


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## Pumbaa

Another sunny day, 30°C/86°F so slightly warmer than forecast.

Came home to this ridiculous suggestion…


----------



## Pumbaa

Stephen.R said:


> Gives a whole new meaning to the term 'ice queen'.






Edit: More from Reddit. Enjoy!


----------



## Deleted member 199

Pumbaa said:


>


----------



## Alli

First tropical event of the season. Not much, but it did dampen all the events scheduled for the weekend.


----------



## tranceking26

Back to normal conditions here, looks like the half a week or sunny weather we had will be it for now.


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## Renzatic

It rained here last night.


----------



## Pumbaa

tranceking26 said:


> Back to normal conditions here, looks like the half a week or sunny weather we had will be it for now.



Ah, lucky one!

Here we’re expected to get around 30°C/86°F for a few more days, then a fortnight of more reasonable 25°C/77°F. Not that the long-term forecast tends to be reliable…


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## Hrafn

We’re in the midst of record breaking heat.  It’s 104 right now, expecting 105 for today’s high.


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## Deleted member 199

Hrafn said:


> We’re in the midst of record breaking heat.  It’s 104 right now, expecting 105 for today’s high.



Now *that* is hot weather.

Look after yourself brother (sister?)


----------



## Renzatic

Stephen.R said:


> Now *that* is hot weather.
> 
> Look after yourself brother (sister?)




Yes. Yes it is. I remember only one time it got that hot around here. It was one summer day, probably around 7 or so years ago, that the temp spiked out at 107, with 80% humidity. My family had a outdoor fish bake planned that day, which we actually managed to successfully throw.

...no one ate anything though. Everyone was too busy trying to breathe.


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## Hrafn

I had the pleasure of being in Phoenix the week it hit 122.


----------



## Deleted member 199

Renzatic said:


> Yes. Yes it is. I remember only one time it got that hot around here. It was one summer day, probably around 7 or so years ago, that the temp spiked out at 107, with 80% humidity. My family had a outdoor fish bake planned that day, which we actually managed to successfully throw.
> 
> ...no one ate anything though. Everyone was too busy trying to breathe.



~high-30s and even low 40s C (~99f - 107f) are relatively common here during the hot+dry season, but most of the rest of the year is ~36c (-97f) daytime and 26-27c (~80f) overnight, quite consistently, and generally with ~80% humidity too (we only really have three seasons and the predominant one is described as “hot + wet” lol)



when we first moved here we were coming and going on flights every 3 months or so, and every time we arrived, I’d step out of the air conditioned airport into the outside air and it was like stepping into a sauna or a ridiculously hot/humid bathroom every time for the first two years or so. I think the first time I didn’t have that sudden drained feeling I didn’t even realise it until I was half way home in the car and clicked that I’d finally adjusted somewhat to the ridiculous humidity.


----------



## Alli

Hrafn said:


> I had the pleasure of being in Phoenix the week it hit 122.



We must have different definitions of “pleasure.”


----------



## Deleted member 199

Alli said:


> We must have different definitions of “pleasure.”



Gratuitous reposting:






I like my man titties to LACTATE.


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## fooferdoggie

Its going to be so hot here in portland. its never been 90 at 11:30 am and now its 97. supposed to be around 108 that's so unusual.


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## Clix Pix

I saw that in the news, that you're really going to be hit by a massive heat wave.  I hope you have A/C in your home and in your shop!


----------



## fooferdoggie

Clix Pix said:


> I saw that in the news, that you're really going to be hit by a massive heat wave.  I hope you have A/C in your home and in your shop!



just in our bedroom have it on now and it is still 78. my shop is I the basement of a big building so it will not get about 75 or so. for once I will have to drink while I ride my bike. wife and I will ride to the river and go wading.


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## fooferdoggie

the high temp is in front with blacktop right in front of our place. the back porch is in shade then the inside of our place. its only 3 pm


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## fooferdoggie

Bad idea even a short ride some places the roads were 117 according to my Garmin. The bike path is cooler but still Waiting in the river right now. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## fooferdoggie

crap should not have ridden it was 102 but we were going on a bike path surrounded by plants that's usually cooler. but it was bad getting to ig my garmin got to 118 we went to the river and soaked for awhile got wet can came home not a bad coming home but not great. almost overheated.
our porch by the black top is the high temp the back porch is in the shade.


----------



## Alli

fooferdoggie said:


> crap should not have ridden it was 102 but we were going on a bike path surrounded by plants that's usually cooler. but it was bad getting to ig my garmin got to 118 we went to the river and soaked for awhile got wet can came home not a bad coming home but not great. almost overheated.



Some days you should just stay home.


----------



## DT

Pumbaa said:


> Edit: More from Reddit. Enjoy!
> 
> Swedish fans excited about today's match from
> europe




Well that's SAF.


----------



## Eric

fooferdoggie said:


> crap should not have ridden it was 102 but we were going on a bike path surrounded by plants that's usually cooler. but it was bad getting to ig my garmin got to 118 we went to the river and soaked for awhile got wet can came home not a bad coming home but not great. almost overheated.
> our porch by the black top is the high temp the back porch is in the shade.



I grew up in Eugene and Portland and it's never hit 115 there (the predicted high) many homes there still do not have air conditioning and they are not acclimated to these sorts of temperatures, it's like Arizona heat. Global warming seems to be happening a lot quicker than anyone anticipated.


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## MEJHarrison

We're expecting another high of 115 today.  Then we're back to double digits.  97 tomorrow, 88 on Wednesday.  70 or less is my happy place, but I'll take it.

I'm excited for the end of this.  The only thing really bugging me at this point is my mother is planning to head out in this for a funeral across town and she doesn't drive, so I presume she'll be riding public transportation.  I'm hoping she has the good sense to just stay home and enjoy the AC I setup for her last week.  At least she had a friend get sent to the ER with heat stroke Saturday, so that might make her think twice.


----------



## MEJHarrison

11:30am and my phone is saying 106.   If I wanted that kind of heat, I wouldn't be living in the NORTHwest!

Still, I'll take 106 with 24% humidity over 95 degrees with 95% humid.  I had enough of that nonsense as child living back in Ohio.

Now they're saying 95 tomorrow.  This might be the first time in my entire life I've looked forward to temperatures in the '90s!!!


----------



## DT

@MEJHarrison If you don't mind sharing, where are you located?  Sorry if you already mentioned it, I looked but didn't see anything.


----------



## Deleted member 199

DT said:


> @MEJHarrison If you don't mind sharing, where are you located?  Sorry if you already mentioned it, I looked but didn't see anything.



2km from the surface of the sun by the sounds of it


----------



## JamesMike

In Southern Oregon, my home area, they are being hit hard with the heat.


----------



## MEJHarrison

DT said:


> @MEJHarrison If you don't mind sharing, where are you located?  Sorry if you already mentioned it, I looked but didn't see anything.




Portland OR is the quick answer.

Beaverton OR is the accurate answer if you're familiar with Portland.  About 3 miles down the road from the Nike headquarters.


----------



## fooferdoggie

man its noon and 104 I need to leave work soon or it will be too hot to ride around 3 the sun is killer. or I stay at work till 7 or so. well the ride home was bad my bike computer got 120 degrees. the air temp in the shade at 1pm was 110 I drunk from right before I left to right before I got home 1.5 quarts of water and I had already had more then that this morning.


----------



## MEJHarrison

fooferdoggie said:


> man its noon and 104 I need to leave work soon or it will be too hot to ride around 3 the sun is killer. or I stay at work till 7 or so. well the ride home was bad my bike computer got 120 degrees. the air temp in the shade at 1pm was 110 I drunk from right before I left to right before I got home 1.5 quarts of water and I had already had more then that this morning.




I just can't wrap my head around biking in this weather!


----------



## Clix Pix

Seriously, Fooferdoggie, you should not be biking in this kind of extremely hot weather.  Take a cab to work and back home again.....  Or, since this is your own business and you're the boss, just don't go into work at all, close the shop to walk-in business (in that kind of heat there won't be any anyway) and simply answer the phone at home to deal with any business calls which come in.  My guess is that there isn't going to be anything really urgent coming up for a while as your whole area is suffering and even the rest of us around the country are aware of it.   Stay home, stay safe, especially if there is nothing pressing right now to work on.   You do NOT want to have an episode of heat stroke or worse trying to bike either to or from work, winding up in the hospital!


----------



## fooferdoggie

MEJHarrison said:


> I just can't wrap my head around biking in this weather!



the bus would have been worse waiting 10 minutes in that heat on a hot sidewalk. at least could hit tree shade and such plus I have a e bike so I cranked up the assist to turbo and did not work too hard. but even then my average heart rate was 122 pretty high for as easy as I was working.  my shop is I the basement of a told building it is cooler then home. believe me I was careful I drank a lot fo water on the way home. it was only a 30 minute ride. Now I am living on our bedroom with the ac.


----------



## Clix Pix

That is why I mentioned a cab rather than the bus......  Figured that standing around waiting for the bus to arrive, plus the probable lack of comfortable temperature on the thing would have been almost as bad as biking in the first place!   Cabs are more expensive, but they can get you where you need to go a lot faster and hopefully are somewhat cooler as well.    Seriously, "e-bike" or not, you really should NOT be trying to bike in this kind of extreme weather!   "Only a 30-minute ride....."    AIEEEEEE!!!!!  

It is good that you were mindful of hydration all the way, though -- excellent!   Not sure of how old you are or what your general overall health status is but in extreme weather such as Portland is experiencing right now you truly do need to be very careful.  Mrs Fooferdoggie does, too.


----------



## fooferdoggie

Clix Pix said:


> That is why I mentioned a cab rather than the bus......  Figured that standing around waiting for the bus to arrive, plus the probable lack of comfortable temperature on the thing would have been almost as bad as biking in the first place!   Cabs are more expensive, but they can get you where you need to go a lot faster and hopefully are somewhat cooler as well.    Seriously, "e-bike" or not, you really should NOT be trying to bike in this kind of extreme weather!   "Only a 30-minute ride....."    AIEEEEEE!!!!!
> 
> It is good that you were mindful of hydration all the way, though -- excellent!



ya never really thought of taking the Lyft. only when I am injured (G) Also if I waited till 3 or so it would have been really bad. I drank 20 oz right before I left then hit a quick shop I the middle of the ride for cold water and some gum as my mouth was so dry and cooled off. hit the shady roads the rest of the way Kept track of my heart rate as thats a good indication of how its going. it ws not really high like the first time we tried it when it was a little cooler. if it got too bad there were stores I could go into and cool down


----------



## Clix Pix

Using a Lyft or Uber service is an option, too, but I tend to not think of those, as I've never tried them and still just automatically think about calling a taxi when I need to get from Place A to Place B and for whatever reason am not using my own car.  

At any rate the bottom line here is, please just be careful and mindful of your health and the kind of impact an unusual spell of extremely hot weather such as your area is now experiencing can put more stress on your body than you may realize.......


----------



## fooferdoggie

I learned that lesson Saturday and now know what watch for. most stores will let you cool off and the buses will even let you without a fair. but it sure takes the fun out of riding for sure. Plus I would not make it a regular thing its too stressing.


----------



## Clix Pix

It would be even more stressful if you were out there riding in extreme heat and wound up in the hospital due to collapse somewhere along the way......


----------



## MEJHarrison

fooferdoggie said:


> I learned that lesson Saturday and now know what watch for. most stores will let you cool off and the buses will even let you without a fair. but it sure takes the fun out of riding for sure. Plus I would not make it a regular thing its too stressing.




Well, tomorrow we're supposed to be back to just hot.  And back to the '80s on Wednesday.  Glad to hear you're at least being smart about things.


----------



## fooferdoggie

MEJHarrison said:


> Well, tomorrow we're supposed to be back to just hot. And back to the '80s on Wednesday. Glad to hear you're at least being smart about things.




Ya I don’t want to suffer. I should have thought of the Lyft then I could ache worked longer today. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## Alli

I hope all of you in the PNW suffering from this heat have a/c.


----------



## fooferdoggie

Alli said:


> I hope all of you in the PNW suffering from this heat have a/c.



nope and thats the problem. we have one in our bedroom but thats it.


----------



## Eric

Alli said:


> I hope all of you in the PNW suffering from this heat have a/c.






fooferdoggie said:


> nope and thats the problem. we have one in our bedroom but thats it.



Yes, this is the case for most there unfortunately, it was never needed and whenever they get a heatwave all the stores sell out of portable units. However, it's never come close to being this hot so it was something you could always tolerate to some degree. The bay area is also facing this same crisis.


----------



## MEJHarrison

Alli said:


> I hope all of you in the PNW suffering from this heat have a/c.




I do indeed.  But then I just sat around worrying about those who didn't.  Well, I took care of those I could.  Offered a few the option to come hang out.  People got through it.  My mom did NOT have the good sense to stay home and went to a funeral, but thankfully that turned out just fine.

Today we're supposed to hit 93.  That sounds warm.  But it didn't really hit me till this morning.  That's 22 degrees cooler than yesterday.  I had to do that math on that one a second time since it sounded so outrageous at first.  But yeah, 22 degrees cooler!!!


----------



## lizkat

I'm still trying to get over having complained just a few weeks ago how unfair it was to have 37ºF temps overnight here in mid-June.  Now I'm trying not to complain over what I call a heatwave that tops out at 88ºF today...    Still that's a 50-degree difference.   I'll be not just happy but very grateful to see things settle back down to mid-70s again with mid-50s overnight.


----------



## SuperMatt

Try to stay cool out there:

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1410952522328641538/


----------



## DT

Anybody on a direct line with Elsa?  We're on the east coast, so only expect some extra rain, high-er-ish winds, not any worse than a Nor'easter.


----------



## Alli

DT said:


> Anybody on a direct line with Elsa?  We're on the east coast, so only expect some extra rain, high-er-ish winds, not any worse than a Nor'easter.



Looks like my daughter is in for some fun.


----------



## DT

Alli said:


> Looks like my daughter is in for some fun.




Is she around the Tampa area?


----------



## Member 216

Record breaking temperatures in Finland.  Yesterday up north in Lapland it was 31 and June was the hottest June ever.


----------



## Eric

Expos of 1969 said:


> Record breaking temperatures in Finland.  Yesterday up north in Lapland it was 31 and June was the hottest June ever.



All of these records being broken is flat out scary, warming seems to be happening faster than anyone predicted.


----------



## Deleted member 199

Eric said:


> All of these records being broken is flat out scary, warming seems to be happening faster than anyone predicted.



If we hear about tornados in LA, or Jake Gyllenhaal being stuck in a NYC library, everybody prepare to kiss your ass goodbye.


----------



## Alli

DT said:


> Is she around the Tampa area?



St. Pete. And my nephew is in Tampa.


----------



## DT

Alli said:


> St. Pete. And my nephew is in Tampa.




Yikes, well, hopefully it'll fizzle out a little, move quickly, they could also bail and head over to Orlando for a couple of days if they were concerned


----------



## Member 216

Eric said:


> All of these records being broken is flat out scary, warming seems to be happening faster than anyone predicted.



Yep.  In British Columbia last week, days of 49.5 C.  Yes, 49.5!!  That is extremely scary and worrisome.


----------



## lizkat

... meanwhile the relative calm of just forecasts of severe t'storms,  all that stands between me and a really nasty afternoon is a bunch of high hills around us here in the western Catskills south of Oneonta.    Eeek...  and most of my net provider's servers are located up in various of the currently stormy areas.   A tenuous sandwich filling of overcast skies is what we're in at the moment.     Well they didn't say tornados or derechos so I'm carrying on as if I'll continue to have electrical power lol.


----------



## lizkat

Welp...   washing down that sandwich now with a few flash floods.   Ended up with just a few rolls of thunder but torrential rains.


----------



## Deleted member 215

Temperatures have been quite mild here in the Bay Area and wildfires have been minimal. But I fear the worst is yet to come given what happened last August and September. And we are still in the midst of the worst drought in my lifetime, the frequency of which is probably only going to increase as time goes on. 

Send some of that rain our way.  It's not likely there will be another drop until November at the earliest and even then it probably won't be much.


----------



## Alli

DT said:


> Yikes, well, hopefully it'll fizzle out a little, move quickly, they could also bail and head over to Orlando for a couple of days if they were concerned



My daughter’s a hurricane vet. Never batted an eyelash. I’m just glad it was this week since they closed the Tampa airport and I fly in next Tuesday.


----------



## lizkat

Just when I was thinking how cool it is that we slipped through this last round of weirdly extreme weather without even so much as a flicker of our electrical power,  the lights unceremoniously just went out tonight for about an hour earlier tonight.  Nothing was going on with the weather at the time, so it was rather startling. 

Anyway so much for the idea of having some popcorn with a movie.   No popcorn, and no movie!

Keeps it simple, I guess.    Maybe better luck tomorrow.   At least the power came back on soon enough not to have to worry about the state of refrigerated and frozen foods.   I do need to get serious about getting a genny hooked up to both my propane supply and my electrical mains.   Power outages in the summer are annoying but in winter they can be deadly around here.


----------



## Eric

Went for my walk at 8:00 this morning and it was already 85 degrees out, it's 106 now and going to be in the 110s for the next several days.


----------



## lizkat

Eric said:


> Went for my walk at 8:00 this morning and it was already 85 degrees out, it's 106 now and going to be in the 110s for the next several days.




Plus now the earthquake gods are rattling cages not that far away over in Nevada!


----------



## Eric

lizkat said:


> Plus now the earthquake gods are rattling cages not that far away over in Nevada!



Yeah that was all over the news all night, tectonic plates are definitely shifting here.


----------



## Joe

It's been raining for like 2 weeks straight. I'm over it.


----------



## lizkat

JagRunner said:


> It's been raining for like 2 weeks straight. I'm over it.




My problem is the grass is like five inches tall.  It's hard for contract mowers to get around to everyone in between storms.


----------



## Joe

lizkat said:


> My problem is the grass is like five inches tall.  It's hard for contract mowers to get around to everyone in between storms.




Yes! You can tell it's been non stop raining because yards look a mess lol


----------



## lizkat

JagRunner said:


> Yes! You can tell it's been non stop raining because yards look a mess lol




Guy finally mowed yesterday in between raindrops... lawns temporarily look like a golf course.

But the forecast this morning was laughably enough the quintessence of this summer in the Catskills:

"Drizzle stopping in 7 min, starting again 6 min later"​​I like the cooler weather so I'm not gonna complain unless moss starts competing with the grasses.


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> Guy finally mowed yesterday in between raindrops... lawns temporarily look like a golf course.



My neighbor is mowing now. If he moves a little faster he might be able to finish before the skies open up again. It’s monsoon season here, so it rains daily, sometimes twice. I’ve turned off all the flash flood warnings.


----------



## Deleted member 199

After a couple of weeks of quite hot weather without rain, we're back to regularly scheduled wet season, so, similar to @Alli, daily rain - often multiple times, and ~32ºC (~90ºF) most days.. We've had a few days of it now, I haven't thought to check the swamp out the front yet, but I assume it's going back up again. It hadn't completely dried up but the water receded quite a lot while it was hot & dry..


----------



## Alli

Neighbor made it with seconds to spare. I may get to put the kayak out in the back yard again at this rate.


----------



## Joe

Alli said:


> Neighbor made it with seconds to spare. I may get to put the kayak out in the back yard again at this rate.




During Hurricane Harvey people were kayaking on my street. Water made it halfway up my yard.


----------



## lizkat

JagRunner said:


> During Hurricane Harvey people were kayaking on my street. Water made it halfway up my yard.




In the 2006 summer floods in the western Catskills (where a culvert under interstate-88 even washed out in the middle of the night and killed a couple of over the road truckers), there were floods of a number of rivers that feed the Delaware and Susquehanna river systems...  and so a whole lot of villages here in the headwaters of those systems were good places to see kayaks and canoes traversing the main drags for a couple days.   My SIL paddled a kayak through one of those and saw a bunch of unusual things, including a rabbit and a cat sitting next to each other on some front porch, just sort of looking out at all that water!    A lot of town roads and town level bridges washed out and some of them to this day have not been replaced.     Here's a piece about that 2006 flood with photo of the I-99 washout, it was horrendous.









						Record Rainfall Destroys Section of New York’s I-88 : CEG
					

“Rain, rain, go away!” Or so said thousands of New Yorkers. The recent deluge that washed out the nation’s capital and has been blamed for four deaths in other states, cut across New York June 27 and 28, leaving death and destruction in its path.




					www.constructionequipmentguide.com


----------



## Joe

lizkat said:


> In the 2006 summer floods in the western Catskills (where a culvert under interstate-88 even washed out in the middle of the night and killed a couple of over the road truckers), there were floods of a number of rivers that feed the Delaware and Susquehanna river systems...  and so a whole lot of villages here in the headwaters of those systems were good places to see kayaks and canoes traversing the main drags for a couple days.   My SIL paddled a kayak through one of those and saw a bunch of unusual things, including a rabbit and a cat sitting next to each other on some front porch, just sort of looking out at all that water!    A lot of town roads and town level bridges washed out and some of them to this day have not been replaced.     Here's a piece about that 2006 flood with photo of the I-99 washout, it was horrendous.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Record Rainfall Destroys Section of New York’s I-88 : CEG
> 
> 
> “Rain, rain, go away!” Or so said thousands of New Yorkers. The recent deluge that washed out the nation’s capital and has been blamed for four deaths in other states, cut across New York June 27 and 28, leaving death and destruction in its path.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.constructionequipmentguide.com




That washed out interstate looks crazy


----------



## lizkat

JagRunner said:


> That washed out interstate looks crazy




Yah it was a 30-foot culvert...  the washout was 50 feet deep and took out 150 feet of the roadway.   The dead truckers may never have known what happened when they ran their rigs into it.   Horrendous.

There were some other awful washouts in the area, a couple miles of a county road got taken out by a stream that in normal times is about 15 feet across and maybe six inches deep, turned into a roaring monster on its way to join up with a feeder to the West Branch of the Delaware Fiver...  also damaged were a lot of town grade roads that dipped down near creeks that came way out of banks, some of them ended up looking like they had some puddling going on but they were actually washed out 20, 30 feet deep.

It's why they tell you "don't drown, turn around"...

Meanwhile my luck I had bought a new-to-me car earlier that week and was supposed to go pick it up..,  the roads to get there were closed after the flood,  and even the usual roundabout ways were inaccessible, had to wait a week and even after that ended up taking some back roads one of my brothers showed me, driving me over there in his van, some of those roads weren't even on maps but they were up in the higher hills so we avoided some of the flood-damaged town roads that were washed out for weeks and weeks.

All I could think as we headed back (at that point I was following his van in my new vehicle) was "Don't let him out of your sight" because I had no clue where the heck I was half the time.   Some of those roads were sawmill lanes connecting to farm roads up above town roads that he knew from driving flatbeds of lumber when he wasn't carpentering.  The other hassle for that timeframe for everyone was figuring out where the heck you could buy gas before you ran out trying to get to your usual choices.    Man the stuff we take for granted, eh?


----------



## Joe

Houston floods. It’s part of the reason I drive a truck.


----------



## lizkat

We have flash flood warnings and watches now in 14 NY and PA counties.  What we need instead of a Space Force is actually a tanker brigade to export this stuff from overwatered jurisdictions to places like CA where they need the rain.



Meanwhile my favorite numbers are 30% and 40%... the fairly low chances of yet more rain falling really soon on my place.  With luck I won't be minding a sponge pumping operation in the cellar by Wednesday or so.   It takes awhile for all the water we've had fall out of the sky to make it down the ridge behind me and help overfill the water table here, about halfway down a hill to nearest creek.    But everything ever had water in it here is now at or just above minor flood stage,  so the rest of the week could prove interesting,    We aim to refill the Atlantic Ocean by Friday, apparently...  "it's all downhill from here".


----------



## Deleted member 199

lizkat said:


> What we need instead of a Space Force is actually a tanker brigade to export this stuff from overwatered jurisdictions to places like CA where they need the rain.




Apparently building a pipeline to send oil across the country is a workable solution. Sending excess water from catchment areas to drought areas, not so much.


----------



## User.191

Stephen.R said:


> Apparently building a pipeline to send oil across the country is a workable solution. Sending excess water from catchment areas to drought areas, not so much.



Might help if Nestlé\Brue Triton quit stealing all the water to sell at a huge profit.





__





						Nestlé doesn't have valid rights to water it's been bottling, California officials say
					





					www.msn.com


----------



## Renzatic

You know, it's been a fairly mild summer this year.


----------



## User.191

Renzatic said:


> You know, it's been a fairly mild summer this year.



It's been warm, but very wet here. I remember when I first came over remarking how brown the grass used to get. The last few summers have been quite the opposite.

And, TBH, and speaking for myself, I'd prefer it this way (flooding aside) - because we can see what the inverse is doing to the left coast etc.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> You know, it's been a fairly mild summer this year.




The occasional torrential downpour aside,  I am loving this summer.  It's on the cool side except for just a couple multi-day heatwaves.    But right around here we haven't had many hailstorms.  Some places in upstate NY have got hammered by large hail a few times. Horrible for car dealers and anyone w/o a garage.   Unusual t-storms that whip in somewhere and then stall out and dump inches of hail. One of those closed an interstate stretch for a few hours.  Unbelievable.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> The occasional torrential downpour aside,  I am loving this summer.  It's on the cool side except for just a couple multi-day heatwaves.    But right around here we haven't had many hailstorms.  Some places in upstate NY have got hammered by large hail a few times. Horrible for car dealers and anyone w/o a garage.   Unusual t-storms that whip in somewhere and then stall out and dump inches of hail. One of those closed an interstate stretch for a few hours.  Unbelievable.




It's barely even stormed here. We've had a couple of heavy rains, but other than that, things have been fairly uneventful.

A summer where it doesn't even break into the 90's. Who would've thunk?


----------



## User.191

It must be a day ending with the letters D, A and Y - more storms and rain. In all my years of living here I can't remember a Spring and Summer so bloody wet.

On the plus side, the 'lawn' and other forms of ground vegetation is looking amazing lush and happy and I've yet to even think about going out with the hosepipe to water everything. Last year it was one of my Covid tasks - the daily water. This year...


----------



## Renzatic

MissNomer said:


> On the plus side, the 'lawn' and other forms of ground vegetation is looking amazing lush and happy and I've yet to even think about going out with the hosepipe to water everything. Last year it was one of my Covid tasks - the daily water. This year...




It took me nearly 5 hours to mow mine and the neighbor's lawn yesterday. No one's been able to mow because it keeps raining, and it's all gone to seed, leaving me with all these weeds that take about 15 passes to cut.

Got a nice sunburn from it too.


----------



## Deleted member 199

MissNomer said:


> In all my years of living here I can't remember a Spring and Summer so bloody wet.



Meanwhile @Eric is probably so dehydrated  if he came sat on your lawn he’d just swell up with water like a fucking sea sponge.


----------



## Deleted member 199

Oh and it’s raining again here too. Had… one day without rain this week I think (yesterday)


----------



## lizkat

MissNomer said:


> It must be a day ending with the letters D, A and Y - more storms and rain. In all my years of living here I can't remember a Spring and Summer so bloody wet.
> 
> On the plus side, the 'lawn' and other forms of ground vegetation is looking amazing lush and happy and I've yet to even think about going out with the hosepipe to water everything. Last year it was one of my Covid tasks - the daily water. This year...




Yeah earlier today I was watching torrents of rain pour off the deck roof and remembering back to when breaks in a drought in summer of 87 or so were greeted with joy and the quick shoving of four galvanized ashcans under the deck eaves to collect rainwater for veggie gardens...  and watching them fill up in a matter of minutes. 

Now though it's alarming to see those rainfalls occur so often, at least in July, supposedly our driest month.  I'll be pumping my cellar out after some storm by next week unless the pace slows down a little.    Or as a kid down the road said,  we're gonna have moss growing on the ferns!  I already have moss growing on the stones under a downspout off the kitchen roof.  More usually this time of year that's a nice dry place where grass a snake or two may like to hang out after sunset for awhile because it's still warm there.   This year those guys are up atop the rocks alongside a raised flowerbed instead.  It's the only set of rocks here that are pretty much guaranteed to dry out in half an hour after a storm.


----------



## Deleted member 199

lizkat said:


> Yeah earlier today I was watching torrents of rain pour off the deck roof and remembering back to when breaks in a drought in summer of 87 or so were greeted with joy and the quick shoving of four galvanized ashcans under the deck eaves to collect rainwater for veggie gardens...  and watching them fill up in a matter of minutes.
> 
> Now though it's alarming to see those rainfalls occur so often, at least in July, supposedly our driest month.  I'll be pumping my cellar out after some storm by next week unless the pace slows down a little.    Or as a kid down the road said,  we're gonna have moss growing on the ferns!  I already have moss growing on the stones under a downspout off the kitchen roof.  More usually this time of year that's a nice dry place where grass a snake or two may like to hang out after sunset for awhile because it's still warm there.   This year those guys are up atop the rocks alongside a raised flowerbed instead.  It's the only set of rocks here that are pretty much guaranteed to dry out in half an hour after a storm.



Its crazy to me that more places don’t encourage people to have rain water tanks at home. It’s practically unheard of here. If we were staying, we’d be putting in 3-4 10KL tanks and taking advantage of the ridiculous amount of water that falls from the sky during the wet season.

If nothing else, we (as a society of people who can observe things) have to be able to accept that predictable weather is a thing of the past.


----------



## Renzatic

Well, so much for a mild summer. I can't even take my pants off, cuz they're glued to my thighs.


----------



## Pumbaa

Renzatic said:


> Well, so much for a mild summer. I can't even take my pants off, cuz they're glued to my thighs.



The secret is to never wear pants.


----------



## Pumbaa

33°C/91°F, “feels like 36°C/97°F”.


----------



## Renzatic

Pumbaa said:


> The secret is to never wear pants.




But then I'll get stuck to chairs and stuff. There's no winning with this weather!


----------



## Pumbaa

Renzatic said:


> But then I'll get stuck to chairs and stuff. There's no winning with this weather!



Maybe no winning. But plenty of whining!


----------



## Renzatic

Pumbaa said:


> Maybe no winning. But plenty of whining!




Damn straight I'll whine. It sucks!

I live in a house without Central Air.


----------



## Clix Pix

89° and feels like 93;  since it is supposed to actually get up to 93° that means it'll feel like about 97 before the day is over!


----------



## Renzatic

It's supposed to get up to 98 here by Thursday. I think I'm gonna spend that day doing nothing but sitting in a tub of ice water.


----------



## Herdfan

The weather is why we are retiring in Sedona.  Wife is always looking at their temps.  They will have similar temps to us, but the "Real Feel" is always very close to the actual there, where here it is usually 10-15 higher due to 80% humidity.

Looking forward to not being able to chew the air.  Now if you will excuse me, I have a door to plane down a bit so it will quit sticking.


----------



## Pumbaa

Rain today! Wii! Not he torrential downpour variety but bona fide gentle Swedish rain that goes on for hours without wrecking anything other than the plans of beachgoers, picnickers, and likes.

19°C/66°F now at 6AM while I’m heading to the public pool for my morning swim. Forecast updated to 25°C/77°F this afternoon. Humidity’s going to be a bitch.  Well, still much better than yesterday!


----------



## Herdfan

Pumbaa said:


> Rain today! Wii! Not he torrential downpour variety but bona fide gentle Swedish rain that goes on for hours without wrecking anything other than the plans of beachgoers, picnickers, and likes.
> 
> 19°C/66°F now at 6AM while I’m heading to the public pool for my morning swim. Forecast updated to 25°C/77°F this afternoon.* Humidity’s going to be a bitch*.  Well, still much better than yesterday!




We are going to have that same humidity, but the forecast is for 89.  They never get that part right.  I guess it will hit 92-94.  Always does.

We haven't had any meaningful rain in 2 weeks.  Need some as I am getting tired of watering all the plants.  Every year I say I am going to put in some irrigation, but never do.


----------



## Renzatic

I don't feel sorry for any of you! Look at what I have to put up with!









						Local Weather
					






					www.wrcbtv.com


----------



## Alli

Renzatic said:


> I don't feel sorry for any of you! Look at what I have to put up with!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Local Weather
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.wrcbtv.com



Don’t look for sympathy from me either.


----------



## Eric

Alli said:


> Don’t look for sympathy from me either.
> 
> View attachment 7505



We'll be seeing triple digits again for a while and a portion of the state is still on fire, typical for us. Fun fact, there is no longer a "fire season" in CA, it's now year round.


----------



## Pumbaa

Alli said:


> Don’t look for sympathy from me either.
> 
> View attachment 7505



Hey, I wasn’t looking for sympathy, I was bragging about the weather finally starting to get bearable. I’m so going to enjoy being able to actually do stuff again!


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> Don’t look for sympathy from me either.




And it's not like that 56% chance of rain will help matters. It'll rain for, maybe, 20 minutes, then the sun will come out in its fully glory, and make everything 10x as muggy.


----------



## Deleted member 199

Herdfan said:


> We are going to have that same humidity, but the forecast is for 89.  They never get that part right.  I guess it will hit 92-94.  Always does.
> 
> We haven't had any meaningful rain in 2 weeks.  Need some as I am getting tired of watering all the plants.  Every year I say I am going to put in some irrigation, but never do.



Irrigation is one of the best things I’ve done around here, in terms of saving myself time later.


----------



## SuperMatt

The weather is gorgeous in New Hampshire today. Sunny, mid-70s.


----------



## User.191

SuperMatt said:


> The weather is gorgeous in New Hampshire today. Sunny, mid-70s.



Oh do shut up....


----------



## Alli

Renzatic said:


> And it's not like that 56% chance of rain will help matters. It'll rain for, maybe, 20 minutes, then the sun will come out in its fully glory, and make everything 10x as muggy.



Exactly. And we’re still in monsoon season, so regardless of the forecast, it’s gonna rain. But no worries, it’s almost hurricane season.


SuperMatt said:


> The weather is gorgeous in New Hampshire today. Sunny, mid-70s.



What are you doing in New Hampshire?


----------



## SuperMatt

Alli said:


> Exactly. And we’re still in monsoon season, so regardless of the forecast, it’s gonna rain. But no worries, it’s almost hurricane season.
> 
> What are you doing in New Hampshire?



Just visiting


----------



## Edd

SuperMatt said:


> The weather is gorgeous in New Hampshire today. Sunny, mid-70s.



It’s been a good NH summer, IMO. Not everyone agrees with me (rain) but I’ve gotten 15 boat days in and July isn’t over.

In the past week, I’ve boated twice, had a kayak day, and a beach day. Great weather each time. It helps not to work a M-F schedule and have a lot of weekdays off.


----------



## Renzatic

So I'm sitting upstairs. I've got two fans on me, yet I'm still covered in a sheen of sweat. The sun is shining, and the birds are chirping. There's no reason to think that a bolt of lightning is about to strike in my back yard, scaring the absolute shit out of me.

...but it does.

...and it scared the absolute shit out of me.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> So I'm sitting upstairs. I've got two fans on me, yet I'm still covered in a sheen of sweat. The sun is shining, and the birds are chirping. There's no reason to think that a bolt of lightning is about to strike in my back yard, scaring the absolute shit out of me.
> 
> ...but it does.
> 
> ...and it scared the absolute shit out of me.




Was it followed by an actual storm?     or maybe was it just one of those proofs that what meteorologists say about that stuff, that lightning can strike miles away from an active storm cell.    Did it fry anything in the yard?


----------



## lizkat

SuperMatt said:


> Just visiting




I feel like I'm "just visiting" the month of April all over again right here...   what a weird summer.    Supposed to be in the mid-40s overnight,  usually by now it's the mid-50s in July during the wee hours, but we're  in another chilly spell.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Was it followed by an actual storm?     or maybe was it just one of those proofs that what meteorologists say about that stuff, that lightning can strike miles away from an active storm cell.    Did it fry anything in the yard?




Yup, a little blotch of a storm passed by shortly after. It was all rain and fury for about 10 minutes, then the sun came out again.


----------



## lizkat

They got it right about a wash of cold temps overnight in upstate NYS...  even now it's only 53ºF here in the mid-morning hours.  A stiff NW breeze is making the sun work hard to meet a forecast high of 61....

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1421447161984684032/


----------



## lizkat

So far August 1st has fetched a tornado warning, a flash flood warning,  a 3-hour power outage and fashionably late supper.


----------



## Clix Pix

You must've shipped some of that cool air down here, as it is delightful right now, in the low 70's!!!  Doors and windows open so I can enjoy this respite from heat and humidity.....


----------



## lizkat

Today we've had nice mid-70s and scattered sunshine on tap,  and I'm bookmarking it, since the forecast has us edging up into the high 70s and low 80s that are more typical for us here in August.   Nights are forecast not to fall below 60ºF for about a week ahead, so all those meanwhile shivering tomatoes and eggplants will finally catch a break....  and same with their owners, some of whom have been out to cover their slowly ripening treasures up before nightfall during our weird dips into the 40s recently on clear evenings.   It's not out of the question to have an early killing frost by mid-August.   I'd like to think we prepaid on that gig and will have a lingering summer,  since July was the coolest and wettest I can remember.


----------



## lizkat

We're getting to flood stage in upstate New York off all the rain from Fred.  From two to five inches more rainfall overnight into Thursday,  some areas already got two to four on Wednesday, plus we were already pretty well topped off after one of the wettest July rainfall-hauls I can remember.  So far right here we're dodging the flood stage bullet but when it quits raining for ten minutes now and then,  I can hear the creek roaring through the bottom of the valley like a freight train, about a quarter mile away.  On a normal day in August the trout have deserted that thing for deeper brooks downstream and all that's left are minnows.  Hope the ledger rocks hold that they stuck along the banks of a brook down in the village after the last time a real flood ripped through there and threatened to undercut the road.


----------



## lizkat

Looks like Hurricane Henri may do a number on Long Island and points northward.  Been awhile since one of them came ashore as full fledged hurricane.   Also problematical re storm surge:  it's a full moon on Sunday so the tides will not help.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1428819644509425664/


----------



## lizkat

Cats rule, and that's King Henry for those in the National Weather Service who haven't been paying attention.  

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1429215575893549059/


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> Cats rule, and that's King Henry for those in the National Weather Service who haven't been paying attention.
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1429215575893549059/




Attitude face for sure.

Not sure which thread I posted about the rest of August being in the 80's, but I spoke too soon.  Updated forecast takes us back to the lower 90's.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> Attitude face for sure.
> 
> Not sure which thread I posted about the rest of August being in the 80's, but I spoke too soon.  Updated forecast takes us back to the lower 90's.




Here the story's going to be more about the humidity, thanks to a stalled front plus low energy antics of Henri this far inland.  But that scenario also plays to not much natural air conditioning in the overnights and temps staying much higher, like high 60s instead of mid-50s.

The kind of weather that makes cats stretch out on the floor and become a yard long.

We're just north of where this forecast has flash flooding is most likely to occur in the Catskills.  So things could be worse.  Now to wonder how long before the grass can be cut again. Everyone's lawn around here this summer looks like a zebra striped pattern of overgrazed pasture versus jungle.  You get to make a couple passes at part of a yard in the forenoon,  after the fog burns off and before the clouds can regroup for rain, and then the skies open and that's it for the day.  Then it gets hot for three days and fries what's cut,  and by time it's cool enough to mow then it rains again and makes the uncut parts act like beansprouts. 

Weather... my granddad's garden helper used to say its purpose was to keep us humble.  Had a point!


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> Here the story's going to be more about the humidity






lizkat said:


> We're just north of where this forecast has flash flooding is most likely to occur



You’ve just described our typical summer.


----------



## Herdfan

Alli said:


> You’ve just described our typical summer.



It's not summer if you can't chew the air.


----------



## Alli

Herdfan said:


> It's not summer if you can't chew the air.



Only it’s summer 10 months of the year here.


----------



## Clix Pix

Today's forecast:  Hot and Humid.  Going to hit 95°.   So what else is new?!  Even though the temperature currently is 85° it actually feels more like 90 already.  Another week of this.....sigh.   I'm ready for cooler air, lower humidity and being able to have doors and windows open again!


----------



## Herdfan

Alli said:


> Only it’s summer 10 months of the year here.




Weren't not that bad, but April - September are pretty gross.

And that is why we are retiring to Sedona.  Summer highs are similar to here, but with 15-20% humidity.


----------



## Alli

Herdfan said:


> And that is why we are retiring to Sedona. Summer highs are similar to here, but with 15-20% humidity.



I once considered that, but I need my regular sight of the water. Landlocked states are only for after the great comet.


----------



## Thomas Veil

I mentioned elsewhere my misadventure yesterday trying to take my wife to the beach. (It rained.) But that wasn’t all.

It’s August. The weather yesterday was predicting a high of 89°. My daughter is a teacher in a district that doesn’t have air-conditioning in many schools, so they declared a heat day. No school.

Turned out the high was only something like 79. So really, they called off school for nothing. Today the kids had to go to school. The high is expected to be 88, and it does feel like it. 



Alli said:


> I once considered that, but I need my regular sight of the water. Landlocked states are only for after the great comet.



I won’t be around to see it, but I have a feeling the population is going to start moving back in my direction.

Recent stories about the census have indicated that, climate change wise, people are moving in exactly the wrong direction: toward the coasts and the south. These are the parts of the country climate experts say will be feeling the worst effects of climate change.

Meanwhile, here in places like Ohio, we do experience the occasional tornado, but nothing like the hurricanes and floods which often ravage other parts of the country. We landlocked (well, except for Lake Erie) folks do experience bad weather, but we remain relatively protected from the kind of disasters we see in other parts of the US.

Much as I’d love to live the coastal life—and I genuinely would—when I see the weather that happens to other states, I’m grateful I live here.


----------



## Herdfan

@Alli Looks likeTD9/Ida? maybe headed your way.


----------



## Alli

Herdfan said:


> @Alli Looks likeTD9/Ida? maybe headed your way.



They always head this way. We don’t pay much attention until they’re fairly close cause the tracks change so fast.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Mrs. Veil treated me to lunch earlier today, and holy crap, was it humid! 

Sometimes when you say it feels like a sauna out here, you're just being rhetorical, but it really did feel that oppressively humid.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> They always head this way. We don’t pay much attention until they’re fairly close cause the tracks change so fast.




Looks like the oilcos are taking this one seriously.









						U.S. offshore oil workers flee as storm nears Gulf of Mexico
					

U.S. energy companies on Thursday began airlifting workers from Gulf of Mexico oil platforms and moved vessels ahead of a powerful hurricane forecast for the weekend.




					www.reuters.com


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> Looks like the oilcos are taking this one seriously.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> U.S. offshore oil workers flee as storm nears Gulf of Mexico
> 
> 
> U.S. energy companies on Thursday began airlifting workers from Gulf of Mexico oil platforms and moved vessels ahead of a powerful hurricane forecast for the weekend.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.reuters.com



They have to take them all seriously. They’re gonna get smacked no matter what land a storm eventually heads to.


----------



## Eric

AQI is dangerous right now where I live, nobody can even go outside without risk and even being indoors I've had to hit my inhaler for the first time in months. They're saying people are also going to the hospitals with respiratory issues but they can't be seen because of all the antivaxxers filling them up.


----------



## lizkat

Thomas Veil said:


> Much as I’d love to live the coastal life—and I genuinely would—when I see the weather that happens to other states, I’m grateful I live here.



I have enjoyed some summers that featured sailing along the New England coast (and putting in for same great fun and food ashore), but when I read about horrible storm surges and such from hurricanes,  I'm happy to be a couple thousand feet above sea level and halfway up the side of a hill, in a spot where outcroppings of bedrock are sometimes only 14" below the surface.  Hill-farming is hard for that reason, of course, but at least mudslides are a rarity:  that bedrock's going nowhere short of an earthquake, and those are very rare here.

 I'm holding a good thought for any who are in the path of Hurricane Ida this weekend and hoping all who need to do so will seek higher ground in plenty of time.


----------



## Renzatic

I've got a couple of window fans cooling off the upstairs, but all it's doing is bringing the humidity in. Seriously. My chair is wet right now.


----------



## Hrafn

We had rain last night, but are back in a heat spell.  101 yesterday, we should peak at 98 today with a chance of rain later this afternoon.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> I've got a couple of window fans cooling off the upstairs, but all it's doing is bringing the humidity in. Seriously. My chair is wet right now.






Hrafn said:


> We had rain last night, but are back in a heat spell.  101 yesterday, we should peak at 98 today with a chance of rain later this afternoon.




Arghh!    So I'm double-counting my blessings then...  71ºF here and overcast with a breeze of about 5-7mph, just enough to make it seem cool compared to the yesterday's bake-off in the mid-80s.    Somehow my lawn care guy managed to mow before nightfall and the predicted rainshowers overnight.   He timed it pretty close to dark though, for the cooling air at dusk.   I could barely see him at the far end of his mowing swaths by time he was wrapping it up, just the lights of his tractor were visible.


----------



## Hrafn

lizkat said:


> Arghh!    So I'm double-counting my blessings then...  71ºF here and overcast with a breeze of about 5-7mph, just enough to make it seem cool compared to the yesterday's bake-off in the mid-80s.    Somehow my lawn care guy managed to mow before nightfall and the predicted rainshowers overnight.   He timed it pretty close to dark though, for the cooling air at dusk.   I could barely see him at the far end of his mowing swaths by time he was wrapping it up, just the lights of his tractor were visible.



Yeah, it's merely 99 right now, so seems the best time to go get 50 lbs bags of potting soil.


----------



## Alli

90. Meh. I’m hoping that when Ida’s outerbands get here tomorrow evening it will cool things down for a little while. As long as she stays true to her current track we should be ok. And if she pulls a Katrina and jogs west at the last minute we’ll be even better. Pray there’s no jog east.


----------



## Hrafn

We are preparing our back yard for our winter crop.  That meant a trip to Home Depot.  My son needed homework help, so my wife did that until just before we got extreme weather warnings.  Rain and very real risk of flash floods.  We ventured forth, and the torrential rain just started on our outbound trip.  We got what we needed, and the rain had abated enough to safely navigate the washes en-route to our home.  

Upon arrival home, we found that the tree behind us has dropped yet another 8 inch diameter limb in our yard. I'm afraid I know what I'll be doing tomorrow early.  Limb removal and disposal.  I don't know when we'll get to the garden part.

The rains and wind were no joke.


----------



## Alli

Battan down the hatches and move the plants into the garage. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. Looks like Biloxi is going to take the worst part of Ida. (Do not pay attention to journalists who only see New Orleans because everyone has heard of it.) The worst part of a hurricane is directly to the east of where it makes landfall due to storm surge and tornadic activity.


----------



## SuperMatt

Alli said:


> Battan down the hatches and move the plants into the garage. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. Looks like Biloxi is going to take the worst part of Ida. (Do not pay attention to journalists who only see New Orleans because everyone has heard of it.) The worst part of a hurricane is directly to the east of where it makes landfall due to storm surge and tornadic activity.



I attended some military training in Biloxi... not a place I’m eager to return to.


----------



## Huntn

@Alli good luck with Ida!


----------



## shadow puppet

I can't tell exactly what we're looking at but Ida shredded this.  Hope you're doing better where you are, @Alli.  Please check in when you can!


----------



## lizkat

shadow puppet said:


> I can't tell exactly what we're looking at but Ida shredded this.  Hope you're doing better where you are, @Alli.  Please check in when you can!
> 
> View attachment 8438





Well that photo looks like a match to what's shown in this tweeted video, damage on Decatur St. in the French Quarter in New Orleans.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1432052455471296521/


----------



## Eric

Alli said:


> Battan down the hatches and move the plants into the garage. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. Looks like Biloxi is going to take the worst part of Ida. (Do not pay attention to journalists who only see New Orleans because everyone has heard of it.) The worst part of a hurricane is directly to the east of where it makes landfall due to storm surge and tornadic activity.



Seeing this on the news and thinking about you, scary stuff. Take care and keep us posted when it's safe.


----------



## lizkat

Looks like a whole lotta rain along with the wind and storm surge.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1432152008128086021/


----------



## JayMysteri0

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1432115759891767301/

I'm still wondering why this is a thing.  Risking the life of your weatherman, just to demonstrate a storm we all know is bad, is very bad.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1432064228593217552/


----------



## Alli

SuperMatt said:


> I attended some military training in Biloxi... not a place I’m eager to return to.



The majority of folks I went through ROTC with in college wound up going to Biloxi as their first PCS. We called it the armpit of the country. It’s considerably better today with casinos every few feet.


----------



## Alli

The back yard is the usual swimming pool. No wind damage. (Knock wood.)


----------



## SuperMatt

Alli said:


> The majority of folks I went through ROTC with in college wound up going to Biloxi as their first PCS. We called it the armpit of the country. It’s considerably better today with casinos every few feet.



There was one day a week (cannot remember which day now) when a local casino had a super-cheap deal on their buffet, which was quite a nice one. The entire training class would head over there once a week and enjoy it. I never gambled there though.


----------



## Huntn

Alli said:


> The back yard is the usual swimming pool. No wind damage. (Knock wood.)



Glad to hear. Where my wife’s parents lived in Kingsville, Texas, when we were visiting and had some big rain, we’d get the canoe out and paddle around their 5 acres. The house was up on a foundation, so water in the house was not an issue that  I was aware of.


----------



## shadow puppet

Alli said:


> The back yard is the usual swimming pool. No wind damage. (Knock wood.)



Thanks for checking in.  Relieved to know you are okay!


----------



## Alli

Huntn said:


> Glad to hear. Where my wife’s parents lived in Kingsville, Texas, when we were visiting and had some big rain, we’d get the canoe out and paddle around their 5 acres. The house was up on a foundation, so water in the house was not an issue that  I was aware of.



All the homes in my neighborhood are on stilts. You have to get to a higher elevation to find slab homes.


----------



## Pumbaa

Alli said:


> The back yard is the usual swimming pool. No wind damage. (Knock wood.)



Thoughts and prayers, fingers crossed, stay safe, etc.!

Languages and traditions are weird. Herewould mean that one is lying. Wishing for luck/a desirable outcome would literary translate as holding one‘s thumbs. Translators usually get the latter right, translating it to an appropriate crossing of fingers, while the former is frequently translated literally making the sentence mean something completely different in Swedish than it did in English…

Knock on wood on the other hand is basically the same, except that we do the “touch wood“ version and usually spice it up with pepper: “pepper, pepper, touch wood”. Still some room for bad translations, but at least not as bad as the literal translation of crossed fingers.

To stay on topic: Beautiful day, sunny, not windy, and a comfortable 21°C/70°F degrees outside. Summer’s coming to an end, though, spotted the first trees with yellowing leaves yesterday. Soon we’ll have very pretty trees with leaves in tons of different colors for a while, followed by no leaves and darkness for months and months.


----------



## JayMysteri0

Are we going to see this shit EVERYWHERE now?

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1432365479499284482/


----------



## Herdfan

Looks like we are going to get hit with the remnants.  Tomorrow looks like a regular rain event which will soak the ground and then the Low will track right over us.  There is going to be flooding in southern WV, eastern KY.    There already is some today and it is going to fill the rivers making tomorrow and Wednesday worse.


----------



## lizkat

Pumbaa said:


> Summer’s coming to an end, though, spotted the first trees with yellowing leaves yesterday. Soon we’ll have very pretty trees with leaves in tons of different colors for a while, followed by no leaves and darkness for months and months.




Ah yes, the bright colors and then the fleeing sunlight.   Summer's end isn't really until the equinox in September,  but it starts to flash its hand more towards the end of August.   The day length has been dropping off sooner a minute at a time all month and "suddenly" it's almost nightfall at 8pm.   



Herdfan said:


> Looks like we are going to get hit with the remnants.  Tomorrow looks like a regular rain event which will soak the ground and then the Low will track right over us.  There is going to be flooding in southern WV, eastern KY.    There already is some today and it is going to fill the rivers making tomorrow and Wednesday worse.




Sure hope all in the path of Ida's rain dance on up to the northeast will fare better than expected. 

So far looks like the western Catskills will get just the most northern edge of the storm's parting gestures, but the concern is a stalling Atantic cold front colliding with Ida, which could give us 3-5 inches of rain here on Wednesday. We're topped off already, so it's flash flood warnings for us and for the whole area on downstate.

Best advice for flash flooding remains "Turn around, don't drown!" in seeming puddles that can be washouts  of roads going through hilly terrain.   No one's car or truck deals well with an undermined roadway.   Take care!

Meanwhile I feel for all those without power where Ida wreaked the worst damage coming ashore.  Some days are longer than others, and times without electrical power or a genny can get really old really fast.


----------



## JayMysteri0

JayMysteri0 said:


> Are we going to see this shit EVERYWHERE now?
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1432365479499284482/



Well, here's a completely bizarre & unexpected follow up



> White Man Who Harassed Black News Anchor Almost Caused an Environmental Disaster in 2017
> 
> 
> Mississippi police have issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Eugene Dagley, the white man who just couldn't let Shaquille Brewster do his job in peace.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.theroot.com





> Apparently Wallace doesn’t just have a problem with Black men or Black men holding microphones; he also has a problem with not writing on shit, as documents show that the 54-year-old pleaded guilty to vandalism, inducing panic and attempted assault. And he was arrested in 2017 for “suspicion of drilling holes into tanks of dangerous chemicals” because that’s totally normal.
> 
> 
> According to police, Wallace’s “drilling holes into the tanks of sodium cyanide, hydrochloric acid, yellow chromate, ferrous chloride, and sulfuric acid risked a potential environmental disaster,” WLBT reports.
> 
> Turns out that Wallace once owned Cleveland Plating, the place where he was caught drilling holes, and employees at the company told police that Wallace knew exactly what he was doing when he released the toxic chemicals. A security guard was taken to the hospital suffering from symptoms of cyanide poisoning.
> 
> Two months after this incident, Wallace was “charged with misdemeanor assault after he once again broke into Cleveland Plating with two other accomplices.”
> 
> Wallace allegedly yelled at a security guard, slammed a door into their knee and then punched them in the mouth, WLBT reports.
> 
> NBC News notes that it was unclear why Wallace was some 1,000 miles away from his home in Wooster, Ohio, during a major storm yelling at a newscaster while on probation.


----------



## Huntn

JayMysteri0 said:


> Well, here's a completely bizarre & unexpected follow up



Sounds like a candidate for the mental institute if we still had some.


----------



## JayMysteri0

California looking at NY going   ?!!!

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1433259058518274048/

As some in DC continue to deny climate change is a thing.


----------



## JayMysteri0

Meanwhile in Philly

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1433415773066825733/


----------



## Alli

Huntn said:


> Sounds like a candidate for the mental institute if we still had some.



Today’s mental institutes = Congress.


----------



## Huntn

Nicolas is out there somewhere. It’s raining, we have power, but internet is down, cable is out, phone is glacial, weather apps not responsive.


----------



## Renzatic

Huntn said:


> Nicolas is out there somewhere. It’s raining, we have power, but internet is down, cable is out, phone is glacial, weather apps not responsive.




Far over the Misty Mountains cold
We have lights, but cable, no
We must away, ere break of day,
To find our internet connection old.


----------



## Huntn

Internet came back after about 8 hrs. My Radar shows Nicolas centered over Galveston, but where we are in the Northern Houston suburbs about 45 miles  away, not raining now. We were getting much more rain when the storm was farther away.


----------



## lizkat

Whatever is coming over the hills here right now in the way of weather isn't from Hurricane Nicholas, just aiming to show us what darkness at noon and thereafter looks like.  Right now there are only minutes left to expiration of a severe t-storm warning but the really dark clouds and lack of any wind suggest the fun is yet to come.  I'm tempted to go sit in the stairwell for awhile, away from windows, but I can't stop looking at the cloud cover.  Meanwhile in the regional weather forecast the orange t'storm warnings have been floating around from point to point upstate here,  like barrels in a rushing river, ever since lunchtime.




Oh, and the turquoise "barrel" without any explanation in the labels:  that came with local warnings for this:

"HAZARD...Ping pong ball size hail and 60 mph wind gusts."​​Like to think that stuff will expire trying to finish crossing the border from Pennsylvania!


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> "HAZARD...Ping pong ball size hail and 60 mph wind gusts."​​




We get that warning all the time around here, yet it's rarely ever larger than a piece of crushed ice.

...it's disappointing to say the least.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> We get that warning all the time around here, yet it's rarely ever larger than a piece of crushed ice.
> 
> ...it's disappointing to say the least.




Yeah all we got so far was one crack of lightning and a half-hearted roll of thunder following by torrential rain, which continues.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Yeah all we got so far was one crack of lightning and a half-hearted roll of thunder following by torrential rain, which continues.




That's the way it always goes, isn't it? Hell, we haven't had a good lightning storm in about forever down here. It's all just floods, floods, and more floods.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> That's the way it always goes, isn't it? Hell, we haven't had a good lightning storm in about forever down here. It's all just floods, floods, and more floods.




 I worry about the fate of my one and only little rubber duck in case it needs to board an ark sometime, all by itself.


----------



## Alli

I didn’t think we would get much from this latest storm. I was wrong. Woke up to flash flood warnings. More water than ever in my pool backyard.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> I didn’t think we would get much from this latest storm. I was wrong. Woke up to flash flood warnings. More water than ever in my pool backyard.
> 
> View attachment 8693View attachment 8694




That looks like frog heaven!     Your house is on stilts, right?


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> That looks like frog heaven!     Your house is on stilts, right?



Fortunately, yes. We’d have been washed out years ago otherwise. I’m hoping for some frogs so our fish can have some tadpoles to eat.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> I worry about the fate of my one and only little rubber duck in case it needs to board an ark sometime, all by itself.




Your rubber duck would probably have the time of its life if it got caught in a flood.

You, on the other hand, will need a boat.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> Your rubber duck would probably have the time of its life if it got caught in a flood.
> 
> You, on the other hand, will need a boat.




There's probably one of those in my barn too, who knows.  Haven't unearthed it yet, I'm still working on getting rid of assorted other things that came with the place and I tolerated because one or another bro or carpenter said yeah hang onto that we can probably use it sometime.

Just peeked into my cellar.  Nothing's floating down there yet.  Good sign.


----------



## lizkat

Here we haven't had a killing frost yet but we were treated to first snowfall this morning for awhile.  Weird.


----------



## Huntn

lizkat said:


> Here we haven't had a killing frost yet but we were treated to first snowfall this morning for awhile.  Weird.



Indian Winter?


----------



## lizkat

Huntn said:


> Indian Winter?




Hah,  I guess so!   Well anyway after these couple days now of chilly nights, we're heading back to a forecast of yet more Indian Summer, with sunshine and daytime temps in the 50s but overcast nights so above freezing.  No complaints...


----------



## Runs For Fun

It has gone from the upper 60s to mid 40s for the highs and low 30s for the lows this week. It's suddenly winter!


----------



## Huntn

lizkat said:


> Hah,  I guess so!   Well anyway after these couple days now of chilly nights, we're heading back to a forecast of yet more Indian Summer, with sunshine and daytime temps in the 50s but overcast nights so above freezing.  No complaints...






Runs For Fun said:


> It has gone from the upper 60s to mid 40s for the highs and low 30s for the lows this week. It's suddenly winter!





Cold front came though Houston yesterday, woke up and it was 44F brrr.  Actually this is my favorite time of year in the hot South.


----------



## DT

Huntn said:


> Cold front came though Houston yesterday, woke up and it was 44F brrr.  Actually this is my favorite time of year in the hot South.




We have a little warmer weather pushing through, after a slightly cooler spell, but there's a cold front behind the next few days of bad weather that's supposed to cool things down again.

Yeah, I love this time too, don't get me wrong, love the summer, but couldn't do that kind of weather much longer.  This is when our humidity starts really dropping, cools down - and we have the Oct>Nov>Dec run with some fun holidays, work expectations dial back a bit,  the city gets lit up, and I gain my winter fat layer


----------



## Runs For Fun

Just a few days ago it was 67°. Now it’s 38° and snow is accumulating.


----------



## Deleted member 215

Hopefully we'll be seeing some more rain soon. We got more rain in October this year than in most Oct.-Dec. combined. Rainfall in San Francisco was 700% of normal. But we're going to need more if we want to get out of this drought. Right now it's sunny and dry and temperatures are in the mid-70s. So I'm looking forward to some cooler, wetter weather.


----------



## lizkat

Runs For Fun said:


> Just a few days ago it was 67°. Now it’s 38° and snow is accumulating.




Here, too.    The high-low range of daytime temps just took a big squeeze,  next few days it's like 39-23...

Not in the mood for that.  I was enjoying Indian Summer.   Now I can't put off the rest of my winterizing chores.

Ugh.  Grrr.  Coffee cup to match my annoyance level.  ‍


​


----------



## Herdfan

Runs For Fun said:


> Just a few days ago it was 67°. Now it’s 38° and snow is accumulating.




Yeah that one skirted just north of us.  We got some rain instead.


----------



## Hrafn

Runs For Fun said:


> Just a few days ago it was 67°. Now it’s 38° and snow is accumulating.



I should be doing weekly meal prep cooking, but it's 87 degrees outside, so I'm waiting for sundown and cool.


----------



## Renzatic

Hrafn said:


> I should be doing weekly meal prep cooking, but it's 87 degrees outside, so I'm waiting for sundown and cool.




Yeah, rub it in, you bastard!


----------



## Hrafn

Renzatic said:


> Yeah, rub it in, you bastard!



Yeah, but I don't have the energy for the heat today at all.  I'm not achy like yesterday, but I've had to sit a lot today.


----------



## Renzatic

Hrafn said:


> Yeah, but I don't have the energy for the heat today at all.  I'm not achy like yesterday, but I've had to sit a lot today.




At least you can sit comfortably. I've got a space heater blazing just behind me, and my feet are STILL cold!


----------



## fooferdoggie

ir was dark and cloudy all day 64 to 68 degrees. but no rain at all.


----------



## BigMcGuire

It's too hot in Southern California! What the heck! 4 days of 90F. It's November . News is saying La Niña will continue (meaning drought will continue - no rain).

May be one of the few but I'm happy when it rains - love fog/clouds.


----------



## Yoused

BigMcGuire said:


> May be one of the few but I'm happy when it rains



A few years back, we had clear blue skies from late August into the middle of October, which is unusual for around here. I went to the grocery store on the day it finally started raining, and man did everyone seem to be in a good mood.


----------



## lizkat

Finally figured out what "intermittent snow flurries" means...   snow in half-hour bursts followed by 13-minute coffee breaks for the weather gods.  Pretty soon the warmth of the grass is going to have dissipated enough for more of the stuff to start sticking.


----------



## Yoused

Well, here we are getting cone flurries. It can hurt to walk under the trees right now.


----------



## sgtaylor5

First snow of the season. Oy.


----------



## Yoused

I heard we were subjected to seven inches of rain in the first half of November. And I believe it. It gets quite tiresome after the first few days.


----------



## Alli

I don’t know if we’re due snow this decade or not.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> I don’t know if we’re due snow this decade or not.




If we get as much snow as we got rain this year, we'll have some we can ship south for a small fee.

Meanwhile deer season opens here tomorrow,  so if the critters could read a calendar, they'd be hoping for today's snow flurries to finish melting off before sunrise and make it harder for hunters to find them. 

Here in NYS this is the first season where 12- and 13-year-olds can hunt legally (under complete supervision by mentors).  All the counties opted in, except where state law prohibits it in metro and densely populated suburban areas. 

Well at least the new laws also mandate that all hunters wear blaze orange or pink.  And yeah, some dairy farmers paint their cows or goats with splotches of those colors in this season.  Make it a little harder for some brilliant hunter up from New Jersey to end up tagging a dairy goat as a doe...

For me it's the season of remembering not to wave my mail around coming back from the roadside box.


----------



## Thomas Veil

A half hour ago it was a raging snowstorm. Fifteen minutes ago it stopped. Now the sun's out.


----------



## Yoused

Thomas Veil said:


> A half hour ago it was a raging snowstorm. Fifteen minutes ago it stopped. Now the sun's out.



We get exactly the same thing here, except with rain. Those raindrifts can get treacherous.


----------



## Deleted member 215

Well, we got a negligible amount of rain last night, but it was the first rainfall in over a month, and while it didn't make a dent in anything, it was nice seeing things wet this morning after weeks of dryness. Not looking good so far, but I'm hoping more rain is headed our way. Air quality here is still bad (from vehicle pollution and wood burning mostly) due to high pressure and lack of wind.


----------



## Eric

TBL said:


> Well, we got a negligible amount of rain last night, but it was the first rainfall in over a month, and while it didn't make a dent in anything, it was nice seeing things wet this morning after weeks of dryness. Not looking good so far, but I'm hoping more rain is headed our way. Air quality here is still bad (from vehicle pollution and wood burning mostly) due to high pressure and lack of wind.



It'll be here Sunday in a big way, we have another atmospheric river covering the entire areas from the looks of it. If we can get two or three more of these throughout the winter it'll bring us back up to normal water levels.


----------



## Deleted member 215

I hope so. The pattern in dry years seems to be absolutely no rain in February (at least in the part of the Bay I live in), which really hurts the possibility of getting the normal amount. 2018, 2020, 2021 all saw not a drop in February (total rainfall was 80%, 70%, and 45% of normal respectively in those rain seasons). I'm hoping 2022 is different!


----------



## Herdfan

Thomas Veil said:


> A half hour ago it was a raging snowstorm. Fifteen minutes ago it stopped. Now the sun's out.




Keep that up where you are.  No need to send it south.

Depending on the model, we are supposed to get 0-2" tonight.


----------



## Yoused

Herdfan said:


> Keep that up where you are.



That was like a week ago. The weather changes like … like … like some kind of figure of speech.


----------



## lizkat

We're in a pattern of colliding fronts from southwest and less strongly from the northeast that so far have resulted in a few minor snowfalls followed by rain or rising temperatures anyway, so nothing's really sticking in December to date.   Nice for people still using woodstoves to be able to finish stacking firewood without racing to beat an incoming nor'easter.   I was in that kind of hurry one year and it was not fun knowing that those first few snowflakes were the edge of no joke as a bro and I worked to finish up and rake out the mess on the lawn.

One weird thing though yesterday was that high winds from the southwest shifting to west were forecast and the weather service even included warnings that Christmas decorations might blow away in gusts up to 50mph.   Topped out here around 37mph and I didn't notice any sleighs or stray reindeer with red noses in the yard today,  Strange having wind from the southwest so often now in a still lingering late autumn.  _But hey it's not climate change._


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> and rake out the mess on the lawn.




Thanks for reminding me. 

We have a few Bradford Pears that like to hold on to their leaves like a month later than everything else and then dropping them what seems like overnight.   I usually get the first set of leaves up by bagging them with the mower the last time I mow, but these leaves are still on the ground waiting for me to blow them over into the woods.  

And the little battery powered blower doesn't cut it as there are too many.  So I have to break out the backpack blower to take care of them.


----------



## Herdfan

Well, it is smash-up derby out there on the roads as we got a snow squall that laid down about a half-to an inch.  But since it barely broke freezing yesterday, a lot stuck to the roads.  I'm not going anywhere for a while.


----------



## Clix Pix

First snowflakes of the season today!   Just teeny-tiny little ones that aren't going to amount to anything, and nothing is sticking, thank goodness.   I think the ground is probably still too warm for that as we've had on-and-off mild weather all autumn, no big freezes yet, etc.      I knew we were to have something today and I was kind of hoping for the big, sloppy wet snowflakes, the really pretty ones that look so neat coming down and which are photogenic, but no such luck....


----------



## DT

OK, this is just ridiculous ...


----------



## DT

I mean, I actually WANT it to get cold[er], hahaha, I wore a flannel out the other morning, it was like 60°,  by noon it was 73° and I was dying


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> Thanks for reminding me.
> 
> We have a few Bradford Pears that like to hold on to their leaves like a month later than everything else and then dropping them what seems like overnight.   I usually get the first set of leaves up by bagging them with the mower the last time I mow, but these leaves are still on the ground waiting for me to blow them over into the woods.
> 
> And the little battery powered blower doesn't cut it as there are too many.  So I have to break out the backpack blower to take care of them.




I do like the look of the Bradford Pear, even though some cultivars are now tagged as invasive because they've managed to cross pollinate to the Callery, but they're rather brittle and don't do well around here sometimes in the wind, or in extreme winters without snow cover.

Heh, right, so I had planted a sour cherry in my side yard not long after I bought this place, figuring it for both ornament and pie fruit.  Nice Montmorency.   Lasted about six or eight years, had to fight off the birds for the cherries in summer,  and wrap and wire it against the rabbits trying to get to the bark in winter, then the wind took it one year and I gave up and called the lawn guy to come chip out the stump so he'd have less stuff to mow around.

Never got another pie-cherry tree,  kept thinking maybe just a hawthorn, settled instead for a rock garden and a long bed for annuals.  My trees now are mostly conifers or maples, a few of the latter along the driveway, more of those and a few lumber cherries out back in a mini-forest section of the meadow.


----------



## lizkat

DT said:


> I mean, I actually WANT it to get cold[er], hahaha, I wore a flannel out the other morning, it was like 60°,  by noon it was 73° and I was dying




It's turning out to be a warm December up here too, so you're losing at least some of that extra heat.   Supposed to be 61º here on Saturday.   The more usual daytime temperatures here now would be mid-30s.   I don't mind.  Keeps the plowing bill down since contractors here may send a bill for the season if they know you,  but they charge per time they come out,  not for the season.   Too unpredictable now to quote a price for the whole winter, as one or the other party tends to lose their shirt.


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> I do like the look of the Bradford Pear, even though some cultivars are now tagged as invasive because they've managed to cross pollinate to the Callery, but they're rather brittle and don't do well around here sometimes in the wind, or in extreme winters without snow cover.




Don't be nice, they suck. 

Landscapers around here use them because they grow fairly fast and look decent for a few years.  But yes, they are brittle.  One of our is missing almost half a side from last winter's ice storm.  you need to keep them pruned from the inside or yes, the wind will take them right over.  I would cut ours down except they are right in line for blocking the late day sun in the summer from hitting the house quite as hard.  They will be the next owner's problem.


----------



## Alli

Supposed to be in the 70’s for the next week. But only between the hours of 11-3.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> Supposed to be in the 70’s for the next week. But only between the hours of 11-3.




Now that I could go for!   I dunno how it's going to get to a rather mystifying forecast of 61ºF here by Saturday.   It's 28 at the  moment and they predicted "up to an inch" of snow tonight... meanwhile I've heard snowplows pass by twice each way in the last three hours...  but the weather app says we've had only 2" snowfall in the last six hours, our broke-ass county sure doesn't send out a plow for an inch of snow,  and absolutely none of that data is hanging together enough to believe in a fairytale about a heat wave on Saturday.   Waiting for the wind to shift back to the south because right now it's straight outta Manitoba.

All I know is I'm not going to look out the window just to be able to yell at my iPhone's weather app "you lie!".  Whatever's in my snailmail box tomorrow can hold its frozen breath for the promised heatwave.  I don't even have my boots brought downstairs from summer storage yet.  Climate change makes me lazier every year.


----------



## jonblatho

Goodness, it simply refuses to rain out here in central Oklahoma...





We had a similar weeks-long bout of essentially no rain but saw a bit of a reprieve in mid-fall (unfortunately with the bonus prize of giant hail here in Norman), and now we're right back where we were. :/


----------



## jonblatho

lizkat said:


> Now that I could go for!   I dunno how it's going to get to a rather mystifying forecast of 61ºF here by Saturday.   It's 28 at the  moment and they predicted "up to an inch" of snow tonight... meanwhile I've heard snowplows pass by twice each way in the last three hours...  but the weather app says we've had only 2" snowfall in the last six hours, our broke-ass county sure doesn't send out a plow for an inch of snow,  and absolutely none of that data is hanging together enough to believe in a fairytale about a heat wave on Saturday.   Waiting for the wind to shift back to the south because right now it's straight outta Manitoba.
> 
> All I know is I'm not going to look out the window just to be able to yell at my iPhone's weather app "you lie!".  Whatever's in my snailmail box tomorrow can hold its frozen breath for the promised heatwave.  I don't even have my boots brought downstairs from summer storage yet.  Climate change makes me lazier every year.



From what you've said it sounds like our whiplash weather might find its way over there. Our high temperatures, consecutively, for December so far are 71, 78, 76, 59, 75, 51, 49, and 60.

Tomorrow and Friday we're back into the mid-70s before another plunge into the 50s for highs this weekend.


----------



## Yoused

jonblatho said:


> it simply refuses to rain out here in central Oklahoma



You better head out to the _Llano Estacado_ area pretty soon and start putting down tarps before western Oklahoma ends up in Boston again.


----------



## DT




----------



## lizkat

DT said:


> View attachment 10310




Behold the South Wind Witch, threatening to bring 61ºF in mid-December to the Catskills.  _*Go ahead, ship it!*_


----------



## Thomas Veil

Saturday’s gonna be interesting. Windy and unseasonable warm. That doesn’t sound too bad until you consider the rain (all but certain), downed branches (probable) and fallen power lines (possible).


----------



## Thomas Veil

Holy crap. 









						Kentucky man captures video of the storms approaching Friday night
					

At least 50 people were killed after powerful tornadoes hit six states: Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee.




					www.cnn.com
				




That video is creepy.


----------



## Herdfan

Thomas Veil said:


> Holy crap.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Kentucky man captures video of the storms approaching Friday night
> 
> 
> At least 50 people were killed after powerful tornadoes hit six states: Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.cnn.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That video is creepy.




Yes it is.  That is a huge tornado.

And it looks like the storms are headed for me:


----------



## Thomas Veil

Be safe, my friend.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> Yes it is.  That is a huge tornado.
> 
> And it looks like the storms are headed for me:




It looks to be a wild weather weekend all over the country...   atmospheric river out west, big snowstorms east of there,  tornadoes and t'storms further east in the clash of warm and cold fronts.    

I saw some tweet the other day from a guy talking about how most of us hate Mondays,  so shouldn't we let go of the superstition that an occurrence of a "Friday the 13th" is something to dread, and switch instead to dreading all iterations of a "Monday the 13th"...   But it seems like the gods of weather are suggesting that it's really the _*weekends*_ running up to a "Monday the 13th" that are what to look out for.


----------



## Herdfan

Thomas Veil said:


> Be safe, my friend.




Thanks.  We ended up with mostly a rain event.  Not sure why, the the Interstate seems to be a breaking line for both storms and snow coming from the east.  They will just dissipate or split as they cross the border.  This time the heavy storms went south.  Not good for the people in the coalfields as the ground was already wet and a couple of inches in a hour will cause flash flooding. 

But the pictures of the devastation in Kentucky are heartbreaking. They always are, but 2 weeks before Christmas makes it even worse.


----------



## lizkat

Wow the high parts of CA routes 50 and 80 may get up to 80 or 100 inches of snow from that incoming weather.

[ Translation for all you Catskills deer hunters from New Jersey, yeah not even chains on your SUVs' bald tires would help you out there baby.]

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1469429111307128833/​


----------



## Renzatic

Herdfan said:


> Yes it is.  That is a huge tornado.
> 
> And it looks like the storms are headed for me:




I'm on the bottom right of that map, just southeast of Chattanooga. 

Fortunately, we didn't get anything here other than some slightly strong winds, and heavy rain.


----------



## Thomas Veil

My little _Gotham_-watching buddy and I were in the middle of an episode when we heard a bang against the house and looked outside the patio door to see a fairly big branch (about 2” diameter x 6’ long) had been thrown against the house by the wind. 

And on my way to taking him home, a convoy of three electric company trucks, two of them with cherry pickers, flew down our street. I’m sure lines are down somewhere.


----------



## Runs For Fun

It was 63° this morning. Now it's 38°. Lol


----------



## Yoused

What the hell are they doing having tornadoes in December? Tornado season is supposed to start in April, or maybe March. Are they not aware of this?


----------



## Runs For Fun

Yoused said:


> What the hell are they doing having tornadoes in December? Tornado season is supposed to start in April, or maybe March. Are they not aware of this?



Sir, this is 2021.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Runs For Fun said:


> It was 63° this morning. Now it's 38°. Lol



Yeah, noticed the same thing. It got cold in the house and I looked at my phone and went, "What?!?"



Yoused said:


> What the hell are they doing having tornadoes in December? Tornado season is supposed to start in April, or maybe March. Are they not aware of this?



It's obviously a conspiracy--and I can prove it. If you rearrange the letters in "tornado" you get "tranood".


----------



## Yoused

Thomas Veil said:


> It's obviously a conspiracy--and I can prove it. If you rearrange the letters in "tornado" you get "tranood".



Or "tandoor", which if you have a narrow-range palate that excludes excellent cuisine, is used to cook things like peshwari naan and tandoori mixed grill. Damn, now I am hungry.


----------



## Hrafn

Yoused said:


> What the hell are they doing having tornadoes in December? Tornado season is supposed to start in April, or maybe March. Are they not aware of this?



Tornados are like cats.  I set a couple of them down, explained that this is not the time.  Yeah, they didn't listen at all, and demanded skritches.


----------



## Alli

Yoused said:


> What the hell are they doing having tornadoes in December? Tornado season is supposed to start in April, or maybe March. Are they not aware of this?



The year we had tornadoes here, we got hit the week before Christmas, and another tornado hit further east on Christmas Day. This is turning into tornado season.


----------



## Runs For Fun

Some cooler air moved in today but it's going to be warming back up into the 60s towards the end of the week. Crazy weather.


----------



## Yoused

Spoiler: Alex Jones is still making mouth noises?












						Alex Jones says Joe Biden may have used “weather weapons” to create tornadoes that killed scores in the central US
					






					www.mediamatters.org
				







maybe this does not belong in *Open Chat*, though


----------



## Eric

Sad  there's a lot of discussion around the proper protocols here, you can bet lawsuits are coming.


Larry Virden's last text to his wife, "Amazon won't let us leave" from
      awfuleverything


----------



## SuperMatt

Eric said:


> Sad  there's a lot of discussion around the proper protocols here, you can bet lawsuits are coming.
> 
> 
> Larry Virden's last text to his wife, "Amazon won't let us leave" from
> awfuleverything



Thanks to the Amazon workers, a retired NFL player got to fly in (almost) space this weekend! Bezos really cares so much; what a great guy.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> The year we had tornadoes here, we got hit the week before Christmas, and another tornado hit further east on Christmas Day. This is turning into tornado season.




Mayfield, KY certainly got hammered.    Reuters put up some photos taken by drone of some of the devastation there.  There is one of what was a 100+ year old brick walled church with an elaborate structure and a high dome. Some of the walls are still partly standing, but the interior is trashed beyond belief. Below the Reuters pic is one from the "before" era of that church.


----------



## Yoused

Eric said:


> Sad  there's a lot of discussion around the proper protocols here, you can bet lawsuits are coming.
> 
> 
> __
> https://www.reddit.com/r/awfuleverything/comments/rfmxe0




That exchange is heart-wrenching. However, in a tornado, one is not necessarily better off on the road than in a building. If they cannot be arsed to settle with the families, just out of basic decency, screw them, but in truth, I cannot see that they did anything wrong, because, in a tornado there is not really any right thing you can do. I remember driving through St. Cloud one time when the phone blared a weather warning about heavy rain and flooding, and as I watched the ditches fill with rainwater, the phone blared once again with a tornado warning – I asked what one does if there is a tornado and my friend told me, "pull over and lie down in a ditch.


----------



## Yoused

The tornado may have been on the ground for 4 full hours.


----------



## Herdfan

Reading that the candle factory told employees who left they would be fired.   Amazon has the money to pay settlements, the candle factory most likely does not.

Have some friends in Shelbyville who are living in a doublewide at the family farm while their new home is being built.  When the sirens went off, they went into the basement of the new home in what will be their walk-in safe.  Hung out for a hour or so until it died down.


----------



## lizkat

My heart really goes out to any community beset by the fright and then the horrendous damage of tornadoes that touch down and travel on with the kind of ferocity seen in the southern US last weekend.

 I would sure not like living someplace where tornadoes are part of a "normal" range of weather possibilities. It can be really frightening during tornado warnings,  even if one does have a safe place to hang out underground, and it must be terrifying to be living in a place that doesn't even have a cellar. 

We get a few warnings now and then in the Catskills during summer, but they are usually in late afternoon and they pass in 20 minutes or so.  Enough time down in a windowless corner of my cellar to make friends again with the spiders that I've been kind enough meanwhile not to have killed.   Just me, the spiders and the sewer pipe nearby if I need something sturdy to grab onto. Counting my blessings instead of complaining always seems like a good idea then. At least I do have that cellar to hide in, even if it's scary to hear the winds and debris flying around outside. 

We've had straight line winds come through a few times;  I'll never forget seeing 2" diameter pieces of black willow limbs later on that had been hurled like javelins six or eight inches into the lawn in the yard.  Real food for thought there, and I've never ignored a tornado or supercell t'storm warning since then.   But seeing that photo of a refrigerator parked in a tree somewhere in Kentucky last Friday night was an eye opener of a different sort.


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> We get a few warnings now and then in the Catskills during summer,
> 
> We've had straight line winds come through a few times;




Same here.  The mountains tend to break them up.  Every once in a while we will get one going down the river that might jump somewhere, but they are not the monsters the flat lands get.

The only experience I have with straight line winds was the 2012 Derecho.   That was enough.


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> The year we had tornadoes here, we got hit the week before Christmas, and another tornado hit further east on Christmas Day. This is turning into tornado season.




December tornadoes aren't exactly rare around here. Though seeing a bout as powerful as what we saw last week certainly is.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> I would sure not like living someplace where tornadoes are part of a "normal" range of weather possibilities. It can be really frightening during tornado warnings, even if one does have a safe place to hang out underground, and it must be terrifying to be living in a place that doesn't even have a cellar.




You do get used to it after awhile. Around here, when we hear the tornado sirens go off, people take it more as an invitation to COME OUTSIDE AND LOOK, rather than take shelter.

Hell, I was outside looking at the sky just 20 minutes before the tornado hit my town back in 2011.


----------



## Yoused

Renzatic said:


> Hell, I was outside looking at the sky just 20 minutes before the tornado hit my town back in 2011.



Were you wearing red shoes?


----------



## Renzatic

Yoused said:


> Were you wearing red shoes?




No. That happens afterwards, when my house gets caught up in the storm, and crushes a lady on the way down.


----------



## lizkat

We're getting quite a range of temperatures in December;  looks like we made it to the forecast 62ºF for today, which is wildly high for this time of year.   But next Monday night's forecast low is way more seasonable, 13ºF.     Anyway so far not much need for the parka I dutifully hauled downstairs in November.  No complaints...


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> No complaints...




Hey, Liz. Wanna get mad?









						Local Weather
					






					www.wrcbtv.com


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> Hey, Liz. Wanna get mad?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Local Weather
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.wrcbtv.com




Nah, no thanks...  y'all can keep the hot weather and those pointy whirlygig things down south for my money.  

We did have a passing thunderstorm last week that startled me when two fronts collided around here.   This time with a change in weather coming over the next couple days,  it's happening more as expected,  colder temps just fading in as the wind slowly shifts around to come from the northwest.  Meanwhile we're enjoying "leftover Florida" today and tomorrow...


----------



## Thomas Veil

52 here. I’m thinking we’re not getting snow.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Nah, no thanks...  y'all can keep the hot weather and those pointy whirlygig things down south for my money.




Just FYI, they're not always pointy. Sometimes, they're tube shaped.


----------



## lizkat

Thomas Veil said:


> 52 here. I’m thinking we’re not getting snow.




We got just enough so December won't be embarrassed of such a tiny total snowfall.  But,  the 2" are melting...


----------



## Yoused

Disclaimer: I do not there. In fact, I am currently no closer than approximately seven thousand two hundred eighty-eight miles from there. So it should not concern me. But, this is disconcerting.









						Scorpion stings kill 3, injure 450 amid bad weather in Egypt's Aswan - Politics  - Egypt
					

Three people have died and 450 others were injured due to scorpion stings in Aswan, a health ministry official said, in the wake of bad weather and thunderstorm in the southern Egyptian governorate since Friday.




					english.ahram.org.eg
				




Snow in the Sahara.


----------



## fooferdoggie

rain 37 degrees dark and gloomy Christmas Eve. we are supposed to have freezing weather next week.


----------



## Alli

Gorgeous summer day here with big fluffy white clouds moving quickly out of sight leaving nothing behind but blue. Supposed to be in the mid 70’s. I’m good with that.


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> Gorgeous summer day here with big fluffy white clouds moving quickly out of sight leaving nothing behind but blue. Supposed to be in the mid 70’s. I’m good with that.




Ditto here, except it's overcast and gloomy. It's like some weirdo mix of winter and spring.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> Ditto here, except it's overcast and gloomy. It's like some weirdo mix of winter and spring.




Yeah it's supposed to be 43ºF here later this week.  Incredible.  If this south wind fetching spring in winter doesn't let up, I'm going to need my lawn mowed in February.   And the guy puts up his tractor mower after he mulches a second time in October.     I'll have to get a goat.  Rabbits are usually fussy about their greens in a way that goats are not.   Rabbits don't like grass that has been freeze-dried and then thawed.  Goats could not care less.  If it fits in their mouth, it's fit to eat.


----------



## Yoused

There was a slopping of snow on the ground around eleven last night, but only a tiny bit remains on a car or two, so my dream of a wet christmas has been fulfilled.


----------



## lizkat

Yoused said:


> There was a slopping of snow on the ground around eleven last night, but only a tiny bit remains on a car or two, so my dream of a wet christmas has been fulfilled.




The year or so that I spent in California included one Christmas season.   I really missed the crisp cold air and smell of evergreens from New England as late autumn moved towards winter in San Francisco,..   and when I opened a Christmas card from a former economics professor and his wife, and a couple of long Eastern Pine needles they had included fell out of that card's envelope,  I actually wept.  I hadn't realized how homesick I was for a northeastern winter until that moment.

God knows I had cursed a few of those winters when I was still part of the driveway-shoveling brigade in upstate NY as a grade-school kid.   The rule at home was to help shovel a path from house to the road in time to walk to school,  or else help shovel the whole driveway to get a ride.   

Clever parents:   Lake Ontario was prone to dumping 4 feet of snow on us overnight,  if the wind shifted around to come from due north and straight across all that water instead of from the northwest.  So then we had to opt for shoveling the whole driveway to get a ride to school, being unable to navigate drifts along the shortcut that we otherwise took through a neighbor's farm lane on foot.  It was a pain in the neck, siblings to share the task notwithstanding.

After that one winter in  SF though,  I knew where I belonged at Christmas,  and it was back in the northeast with a snow shovel in hand.


----------



## Yoused

lizkat said:


> The year or so that I spent in California included one Christmas season.   I really missed the crisp cold air and smell of evergreens from New England as late autumn moved towards winter in San Francisco,..




Samuel Clemens is erroneously credited with "_The hardest winter I ever endured was a summer in San Francisco._"



> God knows I had cursed a few of those winters when I was still part of the driveway-shoveling brigade in upstate NY as a grade-school kid. …



Not that I have been through a winter east of these temperate mountains, but I did get a brief taste of how brutally unrelenting they can be, which inspired


> someguy said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _It appears that the central engines of the Russian economy are vodka and apathy._
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It is not apathy. It is a third thing. To understand it, you must go to Wisconsin in April, where the trees are brown, the sky is an afterthought and the snow lies around in a limp and dirty taunt. You escape into a supper club, but the dining room does not open for another 45 minutes, so you go to the bar and have a beer, sitting next to that one guy who just ordered more for himself and for his 14 year old daughter.
> 
> Then you understand this feeling, the sense of resignation that staves off the suffocating despair of this monochromatic kafkaesque reality, and in this moment of evading the crushing sole of the universe, it becomes obvious that prohibition was a most vile crime against humanity.
Click to expand...


----------



## sgtaylor5

Monday through Saturday highs/lows next week: 20/6 degrees F Monday to 12/0 degrees F on Wednesday to 24/5 degrees F on Saturday. _Cold_ on the prairie next week. Coldest I've ever seen was -28 in La Crosse to -30 in Pullman a few years back.


----------



## Clix Pix

Warm here -- got up to 67° this afternoon -- wow!  Opened a couple of windows and enjoyed the fresh air!   I'm sure this won't last and that tomorrow and the days following will become seasonably cooler and downright cold again, but this was nice today.


----------



## Alli

sgtaylor5 said:


> Monday through Saturday highs/lows next week: 20/6 degrees F Monday to 12/0 degrees F on Wednesday to 24/5 degrees F on Saturday. _Cold_ on the prairie next week. Coldest I've ever seen was -28 in La Crosse to -30 in Pullman a few years back.



I remember winters like that when I lived in Wyoming. I still have the 45 (record) of a popular song “50 mile wind and 40 below.” I’m much happier here in the south.


----------



## JohnR

We went down to Dawson Springs KY yesterday to visit my sister and her family. They are ok. I lived there for about 7 years when I was younger. Total devastation, unbelievable. They say Dawson is worse than Mayfield because the tornado went through residential in Dawson, while business in Mayfield.

Can't believe there were no fatalities in this house


----------



## fooferdoggie

Portland weather is weird. rain and 37 Friday Saturday snow overnight melted Sunday snowed a little overnight and 30 when we woke up but now at noon down to 27 but clear. its not usually to drop that much from morning.


----------



## Eric

fooferdoggie said:


> Portland weather is weird. rain and 37 Friday Saturday snow overnight melted Sunday snowed a little overnight and 30 when we woke up but now at noon down to 27 but clear. its not usually to drop that much from morning.



Interesting, my sister got hammered pretty good in the Eugene area. Typically it's worse up north but you never really know with the patterns.


----------



## fooferdoggie

Eric said:


> Interesting, my sister got hammered pretty good in the Eugene area. Typically it's worse up north but you never really know with the patterns.



yep. roads are icy but not too bad. my magical dumpster keeps self emptying of wood scraps some how. its like the third time in two weeks


----------



## Renzatic

It’s December. Dead of winter. The supposed to be cold days.

…SO WHY ARE WE HAVING THUNDER STORMS AND TORNADO WATCHES, HUH?


----------



## Renzatic

Tornado warnings to the west of me. Fun times.


----------



## Renzatic

Looks like the worst of it will pass just south of me. I think my town is already passed the shear line.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> It’s December. Dead of winter. The supposed to be cold days.
> 
> …SO WHY ARE WE HAVING THUNDER STORMS AND TORNADO WATCHES, HUH?




You're in the Bible Belt.   _Vengeance is mine_, saith the Lord.

Oh wait.  I think at least half the Bible Belt has sworn off reading Scripture anyway, judging from their tweets.

OK, so it's just climate change.


----------



## Yoused

lizkat said:


> You're in the Bible Belt.   _Vengeance is mine_, saith the Lord.



"Vengeance", which starts with a capital "V" – the shape of a tornado (and it looks more terrifying in italics).


----------



## Renzatic

I lived!

Going by what I'm seeing today, last night's storms were mostly potential that, fortunately, didn't live up to the hype.


----------



## fooferdoggie

we had really cold night and mornings and a little thaw middle of the day the last several day. we go to bed at 26 and wake up at 36 and maybe rain.


----------



## Renzatic

fooferdoggie said:


> we had really cold night and mornings and a little thaw middle of the day the last several day. we go to bed at 26 and wake up at 36 and maybe rain.




It's going to be 70 today for me, with a lows in the high 50's.

Gotta enjoy it while it lasts, since the cold returns this Sunday.


----------



## fooferdoggie

Renzatic said:


> It's going to be 70 today for me, with a lows in the high 50's.
> 
> Gotta enjoy it while it lasts, since the cold returns this Sunday.



this is the first day I can ride since Friday. it was 28 yesterday morning with some thawing so I got my bike out and was walking to the Train station where I realized I forgot my helmet and Sid screw it and took it home.  it rose before I left work and was thinking it was good I didn't to bring my bike but the roads were dry.


----------



## lizkat

Feature of the day in the Catskills is very dense fog.  The ground isn't even frozen yet, neither are the creeks and it's 41ºF.  Weird.


----------



## Herdfan

Wasn't supposed to rain today, and technically it probably isn't.  But there is just a mist in the air that will eventually get you wet.


----------



## fooferdoggie

well I rode to work 35 degrees rain and big snow flakes. lucky no wind.


----------



## shadow puppet

SoCal has had almost 24 hours straight rain.  Yesterday, just before 4P, a near-by transformer blew.   We were without power for several hours.  Thank Yahvo for my trusty ancient 1947 gas furnace to keep me & the Labrador kid toasty & warm.


----------



## Alli

I’m looking forward to Sunday. Supposed to be cold so I can put on a sweatshirt!


----------



## lizkat

What strikes me as alarming here is a whole new pattern for recent Decembers.  Not only are we getting record high temperatures for dates during December way more often,  but on those same dates we are also getting very high LOWs, like way into the above-normal range. 

Today it was 47ºF, a high that's 30-50º higher than a typical New Year's Eve, and the low forecast is 39ºF.  A typical low in late December is more like 0-15ºF.   I'm not complaining but_ "it ain't right"_...

Clouds are not clearing off before nightfall as before,  so the cloud cover now tends to insulate against heat loss overnight.   Snowfall, the little that has occurred here this December, has melted instead of helping to mulch local perennial plantings.   Gonna have to get out there and add some more straw mulch if it ever quits raining.


----------



## Renzatic

Tonight, round 2 begins. We'll start off with heavy thunderstorms and the possibility of tornadoes, and end it with a wintry mix of sleet and snow. 

This is apocalypse weather.


----------



## Roller

Renzatic said:


> Tonight, round 2 begins. We'll start off with heavy thunderstorms and the possibility of tornadoes, and end it with a wintry mix of sleet and snow.
> 
> This is apocalypse weather.



Same here, minus the sleet and snow. It's been in the high 70s today.


----------



## Renzatic

Roller said:


> Same here, minus the sleet and snow. It's been in the high 70s today.




Ditto. The wind's blowing pretty heavily over here, and the clouds are tracking quickly through the sky. Reminds me a lot of how things were the day the 2011 tornadoes hit.

Though I was wrong about one thing: the wintry mix doesn't hit until tomorrow evening.


----------



## Renzatic

Tornado watch is in effect! Wooo!


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> Tornado watch is in effect! Wooo!



So are you guys ok there now in tornado territory??


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> So are you guys ok there now in tornado territory??




I'm fine. The worst of it seemed to pass just north of me, by a scant mile in one instance. The most I got here was some heavy bouts of wind and rain.


----------



## Huntn

It s supposed to freeze here (Houston) tonight temp has been falling currently at 36F, will increase today, and drop tonight to about 30 for several hours. I have to move some plants in the house today and cover my little Lemmon Tree, which actually has new lemmons on it.  I’m surprised this cold front brought no rain, that is unusual.


----------



## lizkat

Enjoying the last of an abnormally warm year-end/year-start...   we're going from the 50ºF highs the past couple days to strictly normal January around here.   Overnight low will be 10ºF by Tuesday.  Last night it was 41º but today it's sinking fast towards freezing, forecast to be 17º tonight.  Now where the heck did i put my parka?


----------



## Alli

I just don’t understand weather at all. Earlier in the week there were predictions of weather in the (high) 30’s for today, yet when I woke up it was 75 degrees. I really want to put on a sweatshirt.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> I just don’t understand weather at all. Earlier in the week there were predictions of weather in the (high) 30’s for today, yet when I woke up it was 75 degrees. I really want to put on a sweatshirt.




Heh, here I'm definitely gonna have to layer up for the incoming chill...  

Forecasts are sometimes much more on the money than they used to be in the very very short term  --hence apps that can reliably suggest "if you wait 15 minutes you won't have to wear a rainjacket to the mailbox"--  but the downside is that the week-ahead look also changes by the hour..


----------



## Hrafn

Huntn said:


> It s supposed to freeze here tonight temp has been falling currently at 36F, will increase today, and drop tonight to about 30 for several hours. I have to move some plants in the house today and cover my little Lemmon Tree, which actually has new lemmons on it.  I’m surprised this cold front brought no rain, that is unusual.



We had record-breaking heat several days in December, and now a freeze warning last night.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Last night it was 41º but today it's sinking fast towards freezing, forecast to be 17º tonight. Now where the heck did i put my parka?




Yup. Last night, I had to sleep with the fan on me to keep cool. Tonight? They're saying we could see upwards of 2 inches of snow.

That's messed up, yo.


----------



## SuperMatt

Renzatic said:


> Yup. Last night, I had to sleep with the fan on me to keep cool. Tonight? They're saying we could see upwards of 2 inches of snow.
> 
> That's messed up, yo.



I wonder if this is just a weird year or the new normal.


----------



## Renzatic

SuperMatt said:


> I wonder if this is just a weird year or the new normal.




Hard to say at this point. Last year, we had a fairly mild winter, so it's not a part of an immediately obvious pattern.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> Hard to say at this point. Last year, we had a fairly mild winter, so it's not a part of an immediately obvious pattern.




The heating fuel guy is gonna wish he worked the holiday weekend to top off our tanks by time this incoming cold front settles in.  He could have tooled around town with the window open in his truck yesterday.  By Tuesday morning he'll be like everyone else who works outside, suddenly trying to find their long unders, turtlenecks, wool sweaters and insulated gloves.  We all really got spoiled by a long, long, long Indian summer. 

But you're right, it's only around now that things start to sort out towards what the winter will be like.  It's coming on like gangbusters,  to judge from the week-ahead forecast at the moment.   The cold or some snow is normal, but it's that deadly "wintry mix" that no one wants to see pop onto the horizon.   That's the kind of weather a propane gas driver sure doesn't fancy when his route is all up in these wrinkled foothills.  Only level spot is back in the depot...


----------



## Clix Pix

Sitting here with windows open and enjoying the pleasant 62° temperature, I was truly shocked a little while ago when I started to read _The Washington Post_ and saw a headline announcing that we'll be getting somewhere around 2-6" of snow on Monday.   Wait!  That's...._tomorrow_?!!!  WTF???   I read the article and sure enough, that's the forecast.  Came up out of nowhere, seemingly.   I'm not thrilled, although I suppose it will offer a few nice photo ops.   It's still warmish and cloudy right now but the cold air will start arriving later and the snow will start overnight so that when I arise tomorrow it may be to a beautiful Winter Wonderland scene or it could be just a piddly couple of inches.  My vote is for the latter!  Six inches or more of snow can snarl up traffic around here pretty badly and driving becomes downright treacherous because a lot of people apparently do not know how to drive in the snow and ice.   Guess I'll be spending another day at home tomorrow when I'd intended to run a couple of errands....


----------



## SuperMatt

Clix Pix said:


> Sitting here with windows open and enjoying the pleasant 62° temperature, I was truly shocked a little while ago when I started to read _The Washington Post_ and saw a headline announcing that we'll be getting somewhere around 2-6" of snow on Monday.   Wait!  That's...._tomorrow_?!!!  WTF???   I read the article and sure enough, that's the forecast.  Came up out of nowhere, seemingly.   I'm not thrilled, although I suppose it will offer a few nice photo ops.   It's still warmish and cloudy right now but the cold air will start arriving later and the snow will start overnight so that when I arise tomorrow it may be to a beautiful Winter Wonderland scene or it could be just a piddly couple of inches.  My vote is for the latter!  Six inches or more of snow can snarl up traffic around here pretty badly and driving becomes downright treacherous because a lot of people apparently do not know how to drive in the snow and ice.   Guess I'll be spending another day at home tomorrow when I'd intended to run a couple of errands....



I am anticipating the snow with a bit of excitement as well. I have some ”snow day” projects planned if it happens.


----------



## Pumbaa

Gosh darn it. Ten inches of snow during the night, completely gone within a day...


----------



## Herdfan

Pumbaa said:


> Gosh darn it. Ten inches of snow during the night, completely gone within a day...




There is a sharp cutoff on the snowfall.  Either we are going to get a dusting or 6".   Either way, it will be cold tomorrow.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> There is a sharp cutoff on the snowfall.  Either we are going to get a dusting or 6".   Either way, it will be cold tomorrow.




We're just going to get typical January cold temps... there aren't even any advisories posted for our region.


----------



## Alli

37 degrees this morning. Yesterday it was 75. WTF! But at least I get to put on my sweatshirt.


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> 37 degrees this morning. Yesterday it was 75. WTF! But at least I get to put on my sweatshirt.




And it didn't even snow.


----------



## SuperMatt

Tons of snow here… city is basically shut down. Some people decided to drive today and now are going to be stuck in their cars all day because a tractor trailer jack-knifed on a major thoroughfare and crews cannot get through to it.


----------



## Clix Pix

Yikes!  Was the tractor-trailer truck on the Beltway or I-95?   Or in the District itself?    (Obviously I haven't yet looked at today's _Washington Post_!)

When I opened the blinds this morning I was treated to a Winter Wonderland scene, with beautiful white snow covering everything, including tree limbs and branches -- it was the big, fluffy "sticky" kind of flakes that were coming down, mesmerizing to watch.    I didn't have to go anywhere today and the errand that I had thought about doing can easily be postponed a few days;  actually, yeah, it'll have to be, as I'm not driving in this stuff!  Too many people out there who DON'T know how to drive in snow and ice.

Not sure how much we've actually gotten -- when I first got up it was snowing to beat the band but now it seems to have stopped so we may be done now.   They had originally predicted 4-6 inches, but I don't know if we have that much now on the ground.   It's the trees which make it so magical and beautiful, though.....but that can also be problematic and the weight of the snow can cause limbs and branches to break off and land on power lines, taking down the power line, too.   _ETA:  Apparently we've got around 8 inches.   Power is out in some areas around the region due to downed power lines.  I am thankful to still have it here!_


----------



## Renzatic

Just got hit with a widespread power outage, expected to last until 6 PM.

…it’s not even storming out. What the fuck?


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> Just got hit with a widespread power outage, expected to last until 6 PM.
> 
> …it’s not even storming out. What the fuck?




Ugh. Power outages in winter can rank right up in nightmare territory. 

Your area is probably paying for sins committed by the weather gods against parts of the grid elsewhere...


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Ugh. Power outages in winter can rank right up in nightmare territory.
> 
> Your area is probably paying for sins committed by the weather gods against parts of the grid elsewhere...




It was only down for a couple of hours, but I did start to get cold.

I consider that penance.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> It was only down for a couple of hours, but I did start to get cold.
> 
> I consider that penance.




What I dislike is when there's no immediate estimate on power restoration...  so I finally decide ok this is gonna be awhile, and I get out extra blankets and a spare laptop with movie purchases on it,  and a couple battery lanterns, and some back-of-pantry supplies that don't need heat to eat...   and I open the water taps to drip a little bit hoping the pipes won't freeze if the outage lasts a long time....  and about then the lights come on and the furnace kicks in and I struggle to be grateful while being annoyed over all the stuff that I now have to put away and run around closing faucets.    File under  _"First World Problems"..._


----------



## fooferdoggie

Jonson creek ready to flood we got 1.6" of rain today so far. it changed a fair amount since yesterday. down to 36 and rain right now.


----------



## Renzatic

fooferdoggie said:


> Jonson creek ready to flood we got 1.6" of rain today so far. it changed a fair amount since yesterday. down to 36 and rain right now.




I thought that first shot was from your back porch. Made me wonder what you were doing just sticking around, rather than running for dear life.


----------



## Herdfan

Been reading about people stranded on I-95 south of DC.  Hope they get them help soon.


----------



## fooferdoggie

Renzatic said:


> I thought that first shot was from your back porch. Made me wonder what you were doing just sticking around, rather than running for dear life.



no we live about a mile away and much higher. this is on the bike path. I will check it today but the rain stopped overnight.


----------



## Clix Pix

Herdfan said:


> Been reading about people stranded on I-95 south of DC.  Hope they get them help soon.




That whole situation on I-95 has been a real mess!   People were stranded there starting yesterday when the snowstorm became overwhelming and then the state closed a section of the highway, about fifty miles or so, between two exits as everything in between was just all snarled up.  Getting aid to people in their cars was very difficult and so a lot of them spent last night -- which was very cold! -- in their vehicles, and even later this morning things were still problematic, people still stranded and unable to move.....  Not sure of how things are now, but I hope that by now they are significantly improved and that people have finally been able to move again.   Many were not prepared for this kind of situation and didn't have much in the way of food with them, nor did they have blankets to keep warm during that cold, cold night.  If someone was already in a situation with a car with not much gasoline left in the tank, they couldn't just keep the car running in order to stay warm, either.  A bad scene all the way around.

This storm hit at a really bad time, with travelers returning home from the holidays, or in some cases "snowbirds" heading to Florida for their usual two-or-three month wintertime stay, and the always heavily-used I-95 corridor, which runs between Florida and the New England states, would have been busy anyway....   Especially since the weather was unusually mild leading up to this storm, which really was a dramatic change,  some travelers probably underestimated the potential of the snow to develop and accumulate and decided to just head out anyway, and on Sunday (a surprisingly warm day for January)  they may have started the long drive home planning to simply continue their journey to their destination on Monday.    Weather conditions really changed dramatically and very quickly overnight.  

On Monday later in the day even as it was still snowing to beat the band, or perhaps the snow had begun slowing down, others may have thought, "oh, no problem, I'm just running to DC from Richmond, the usual drive,  so I'll just head on home to DC, it'll only be a couple of hours, maybe a little longer today....."    Or someone was intending to just make a quick trip between two other locations along the I-95 corridor, which under normal conditions would not be an issue at all.  

Of course common sense suggests that many of those people who were stranded on I-95 should never have been out on the road in the first place, given the predictions of the snowstorm, and certainly they really should not have set out after the snow had already started.  I suspect a lot of people have learned a rather uncomfortable and downright painful lesson after having had to spend a bitterly cold night in their car, unable to move anywhere as I-95 had become a parking lot, more or less....


----------



## SuperMatt

Clix Pix said:


> That whole situation on I-95 has been a real mess!   People were stranded there starting yesterday when the snowstorm became overwhelming and then the state closed a section of the highway, about fifty miles or so, between two exits as everything in between was just all snarled up.  Getting aid to people in their cars was very difficult and so a lot of them spent last night -- which was very cold! -- in their vehicles, and even later this morning things were still problematic, people still stranded and unable to move.....  Not sure of how things are now, but I hope that by now they are significantly improved and that people have finally been able to move again.   Many were not prepared for this kind of situation and didn't have much in the way of food with them, nor did they have blankets to keep warm during that cold, cold night.  If someone was already in a situation with a car with not much gasoline left in the tank, they couldn't just keep the car running in order to stay warm, either.  A bad scene all the way around.
> 
> This storm hit at a really bad time, with travelers returning home from the holidays, or in some cases "snowbirds" heading to Florida for their usual two-or-three month wintertime stay, and the always heavily-used I-95 corridor, which runs between Florida and the New England states, would have been busy anyway....   Especially since the weather was unusually mild leading up to this storm, which really was a dramatic change,  some travelers probably underestimated the potential of the snow to develop and accumulate and decided to just head out anyway, and on Sunday (a surprisingly warm day for January)  they may have started the long drive home planning to simply continue their journey to their destination on Monday.    Weather conditions really changed dramatically and very quickly overnight.
> 
> On Monday later in the day even as it was still snowing to beat the band, or perhaps the snow had begun slowing down, others may have thought, "oh, no problem, I'm just running to DC from Richmond, the usual drive,  so I'll just head on home to DC, it'll only be a couple of hours, maybe a little longer today....."    Or someone was intending to just make a quick trip between two other locations along the I-95 corridor, which under normal conditions would not be an issue at all.
> 
> Of course common sense suggests that many of those people who were stranded on I-95 should never have been out on the road in the first place, given the predictions of the snowstorm, and certainly they really should not have set out after the snow had already started.  I suspect a lot of people have learned a rather uncomfortable and downright painful lesson after having had to spend a bitterly cold night in their car, unable to move anywhere as I-95 had become a parking lot, more or less....



Even one of Virginia’s Senators got stuck. Tim Kaine posted about it on his Twitter account.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1478476547552169987/


----------



## Herdfan

Clix Pix said:


> Of course common sense suggests that many of those people who were stranded on I-95 should never have been out on the road in the first place, given the predictions of the snowstorm, and certainly they really should not have set out after the snow had already started.  I suspect a lot of people have learned a rather uncomfortable and downright painful lesson after having had to spend a bitterly cold night in their car, unable to move anywhere as I-95 had become a parking lot, more or less....




I have an emergency kit in my truck that will get me through the night.  It has some MRE's, water, a couple of the thin thermal blankets and a deck of cards.  Never had to use it, but it's there if I need it.


----------



## fooferdoggie

well this morning the stream was the same but by this afternoon its down almost two feet I would say.


----------



## Clix Pix

Traffic is flowing again on I-95;  if it were me who had been stuck in that mess I would get off at the nearest exit and go find a hotel and treat myself to a well-deserved hot meal, hot shower and warm bed in which to sleep.....


----------



## SuperMatt

One of my co-workers was stranded in his small (12 house) subdivision by multiple fallen trees, which had also taken out the power lines. His generator fuel ran out so he was getting cold. He used his car for warmth and to charge the cell phone battery. They cleared the trees out of the road today so he was able to get to a gas station and refuel the generator until the local power company can restore electricity. The power company gave an ETA of around midnight tonight to get it fixed.


----------



## Herdfan

They are calling for 3-6" tomorrow afternoon and evening.  DOT was pre-treating the interstates today.

One reason I-95 was so bad was the snow followed rain, so they couldn't pre-treat the roads.  They started doing it here about 5 years ago and it has made a difference. 

But here, 3-6" isn't a shutdown event.  Got to get 8-10" to really make travel difficult.

Edit: Track is moving a bit north.  Now in the 4-8" band.


----------



## lizkat

Brrrrrr...    January finally showed up in New York.

​


----------



## Huntn

Herdfan said:


> They are calling for 3-6" tomorrow afternoon and evening.  DOT was pre-treating the interstates today.
> 
> One reason I-95 was so bad was the snow followed rain, so they couldn't pre-treat the roads.  They started doing it here about 5 years ago and it has made a difference.
> 
> But here, 3-6" isn't a shutdown event.  Got to get 8-10" to really make travel difficult.
> 
> Edit: Track is moving a bit north.  Now in the 4-8" band.



You know I love West a Virginia.


----------



## Huntn

SuperMatt said:


> I wonder if this is just a weird year or the new normal.



It’s our imagination, just like global warming…


----------



## Huntn

fooferdoggie said:


> Jonson creek ready to flood we got 1.6" of rain today so far. it changed a fair amount since yesterday. down to 36 and rain right now.
> 
> View attachment 10765View attachment 10766View attachment 10767



I’d hate to own that house. Where is this?


----------



## fooferdoggie

Huntn said:


> I’d hate to own that house. Where is this?



portland oregon. this stream rambles from one end to the other. so far it has not gotten igher with the rain. its early without thew spring runoffs. but overall its been higher for al long time. I see it goes up and down every day depending on the rain. Saw 2' change from morning to afternoon.


----------



## Herdfan

Huntn said:


> I’d hate to own that house. Where is this?




Living in WV with the mountains that all have creeks at the bottom has taught me to never live by a creek or river.  I have seen what happens with an area gets 3-4" of rain in an hour and am not interested.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> Living in WV with the mountains that all have creeks at the bottom has taught me to never live by a creek or river.  I have seen what happens with an area gets 3-4" of rain in an hour and am not interested.




Yep, little creeks can turn vicious with a couple inches of rain. We had record rainfall in the summer floods in the Atlantic states in 2006, anything from 3 to 6 inches in a few hours.  I'm glad I live at the top of one hill and halfway down another in the cross-direction, so water right here keeps going before it finds a stream to make more trouble with.

 A local creek a couple miles from here came out of banks and reached out fifty feet to completely wash out a mile or so of a county road. And that was just what it did up here in the headwaters...    Those little creeks and streams in the Catskills help feed the Delaware and Susquehanna river systems....    the water downsteam at the I-80 Delaware Water Gap bridge crested at _*21 feet above normal.*_

 Usually in summer you can see all the stones in the bed of that little creek that ate the local road here,  and then it's only six to ten feet or so across along there.  The water rise in 2006 was unbelievable, but hardly the worst of the damage those floods did.  There are 220 bridges in this county of headwaters for two river systems, and least 3 dozen of them were destroyed or became unsafe.  A lot of Rte 30 between I-86 and NY 206 had washouts too.   Some bridges have still not been replaced. 

They did of course repair the washout in I-88 about 15 miles from here, where a huge culvert under the roadways suddenly gave it up in the wee hours and the water then instantly took out all four lanes and the median strip.  That killed two truck drivers whose rigs went into the chasm.


----------



## Yoused

We have all kinds of flooding going on around here. For a while, all the major mountain passes were closed and the highway south was, I think, flooded over, to the point that there was no way to get to the other side of the state from here if'n one had to. The land is heavily saturated from rain and snow melt, so we can expect mud slides just about anywhere, like that one that wiped out a small town up north several years back.

The way they build view property neighborhoods here, denuding the hillsides (so that you can have a fine view of the people across the valley who built their houses for a fine view of you), it seems like deadly mudslides are just about inevitable. But, pretty soon the big mountain will cut loose and kill us all, so we do have something to look forward to.


----------



## Huntn

fooferdoggie said:


> portland oregon. this stream rambles from one end to the other. so far it has not gotten igher with the rain. its early without thew spring runoffs. but overall its been higher for al long time. I see it goes up and down every day depending on the rain. Saw 2' change from morning to afternoon.



Always loved the Portland area.


----------



## Huntn

Herdfan said:


> Living in WV with the mountains that all have creeks at the bottom has taught me to never live by a creek or river.  I have seen what happens with an area gets 3-4" of rain in an hour and am not interested.



My Aunt and  Uncle had a house on a bluff overlooking the Monongahela River near Hambleton, WV. My grandparents house is farther up the mountain.


----------



## Huntn

We had most of the day and night yesterday with rain, torrential rain, flash flood warnings, frick’n tornado spotted close to us in the Northern suburbs of Houston in January.  This morning 71F here, 35F in Oklahoma looks like the heat won this round. 



lizkat said:


> Yep, little creeks can turn vicious with a couple inches of rain. We had record rainfall in the summer floods in the Atlantic states in 2006, anything from 3 to 6 inches in a few hours.  I'm glad I live at the top of one hill and halfway down another in the cross-direction, so water right here keeps going before it finds a stream to make more trouble with.
> 
> A local creek a couple miles from here came out of banks and reached out fifty feet to completely wash out a mile or so of a county road. And that was just what it did up here in the headwaters...    Those little creeks and streams in the Catskills help feed the Delaware and Susquehanna river systems....    the water downsteam at the I-80 Delaware Water Gap bridge crested at _*21 feet above normal.*_
> 
> Usually in summer you can see all the stones in the bed of that little creek that ate the local road here,  and then it's only six to ten feet or so across along there.  The water rise in 2006 was unbelievable, but hardly the worst of the damage those floods did.  There are 220 bridges in this county of headwaters for two river systems, and least 3 dozen of them were destroyed or became unsafe.  A lot of Rte 30 between I-86 and NY 206 had washouts too.   Some bridges have still not been replaced.
> 
> They did of course repair the washout in I-88 about 15 miles from here, where a huge culvert under the roadways suddenly gave it up in the wee hours and the water then instantly took out all four lanes and the median strip.  That killed two truck drivers whose rigs went into the chasm.
> 
> View attachment 10878



So that was a culvert not a bridge? Kind of looks like a river there.


----------



## lizkat

Huntn said:


> We had most of the day and night yesterday with rain, torrential rain, flash flood warnings, frick’n tornado spotted close to us in the Northern suburbs of Houston in January.  This morning 71F here, 35F in Oklahoma looks like the heat won this round.
> 
> 
> So that was a culvert not a bridge? Kind of looks like a river there.




Yep, just a big culvert.  Really big,  30 feet in diameter.  The 20 and 30 foot ones up here are inspected every two years and in the most recent inspection prior to the 2006 flooding collapse,  it got a grade of 5 out of 7.   The water there is ordinarily just a minor stream passing through under the roadways, you don't even really notice it as you drive along. 

But as I said, the local streams and creeks all became raging monsters in the Catskills after those rains on June 28, 2006.  There's only one way for water to get from two and three thousand feet above sea level to the ocean and that's to run in any direction that's downhill, meanwhile gaining velocity and destructive powers from headwaters to larger streams and feeder rivers.  Which of course is why the culvert was so large to begin with.   The washout was something like 150 feet by 50 deep.

 The reason the crest of waters under the  i-80 Delaware Water Gap was eventually 21 feet above normal that week is all just from what happened up here and along the way....  water coursing through the Susquehanna and Delaware river systems down to the Atlantic.  Of course the NYC drinking water reservoirs up here were way more than topped off and so had to release water in order to prevent dam ruptures,  and that in turn contributed to the flooding way further downstate.


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> Yep, just a big culvert.  Really big,  30 feet in diameter.  The 20 and 30 foot ones up here are inspected every two years and in the most recent inspection prior to the 2006 flooding collapse,  it got a grade of 5 out of 7.   The water there is ordinarily just a minor stream passing through under the roadways, you don't even really notice it as you drive along.




Ironically, it isn't the water pushing them out, it is the suction when they fill that pulls them out.  That is why the galvanized and plastic ones are ribbed to break that suction.  They usually figure they don't need it for the concrete ones, but sometimes they do.


----------



## lizkat

January doing the cold thing tonight and tomorrow.  Air temps here will approach or exceed double digits below 0ºF.

At least they already brought the January heating fuel so that concern's off the list.  I always open the base cabinets and turn the heat up more than a tad on super cold nights  --to protect a couple water pipes on a north wall in the kitchen--  and down a little to compensate for it in the days when we get "heat waves" back up above the freezing mark. 

Can always put on another sweater but cannot always reach a busted water pipe buried behind a cabinet.  Man there are ways to cobble together a DIY kitchen but whoever tacked this kitchen onto an 1860s house in the 1930s and then later on ran water into it and still later added some dodgy built-in cabinetry (which I have not bothered to rip out YET for fear the wall will come with it), they must have been sipping some good home brew behind their design decisions.

When I first discussed renovations with a bro he laughed and said he could probably bring "the big truck and some chains down here and have this poor excuse for a kitchen off the house in about ten minutes."  Of course since i was then still living most of the time in a city apartment with a one-windowed 6'x8' kitchen,  I thought he was nuts.  After all, the thing is roughly 12'x16' and has three windows and two doors in it, what's not to like?   40 years later, well...  it's still good for a laugh and the occasional repaint job.


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> At least they already brought the January heating fuel so that concern's off the list.  I always open the base cabinets and turn the heat up more than a tad on super cold nights  --to protect a couple water pipes on a north wall in the kitchen--  and down a little to compensate for it in the days when we get "heat waves" back up above the freezing mark.




Every year when mom would have her termite inspection done, some young Orkin tech would come tell her she had some ductwork in the crawlspace disconnected.  So she got all nervous and instead of calling me, she would call the HVAC company to come "fix"" it.  After a Service Charge later, she was told it was not disconnected, it was run there on purpose to keep the pipes going up to the kitchen sink from freezing.

Finally cancelled Orkin after I asked them multiple times to call me with any issues they found and not to tell her, but they couldn't stop themselves.

House was built in 1962 before energy efficiency was a thing.


----------



## Herdfan

Gearing up for another winter storm.  This one will include some ice or freezing rain in the middle of it plus some 30-40 mph wind gusts.  Should be fun.


----------



## Clix Pix

In the cold winter months most nights I open the cabinet doors in the kitchen and when there are predictions of very cold temperatures -- freezing or below -- during the night, I also run a trickle of water, too, through the faucet in the hopes of preventing the pipes from freezing.   My condo apartment kitchen is on three outside walls and has windows on two of those sides, so with the pipes under the kitchen sink right there on the wall which faces the lake and probably not sufficiently insulated I take precautions.   

Years ago when living in our townhouse,  my husband and I had an unpleasant surprise one cold December morning when we went to run water in our kitchen in preparation for making coffee (again, just as here,  the sink was under a window and on an outside wall)  and nothing happened.  No water came out.  Agggh!!!  We soon realized that the water in the pipes was frozen.  Thankfully the pipes did not break!    There had been an unexpected, very sharp drop in temperature and a serious cold snap overnight.  An hour or two of patiently blowing gentle heat on the area with my hair dryer and a space heater strategically situated in the vicinity finally did thaw out the frozen, icy water and it began running through the pipes normally again, to our relief.    Whew!!!   

That, along with the memory of the unfortunate situation in the townhouse next door, where things weren't so good, as those neighbors were out of town at that time, had probably turned down the heat a bit, too,  and came home to find that the flooring of their entire main level was covered in icy water, thanks to the pipes in their kitchen having burst.  It was a mess and a total shock when they opened the front door.....   We had no idea that this was happening and unfortunately even if we had known, we also had no way of contacting them, either, to alert them.   After that we always made sure that we had each other's contact information when someone was going out of town in the event of such a situation occurring again.

So, yeah, I worry about pipes freezing up and bursting....


----------



## Yoused

lizkat said:


> January doing the cold thing tonight and tomorrow. Air temps here will approach or exceed double digits below 0ºF.



Funny, here we have entered our January Summer, which usually goes on for about a week, maybe two. I think there was one day this week that topped 60F. The last of the snow was gone by Tuesday, and we might not see any more this winter (though, we also just might). This is a short break, which will give in to some manner of unpleasant, probably before the end of next week. We are trying to enjoy it while we can.


----------



## lizkat

Clix Pix said:


> memory of the unfortunate situation in the townhouse next door, where things weren't so good, as those neighbors were out of town at that time, had probably turned down the heat a bit, too, and came home to find that the flooring of their entire main level was covered in icy water, thanks to the pipes in their kitchen having burst. It was a mess and a total shock when they opened the front door.....




Yah I am VERY, VERY fortunate I never showed up here in mid-winter to find a situation like that before I ended up with a sister-in-law as caretaker of this place for a few years while I was still a weekend commuter from the city and still working on pretty basic renovations of the house.   Before she started living there during the week,  I just blithely set the thermostat to 50 and drove away, then came back on Friday expecting to find what I found,  which was an only slightly chilly house and a pissed off indoor-outdoor cat curled up in the corner of the couch waiting for some better (woodstove) heat and some food more interesting than the water and dry kibble I left for her (or whatever she rounded up in the way of wildlife from outside).



Herdfan said:


> House was built in 1962 before energy efficiency was a thing.




So you can imagine how it goes in a farmer's village-edge retirement cottage built a hundred years before that lol.

Honestly it's comedy gold just looking at some of the cobbled together stuff in this place.  In the bath,  someone made a window (of course !) but then someone else later decided to drop the ceiling, leaving the window alone of course (of course!),   so that the top of that window frame is now embedded in...  well...  it's complicated..  of course!

The deck roof joists are made from old doublewall silo boards.  Somehow they've managed to hold up ok for a zillion years and not-counting..  and on and on.     The wall studs in the house are all beech,  which may as well be drop-forged steel after aging only 20 years or so, right...  so after 120 years the guys went through a few drill bits before successfully hanging sheetrock here after taking down plaster and lath.

The upside of a still drafty ol' place is that worrying about CO is not a high priority even though I do of course have detectors.   On a windy night there's even a breeze in the place if I've forgotten to drop a few strategic dishtowels or hang a few extra drapes as part of my winterizing gig.  There's nothin' like fresh air to remind a retired farmer of the good ol' days, apparently:  better than good because he no longer has to trek up to a barn and milk cows in winter.     Whoever used to live in this place could do what I do:  pile on a few extra quilts and stock up on books and coffee. 

And that's my plan for this weekend and on through the nor'easter if it swings up here.


----------



## lizkat

We're on a rollercoaster from the Arctic:  32 earlier, right now it's 5 on the way to -9,  tomorrow high only 5, low -10...

​


----------



## Yoused

This was our big weather news today






Though, ultimately, being several thousand miles away, its impact here was negligible.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> We're on a rollercoaster from the Arctic:  32 earlier, right now it's 5 on the way to -9,  tomorrow high only 5, low -10...
> 
> ​




It's snowing here! Unfortunately, it's not sticking, but it's still snowing!


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> It's snowing here! Unfortunately, it's not sticking, but it's still snowing!




So no skiing resorts likely to open down there yet, eh?  MLK Jr. holiday usually a ski weekend up here for snow enthusiasts but it's likely to be a bit of a bust with all the travel warnings...  people unsure they can get back home for work on Tues.

Lots of places in the south are going to see a lot more snow than we are with this storm.  In the western Catskills we may be sheltered or "shadowed" by the taller peaks to the southeast,  when a storm comes up that way.  So they're forecasting a bit of a dry slot for us in part of this gig.  It's later on when the winds shift north again and it starts to blow around that it gets interesting.  That's when the lake effect off Ontario can kick in and bring snow down from there and crossing the Finger Lakes region enroute to pick up even more moisture.

We're only supposed to get 3-6" snow tonight into tomorrow afternoon in the front end of the storm, whereas other places are likely to get as much as 9-14". 

I certainly welcome the moderating temperatures with the shift in winds though,  it's been two nights of burning gas like it's free to make sure the water pipes don't freeze up.


----------



## Clix Pix

Snow started here this afternoon, as predicted, a bit after 1:30 or so, and has continued through the day so far.   It's bitterly cold out there and the flakes just keep coming, but eventually there will be the shift in temperature and then the rain will wash all of this away.....


----------



## Renzatic

The snow's sticking! It's sticking, yall! On the ground!


----------



## Clix Pix

Shot from my deck as the snow was coming down, fast and furiously:


----------



## Yoused

Renzatic said:


> The snow's sticking! It's sticking, yall! On the ground!



Yaay for you! We had some of that. It stuck, and then it stayed. And then, after a full week, it finally all melted away.

I do not miss it. Not one little bit. But, I hope you enjoy.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> The snow's sticking! It's sticking, yall! On the ground!




hush up down there... y'all just made the weather dudes bump our forecast from watch to warning, and now we're gonna get not 3-6" but 5-9".

Meanwhile the guy who plows my driveways called to say he won't plow much until it's all over unless the forecast is further adjusted upwards and the road plowing crews start shoving three feet of slush into our drives.  Right now he can't figure out when to sleep and when to figure on plowing.  But when that stuff sets up in the overnight low temps,  you can end up snowed into your own driveway for weeks,  so he's going to keep an eye on accumulation in the local area.


----------



## Hrafn

We had to close the back door, it was 74 outside, vs 73 inside.  I didn't want the AC to kick on.

My walk this morning started at 39 degrees, though.


----------



## Herdfan

Was supposed to start snowing this morning around 10.  We got some rain and sleet and rain again.  Now at close to 7 it is finally changing over.

So probably not getting the 8" they forecast.  Instead we will get 4" on top of wet ground which will make the roads worse than if we had just gotten the 8".


----------



## Runs For Fun

We're supposed to get like 4-8" of snow. We usually always get way less than whatever they say but we'll see. It started coming down about an hour ago and is already pilling up.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> hush up down there... y'all just made the weather dudes bump our forecast from watch to warning, and now we're gonna get not 3-6" but 5-9"…




From the looks of things, we may have gotten as much as half an inch of snow!

It almost covered all the grass!


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> From the looks of things, we may have gotten as much as half an inch of snow!
> 
> It almost covered all the grass!




Yeah don't put your mower away then, the grass will think it was just a hailstorm or something.


----------



## Yoused

I never use a lawnmower. I just rent a few seconds of the Jewish Space Laser. It takes about 3 passes to get the whole front and back yards. The neighbors have learned to give this place a wide berth on clear days.


----------



## Thomas Veil

I got stuck in my driveway this morning. Three decades living here and it’s the first time _ever_. Even turfed a piece of the lawn when the car decided where _it_ wanted to go. 

It’s too deep for my snow thrower. I really should’ve done it last night before it got this high. My bad. And I can’t get a snow plow company on the phone. 

I’ll wait till later. I’m resigned to the fact I am _not_ getting to work today.


----------



## Alli

After reading some of these posts I’m going to keep my mouth shut.


----------



## Huntn

Alli said:


> After reading some of these posts I’m going to keep my mouth shut.



Hey it almost froze here last night and I think again in a day or too, I might have to wrap my lemon tree again!!


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> After reading some of these posts I’m going to keep my mouth shut.




This is the greatest skill anyone can learn from the internet.


----------



## Alli

Huntn said:


> Hey it almost froze here last night and I think again in a day or too, I might have to wrap my lemon tree again!!



I looked at the weather and it seems we may break freezing next weekend. It’s crazy to have such low overnight temperatures and return to moderate to warm during the day.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> I looked at the weather and it seems we may break freezing next weekend. It’s crazy to have such low overnight temperatures and return to moderate to warm during the day.




No kidding.   Here for January 2022 so far  (well not here but nearest regional climate tracking center 60 mi from here) there have been exactly zero days where both the high and low air temperatures landed in the normal range.  We're not getting record highs or lows but the daily range is way out of whack sometimes.  There were even two days when both the high AND the low were out of normal and apparently there will be more like that ahead this month.   Right around here we have to subtract about six to eight degrees from the forecast lows and our highs are a few degrees lower too, but the rollercoaster effect has been on the money.  Needless to say the shrubs and perennial flowers don't like this even when they've been mulched.


​


----------



## Huntn

Thomas Veil said:


> I got stuck in my driveway this morning. Three decades living here and it’s the first time _ever_. Even turfed a piece of the lawn when the car decided where _it_ wanted to go.
> 
> It’s too deep for my snow thrower. I really should’ve done it last night before it got this high. My bad. And I can’t get a snow plow company on the phone.
> 
> I’ll wait till later. I’m resigned to the fact I am _not_ getting to work today.



Back in the good ole Minnesota days I used to enjoy the routine, I had my snow pants, snow jacket with hoody, insulated gloves, insulated boots, and full face mask, including goggles if required and I used to enjoy breaking out the snow blower, not one of those little single stage jobs, but the manly 2 stage and I’d marvel at the technology under my control as it blew the snow 15’ out onto the lawn off the drive way. And that was on a sloped driveway so more than once I fell on my keister or ended up hanging onto the handles while clearing the snow. 

However, I do remember several times when the snow had actualy gotten to high for it, +12” or so, and not as fun, especially if it was wet and heavy, I’d have to alternate with a shovel to get the snow low enough for the blower intake And sometimes had to clear the throat of the blower.

And what got a bit annoying was when it snowed a couple of inches every day. I did have a pusher shovel and a bent handle shovel, too for that occasion.

Now I gripe about wrapping my lemon tree. In the big freeze last year a friend lost 3 of this trees... the hardship of living not quite in a tropical zone.


----------



## DT

Oh, this is probably a better place for this pic, from the BIL last night, up in the PA area (about 30 miles south/southeast of Pittsburgh):


----------



## Huntn

DT said:


> Oh, this is probably a better place for this pic, from the BIL last night, up in the PA area (about 30 miles south/southeast of Pittsburgh):
> 
> View attachment 11084



Purtey!


----------



## Renzatic

DT said:


> Oh, this is probably a better place for this pic, from the BIL last night, up in the PA area (about 30 miles south/southeast of Pittsburgh):




From that glow, I'm thinking you might have some high grade radioactive waste in your front yard. I'd call the authorities.


----------



## DT

I think that's some sort of alien probe, I guess next time I see the BIL, I have to assume he's some sort of replicant ...


----------



## Pumbaa

Renzatic said:


> From that glow, I'm thinking you might have some high grade radioactive waste in your front yard. I'd call the authorities.






DT said:


> I think that's some sort of alien probe, I guess next time I see the BIL, I have to assume he's some sort of replicant ...




Just part of the home security system, a laser grid like in heist movies, you know.


----------



## DT

Pumbaa said:


> Just part of the home security system, a laser grid like in heist movies, you know.




Yeah, this is me stopping by for a visit ...


----------



## Herdfan

Thomas Veil said:


> I got stuck in my driveway this morning. Three decades living here and it’s the first time _ever_. Even turfed a piece of the lawn when the car decided where _it_ wanted to go.
> 
> It’s too deep for my snow thrower. I really should’ve done it last night before it got this high. My bad. And I can’t get a snow plow company on the phone.
> 
> I’ll wait till later. I’m resigned to the fact I am _not_ getting to work today.




Our wasn't that deep (6"), but it was heavy.  Snapped a shear pin on my snowblower.  Had to finish with basically a 13.5" snowblower instead of a 27".  Got some new ones ordered.  Hopefully they get here before the next snow.

Edit:  Probably not.  This is scheduled for Wednesday:

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1483119073458368515/


----------



## DT

You'll have to jury rig one out of a chicken bone or something !


----------



## Pumbaa

DT said:


> Yeah, this is me stopping by for a visit ...



Just take the hint and stop dropping by unannounced…

Or is that when they know you’re coming?


----------



## Thomas Veil

LOL. I got one plow service to call back. He was nice but apologetic: his schedule is full. How about tomorrow? Sorry, but I really don't want to miss _two_ days of work.

So I'm resigned to shoveling just enough to get myself out, however slowly. And lo and behold, the neighbor next door is getting _his_ driveway plowed. So I flagged the guy down and got him to clear mine. He wanted $30 for the job, I had only twenties, so I gave him $40. Well worth it.

But what a piece of luck.


----------



## Runs For Fun

Well we definitely got close to 8" surprisingly. I had to literally dig my car out of a literal 4-5' snow drift. The whole front ¼ of my car was completely buried. It had become one with the snow.


----------



## lizkat

You have my sympathy.  I used to dither during big snow dumps about whether I wanted to shovel the car out twice for about the same amount of trouble,  or let it go until it was a truly impressive  feat to unearth the vehicle. 

I am happy not to have a car now to worry about digging out, believe me, even if there are moments when I miss the convenience of a car at my beck and call.  It was hardly that when it had got well and truly snowed in.

We had about 8 or 10 inches snowfall here and some fat drifts when the snow fetched up against anything like the side of the house or barn.  But all I had to do on Tuesday was shovel a little path from the plowed driveways to the back deck door,  and the wind tends to sweep a little alleyway through one of those paths anyway, so that's handy.    What I'd like is for January temperatures to let up already, the overnights have been colder this year than for quite a few recent winters, the rollercoaster highs during the day are also weird, and apparently there's more of this on tap for the rest of the month.


​​


----------



## Deleted member 215

*sigh* Such a promising fall here in California with above average rainfall, but so far a mediocre and disappointing winter.  Essentially no rain so far in January. Sunny and dry and bouts of polluted air and no sign of it changing any time soon. Hope we get some rain in February, but there was no rain in February last year or the year before, from what I remember, so I'm not optimistic. It would be nice if we could just get the amount we're supposed to get instead of it always being below average, year after year...


----------



## Alli

It’s 34 degrees this morning. Thirty four! The weather is crazy and unpredictable.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> It’s 34 degrees this morning. Thirty four! The weather is crazy and unpredictable.




I'll take your 34...   ship it!    (six below zero here this morning, high will be 11 above, another chilly night on tap, -8).


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> It’s 34 degrees this morning. Thirty four! The weather is crazy and unpredictable.




I don't wanna hear it. It's currently 30 degrees where I'm at. THAT'S BELOW FREEZING!


----------



## Herdfan

Low of 4 tonight.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> Low of 4 tonight.




Ugh, that is frozen pipe territory for a lot of folks depending on pipe location and insulation.  Canada's working overtime lately with plans to keep on trucking just to keep the eastern US air conditioned...  It's supposed to be 15 below zero here overnight on Thursday, so subtracting a few more for right here means a temperature I haven't seen for 8 years.


----------



## Clix Pix

A frigid 24° here this afternoon -- brrrrrrr!!!!


----------



## Renzatic

Clix Pix said:


> A frigid 24° here this afternoon -- brrrrrrr!!!!




...it's just not right!


----------



## Deleted member 215

Ugh, more above average temperatures in California...what else is new... 

Bring some of that cold our way!


----------



## Yoused

Alli said:


> It’s 34 degrees this morning. Thirty four! The weather is crazy and unpredictable.



Thirty-four? Geez, that is when people around here give thought to putting a shirt on.


----------



## Joe

It's cold! 48!


----------



## lizkat

JagRunner said:


> It's cold! 48!




I think I could cook eggs on the hood of a car if it were that warm outside...

We're having a heat wave, it's all the way up to seven below zero right now.   -16 when I woke up.   Always a few degrees colder right here than forecast as I'm at the top of an east-west hill and halfway down a north-south one,    Brrrrr.


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> I think I could cook eggs on the hood of a car if it were that warm outside...
> 
> We're having a heat wave, it's all the way up to seven below zero right now. -16 when I woke up. Always a few degrees colder right here than forecast as I'm at the top of an east-west hill and halfway down a north-south one, Brrrrr.



I don’t miss that. Not at all.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> I don’t miss that. Not at all.




I believe that.  It is a pretty unusual winter though.  The NOAA regional forecasters for Catskills and Central NY who operate out of Binghamton have been talking about models running out of guidance on the overnight temperature drops in this weather pattern.

​


> As had been the concern in the lead up to early this morning,​temperatures have dropped to the lowest end of available​guidance, with most models struggling to handle this ideal​radiational cooling situation under Arctic high pressure. From​the Twin Tiers northward as well as Poconos-Catskills,​temperatures have settled to a widespread 6 to 18 degrees below​zero, with some locations in Central New York even achieving​lower 20s below zero.​



​
Oh well.   Motivated me to decide to press and trim scraps this morning.  Not a fan of that in hot weather but on arctic mornings I don't mind standing over an ironing board for awhile.   I'm sorry I ran that task to ground so fast!


----------



## Joe

lizkat said:


> I think I could cook eggs on the hood of a car if it were that warm outside...
> 
> We're having a heat wave, it's all the way up to seven below zero right now.   -16 when I woke up.   Always a few degrees colder right here than forecast as I'm at the top of an east-west hill and halfway down a north-south one,    Brrrrr.
> 
> View attachment 11201




Damn, #ThoughtsAndPrayers lol


----------



## SuperMatt

Maybe this will make you feel a bit warmer...


----------



## Renzatic

SuperMatt said:


> Maybe this will make you feel a bit warmer...




All that's doing is making me mad...


----------



## Thomas Veil

Serious question for the southern folks here. (I've been down south, but never in the late fall or winter.)

How far south do you have to be, before you even stop owning a heavy coat or parka? 

What do you do on those rare occasions when it does get into the 30s or 20s? Just bundle up in your medium-weight jacket with maybe a sweatshirt underneath and call it even?

Do stores in the lowest states even _carry_ winter coats in the fall?

And do you think your answers might be different in a few years, thanks to climate change?


----------



## Yoused

Thomas Veil said:


> Do stores in the lowest states even _carry_ winter coats in the fall?



I remember a story years back about the extravagance of Michèle Duvalier, wife of Baby Doc, who had the palace in Port au Prince air conditioned in order that she and some wealthy friends could have a soirée wearing fur coats.


----------



## Alli

Thomas Veil said:


> Serious question for the southern folks here. (I've been down south, but never in the late fall or winter.)
> 
> How far south do you have to be, before you even stop owning a heavy coat or parka?
> 
> What do you do on those rare occasions when it does get into the 30s or 20s? Just bundle up in your medium-weight jacket with maybe a sweatshirt underneath and call it even?
> 
> Do stores in the lowest states even _carry_ winter coats in the fall?
> 
> And do you think your answers might be different in a few years, thanks to climate change?



I know people down here who don’t have anything heavier than a fleece. They layer. I still travel in winter, so I have coats. My husband, although he’s from here, collects coats the way women collect shoes. Our stores carry coats, but not like you get up north. You want a real winter coat, you need to shop online.

And yes. Last year and this year have been the worst winters ever. We normally wear short sleeves through the winter.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Pretty much what I expected to hear. Except for your husband's coat fetish.


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> And yes. Last year and this year have been the worst winters ever. We normally wear short sleeves through the winter.




There was one winter here about 5-6 years ago when the highs were in the 20's, and the lows actually managed to get down to near 0. I remember the ground staying crunchy all throughout the day, which was weird.

Though generally speaking, Winter for us is primarily experienced in January and February, with December and March being wild card months.


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> We're having a heat wave, it's all the way up to seven below zero right now.   -16 when I woke up.




That is stick your nostrils together when you breath in cold.  My truck said -1 when I got in it yesterday morning.  

We have a clipper coming through that will deliver anywhere from 0-4" depending on where the snow bands are although it looks to be way north of us at this moment.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> That is stick your nostrils together when you breath in cold.  My truck said -1 when I got in it yesterday morning.
> 
> We have a clipper coming through that will deliver anywhere from 0-4" depending on where the snow bands are although it looks to be way north of us at this moment.




Yeah if I absolutely have to go out when it's double-digits below zero, I breathe through whatever scarf I've wrapped a few times around me and pulled up over my face.  But my idea of "having to go out" in those temps sets a pretty high bar.

That clipper coming through is supposed to give us less than an inch of snow.  I'm not a fan of the midweek forecast though.  Wednesday the HIGH is set to be 7 and the low -8.    Wish Canada would get a grip already, it's almost time for the February thaw but definitely not time yet for the next fuel delivery.


----------



## Alli

Renzatic said:


> There was one winter here about 5-6 years ago when the highs were in the 20's, and the lows actually managed to get down to near 0. I remember the ground staying crunchy all throughout the day, which was weird.
> 
> Though generally speaking, Winter for us is primarily experienced in January and February, with December and March being wild card months.



I don’t recall it ever getting down to 0 here. Not even overnight. IIRC, 17 is the all-time low. We’re close this weekend with temps getting down to 27 overnight, but it’s back in the 50’s during the day.

Similar winter schedule here, but we’re usually limited to around 6 days total that one might call winter.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> I don’t recall it ever getting down to 0 here. Not even overnight. IIRC, 17 is the all-time low. We’re close this weekend with temps getting down to 27 overnight, but it’s back in the 50’s during the day.
> 
> Similar winter schedule here, but we’re usually limited to around 6 days total that one might call winter.




I've been wondering what the effect on all these below-freezing hits in the south are doing to agriculture...


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> I've been wondering what the effect on all these below-freezing hits in the south are doing to agriculture...



Could be a bad year for Florida oranges.


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> I don’t recall it ever getting down to 0 here. Not even overnight. IIRC, 17 is the all-time low. We’re close this weekend with temps getting down to 27 overnight, but it’s back in the 50’s during the day.




It doesn't happen often. I remember, maybe, 10 days total throughout my entire life that I've seen it get that cold here.


----------



## Huntn

Herdfan said:


> That is stick your nostrils together when you breath in cold.  My truck said -1 when I got in it yesterday morning.
> 
> We have a clipper coming through that will deliver anywhere from 0-4" depending on where the snow bands are although it looks to be way north of us at this moment.



Yeah, you live in WVA a state where the winter weather can parallel Minnesota. I use to track the Winter temps when we were in Minnesota and my Aunt was in Hambleton. Part of that is being up in the mountains (elevation) I think.


----------



## Huntn

Renzatic said:


> It doesn't happen often. I remember, maybe, 10 days total throughout my entire life that I've seen it get that cold here.



In Houston normally the winter  lows are in 30s, high 20s, with infrequent freezes, and last year with that cold front crisis the temps in the Houston are were in the mid 20s for about 24 hrs before warming back up, but earlier:


19FJanuary 17, 2018

9FDecember 23, 1989

With these temps, there are water pipes bursting all over the region.


----------



## Renzatic

Huntn said:


> With these temps, there are water pipes bursting all over the region.




All you have to do is turn your water on overnight. Problem solved!


----------



## Yoused

Renzatic said:


> All you have to do is turn your water on overnight. Problem solved!



That week we had snow and we’re below chilly the whole time, I made sure my faucet was dripping and the kitchen cabinet under the sink stood open.


----------



## Renzatic

Yoused said:


> That week we had snow and we’re below chilly the whole time, I made sure my faucet was dripping and the kitchen cabinet under the sink stood open.




It's the very first thing I do when I hear the temps are approaching freezing. 

The $5 extra you'll pay on your water bill is a helluva less than what you'll pay repairing the pipes and water damage.


----------



## Clix Pix

In my case it's also a situation of taking into consideration the fact that there is another condo unit directly beneath mine, which would also be affected by any water damage.......  I definitely don't want to have to deal with that and the impact on my homeowners' insurance policy!    I just hope that the guy who lives in the unit above mine is also being as careful and cautious.


----------



## Herdfan

Huntn said:


> Yeah, you live in WVA a state where the winter weather can parallel Minnesota. I use to track the Winter temps when we were in Minnesota and my Aunt was in Hambleton. Part of that is being up in the mountains (elevation) I think.




Yeah.  Especially up in that area where there are "frost valleys".  Canaan Valley just set a tied a state record of -37 which is close to the convergence of F & C at -40.

That large valley at 3,200' is surrounded on 3 sides by ridges at 4,300' and the cold just slides down in there and can't get out.  Add in a few feet of snow pack and temps will plunge.

I think the lowest we got where I live is around -15.


----------



## Huntn

Renzatic said:


> All you have to do is turn your water on overnight. Problem solved!



Yes I’m familiar, let the water drip last Feb during the event, just in case. Most houses should be able to handle freezing temps but many builders down here are just not serious about insulation, then there the older houses with exposed craw spaces and exposed pipes, not cold friendly.


----------



## DT

Alli said:


> Could be a bad year for Florida oranges.




We can only hope ...


----------



## Huntn

Thomas Veil said:


> Serious question for the southern folks here. (I've been down south, but never in the late fall or winter.)
> 
> How far south do you have to be, before you even stop owning a heavy coat or parka?
> 
> What do you do on those rare occasions when it does get into the 30s or 20s? Just bundle up in your medium-weight jacket with maybe a sweatshirt underneath and call it even?
> 
> Do stores in the lowest states even _carry_ winter coats in the fall?
> 
> And do you think your answers might be different in a few years, thanks to climate change?



Our friends who grew up down here (Houston) have winter coats cause they visit cold places on occasions. And people down here do take winter vacations to ski. Everyone has at least a jacket. I have a winter coat I’ve not worn regularly since living in Minnesota, but we do visit Minnesota sometimes in the Winter. West Texas can get rather frigid.

What’s funny is this friend showed up on a “cold” day 30s in the morning, the high around  60, but she has this heavy winter coat on to go shopping with my wife (pre-COVID). My wife has a light jacket and she laughed about it later,  the heavy coat was off quickly and tossed in the back seat. It snow is forecast, there might be a run on the grocery store.


----------



## DT

Thomas Veil said:


> Serious question for the southern folks here. (I've been down south, but never in the late fall or winter.)
> 
> How far south do you have to be, before you even stop owning a heavy coat or parka?
> 
> What do you do on those rare occasions when it does get into the 30s or 20s? Just bundle up in your medium-weight jacket with maybe a sweatshirt underneath and call it even?
> 
> Do stores in the lowest states even _carry_ winter coats in the fall?
> 
> And do you think your answers might be different in a few years, thanks to climate change?




We get a few 30s and 40s, a 20-something on rare occasion, wind chill can make a big difference, but generally, I rarely bust out a big coat.  Hell, I barely wear long pants 

On a recent low 40s (wind to upper 30s) day, long sleeve thermal and a lightweight wool jacket (jeans, wool sneakers).  A lot of it is our lifestyle, we keep our house super warm, in the morning for school dropoff, I have whichever vehicle pre-warmed in the garage, if we do go out, it's usually the car to a destination in 100 feet or so.

Now, when we go to NY, to PA, where we're spending a lot of time walking, outside, 10s-20s, sure, we change our clothing protocols


----------



## lizkat

lizkat said:


> That clipper coming through is supposed to give us less than an inch of snow.




So if we're only supposed to get an inch of snow, why did I just hear a plow go by with the blade down on the county road?   They don't come out unless it's piling up.  Maybe that clipper has turned into a park-and-dump. 

EDIT:   sure enough, the wind is only 5mph and they've bumped the forecast to "moderate snow throughout the evening"...


----------



## JayMysteri0

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1485628463734214657/


> Thousands stranded as snow brings travel chaos in Turkey, Greece
> 
> 
> Some Istanbul Airport flights resumed on Tuesday after nearly 24 hours of cancellations as heavy snowfall clogged roads and stranded thousands of people across Turkey and Greece.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.reuters.com





> ISTANBUL, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Flights were suspended for a second day at Istanbul Airport and private vehicles were barred from city streets on Tuesday, as heavy snowfall snarled traffic and left people stranded in Turkey's biggest city and across the country.
> 
> Snowfall began late last week and picked up in recent days in the city of 16 million people. Footage from the airport, among the world's largest, showed runways covered in a thick blanket of snow with aircraft and vehicles barely visible.
> 
> 
> Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya took the rare step of banning private cars until 1000 GMT (1 p.m. local) as emergency teams cleaned up streets, while many public workers were granted administrative leave to keep commutes to a minimum.
> 
> A video posted on social media showed a man skiing through city streets late on Monday, with people waving as he passed. Far away in Turkey's south, snow fell on the beaches of the resort city of Antalya for the first time in 29 years.


----------



## Thomas Veil

We can only hope Russian troops at the Ukraine border are having as much fun.


----------



## Herdfan

Two systems are headed our way this weekend.  If they happen to merge, the upper east coast will be buried.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> Two systems are headed our way this weekend.  If they happen to merge, the upper east coast will be buried.




January "going out like a lion" doesn't have the same ring to it as in March when spring's right around the corner.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Good lord. Good luck to anybody that's in the path of this thing this weekend.









						A bomb cyclone with the power of a hurricane will unleash snow and blizzard-like conditions this weekend | CNN
					

Confidence is growing that a winter storm with the intensity of a hurricane, snow measured in feet and blizzard-like conditions will impact major Northeast cities this weekend.




					www.cnn.com


----------



## lizkat

So far we're just stuck with forecast of more truly bitter overnights and most of the weekend snow is supposedly staying east of the Catskills.   I'll settle for that but can't wait for February to bring a little thaw for a few days at least.  What a brutal January it has been up here as far as subzero temperatures go...    and I'm a big fan of winter!


----------



## DT

From my BIL's car this morning ...


----------



## lizkat

DT said:


> From my BIL's car this morning ...
> 
> View attachment 11331




On the bright side:   that the car starts at subzero temperature is always a plus...


----------



## DT

lizkat said:


> On the bright side:   that the car starts at subzero temperature is always a plus...




It's garaged, I wonder how cold the ambient was inside like that[?]


----------



## Herdfan

DT said:


> From my BIL's car this morning ...
> 
> View attachment 11331




Where does he live?

At that temp I better have plugged mine in for the night.


----------



## DT

Herdfan said:


> Where does he live?
> 
> At that temp I better have plugged mine in for the night.




About 20-30 miles Southeast of Pittsburgh.


----------



## Yoused

DT said:


> From my BIL's car this morning ...
> 
> View attachment 11331



Wait, he was driving while taking a picture of the dash?


----------



## Yoused

PETA suggests Punxsutawney Phil be replaced with tree on Groundhog Day
					

PETA’s letter notes that persimmon seeds are said to predict the weather correctly about a quarter of the time—one study even claimed 85% accuracy.



					connecticut.news12.com
				




I mean, the whole spectacle is stupid to begin with, and they do it over, and over, and over, and over again, but Phil is just a glorified rodent. I find myself deeply indifferent.


----------



## Herdfan

Yoused said:


> PETA suggests Punxsutawney Phil be replaced with tree on Groundhog Day
> 
> 
> PETA’s letter notes that persimmon seeds are said to predict the weather correctly about a quarter of the time—one study even claimed 85% accuracy.
> 
> 
> 
> connecticut.news12.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I mean, the whole spectacle is stupid to begin with, and they do it over, and over, and over, and over again, but Phil is just a glorified rodent. I find myself deeply indifferent.




I prefer French Creek Freddie.


----------



## SuperMatt

Yoused said:


> PETA suggests Punxsutawney Phil be replaced with tree on Groundhog Day
> 
> 
> PETA’s letter notes that persimmon seeds are said to predict the weather correctly about a quarter of the time—one study even claimed 85% accuracy.
> 
> 
> 
> connecticut.news12.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I mean, the whole spectacle is stupid to begin with, and they do it over, and over, and over, and over again, but Phil is just a glorified rodent. I find myself deeply indifferent.



One day, PETA will learn how to pick their battles. On that day, they might be taken more seriously.


----------



## User.45

SuperMatt said:


> One day, PETA will learn how to pick their battles. On that day, they might be taken more seriously.



I hate cats, especially cats that are let outside to decimate the birdpopulation. But, guess who hates cats more than I do. PETA. They are notorious for their kill shelters. https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-peta-responsible-deaths-thousands-animals-1565532


----------



## Thomas Veil

This sounds awful.









						Parts of Massachusetts may see 30 inches of snow, governor says
					

A winter storm will bring snow and winds to parts of the US East Coast. Follow here for live updates.




					www.cnn.com
				






> The snow was falling at a rate of 2 to 4 inches per hour for several hours in many parts of the state and is expected to continue for the next couple of hours, Baker said. Southeastern Massachusetts may receive up to 30 inches of snow while the greater Boston area may get 2 feet, the governor said.




Two to four inches per hour is crazy enough. Now imagine if it were snowing like that _in the middle of the night_. With a 24-30" max, you'd be in (literally) deep trouble if you weren't out there with your snowblower at 2 am. And 3 am. And 4 am. And 5 am....

To make it worse, the power is out in some areas. How about coming in from that hourly, dead-of-night driveway plowing to a _cold, dark house?_

Not to mention ambulances even getting down your street, or fire trucks being able to locate and dig out a hydrant if needed.


----------



## Alli

Supposed to be back to normal this coming week. I look forward to leaving my jackets hung up.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> I prefer French Creek Freddie.




I just like the ritual aspect of it...  it kinda goes with the ritual of ordering seed catalogs.  No matter if spring's right around the corner or six weeks (or eight or ten?!),  the season will be changing soon and we'll have something new to complain about.


----------



## Pumbaa

Windy.


----------



## Herdfan

If the Euro is correct, the Ohio Valley is going to get hammered this week with ICE.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> If the Euro is correct, the Ohio Valley is going to get hammered this week with ICE.




Man.  Ice storms are part of the potential nightmares of winter.  Power outages in winter can be deadly,  and out in the boondocks all the wires are overhead.   One of my bros recently spent the night sitting with a friend who depends on an oygen machine and for emergency backups just has six or eight of those two-hour bottles stashed away. 

The guy didn't want to leave the house because on the mobile app for the utility they kept saying the estimate time of power restore would be a couple hours..  so my bro decided to stay there in case that was way off the mark.  And sure enough in a couple hours it still said a couple hours and etc., and meanwhile there was no heat in the place and it was getting cold.

But the guy didn't want to risk going out to the local hospital ER (where the power was still on) because of covid transmission possibilities, even though he is vaxxed and boosted.  By time the power came back on the guy was down about four bottles of oxygen and it was like 55º in the living room.   Happy ending there,  but it sure gives you pause thinking on it.


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> Man.  Ice storms are part of the potential nightmares of winter.  Power outages in winter can be deadly,  and out in the boondocks all the wires are overhead.




We have all these McMansion dwellers who can barely add washer fluid to their cars that don't understand why they lose power when they live in a neighborhood with underground utilities.

Maybe it is because the power getting to their neighborhood is overhead right up to the point it goes underground at the entrance.   

Our power comes up a hill though a stand of spindly pines.  Ice or heavy wet snow never fails to bring the lines down.  We have a whole-home generator so no worries there and our internet comes from a different direction just off the main trunk line so it gets fixed pretty quickly.

But I will have a new chain on the chainsaw just in case.


----------



## Alli

We made an offer on a house yesterday. My husband liked it because it needed no changes…except to add a whole house generator.


----------



## Herdfan

Alli said:


> We made an offer on a house yesterday. My husband liked it because it needed no changes…except to add a whole house generator.




I would think those are becoming a standard feature like HVAC, especially where you are.

We were planning on taking the one at my mom's house out and keeping it for a new home in AZ.  Realtor said it would add double its value to the sale.  So we are leaving it.


----------



## Alli

Herdfan said:


> I would think those are becoming a standard feature like HVAC, especially where you are.
> 
> We were planning on taking the one at my mom's house out and keeping it for a new home in AZ.  Realtor said it would add double its value to the sale.  So we are leaving it.



We never even considered moving ours. Easier to buy a new one. But it is a necessity.


----------



## lizkat

So January 2022's a wrap. Record-setting only in the sense it's been a real rollercoaster.  Thanks Canada and Gulf of Mexico!


   0 days with both high and low in normal range

  24 days with low in the below-normal range
   2 days with low in the above-normal range

  11 days with high in the above-normal range
   4 days with high in the below-normal range

   4 days with high in above-normal and low in below normal range


All observations at Binghamton regional station of NOAA's national weather service.  Subtract 6 to 12 degrees for where I live...

​


----------



## Thomas Veil

Well, it's still raining, it hasn't turned to ice yet, and the snow is still hours away...and the power is already out in large sections of town.

Gonna be a long night.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Turns out it was a transformer that blew out. Kinda random thing to happen considering we were expecting the cause to be ice.

But it's still early.


----------



## Yoused

Thomas Veil said:


> Turns out it was a transformer that blew out. Kinda random thing to happen considering we were expecting the cause to be ice.
> 
> But it's still early.



I remember a storm that laid a half inch of ice on the whole city. I was walking home in the eerie silence of the glistening night and seeing rainbow lightning on the edges of the sky. I believe that was electric utility components like transformers dying in dramatic form.


----------



## Runs For Fun

We’re about to get blasted with 9-12“ of snow tonight through tomorrow.


----------



## lizkat

Runs For Fun said:


> We’re about to get blasted with 9-12“ of snow tonight through tomorrow.




Looks like a lot of us are going to have a piece of that party....

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1489022511874547712/


----------



## Alli

Pouring here, but it’s unlikely to change to snow as it’s 70 degrees.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Yoused said:


> I remember a storm that laid a half inch of ice on the whole city. I was walking home in the eerie silence of the glistening night and seeing rainbow lightning on the edges of the sky. I believe that was electric utility components like transformers dying in dramatic form.



Oh yeah. Once, years ago, I was driving down a main street and I just happened to be looking in the right direction as lightning hit a transformer. The sparks that flew from that thing (I'm assuming magnesium?) looked like a little 4th of July explosion.


----------



## Huntn

lizkat said:


> Looks like a lot of us are going to have a piece of that party....
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1489022511874547712/



See some ignoramuses will say, it’s not warming, it’s cold!  28F this morning here. I’m just happy we are on the tale end of this. And it’s going to freeze again tonight and Saturday night. There are some greatful plants throwing a breakfast party In our kitchen. And my guess/hope  is the lemon tree/bush wrapped in the shed with the 250w  heat lamp although missing the party is relatively comfortable. I’m realizing now the chink in the heat lamp plan would be if we lost electricity.

Reports yesterday were that the Texas Electrical grid independent from the National grid, had  about 20% reserve over usage. This is the first year, I’ve heard of Texans buying generators for Winter. You know we already have them for Hurricane season. Since I went with a gas generator, I’m keeping my gasoline stockpile from Hurricane season until the end of Feb just in case. Then zi burn it in the cars.


----------



## lizkat

We've dodged the icing bullet right around here, looks like.  No power outages so far and not even much snow.   Right on that dividing line between a whole lot of snow north of here and hardly any to the south.   No complaints! -- saving those for subzero temps over weekend.


----------



## Thomas Veil

I’m told we got a foot of snow.

I was plowing my driveway Wednesday night. And Thursday morning before I went to work.  And Thursday afternoon. And Thursday evening just before I went to bed. And this morning again just before I went to work.

It wasn’t just the accumulation, it was the drifts. Those mini-canyons I carve out in my driveway start to fill in pretty quick.

Thank god it’s finally stopped…for now.

 Just realized. With my balaclava, parka and safety glasses on, I looked pretty much like The Riddler.


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> We've dodged the icing bullet right around here, looks like.  No power outages so far and not even much snow.   Right on that dividing line between a whole lot of snow north of here and hardly any to the south.   No complaints! -- saving those for subzero temps over weekend.




Same here.  It is like the cold couldn't cross the Ohio River.  

So today it is cold, wet and dreary.  Yay!


----------



## lizkat

Yeah, I'm in a party mood for sure.    But further upstate and west of here they certainly got hammered by snowfall.   As usual my niece's dog has proved extremely helpful during snow removal from their driveway,  and has left hilarious tracks in the snow as evidence.


​​


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> Pouring here, but it’s unlikely to change to snow as it’s 70 degrees.




Yeah, all that rain was terrible. I had to take my trash can down in it!


----------



## Thomas Veil

One problem I had with my “Riddler” outfit.

As I mentioned, I wore safety glasses because the wind kept whipping snow back in my face. I also wore a balaclava.

However, pulled up over my nose, the balaclava caused me to steam up the glasses so I could hardly see anything. Has anyone ever tried spraying them with one of those anti-fogging sprays? You know, the kind you can use on windshields and bathroom mirrors?


----------



## Yoused

Thomas Veil said:


> balaclava caused me to steam up the glasses




I have heard people talk about this stuff
​

Never tried it myself but have heard it works. And with a name like that,


----------



## Alli

Yoused said:


> Never tried it myself but have heard it works. And with a name like that,



Now I gotta try it!


----------



## Huntn

lizkat said:


> Yeah, I'm in a party mood for sure.    But further upstate and west of here they certainly got hammered by snowfall.   As usual my niece's dog has proved extremely helpful during snow removal from their driveway,  and has left hilarious tracks in the snow as evidence.
> 
> View attachment 11525​​



Awe, upstate New York, not only are you used it as a normal condition , you stand outside in a blizzard naked, and dare it to snow harder.  (I graduated from Syracuse.) 

Meanwhile in weak constitution Texas, woke up to 29F! Thank God the power stayed on,


----------



## Huntn

Thomas Veil said:


> One problem I had with my “Riddler” outfit.
> 
> As I mentioned, I wore safety glasses because the wind kept whipping snow back in my face. I also wore a balaclava.
> 
> However, pulled up over my nose, the balaclava caused me to steam up the glasses so I could hardly see anything. Has anyone ever tried spraying them with one of those anti-fogging sprays? You know, the kind you can use on windshields and bathroom mirrors?



Ski goggles is what I used when I was in my “clear the driveway Minnesota days” when it was cold enough. The thing is it’s been so long I don’t remember them fogging up. On the most adverse flesh freezing days I wore ski goggles when I went running too, but never had any anti-fog spray. You might want to try Spit, but my guess is because of the cold, you’d have to prepped that before hand and let it dry completely. Spray some on, smear it around with your finger, and then run some light water over it momentarily and let it dry.

​


----------



## lizkat

Huntn said:


> ]Awe, upstate New York, not only are you used it as a normal condition , you stand outside in a blizzard naked, and dare it to snow harder.  (I graduated from Syracuse.)
> 
> Meanwhile in weak constitution Texas, woke up to 29F! Thank God the power stayed on,




Ah yeah, speaking of Syracuse...     your old stomping ground hasn't changed that much, still capable of those huge snowdumps.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1489711161826287616/


----------



## Thomas Veil

Thanks for the suggestions about eyewear and anti-fogging treatments. I've got choices. 

It does remind me of when I would wear standard gloves in the dead of winter and my hands would still freeze. Someone on a forum suggested I forget the Isotoners and try ski gloves, and darn it they weren't a lot better. So I'm kind of anxious to try the ski goggles idea. They're not that expensive, and ones that I see on Amazon claim they resist fogging.

(Love the name Cat Crap, though.)


----------



## lizkat

As USA skies clear for a bit,  imaginations briefly get free rein at the National Weather Service out in Seattle..  

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1490417929711587328/


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> As USA skies clear for a bit,  imaginations briefly get free rein at the National Weather Service out in Seattle..




...they've come for me. I knew this day would come, but I never imagined it'd be so soon...


----------



## Deleted member 215

Record-breaking warm temperatures coming to the Bay Area soon. Some areas could hit 80 by the middle of the week.

I fear a very early start to the wildfire season this year.


----------



## Renzatic

TBL said:


> Record-breaking warm temperatures coming to the Bay Area soon. Some areas could hit 80 by the middle of the week.
> 
> I fear a very early start to the wildfire season this year.




Man. Way to kill the buzz.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> Man. Way to kill the buzz.




Too bad we can't cut up weather into blocks and ship it where it's needed.... when half the country's about to do flood patrol in their cellars during a February thaw, and the other half's packing a go-bag over fear of early wildfires.


----------



## Yoused

Renzatic said:


> ...they've come for me. I knew this day would come, but I never imagined it'd be so soon...



How are you going to explain the backlog of work on your desk? Or do you hope to scramble to get it done?


----------



## Renzatic

Yoused said:


> How are you going to explain the backlog of work on your desk? Or do you hope to scramble to get it done?




I've got a few scapegoats lying around for just such an occasion.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> I've got a few scapegoats lying around for just such an occasion.




News flash:   dogs make far better scapegoats than cats do.  But then you knew that, right?

{ For those not in the know:   cats look over a shoulder and give a few quick licks as if to brush off dandruff whenever you try to blame them for something.  And then, deeply offended at your allegations,  they stalk off, tails held high with a little twitching action at the top... ]

Edit:  oh yeah, the weather.    We're having a thaw.  So it can freeze solid like a rink by the weekend again.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> News flash: dogs make far better scapegoats than cats do. But then you knew that, right?




No, I've got actual goats. I keep them in the basement.


----------



## Hrafn

It was 39 when I left my house this morning, we are currently sitting at 82.  I spent a few hours outdoors yesterday, and was a bit concerned about sunburn.


----------



## SuperMatt

It was in the 60s here yesterday, but it snowed this morning!


----------



## lizkat

We're back in that Arctic breeze again.  It was a little below zero even at 8am today, never got past 12ºF on the upswing in the sunshine.  More subzero tonight, a little warmer Tuesday,  then a windy Wednesday as the warm front battles its way back up here to resume the Februrary thaw for awhile. 

And as much as balmy temps of high 40s and low 50s sound appealing, our next issue is that heavy rain is forecast for Thursday overnight.   After two days of snowpack melt, even though the rivers are low right now, the ice on the creeks that feed them has been thick due to all those subzero overnights we've had.  As that ice breaks up, lifts and rushes downstream during the thaw, ice jams and local flooding are common, grabbing fallen trees and old doghouses and other stuff along the way, all to complicate the next freeze and thaw cycle.   Heh, and more nice ice rinks in the driveways later.  Makes winter even more exciting...


----------



## Yoused

Looks like winter may be done here (famous last words). It is not unusual for us to see the end of the brutal cold by this point. Ornamental plums in the parking lot at work have been known to bloom, as though they have calendars, always on March first.

Still, the next four months will mostly be a slog through wet tedium.


----------



## lizkat

Yoused said:


> Looks like winter may be done here (famous last words). It is not unusual for us to see the end of the brutal cold by this point. Ornamental plums in the parking lot at work have been known to bloom, as though they have calendars, always on March first.
> 
> Still, the next four months will mostly be a slog through wet tedium.




Yes, the flowering trees and massed plantings of bulbs all in bloom are wonderful in spring...  'but the mud'....   

I like the thaws in February as a break from brutal cold, but have to say that spring itself, whenever it arrives, usually mid-April or early May in the Catskill mountains, is not my favorite season.   There's gardening work to be done but mostly it's too wet to do it, and yet one has become bored of what for awhile during winter was a great time for rest and relaxation,  either in winter sport or just hanging out in a cozy spot with books and movies indoors. 

Still I like to start a few seedlings for this or that later transplant to pots or the garden.  I mean I have to justify all that time poring over seed catalogs somehow.   And I'm always reminded that spring is afoot whenever I reach into the dark of the potato bin in mid-March and feel the rascals starting to sprout!


----------



## Herdfan

It is a cold 50 degrees out.  The sun is nice, but offset by a more than gentle breeze.


----------



## Yoused

lizkat said:


> but the mud



In reading about the Battle of Stalingrad, I learned a new word, «Распутица», a Russian ally which is sometimes translated as "season of bad roads".


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> It is a cold 50 degrees out.  The sun is nice, but offset by a more than gentle breeze.




Yah we're battening down the hatches at this point, it's 40º which should feel balmy compared to subzero last night, but the wind is straight from the south now at around 25mph with 40mph gusts,  which makes it seem more like a bad hair day in the summer when a hailstorm has just passed through.    Here comes the rain, there goes the snow and the whole state's on a flood watch.


----------



## lizkat

We just had what the NWS calls a "snow squall" and locals just call "a whiteout".   Zero visibility, and I can't even see there's a road out there, if I look out the window all I see is what you'd see if you ran really hot water in the sink in a really cold room and so the windows fog up instantly.    But the windows aren't foggy, it's all happening outside in swirls and gusts of 30-40mph driving the snow everywhere.  Wow!

After 20 minutes it has started to let up a little, but piling up really fast, so far leaving about two inches of fresh snow on the ground.  Of course it's drifting and then sticking wherever it lands, since it's only around 15 or 18ºF outside.    Hope the plow crews had the sense to already be in the sheds because if not, it will take them awhile to get there on these roads.  There are places not far from here where a one-inch snowfall drifts to a foot on the roads inside of half an hour when the wind is right.   All those wrinkly hills in the edges of the Catskills make for swirling winds during snowdumps like this.


​


----------



## SuperMatt

lizkat said:


> We just had what the NWS calls a "snow squall" and locals just call "a whiteout".   Zero visibility, and I can't even see there's a road out there, if I look out the window all I see is what you'd see if you ran really hot water in the sink in a really cold room and so the windows fog up instantly.    But the windows aren't foggy, it's all happening outside in swirls and gusts of 30-40mph driving the snow everywhere.  Wow!
> 
> After 20 minutes it has started to let up a little, but piling up really fast, so far leaving about two inches of fresh snow on the ground.  Of course it's drifting and then sticking wherever it lands, since it's only around 15 or 18ºF outside.    Hope the plow crews had the sense to already be in the sheds because if not, it will take them awhile to get there on these roads.  There are places not far from here where a one-inch snowfall drifts to a foot on the roads inside of half an hour when the wind is right.   All those wrinkly hills in the edges of the Catskills make for swirling winds during snowdumps like this.
> 
> View attachment 11804
> ​



As a kid growing up in WNY, a whiteout was usually the only way we’d get a snow day. With heavy snow being a near certainty every year, the society became very effective in quickly clearing it.


----------



## lizkat

SuperMatt said:


> As a kid growing up in WNY, a whiteout was usually the only way we’d get a snow day. With heavy snow being a near certainty every year, the society became very effective in quickly clearing it.




Same up on the shores of Lake Ontario...   hah, as kids we prayed for the plows to break down but that all too rarely happened...


----------



## Yoused

lizkat said:


> Hope the plow crews had the sense to already be in the sheds because if not, it will take them awhile to get there on these roads.



OT, I had this musing of what the country would be like if some enterprising inventor had keyed on the results of an Air Force experiment in the late '40s and gone on to develop and successfully market a practical personal use hovercraft. In my scenario, around '53 or so, the addition of "crab rails" improves handling in cross-winds and gusts, and stylish balloon skirts improve safety to the threshhold of popularity.

By the early sixties more than 60%, and rising, of personal vehicles are HCs. The priority of paving and building bridges falls dramatically. Freeways start to look more like channeled leas than ribbons of stone. And naturally, snow removal becomes a non-issue (not to mention flooding).

The question that arises from this is how our national fuel usage would compare. HCs would tend to burn more fuel in typical day-to-day use, but the amount of fuel that gtes into road building and upkeep and deicing (not to mention tire manufacture) might well make up the difference. We might even come out ahead.


----------



## lizkat

^^ but would our manners while commuting have improved?  One may well wonder.  I have visions of airborne shoot-em-outs while maneuvering a hovercraft into one of too few parking slots outside some strip mall or suburban office complex.

At the moment though I'm just wondering whether my snow plowing guy will decide to clean up local driveways or figure his customers who need to go somewhere (before Monday's thaw rolls in) can manage to blast out of whatever little (mostly little?) drifts have occurred with this snowblast.

That shift in weather sure did put a damper on local Saturday afternoon shopping.  I haven't seen one car go by since that squall went through here.   The plows have gone through a couple times chasing recurring drifts, and have now laid down salt so I guess we're done with today's snow story. 

I hope that groundhog's sense of what means "six more weeks of winter" from February 2 was not too far off the mark.  I like snow but I like grocery deliveries too and we keep getting these new snow or slush top-offs every time the grass so much as spots daylight.  I'm ready for the March thaw and one that lasts a little longer than these two-day teasers!


----------



## Deleted member 215

It’s officially the driest January and February in California history, beating 1872, which formerly held the record.


----------



## Arkitect

Snow showers passing by us to the south…

We've had no snow this year. I do like a bit of snow. Granted not snowed in for weeks as the US and Canada are used to. Just a bit of wintryness.


----------



## DT




----------



## Arkitect

DT said:


> View attachment 12012



21°C? Not bad!


----------



## Huntn

It’s 44F outside and we are huddled in our house, like we are in a cabin out in the back woods and it’s -10F.


----------



## Huntn

Arkitect said:


> 21°C? Not bad!



That’s how I used to keep it straight in my head when working with metric regularly 10c-50F, 20c- 70F, 30c -90F… close enough.


----------



## DT

Huntn said:


> That’s how I used to keep it straight in my head when working with metric regularly 10c-50F, 20c- 70F, 30c -90F… close enough.





Other than memorizing a few reference temps, you can also use this as an estimate:

(C * 2) + 30 = F
(F - 30) / 2 = C

So like my 70° F is 7-30 = 40 / 2 = ~20° C

Or the other way 20° C, 20 * 2 = 40 + 30 = 70 

Again, give or a take a degree or two


----------



## Yoused

When I was a teenager, I wrote a letter to Texas Instruments for information, or perhaps to lobby them to include RPN models, and i got back a full color poster that illustrated some metric equivalents, the largest image being "_Body temperature is exactly 37°C_" – I leave it to your imagination what that somewhat grainy image was.


----------



## lizkat

The month of March is already shaping up to be as weird as February.   Was talking earlier to a friend in Ithaca, where the forecast temperature for the Friday overnight is 8ºF but on Sunday it's supposed to be 66ºF, then back to the 20s.

 Anyone seen that gnarly woodchuck lately with his forecast of "only" six weeks more of winter?  Time's almost up but the weather gods don't seem to be paying attention.


----------



## Yoused

lizkat said:


> … his forecast of "only" six weeks more of winter …



Curious thing, the marmot's prognosis is the same as how long Lent is.


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## lizkat

Yoused said:


> Curious thing, the marmot's prognosis is the same as how long Lent is.



Just about...  and It will end up having felt longer than Lent this year, I think!


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## Deleted member 215

Well, a little more than 1/10th of an inch of rain fell last night, which is more than we've received in the past two months combined.  Still, it's nice to see everything wet for the first time since December. Maybe this could be a year of spring rain? I'll hold out hope.


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## Yoused

TBL said:


> Well, a little more than 1/10th of an inch of rain fell last night



We should be so lucky: Just on Monday alone many areas around here had ten times that much in less than 8 hours. At least one very busy highway was partially blocked when the hillside took a liking to it.


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## Deleted member 215

Send it to us 

Sierra snowpack is at 60% of normal for this time of year. Let's get it to 100%!


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## lizkat

Battening down the hatches.   A heat wave in March is not without its drawbacks.  Big t-storms coming thru..,


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## Thomas Veil

Saturday and Sunday were two days of _beautiful_ 70° weather. Back to cold and a little snow now.


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## lizkat

We're having a park and dump event here.  Winter weather advisory 7am to 7pm.  Started here at noon and in three hours we've had five inches of snow.   _"Well, it's only March..."_

Someone find me that woodchuck and drag him into Spring.    His damn six weeks of extra hibernation are nearly up and I wouldn't mind if he skipped out on the end of it.  Let him have to scrounge around in a snowdrift for grass like the rabbits and deer are struggling to do right now!


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## Clix Pix

Dreary, drizzly and rainy today.....and a mere 43° so not a nice day for being outdoors.  I'm happy as long as the white stuff stays away!


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## lizkat

Clix Pix said:


> Dreary, drizzly and rainy today.....and a mere 43° so not a nice day for being outdoors.  I'm happy as long as the white stuff stays away!




I try to remain grateful that we haven't had a drought in a long time...  and the snowfall contributes to keeping the water table topped off.    Still as calendar spring approaches,  each snow dump in March can seem more of an annoyance than a blessing.  I'm ready to put the snow shovel and snow boots away by about now, and find myself thinking about salads for lunch instead of soup...  but here come the snow plows again...


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## Herdfan

The GFS and Euro do not agree.  So we are going to get between 6-11" of snow on Saturday.


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## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> The GFS and Euro do not agree.  So we are going to get between 6-11" of snow on Saturday.




Six to nine forecast for here...  but we just HAD a six-inch snowdump yesterday.  I'm glad the guy bothered to show up and clear that away, with this latest forecast starting to shape up as it is.

My problem with these back-to-back snowdumps this time of year is the week of 50º-65ºF that usually follows, with cold nights welcome to slow the flood potential,  but still a pain in the neck.   Spring's almost here.   The air smells of it sometimes by mid-morning.   You know it's beckoning the crocus and daffodils...

So it's time for that damn woodchuck to wake up, go make some babies out in the meadows, quit summoning snow storms from Canada.  

And baseball spring training is just around the corner.  Time to put away snow shovels, fetch the bats and gloves.


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## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> And baseball spring training is just around the corner.  Time to put away snow shovels, fetch the bats and gloves.




Ever the optimist.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> Ever the optimist.



I was an optimist until I noticed they've changed the snow forecast here, now they say 8-12 inches.

That will top off the water table for sure.  Problem is the ground is still frozen.   Skating rinks ahoy!


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## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> I was an optimist until I noticed they've changed the snow forecast here, now they say 8-12 inches.
> 
> That will top off the water table for sure.  Problem is the ground is still frozen.   Skating rinks ahoy!




We are supposed to get a brief shot of rain before the front moves through, which will cool the warm ground allowing more snow to stick. Models are still calling for 12+ but most local forecasters are saying 4-8.

Snowblower is out and ready.


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## lizkat

30-40mph wind forecasts will mean big snowdrifts.    What a joke that we "Spring Ahead" to daylight saving time Sunday.  We'll have an extra hour of daylight in which to build snow sculptures...


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## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> 30-40mph wind forecasts will mean big snowdrifts.




Wife and I were taking a walk in between rain cells and had just commented that the winds had picked up and all of a sudden everything went dark.  Power was out.  We then turned down our street and saw our post lights on in the distance.  

That generator was worth every penny. 

Then had to go over to the neighbor's because they are out of town, their generator didn't start and their MIL is there watching the kids.  So I had to go over and ended up having to jump start their generator.  The battery was dead.  Oh well.

Hope everyone in the path of the storm makes it out OK.


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## lizkat

We're supposed to get about an hour of sleet between 2- 3am,  then 12 hours of snow, the total snowdump here still forecast at 8-12" by midday Saturday.

Right now it's 42ºF and barely cloudy, wind from just a few degrees east of south, and _nothing_ in the way of precipitation. Hope the plowing crews are sleeping now, before all hell breaks loose during the wee hours.


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## Yoused

Our weather has been rather springlike this past week. It is not until late May/early June that we (nomally) get hit by the cold weather. It will be in the mid-50s, but it will somehow chill to the bone. Right now, 45° is quite comfortable, so it is kind of hard to suss. I suspect it is just my body, saying, "_Hey! This ain't right!_"


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## Clix Pix

Awoke to a Winter Wonderland scene, which is pretty but now I am worried about the newly budding flowers and trees.    We haven't gotten much accumulation -- I think maybe less than an inch and while the grass and cars are covered, the sidewalk still remains bare as does the road coming into the complex.  

Hard to believe that they are still saying that the peak of DC's annual Cherry Blossom arrival will be around March 23rd.   I suspect that unless we get nothing but warm weather from this point on that the blossoms won't come until until the end of the month.


----------



## lizkat

Yoused said:


> Our weather has been rather springlike this past week. It is not until late May/early June that we (nomally) get hit by the cold weather. It will be in the mid-50s, but it will somehow chill to the bone. Right now, 45° is quite comfortable, so it is kind of hard to suss. I suspect it is just my body, saying, "_Hey! This ain't right!_"




I understand exactly what you're saying.   So weird to feel 35ºF here now as a spring day but when a 50º day pops up in June, I'm whining about having put away my parka.     I may like the change of seasons, but my body seems a bit less of a fan.


----------



## Huntn

Yoused said:


> Our weather has been rather springlike this past week. It is not until late May/early June that we (nomally) get hit by the cold weather. It will be in the mid-50s, but it will somehow chill to the bone. Right now, 45° is quite comfortable, so it is kind of hard to suss. I suspect it is just my body, saying, "_Hey! This ain't right!_"



March has been joyful this year (Houston) , cool mornings and temps in the 60-70s.


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## lizkat

We're getting from March this year the same rollercoaster we had in February, just the whole graph of temperatures have shifted up a tad, i.e. highs are above normal, lows below normal but now we don't' get down below zero any more.   Even so, after this week of pretty spring-like weather, our overnights will pop back down to around 15-18ºF starting next week, probably through end of the month.  No wonder we don't see robins around here any more in March, even in flocks, never mind claiming turf and mates.

Oh well.   There are only so many more snowstorms Canada can throw at us in the next 11 days, one can hope.   Another year of carpenters who plow snow in winter going bust over no snow to speak of...  I think i will end up having had driveways plowed only five or six times all season.


----------



## Herdfan

I must be getting old as these past 2 days have shown.  Mostly sunny in the low 60's.  But for some reason I felt cold, then hot.  There was a nice breeze, but when the sun was out, it was too hot in a long sleeve, but when the clouds moved in, it was too cold for the long sleeves.  Ten years ago I would have been out there in shorts and a t-shirt washing the car.

So I figured I would take my SXS over to the shop and do some work on it.  Got there and one of employees already had his truck up on the rack.  Oh well.  I helped him for a while and came home and piddled in the heated garage.

Tomorrow and Tuesday are supposed to be in the 70's.  Maybe I won't get cold.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> Tomorrow and Tuesday are supposed to be in the 70's. Maybe I won't get cold.




For me the trick is to remember that 70s and sun are all just chance and not really "a thing" during this time of year.   So tempting on those days to think I could set out some early peas.  Did that one year and we got a blizzard on April 11.    My sister's FIL lived next door then and was laughing at me when I was sowing the peas.   "They can take a joke," he said, "but they can't fetch a parka to help laugh off a major mistake."   Didn't take me long to learn to find other things to do around the yard in April.


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## Deleted member 215

It reached 85 degrees here. Cooler in Phoenix.


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## Joe

TBL said:


> It reached 85 degrees here. Cooler in Phoenix.




That's it? 85


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## Yoused

Joe said:


> That's it? 85



Winter begins just after Memorial Day there.


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## Joe

I remember the first time I went to San Francisco. It was the summer of 2006 and I heard some guy walking down the street talking about how they were in the middle of a heat wave. It was like 90 lol It felt fine to me.


----------



## DT

Woo!  We had a non-stop line of storms and they finally cleared out, looks like a few days of some pretty tasty weather:


----------



## lizkat

DT said:


> Woo! We had a non-stop line of storms and they finally cleared out, looks like a few days of some pretty tasty weather




We're going in the other direction I guess.   All the snow, even the driveway glaciers, have melted away and I've seen one robin and finally heard a red-winged blackbird.  But they're gonna be sorry they showed up.   Our weather is headed to another really cold snap.

Gonna snow here on Sunday, then get windy and drop down to 11ºF for two nights.  At the end of March?!   People are already out raking up the debris from their depleted woodpiles and now they'll be trying to burn it instead of tossing it over the stone wall to let it become nesting material for birds and other critters.

People are trying to find Punxatawney Phil and teach him how long is six more weeks of winter, on account of he seems to have different ideas on how long is either a week or a winter.  Ugh!


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> People are trying to find Punxatawney Phil and teach him how long is six more weeks of winter, on account of he seems to have different ideas on how long is either a week or a winter.  Ugh!




He definitely needs a good flogging. 

But what in the #cornbreadhell is going on today?  It is snowing.  It was 80 earlier in the week, and will be 80 this coming week.


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## Clix Pix

Just rain here, thank goodness, but yep, a lot colder than it has been recently.  Old Man Winter seems to keep staging repeat "grand finale" exits!


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## lizkat

Clix Pix said:


> Just rain here, thank goodness, but yep, a lot colder than it has been recently.  Old Man Winter seems to keep staging repeat "grand finale" exits!




We just had a ten minute hailstorm. Yeah.   Grape sized hail.   Geez.  Supposed to snow for 13 hours late tonight into tomorrow afternoon. Honest to God, that woodchuck better have a good hiding place because I'm ready to get real about hunting him down and shipping him to Siberia.


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## Deleted member 215

Rain, glorious rain this morning. The most since the year began


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## DT

The rain we had the previous week has been saving us from the __insane__ pollen levels around here, and it's the early spring double whammy of both tree and grass pollens.






That big deep into the green was the rain last week ...


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## lizkat

What we're having in the Catskills is a serious test of our tolerance of lingering winter.  

Mid-teens in the overnights this late into March is insane.   Think my robin has flown 40 miles south again for awhile....

​
​


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## Alli

The weather’s crazy again here. 77 degrees, but the wind is so strong it doesn’t matter. Yesterday I came out of the pool because of the wind.


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## Herdfan

Alli said:


> The weather’s crazy again here. 77 degrees, *but the wind is so strong it doesn’t matter. *Yesterday I came out of the pool because of the wind.




Same here.  I need to make a quick weld, but there is too much wind.


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## lizkat

Summer tonight, then more winter?   T-storms now but snow on the weekend.  Gee.


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## DT

It's snowing here.


But the snow is yellow (not that kind...) and it makes my eyes itch ...


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## Cmaier

DT said:


> It's snowing here.
> 
> 
> But the snow is yellow (not that kind...) and it makes my eyes itch ...




I lived for 8 years in Troy, NY, and the snow came down yellow. Awful place.


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## Clix Pix

That wind is really fierce today!  I went out to collect my mail at the kiosk and the wind all but blew my hair off!  It's also done a fairly effective job of ripping the delicate blossoms off the trees and now the ground and our cars in the parking lot are covered in petals.


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## lizkat

Clix Pix said:


> That wind is really fierce today!  I went out to collect my mail at the kiosk and the wind all but blew my hair off!  It's also done a fairly effective job of ripping the delicate blossoms off the trees and now the ground and our cars in the parking lot are covered in petals.




Wow, I just went to reply to your post and our power went out.    Damn!

 Guess they meant what they said when forecasting possible power outages with our winds and t-storms today during a one-day "summer" before the weather drops back to snowy conditions this weekend.

Well it's been an uninspiring summer so far, eh?

[ Update:  well the outage only lasted long enough for everyone's gennies to kick in or for people to start rounding up their battery-operated lanterns...  although it took a little longer for net service to get rebooted.

Anyway it's too sad about the wind taking out wonderful spring flower displays.  I just hate when that happens.   Same in early summer here when the peonies come into magnificent bloom and then some torrential rain lays whole hedges of them to waste.
This is what a camera is for, but I never think of it until watching a storm roll in...


----------



## Clix Pix

Yes, while I have had a wonderful time with the cherry blossoms (or whatever they are, I still really don't know), I'm afraid that the Tulip Magnolias this year are definitely going to be a bust when it comes to producing beautiful, delicate blossoms with the most wonderful scent....   I've only managed to get one shot so far of a Tulip Magnolia and that was yesterday before today's rain and winds.   Tomorrow I'll go out and check out the scene at the trees but I am not optimistic.   Too bad, as I love those guys: along with the Daffodils and the Cherry Blossoms, they are a wonderful harbinger of Good Things To Come in terms of Spring and Summer....   The Daffodils, by the way, good hardy souls that they are, are doing just fine, as I noted when going out to get the mail.


----------



## Arkitect

Here in Blighty it felt like we had all the seasons in one day yesterday…

Started off feeling like Spring, by noon it felt quite summery.

Late afternoon it was snowing heavily (Not on the forecast)… and an hour later we were back in early Spring.

Today, who knows?


----------



## Alli

DT said:


> It's snowing here.
> 
> 
> But the snow is yellow (not that kind...) and it makes my eyes itch ...


----------



## lizkat

Ladies and gentlemen, behold the temperature swings in March 2022 in Binghamton, NY.  Subtract 6 to 12 degrees for the mountains.   It's a trip when even the high for a day is in the below normal range, likewise when the day's low lands in the above normal range.   So far in my old age I don't wake up wondering where I am,  but based on temp swings like this, I could be forgiven for such wonderment.


​


----------



## Yoused

lizkat said:


> Ladies and gentlemen, behold the temperature swings in March



March Madness!


----------



## DT




----------



## Macky-Mac

it hit 91º today here on the west side of Los Angeles......not supposed to do that until the middle of the summer and even then it only happens on several days in the whole of the summer


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## Eric

Macky-Mac said:


> it hit 91º today here on the west side of Los Angeles......not supposed to do that until the middle of the summer and even then it only happens on several days in the whole of the summer



Same here in the central valley, it's going to be a hot year.


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## DT

DT said:


> View attachment 13052




Well, this has been an interesting weather day, first that insane situation (see above - it was pretty spooky - it was calm, pitch black with rolling clouds like looked like smoke), then raining, then sunny, then raining while sunny - then the temp had a massive drop, and some of the rain turned into hail - then all that blew out, it's sunny, blowing ~15MPH (with some 20MPG gusts) and like 81° ...


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## DT

Hahaha, and there's a marine warning ... yeah, ya think? 

Though I did stop into a local bar and heard these guys talking about going on a fishing run, I'm sure they'll be OK ...


----------



## BigMcGuire

93F right now - way too early for this stuff. :/


----------



## lizkat

Rainy here today,  but at least it's not snow or tornado weather!

My attention is on Kansas city, where the Cleveland Guardians are playing the Royals for Opening Day.

Out there it's in the sixth inning, and the weather is deteriorating with 30-40mph wind gusts and some intermittent precipitation (part snow, part rain!).  So any ball hit into the air is... well, an adventure, but the game is so far proceeding.   The concession stands are doing a land office business selling coffee and hot dogs to the hardy fans putting up with howling winds more like winter than April.


----------



## Cmaier

BigMcGuire said:


> 93F right now - way too early for this stuff. :/




93 here. Took me by surprise when i just went outside to sing to my plum tree.


----------



## lizkat

So the Catskills ended up with 2 to 3 inches of rain and since the ground is still partly frozen it was ponding up everywhere, making a horrendous mess.  Flood warnings persist for another day or so on creeks and feeders to these headwaters of the Delaware and Susquehanna river systems.

 Ugh...  could be fish in a few backyards this morning.  At least it wasn't snow.   That would have been some pile of the white stuff to plow away.   In fact we have snow forecast for Sunday, and a few nights of below-freezing temps, so I hope the sun and breeze today will clear some of this ponded water away quickly, and that the ground continues to thaw so more water can be absorbed.


----------



## Huntn

Still getting those wonderful but brief cold fronts where it ends up on the 50s in the morning and highs in the 70s, paradise-a-cal. What get’s annoying for me when the lows are 78F and highs in the 90s. Usually for Houston, that happens  in the June-Sep time frame.


----------



## Herdfan

Huntn said:


> Still getting those wonderful but brief cold fronts where it ends up on the 50s in the morning and highs in the 70s, paradise-a-cal. *What get’s annoying for me when the lows are 78F and highs in the 90s. *Usually for Houston, that happens  in the June-Sep time frame.



And the humidity in the 70's or higher and you can chew the air.


----------



## Huntn

Herdfan said:


> And the humidity in the 70's or higher and you can chew the air.



I’ve noticed that mostly Houston, believe it or no, is not what I would describe as high humidity, but after moisture events, yes, humid. I grew up in the Washington DC area and the worst was 80F, 80% humidity.


----------



## Herdfan

Huntn said:


> I’ve noticed that mostly Houston, believe it or no, is not what I would describe as high humidity, but after moisture events, yes, humid. I grew up in the Washington DC area *and the worst was 80F, 80% humidity.*




Which is exactly why we are relocating to Arizona.

I have worked outside in the heat for 30 years with no issues, but the last 5 or so have just been brutal.  And 40-50 degrees used to mean shorts and maybe a long-sleeve shirt.  Now I am wearing base layers and thick hoodies.


----------



## Eric

In the Bay Area where I grew up now has several 80 and 90 degree days per year and can be insufferable during heat waves, which happen nearly every year now and the temps have reached in the 100s for most ot the last decade. However, growing up there it was a really rare event to even hit the 80s. I don't know how we recover from something like this, anecdotally speaking it feels like we're too late to change it even though I know scientists have raised the alarms to try and slow it.


----------



## lizkat

We're not used to 2 or 3 inch rainstorms in the Catskills, at least not in April. They can happen sometimes in late summer or early fall.   But here we are amid flood warnings all weekend, even as it threatens to snow and to freeze up overnight the next few nights.   In April it used to be more like cloudy with rainshowers a few times a week.  Two inches of rain in 10 hours is a whole other animal.  The low overnight temps are not in themselves so unusual, but the water, wow.  It's a problem.


----------



## Alli

Herdfan said:


> Which is exactly why we are relocating to Arizona.
> 
> I have worked outside in the heat for 30 years with no issues, but the last 5 or so have just been brutal.  And 40-50 degrees used to mean shorts and maybe a long-sleeve shirt.  Now I am wearing base layers and thick hoodies.



Getting old is everything it’s cracked up to be.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> Getting old is everything it’s cracked up to be.




No kidding.  Where's that emoticon for doubling down on the post of the day? 

 It's BS that we can't learn stuff easily when we get old.   I have discovered all kinds of sh^t every day as I've grown older, and realized my option is either to continue learn ways to outwit my failing faculties or else just give it up and die.  The latter still seems unappealing, and so I innovate, experiment, learn what works for me now when the old ways seem too hard or become perilous.

Example:  I've learned to throw the laundry down the cellar steps in a soft bag because it's easier to manage than walking a washbasket down in front of me.  Still simple to carry a basket of folded laundry back up those same stairs again for some reason, so I also throw an empty washbasket down the stairs ahead of the damn bag of laundry.

All to do with subtle changes in balance and spine flexibility, I guess, even though I still do dance workouts to keep my body fit for gardening chores.   Someone said how about just move the laundry facilities upstairs and I said yeah when I no longer need a sewing studio, meanwhile the washer and dryer get to sulk in the cellar where they belong.

Also I no longer get up on a stepladder to change light bulbs.  Finally got one of those grabbers.   The comical thing there is that before I did that, I got around to getting LED bulbs and haven't had to change a bulb in five years.   So my one and only experiment there so far has been changing out a light bulb with the grabber just to prove I can do it when it proves necessary.


----------



## lizkat

And PS re the weather:   snow today, and snow forecast for next Sunday.

This is getting ridiculous.  We're used to a more than occasional late frost date (mid June is our median last killing frost),  but after mid-April we don't really expect to see snow, much less that it sticks to the ground for half a day or so.  Canada still shipping its leftovers south, I guess.   Meanwhile in between we get the occasional summery day with a thunderstorm thrown in for good measure.


​


----------



## Yoused

We had a squallette of grauple just now, showing that Spring is truly here, as it was the sloppy grauple, not like the dry stuff you get in winter.

I used to call that stuff "snail", because it was not quite snow but also not hail. "Grauple" apparently means gravel in some language or other. It stacked up a bit, whitening the grass, but now the sun is out, telling it to leave and making me turn up my screen brightness.


----------



## fooferdoggie

woke uo to this this morning. it will be gone fast its 32 but its supposed to get into the 40s.


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## Eric

fooferdoggie said:


> woke uo to this this morning. it will be gone fast its 32 but its supposed to get into the 40s.
> View attachment 13150View attachment 13151



One thing I can say about leaving Oregon (Beaverton and Forest Grove areas) is that I miss the snow when it happened. In CA you won't see it at all unless you're in the mountains.


----------



## Yoused

Eric said:


> One thing I can say about leaving Oregon (Beaverton and Forest Grove areas) is that I miss the snow when it happened. In CA you won't see it at all unless you're in the mountains.



In eastward parts of the country, they just put their snow where-the-hell-ever and let it lie around for 5 or 6 months giving the place a sooty white look. At least out here we know enough not to let it accumulate where people live but keep it up there in the mountains where we can go up and visit it if we are of a mood. Even in summer, if you are keen for snow, you can get some if you go high enough (I remember wanting to take the Beartooth Pass road one time in August but it was closed for a blizzard).


----------



## fooferdoggie

Eric said:


> One thing I can say about leaving Oregon (Beaverton and Forest Grove areas) is that I miss the snow when it happened. In CA you won't see it at all unless you're in the mountains.



We dont get much anymore. and we have not had snow like this in April since before 1940. its melting fast though.


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## Deleted member 215

Rain this morning 

(Those are happy tears). I hate how starved we are for rain here. Just a little bit is enough to make me overjoyed. Rainfall total in the 2021-2022 rain year (begins October 1st) has been about 87% of normal so far (where I live specifically). That's a B. Not bad. Especially compared to last year.


----------



## Eric

TBL said:


> Rain this morning
> 
> (Those are happy tears). I hate how starved we are for rain here. Just a little bit is enough to make me overjoyed. Rainfall total in the 2021-2022 rain year (begins October 1st) has been about 87% of normal so far (where I live specifically). That's a B. Not bad. Especially compared to last year.



Yes, long overdue and it looks we'll get a couple more systems coming through as well. Funny, coming from Oregon I hated the rain because it's either raining or gray on average of 220+ days per year but in CA it's almost the opposite so I welcome it.


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## lizkat

Snow for us tomorrow or Monday.   But that's April sometimes.  Once we had a serious blizzard on April 11, so far the snow hits this year in April have been minor jokes compared to that.  It's supposed to moderate back to real spring again towards end of next week.   Looking for those daffodils amid rain showers in the meantime.


----------



## Renzatic

Herdfan said:


> Ten years ago I would have been out there in shorts and a t-shirt washing the car.




Yeah? Well, now you've got your cane and rocking chair, so simmer down, old man!


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> Yeah? Well, now you've got your cane and rocking chair, so simmer down, old man!




Bet they don't have a rocking chair.  Those things and a cat's tail are a bad mix.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Bet they don't have a rocking chair.  Those things and a cat's tail are a bad mix.




A Laz-y-boy, then. Cats love those!


----------



## Yoused

Eric said:


> coming from Oregon I hated the rain because it's either raining or gray on average of 220+ days per year



Well, I recall a few years back we had a bit of not-quite-rain-but-not-quite-not-rain in the last week of August, then six weeks of unbroken steel blue skies. I went to Fred's the day it rained in mid-October and let me tell you, everybody seemed so happy.


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> Snow for us tomorrow or Monday.   But that's April sometimes.  Once we had a serious blizzard on April 11, so far the snow hits this year in April have been minor jokes compared to that.  It's supposed to moderate back to real spring again towards end of next week.   Looking for those daffodils amid rain showers in the meantime.




Well tonight you have the Breaking Ice Moon.  So spring should be here soon.  I'm just worried we will skip spring and go straight to summer.


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## Renzatic

Herdfan said:


> Well tonight you have the Breaking Ice Moon.  So spring should be here soon.  I'm just worried we will skip spring and go straight to summer.




We call it the pink moon down here.


----------



## Runs For Fun

We've got a cold spell coming in just in time for Easter. 40s tomorrow and the first half of next week. Then it will get back into the 60s and 70s.


----------



## Cmaier

Renzatic said:


> We call it the pink moon down here.




When did we end up with 75 different moon names? It seems like there have been a couple dozen special moons in the last couple years. When I was a kid the moon was “full” and that was about as special as it got.


----------



## Renzatic

Cmaier said:


> When did we end up with 75 different moon names? It seems like there have been a couple dozen special moons in the last couple years. When I was a kid the moon was “full” and that was about as special as it got.




The blue moon was the only one I remember hearing much about when I was a kid, which was, well, apparently quite rare.


----------



## Herdfan

Renzatic said:


> The blue moon was the only one I remember hearing much about when I was a kid, which was, well, apparently quite rare.




And it has nothing to do with the color of the moon.  It is when there are 2 full moons in a calendar month.

The one growing up was the harvest moon.  Double sized, bright moon in September.


----------



## Yoused

Cmaier said:


> When did we end up with 75 different moon names?





Spoiler: Only 75?



Dysnomia, Xiangliu, Weywot, Hi'iaka, Namaka, Hydra , Kerberos , Nix , Styx , Pluto~Charon, Neso , Psamathe, Laomedeia, Sao, Halimede,  Nereid, Triton, Proteus, Hippocamp, Larissa, Galatea, Despina, Thalassa, Naiad, Ferdinand, Setebos, Prospero, Margaret, Sycorax, Trinculo, Stephano, Caliban, Francisco, Francisco, Oberon, Titania, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, Mab, Puck, Perdita, Belinda, Cupid, Rosalind, Portia, Juliet, Desdemona, Cressida, Bianca, Ophelia, Cordelia, Fornjot, Ymir, Loge, Surtur, Fenrir, Kari, Aegir, Hati, Bestla, Farbauti, Thrymr, Hyrrokkin, Greip, Mundilfari, Bergelmir, Narvi, Jarnsaxa, Suttungr, Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Skoll, Tarqeq, Siarnaq, Tarvos, Polydeuces, Rhea, Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus, Kiviuq, Ijiraq, Phoebe, Paaliaq, Skathi, Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Janus, Aegaeon, Mimas, Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Telesto, Calypso, Dione, Helene, Sponde, Megaclite, Cyllene, Sinope, Aoede, Autonoe, Callirrhoe, Kore, Kalyke, Hegemone, Pasiphae, Isonoe, Kallichore, Erinome, Kale, Eirene, Aitne, Eukelade, Arche, Taygete, Carme, Herse, Eupheme, Mneme, Euanthe, Harpalyke, Orthosie, Helike, Praxidike, Thelxinoe, Thyone, Ananke, Iocaste, Hermippe, Philophrosyne, Pasithee, Eurydome, Chaldene, Eupheme, Mneme, Euanthe, Harpalyke, Orthosie, Helike, Praxidike, Thelxinoe, Thyone, Ananke, Iocaste, Hermippe, Philophrosyne, Pasithee, Eurydome , Euporie, Ersa, Himalia, Pandia, Lysithea, Elara, Dia, Carpo, Valetudo, Leda, Themisto, Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, Io, Thebe, Amalthea, Adrastea, Metis, Deimos, Phobos, Luna

(yes, I have some sanity issues)


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> Well tonight you have the Breaking Ice Moon.  So spring should be here soon.  I'm just worried we will skip spring and go straight to summer.




Me too.  That was the trend last year too, around here.   We're due for four inches of slush and snow Monday into Tuesday,  I'd love it if that forecast gets moderated into something like "scattered flurries"...


----------



## Huntn

Herdfan said:


> Well tonight you have the Breaking Ice Moon.  So spring should be here soon.  I'm just worried we will skip spring and go straight to summer.






Cmaier said:


> When did we end up with 75 different moon names? It seems like there have been a couple dozen special moons in the last couple years. When I was a kid the moon was “full” and that was about as special as it got.






Renzatic said:


> The blue moon was the only one I remember hearing much about when I was a kid, which was, well, apparently quite rare.






Herdfan said:


> And it has nothing to do with the color of the moon.  It is when there are 2 full moons in a calendar month.
> 
> The one growing up was the harvest moon.  Double sized, bright moon in September.




Interesting reading:








						'Once in a blue moon' - the meaning and origin of this phrase
					

The meaning and origin of the phrase 'Once in a blue moon'.




					www.phrases.org.uk


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Me too.  That was the trend last year too, around here.   We're due for four inches of slush and snow Monday into Tuesday,  I'd love it if that forecast gets moderated into something like "scattered flurries"...




For us down here, the days from late March to the middle of May is the Season of Sudden Death From The Sky.


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> Snow for us tomorrow or Monday.   But that's April sometimes.  Once we had a serious blizzard on April 11, so far the snow hits this year in April have been minor jokes compared to that.  It's supposed to moderate back to real spring again towards end of next week.   Looking for those daffodils amid rain showers in the meantime.



My son was born in Ohio on April 9. We brought him home from the hospital on the 13th (which 4 years later would be his sister’s birthday), and it was snowing like crazy in Toledo. Needless to say, four years later when my daughter came along in Alabama, it was a beautiful, warm, summer day.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> My son was born in Ohio on April 9. We brought him home from the hospital on the 13th (which 4 years later would be his sister’s birthday), and it was snowing like crazy in Toledo. Needless to say, four years later when my daughter came along in Alabama, it was a beautiful, warm, summer day.




One of my nextgen kin was nearly born in a Volkswagen bug in late January in a snowstorm.  The mama told her husband to drive faster because the car could take more of a joke on winter roads than she'd be able to laugh off in the back seat of that car.  They made it to the hospital just in time!

Anyway she'd have said you had a good idea picking Alabama for the next round.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> And it has nothing to do with the color of the moon.  It is when there are 2 full moons in a calendar month.
> 
> The one growing up was the harvest moon.  Double sized, bright moon in September.




And it's true they keep cutting the corn right through the night if they have to do it to beat incoming weather.


----------



## lizkat

Waiting for the forecast to finalize on this incoming snow dump.  Lately they're saying 5-11 inches, which is quite a spread, so who knows.  If we're lucky we won't be right where one of those 3 inches per hour gigs decides to park for awhile.

Anyway snow supposed to start by 5pm and keep on keepin' on until noon tomorrow.

Impossible to plow driveways out in the boondocks now, the ground is thawed or  nearly so and guys took the blades off their trucks already.   Usually that doesn't matter but then usually we don't get a foot of snow at this point either.  Oh well.  Warming up by the weekend so we can move on to flood warnings!


----------



## Deleted member 215

Beautiful Earth Day morning. Pouring rain here in the Bay and I love it


----------



## Eric

TBL said:


> Beautiful Earth Day morning. Pouring rain here in the Bay and I love it



Long overdue, sounds like we'll be going into another dry spell but the last couple of weeks have been huge for us and will hopefully keep us at semi-normal levels throughout the rest of the year.


----------



## lizkat

TBL said:


> Beautiful Earth Day morning. Pouring rain here in the Bay and I love it






Eric said:


> Long overdue, sounds like we'll be going into another dry spell but the last couple of weeks have been huge for us and will hopefully keep us at semi-normal levels throughout the rest of the year.




I'm glad you guys out west are getting that rain, we got 14" of snow here Monday night into Tuesday afternoon and it's melting off very fast now as temps get back into spring territory, so we definitely don't need any more input from above. 

What a wacky set of seasons, we hardly got that much snow over the whole winter except for once, and my drives were only plowed four times.  This time no one could plow since the ground is already thawed.  Every boondocks driveway is a muddy mess at the moment, my bro almost got stuck at the end of mine coming over to check I was ok during the long power outage, which lasted 66 hours here.

My utility company still has 10,000 customers without power in NYS, now in isolated areas where the snow had piled up too deep to get to the first couple days,  but that's certainly an improvement from the original 195,000 who initially went dark after all that heavy wet snow brought trees down on lines all over the area. The local utility companies brought in extra crews from New England to give us a hand.

Now that most of us do have electrical power again, we're all waiting to see if we have to pump out our cellars or if the ground had thawed deep enough to take this most recent joke.  At least we weren't dealing with a flood already when the snowstorm event occurred.  Bright side worth noting.


----------



## Deleted member 215

It’s only May and 150,000 acres have burned in New Mexico. Widespread drought is going to make this a severe fire season in the Western U.S. (It usually gets started mid-June here in California, so I’m not looking forward to that…)


----------



## fischersd

We've already had 83 here in BC (global warming will eventually turn BC into California - everything will be brown and dormant, rather than green, live and wet).

For those curious, as the summer progresses, the BC Wildfires Service dashboard:  https://governmentofbc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/f0ac328d88c74d07aa2ee385abe2a41b


----------



## Deleted member 215

Almost 2,000,000 acres burned in BC last year, which was almost as much as what burned in California. BC seems to be moving toward a hot-summer Mediterranean climate where the summer is dry and hot and rain falls only in the winter (normal for California, but unusual for most of BC). California meanwhile is becoming semi-arid and arid and simply turning into Arizona/northern Mexico.


----------



## Yoused

BC does have a desert.


----------



## fooferdoggie

here in portland we had record rain in April. but its been raining a lot this month and its cold. today it got up to 46 degrees and rained off and on. one day it got to 68 I think but thats the  highest most of the month its been in the 50s at most low 60s.


----------



## Yoused

fooferdoggie said:


> here in portland we had record rain in April



Hey, if you really want to enjoy spring, you could move to the midwest. I hear it is tornado season there now. When was the last time you saw hail big enough to crack your windshield or leave dents in your car? Quitcher whining, you has it good.


----------



## Herdfan

Got out of town just in time Friday.  Lots of flooding in the area.  Rain gauge about 5 miles from where I grew up hit 3.58".  In an hour.  Places that haven't flooding in decades due to flood management, flooded.


----------



## Renzatic

It's been fairly nice where I'm at. We had a tornado watch here a few days back, and this sudden windstorm ended up knocking over a tree in my yard, but other than that, it's been fairly nice, if not a little on the cool side.

They're calling this sudden cold front a hummingbird winter on the local news. I seriously think they're making these names up as they go along.


----------



## Yoused

Renzatic said:


> they're making these names up as they go along



The first full moon of May is known as the "_That's No Moon!_" moon.


----------



## Yoused

Around here we have this old saying, "_April showers bring May showers_." This spring seems true-to-form.


----------



## Herdfan

Yoused said:


> Around here we have this old saying, "_April showers bring May showers_." This spring seems true-to-form.




Or the corollary: April shows makes my damn grass grow.


----------



## Herdfan

Sitting here on generator power with my phone hotspotted to my computer as the internet is out as well.

Had 3 large storms roll through here last night/this morning, at 9, 2 and 6.  The 9 wasn't too bad except it did mess with DirecTV so I missed some of the 1Q of The Finals.  The 2 was a beast.  Woke us up and sent the cats under the bed.  The 6 mainly missed us to the east but it was as big as the 2. 

The news said that one of them may be classified as a derecho.

But I figure we will be on the generator for a couple of days since our outage is fairly small.  They always try to get the big chunks of customers on first.  Looks like about 75K are out of power and the temps are in the 90's with indexes over 100.


----------



## Renzatic

So Summer finally decided to show up the other day. It came by unannounced, knocked on the door nonstop until someone finally answered, then proceeded to kick everyone square in the nuts.


----------



## Herdfan

Herdfan said:


> But I figure we will be on the generator for a couple of days since our outage is fairly small.  They always try to get the big chunks of customers on first.  Looks like about 75K are out of power and the temps are in the 90's with indexes over 100.




As predicted, they are saying Friday the 17th at 10pm for service restoration.

So glad we have the generator.  But feeling sorry for those who don't as the highs are over 90 all week.  And the lows aren't much better in the mid 70's.  

Did I tell you that I hate humidity.  That is why we are going to Arizona.


----------



## Yoused

Renzatic said:


> So Summer finally decided to show up the other day. It came by unannounced, knocked on the door nonstop until someone finally answered, then proceeded to kick everyone square in the nuts.



We are still in the transition phase. It cannot decide whether it wants to be unpleaantly cold or uncomfortably warm or both at the same time. It is like muddling through the puberty of Spring before Summer's adolescence.


----------



## Renzatic

Yoused said:


> We are still in the transition phase. It cannot decide whether it wants to be unpleaantly cold or uncomfortably warm or both at the same time. It is like muddling through the puberty of Spring before Summer's adolescence.




Enjoy these,  your salad days.


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> As predicted, they are saying Friday the 17th at 10pm for service restoration.
> 
> So glad we have the generator.  But feeling sorry for those who don't as the highs are over 90 all week.  And the lows aren't much better in the mid 70's.
> 
> Did I tell you that I hate humidity.  That is why we are going to Arizona.




Yeah but at a certain point just the ambient heat becomes an issue aside from aggravations of humidity like inability to sweat enough to cool the body.  I read that it recently hit 113ºF in Phoenix. Even without high humidity that's extremely problematic unless people have A/C and can count on the power to keep it running. I mean arriving at a point where core body temperature hits 105ºF is pretty much lights out for a human being: at that point we start cooking from the inside, and internal organs including the vascular system can't maintain or recover functionality.

 Personally if I'm going to risk living with some extreme of temperature that I end up not being able to mitigate sometimes with electrical power (whatever the source), I'd rather live and die in a place where extreme cold rather than extreme heat is the more typical risk.


----------



## Apple fanboy

Warm here right now (U.K.). Supposed to be 30 on Friday. But of course back to 18 for Saturday!


----------



## DT

That’s a pretty good change across a couple of days.

We get days like that around this time, like low-mid 70s early and by midday, 94-95 (with humidity adding another +5-10 “feels like”), so like 30 degree swings across the day.

Hahaha, speaking of, the humidity right now is 96%


----------



## Huntn

Herdfan said:


> Sitting here on generator power with my phone hotspotted to my computer as the internet is out as well.
> 
> Had 3 large storms roll through here last night/this morning, at 9, 2 and 6.  The 9 wasn't too bad except it did mess with DirecTV so I missed some of the 1Q of The Finals.  The 2 was a beast.  Woke us up and sent the cats under the bed.  The 6 mainly missed us to the east but it was as big as the 2.
> 
> The news said that one of them may be classified as a derecho.
> 
> But I figure we will be on the generator for a couple of days since our outage is fairly small.  They always try to get the big chunks of customers on first.  Looks like about 75K are out of power and the temps are in the 90's with indexes over 100.



Is your generator natural gas?


----------



## Herdfan

Huntn said:


> Is your generator natural gas?




Technically it is dual-fuel as there is a lever to change from propane to NG.  Right now it is running on NG.  

It is a whole house Generac 22kw.


----------



## lizkat

Yoused said:


> We are still in the transition phase. It cannot decide whether it wants to be unpleaantly cold or uncomfortably warm or both at the same time. It is like muddling through the puberty of Spring before Summer's adolescence.




We're having an almost perfect June to date, as far as temperatures go,  high 60s or mid-70s during the day and mid-50s to low 60s overnight, not quite cold enough to bother any early tomatoes that are starting to try to set fruit from blossoms.

Only thing problematic lately has been a few torrential rainstorms, bad enough to wash out my bean seeds  a couple times.   Somehow though the local farmers have managed to work around those days and get their early hay in,  since the spot forecasting nowadays is pretty good.


----------



## Yoused

The Yellowstone is kinda swollen,






I hope they were up on their insurance.


----------



## Alli

On Tuesday I walked out the back door and thought I’d somehow gone right into the pool. That’s how bad the humidity was. Much better yesterday. We’ve been lucky and all the bad storms have gone north and right around us.


----------



## Eric

Sounds like it's been pretty bad down in the south. 


Thousands of cows found dead in Kansas from
      interestingasfuck


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> On Tuesday I walked out the back door and thought I’d somehow gone right into the pool. That’s how bad the humidity was. Much better yesterday. We’ve been lucky and all the bad storms have gone north and right around us.




You know what the worst thing about humidity is? I mean, besides the SCORCHING HEAT? It's how you can take a shower, and realize how it'll probably be weeks until you're 100% dry again.


----------



## Renzatic

Eric said:


> Sounds like it's been pretty bad down in the south.
> 
> 
> Thousands of cows found dead in Kansas from
> interestingasfuck




Right now, I'm sitting here with a tornado fan blowing on me, and an AC unit in the window right next to me. That's the only reason why I'm still alive right now.

There was one year when the heat was actually worse than this. Think it was around summer 2015, I believe. The family fish fry happened on a day when it was a 103 out BEFORE the heat index. Humidity was around 97%. 

No one enjoyed the fish that day. Hell, most people couldn't even manage to eat. It was the first time I'd ever describe hot weather as "oppressive."


----------



## hulugu

Basically, we're on of the 6th level of hell. It's just stupid hot. The cats are laying on our bed underneath a ceiling fan and they still pant. 
The dogs have each found a cool spot on the tile, and spend most of the day with their bellies in the air.

I switched from the swamp cooler to the A/C system last week, and it made a huge difference, but it's just gross. Storms are coming, but so far it's only rained near the mountains.


----------



## Alli

Yesterday:


----------



## Yoused

hulugu said:


> Storms are coming, but so far it's only rained near the mountains.




First you have to have some nice haboobs.


----------



## Herdfan

hulugu said:


> I switched from the swamp cooler to the A/C system last week, and it made a huge difference, but it's just gross. Storms are coming, but so far it's only rained near the mountains.




You have both?

We had some neighbors who moved here from Colorado and they had never had A/C, just a swamp cooler.  Didn't realize you could have or even might need both.


----------



## Deleted member 215

Looks like it’s hot across the country today. 100 degrees here by the Bay.


----------



## Renzatic

TBL said:


> Looks like it’s hot across the country today. 100 degrees here by the Bay.




It was only 92 here today. Not too bad.


----------



## Eric

Just a tad warm inside the car today...


----------



## Cmaier

Eric said:


> Just a tad warm inside the car today...
> 
> View attachment 15199




Yeah, unexpected surprise when I walked out on my driveway and heard the car’s motors running to keep the interior at 100.  I’m not used to that since it’s always garaged (which, of course, due to my busted garage door, is not a possibility today).

Keeping an eye on it because I don;’t want to run down the battery.


----------



## Herdfan

Eric said:


> Just a tad warm inside the car today...
> 
> View attachment 15199




There is a guy in Arizona who is making TikTok's of baking things in his car.


----------



## Herdfan

Cmaier said:


> Yeah, unexpected surprise when I walked out on my driveway and heard the car’s motors running to keep the interior at 100.  I’m not used to that since it’s always garaged (which, of course, due to my busted garage door, is not a possibility today).
> 
> Keeping an eye on it because I don;’t want to run down the battery.




I do think it's great that they have a "Pet" feature to keep the interior cool when leaving a pet inside.  Because people are going to do it anyway, might as well keep them safe.


----------



## Eric

Herdfan said:


> I do think it's great that they have a "Pet" feature to keep the interior cool when leaving a pet inside.  Because people are going to do it anyway, might as well keep them safe.



Aside from the pet feature you can just tell it what temperature you want and it'll dial it in within a minute or two, works really well. You can also set a threshold of how hot it must be to kick on, essentially a built in thermostat.


----------



## Hrafn

Yoused said:


> First you have to have some nice haboobs.



I've got the _best_ haboobs.  Now what?


----------



## Yoused

Hrafn said:


> Now what?



start sweeping


----------



## Hrafn

Yoused said:


> start sweeping



sounds like too much work,   Sorry.


----------



## Herdfan

A surprise big storm just rolled through and we lost power again for the 3rd time in 2 weeks.


----------



## Alli

We have still had no more than 3 minutes of rain in the last month. It’s so weird being on this side of Mobile Bay!

My watch is still telling me it’s 99, but the thermometer hanging on the patio says it’s 103.


----------



## Yoused

Alli said:


> We have still had no more than 3 minutes of rain in the last month. It’s so weird being on this side of Mobile Bay!
> 
> My watch is still telling me it’s 99, but the thermometer hanging on the patio says it’s 103.




If it lies to you about the weather, what else might it be lying about? Is it really 9:10pm?


----------



## jonblatho

Miserably hot here in Oklahoma today and tomorrow, looking forward to a cold front's passage on Sunday for some amount of relief. My electric bill is, too. 








Coming up on the end of our second proper heat wave of the year...so far.


----------



## Alli

We went from 99 yesterday morning to 75 last night, and that’s as high as it’s gotten this morning. We even got rain!


----------



## lizkat

I had to throw some plastic over my tomatoes last night, the forecast was low enough to intefere with blossom-setting, and I think judging from how damn cold I was this morning (I had left a window open in the spare bedroom by mistake) it might have got down into the mid 40s.  I don't really mind because the highs have been only up to the mid-70s, so a near perfect June for me except for those low dips on some of the nights.   But it's weird to have these deep overnight dips below 50 in late June, when the predicted "last frost" date  is in the rear view by a couple of weeks.


----------



## Yoused

jonblatho said:


> Miserably hot here in Oklahoma today




You know the world climate is messed up when Boise City is the garden spot of Okahoma.


----------



## Alli

Thunder storms abound. I am enjoying just sitting on the patio and watching the rain. Hubby had a mini-meltdown over the pool, but he’s learned a thing or two so he was able to empty some water. I will not be swimming today.


----------



## DT

Alli said:


> Thunder storms abound. I am enjoying just sitting on the patio and watching the rain. Hubby had a mini-meltdown over the pool, but he’s learned a thing or two so he was able to empty some water. I will not be swimming today.




Holy hell, yes, yesterday, we had a really nasty one blow through, lost power (it was like the last big strike as it moved away, hahaha, I was like, "Wow, I'm surprised we did lose **BOOM** oh ...").

Got the outage report in, and the initial report was 2.5-3 hours before power was restored.  We lit a couple of candles, hung out for a bit - Daughter said her phone needed charging - I had shut my machine down, and was just about to fire it back to charge it for her (Mini on a 1000w UPS ...) and I asked Wife if she was a little warm, then it dawned on me ...

Sitting in the garage is an 82,000w battery with AC and comfortable seating   So we hop into the Tesla, fire up the AC, Daughter plugs into the rear USB-C ports and plays a game - we recline the seats back, load up Netflix on the center display, car has its own operational cell network connection - roomy, cool, entertaining.

Nice 

The power actually came back on in under an hour, they were on it!

I seriously want an F-150 Lightning with the reversible power setup, push a button, the truck powers the house!


----------



## Alli

Another storm last night. Filled the pool up, but now we have a waggly liner. Got someone coming in the morning to see what our problem is.


----------



## Yoused

We got some welcome rain, which may help mitigate tomorrow's storm.


----------



## Herdfan

Alli said:


> Thunder storms abound.




Same here.  I guess we both have the same general weather this time of year.  

Heat of the day juices up the atmosphere until it is saturated, then it rains which cools the air leading to isolated t-storms that can pop up anywhere on a moment's notice which then leads to lines of more severe t-storms.  Rinse, repeat.

At least I got both lawns mowed this week.


----------



## sgtaylor5

Very hot here in Eastern Washington: over 100 and I can't sleep any more today. No air conditioning in the house. The temperatures are going to be in the upper 80s again by Monday which is the normal for this season. But, the heat will make the wheat harvest dry out faster for a sooner cutting. Very wet spring this year, so the (bumper crop!) wheat is still somewhat green in the draws and the flatter land.


----------



## lizkat

Not to rub it in for those experiencing a horribly hot summer,  but here in NYS even in areas outside the Catskills it has been a mostly great summer for weather...  with far fewer "heat advisory" days than one might expect this year.

In this piece a Texan visiting relatives in his former hangouts near Niagara Falls remarks on the pleasure of turning off the A/C and letting the cool breeze run through the car.   Imagine that...









						As U.S. swelters, some turn to Buffalo for the weather: 'You can actually go outdoors'
					

You don't have to look far to find people doing what at other times of the year sounds unthinkable: coming to Buffalo because of the weather.




					buffalonews.com
				




Of course Buffalo is known for fierce winters drummed up by Lake Erie,  so the guy might have had good reason to exit upstate NY for Texas,  after one of those wicked lakeside blizzards.    But this year apparently brought him back looking for summer fun in some natural A/C.


----------



## SuperMatt

lizkat said:


> Not to rub it in for those experiencing a horribly hot summer,  but here in NYS even in areas outside the Catskills it has been a mostly great summer for weather...  with far fewer "heat advisory" days than one might expect this year.
> 
> In this piece a Texan visiting relatives in his former hangouts near Niagara Falls remarks on the pleasure of turning off the A/C and letting the cool breeze run through the car.   Imagine that...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As U.S. swelters, some turn to Buffalo for the weather: 'You can actually go outdoors'
> 
> 
> You don't have to look far to find people doing what at other times of the year sounds unthinkable: coming to Buffalo because of the weather.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> buffalonews.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Of course Buffalo is known for fierce winters drummed up by Lake Erie,  so the guy might have had good reason to exit upstate NY for Texas,  after one of those wicked lakeside blizzards.    But this year apparently brought him back looking for summer fun in some natural A/C.



This is a time of the year I really miss my hometown…


----------



## DT

Holy shit, it's crazy right now ...


----------



## DT

DT said:


> Holy shit, it's crazy right now ...




Wow, had some 55 MPH gusts (per a neighbors weather station)!

Our flag blew off the tree, the screws holding the mounting bracket actually sheared off     (in their defense, they were old and rusty)  Remounted with some fresh SS fasteners 

Tons of tree gut in the yard, cleaned all that up and picked up a couple of piles of weeds, pulled a few more, can is loaded up for Monday yard garbage.


----------



## Yoused

DT said:


> Our flag blew off the tree





Spoiler: this flag?


----------



## DT

Holy smokes!



https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1559593958069751808/


----------



## lizkat

Wondering how any members who are Texas residents are doing today after all that rain and flooding,..  some areas saw 10-15 inches of rainfall in 18 hours from Sunday into today.   Sounds terrible.









						Flooding hits Dallas-Fort Worth as some areas receive more than 13 inches of rain
					

The rainfall in some areas qualifies as a 1-in-1,000-year flood, which means that in any given year it has a 0.1% chance of happening.




					www.texastribune.org


----------



## sgtaylor5

It's finally "cool" enough (84 F), that I wore a company polo (company of one) and didn't sweat.


----------



## Alli

I no longer remember the last time we had a day with no rain. It’s getting tiresome.


----------



## Deleted member 215

104 degrees here  Hottest temperature since 2017.

Over 110 in many parts of NorCal right now.


----------



## lizkat

Started raining here Saturday afternoon,  and is still raining,  so I feel badly for any working stiffs who had planned lots of fun outdoors for the holiday weekend.   I remember when I was still commuting upstate as a weekend resident how disappointing that was on either Memorial Day or Labor Day weekends!


----------



## Eric

Have a high of 115 today, it's been miserably hot and we have "flex alerts" meaning if we overload the grid there will be blackouts, so we're turning the AC up to 80 in the day and using fans.


----------



## fooferdoggie

we are going to have power outage because of high wind and dry conditions. 
with the republicans are going on about electric vehicles and blaming it on Dems. 
Oregon Electrical Utilities Warn of Power Outages to Prevent Wildfires, Including in Portland’s West Hills​








						Oregon Electrical Utilities Warn of Power Outages to Prevent Wildfires, Including in Portland’s West Hills
					






					www.wweek.com


----------



## fooferdoggie

had some fairly big gusts riding home and a lot of dust and plant matter in the air. but to really bad 20 mph winds.


----------



## fooferdoggie

man the dust and smoke from fires is going strong. the air quality shows 75 but it seems worse. butter then 500 we had with the last fires.


----------



## Renzatic

The only time I've seen a sky like that was during the Gatlinburg fires a few years back. The wind pushed all the smoke south towards me. I remember thinking how weird it was that I could smell a fire burning a couple miles away.


----------



## DT

It's going to be a wet one!  Yesterday after school pick up we came through some seriously flooded streets, at least we're already locked down ...


----------



## DT

This was spooky, close lightning sounds, long rumblings, and these clouds rolled up like an explosion, covered the sun in like 60 seconds (should've gotten a video ...)


----------



## Nycturne

fooferdoggie said:


> man the dust and smoke from fires is going strong. the air quality shows 75 but it seems worse. butter then 500 we had with the last fires.




Near Seattle right now we’re sitting at 150, and it still looks better than that. 

Very glad for our HVAC upgrade we got a few weeks back now. We can now run just the fan, which is helpful for capturing at least some of the smoke that gets into the house in the filter. Also seems to help prevent CO2 hotspots from forming when we need to keep all the windows closed for days on end.


----------



## DT

@Nycturne

Have you looked into an air purifier?  Our big one (we have a few BlueAir), is a Classic 680i, WiFi, PM2.5, mold, pollen, smoke, almost 5 full air changes per hour in ~700 ft^2 - allows for scheduling, auto modes, built like a tank.  Direct sales they're always offering some kind of deal (though they're also available through Amazon).






						Air Purifiers & Air Filters for Clean Air in the Home | Blueair
					

Find award-winning air purifiers. Blueair purification products and filters use HEPASilent™ filtration technology and remove 99.97% of airborne asthma and allergy triggers.




					www.blueair.com
				




We did a blackened grouper, hahaha, really lit up the skillets, it cleared the air almost magically, detected the AQ change, fired up full speed.


----------



## Nycturne

DT said:


> @Nycturne
> 
> Have you looked into an air purifier?  Our big one (we have a few BlueAir), is a Classic 680i, WiFi, PM2.5, mold, pollen, smoke, almost 5 full air changes per hour in ~700 ft^2 - allows for scheduling, auto modes, built like a tank.  Direct sales they're always offering some kind of deal (though they're also available through Amazon).




Our bigger problem is the general difficulty keeping air circulating and ventilated, rather than removing stuff from it. The HVAC has done the job so far clearing out what smoke gets in when we do open things up. But you bringing this up made me double check and it does look like the installers set us up with a MERV 11 rated filter, because of our allergies, but since it’s decently effective in the PM2.5 range as well, it explains why the HVAC is helping here. Still learning how the thing works to be honest, old house that only had the two-wire furnace controls before, so it’s all pretty high tech to me still. Since we are setup for these better filters than what we had before, we could even look at a MERV 13 filter during the late summer season for this stuff.

We tend to get CO2 level buildups in the house (gas stove doesn’t help), which a purifier won’t help with, unfortunately. Really need more houseplants.


----------



## Alli

We had two weeks where it rained every day. Three inches in two hours kinda rain. Now it’s been weeks since we’ve had more than a drizzle, while over the bay where we used to live has seen flooding. Crazy.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> We had two weeks where it rained every day. Three inches in two hours kinda rain. Now it’s been weeks since we’ve had more than a drizzle, while over the bay where we used to live has seen flooding. Crazy.



the rain rain rain schtick has moved up here.   Guy who mows my lawn hasn't been able to find three hours (one to mow, two to go back and forth w/ machine) to cut the grass here for a couple weeks, place looks like someone forgot to make a late hay cutting.   Soon I will need to borrow a couple of goats, gee.


----------



## Yoused

Spoiler: SF fog








(courtesy NYT)


----------



## Nycturne

Is that San Fransisco or a Stephen King film adaptation?


----------



## lizkat

We had some serious fog in the Catskills the other night.  Kind of stuff would make you crazy if driving without fog lamps. the visibility was _terrible_ between low hanging cloud cover and fog off the creeks.

I used to hate running into fog off rivers and streams in summer along the last leg of a trip up here from NYC.  Whole jaunt  would be going great, no traffic, wee hours of the morning and then BLAM,  last ten or fifteen miles the roads follow a creek into the village near my place and the fog rolling off that water in the chilly air made visibility almost nil.  So I'd have done 140 miles in a couple hours and then the last 10 were like in second gear,  all out of fearing I wouldn't see a deer or some farmer's hamberder on the hoof just standing in the road.   Then a last half-mile climb on quite a grade to my place.  I'd get out of the car up here and catch sight of a night sky chock full of stars.  What a difference 400 feet of altitude can make if there's no cloud cover coming up out of valley fog.


----------



## DT

Holy smokes, a total washout today, some peripheral effect from Fiona ...


----------



## lizkat

DT said:


> Holy smokes, a total washout today, some peripheral effect from Fiona ...




It's bad in Puerto Rico...  total grid blackouts,  25 inches of rain some places.


----------



## Alli

We had 8 minutes of rain yesterday. Weird season.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> We had 8 minutes of rain yesterday. Weird season.




It's been like 60 years between times I can remember this:     raining buckets from black clouds over the northern hills and my own front yard while the sun was shining over the house itself, backyard and meadow!     Somehow the ridge to the south blocked passage of a little front for about ten minutes before the weather gods found second gear and finally pushed onward.


----------



## Chew Toy McCoy

Just went to Florida for a week.  The entire time it was low 90's and high humidity punctuated by random thunderstorms.  Every time we left a building with AC it felt like getting a bearhug from a volcano.   The locals said you get used to it but I'd argue Florida's weather greatly contributes to the proliferation of Florida Man.


----------



## lizkat

Chew Toy McCoy said:


> Just went to Florida for a week.  The entire time it was low 90's and high humidity punctuated by random thunderstorms.  Every time we left a building with AC it felt like getting a bearhug from a volcano.   The locals said you get used to it but I'd argue Florida's weather greatly contributes to the proliferation of Florida Man.




Yah I lived in Florida as an infant during WWII while my dad was stationed in South America helping build infrastructure for petrol supply to US military and our allies.  There are hilarious pix of me hugging backyard palm trees and sitting on the screened porch shaking maracas he brought me from Venezuela.  Air conditioning was screened windows (and I remember mosquito nets in the bedrooms).   In almost all of the pix I am stark naked except for a diaper.  From the smile on my face, it would seem that that was a great way to dress in Florida even back then.


----------



## DT

Got this forming (at the X):






1. Central Tropical Atlantic:

A tropical wave located a few hundred miles east of the Windward Islands continues to show signs of organization.  Additional development is expected, and a tropical depression is likely to form within the next few days as the system moves westward to west-northwestward at 15 to 20 mph across the eastern and central Caribbean Sea. Interests in the Windward Islands should closely monitor the progress of this system as heavy rainfall and gusty winds could affect these islands beginning on Wednesday.  

* Formation chance through 48 hours...medium...60 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...high...80 percent.


----------



## DT

Ventu Sky projections:

Week from today, 09/27






Friday, 09/30


----------



## DT

It looked for a few it (now Ian ...) ws going to go way west through the Gulf, but it looks like that early model is still holding true - this is Thursday:





We'll be on the other side, so much lower concern level vs. the west coast.


----------



## lizkat

Ian does keep the models wondering...  hope you all can batten down the hatches if in its path.









						Strengthening Hurricane Ian closes in on Cuba and Florida
					

Ian was about 155 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba on Monday at 5pm ET.




					www.axios.com


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> Ian does keep the models wondering...  hope you all can batten down the hatches if in its path.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Strengthening Hurricane Ian closes in on Cuba and Florida
> 
> 
> Ian was about 155 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba on Monday at 5pm ET.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.axios.com



Depends on the day and the time of day. This thing has more jogs than a health nut. I figure if nothing else, we’re gonna get wet - which is good, cause we’ve been in a weird dry spell for some time now.


----------



## sgtaylor5

Just heard on the tv that Tampa through Ocama (sp?) is getting *15+* inches of rain when Ian hits.


----------



## Alli

My daughter (in St. Pete) texted this morning to let us know she won’t be joining us for our weekly family FaceTime as she’s trying to get everything fully charged. We’re just in the outer bands now so should only be getting some rain, which will be a nice change.


----------



## lizkat

sgtaylor5 said:


> Just heard on the tv that Tampa through Ocama (sp?) is getting *15+* inches of rain when Ian hits.



I can't even imagine 15" rainfall in a short period of time.  We had 4"-8" once back in summer of 2006 inside of 24 hours, so in the next 24. the downslope from the mountains to the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers proper created the worst floods a few of the southern tier counties of NY had seen since sometime in the 1930s.  Some of the town roads never re-opened...

 The problem for poor Florida ahead though is just the opposite, i.e., that the terrain is so flat.   We must hold a good thought for a quick storm passage,  to "spread the wealth" of so much rainfall.


----------



## DT

And there we go, the children are released, time for some games, movies, etc., depending on power 

_All St. Johns County Schools will be closed on Wednesday, September 28; Thursday, September 29 and Friday, September 30 due to Hurricane Ian. All St. Johns County Schools will be closed on Wednesday, September 28; Thursday, September 29 and Friday, September 30 due to Hurricane Ian._

Speaking of power ...



Alli said:


> My daughter (in St. Pete) texted this morning to let us know she won’t be joining us for our weekly family FaceTime as she’s trying to get everything fully charged. We’re just in the outer bands now so should only be getting some rain, which will be a nice change.





Yeah, I'm making sure the Tesla is charged up to at least about 85%, that's a 82,000 watt battery so it can provide recharges (and AC and entertainment )


----------



## Yoused

DT said:


> Yeah, I'm making sure the Tesla is charged up to at least about 85%, that's a 82,000 watt battery so it can provide recharges (and AC and entertainment )




You have the wind-power generator set up yet?


----------



## lizkat

Yoused said:


> You have the wind-power generator set up yet?




Hah, if he has one that can process hurricane force winds, the US  Dept of Energy would like him to come give a PowerPoint presentation on its materials and construction real soon now!


----------



## lizkat

Welp, it's official.  Tornado briefly touched down around not far from here on Sunday night during a round of t'storms.   A rare event in the Catskills,  although it does happen now and then.  This one tore up mostly trees along a 2.5 mile meander through some forests and open land. Started out as an E0 but max winds by the end of rotation were 95mph so finished as an E1 level event lasting less than four minutes.  No one was hurt, whole lotta big trees now being turned into lumber or toothpicks.   I always take those warnings seriously even if I'm not a fan of sitting in the cellar for a little while with a bunch of scared spiders.

This is nothing compared to what's happening now in Florida.  Hope all those urged to evacuate the area did so,


----------



## DT

Yoused said:


> You have the wind-power generator set up yet?




A neighbor had  a weather station setup, and the last big storm it reported in various readings until the wind speed stopped, it had an anemometer like this:






When he got home, it was nowhere to be found.  I always kind of figured, some kid playing in their yard in Georgia somewhere found it in a tree ...


----------



## shadow puppet

Hurricane Ian is no joke!  Check out these downed power lines in Naples, FL.   

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1575165507480985601/


----------



## lizkat

For Floridians and others affected by the hurricane,  NPR does have text format "news you can maybe use" if you need to save power and data in aftermath of the storm.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1575132908595150852/

I usually just head for the NWS "Forecaster's Discussion" section of my regional National Weather Service site because that's just text too,  and all I really care about when the weather has become the one big local story.


----------



## Alli

Naples seems to have born the brunt of Ian. My daughter in St. Pete got nothing. The wind here is still hateful, but we didn’t even get the promised rain. I’m kinda bummed about that.


----------



## shadow puppet

Look at the gorgeous sunset yesterday in Key West during the surge.  Video taken with an iPhone 13Pro.
(ignore the first video showing where the dogs do their business, lol).

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1575267750200709123/


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> Naples seems to have born the brunt of Ian. My daughter in St. Pete got nothing. The wind here is still hateful, but we didn’t even get the promised rain. I’m kinda bummed about that.




My family has friends who winter in Naples; not sure if they had headed down there yet.   Of course we're happy for them if they're still up north and safe,  but it must be nerve-wracking to wonder from such a distance about a second home undergoing the onslaught of a hurricane.


----------



## lizkat

Wow.  NYT put up a tweet from NOAA guys whose job it is to fly into the hurricane...   wow.... wow!

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1575456641251672064/


----------



## AG_PhamD

lizkat said:


> Wow.  NYT put up a tweet from NOAA guys whose job it is to fly into the hurricane...   wow.... wow!
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1575456641251672064/




Wow, that’s crazy. What’s also amazing is that’s one of NOAA’s P3 Orion (technically WP-3D) “Hurricane Hunter” planes. The platform dates back to the early 1960’s and these planes were built in the mid 70’s. Crazy to be flying in a near 50 year old turbo prob in a huge hurricane, at  relatively low altitudes, while in that type of turbulence. 

On a more solemn note, the devastation to FL is truly apocalyptic. My thoughts go out to everyone affected by the horrific damage (and sadly, likely deaths) caused by this incredibly powerful storm. The news footage coming out from down there is remarkable to say the least.


----------



## DT

Wow, that was nucking futs. 

We were pretty much prepped early on Wed.   Had plenty of supplies:  various consumables, snacks, ice - running the AC super cold so when the power went out, the house would be a bit cool for a while - plenty of gas if we had to fire up the generator.  Flashlights, batteries, candles which we keep on hand anyway, making sure everything was charged (and with all the notebooks / UPS we have, we could keep phones running for days), that's about it.

The shift from the more north track to the big turn across the state was concerning, I knew that would bring more surge, worse flooding, and sure enough it did. 

Our house is pretty high off grade where we didn't have water in the house itself for either Matthew (2016) or Irma (2017), but both times got a lot of water in the garage - especially Matthew and because it was such a sudden storm surge the water came in fast and hard, side door, water heater drain hole, etc., our garage has a raised section in the rear, about 7-8" higher, and then another 4-5 inches step up into the utility room.  Didn't really barricade the house that much, used our large HydraBarrier in front the garage but there's either a little water or a lot of water and the latter isn't going to be stopped.

Nothing in the floor of the garage would be damaged by water, power tools all up high, moved the mower and generator onto the rear section, with the generator positioned so it could be moved into the utility room.  Both vehicles parked inside,  the Jeep has plenty of height, the Tesla, I did what I've done with other cars:  I have a roll of 10 Mil plastic, 20' x 100+, I roll out a large section into the garage, drive onto it, then tape up around the car like a sack, it's great, it would stop water even as high as the door handle, and by then, we'd have other worries.

Thursday morning we were up early, kind of just on deck, waiting, watching the news, weather apps, the thing that really concerned us was the track put it at the peak storm surge right at the high tide, and it was a very high tide and the rain even on Wed (from other storm activity) had been higher than predicted.  Knowing that, we went ahead and secured a few things downstairs, a couple of rugs, some furniture, stacked a lot of stuff, like I mentioned, we did not have water in the house during previous storms, but I figured better safe than sorry.

At first it didn't seem too bad, but it just kept rising and rising, I watched it spill across our ditch and the neighbors, but the where we really kept an eye was on the side deck, that's where the AC compressor sits, so I was ready to shut it down (with the breaker) before I got submerged.  The water was moving quick, it also breached from the ocean side, the HydraBarrier  actually floated away away at one point.

What was amazing was the power stayed on all this time, then right about as the water got higher than the rear deck, we lost power (I still flipped the AC breaker),  we hit high tide, and even 30-40 minutes later it was still rising, it was only about 1/2 up the raised area of the garage but I went ahead and moved the generator into the washroom.

It came up about 2-3" higher than the side deck (it's about 8" lower than the rear deck which sits about 2-3" lower than the floor of the house, so we were still safe - but it seemed like it wasn't going to stop - and then, about 2 hours after the high tide, the rain had stopped, the water starting moving - I checked the garage, yep, it was down.  We checked the side deck, yes, right at the same height vs. 2" over. 

Whew!

Once we knew the water was receding, we went into a bit of a relaxing mode for a while.  The temp dropped into the high 60s, and we opened the windows, nice cool air, fired up some candles, lanterns, got out some ice cold beer - we set up some board games, had a blast, laughed, ate drank - though there was some concern about later ...

We had a second high tide at around midnight, but it was going to be a foot lower, the storm had moved past enough to not have nearly the effect, and the rain was gone for the next several hours, so we assumed the flooding wouldn't be nearly the same.  It wasn't, at high tide, we watched out the bedroom windows upstairs, with a flashlight.

House was still cool when we decided everything was good, that I'd get the generator going in the morning,  and then, as we were just reading a bit, I heard the sound of the purifier ... holy shit, the power was restored!  We all got up, went down the kitchen, made a few hot treats, hell, even in the internet connection was up and running.  So we took some more drinks upstairs, fired up the 101 Horror Movies countdown (EP4), and were thankful for - all things considered - having it go pretty good for us (lots of the area around here fared worse, and of course, the west coast was devastated).

Power washed the garage yesterday, cleaned out some old crap, also cleaned the driveway, steps, lots of silt from the river water left behind, made a supply run, everything around town up and running.   Today I picked up (we had minimal tree garbage we had tree service recently and they clean up the old dead stuff nicely).  Mowed, and you almost can't tell anything had happened, er, at least with the front, the rear is still a little mushy, that will take a few days to dry out.

Weather is amazing today, we're watching some movies, finishing up a game from last night, got terrific eats, we're safe and happy 

Not a ton of pics to share,  just this one at near peak flood ...







And our first game of Castle Panic, lit by battery lanterns and candles


----------



## lizkat

DT said:


> Not a ton of pics to share, just this one at near peak flood ...




Man, it looks like some backwater tributary of an inland river.   Glad you all fared ok and don't have a massive interior cleanup.


----------



## Renzatic

Nothing bad happening in my neck of the woods. Mostly, I'm just thinking that it's not even Halloween yet, and we're already getting into the low 40's at night. It's just not right, and I don't like it.


----------



## Alli

We’re at that odd time of year when it’s 57 in the morning, and 84 in the afternoon. It will be like this until December when we’ll get the first of our 3 days of winter, if our weather runs the usual course. Then back to the 57-84 spread until January, when we’ll get the other 3 days of winter.


----------



## DT

Same here with the big range low to high, but it can be pretty nice.  Warm enough during the day to do really anything in a T and shorts, then just a sweatshirt in the morning and evening.  Looks like we're going to have that sort of amazing weather for our upcoming trip


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> We’re at that odd time of year when it’s 57 in the morning, and 84 in the afternoon. It will be like this until December when we’ll get the first of our 3 days of winter, if our weather runs the usual course. Then back to the 57-84 spread until January, when we’ll get the other 3 days of winter.




That's the way it usually is around here, minus 10 degrees or so.

This year, it's just cold. I bet it's gonna snow.


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> That's the way it usually is around here, minus 10 degrees or so.
> 
> This year, it's just cold. I bet it's gonna snow.




If we're lucky in NYS,  you guys will get some of the snow it looks like we might have trouble handling.  At the moment it appears we are short a bunch of snow plow drivers... related mechanics, dispatchers etc.

From a piece in the Buffalo news:



> The State Department of Transportation says it will be ready, but it has a high number of job openings and is taking the unusual step of taking out billboards to draw attention to the open positions and lure workers. The department is advertising 649 positions in the state – 93 of them are permanent and seasonal positions in Western New York.
> 
> The agency says there's no cause for concern.
> 
> "The number may be a bit higher than the past, but the openings include more than just plow drivers," said Susan Surdej, a spokesperson for the department.




Yeah but the snow plow drivers have special licensing requirements and holders of those don't just materialize overnight.  Welp...  all the more reason to slog through winter pantry updates while the roads are still just foggy sometimes.


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> If we're lucky in NYS, you guys will get some of the snow it looks like we might have trouble handling. At the moment it appears we are short a bunch of snow plow drivers... related mechanics, dispatchers etc.




Sounds like even when you're short plow drivers, you still have a whole fleet of them. My county just has two plows and a salt truck. 

One guy drives all three.


----------



## DT

Renzatic said:


> Sounds like even when you're short plow drivers, you still have a whole fleet of them. My county just has two plows and a salt truck.
> 
> One guy drives all three.




You need this guy ...


----------



## Renzatic

DT said:


> You need this guy ...
> 
> View attachment 18334




What's his name again?


----------



## DT

"I never had a snowplow business."

"Sure you did, Mr. Plow. You're wearing the jacket right now."


----------



## Deleted member 215

"I think I know my own life, Ned"


----------



## DT

Renzatic said:


> What's his name again?






TBL said:


> "I think I know my own life, Ned"




I can't like these enough.


----------



## Alli

And it’s back to only a ten degree difference. Already in the 70’s when I poked my head out from under the covers, and will go into the 80’s. And to sweeten the deal, we’re expecting thunderstorms!


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> And it’s back to only a ten degree difference. Already in the 70’s when I poked my head out from under the covers, and will go into the 80’s. And to sweeten the deal, we’re expecting thunderstorms!




It's great, ain't it?


----------



## Yoused

We had one day of that stuff that is rain/not-rain a couple weeks ago, but it has been profoundly dry since mid June. We might get rain as soon as this weekend, but for this area, it is bad. Even our weeds are dying. Naturally, some time in November it will cut loose and dump on us (steadily, not torrentially) causing the valley to flood from end to end.


----------



## Yoused

60 years ago, the PNW held their infamous


Spoiler: Columbus Day Storm



0





I was not old enough to remember it – in fact, we lived in a town affectionately known as little switzerland, way up in the mountains on the east side, so we might not have been much impacted.


----------



## shadow puppet

It's a good morning in SoCal when you awaken to a light rain.  Or any rain, lol.


----------



## Yoused

shadow puppet said:


> Or any rain, lol.




Is it like that scene in _LA Story_ (which, dammit, is not on YT) with SanDeE* twirling around in the downpour?


----------



## lizkat

National Weather Service dudes get to go home on time for a few days...

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1581608948238385152/


----------



## Alli

Looks like some cold weather is moving in this week, so I probably won’t be able to swim for a few days. They say north Alabama will get a hard freeze, but not that cold down here.


----------



## lizkat

Alli said:


> Looks like some cold weather is moving in this week, so I probably won’t be able to swim for a few days. They say north Alabama will get a hard freeze, but not that cold down here.




Can you leave water in your pool all year round?  -  have to heat it sometimes or no?


----------



## Alli

lizkat said:


> Can you leave water in your pool all year round?  -  have to heat it sometimes or no?



Just leave it since there’s no chance of it freezing. Last year on the west side of the bay we had one hard freeze overnight. That didn’t happen on this side of the bay.


----------



## Herdfan

Got my first "Start Pending - Please Wait" notice on my dash this morning.

This is my first truck with the push button start, so it won't start until it is good and ready,  Probably a good thing since I tended to miss the little Glow Plug icon on the dash most times.



lizkat said:


> Can you leave water in your pool all year round?  -  have to heat it sometimes or no?




We do.  Just hit it with a lot of chlorine. put RV anti-freeze in the pipes/pump/filter and hope it makes it through


----------



## fooferdoggie

man the air sicks. been 150 all week today its worse. better then when it was 500 but still more then my wife can handle.


----------



## Nycturne

Not great around Seattle either. Everyone in the house (including the cat) has some sort of issues with smoke and allergies, so we keep stuff closed and run the HVAC fan for a bit every hour to try to get any smoke that does get into the house captured into the air filter.


----------



## fooferdoggie

we dont have any air movement at all so it is not changing.
did not stop the golfers.


----------



## DT

Wow.  This is chilling.  It's a video from Ft. Myers taken during landfall of Ian, it should be part of a PSA for why you evacuate. 

Props to the camera for hanging tough, I guess it was weatherproof, battery powered and had local storage.





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					video.twimg.com


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## DT

It's really worth watching the whole thing, but if you'd like to just see 2 pics of before and peak, check out the spoiler below ...



Spoiler


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## Alli

DT said:


> It's really worth watching the whole thing, but if you'd like to just see 2 pics of before and peak, check out the spoiler below ...



Looks a lot like Biloxi after Katrina, only all the trees, power poles, and buildings were gone in addition to the streets being flooded.


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## fischersd

We've had a drought here in BC.  We've been calling this month Augtober as it's been summer-like temps through the first half of it.

I read that Mission, BC had only had 2mm of rain since July?!?! 

Well, those constant days of warm sunshine have finally come to an end.


----------



## DT

fischersd said:


> We've had a drought here in BC.  We've been calling this month Augtober as it's been summer-like temps through the first half of it.
> 
> I read that Mission, BC had only had 2mm of rain since July?!?!
> 
> Well, those constant days of warm sunshine have finally come to an end.
> 
> View attachment 18539




That's a nice run, looks like it's time to bust out some games, music, prep for some indoor fun


----------



## Nycturne

Yeah, Seattle having >80F temperatures in October is not something I really remember since we moved here in the late 80s. Getting some rain and more normal temperatures for this time of year is very welcome.


----------



## DT

Here's our status for the next few, pretty stellar, in fact, I'm headed out for a ride 






Note that on Saturday we have pasta ...


----------



## Yoused

Yesterday there was some brief noise on the roof, but, as rain goes, it was more like satire. Today, though, it seems as though it means it.


----------



## Alli

We still haven’t had any significant rain in over a month. But the weather is perfect. Currently 72 with an expected high of 77.


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## lizkat

We are having unusually long extension of Indian Summer weather here, even though just now it has gone into a pattern of a cloudy or foggy inversion.  So foggy today it didn't even clear off until after noon.  The daytime temperatures are in the mid-to-high 60sºF range and lows only sometimes dipping into mid-40s. 

Of course when it does clear off around sunset on a few days then it's way colder at night but even then to have it only in the high 20s or mid 30s is strange.  In the past it has been much more common to have had hard freezes overnight since mid-September.  Not complaining but it makes one wonder when the hammer will fall and time to turn on the heat!


----------



## Alli

It was. 74 when I got up this morning. It’s only 78 now (noon) because there is no sun. The sky is as grey as can be. We even had a few sprinkles this morning. Not enough to say it rained, but enough to wet the plants. It’s incredibly windy though, and my new chimes are wonderful. Volume up!




Your browser is not able to display this video.


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## lizkat

Today it was 71ºF here (forecast was for 68).   And for rest of the weekend the forecast remains more like August around here than November.   Insanity for the Catskills this time of year.   The lows will set recordbreaking highs.   Should be in the low 30s here now overnight and with an inversion settling in,  it won't even get down into the high 40s.  Not complaining... just wondering!!


​


----------



## sgtaylor5

Very warm summer and early fall, then the hammer dropped after a week or two of "fall" and suddenly we're in winter. 2-3" of heavy wet snow fell last night, and it turned to constant rain all today (Friday). This isn't the last time we had almost no fall weather, and it won't be the last.

Trees are all confused and they still have all their leaves. Some of the neighbor's branches have broken, but the news channels haven't broken in to local TV with "all the trees are falling down" like they usually do.


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## lizkat

Man I hope that's not how Indian Summer comes to an end around here.  I haven't even made sure my furnace will kick in...  and the techs aren't due here for a tune-up or whatever until mid-November since they got behind doing new installations this summer.   Heh, well there's always the piano,  and an old woodstove in the kitchen...


----------



## Yoused

lizkat said:


> Man I hope that's not how Indian Summer comes to an end around here.



We have not had a real Indian Summer in a long while. Just warm, sunny weather that makes absolute certain that we want no more of that, makes some rain, then some more rain, gets very cold, rains some more, and so forth, sometimes like that all the way into July. Except, of course, about 8 or 10 days in January that tease at summer. At least, it _feels_ like summer, relative to what we had been having.


----------



## fooferdoggie

sandy river is really high with all the rain we had this week. its really early for it to be this high. the fist video is about 40 miles from us and the second is 12 miles from is and maybe a mile or so from the Columbia river it empties into.


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## Yoused

We had some not-messing-around wind these past few days. The tree tried to nail my car with a couple branches but failed to get a solid hit. When I go out probably tomorrow there will be crap lying all over the place. Thankfully it has died down – for a week or two anyway.


----------



## Alli

We had rain yesterday! A full day of nice, normal rain. And it looks like it will be a gorgeous day today with a high of 80. If the water’s not too cold, I’ll be able to get in a swim.


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## DT

We've got this brewing ...




> Subtropical Storm Nicole has prompted hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge watches as a a prolonged period of coastal flooding, beach erosion, strong winds, high surf, rip currents, and heavy rain is expected in Florida and parts of the Southeast this week.
> 
> Nicole became the 14th storm of the Atlantic season early Monday morning and is centered several hundred miles east of the Bahamas.
> 
> The storm has been classified as subtropical for now, which means it's a hybrid type system that has characteristics of both a tropical and non-tropical storm. Nicole is forecast to transition into a fully tropical storm in the next couple of days.


----------



## shadow puppet

Our rain has arrived!  Love waking up to the sound while burrowed under a down comforter with the Labrador kid snuggled next to me.


----------



## DT

Ugh, this storm might have a little more impact than previously suggested - and it's hitting during a "king tide", a period of super high tides - well, that's just swell.

Looks like landfall on early Thursday, this is 3am:





We're about midway between Jacksonville and Palm Coast.


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## Nycturne

Wind storms have been hitting our part of the PNW last few days. Not as bad as some we’ve had in the past, but still a strong one.

Surprisingly we only lost power for a minute or so on Friday night, so a bit lucky there. But yesterday the office building lost power in the afternoon, and so I decided it was a sign telling me to go and beat the evening rush out, especially when I was the only one on the team in the office at the time.


----------



## shadow puppet

Please ignore the ancient 1940's window and torn screen.  I'm swimming in alligators paying off two unexpected emergency hospital stays so other things are on hold.  But this is the visibility (or lack thereof), I had out my window today from today's storm on the westside of L.A.  

Pretty nuts!


----------



## Yoused

DT said:


> We're about midway between Jacksonville and Palm Coast.




oh geez, I am sorry, man, but,




not in the good way, you are gonna get hammered


----------



## DT

And there we go, from the school district:



> As we continue to monitor Tropical Storm Nicole with the Emergency Operations Center, it is evident that our county will be impacted by tidal flooding, wind, and rain. These conditions may restrict access to coastal and low-lying regions.
> 
> Due to the storm’s projected timeline, schools will remain open on Wednesday with a regular early dismissal. Extended day services will operate as usual. There will be no afterschool activities, events, or athletics.
> 
> We will close all schools and district offices on Thursday, November 10th. Please be reminded that Friday is a holiday honoring Veterans Day.


----------



## DT

OK, took it slow, plenty of time and daylight and no rain, made everything easier.  Everything is out of potential flood harm, a few things wrapped in the garage (car, generator), things that could get wrecked stored, moved upstairs, etc., much more organized this time, nothing is in the way.

Like I mentioned, the daughter had school cancelled tomorrow, open today, but we wound up bringing her home this morning, we were getting bridge closing warnings (sustained wind speeds ) and we’ve had the ocean breach across A1A already this morning (after we saw this, we hit Publix, got a few more supplies and came home).





I know we could make it to the school in the Jeep, but things might get shut down, I was not going to risk anyone getting stranded.


----------



## shadow puppet

I'm reading that Nicole is strengthening into a hurricane so please keep us posted @DT .  Sending positive vibes & mojo that you and yours make it through unscathed.


----------



## Alli

I think it might be winter. It’s only 62 degrees! Today’s high is not expected to go above 75.


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## DT

Whew.

Will update later, everything is pretty good, staying locked down through the 10p high tide (much lower, no surge, will be no issue).   The A1A south of us is devastated, blocked off (also blocked before the bridge on the other side), so no escape from this area anyway.   Pretty close to Ian in terms of flooding, i.e., pretty bad, but we were pretty much expecting that, had a good plan.

Power, connectivity, etc., all up, lots of eatin' and drinkin' going on (we have tons of supplies), probably a couple of Castle Panic games later on.


----------



## DT

We can see a tiny patch of dry road ...  

Yuck, what a mess, most've been a good amount of river sludge, and/or, remnants from Ian.   

I thought A1A was closed due to water and debris, but holy shit, the road washed out underneath and collapsed ... we're just up the road about 1/2 a mile, that's how the get off this side of the river, otherwise it's a 45 minute trip north and back south.

This will be a lengthy clusterfuck to sort out.





Cleaned up the driveway a little, basically got blew all the leaves that had washed up, pushed them into a pile, but leaving that for another day.

My tether worked for the Hyrda-Barrier, used a couple of lengths of paracord attached under the garage door to the frame, hahaha, during Ian it floated down the street 

There was a classic Florida Man moment, good old Andy, tried to get to Carmela's for some smokes in his (now submerged) golf cart ... I think the cherry on top is the Danzig shirt


----------



## Yoused

Well, at least it is Nicole and not


Spoiler: Hurricane Klaus


----------



## DT

Amazing drone video from the day after Nicole, this is right at my front door (so to speak).


----------



## DT

Oh my stars!


----------



## Alli

DT said:


> Oh my stars!
> 
> View attachment 19378



We’re heading your way on Tuesday. Doesn’t look like much fun.


----------



## Yoused

You guys are such lightweights. We have been having a rime of frost on the ground until 10am every day here (which is about to change to the 40~55 range with lots of rain next week, just in time for PissyFamilyDay). Fortunately, we never get your thousand percent humidity in March, or even August – I could never deal with _that_ on a regular basis.


----------



## lizkat

Buffalo, NY is  having a major snow event now through Sunday, up to 4 feet when done.  Looks like the winter elves opened a freezer door someplace up top the planet, and a large swath of the USA is getting a free reminder that summer is really over.









						Unusual weather pattern brings "crippling" snow to New York, cold temperatures across U.S.
					

A total of 238 million Americans saw temperatures at or below 32°F on Thursday morning.




					www.axios.com
				




We're not having anything like that in the Catskills but we've had four to six inches of snow this week and it's cold enough so it did _not_ all turn to slush as initially predicted.   Time to get out the parkas, I guess!


----------



## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> Looks like the winter elves opened a freezer door someplace up top the planet, and a large swath of the USA is getting a free reminder that summer is really over.




It’s too damn cold! It actually frosted over last night!


----------



## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> It’s too damn cold! It actually frosted over last night!



Yah, the paradoxes of global warming.   One of them is apparently colder winters in US latitudes...  at least this year we got a break with a warm and long fall season.

Thanks to high fuel prices, everybody I know chopped a hundred gallons off their pre-buy for the 2022-23 heating season.   We all bundled up in layers of clothes and shawls or blankets in the evening, just to avoid turning on home heating until mid-November instead of mid-October.  Weird to see houses with nothing coming out of chimneys until recently.


----------



## Alli

Went down to 34 last night. We sat home in front of a fire. Meanwhile, the rest of my family has left Florida for Chicago for a Bar Mitzvah. I chose not to go. Guess who they’re now touting as being the smart one.


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## lizkat

Buffalo area got whacked by a snow dump (widely advertised in advance).  Orchard Park:  77 inches (1.96 meters). Of course travel bans immediately got smacked into place with six feet of snowfall before drifting...  and as usual lots of people proceeded to demonstrate how exceptional Americans are by staying on the roads in the face of the oncoming storm and by getting on the roads thereafter, to great exasperation of snow removal and emergency response crews.



> "One of the problems that we're seeing is that commercial vehicles, tractor-trailers, have been getting off the Thruway but then trying to get into our region by going up Route 5, Route 20, other routes and getting stuck," Poloncarz said.
> 
> Plow drivers and first responders encountered "terrible problems" on Routes 5 and 20 with jackknifed trucks. A vehicle was even struck by a train, but there were no injuries because the train was moving so slow, Poloncarz said.






> Travel bans in South Buffalo, Lackawanna and many of the Southtowns that were in effect most of Friday remain in place.
> 
> "*Travel ban means no travel," Poloncarz said at the 9 p.m. snowstorm briefing.*
> 
> Poloncarz said employers cannot force their employees to violate a travel ban by driving to work unless the employees are essential emergency personnel.




[ Rule of law my ass.  We're living through years of a certain guy trying to demo that the law itself is an ass, so...  ]​
Anyway good luck to all those trying to shovel out after a record-breaking snowfall in late autumn.


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## lizkat

Bizarre weather pattern here: rollercoaster territory for temperatures, looking to persist into December.

Went to bed last night with outside temps having climbed instead of falling after dark as the wind shifted around to come from the southwest.  Woke up and it was already 40ºF (instead of normal high 20s), watched it climb up to around 50º in pale sunshine and then start falling as some rain showers began. 

Now tonight it's back down down to just about freezing,  and the rain is turning to snow flurries.    I actually hope the temps stay on the downside.  If it's a bunch more rain overnight instead,  then the next two days will be a pain in the neck:   the highs are only forecast to be in the 20s, so we'll all be skating to the damn mailboxes since the ground is starting to set up a little and not absorb rain.

So far only the deer are really loving this stuff.   Hunting season has opened but no snow is sticking long enough to make tracking easy.   The older deer are all way, way up in the hills where a lot of wood-lot owners post their land anyway until late in the season,  when most of the  hunters from downstate have already given up and gone back home.


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## Yoused

We had a donut of snow yesterday. You know, like the fine coat of powdered sugar they put on a donut. Just enough to lighten up the ground, and then gone by afternoon. Now, tonight, it is acting a bit like it means it. We might have a few inches by morning. Too early for it to have real staying power, though. It will be gone in less than a week.


----------



## Alli

Yesterday was t-shirt and shorts. Today is sweatshirt. I don’t get it.


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## lizkat

Alli said:


> Yesterday was t-shirt and shorts. Today is sweatshirt. I don’t get it.




We had your missing warm weather for awhile but we must have shipped it on up into Quebec.

Y'all had sent it this far with south winds gusting up into the 40mph range...  before it ominously quit and then started up again,  but from the west and now from northwest.   Whatever you guys have today in the way of colder weather, we ended up doubled down on that in the overnight.   Brrrrr!

Whatever I said yesterday about snow not sticking,  forget that.  The deer better stay put or they'll end up tracked by hunters for sure.   I saw a bunch of deer tracks going down and up my east driveway early this morning plain as day.  They head down for water before dawn and then back up hoping to be safe in the forests on the ridge all day.  It's a really steep climb for any hunters who give it a try from gentler sloping meadows to the east, and the deer seem to have that figured out by now.

All I know is it's a good day to stick in the house and add a wool sweater to the mix of clothing layers!


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## Yoused

When the big colorful map tells you it is 18°F in Paradise, you have to have second thoughts.


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## Alli

We have now had a week of daily “dense fog advisories.” As if you can’t tell there’s dense fog when you look out the window and can’t see the back yard.


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## lizkat

Alli said:


> We have now had a week of daily “dense fog advisories.” As if you can’t tell there’s dense fog when you look out the window and can’t see the back yard.




Ugh.   Fog is the worst of the worst for highway accidents.   People do tend to slow down for it on local roads but it almost always takes a pileup to make that happen on interstate highways.  It's just the nature of the traffic flow on those roads.  Slow down and someone will pass...

Last March in Missouri,  135 vehicles including big rigs piled up in fog on interstate 57, killed 6 people and had first responders coming in from two adjoining states  









						6 dead after massive pileup on Missouri highway: report
					

The crash happened on Interstate 57 near Charleston when a driver hit the breaks in foggy conditions, starting a chain reaction, officials told KFVS.




					nypost.com


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## Herdfan

@lizkat,

Is that a whole lot of reds and pinks in the Catskills for Christmas?


----------



## lizkat

Herdfan said:


> @lizkat,
> 
> Is that a whole lot of reds and pinks in the Catskills for Christmas?




Yeah we'll be in that snow barrel now for awhile, making up for lost time I guess.  Not so much more snow due here right away,  but really chilly:   it was apparently 8ºF this morning, but thanks to a "heat wave" during the day,  it's back up to 19 right now; temperatures are shifting towards the snow-making zone on Thursday and Friday.  The summer to winter transition was really abrupt this year,  so 19 feels downright cold and I'm glad I slept through whenever it was only 8.

Still, it has cleared off again tonight and 19 degrees =  good enough excuse to peer out a window upstairs at the Geminid meteor shower this year,  instead of venturing outside as I do on peak Geminids night some balmier years.    The moon is still bright enough to make the show less spectacular anyway. 

WSJ had a little writeup today on the Geminids (paywall removed) and even included instructions on how to avail oneself of best viewing. They lost me somewhere around "Lie on your back with your feet facing south." I'd be making snow angels, so no thanks.

So this is the last West Virginia winter for you guys and then it's all sunshine all the time in AZ?


----------



## Herdfan

lizkat said:


> So this is the last West Virginia winter for you guys and then it's all sunshine all the time in AZ?




YES! 

We were actually out there last weekend and I was looking forward to seeing the night sky in a Dark Sky community.  But that dang moon had to show up and ruin it. 

It is cloud covered today with a low ceiling.  Really can't wait for the all the time sunshine for sure.  Here is a sunrise and sunset from the house.


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## Alli

Today is the first time in a week we have not had a dense fog advisory. Instead we have a coastal flood advisory.


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## lizkat

Alli said:


> Today is the first time in a week we have not had a dense fog advisory. Instead we have a coastal flood advisory.




Somewhere out in the cosmos there are intelligent beings laughing their behinds off over the fact that we have teams around the world seeking to locate planets "as hospitable to human life as here on Earth."


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## lizkat

Weather gods having trouble deciding whether to hammer the Catskills and Finger Lakes or not.  But Adirondacks and Green Mountains, Berkshires etc can quit making snow for the ski slopes for a few days.


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## Clix Pix

This morning was the first time we had a soft layer of frost on the cars.....I guess winter really is here now!


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## lizkat

Clix Pix said:


> This morning was the first time we had a soft layer of frost on the cars.....I guess winter really is here now!




Well it's certainly about to leave a big footprint around here!   Now they've flipped the forecast for this storm so it's the Catskills and Finger Lakes to take the direct hit instead of only farther to the east.   Joy for any who plow driveways or like to ski in their own meadows:  6-14" incoming by time it's done on Friday.


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## lizkat

So we got about a foot of snow on Dec 15-16,  and now we're going into the treat barrel:   all that snow is still on the ground and it's been in the 20s but next up is a rise in temps to mid-30s and then a balmy 47ºF  with up to two inches of rain from late Thursday into Friday.  Then the hammer drops with a steep plunge to single digits or sub-zero overnights for the Christmas weekend.   Well at least the winter solstice sneaks in first as a kind of consolation prize.   Pretty strange weather for this time of year. Looks more like the notorious and flood-prone January thaw than a Christmas challenge.

​


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## Yoused

Well this might be fun. The weather app tells me to expect sparky bits all next week, starting the 24th. It would be so cool to see a flying sleigh get hit in the night, exploding into a burning shower of hoofs, antlers and toys. Or just a gentle snowfall backlit by a sudden flash of brilliance and anger.


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## lizkat

Yoused said:


> Well this might be fun. The weather app tells me to expect sparky bits all next week, starting the 24th. It would be so cool to see a flying sleigh get hit in the night, exploding into a burning shower of hoofs, antlers and toys. Or just a gentle snowfall backlit by a sudden flash of brilliance and anger.




Some might think the brilliance and anger shown by that 6.4 earthquake quite sufficient...  was it Monday or Tuesday?


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## lizkat

So now there are so many advisories in our area that the regional map only gets to show the most prevalent one for the current period.  Horrible timing for Xmas weekend. Weather gods gonna party down from here to the New Year, I guess.   Anyway if you're short of drama in your own weather, drop by the Empire State (if you can shovel out of your own drama, since half the country's going to be blizzard country, apparently).


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## Alli

Supposed to go down to 20 here. I know in the grand scheme of things, that’s nothing, but it’s nuts for us!


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## Eric

Alli said:


> Supposed to go down to 20 here. I know in the grand scheme of things, that’s nothing, but it’s nuts for us!



Sounds like most of the country is getting it, we're getting spared here in California.


----------



## Alli

Eric said:


> Sounds like most of the country is getting it, we're getting spared here in California.



I feel horrible for all the people getting snow and real cold. I remember what that’s like and have never missed it. I woke up to 24 this morning. Gadz. On the bright side, the sun is out and there’s not a cloud in the sky.


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## Nycturne

Eric said:


> Sounds like most of the country is getting it, we're getting spared here in California.




High in Seattle yesterday was 23F, which we hit after sunset.

Today is thankfully going to be better. Snow turning into rain, with temps overnight above freezing. So hopefully we can get back to the usual Seattle winter by Christmas. I don’t mind a white Christmas, but I don’t trust Seattle drivers in the snow and ice, and I would like to visit family this year.


----------



## Eric

Nycturne said:


> High in Seattle yesterday was 23F, which we hit after sunset.
> 
> Today is thankfully going to be better. Snow turning into rain, with temps overnight above freezing. So hopefully we can get back to the usual Seattle winter by Christmas. I don’t mind a white Christmas, but I don’t trust Seattle drivers in the snow and ice, and I would like to visit family this year.



Wow, I know you guys get cold weather from time to time but that's pretty brutal, I spent many years in Portland also and while I was used to all the rain I never really liked it. In the CA Sacramento valley it gets hot in the summer but the rest of the year is awesome, it's going to be in the low 60s on Christmas here.


----------



## fooferdoggie

man yesterday was 22 when I left home. my garage lock was frozen so I had to thaw it with hot water then sprayed it with lube so maybe it would not freeze. left three faucets dripping. my bike ride had a low of 17 degrees. and my bike computer and radar were having issues from being out on the cold all night. they were fine on the ride home as they were warm till then. but my wife told me on my way home we had no water. so the nI got home I turned on the heat tape I installed years ago and the one time I used it wafter I installed it it only took a hour or two to work. this time it did not thaw it all out till around 5 am. and even then the water was not normal for a hour or so after. the sink drain froze up too but I got that working with boiling water ombre water was back. it got down to 17 degrees.


----------



## Nycturne

Eric said:


> Wow, I know you guys get cold weather from time to time but that's pretty brutal, I spent many years in Portland also and while I was used to all the rain I never really liked it. In the CA Sacramento valley it gets hot in the summer but the rest of the year is awesome, it's going to be in the low 60s on Christmas here.




This isn’t normal for the region. This is more what I’d expect to see in the Northeast. But one bad thing about our normal winter weather is that having night temps below freezing and day temps above is that your snow turns into black ice rather than sticking around as snow or clearing off the roads quickly. 

We decided to install a heat pump this year when we wanted to add cooling to our house as summers are getting warmer and harder to manage with just fans and airflow. So we’re getting a good workout on the system to see how it handles some of the worst our winters have to offer. Hooray, I guess?


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## lizkat

This storm system is certainly spawning some rare events, now including a huge seiche in Lake Erie...

Tweet link


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## Pumbaa

Displaced five hours north for xmas. -20°C/-4°F today. Forecast to dip down to -25°C/-13°F) tonight. Chilly but calm weather.


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## lizkat

Pumbaa said:


> Displaced five hours north for xmas. -20°C/-4°F today. Forecast to dip down to -25°C/-13°F) tonight. Chilly but calm weather.




Just you and the elves helping Santa load up the sleigh....?!   Keep out a blanket or two just in case!

Here we just got an email from the regional power utility.  I expected it to be the usual advisory note about how they have staged trucks all over the area to respond to power outages due to high winds etc. 

But no.  It's instead a notice that they are "experiencing technical difficulties" with both their website and mobile app functions.  This is how one generally reports power outages and tracks estimated restoration times, of course.  Ugh.  Not a great start to the expected "interesting" next 48 hours of weather.   Supposed to get down to -2ºF here tonight.  Was 47ºF at 6am, so quite a differential.


----------



## Pumbaa

lizkat said:


> Just you and the elves helping Santa load up the sleigh....?! Keep out a blanket or two just in case!



Something like that. Just helped them unload a bunch of gifts, the Christmas tree might topple over. Almost feel sorry for Niece and Nephew and their cousin, aware of all the gifts under the tree all day and not being allowed to open them until like half past four in the afternoon… 

Blankets at the ready. Also leaving a tap in the bathroom running a tiny bit to prevent freezing. Fingers crossed.


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## Yoused

Nycturne said:


> So hopefully we can get back to the usual Seattle winter by Christmas. I don’t mind a white Christmas, but I don’t trust Seattle drivers in the snow and ice …




It was some guy from the PNW who wrote "_I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas _…"


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## lizkat

Yoused said:


> It was some guy from the PNW who wrote "_I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas _…"




I do not think I could live out there.  I don't mind a rainy day now and then but grey not my favorite outlook.


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## Renzatic

I went outside, and my pants froze.


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## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> I went outside, and my pants froze.



So many funny ripostes to that in my redneck mind,  but a lot of them are NSFW


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## Renzatic

lizkat said:


> So many funny ripostes to that in my redneck mind,  but a lot of them are NSFW




It’s a good thing you kept it to yourself. You know how sensitive I am.


----------



## Nycturne

lizkat said:


> I do not think I could live out there.  I don't mind a rainy day now and then but grey not my favorite outlook.




Yeah, we don’t get as much rain as the jokes suggest, living in the rain shadow of the peninsula. Summers are clear and dry. We just pay for it with a wet winter season, and plenty of overcast in the darker months as well. I kinda like it this way, but I think it also means we don’t get many thunderstorms, which I kinda enjoy when they do happen. 

Having grown up here, I’ve gotten used to it. Mostly the overcast means not having to worry to much about the sun cooking you too much while hiking or biking. Some of my favorite hiking is just outside the usual season, where we can dodge the sun a little and do it when the temps are in the 60s.

But yeah, I can absolutely get that it’s not for everyone.


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## Yoused

lizkat said:


> I do not think I could live out there.  I don't mind a rainy day now and then but *grey * not my favorite outlook.




We call it "silver". Those that do not prefer to sit in the idling car inside the garage.


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## Herdfan

Nycturne said:


> Having grown up here, I’ve gotten used to it. Mostly the overcast means not having to worry to much about the sun cooking you too much while hiking or biking. Some of my favorite hiking is just outside the usual season, where we can dodge the sun a little and do it when the temps are in the 60s.
> 
> But yeah, I can absolutely get that it’s not for everyone.




The limits of my travel to the PNW was 2 days in Seattle in August before an Alaskan cruise in 2009.

With all the rain, how is the humidity?  We are headed to AZ to get away from it.


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## Eric

Herdfan said:


> The limits of my travel to the PNW was 2 days in Seattle in August before an Alaskan cruise in 2009.
> 
> With all the rain, how is the humidity?  We are headed to AZ to get away from it.



How was that cruise? We have been considering taking one to Alaska as well departing from San Francisco.


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## Herdfan

Eric said:


> How was that cruise? We have been considering taking one to Alaska as well departing from San Francisco.




I started cruising when I was around 10 with my parents and that continued on with my wife and daughter.  I have been on probably 40+ cruises in my lifetime.  Always the Caribbean.  I like to dive and cruises are the best way to experience multiple places.  

So when the wife and daughter started in on wanting to go to Alaska, I was not in favor.  I couldn't dive.  But they convinced me to go.  We did a round-trip Seattle on Princess (can't remember the exact ship but I think it was the Star Princess).  We stopped at Ketchican, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria and sailed up to the Tracy Arm glacier.  Again, I didn't want to go.  I insisted on the RT because I didn't want to get stuck on a bus for hours traveling to and from the port.

But it was the best cruise ever.  

There is just so many awesome things to do and see.  In Ketchican, I went salmon fishing with the couple we went with and my daughter who had learned about totem poles want to go see Totem Bight state park.  She had a great time doing that.  On the fishing charter, the three of us caught so much fish it was unreal.  And the best part was they sent it to a local packing company who froze it and shipped it to our house.  I ended up with something like 38 lbs of salmon.  Plus they sent one fish to the ship and the chef prepared it for our table.

In Juneau, we did the whale watching experience which was incredible.  It was 2009 and most people had migrated to digital cameras, but if you remember the point and shoot cameras had a pause before they took the picture.  So most of the boat was missing getting the pic when a tail would come up or the blowhole would breach.  I had my cheap Canon Rebel, but it took immediate pics so I got most of the things I wanted.  Then we took the Tramway up to the top and ate dinner up there.

Sailing up to the Tracy Arm glacier was an experience.  You are in a narrow passage with steep rocky mountains on both sides.  And you look up and there are large sheep standing on these steep slopes and you wonder how.  We didn't get to see the glacier calve, but it was cool to see anyway.

In Skagway, the girls wanted to blow glass, so I stayed on the ship that morning.  They still have the baubles they blew.  Then all 3 of us went and panned for gold.  You get a bucket full of sand and you pan just like the old days.  They put the flakes in a little bottle and make it into a necklace.  My daughter still has it.  We did not do the train.  The couple with us did and said it was nice, but way too long.

Victoria was fine, but we weren't there long enough to really do much and since we docked in Seattle the next day, we had to get packed up.

As for the ship, cruising had already started to get more casual.  I remember the early days it was coat & tie most nights.  But that faded to more resort casual.  On the Alaska ships, think more ski lodge.  Nice jeans and sweaters.  Because, we it is Alaska and going out on deck was cold.  My daughter and I watched one of the movies under the stars and it was cold.  

But the best thing about the entire trip was no matter where you looked, your breath would get taken away.  The scenery was spectacular.  And it was everywhere.  And eagles.  They were like pigeons in a city or seagulls at the beach.  

Sorry to ramble, but it was the best cruise we have ever taken.  Looking forward to our next one for sure.


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## Eric

Herdfan said:


> I started cruising when I was around 10 with my parents and that continued on with my wife and daughter.  I have been on probably 40+ cruises in my lifetime.  Always the Caribbean.  I like to dive and cruises are the best way to experience multiple places.
> 
> So when the wife and daughter started in on wanting to go to Alaska, I was not in favor.  I couldn't dive.  But they convinced me to go.  We did a round-trip Seattle on Princess (can't remember the exact ship but I think it was the Star Princess).  We stopped at Ketchican, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria and sailed up to the Tracy Arm glacier.  Again, I didn't want to go.  I insisted on the RT because I didn't want to get stuck on a bus for hours traveling to and from the port.
> 
> But it was the best cruise ever.
> 
> There is just so many awesome things to do and see.  In Ketchican, I went salmon fishing with the couple we went with and my daughter who had learned about totem poles want to go see Totem Bight state park.  She had a great time doing that.  On the fishing charter, the three of us caught so much fish it was unreal.  And the best part was they sent it to a local packing company who froze it and shipped it to our house.  I ended up with something like 38 lbs of salmon.  Plus they sent one fish to the ship and the chef prepared it for our table.
> 
> In Juneau, we did the whale watching experience which was incredible.  It was 2009 and most people had migrated to digital cameras, but if you remember the point and shoot cameras had a pause before they took the picture.  So most of the boat was missing getting the pic when a tail would come up or the blowhole would breach.  I had my cheap Canon Rebel, but it took immediate pics so I got most of the things I wanted.  Then we took the Tramway up to the top and ate dinner up there.
> 
> Sailing up to the Tracy Arm glacier was an experience.  You are in a narrow passage with steep rocky mountains on both sides.  And you look up and there are large sheep standing on these steep slopes and you wonder how.  We didn't get to see the glacier calve, but it was cool to see anyway.
> 
> In Skagway, the girls wanted to blow glass, so I stayed on the ship that morning.  They still have the baubles they blew.  Then all 3 of us went and panned for gold.  You get a bucket full of sand and you pan just like the old days.  They put the flakes in a little bottle and make it into a necklace.  My daughter still has it.  We did not do the train.  The couple with us did and said it was nice, but way too long.
> 
> Victoria was fine, but we weren't there long enough to really do much and since we docked in Seattle the next day, we had to get packed up.
> 
> As for the ship, cruising had already started to get more casual.  I remember the early days it was coat & tie most nights.  But that faded to more resort casual.  On the Alaska ships, think more ski lodge.  Nice jeans and sweaters.  Because, we it is Alaska and going out on deck was cold.  My daughter and I watched one of the movies under the stars and it was cold.
> 
> But the best thing about the entire trip was no matter where you looked, your breath would get taken away.  The scenery was spectacular.  And it was everywhere.  And eagles.  They were like pigeons in a city or seagulls at the beach.
> 
> Sorry to ramble, but it was the best cruise we have ever taken.  Looking forward to our next one for sure.



Wow, this great information! We have never been on a cruise but now that we're retired we're gearing up for it as soon as our dogs move on, they're really old so we're giving the best care they'll get until the end then we'll have more freedom to be gone for longer periods of time.

I'm not a fan of flying which is why we're looking for cruises out of SF but there is no shortage from here, we can do Hawaii, Alaska and tons of others in between. A friend's wife who works for a travel agency recommends a small one at first so if it turns out you hate it you won't be trapped lol.

My wife really wants to do the Hawaii cruise which is 15 days and I'm guessing on a cruise that's a pretty long time even though these ships seem to offer so much onboard. I'm really looking forward to giving it all a try.


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## Nycturne

Herdfan said:


> The limits of my travel to the PNW was 2 days in Seattle in August before an Alaskan cruise in 2009.
> 
> With all the rain, how is the humidity?  We are headed to AZ to get away from it.




As I said, Seattle’s in a rain shadow, which means the Olympics are _blocking_ rain from reaching us. Because of that, most of the the eastern US gets more rain than Seattle. Hell, everything between Seattle and the Bay Area along the I-5 corridor gets more rain than Seattle. Houston even gets more. What we do have is a high _number of_ _days_ that have _some_ precipitation. We just don’t get much when it does. The sort of heavy rains that the southeast are known for just aren’t common here. The northeast, having their wet season in summer, has muggier summers.

We do have higher than average humidity, since you‘ve got Puget Sound right there. But it also keeps the humidity level relatively stable throughout the year. So if you try to equate us having humidity and rain based on what folks think is rain and high humidity back east, it’s not an accurate picture of what it’s like to live here. But yes, not as dry as Arizona, or the region between the cascades and the rocky mountains as a whole.

We do have a rain forest on the west side of the peninsula, though. The only temperate rainforest in North America. Makes for a good weekend trip at the right time of year.


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## Alli

Eric said:


> How was that cruise? We have been considering taking one to Alaska as well departing from San Francisco.



My mother and I did the Alaska cruise out of Seattle a few years ago. Loved it, especially visiting a musher camp, going mushing and getting to play with the dogs. I’d rank it as my 2nd favorite cruise. First was the one to Nova Scotia and New Foundland.


Eric said:


> I'm not a fan of flying which is why we're looking for cruises out of SF but there is no shortage from here, we can do Hawaii, Alaska and tones of others in between. A friend's wife who works for a travel agency recommends a small one at first so if it turns out you hate it you won't be trapped lol.



My husband hates flying, which is why tomorrow, we’re driving over to New Orleans (2 hours) and boarding the American Queen steamboat. This will be my second trip on  her. Went with Mum a few years ago from Memphis to Louisville and it was better than any ocean cruise I’ve ever taken. So although this is not the best time of year for cruising, we got a round trip New Orleans (no flying), and would up getting a tremendous deal thanks to “supply chain issues.” 

We originally purchased a 5 day cruise on the Dutchess (a smaller boat). All the cabins on the Dutchess have balconies. When it was cancelled, we were able to move (at no extra charge) to a 7 day cruise on the Queen, where they honored our balcony room. I figure we wound up paying half price for the trip.

Unlike ocean cruises, the American Queen Steamboat company throws in all kinds of extras. For instance, they put you up in a hotel the day before departure to make sure everyone makes it in time. Dinner comes with wine every night. Fancy coffees (latté, mocha, americano, etc.) are offered 24/7 at no extra charge. And they have freshly baked cookies throughout, also available 24/7. Although we didn’t try it on the last trip, the Queen also offers alternative dining, like a prime rib bar every night. I suspect my husband will want that a few times since he gets tired of no meat in the house. And, of course, the entertainment is as good as on any cruise.

There is definitely a diet in my January plans!


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## Yoused

Herdfan said:


> With all the rain, how is the humidity?




It seems like the summer humidity is moderate to low. Nothing like what I have experienced east of the Rockies. In non-summer, though, it tends to be higher than I would prefer, making what would be mundane cold into something that gets through your bones and gnaws on your soul.


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