Crowd Sourcing & Civilian Volunteers After Hurricanes One of the Stories of 2017.

One of the nice things about keeping the Jewish Sabbath, as I do, is that it gives me some time offline to catch up on reading things that I meant to read yet got lost in the busy every day pace of my world both on and offline during the rest of the week. Facebook feeds swallow up time faster than water rising in Hurricane Sandy. On Shabbos with a cup of tea and a snack I can rest on the comfortable sofa and read everything from saved articles such as the one above to leafing through encyclopedias to do some reading up on something. The article above was sent out in a year end review of 2017 and caught my attention as aside from being Hurricane related it told the story I heard before of a friend's brother who helped in the rescue of a sweet older woman. The nephew of the man in the rescue is a cute little boy who talked a blue streak to me this past Sukkos in his Sukkoth about the flooding in Houston where his Grandparents and family lived. I remembered when this was happening in real time I felt that this should be the real story of 2017. The way the Network of Social Media was used by Civilian Volunteers to help save people in real time during Hurricane Harvey. Maybe it just says something larger than life about the people of Texas .... but I like to think that it's human nature rising to the top doing good deeds to make the world a better place.

2017 Hurricane Season.

Crowd Sourcing to save lives.

Civilian Volunteers

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/cajun-navy-races-from-louisiana-to-texas-using-boats-to-pay-it-forward/2017/08/28/1a010c8a-8c1f-11e7-84c0-02cc069f2c37_story.html?utm_term=.48feccfab9ff

I get tired of politics and agendas sometimes. There was a time we liked a little spin with our news but these days the spin is enough to make you dizzy before you barely get to the first commercial on the news.  If I was going to name the Person of the Year it would be the EVERYDAY PEOPLE who VOLUNTEERED and helped in the aftermath of hurricanes this year. The Cajun Navy that mobilized instantly using various social media platforms to get into flooded regions and get people out of homes that were going under water rapidly. Groups such as Chabad in Houston that were dealing with their own homes being flooded going out on search and rescue missions to help where help was needed. The sheer scope of the historic flooding in Hurricane Harvey put a huge dent into the normal fast response we expect after a hurricane. When such a large area is affected in disasters such as Katrina and Andrew the system begins to break down. But this year in particular the civilian responders jumped in when flood waters had already swallowed up their homes and the people of Houston got into their boats, trucks and waded personally into the water to help save lives in any way they could and they deserve an award. 

If you read the story of the 77 year old woman in Houston you will find out she called her son in England to tell him that flood waters had entered her 2nd flood apartment and she didn't know what to do. He called a friend in Chabad locally in England to ask if they knew someone in Houston and of course someone did and .....they put out a plea on the community WhatsApp group and immediately my friend in Raleigh's brother who lives in  Houston went out with a few volunteers to rescue the woman. More wonderfully, his wife Baila insisted she stay by them in their home for a month until she could figure out where to go and what to do as their home thankfully only had some ceiling leaks and minor damage. Stories such as this one were repeated across the area in real time as people called family, friends and clergy asking for help and again because of social media groups such as WhatsApp the message was put out in real time to a large amount of people. 

Social Media and Crowd Sourcing to me... was the game changer. Often older people trapped in homes with their ceiling falling in on them or flooding rising into their homes feel panicked and don't know where to go ... other than trying 911 and waiting to be added to the list or they call their family. 

http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2076153/Emerging-From-the-Flood-Waters-True-Kindness.html

This really begain in 2016 during Hurricane Matthew a man taking video with a drone led to the rescue of someone's brother who was watching in real time as flood waters were rising fast into his home.  During the 2017 Hurricane Season this style of self sacrifice and good will took that story to a much larger, wider level.

Amazingly a man and his dog were both saved.

Social Media being a game changer.

http://abc11.com/weather/drone-social-media-help-save-man-dog-trapped-in-flood/1550720/

The victory of human nature over Mother Nature this past summer was one of the beautiful stories to come out of the tragic flooding in Harvey and the devastation across a wide area from Irma. Many places were hit hard this year and abroad from Puerto Rico to small islands few remember the name of are still reeling while we go about our every day life in America celebrating the coming of 2018. What will 2018 bring this Hurricane Season? It's safe to say more of the same ..... unless something major breaks the pattern of Mother Nature on a rampage. This year's epic Hurricane Season has given way to epic, record breaking cold temperatures as shelters and volunteers are racing to help those in need. Locally in Raleigh a volunteer group began giving out blankets and warm drinks to homeless people who didn't want to go into a shelter. You do what you can when you can to help who you can...

Sometimes it really does take a village to help save a life. It's one thing to watch the story on the Nightly News or CNN Live and another to get a personal request in your WhatsApp feed that a woman down the block from you is about to drown in flood waters in her 2nd floor apartment and needs help. It only takes a few moments in real time in a busy WhatsApp feed to figure out who has a boat, who can find a few strong men (in the case of Chabad ...ex Israeli soldiers) to get to her and get her out to safety fast. 

Crowd Sourcing + Civilian Volunteers.

So that's my thought on the 2017 Hurricane Season. People helping people, giving time and supplies when needed or giving a donation online. It only takes a minute... it only takes a bit of time. The world has changed so fast that I can send a child money on an App in my phone faster than than I can edit this blog post and yes sometimes I get presents for my birthday just as fast. Fast can be good sometimes .. especially when flood waters are rising or someone's roof just blew away or someone watching their Twitter Feed recognizes their brother's house going under water and contacts the person who tweeted to get to their brother fast.

Something to think on...

With prayers for a safe, happy 2018 for everyone reading this and a request to dress accordingly this New Year's Eve. Flip flops may be find in Miami but if you are in New York City... bundle up it's going to be an epic cold New Year's Eve.

Besos BobbiStorm

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/814118/jewish/Charity-Tzedakah.htm

https://www.npr.org/2017/12/28/574166438/in-houston-thousands-remain-displaced-as-harvey-recovery-continues

Baby It's Cold Outside.

To quote a song, "Baby it's cold outside" and that goes for a good part of the US. For places like South Florida.. your turn is coming this coming week. Winter is back in style again after being a no show for several years. Kind of like hurricanes if you think on it... It's like someone threw a switch and turned the weather back on and it's coming back with a vengeance this winter. 2018 will usher in a new Arctic Blast much like the last one of the year which has brought record temperatures and threatened New Year's Eve celebrations.

I was debating on whether I should watch TWC this morning. The morning news is now on hiatus as I can not take morning diabtribes and editorials before I have finished my first coffee and finished putting on my make up. TWC is not delivering me snow today, nor is Mother Nature, so I could just keep it off in protest .... however... I watched today. I'm glad I did as I got to enjoy a segment on the 1967 Ice Bowl that was played in frigid temperature and oh by the away the Green Bay Packers won!

That game is always connected to my father and my early love of football. I was home sick (something typical back then) and my family had to go out for the day. Back in those days they left little kids home alone and trusted they would call someone if they needed help. What a concept... Some of my best days were when I was left "home alone" and I'll explain why. I had two little baby brothers at that age, an over protective mother who seemed to enjoy arguing with my father about everything. Being stuck in the car while my brothers fought (I sat in the middle to keep them apart as directed) and every road trip to Grandma's ended in someone being annoyed. Home alone was my "happy world" but I did love going to Grandmas. My father set me up with a radio and the TV and told me I should watch the "football game" that it would be a great game. Obviously... he would like to have stayed home and watched the game too but he was a good guy and so he went with the family and I stayed home. And, in doing so I fell more deeply in love with football and developed a life long devotion to the Green Bay Packers. Looking back I suppose that game was the reason I never liked "America's team" the Cowboys as they were the "other team" and obviously from early on I was a Packer fan even though I lived way down in Florida.

I'm not alone....

I've loved football always. My father taught me to watch local games with the sound off and listening to the radio that for some reason back then did not have a tape delay. That way you learned all the nuances of the plays and the game vs listening to diabtribes by obviously bored on air "announcers" which is consistent with my love of news and politics yet my dislike for CNN, FOX and MSNBC.  Just give me the news and tell me the plays.

One of the better things about being in Miami last month when I was in Cable News Rehab is that on Roku (I hope I spelled that right it's too early in the morning to Google everything) is that I just got this one stupid CBS News that was on a loop with one "reporter" who basically went to the story. Oh my gosh there was no rolling eyes or stupid laughing or bitter discussion at 7 AM ... just the news. There was also no TWC :( but as there was no snow in Miami coming and no hurricanes I made it through adapting and watching my Twitter Feed.

I'm due to go back in a few weeks to see my new granddaughter Olivia and to play with my new grandson Harel and spend some quality time with the "Miami Kids" and my best friends. Maybe I'll get that research done down at the Main Library or maybe not. I'll be back in March... it's been that kind of year. I really want to squeeze in a fast trip to New York somehow before finding time to go to Seattle for a long trip. I've become a professional traveler it seems these days. But today I'm home, in bed, with TWC on low and trying to plan out my day.

Why am I going long on my personal life? It's the end of the year and a time for reflection. Especially so when your birthday is December 30th and you are more prone to look back, smile and remember. I mean you can't go to the local grocery store without seeing "the year in review" so I am taking a few  moments this Friday morning to look back before braving the cold to go out and about shopping for Shabbos. I'm making lamb in the slow cooker today while I'm out and about doing other things.

My mother was over protective about everything. A "Jewish Southern Mother" has more neurosis than a good Tennessee Williams play or a Philip Roth novel. I over compensated at an early age by trying to make up for it but treating my baby brothers to things she would not let them do. One Halloween before we were extremely Orthodox and she stopped doing Halloween she refused to let my brothers go trick or treating because it was "too cold outside" and obviously if they played football Up North in snow I was pretty sure that it was okay to go Trick or Treating when it was in the upper 60s from an early cold front. So she agreed to let me pretend to be someone by a door and they dressed up and they kept coming to my bedroom door (or some door) while I pretended to be different old people giving them Halloween candy. On a few occasions I snuck out with my older baby brother and lucky for me they did not have 911 then as my mother most likely would have called 911 for a possible kidnapping. Anything North of WPB was either "up the road" or "Up North" and a danger zone from late September to May. I'm not exaggerating.

As I was sick often I was not allowed out if it was cold, wet, windy, too hot, humid .... I started sneaking out at an early age to go "storm chasing" and so it goes.

My grandchildren, yes I have a few, are allowed to touch the passing puppy dogs, play in the snow and do more things than my brothers were ever allowed to do until they escaped my mother's over protective grasp. Good for them... my grandchildren ... nothing like playing in the snow. I know because I went to Maine to visit my best friend who lived there for a few years in the middle of winter and sledded down a hill and played on swings in a snowy park and then walked on a Wells Beach with snow going down to the water's edge.

When it snows.... 

.... enjoy it!

When the sun shines...

...enjoy it!

When it rains late at night...

... enjoy the sounds of the rain.

Enjoy it!

Aside from staying home watching football often I got to watch really old movies on Channel 6 in Miami. Channel 6 was the new "other" channel (not ABC NBC or CBS... yes there were only 3 of them then) and they didn't have much programming so they'd play the same movies over and over the way TWC explains about icing on bridges and how not to throw the cup of boiling water into the air to make snow because it's dangerous but here's a clip of someone doing it. Long run on sentence but I'm in a rush so not grammar here today!

If you are going out for New Year's Eve bundle up, keep snacks and water in the car with you in case the car breaks down and use the water before it freezes ;) Seriously, enjoy the weather and may this be the biggest thing we have to worry about on New Year's Eve.  If you prefer staying home.... enjoy the evening ... watch a good movie, something on Youtube or share it with a good friend or someone you love. 

Going shopping. Takes a while to figure out what to wear here when it's this cold. It currently has warmed up to 23 degrees going up to 41 (toasty warm) and down to 15 degrees tonight. No snow. Since I've been robbed of real winter weather this blog is about life and weather and well as I said back when I started this blog it's my blog so I can talk about what I want ;)

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter

The original from the movie. I don't remember the movie but when I was really little the women did look like that in the movies. Seems a lot of minks gave their lives up for Hollywood Films ;)

And no I am not proofing this I found more errors in the New York Times recently in online articles I wonder does the media ever proof anything anymore? 

This was not a diatribe just musing which is what I do and hoping to make my brother smile.

Tricky Forecast For New Year's Eve. Snow Is a No Snow in Most of the South. Up North Where It Belongs I guess..

So you think it's cold by you?

This is a picture from Postville, Iowa.

My daughter-in-law's way of saying..

"Just why" while visiting "home"

Seattle is balmy compared to Postville.

It's all relative.

I'm watching TWC do their coverage of the current Arctic Blast and two things hit me. One ... why was a tourist surprised it was cold in Chicago and some lady said she was snowed in and "desperate for salad" ....

It's often freezing in Chicago in late December; it's common for the wind to come in off the Lake and make you run into the closest store or apartment building to take cover and catch your breath. I have never in my life been "desperate for salad" so I'll pass that onto my husband who likes to have a salad every day (I know it's supposed to be very healthy) but really? Desperate for salad? I've been desperate for a steak or some turkey with all the trimmings including a pumpkin pie. I've been desperate for good vegetables or some flan and definitely desperate for coffee but "salad" ??? Interesting.

So let's talk how cold it may or may not get. Most people are talking about it unless they live in Key West and in Key West the lows are in the 60s and the highs in the 70s so that's down right chilly for people in the Conch Nation. I'm officially a Conch, by the way, but that's a discussion for another blog. It's so cold here in Raleigh today that when I asked my husband who is from "upstate NY" how cold it was he said definitively "COLD" so that's a statement trust me. Not "nippy" or "chilly" or "frosty" but COLD. It may be cold, but it's awfully pretty this time of year in Raleigh. You can see the sunset through the trees and that means ... well you can SEE the sunset as in the summer it's a wall of green round these parts.

This is why I like winter in Raleigh.

I also get a "chance" of winter weather.

One of the better things about following meteorologists online is you get a wide array of advice and thoughts as people live everywhere yet have the same basic question. That question being "will it snow?" Very much like people talking on Mike's Facebook Page and worrying on whether a hurricane will make landfall from every point across the Gulf Coast and parts of Florida. 

Whether it snows or doesn't snow...

...it's going to be COLD.

Truth is winter weather is complex.

AKA "It's complicated"

There is snow above me up in the clouds not making it down to the surface as the surface is too warm (38 degrees but feels colder) and very dry. There are many dry layers of the atmosphere here. We need a "more wet" storm system coming through to get Carolina snow and that system may be the caboose of this Winter Weather Train set up that takes us into the first week of January. In 2010 we had a heavy snow in Raleigh. I mean a picture perfect snow that lasted for days and days. School was cancelled for I believe a week at least. Being a weather lover living in Raleigh is a bit sadistic. The snow line is to the North almost always and the freezing rain line is the South ... almost always. Once in a while it snows!

7 years ago on December 27th.

Pretty. Beautiful.

The dangers of making a forecast for the South is...

... it's usually a busted forecast.

Note the forecast from a few days ago.

Either way I'm staring out the window.

Hoping for a snowflake to fall.

Working on other things.

Staying warm.

Snow map below:

Some online advice for New Year's Eve.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/how-to-avoid-freezing-if-youre-headed-to-times-square-for-new-years-eve/70003597

January 1st brings us COLDER weather.

Stay tuned...

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter

Record Snow Fall...53 Inches but WHERE? 3 Things You Need to Know Dec 26, 2017. Will it SNOW on New Year's Eve?

The 3 biggest weather news stories of the day are the crazy snow totals of "Lake Effect Snow" in Erie PA (a staggering record 53 inches), the possibility of a New Year's Eve Snow Storm and an extremely cold period forecast for the not so distant future as Arctic Air dips down into the South.

Erie PA is a done deal and they are probably so done with snow as of December 26th and as the temperatures will be cold for a long time ... snow will remain on the ground. American, United and Delta have flights to Erie so if you want to see snow then you may want to book a ticket to Erie to build snow people ;) however you may want to wait until they dig out a bit.  Wouldn't you just figure record rainfall during the Hurricane Season would segue into record snow totals before the 2017 year ends. To add to the "I've seen fire and I've seen rain" we can now say Santa Claus definitely let it snow, snow, snow in Erie.

http://www.goerie.com/news/20171226/snow-emergency-declared-in-erie

As for the biggest "Maybe" in the above stories is the possibility of people prancing in a snow storm on New Year's Eve in Time Square. It could happen and it will be cold enough for the snow to stick long enough to make the start of 2018 look like a Winter Wonderland. But will it play out that way? Time will tell as no one is sure and the models don't agree. Seems 2018 will be much like 2017 as in "problematic" and "record breaking" as the beat goes on and on. The models have put a Southern Snow Storm into the picture and taken it out as fast as you can say "do the Hokie Pokie" and it's been my experience in North Carolina that you wait until you see the white stuff falling from the sky before you start doing a Snow Dance! This morning's models made all the weather people who changed their mind yesterday .... change their minds again. I'll wait until tomorrow before giving my own thoughts. Just know some people will see snow for New Year's Eve. Fake fur is in style, I suggest you buy some on sale today or tomorrow quickly to keep yourselves both warm and stylish!

The SURE THING part of today's big 3 blog is ... it will be very, very, very cold this coming week. Whether North Georgia or the Carolinas see snow this coming weekend is still up for grabs... but the cold, cold, cold temperatures are a sure thing. So keep that in mind when planning your party events. Staying home in front of the fireplace or the fake fireplace heater sipping warm tea spiked with Bourbon and snacking on some incredible baked Brie may be your best bet for New Year's Eve.

Google around for some recipes. The recipes will be more reliable than the forecast until we get to Thursday when we should know for sure....who gets snow... and who does not. Just know in most parts of the USA including at least North Florida it will be cold. Invest in fake fur is my suggestion. Oh, and I bought a Carolina Panther's Knit Hat for this winter... Just because well... #becauseCarolina!

Besos BobbiStorm
@bobbistorm on Twitter

Follow the snow graphics and the models on www.spaghettimodels.com because it's not just about the Tropics but about WEATHER ;)

Ps... Remember when we used to call them "winter storms" ??? Now we call them "events" and "episodes" so I guess this is more a continuation of the Soap Opera known as "WEATHER TODAY" and I'm predicting 2018 will bring us more of the same when it comes to crazy weather. El Nino is hiding somewhere far away, letting La Nina duke it out with "Neutral Phase" while we wait for the next Winter Weather Episode. Don't say I didn't warn ya...

In honor of my daughter's birthday coming up.

Winter babies seem to love Taylor Swift...

Snow Seattle & Maine & Places In Between... Will the South Get a Winter Storm? Stay Tuned...

Seattle won the Snow Raffle.

A rare Christmas snow blanketed Seattle last night.

How beautiful is that?

I have a daughter-in-law who does not love snow as she lived for many years in Postville Iowa. It gets really cold there in the winter.... as it currently warmed up today to 5 degrees!  But she has a father who lives there and 2 children on vacation who are going to go see their grandfather and see what a real winter is really like again. They grew up in Iowa, however they have been living in Seattle where it is ironically quite warm considering it's at a far latitude North. Palm trees grown in Seattle and there is a nearby rain forest in the mountains; the pine trees though make it look like a warm Winter Wonderland all year round. This year.......she got snow thrown in her face before going to Postville that looks more like the Ukraine this time of year than America. My son loves snow and most types of "weather" so he's over the top to see Seattle covered in snow!

A good video of Postville in the Winter. If you want snow you can usually bet it is there in the winter, however it's a long ride to get there from any airport. Don't say I didn't warn you! And..dress warm!

That's how I dress when in Postville...

But I'm in North Carolina.

Wishing for snow.

Or some sort of winter weather...

Trying not to buy too much online today.

Had Indian food for lunch ;)

So Maine and Washington State got their snow wishes today and places in the MidWest saw snow.

Later this week the Snow Fairy takes a vacation to the South!

How far South is a question.

And who gets snow vs freezing rain?

Yet to be determined.

Stay tuned!

I hope you all got what you wanted today and if not it's probably on sale somewhere online for free shipping and 20% off so treat yourself to whatever you want the most! I know a few friends who have their new grandchildren this year so they are in 7th Heaven ;) and I know a newborn baby going home this afternoon from the hospital so I know quite a few happy people today. One of my best friends had her 2nd Great Grandchild today and no she's not that old... but she started young and so did her daughter and her daughters ;) A pic of me and Malka celebrating the engagement of my son just a few years ago. Love her. 

Family can be awesome....

.....but they can also drive you crazy sometimes.

Friendship is golden!

If you have a good friend... you're blessed.

I'll be back tomorrow with weather info.

News on the next big storm.

TWC is on all day talking about weather.

So.... you can bet I'm watching carefully.

Check back for more As the Weather World Turns.

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter

Ps Leaving you with a song a mutual friend loved ... he used to call Malka "Blondie" so here's to friendship and love.

Snow....in the 5 Day Forecast.... and 10 Day Forecast? Carolina & Virginia Snow?

I love how Mike covers Winter ;)

The above is the 24 hour snow forecast projection map. Sort of the bottom line less than a day away.  The map below is a 5 day projection and shows more snow showing up down the road. It's only late December there is a whole Winter yet to go for snow lovers. For those who do not like snow... May I suggest thinking of moving somewhere that it is way warmer! Like somewhere South of Jacksonsville Florida...

I blame a lot of this in Irving Berlin.  For some illogical reason people everywhere expect that it should snow on Christmas morning (or even Christmas Eve) and I'm talking EVERYONE. Jews who don't do Christmas as well as the sweet Indian guy down the block who may have his Indian restaurant open tomorrow .... feels cheated if it doesn't snow on Christmas. I'm pretty sure the pooch downstairs that always looks sad and the two geese that show up every morning at 8 AM are feeling it should snow tomorrow. But, it's just a date on the meteorological calendar and if it's that important to you then you should plan a vacation somewhere every year way up North like possibly Washington State ... around Chicago or Maine. Otherwise... you may be disappointed! I'm pretty sure no one in Argentina or Brazil expects snow for Christmas as it's summer down there this time of year. Possibly a cute girl on the beach in Ipanema but no snow. People in Key West do just fine without snow and all the years I lived in L.A. it did not snow and life went on.

That said.......  we have three chances for snow over the next two weeks in the Carolinas. Every weather site online varies a little in it's expression for snow and there is more a chance those geese show up than any meteorologist nails the forecast this far out. That said.... it may snow!

Note how different the forecasts are with regard to the same city on the same computer at the same time!

The 5 day shows an invasion of the Snow Line.

So over the next few days it's going to feel a lot like Winter in the Carolinas and with or without snow you will need to bundle up and stay warm!. Obviously the Mid West, NW and a good part of the NE is going to be complaining by January 1st and saying "how much more of this can we take?"

I'll be back over the next few days to talk in more detail about this new push South by New Man Winter, but I want to take this time to wish everyone a happy, enjoyable holiday and new year filled with just the weather you want! Yesterday was my Hebrew birthday, as we have a lunar based calendar the calendars like the GFS and the EURO rarely match up! My daughter-in-law gave birth on my birthday to Olivia Eden so I've been busy shopping for presents to take down in a few weeks to Miami.

May you all be blessed with happiness and the weather you desire the most!

Besos BobbiStorm
@bobbistorm on Twitter

Ps... Loving the Carolina Panthers who constantly KEEP POUNDING! Going to the Playoffs!!

Winter Solstice. A Season of Thankfulness, Gratitude and As Always Wishing For Snow ;)

First of all remember while reading this I am a Capricorn baby... so I kind of like Winter. I like the way the trees look in North Carolina when you see their structure and the blue sky shines through as the sun lights up the tops of the always green pine trees. It's also always a treat to me that the world is naturally air conditioned! Miami girl up north...that's how it feels to me. You can put extra clothes on to warm you up but there is a limit to the clothes you can take off when it's muggy! I have a friend who called from Miami this morning, he had his "Summer Headache" as it felt more like Summer there than Winter. Then again I know some people who love having summer 365 days a year! It worked for Carl Fisher when he was selling Miami Beach in January in the 1920s to people up north who could afford a piece of swamp land to run to when they wanted to get away from the snow.

Today IS the Winter Solstice; that moment when it is officially "Winter" and many in America feel that if it's this cold they feel justified to get snow. Mind you if they live in large metropolitan areas where the picture perfect snow turns into brown slush after a few hours they may not be wishing for snow. In places like Virginia and the Carolinas and parts of Georgia we like the snow. Okay, those who moved here from Cleveland and Cincinnati do not like the snow . . .

Not sure what it is about "Winter" but it brings out the Haters as well as the people who LOVE Winter. May you all be blessed to live where you like the weather and if you can't be blessed with enough money to hop on a plane and be where you love you want to be more often!

Leaving you with a few links that have both good and bad info --- because that's the way of the world!

https://www.vox.com/2016/12/20/14027402/winter-solstice-2017

https://www.buzzfeed.com/refinery29/your-guide-to-the-winter-solstice-how-to-be-happi-1aeh?utm_term=.sulDzo41A#.xjZVMD30A

You choose to obsess on whether there is some dark, disturbing story behind the Winter Solstice or whether you can find happiness and beauty today.

As for me I am coming off the glow of 8 days of Chanukah and enjoying the decorated beauty of the world this holiday season. After January 1st people often turn into Scrooge and start complaining about the winter weather they prayed for in November. Human Nature I suppose is always looking forward to tomorrow. As for me I'm going to live in the day today and enjoy the moments. A wonderful thing happened last night suddenly (talk on a surprise being good!) and my friend looks like a young girl about to get married. She's the mother of ten children and she has gone through the hardest of times and the prayers of many were answered yesterday. I've listened to more live singing than you can imagine (unless you followed my Tweets last night) and didn't get much sleep. But I'm awake, smiling and going to spend today reflecting, giving thanks and taking it all in...

I'm happy.

Be happy.

I'm thankful.

Be thankful.

Toda means thankful in Hebrew ;)

Try hard to see the beauty in the world and not the negative. Don't be a complainer. Believe the good in things, you become what you believe...  And if you believe enough then rather than being sad and complaining you CAN become what ever you want to be ... make changes to your life whether than means commitment to something, someone or taking on a new life ... a new direction. Music brings joy so leaving it with that. Take control of your life and if you don't like the weather... go find the weather you like and if you can't go right now.... you can take a virtual trip on Youtube ;)

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter 

Winter Solstice... Are You Traveling for the Holidays? Snow Wishes and Rainy Kisses

It's cold and rainy in Raleigh.

Not freezing but getting colder.

Seems the Christmas Weekend forecast is an ever moving target in parts of the country. And what happens in one part of the country can affect others not really living there. Let's say for instance you are leaving LA to fly to see your parents in NYC and you have your typical non-stop inexpensive flight that makes a stop in Chicago. Your trip may be severely impacted by wintry weather in the Chicago area. Let's say you are driving from Miami to NYC to see your parents and your sister flying in from LA for a family reunion for the holidays. You may have a long, messy drive up I95 and when you get there you can flip a coin whether the forecast will verify or not. Then there's areas West of the Appalachian mountains that may get crappy weather that could bring snow or just bring more frigid rain so transferring in Atlanta or Charlotte to that family reunion in NYC may put you in shared misery with the sister flying in from LA. Why doesn't anyone stay in one place anymore???

Your Aunt Martha who doesn't like to fly may be nervous about taking Amtrak into Penn Station even though she's thrilled she's not going to get stuck on an airplane in Atlanta because there was or wasn't a fire that turned the power out.

Does anyone really want to travel in this age of virtual reality when we can all do Facetime while opening our presents without battling the elements or the thought of flying, driving or taking the train. Makes you wonder when Amazon or Google are going to come up with that transporter they used on Star Trek. Pretty sure a lot of people would prefer taking their chances with that then traveling this holiday weekend.

Have you ever noticed they make everything these days into an ornament? But, I'm digressing.

The forecast for Christmas weekend has changed so often that I really don't want to put my thoughts onto the blog here just yet.

The freeze line is staying near the Virginia border as they seem to be hogging Jack Frost and holding him hostage. People in North Carolina don't want freezing weather, however they do want snow. Kind of hard to get snow when the temperatures are in the low 50s at Noon. Unless cold wet air moves down this way we will continue wishing on snow and being wet as we take our morning run.

Rain remains in the SE

Note Great Lakes = winter weather (duh)

Wyoming.... well it's Wyoming.

If you live in the SW...

...stay there ;)

TWC is doing cat photo contests. I'm not a cat hater. I like cats. But obviously there is a lack of weather to talk about.. if they are doing pet picture contests. 

Michael Ventrice puts it well.

And Accuweather....

...well they don't have much to talk about.

Snow in the Great Lakes is par for the course.

Hope springs eternal.

Keep hoping.

Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice.

Yes, winter begins tomorrow.

Officially!!

It's like this... I grew up in South Florida. As a young adult I lived in LA. I'm kind of used to there not being snow during the holidays. Bright neon lights strung up in palm trees while sun baked, brightly burned tourists wandered around town smelling of either Novacaine or sun tan oil. Winter meant the invasion of the NY tourists (snow birds) and hurricane season was far away. We stayed inside in our beds late at night with the AC on high while getting in the mood by watching White Christmas late at night on whichever channel was showing it. If Old Man Winter wants to be a kill joy and keep all the snow in Alaska this year (and the Great Lakes) then... life will go on. Make a Margarita, put on a Jimmy Buffet CD and deal with it!

https://www.thespruce.com/fresh-margarita-cocktail-recipe-759317

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter

Ps.... if you really must obsess.

http://www.snow-forecast.com/maps/dynamic/usa