Sometimes Mother Nature Wins... Waiting for the storm to begin in Raleigh...

It's coming. In fact, it's just outside the boundaries of my world. The atmosphere is "dry" so even though it shows snow.. it hasn't started yet as it has to "work it's way down to the surface"



"Mother Nature will eventually win" a good thing to remember ...

Governor Pat McCrory is holding a press conference. When asked about people in Raleigh and NC who don't want to believe the forecast and don't believe it is going to happen his response was that once in a while Mother Nature will win. I love that and it cannot be said too many times!

So true.. once in a while Mother Nature will win..

You go through storm alerts, hurricane watches and nothing happens. People put on a blase attitude and insist "Nothing is gonna happen!" while others are buying out their local grocery stores.

That was where the eggs were at Kroger before the believers went shopping...

Personally I went out for some breakfast... coffee... wanted to get out and about and see what things looked like before hunkering down for Lord only knows how long.

Me and many of my friends in the South are preparing for and dealing with what may be remembered as the Historic Ice Storm of 2014. If it's a slushy, snowy mess ...then it will be renamed but as the Governor said... it is playing out the way it has been forecast.

So, what does it feel like?

Honestly... it's almost eerie. There is such a still, calm feel outside.

Not quite snow clouds, very low... blocking out the sunrise but it was a nice quiet walk.

I wanted to see what it looked like one last time IF ... the ICE STORM really does materialize. 

On radar it's showing sleet behind the snow and behind that ice punching up this way.. 

I think one of the biggest problems today is too much information and information that conflicts and confuses.

Take for instance my phone apps. They all show something else and they all give different information as to when the storm will arrive.

Bing Weather says it is 27F and wintry mix is starting at 11 AM... as in now. Nothing yet, but a friend nearby says she saw flakes in her forest. Bing calls for sleet today.

TWC says it is 29F in the same zip code and is calling for afternoon snow starting around 1 PM.

Accuweather says it is 28F and says SNOW will begin to fall around Noon.

Weather Bug says it is 26F in the SAME zip code (yes I refreshed each time..) and says snow followed by sleet will begin between 2PM and 3PM.

Wunderground doesn't like my Windows phone... 

So what does a person do? Well..I watch Channel 14 which is Time Warner Cable Channel ..vs TWC which I switch to on and off when they are not covering the Olympics or talking about where the storm will go vs where it is right now........on my door step.

I did take the potted camellia in from my doorstep...

I did go shopping for eggs, bananas, Starbucks Iced Coffee and a new bottle of Honey Bourbon if it gets really cold and we lose power. We have Porter Beer.. (Dead Eyed Jack something local) and my batteries are charged and .... there's water and canned food and things which we can eat IF we lose power. I've never been in an Ice Storm so I'm not sure what I'm up against, but having a fascination with weather... I'm waiting to see what an Ice Storm is up close and personal. Well, not too up close, from inside and hoping we don't lose power. Hey, if it just snows I'll be thrilled beyond words to see my world transformed into a winter wonderland.

Other people here are overly fascinated with the Tobacco Road Series which is the UNC-DUKE game or the DUKE-UNC game depending on who you are rooting for....  I think it's stupid to have the game and not put it off endangering kids lives and alumni who would risk their lives and the lives of those on the roads by driving to see their favorite annual game.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10439949/duke-vs-north-carolina-acc-best-rivalry?ex_cid=espnapi_public

People have been asked to stay home and watch it from home on ESPN.  Glad my daughter goes to STATE which is the Wolfpack... the PACK and hopefully she is packed up in Wolfpack Village and going to be careful during the storm...whatever kind of storm we have.

Wolfpack Weather online.. whoever they are...does a really nice job covering Raleigh weather and the concerns of the Wolfpack Nation.

They have been pretty good so far..so trusting them this time around more than my 4 apps on my fancy, smart phone.

Being friends with so many hurricane forecasters who attended Colorado, Penn State, LSU and FSU I didn't realize that State has a big meteorology school. 

http://www.meas.ncsu.edu/

What I do worry on besides losing power or Internet is the trees in the back of the house. What people fondly call here "natural area" but looks to me like a small forest.

Am I bad to wish for an Ice Storm? Hard to say and I'm not going to judge myself. I'm a weather person...I live, breathe and dream about weather. Okay, maybe I don't dream about it so much as it's always on my mind and everything connects somehow to weather in my mind...and usually hurricanes. But, I'm here in Raleigh in North Carolina and I'm doing winter weather until the hurricane season begins again.

My fascination with Ice Storms goes back to 1985. I was living in LA and at work and making business related calls when I ended up speaking to a man in Alabama who was stuck at work in an Ice Storm. He didn't think it would start so early and being wrong was going to spend the night at work as driving was not an option. After concluding the business we ended up talking about weather. He said, "he had nowhere to go and it was nice talking a bit" so we talked. He told me what real "Southern Ice Storms" were like and it sounded magical and amazing. Mind you he didn't say the big pine trees make gun shot like sounds when they crack in half as they are defrosting.. or something like that the way everyone up here says. He didn't say you could be stranded for days or that power goes out and crazy people go out on the highway and slip and slide into other crazy people who also decided to go out on the highway. We talked and I tried to imagine what it would be like. Then.........I saw it on the news and thought "wow" and since then have always been wondering what they are really, really like...    Chances are in Raleigh we won't see that much, but no one knows for sure. If it snows... we have less ice. If we get ice it cuts down on the snow. If we have sleet...  There are more mathematics here than figuring out a Trifecta at Jai Alai. And, we may win or lose (depending how you think) with snow, freezing rain and sleet...

Only time will tell.

http://www.alabamawx.com/?p=68469

And, I have a best friend who grew up in Maine and Upstate NY who loves to talk a blue streak about Ice Storms so... following her advice and hunkering down and battening the hatches.

I'll post as time warrants and as long as I have both Internet and power. Our power lines are underground which in theory.. is good. But, I've learned from hurricanes.. nothing is a sure thing when you go up against Mother Nature on a rampage...

Besos Bobbi

Ps...Thanks for following me here and for all the advice and concern y'all have.. I'll try to be good. Promise.......