Zero Wind Chills Expected in the South. Black Ice Remains. A Look Back at History

Note the blue outline I put around the plunging Arctic Air

Radar tells the story. 

Water Vapor Loop shows the future as always

And, for an up close and person "ohhhh" look at the dark colors at the top about to plunge South

Sort of ominous

Follow the snow forecasts on www.spaghettimodels.com

On Twitter you can follow the story in pictures without a long read ;) blog.

Surf thru #nashvilleicestorm and see just why Nashville surrendered to winter weather ...

I'll give them credit. They didn't play that game of "maybe today, maybe tomorrow, delayed release" they just shut school until next week. Good luck on that one, by the way, as . . next week holds more snow for parts of the South as well as Nashville on Monday.  But, while waiting for Wake County Public Schools to get their act together EVERY NIGHT to be the LAST school district to make the call... I'm in awe of Tennessee. They just told it like it was... and let's move on and figure out how to deal with it. It doesn't happen often, but when it does... it is what it is and that is FROZEN.

There's a great video put up online that with images and music tells the story of why they closed school this week in Nashville.



Yes, this winter is the year that drove old Dixie down and made it feel a bit more like Boston.



Nashville may have problems on Monday opening the schools . . .

Raleigh has snow in the forecast as well next week... and later today.

If you think a trip to Miami may make you break out the bikinis you may be a Canadian . . .

Okay the temperatures only stay down for about 3 days in Miami ... but still cold, especially for the locals who have a chance to finally wear those winter clothes they bought last winter . . . if they can find where they put them. By next weekend it's 80 degrees and balmy again.

Any naked streakers in the streets of Miami tonight most likely will be from Boston!

How rare is this crazy Arctic Blast we are dealing with in the South? Pretty rare, but not all that unusual. History was made from winters like this one.

The bar seems to be set around these parts (The South) by the Winter of 1899.

Let's take a look at why with a look back at a few of these years when winter was also out of control yet today's weather hype would make you believe there has never been a winter like this one. Note in 1899 they had to cancel Mardis Gras in New Orleans that year as the Port of New Orleans was frozen over. 

http://blog.shmoop.com/2010/02/18/6-worst-winter-storms-history/

Note 1899 Hurricane Season brought multiple land falling Hurricanes.

In 1888 and 1889 winter caused death, destruction and a living legacy across the North and the South.  

If you remember a post from earlier this winter, NYC decided to put in the subway system due to the way the above ground trains were unable to handle the heavy snowfall from that winter.

http://www.livescience.com/31880-countdown-10-worst-blizzards.html

The 1888 Hurricane Season was also a doozy.

Followed by another busy year with similar landfalls in 1889

On the heels of an extremely busy hurricane season November of 1950 brought a historic snow storm to the Appalachians. Note today we have some great weather models and excellent forecasters who disseminate the information to the general public on TV, Twitter and by way of every social media there is out there but in 1950 353 people died from that unforgettable winter storm.

1950 Hurricane Season was infamous in Florida and other places

Seems when the weather is on the rampage... it stays on the rampage.. Hmnnn

Winters "Up North" were so harsh that it's the reason Miami found itself on the map at all. Before the Winter of 1894/95 Miami was a sleepy little community on the banks of Biscayne Bay.

Nice link to Miami in 1890... with an incredible picture by the incredible Ralph Munroe.

http://www.biscaynetales.com/archives/61/fd_1890

For example in the winter of 1894 and 1895 the cold was so cold that it came all the way down into Florida deep enough to mess up the citrus harvest. Before the tourists found Florida it was seen as a healing paradise where food would grow like it was the Garden of Eden and people could make money shipping and selling winter produce all year round. People came south to get over pneumonia, tuberculosis and whatever else ailed them in the frigid winters of Cleveland and Detroit. 

Julia Tuttle, another refugee of Cleveland, who owned land in Miami along the mouth of the Miami River, sent a box of fresh oranges with orange blossom blooms still on them to Henry Flagler hoping he'd read between the lines ... and he did .... and he sent his railroad south to the land where a hard freeze rarely happens. People in Florida have been advertising their oranges ever since. Drive down to Miami via I-95 and stop at the visitor center to Florida and they give you your choice of free orange juice or grapefruit...  Remember while sipping that liquid sunshine it all began with a box of oranges sent up north to Henry Flagler in NORTHERN Florida.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/miami/peopleevents/pande05.html

1895 Hurricane Season was a busy year in the tropics near South Florida. Luckily TWC wasn't showing the Tropical Update or it might have scared him off 

Flagler's railroad brought people south to Miami and Carl Fisher's Lincoln Highway allowed them to drive their Model T Fords down to warm weather and sunshine in the wintertime. And people been coming on down ever since . . . 

So now that we have pointed out the beauty of Miami even during a brief "cold spell" cold being relative...let's talk about the weirdness that is weather and Raleigh. People here are usually weary of any snow accumulation. The Chamber of Commerce doesn't want to scare away Floridians from moving here. They are currently advising people not to worry as there will be "ONLY A LIGHT DUSTING TODAY"  . . . Right . . I'm worried on a dusting???

What we are worried on the next few days is the forecast for record cold temperature.

"Life threatening cold tonight and tomorrow" in Raleigh...with the warning "Prepare now for the potentially life threatening cold weather"

Yeah, I don't really think the locals are worrying on a dusting of snow on top of their already white yards. The highways may be cleared, but most neighborhood roads are frozen solid. Yesterday's brief "melting spell" froze over solid last night creating a new layer of ice on top of... ice ..."making walking or travel treacherous this morning". This is what my street looked like around 10 AM. I'm pretty sure my "dusting of snow" won't be noticed on top of this snow/ice/sleet mess. Every time I go out to get the mail the tune of Country Roads comes to mind except it's North Carolina not West Virginia.

So if you really can't bare to wait for spring ...which really will come soon in a week or two take a trip down to Miami. Things to do while in Miami... enjoy a History Walk around town with Dr. Paul George. Visit the South Florida Historical Museum. 

A part of a tour about the history of Miami Beach by one of my close friends Dr. Paul George. 

As for me I'm enjoying the winter white weather :) I don't like gray winter days. Today it's bright, beautiful and there is a chance of snow with even a slimmer chance of Thundersnow. Tonight I'm making a warm dinner, staying inside by the fireplace and enjoying life in North Carolina. Making menus for what I'll make when the temperature goes down, down, down later this week. If I can't have a hurricane I may as well have winter weather.

You know me... any date with weather makes my heart beat a little faster ;)

Loving the view through my windows... from where I stay inside ;)

So.... bundle up, make sure you have every thing you need and unless it's an absolute emergency do not go out at night for the next few days. If you have to bundle up, layer, take a shot of hot tea or honey bourbon first . . . tell someone where you are going and when you are expected to arrive unless your car breaks down and you need someone to send out a St. Bernard to rescue you!

On a personal note I was cleaning this morning. Seems one of my travel size perfumes broke and spilled all over my hands. I've cleaned the kitchen, washed pots and pans and my hands still smell like Caleche by Hermes. Shows you... you get what you pay for... so if I take a walk in the ice/sleet/snow on my street this afternoon I will be smelling like this beautiful perfume. A little too much rose for me so I usually only dab on a drop but at this point I don't think a bath with Candy body lotion will get read of the scent. My husband asked me when I walked in the kitchen this morning "do you smell baby powder?" LOL note they don't put that in their advertisement. Now you know the rest of the story..

Besos Bobbi

Ps... If you noticed.. and I'm sure you did. I posted some hurricane charts for years that had dangerously cold winters. Not all such winters are followed by strong hurricane seasons but it often happens. Not sure yet what this hurricane season will bring, but it's coming at you in about 3 and a half months. So, it's worth noting and something to think on...