A writer and a tropical muse. A funky Lubavitcher who enjoys watching the weather, hurricanes, listening to music while enjoying life with a sense of humor and trying to make sense of it all!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Carolina Snow Storm - Shuts down the city...
It's as if they had a hurricane, the news shows closings on a scroll and people are walking to Church or Temple these days. Cars don't start easily and I figure that's a blessing. The less cars on the road, until they clear the roads, the better.
The snow is more like ice than snow, banks of ice. Hours of little, itsy, bitsy ice pellets fell yesterday on top of about 5 inches of snow ... another inch fell over night possibly. Hard to tell, measures differently in some spots and in some spots I could not get the ruler into the snow through the ground... which is a good measure of how icy it is verses snowy.
I picked a good week to be in Carolina it seems, as I am watching shadows dance across the snow and the sun turning the top layer into small, crystals glistening in the sunlight... more snow like than ice. I've lived up north, I know a true snow event, this was a winter mix event it seems.
Last night on some weather site I read it referred to as "snow mist" new term, never heard that one. The snow was barely flakes, not quite ice and not fog...
But, it shuts down a city? No newspaper yesterday, possibly later today. Woke up thinking, wow a cup of coffee and the paper and I'll watch the snow... no paper, lots of snow.
A "State of Emergency" was declared by the Governor of North Carolina for this area and most areas. Hard for me to think on five to seven inches shutting down a city. This is a city that people live in because "they love seasons" yet they seem to dislike snow and are happy it doesn't snow... hardly ever. Moved down from Pittsburgh and Buffalo and Milwaukee, they love the seasons but "who wants snow??" I hear it all the time. I don't get it. To me...winter is snow.
Winter with the cold, gray, damp cold and no snow is like sex without foreplay.
The city gets down into the teens frequently, yet rarely does it snow. I can't figure out why anyone would put a city here, let alone a State Capitol. Maybe they figure it's safer, reliable but it's boring. No hurricanes, no storm surge, no snow... a long fall and a semi long spring and a summer with no air movement, no beautiful random thunderstorms like you see out on the Plains or in Florida. Now, Greensboro, they get weather. Wilmington, oh wow weather...they even got some of this snow. Asheville, which I have not seen but hear about endlessly, gets weather.
Raleigh is really boring, usually. But today... there is snow like a picture postcard and the city is closed and it's a day for making soup or chili and lots of coffee and relaxing by the fire or reading the paper (when it comes...) or writing...which I will do a lot today I think...
Yup... Carolina in the snow... enjoy the pics.
I'll still take a hurricane anytime, the roar of the wind... nothing is like that, except for a SnowCane... a blizzard on Nags Head possibly. Will see... maybe one day...
For a weather person...there is nothing more exciting than a real weather event. Well, surfing or making love in a storm... to a storm...
You can take the girl out of Florida, but you can't take the tropics out of the girl.. or a Jimmy Buffett song stuck in my brain..
Besos Bobbi
Ps... making cuban coffee and giving thanks for weather friends...
A Winter Storm Warning Is In Effect... Why 24 hours out can they not pin it down?
Got into Raleigh in time for a "winter storm warning" and a headline in the News and Observer that states "snow or something" and I am thinking we are doing WAY better down home in Miami with hurricanes than they are doing up here with snow...
I just have problems understanding how a little over 24 hours away from a winter event that can possibly and probably will shut down the entire Triangle and most of North Carolina they cannot figure out where the snow will fall, where the ice will fall, where the trees will freeze and topple over and who will get hit with sleet? I do understand this region has many micro-climates even within one area... one cul de sac but still... no one wants to say whether it will be a dusting, a few inches or five inches. If we pulled that nonsense in Miami with a hurricane or tropical event we would be never hear the end of it.
Maybe our expectations are too high. We should just have a "tropical storm warning event" in effect. But, that is what Miami used to have back in the 1920s when there was a notice that a West Indies Storm was on the way... sometimes they came, other times they didn't and sometimes they slammed into Miami with a storm surge of 15 feet and knocked Miamians on their feet for months...even a year or two but then we came back because no matter how many storms we get every 20 years or so the rest of the year we have blue skies, fresh air and you can run around in sandals even in winter.
I was a bit afraid I'd miss this "winter storm warning" as I am in Miami more than anywhere lately and figured I'd miss the snowstorm or ice storm that I knew El Nino would bring in... but seems this shabbos for me will be a winter wonderland and I hope it will be a pretty and scenic one versus a knock down, drag out, trees falling over from ice or blizzard conditions. IF I am going to do a blizzard I have always wanted to do it from Nags Head... on in Boston or Maine. Go Red Sox!! lol
So... a winter storm warning is in effect... enjoy the "Hurricane" pics from North Carolina. Sort of fun for a hurricane freak to go to a Canes game and learn there are Caniacs who are not into weather but ice hockey!! We won .. .by the way...
A beautiful cool night with the stars out and a tropical breeze, cool yet balmy breeze... ruffling your hair as you stare up at the stars.
Miami is such an incredible backdrop for a movie. That's why so many movies are made in Miami... not to mention movie stars living here by the bay.
I was at Bayside today, so many tourists, people milling about, boats bobbling in the bay and Brazilian Jazz being played live like there always is ..
Cuban coffee, pina colada or parrots posing for pictures with tourists paying big bucks.
Working on an article about Miami in the 20s. What a time, oh what a time it was..
And, I wonder why anyone would keep trying to make over The Three Stooges when they could make over Some Like It Hot much easier and it would probably be a lot funnier. Palm Island maybe... a mansion by the bay...
Seriously... Miami is such a beautiful backdrop for any movie..
Watching After Effects of Earthquake Up Close and Personal
North Miami Beach is filled with Haitians, it is not "Little Haiti" which is to our south about five miles in North Miami but for all apparent purposes the fault line from the Haitian Earthquake runs north up N.E. 6th Avenue from an area known as "Little Haiti" to 167th Street in North Miami Beach.
The neighborhood is filled with Haitian stores, people and food. The scents and sounds of Haiti are colorfully alive and well in North Miami Beach. Everyone knows someone who has lost a close family member or friend in Haiti. My son is the hospital next to a little six year old boy who was flown in from Haiti recently. The little boy has a problem with his leg though it should hopefully (praying) be okay, however he lost his four year old sibling and is a child that loses a sibling ever "okay" ??? The mother was fine, the children were not. Not easy listening to the child's cries when they treat his wounds, otherwise he sleeps soundly while the TV plays children's programs in Joe DiMaggio Hospital... a place tailored more for children than Disney Land.
My son will be okay. I hope... fifteen years old, in a car accident with that one kid you never want your kid driving with but he always insists is a good driver. As a matter of fact, he insisted he was a "safe driver" just yesterday while hooked up to a pain pump and his arm wrapped up like a mummy in a sling while they are waiting for the swelling to go down enough to put a cast on it. Well, when they are sure the surgery on it went well enough and the two pins in it are okay... Yes, his friend is a really safe driver, that is why they hit a palm tree. I think you can chalk this up to being a teenager, any parent of a teenager knows what it like to watch kids grow up, go in cars with kids you don't think are safe drivers and take chances and risks and grow. Part of growing I suppose is getting hurt, learning how to heal, learning how to adapt and use your left arm for a few months.
Those are normal things we all have to go through, all of humanity or anyone who has ever tried raising a teenager or watched a close friend or relative attempt to raise a teenager. Raising a child is after all is the illusion of being in control. It is a thin veil of make believe and waiting for that illusion to come crashing down fast and hopefully not too hard.
Living through a catastrophic earthquake is not something we all have to go through, it is not a normal part of life though all areas have their floods, twisters, hurricanes and volcanoes that go along with living on Planet Earth. However, this particular year the earth seems to be quaking a lot. Argentina, Haiti, California, who is next? Can earthquakes be connected to El Nino? Is there such a thing as "earthquake weather" or is it some astrological aspects written in some astronomical code of mars square Saturn or Saturn opposite Uranus or Pluto conjunct five other planets in Capricorn? Does it have to do with sunspots far away? Is that anymore crazy than an astrological aspect? Not sure, don't know but I do know they are looking at sudden sun spot activity after a long quiet period as a possible indicator of earthquakes. And, then...after one big earthquake the rest of the tectonic plates must catch up and shift a bit and find their new groove.
I imagine my son is lucky to be alive (seriously) and only has a messed up elbow and nice new pins in it allowing it to heal. I imagine the parents of the little boy in the next bed is lucky to be alive and did not die like his sibling or friends. I imagine anyone who made it through the earthquake is lucky to be alive.
We are all lucky in one way or another. We are lucky to wake up every morning and watch the first rays of sunshine reach across the dark sky and we have the chance to watch that same sunset in the evening and the stars come out at night. We are lucky enough to feel the rain wash over our face and enjoy the scent of magnolias and frangipangis or whatever flower is blooming on the street where you live. And, if its winter or it's raining and you are inside you can smell the scent of your mother's chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven or your favorite perfume from Victoria Secrets. Scent, sight, sounds... the sounds of the sea or your favorite song playing. We are always lucky in some way. Lucky we have love in our life or the possibility of love or the dream of love. Friends, family...
Everywhere you go around these parts you see someone comforting or listening to a friend talk. Everywhere people are helping or wishing they could do more whether it's five dollars at the grocery store or texting on your phone to a site that helps in Haiti. People with money are sending their private planes to Haiti filled with medication. Local hospital workers watch on TV as they see teams from their hospital working on someone in Haiti... a cheer goes up, a sense of pride and feeling that in some small way they can make a difference.
No one know Haiti better than people in Miami. It is a long, long road back to normalcy and there has been no normal in Haiti for a long, long time. The beautiful forests have been cut down and sold away for fast money and money is always needed in a country where the average person makes less than $400 in American Money. AND...that includes the wealthy people who lived in some parts and made a lot more money than the average person who is barely making $200 a year, it' an average...HIGH HIGH with low, low, low... an average. Many would be happy to make $400 a year.
I'm lucky to be able to be here to party with my kids for my youngest daughter's 18th birthday and they did party. And, then the next day I was lucky enough to be with my kids while they partied in their brother's hospital room waiting for him to go into OR and to recover. Sushi, chocolate, coffee... my kid's preferred party treats. My older son went and bought out Mt. Sinai's sushi and he came back in the room and put it down on his drugged out sibling's stomach and said, "okay who needs lunch" lol... they are a hardy lot with a good sense of humor and sometimes crummy friends... mixed in with the really great friends. Of course the teenager waiting to be transferred to Joe DiMaggio for Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery could not eat, he just smiled and basked in the glow of being around his siblings.
Sadly, the little boy in the next bed will not be able to party with his younger sibling that died...
Don't believe anyone that says it is impossible to make a difference in Haiti. To those people holding up the box of corneas that went bad waiting to be used. For every problem there is a story of victory and salvation. Focus on the good..focus on ways to help.
Lots of ways to help...
http://clintonbushhaitifund.org/
So.... aside from online sites with banners these are some of the signs I see in my neighborhood. That and watching the man who runs the Payless on 15th Avenue giving comfort and listening to his friend talk who lost most of his family in the Earthquake. A very sweet man, a good manager who runs a nice store and is always nice to his customers and friends who stop in to say hi. There were no high fives or laughter in his store the other day as he listened to his friend talk while trying to hold back tears as he told of the news he had received from Haiti about his family members who did not make it. The sweet store manager assured him he could come in, anytime he wanted to talk... his friend nodded, thanked him... walked out of the store with tears in his eyes looking numb and in shock.
It's a very personal tragedy in Miami more than in other parts of the world where it is being felt, everyone cares... everyone is giving money and trying to help but in Miami we listen to the cries of survivors in the next bed or talking to friends in the grocery store or on the street.
As my brother said the other day, there isn't a day as a real estate appraiser he doesn't go into some house, owned by a Haitian decorated in Haitian art with people speaking patois and all those faces are real to him, people he wonders on if they lost loved ones and how they will go on. He has been helping at a local television station answering phones for people calling in to donate money. Last night he was at BJs buying nosh and things for his nephew and he brought sushi and snacks and two copies of what he jokingly said was porn for my son... Motor Trends :)
Life...got to take your smiles where you can... party when you can, watch a sunrise or a sunset, give a hug, help a friend, give thanks that you are alive.
And, when you see a sign... donate, do what you can... every bit helps, every little bit or big bit so do you bit.
Good to be back home... ground zero for fundraising for the Haitian Earthquake
Do you know what it's like to live in a city that everywhere you go everyone is talking about the best way to help? People are discussing the best way to text money, to send canned food, money for medical supplies, clothing... volunteering their time (most precious) to pack crates and palettes of things for Haitian Relief.
Neighbors for Neighbors by Channel 4 is a great link here in the Miami area, my brother was manning the phones last night. Very proud of him that he took time to do something, time is always the hardest gift to give somehow.
There are boxes at every Walgreen's, signs up for text sites... it feels like we are the staging ground for a post hurricane event. But, it's not about hurricanes...it's about an earthquake and a disaster is a disaster by any other name.
Be back later, lot's to do today...taking care of business and will blog later.
Here's a song to remember and remind you what people can do when they work together towards a greater goal.
First off there are ways that you can help make a difference in this crisis even though the infrastructure in Haiti has been destroyed the airport is open and International Groups outside of Haiti are preparing to send in help as soon as possible.
Here is a list of organizations that you may donate to and should donate to in order to help the recovery process and take care of the survivors.. many who have lost families, homes, jobs...the infrastructure of their own personal lives.
Don't EVER feel you don't have enough money to give...no amount is too small. Donate what you would spend on dinner tonight and eat leftovers or a light meal. What is the cost of a fast food meal at your local drive through rather than going home and having leftovers? A movie? Stay home and donate the money. People feel that unless they can write out a check for $50 it's worthless. That is so not true. Many organizations are kept alive and working by small donations on a regular basis of $5 and multiplied by a large number of people on a regular basis. I have a friend who worked in such an agency, they would get money...cash... even though they say "do not send cash" they would open up envelopes all the time with single dollar bills, three dollar bills or a five dollar bill and she said they would add it in and tally it up every day in the deposits. Money is money.
You have a credit card or a bank card? You know how to use it to buy online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble? It works the same way for many charities... it is the same, that simple, that easy.
In time many Church groups and charities with ties to the island will begin the process of bringing in clothes and other items needed by the people there.
Right now...they need money for medication, basic supplies and there is a way you can help even if seems like your little bit is insignificant and there is no real way to help other than large aid from other countries. America will help, the President will outline his plan. But just as you don't need to be told to wash your hands to avoid getting the flu ...neither do you need to feel there is nothing you personally can do.
Wash your hands of some money, lighten your wallet, don't go see a movie this weekend or get a manicure this week... eat less and send the difference to one of the groups below. The list of agencies sending help will grow...this is just a small list.
Operation Helping Hands, a joint community project of The Miami Herald and United Way-Miami, will be collecting donations to support the relief effort in Haiti. To make a contribution, go to www.iwant2help.org
UNICEF is seeking donations to the ongoing emergency relief efforts in Haiti and the Caribbean region through www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake or call 1-800-4UNICEF
Mercy Corps established a Haiti Earthquake Fund, PO Box 2669,Portland, OR 97208, www.mercycorps.org, 1-888-256-1900
The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) natural disaster relief arm of the OAS ... to donate to visit its special relief website called www.PanAmericanRelief.org
The Archdiocese of Miami is accepting financial donations to assist with recovery efforts for the earthquake victims in Haiti. People may send their donations to Catholic Charities, 1505 NE 26th St. Wilton Manors, FL 33305, Attention Earthquake Victims.
One of my favorite charities for this region in particular:
http://www.foodforthepoor.org/
and as always www.redcross.org
In order to find out about loved ones and or employees or co-workers currently working in Haiti the following number has been set up:
1-888-407-4747
To understand the magnitude of this devastation the United Nations itself is trying to locate it's own employees as the UN Mission in Haiti was destroyed by the Quake and all communication is down... many people are missing. Most people forget that there is a 3,000 force from the UN that is down there as a peace keeping mission and those people come from everywhere... America to Sri Lanka. If the UN cannot get in touch with it's own people... imagine what is going on in Little Haiti today in the Miami area where there is not one person who has not been personally touched by this horrible tragedy.
A link to more information on the UN Mission: http://blogs.wsj.com/dispatch/2010/01/13/un-peacekeepers-suffer-casualties-in-haiti/
Working and living in the Miami area this is a personal thing for me as I have worked with and taught Haitians and many of my neighbors and friends are Haitians. It is not a far away, foreign culture for me but as much a part of my life as is Cuban Coffee and shopping at the Jamaican market down the street to buy fresh rosemary or bonitos or ginger coconut candy. Often I jump on a Haitian jitney to get across town and while doing so I hear everyone talk and comment in a mix of english and patois to the Haitian radio always running in the background playing music and news of Haiti.
Earthquakes in the Caribbean are not rare but we don't hear about them all the time. They are often small and they go unnoticed under the radar. It's only the big ones and yet it is a very active region geologically.
What surprises me often is how active it is and yet again..they are 3.0 and 3.5 and out under the Mona Passage in the Ocean..where something is quietly rumbling.
Haiti has been at a risk for a long time.. we ignore the signs. In October of 2008 a study out of the University of Havana issued a report that they would soon have a strong Earthquake based on ongoing activity constantly going on in the area.
Here is a list of recent earthquake activity around the world. Look how often Puerto Rico and the Mona Passage area keep showing up...way above what I would think of as statistically normal:
A day or so before the Quake...look at the wire of quakes stronger than 2.5. This is a random group...on a random day but every few days it looks the same:
Note how often Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and other areas come up.. you can watch this link below. I check it off and on.. I am a weather person but as most people into the weather...geology is our second love. The Earth and all of it's mysteries are always intriguing and dramatic... sometimes beautiful and glorious.. other times horrendous and tragic but never boring and always happening, ongoing like the water that flows and the clouds that pass over us throughout our day...our planet is a planet always in motion on the ground, below the ground and the atmosphere above it as it spins on it's axis in it's orbit around the sun.
I don't want to post pictures as the pictures are everywhere now on TV and the Internet. CNN, DRUDGE... you know the drill if you are here you are an online person, you can find your own pictures.
This is not a time for pictures...this is a time for help, please help however you can and whenever you can in whatever way you can.
This Saturday Night...don't go out somewhere but stay in...take the money...send it to make a difference.
Here is a video from the amazingly creative Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean. Sadly, no one will be dancing tonight or any night soon in Haiti. If you prefer "old school" then there is a delightful video below that of Martha Jean Claude who died at 82 and whose amazing life and music is shown below in the second video.
I heard someone say that and it is so true. No news is bad..
Some news is coming out via phones, twitter and news interviews via satellite connections... few and far between though.
Daylight will come and with it will come the reality of a death toll that will be in the thousands possibly... the possibilities are horrifying.
This is a link of video from youtube that is going around.. shows the dust cloud.
As well as pictures from twitter on damage just after it happened.
After/before
Banks, hospitals, palaces and every day poor structures... though they look nicer...they are not made of high standards construction wise and either way and 7.0 quake is a biggie... its a Cat 5 when it comes to damage.. catastrophic!
Will post sites online tomorrow where help can be offered, it needs to be flown as the infrastructure there across the board is no longer there. The airport is working luckily... that is one of the better pieces of news out. That and... no tsunami.
Any good news is going to be rare but in every catastrophe there are some miracles.
7.0 Earthquake Hits Haiti... Massive Damage and High Death Toll... Help Needed NOW
A 7.0 earthquake has hit the island nation of Haiti just ten miles from it's largest city Port Au Prince...a city of 2 million people.
A hospital has collapsed trapping people beneath it... it is one of many building collapses and I think it's a fair statement to say from early reports that all major buildings have suffered major damage including well built government buildings and the Palace.
To make matters worse it happened just as the sun was going down so now they are cloaked in darkness making rescues even harder. Heartbreaking stories of people sobbing and screaming for help in the darkness.
Help and prayers are needed ...
More problematic is that the earthquake occurred close to the surface.
Haiti has 9 million people ....2 million in Port Au Prince.
Numerous aftershocks have occurred, two over 5.0 in the last hour doing further damage to buildings that have cracked or shifted on their foundations ...
Very sad... I have many friends in Miami with relatives, family in Port Au Prince and Haiti...and I fear for their safety...
Water, food, medical all needed .... the list of what is needed is endless.. miracles would be good too.
You can follow some news sites being broadcast from http://www.hurricanecity.tv/
Note...this quake was felt over a large area...Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba and Virgin Islands... and the earth is not done quaking as an aftershock of 5.9 was felt recently.
Reports of Snow Confirmed South Florida... Zumba Hora :)
Though it was more like "oh Martha look is that white thing snow or what?"
Not exactly snowball snow...but hey flakes of snow is snow. Right?
I'd enjoy watching some flakes fall..
I may have to take a trip to my kids in New York or Iowa to see real snow.. ever get that feeling like you should bundle up, take the lap top and hit the road for some writing trip? Well, guess not.. except for the writers who follow me here, they know what I mean. No, I did not say go stalk a nice, sweet, friendly librarian in Miami and leave boats or RVs in the parking lot there blocking patrons from being able to go inside the library...
Anyways... Jupiter will soon move into Pisces...from an astroweather point of view that means very wet weather, lots of wet weather...
Wet hurricanes... snow melting floods... I mean the snow does have to melt sometime right??
Florida is a Pisces state. Maybe Florida will be seriously in the play this coming year, I don't know for sure.. just know that Jupiter will be going into Pisces so ... usually Pisces people have children or get fat. You heard it here first so just in case anyone is reading this... (I cannot believe I am writing this) ... Rob lose weight, I mean it. Work out.. build muscle mass... lose weight! Please.
So... anyway back to the world of the weather weird...
Enjoy this link and the song I found to make y'all smile.
I did some zumba today with some hip hop sort of music and watched New England get beat and Green Bay is currently not looking so good either...
So we have the old pro in very good shape if I may say so (don't care what anyone says I like him) and the young cute Jet Rookie in the playoffs... winning...
Go figure... if forty is the new thirty than Mark Sanchez must be Sweet Sixteen...
Snow in Miami? Yes or No? Reports from "trained spotters" in Kendall and Oakland Park
But no official confirmation from the NWS. Feel like they are reviewing the play over and over and all we can see is the back of the refs watching the video..
Trained spotters in Kendall and Oakland Park reported flurries. I imagine they are reviewing all the radar loops to see if flurries could have been mixed in with the rain. It was definitely cold enough... and there was it seems ample moisture.
Now...was there snow?
You know... I know what it's like not to be sure if it is or isn't snow.. trust me..
As for me ... I am freezing my @ss off this week in North Carolina and wishing I was back in Miami watching for snow there... I mean if I have my druthers I'd rather see palm trees than pine trees.
Either way... will be back soon but will this possible snowfall be all we get or will we get more? The 1977 was a big event, one of three strong fronts if I remember... was like once a week we had this crazy Arctic blast... I want to say on Tuesday but might be wrong.
The only confirmation from the National Weather Service was the following...
"We can't deny it didn't happen. We just haven't been able to confirm it," Rothfuss said.
Not a real confirmation, more of a maybe it did and maybe it didn't.
We will soon know for sure but what we do know is there will be losses in the millions, billions by the time this winter is over to the economy as Florida is one of the leading producers of Winter Agriculture. We won't know how badly the strawberries and oranges and tons of produce the Sunshine State provides for a while but if you see frozen OJ in your freezer at the market... buy some fast as it won't stay at that price for long.
Be back later with better reports after a good hot shower and a nice hot cup of coffee...
Besos Bobbi... blue skies outside but brrrrr not very tropical..
I don't think so... not yet anyway... seems sort of silent, quiet, blue...sunny.
Looks can be deceiving however... and the forecast has edged the snow forecast up to 60% from 30% the other day.
What does it mean "likely?" Is that like greater than average chance of snow?
Well... we will see. Watching the sunlight paint golden patterns in the forest below, leaves aglow in the sunshine, quivering in the cold breeze.
Cold breeze, sunshine... what a day to take a walk in the park? Okay, silly moment there.
Watching clips from old movies and working my way up to watching a DVD of Phantom of the Opera. One Life to Live is on in the background, bizarre plots but I wouldn't take it off the air... fire some writers maybe, get some better characters or work with the better ones, leave the rest behind. TWC is doing a tornado and I have about 3 hours to get some writing done... before I go to the gym for Pilate's.
In case you were interested...
Old movies, old tv shows... old memories... golden but in the past and waiting to make new memories.
That is what life is all about after all... the constant flow of new memories being made and laid down upon the tracks that make up our lives.
As for me... I would like to see some snow but how much and where will it fall and will it stick? Will it be there in the morning or just a memory of looking out the window at flakes falling magically down and yet gone when the sun comes up.. only traces and a few flakes left melting on the ground?
Will see..... no snow yet... just a lot of whispered promises by weathermen.
Cold Night and Getting Hotter...with Chocolate Kisses
So, here I am... up north waiting to see snow before I go back to Miami but so far.. no snow. I have actually wondered if it is too cold for snow. Can that happen?
Nothing on the radar, blue skies and freezing temps.
I spent the day trying to buy a coat. You know a winter coat.
Seems they don't really wear them up here, I may have to go visit one of my kids in New York to actually buy a real coat. Everyone up here just wears these jackets that look like someone pumped air into them and well... it's not pretty. Sort of boring.
I did buy a beautiful sweater coat from Victoria Secrets which is really nice to use as a throw blanket, feels good.
Europe is cold. China is cold. Iowa is cold. Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas are cold. Missouri is covered in cold and Marquette...well Marquette is always cold but love saying it. Marquette :) I had this guy friend who drew me a map once of upper and lower Michigan and Minnesota... he put Marquette on it. Was cute. Listen, you had to be there...
Point here is that this is Global Colding unless you are living somewhere hot and am sure there is somewhere hot but I am not in the mood to google it.
Nope...going to just sit here under my three covers using my Victoria Secrets Sweater Coat as a blankie and am going to sip my tea and watch The Weather Channel for signs of snow up close and personal.
Have to go back to Miami soon, something about getting kids passports to go to Poland and some paper that has to be presented to a publisher on the 1926 Hurricane that I have not yet finished writing (I do my best writing at Bayside) and I really wanted to see some snow this winter.
What am I doing tonight, you wonder?
Eating a Kiss.
I learned to eat a Kiss from one of my very, very best friends. He told me I was doing it wrong. Who knew? Yes, good ole Doctor Cobb taught me exactly how to eat a kiss so...............I am going to share this very pertinent information with you.
Ready??
This is a Kiss...
Waiting to be ... eaten...
The first thing you do is...
S l o w l y take the wrapping off
Voila ;)
Come on...is that sensual and beautiful and amazing.....
And...then...........when it's totally naked... you let it sit there and breathe.. you know ..... good wine needs to breathe and chocolate is like wine...
Here it is... ready to be eaten...
Can't you just taste that rich chocolate and it actually has some sort of filling, it's a Caramel Kiss it seems...
No....not a strawberry kiss but a caramel kiss..
And...then ....this is the part that most people don't know...
Ready???
You pick up the kiss... in your fingers (because everyone knows I love finger food) and you pop it into your mouth and you don't bite, you just let it slowly melt in your mouth... you savor it... you feel the juices exploding, the caramel slowly seeping out mixing together with the creamy milk chocolate.
And... you enjoy it.
And, you know what?
It is sooooo amazing :)
Yes sir, that is what you do on a cold night when you are bored and tired of relatives and friends asking you, "so has it snowed yet?" and or telling you how friggin cold they are in Miami, Key West (I swear to God a realtor I am friends with in Key West called me ... we talked weather........not real estate) and people in International Falls called to tell me it's freezing. I'm sorry, I feel badly for the realtor but did the person living in International Falls not realize it gets cold there???
The Strawberries are dying... the Florida Strawberries... nothing to get down about there's still strawberry fields in California silly ;)
The Oranges might be dying too....
The Iguanas are dropping all over the place...
What is left but to bundle up under the covers and enjoy chocolate :)
Well... just one. Because I am working out these days doing zumba and ballet and some sadistic version of ballet, yoga and pilates and I am waiting for snow the way fair maidens wait for knights to come and save them.
I was going to come on here tonight and be in a mood but mean is really not my style, no... really not my style... hard to be mean and why would I want to be mean?
Nope... if I want to get even I won't do it being mean... nope. Not I. Not me. Oh damn I cannot believe (breathe Bobbi breathe) I just typed that.
So......................
My advice to you... all of America and Europe and China...
Eat Chocolate... just a little though, slowly... and enjoy it...
Light a candle watch it glow...
Sip some wine...or sweet tea vodka lol ...
And, smile... because somewhere, someone is sitting in their little steam shower tonight trying to steam their ass off. When what they should be doing is enjoying a chocolate kiss with Bobbi.
Ps... for Dr. Cobb... Giggling... saved the big one... it's definitely a keeper, you could break your jaw trying to suck on that sucker...
Inflation Hits the National Weather Service... Hail must now be a quarter... or Size Matters...
Inflation has definitely hit the weather world!
Where once all hail had to be to get a severe weather warning was the size of a dime, it now must be the size of a quarter to deserve a severe weather warning.
I'm sorry, that to me is a pretty big difference and you would have thought they could have compromised on the size of a nickel but I guess not.
You thought the post office was raising it's prices fast. Can you imagine if they raised the price of a first class stamp from 44 cents to 59 cents everyone would freak and scream "WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY????" "Why not raise it to 50 cents or even 55 cents?"
I'm sorry but there is a big difference between a dime and a quarter sized hail just short of a quarter can do a lot of damage and is pretty severe by my point of view. A nickel can be really problematic...especially if you are caught out in it with a small child.
But, suppose in this day and age when eggs are closer to $2 a dozen than a dollar a dozen it would only be a matter of time before hail would need to be the size of a quarter to get any real respect.
Personally, I love hail!!! I remember once when I was a child that it hailed hard, and big fat white balls of hail covered the ground and looked like snow. I had never seen anything like it, it was love at first sight. We were in school, and all the kids ran outside to see what was going on or huddled around the door to our classroom while the green grass began to disapeer under what looked like a blanket of white frozen ping pong balls. A few cute boys ran out and tried to body surf or make sleds with cardboard before the shocked teacher could gather her wits and insist everyone come back inside and stop throwing the hail like it was snowballs. Never saw hail like that in Miami ever again, was amazing.
Link to an article about the change with some great graphics:
You can even listen to a weather man with a very nice voice explaining carefully, in depth why they have dropped the historical criteria. Now, mind you not every one gets baseball sized hail falling on and destroying their corn crops. In Miami we rarely get large hail, very rarely but even small sized hail can create havoc and make already crazed drivers to slam on their brakes. In Miami, marble sized hail pelting tourists sunbathing on the beach run for their lives. I mean such a bad press tourist event would cause an economic downturn in the economy, I mean couldn't some bronzing sunbather sue the Ritz Carlton employees for not letting them know they might have nickle sized hail? I mean should the lifeguards totally ignore a possibility of hail of any size and just sit back and watch with their rulers before calling in the National Weather Service with reports of quarter sized hail? I'm sorry but I am sure this calls for a funny article by Dave Barry.
And, isn't it funny how it's called a "weather iniative" and has been made politically correct?
I'm sorry but I think hail is hail and in Miami I would want to know a thunderstorm has hail in it just as I would want to know there may be dangling funnel clouds.
What's next? A funnel cloud is not a funnel cloud unless it's a certain size?
You see, you heard it first here.
Size does matter when it comes to the National Weather Service...
So, next time you see hail falling from the sky, get out your rulers and see how large it is because trust me... we usually see pea sized hail...dime sized is pretty big, nickel sized is much bigger and if you see quarter sized hail falling from the sky run for your life... you won't need the National Weather Service to warn you that you are in trouble....
If you are in Pennsylvannia... and have hail damage to your car you might want to check out this great site:
http://www.raysdentshop.com/id1.html
Send the NWS a bill if it was only nickel size and you didn't put your new ferrarri in the garbage because there was no warning.............
Love it.. inflation comes to the National Weather Service...
Besos Bobbi...
Going to the gym...going to zumba...enjoy your morning video with some cuban coffee!
Am sure the President enjoyed some nice weather in Hawaii but the rest of the country has spent the day complaining about how cold it is... and yet... it's going to get a whole lot colder.
Miami's temps are expected to dip to the mid 30s depending on where you live...out in the farming district in the Redlands it will be really cold.
Jacksonville was as cold as most of the rest of the south...
International Falls, Minnesota...well you are used to this but even people in Minnesota are complaining about the record temps.
A real wake up call for the Global Warming group that has had to bring it's wagons into a circle to avoid the wind chill out there tonight!
Floridians are a hardy lot who enjoy a cold spell the way northerners enjoy a White Christmas. It gives them a chance to take out their favorite coats, put on their favorite boots and act melodramatic about how cold it is when their friends up north are buried in snow or ice. It gives us a chance to figure out when the newbies moved to Florida as the styles of their coats tell the other part of the story. Yes, on a cold morning in Miami the 80s are alive and kicking.
Here's a great link to a great website with a good article on the infamous 1977 snow event in South Florida. Check out the beautiful nature pictures by the weather doctor as well.
This is not really just a weather event it is a news event, history happening live, the ultimate reality show.
A nuclear power plant was shut down because of ice on the Delaware: http://cbs3.com/local/nuclear.power.plant.2.1404207.html
(nice pic)
This is a world wide event. Nice to say it's warm in Greenland... Europe is freezing, my brother in Greece may get snow. China is having the coldest winter they have had in ages and it's going down in the record books.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story
From Wiki:
"January 11, 1800: Over 5 inches (127mm) of snow is on the ground along the St. Marys River to the north of Jacksonville, the highest recorded snowfall total in Jacksonville history"
February 12 & 13, 1899: Rain changes to sleet and later turns to snow during the Great Blizzard of 1899, with the snow falling for about 8 hours. With temperatures of about 10°F (−12°C), the snow accumulates to 2 inches (51mm) near Jacksonville
Here's an interesting story to ask "huh?" on Global Warming... In the one decade from 2000 to 2009 there are SEVEN snow events listed. Compare that to 3 listed for the 90s, 3 in the 80s, 3 in the 70s and none in the 60s?
Exactly who sold us this Emperor's Clothes fairy tale of Global Warming? Can someone please stand up and point out that the Emperor is wearing long underwear?
Pics of the Forbidden City normally and the way it looks when frozen from a record breaking cold spell.
The Blizzard of 1899 that is the blizzard most written about that sets the bar for all other blizzards is also known as "The Snow King."
Note that there was another weather feature that was King that year and that was none other than Ye Olde El Nino.
1899 was one of the most severe El Ninos and it served up one of the most severe blizzards in history and the following year in 1900 it served up one of the worst hurricanes in history.
"1899 Massive famine strikes India as the monsoons fail during an El Niño year. Uncounted thousands die directly from starvation, and many more die in the epidemic of cholera and plague that follow."
A lot of talk on weather websites about El Nino and past blizzards:
They abound everywhere while old timers and students compare notes on their favorite freezing, winter memories.
While writing this blog I am on an IM with one of my favorite weather buddies, he is telling me his war stories of the few times he remembers it snowing in South Florida. Those are the memories legends are made of... we remember them forever.
Good lists of wicked weather and El Nino from a local Florida paper:
Another good list if you don't have any weather warriors with battle stories of the year the ___________________ froze over and there was ______ inches of snow outside or the year there was no school because the roads were covered with snow and ...
History is the record keeping of live events, of reality TV before there was a TV to broadcast the biggest show on earth... weather happening in front of your eyes!
And our love affair with snow leaves us feeling cold about a cold front that has no snow in the South. New England gets snow, they are getting blasted in Vermont and Maine.
It may be cold and getting colder but unless Florida or Georgia or the Carolinas get snow it won't seem fair to children everywhere watching for snow.
How cold will coldest be? I don't know.
But, I do know one thing.... often in years after El Nino there is a kick ass, knock down drag out hurricane season because when El Nino gets tired of holding onto his tight grasp the tropics answer back in style.
1899 El Nino crowns the The Snow King. 1900 Galveston Hurricane.
1925 was an El Nino with a very weak hurricane season 1926 was a bad, bad, bad ...bad hurricane season
1997.....Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 1998 ... very very busy.
Some El Ninos end early, others end late. The first hurricane of the 1992 season didn't form until August and barely made it across the very, unfriendly Atlantic but made history. A lot of teenagers running around Miami these days turning 18 named Andrew.
So... sorry but I have a one track mind. If this is a bad winter, my mind wanders to think on how it will affect this coming hurricane season.
I have a lot of friends in Georgia and the Carolinas...they are wondering on snow. I'd like some snow too...but as always I am wondering on hurricanes and how to connect all the dots.
Somewhere, someone is always putting out a forecast. Even astrologers put out forecasts on weather ... one of the best sites to watch is:
http://www.weathersage.com/
Now you can laugh that off but just remember... the governmental, scientific agencies all issue...forecasts...
Saturn is currently in Libra squaring the Sun in Capricorn and a whole bunch of planets in Capricorn and for the next ten days both mercury and mars are retrograde so... who knows how good those forecasting computers are working, garbage in..garbage out?
All I know is that I expect the weekend of MLK's birthday to be a meteorological mess. Looking at long range charts... if you can stay home that weekend and relax, take a Staycation.. it probably would be a good idea. Just my gut feeling... not a forecast but a feeling.
Keep your toes warm and keep looking up.. just in case it snows ;)
Besos Bobbi
Got to give an A for effort.... for getting those songs out there....
Or.... if you ever wonder how the Tin Man got to Oz...
Location: Miami, Raleigh, Crown Heights, Florida, United States
Weather Historian. Studied meteorology and geography at FIU. Been quoted in Wall Street Journal, Washington Post & everywhere else... Lecturer, stormchaser, writer, dancer. If it's tropical it's topical ... covering the weather & musing on life. Follow me on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/#!/BobbiStorm
