Sometimes, You All You Can Do is Laugh!

"We are watching the March 3-4 time frame for a big storm system that has the potential to produce a lot of snow for some locations. The storm signal is strong and has the support of all 3 major global models. The European and Canadian model are the most aggressive on the snowfall potential, while the GFS is warmer and shifts the snow further north."

Doom, Gloom and Weather Drama

It seems to be that time again.  Time to make dire predictions that get everyone in a tizzy and send them scurrying to the stores for Armageddon supplies.

Hurricane Sandy is in the Caribbean.  There’s a cold front coming in from the west.  Current weather scenarios indicate that they will collide somewhere near the New Jersey coast during the next week or so.  Full moon is on the 29^th so tides will be high.  Sandy holds the potential to dump 8-10 inches of rain.  Which could translate into many feet of snow if the front truly does its thing.

Depending on what track both systems take and where exactly they meet up things could get very, very nasty.  Okay, no denying that, best to be prepared.  I have nothing against reports that encourage that.  But the few I saw and heard before I got fed up and began ignoring them are, in my opinion, geared to panicking people.  They’re talking billions and billions of dollars, much more than the Storm of the Century, in damage with power outages that will last until after the presidential election.  Even if that’s the case I believe they could state it in a less sensational manner.

In disasters, isn’t it better to keep people calm?  Wouldn’t it be more conducive for safety to not create mass hysteria?  I’m not suggesting you not pay attention and take this threat seriously.  I just think it might be more prudent for the weather folks to be a bit more cautious in what they say.   Perhaps urge people to use some common sense.  Stock up on a reasonable amount of supplies.   Don’t drive through deep, standing water with live electrical lines that have fallen into them.  Don’t take your cute little sports cars out in a blizzard.

Think for yourself, people!  We’ve all experienced storms, rain and snow, before.  We’ve all lived through power outages of varying lengths.  We can and will deal with whatever comes our way.  If you have special needs, make sure they’re covered.  No need to become a bunch of lunatic sheep and wipe out everything in every store you’ve ever walked past, driven by or flown over.

As for me, I have a box of crackers and I just picked up a jar of Nutella so I’m all set.  An so you know, I have outside things to do that will take up much of Saturday so this whole mess will simply have to wait until I am finished.

They Know

The magic lilies growing in my yard, that is. 

They’re blooming now which means it soon will be fall.  The blooms last about a week and a half.  Every year, not long after the last fades, cooler nights set in, followed by cooler days.  I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled I was to see the first flower stalk!  It wasn’t there Tuesday when I was out in my yard.

They’re actually very cool.  They get amaryllis-type leaves early spring which die completely off.  They give you enough time to forget they’re there before sending up stalks with a whole bunch of blooms on each.  The blossoms start pale pink and darken as they age.  Just before the end of their lives they are almost blue.

So not only do they predict the change of seasons but they sprout flowers overnight that are color shifters.  See?  They really are magic!

Happy weekend all!

So...

Meteorologist Tim Megill, out of Chicago, claims Punxutawney Phil is a punk when it comes to his weather predictions. According to Megill, Phil is only correct 39% of the time. Okay. I’ve always considered Phil to be more of a fun tradition than anything. Six more weeks of winter and an early spring are the same time anyway so what does it matter what Phil predicts?

I may be wrong here, but I’m guessing some people in Punxutawney might take offense to Mr. Megill’s criticism. Which leads me to my question. Phil’s record is 39% accurate. What’s Megill’s? How many times has his weather forecast been spot on? Not close. Not partly correct. I’m talking 100% specific and exact to the last tiny detail.

Perhaps he should examine his own self before he starts throwing stones at a 126 year old tradition.

Oh, and one more thing. Jason, the comments on this blog are moderated. Stop trying to post cigarette ads. I will NEVER approve them so they will NEVER be posted. Quit wasting my time.

Winter Forecasting

With the end of daylight savings time this weekend and earlier darkness, it’ll seem more like winter even though it’s going to be in the sixties next week and official winter doesn’t begin for another six weeks. I thought, in preparation for this, you might like to have a few winter severity tips.

To gauge the severity of an upcoming winter you must obtain a recently deceased local goose. Extract and study its breastbone. The more mottled it is, the worse the winter will be. If that’s not doable, check your local trees. The more moss there is on the south side of the trunk, the harder the winter will be.

Pay close attention to squirrels. The deeper they bury their nuts, the colder it’s going to be. And fruit trees blooming twice in one year is a sure sign that the upcoming winter will be a bad one. I wonder if that carries over to strawberries. I picked a mess of them last month so if it does, we’re in for it.

For short term weather forecasting, watch your cat. If it sits with its back to the heat source then the weather will turn cold. Um, still haven’t turned the heat on so I can’t do test this one. Also, if your cat is extra frisky, a storm is coming. Yeah, that one I can agree with. Beau and Kya were insane last Friday and Saturday before the snow. If you don’t have cats, you can use the moon instead. If there’s a ring around the moon, count the number of stars inside it and that’s how many days it’ll be until the next precipitation. If the moon has two rings there will be snow within 24 hours.

For long term forecasting January is the most important month so keep this in mind. The first twelve days are said to predict the weather for the next twelve months. For a precipitation forecast cut the tops off of twelve onions. Scoop a little spot in each center and fill it with salt. Line them up in an east-west orientation between 11:00 PM and midnight on New Year’s Eve. Check them in the morning. The more water in each onion, the wetter the assigned month will be.

Unfortunately we’ve missed out on one of the snowfall prediction methods but you can try it next year. Count the number of foggy mornings in August to determine the number of snowfalls.

The next two are really contradictory if I use our first snow. You can either count the number of days between the first snow and Christmas or the number of days it snowed after the last New Moon. It snowed on the 29th. So we’re either having 58 snows or 3, depending on which method you believe. Yeah, I’m not so sure about that choice.

Happy Weekend!

We'll See...

I heard something on the radio that I thought interesting. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to verify its validity but I’ll share it anyway.

It is supposedly St. Andrew’s Eve. Every where I looked said that was yesterday but for now I’ll go along with the talk radio host’s version. He claims you can predict the weather for the upcoming winter tonight. How? You place a glass full to the brim with water in the grass in your yard. The amount that spills out overnight determines how wet the winter will be. As in lots of water means lots of snow, none means it’ll be dry.

I’ve decided not to do this. There are torrential rains predicted for my area tonight. Up to two inches. So my glass would be way beyond overflowing. We’ll see. But, for the sake of comparison, why don’t you go ahead and stick a glass outside and then in the spring let us know if you think it was accurate or not.

I Am Grumpy

Seriously grumpy. From the heat. It’s been in the 90’s with humidity for days. The radio people keep saying storms are imminent but they never materialize. That makes me grumpy too. I like storms. They shouldn’t promise things they can’t deliver. Yeah, I know. Predicting thunderstorms on days like this has pretty good odds of happening but not always so they should word it differently.

Hmm, I wonder if I could find some sleazy lawyer who could sue the weather bureau for me for generating false hopes. If I won, I could maybe have air conditioning in my house. So I could sleep. And then I might not be as grumpy as I am. Or I could sue them for lots and lots and move someplace where it doesn’t get this hot. I could stand to go outside then. That would help with the grumpiness factor too. And I could cuddle Beau without feeling like I’m going to suffocate. How can one little 2½ pound mini cat generate so much heat?

I whistled Jingle Bells a few times this afternoon, trying to convince myself it wasn’t as hot as it is. Didn’t help. But it did make people wonder which I don’t see as a bad thing. Of course I tend to do that without even trying. Ooh, maybe I should try. Can you imagine how bad I could be with a little effort?

The vacuum and I had a Nike moment Saturday. No, not that kind of Nike moment. Sheesh. With a vacuum cleaner? Really? That’s a bit twisted, even for me. Anyway, as I was saying before your minds drifted into the gutter, the vacuum and I tousled and I won. I decided it was entirely useless, clogged as it was, and would need to be replaced anyway so there would be no harm in my taking it apart. So I took out all the screws I could find, with Beau’s assistance, and got a six inch solid plug of Quinn fur out of the internal tube leading to the collection basket. Major design flaw having an elbow in it like it does. But I dug it out and managed to get the thing back together, with only one screw left over and now it’s working just fine again. Ha!

Stay cool and send any and all storms my way.

Note: Receiving one of the pins in the picture above would go a long way to improving my mood too. Hint, hint, hint.

Happy Groundhog's Day!

So Punxsutawney Phil, the living, breathing, four-legged, furry one, saw his shadow today. Six more weeks of winter. Fine with me.

Still, I have to chuckle. Saying six more weeks of winter, to me, implies that spring will follow. Taken literally, six weeks is slightly early for when spring technically begins. So if Phil hadn’t seen his shadow we’d have an early spring. Hmm, seems to me that takes us to about the same time as six more weeks of winter does, give or take.

In other words Groundhog’s Day is merely an excuse for festivities. Nothing wrong with that. It’s mid-winter. You could probably use a little cause for celebration since I know you aren’t like me and don’t see winter itself as reason enough to be cheerful. Nope, don’t understand that one but I’ve given up trying to.

Happy Winter!