NYE 2018 Into 2019 - As the Weather World Turns

Kind of awesome isn't it?

We can watch the whole world's weather...

...from up above.

NYE weather..... January 1st?

Watch the weather world turn.

For a good part of the year I'm watching waves roll off of Africa and what's going on in the Caribbean and then I'm suddenly aware of an odd noise outside ..... and I realize it's raining in my backyard. The irony is that unless it's winter and I'm hoping it will snow I rarely pay attention to the local weather in my own neighborhood. I check my kid's weather as they don't use weather apps or pay attention to the local weather until someone posts weather news in the family WhatsApp feed. It's a strange, big, beautiful world. 

And we are moving fast from 2018 into 2019 as the hours click away and the clock counts down. It's human nature to look back every year and remember, bitch, complain and wax poetic on what was the most wonderful and what was the most horrible. There are always things that remain in our memory and others we don't remember until someone reminds us. I suppose it's a good thing to take stock every year and smile and ponder what we would like to do this coming year. Goals are good, surprises happen and sometimes you actually get what you are wishing for but I may warn you as always to be careful for what you are wishing for... because you just might just get it!

It was a busy year for me traveling frequently to see my kids in the 3 corners of the USA and back and forth up and down I-95. Cranky is right my life has become traveling North and South on I-95 yet I went to Seattle this year and am drinking coffee this morning out of an Amazon Go mug picked up in the store where you don't pay the register and I literally mean "picked up" as I wandered through the store with my son and one of his friends. I walked around the huge Biosphere Globe and I do mean "walked around" as it's reminiscent to my first trip to Disney World. Amazingly my son worked on some of the algorithms that made that store work and it was wonderful seeing him and his awesome family. I was there for my granddaughter Bella's birthday party and celebrating life and family. Even without the kids there I'd love Seattle, something about that city resonates with me deeply.

Seattle is truly so magical.

A tropical paradise inside the globe.

And, then back home to the East Coast.

Yet we watch the West Coast for our future weather.

 We watch Alaska and before that the Pacific.

Look at that Jet Stream in the NW...

Wet weather up across Mexico ... 

Then the Southern Jet up coming into the South East.

The two jets of 2018...

...will they linger into 2019?

Or hook up again somewhere?

Speaking of Alaska... 

...big earthquake this year.

And there you see the current pattern.

Snow in the NW...and the Great Lakes.

Rain the Southeast.

Down the road Oklahoma might get snow.

Just a blue patch there in the middle of the country.

The rest of the South stays clear of snow for five days.

Then what?

If you don't have snow...

... play in the sand.

And Mike does.

He made a Sandman!

www.spaghettimodels.com

Somehow this year he became the Drunk Monkey Man.

I'm not sure where the girl is who called him that online.

Hopefully she keeps those things "inside thoughts" from now on.

My younger kids use that term.

My older kids tell their kids "use your words"

Use your words wisely.

Mike as always runs with the ball... 

You can buy a tee shirt or an umbrella!

Check out his site for weather and merchandise.

I bought a Hurricane Season tee shirt..

sorry not putting a donkey across my breasts.

People look enough as it is....

... nuff said there.

Cute though.

Mike's cute.

Jim Williams chased Michael.

This was definitely the year of Michael.

Michael and Florence in the tropics.

Retired names (they will be) of 2018.

A wet Southeast was the legacy.

Rainiest year in Raleigh since 1945.

1945 was a huge hurricane year...

Good for him.

He got out of his studio/office...

..and back to his roots.

Jim's always been a chaser...

I know that, trust me.

But he's an awesome Weather Historian.

He's awesome in general. I know that.

Jim Cantore finally got out of Wilmington.

They were pounded by rain before, during and after Flo.

Flo would not leave....

Tornadoes happened in Wyoming this year.

Oh and Cape Cod got some action too in that department.

Weather is locational.

Memories of 2018 are connected to your location.

Fires in California were the story of the year there.

Well there's time for a big Quake but times running out.

It's 8 AM on December 31, 2018

The "ball" or "acorn" will be dropping soon.

In Raleigh they drop an acorn.

It's Raleigh... don't ask.

You remember the weather you had that rocked your world.

Or you hanker for the weather you want and didn't get.

You hope it won't snow or you pray it snows.

I had a surprise snowfall in New York in Mid November.

Magical snow flakes falling from the sky out of nowhere.

Not in the forecast...

Raleigh got snow, a lot of snow later that month.

We have not had snow since.........

Last year it was freezing on New Years Eve...

...this year it's forecast to be in the high 60s today.

Thunderstorms!

(count ten days til snow...)

You have to roll with the punches weatherwise and in life.

I have 3 new grandchildren... this year.

2017 was the year of weddings.

2018 was the year of babies.

A brand new Instapot and beautiful Kitchen Aid.

Maybe 2019 will be the year of cooking and baking!

For most baby boomers losing the Bandit was hard.

He defined a good part of our lives.

Especially if you live Down South.

but I know a few Yankees who loved him too.

May 2019 bring you wonders and magic.

Magical moments to remember.

New friends, children, partners, grandchildren.

Maybe a new puppy or goldfish or lizard?

May you take trips to paradise or enjoy staying home.

Home is where the heart is...

..but in today's world... 

The world wide web let's us take our heart with us..

..wherever we go.

We are all on Twitter or Instagram or Facebook.

And we can watch the world turn from up above.

My special thanks to all I mentioned...

..all I implied (you know who you are) 

And to those I didn't mention but usually do.

To all of you who rock my world...

Thank You!

And as for Burt....

The Bandit stole our heart.

Besos BobbiStorm

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

Happy 2019!!

As for the 2018 Hurricane Season..

Jim and I both love maps and weather.

Going to let him do the 2018 Hurricane Season round up.

Besos BobbiStorm
@bobbistorm on Twitter

Ps... As for me I'm watching the weather.
Wearing a plethora of tee shirts.

This one from www.hurricanecity.com
Finding weather from the Keys to Seattle...
... in Iowa or New York City.
Sometimes even Raleigh...



Thanks for following along.



Enjoy the thoughts and the music.
We do get older, we kind of grow up.
Sometimes I think we get even better with time.

From Carolina........

Snow.... White Christmas. Music. Memories.Who Wants Snow? I do.... Who is getting it? Not me ... Maybe You?

If you are here for the weather.........

.... this says it all.

Nothing in the tropics.

No December hurricanes.

Not much snow either but ...

...graphics above show where the snow will be..

And a special Merry Christmas to Mike.

Good guy... good friend... food father/husband.

He knows how to enjoy life.

Good for him!

The rest of this will discuss snow.

Or more specifically who gets a White Christmas..

..or who does not.

And why do we want one so badly...??

I bet you get cards like this still...

...or you see them in Hallmark Stores.

Hallmark Stores in the Carolinas are the size of...

...small Walmarts. Honest.

Or scenes like this dance in your brain...

And it bubbles up from deep down inside....

"I want snow for Christmas"

"Just like the ones I used to know.."

You can blame it on Irving Berlin...

...or Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.

The power of music is amazing in that it conjures up memories that sometimes you never actually ever had happen and yet the songs you love can convince you otherwise. Take White Christmas for instance? It's one of those Christmas songs we love since our childhood. It was written by Irving Berlin who was born Yisroel which translates into English as Israel. He was born in Russia so he probably did have a snow for months out of the year as the region where he was born was practically Siberia. Yet he writes he's dreaming of a White Christmas with all the details as if he was born and raised in Maine or Montana, his creativity flowing fast and beautiful into an iconic song we all love. Somehow I feel deprived in North Carolina if I don't get a White Christmas just like the ones I used to know. Reality check here... I grew up in Miami and I'm Jewish and my mother didn't allow no Christmas Tree in our house even if some called it a Holiday Bush and we didn't get no snow either unless it came out of spray can you spray on the windows to make them look frosty; she didn't allow that either but the stores in downtown Miami did that often. I grew up in a Miami Vice Art Deco colored world with twinkling lights wrapped around palm trees and yet in my mind I grew up with an Irving Berlin White Christmas.

Music does that to us really. It takes us places we have never been and we feel we have been there as we have listened to the songs for hours on end. I feel like I've been to South America because I'v watched Madonna dance in Evita so many times.

I've never been there....

...but I've danced to this tune for years.

Stand back.... whatcha gonna get in me?

Not your usual weather blog.

I can't deliver snow to those who want it...

...or transport those who don't want it to Miami.

Today I'm in a Miami Beach mood.

Maybe I should have gone....

.... maybe I should go to Myrtle Beach.

Both MB....

Hmnnnn.....

If you want snow...

Go North 

My brother is gonna be in Rio.

Long story.

I'm very happy for him.

Life is short.

Gotta get out there and enjoy it.

He's my youngest brother...

...if not now when?

!!

Nice pic from the Catskills.

My husband is from North of there.

Looks normal to him I supposed.

He took skis to high school...

...so he could ski after school.

Definitely not Florida.

Thanking Allan for the retweet.

Really I want to be in Seattle...

...but it's expensive to go.

And such a long trip.

You gotta stay a while when you go.

I did go to LA once for a fast weekend.

It was Oscar Weekend. 

Nice trip.

Great trip :)

So what are your memories?

Did you really experience them?

Or are they merely a musical memory?

I didn't have a fireplace growing up ....

I had one in Long Beach California.

I'd sit and listen to old love songs.

Stare into the fire and remember.

Music..... gotta love it.

In ways maybe we should hate it.

Love hate thing ya know...

But it is what it is......it's music!

My husband loves Oldie Goldie songs, he is one of those people who doesn't keep up with current music and though he knows who sang "all about the base" he doesn't remember she also sang "Dear Future Husband" so he thinks she was a one hit wonder.... I told him she was not. He did take me to see Evita on stage in Durham one year for a present so we will forgive him for being stuck in the late 1970s and not understanding why I love Country Music because he puts it on the car for me even though I know he doesn't get what the big deal is... but he's a Yankee. To be honest before his family came over from Bialystock and became anarchists and vegetarians (he converted to meat in his 20s) and went upstate New York and opened a hotel his ancestors probably knew snow well but he was raised "Up North" as my Mother would say and has a Yankee perspective and he's a Baby Boomer so they just rock on forever stuck in the 1970s. I prefer not listening to 1970s music and yet I can watch "White Christmas" forever and ever. 

My mother had a sign in her bedroom pasted onto her wall near her desk and it said "Music has no age it is timeless" and she told me once while dancing that music was the love of her life and added music will never disappoint you. She was an opera singer when young and she sang a lot of Big Band music and danced with soldiers... some she loved and one I know she loved more than the others as they shared the love of music. My father liked Willie Nelson and Ann Miller and well.... life went on and he was good to her. His motto was basically if she was happy we were all happy; so true, smart Daddy.

So here we are.... it's gonna be a wet, wet Christmas for most of the people in the lower 48 and especially in the Deep South and whether you are Jewish or Christian or Baptist or Episcopalian or even an Atheist (God Forbid..) if you are dreaming of a White Christmas you should have gone to Asheville! Laughing.... or chuckling or giggling. I love the holidays and the fact that our emphasis tends to be on good cheer, presents, love and salvation and a better place or the promise of a better place where it snows on Christmas and then the snow melts fast and doesn't turn dark or get dirty like it does in NYC but they never show it in the movies and you can run between the raindrops in a sappy commercial and never actually get wet and you can eat a chocolate a day for at least the next 150 plus days. 

To all those I love and there are many... all sides and faces of them .... to those who have put up with me, loved me, adored me, stolen words I said and put them into works of art (you know who you are) and to those who thought we were merely ships passing in the night in high school or on AOL.... I still love ya....still crazy after all these years.

May you have the weather you want and if you don't want it... figure out a way to love it and when you have the chance go to where the weather you love and party like it's 2019!

I'm going shopping... oddly that is how I connect. I wander through the mall and look at decorations and listen to music and buy marked down presents for my kids, my grandkids and my friends and maybe just something for me. I have some Chanukah gift cards still and a few birthday present cards from DressBarn and Victoria's Secrets as my birthday is December 30th so I am in a holiday... birthday state of mind. And, hope to watch White Christmas some time soon. When I was young in Drama my best friend Linda and I did an onstage dance routine to this song and she died when I was very young but as my mother said music has no age and is forever. She's with me always... if only in my dreams. Oh... I had odd dreams last night and no Linda was not in them. Hmnnn 

Just being me... anyone send me pics of snow you are enjoying I'll post them ;)

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter

Ps...Sorry for the run on rambling blog today but who really reads it deep in December? And.. I needed to write....   did you really think I was gonna put up a Carpenters Song or "buttercup" or Herman's Hermits? Nah...........  nope............ but those songs are with me forever and luckily I wasn't killed in that road trip on Biscayne Blvd while trying to remember the name of that stupid song... rolling eyes.

Travel Trouble. Tornado Warnings Now Florida. Give Back to Those Who Give You So Much Weather Info... Spread the Holiday Cheer and Charity.

The over advertised storm system that was forecast to swing through Florida is delivering the punch it was expected to pack and more. I woke up this morning to three different tornado warnings as the trouble began early today. Any travel from Tampa to Orlando to Daytona should be done with extreme caution and that basically means the I-40 and most of the Turnpike is currently cloaked in wicked weather. In the old days we used to call this an "E" ride at Disney weatherwise today but if that went whoosh over your head just know it will be a continuing mess until this clears the state later tonight. And, it will clear the state so you can keep those boots and sherpa jackets handy. The drama continues up the coast as the front continues to push across the general I-95 area. A crappy day to travel and a good day to stay on top of the weather in your local area. The best way to stay on top of the weather is to check your local NWS office.

https://www.weather.gov/

Put your cityin and find your exact info.

The map below is from that site.

You can see if you are driving ...

..from Miami to NY today.

You might want to wait a day if you can.

Travel is going to be a big mess.

Florida is dressed in Red for the Holidays.

Mike living on the West Coast gets it first.

Radar grabs are all the same.

Only the colors will change during the day.

With the heating of the day it gets worse.

This is a strong front.

Look at that front go through.

Check out those watches and warnings.

My brother is already at the beach....

Taking pictures.

He's a good photographer.

Photography runs in the family.

I had a Great Uncle who was....

..a photographer for the Ziegfeld Follies!

More to that story but staying focused here.

If you live in Florida PLEASE take this seriously.

And this is the set up for the Winter of 2018.

So far anyway.

The last one swung through.

This one will too.

There will be more.

As the weather pushes through GA...

South and North Carolina.

There are chances to see tornadoes..

..and wicked weather.

But that's for tomorrow...

Today it's mostly about Florida.

Carolinas will see a rainy day.

The severe weather threat is for Thursday.

This is what we call Apocalypse Weather.

Usually we see it in May and June.

Monsoons Gone Crazy.

But this Winter is a real Winter.

And Cold Fronts are on the move.

Watch your radars.

Pay attention to your Apps.

Don't say I didn't warn ya..

Everyone warned you...

The "hype" was a warning not "hype"

Weather evolves.

Stay tuned.

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter

Ps A big PS here in that there are those online who work hard to bring you fast, timely weather warnings and information. In this time of GIVING make sure you GIVE and show your thanks. Mike for example provides information in a entertaining way yet he never takes his eye off the approaching weather. He may lose his umbrella in a tornado but he gives his all throughout the Hurricane Season and keeps chugging along throughout the year. Others such as Rob from Crown Weather has a paid for view service and he's almost always on the money so he's well worth the money if you live in an area and have weather concerns that go beyond waiting to see if TWC talks about it in real time. If you have problems separating the hype from the danger he is worth the money... and he has another site for New England. If you have a site and it has a button feel free to send them some holiday cheer. It's always good to know that people appreciate the work you put in.

www.spaghettimodels.com

www.hurricanecity.com

https://dabuh.com/

www.crownweather.com

https://www.route20weather.com/  Western & Central Massachusetts 

Description

Description

As for me I don't have a button but until 12:59 PM this site is active, my grandchildren go there and it's one of the best schools I know in one of the most beautiful places in the world. The children are taught in a way to bring out their own individuality and at least in my family I know that's a good thing as they are creative, bright and real individuals. They have a special fundraiser going on that quadruples every donation so for every dollar you donate you are actually giving four dollars. Can't get that much bang out of your buck when you donate and it's better than most the website sales of the day. So while shopping.... give a little cheer, give a little charity, be a part of the change in the world you want to see. If you do give... feel free to tell them BobbiStorm sent you :) That could be your gift to me for the holidays! They are always a good place to give to, high up on my list of charities and incredible schools.

https://www.charidy.com/MJM?fbclid=IwAR0PIRLuIfdJweN3Dc0tsR_CMeu8KN3OnHy2CPpSw1ITXMWJoChbWq9CLIM

Mike makes jokes but there is often a kernel of real truth in what he says. I thought on this jokingly the day before to myself. The "dipping low pressure areas" that are the reason for this season of Severe Weather in December....  There have been so many of these systems shown on modeling I was wondering if TWC was going to give them a special name. Mike went out on that limb but the point is this is not a one time set up, we will continue to get them for a while this winter and at some point deeper into January the pattern changes, the Polar Vortex does it's part but the Southern Jet being enhanced by the nameless El Nino will be pumping up the South and filling it with wet weather until that lazy ole Polar Vortex Does it's thing.

Severe Weather in the South Again. What Starts in Texas Doesn't Stay in Texas. FL Winters Bring Wicked Weather. Torcon Drama. Snow or Rain? Find Your Happy Ending....

I wanted to talk on the system moving through the South later this week and in this case when I say the South I'm more worried on South Florida and actually the rest of Florida as Florida from the tip of Key West to the Panhandle to Jacksonville takes up a whole lot of Real Estate. Today it's as good as it gets in South Florida in December. This winter has arrived early and with a once a week chance to wear those boots and sherpa jackets as you race out the door only to peel them off in time to dash out to lunch and bask in the warm sunshine; cool nights and warm days is what winter in South Florida is all about. Another part of winter in Miami is the chance of severe, strong weather that races in ushering in the next cold front as the cold air clashes with the balmy weather. This winter dance is extremely popular in Tampa and Miami; the Florida Keys are a great destination for storm chasers to get incredible images of waterspouts over Florida Bay this time of year. Waterspouts and Tornadoes often happen in the Winter in Florida.

Being from the Tampa area Mike knows this.

Good map by www.crownweather.com

The 3 day loop shows the problem.

Below is the image most worrisome.

Put that in motion:

http://origin.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/allfcsts_loop_ndfd.gif

What starts in Texas doesn't stay in Texas...

Be warned.

Sucking up warm GOM moisture....

And again the Southern Jet is the culprit. 

Say "Thank you to El Nino"

That strong signature is it's signature.

Cold weather is funneling down...

...but the Deep South is getting slammed with rain.

Where it dips, when it dips is the story.

If you add in a Polar Vortex dip you get more trouble.

But otherwise this is the story.

As the World Turns

(my mother watched that....)

I watch the water vapor loop

That's my Soap Opera.

http://weather.unisys.com/sites/default/file

/mnt/webdata/satellite/sat_wv_east_loop-12.gif

Jim Cantore knows this as he waxed poetic on it earlier this morning seemingly annoyed the Torcon Index was not higher. What is the Torcon Index you ask? When it's higher than 3 my friend Sharon sends me a message that reads "looks like you're getting weather!"  They are from New England and weather is both a noun and a verb to them. Winter in Miami is when the sky turns purple black and a squall line sweeps through delivering hail embedded in severe weather and then the temperature drops 25 degrees in five minutes and you need your sherpa jacket.

Today as the weather slides along the Northern Gulf of Mexico remember that it will be storming in Florida soon enough. What it won't be doing in Florida or most of the South anytime soon is snowing. Well if you go up to the mountains the elevation will assure you a bit of snow and the snow making machines are doing their thing as well so if you are looking to ski in Boone North Carolina this Christmas Santa will be delivering. 

The 5 Day Snow Forecast shows that story.

The song should change the lyrics to ...

"Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain"

NC has had it's share of rain.

No drought this year!!

And the flow goes on and on..

So stay on top of your weather app.

You might not have a friend who texts you...

Weather be happening soon.

Not snow.

Not hurricanes.

But severe, dangerous weather.

And it travels up I-95 towards eventually.

Stay tuned.

Kind of sad.

Most happy movies end with snow on Christmas Eve.

Then I thought about it... 

Breakfast at Tiffany's ended with rain and love.

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter

Ps.... See??? You may need to start singing in the rain again!!

Another Winter Storm in the Deep South in Hurricane Country.

Keeping this short today.

I just want to explain a few things.

Things to come so to speak.

For days mets have been waiting...

...for this system to show up.

Modeling showed dramatic images.

A deep slice of Arctic cold air...

slicing down into the middle of the country.

There has been much salivating going on...

..waiting to see if this would verify.

Note the watches and warnings up now.

Note the radar today and map.

Now look at the loop for the next 3 days.

That's intense.

Two things to think on here.

One.... 

If you remember back during the hurricane season Texas had flooding rains over and over from unnamed storms that developed from a low just off the coast? This is the same set up now this winter they had during the hurricane season. Now that fronts are on the move the lows that form are hooking up with the frontal boundaries moving across the map as the Southern Jet is enhanced due to El Nino. This should continue this winter and I'm wondering on what the 2019 Hurricane Season will bring or won't bring depending on how and where El Nino is strongest. Until then Texas is in it! 

Two...

People think a winter storm is not a winter storm unless someone is buried under a foot of snow. Nope, that's not how it works in the South. Winter storms bring flooding rains, torrential downpours and severe weather and even occasionally tornado outbreaks as the warm, warm air from the Gulf of Mexico meets up with the Polar Cold Air from "Up North" as we say "Down South. That collision zone can get nasty. Waves along the coast can and will be high. Wind will be strong and yet except on TWC it will not get a name. But it's wicked weather just the same. 

So if you live in the Old Deep South anywhere from Texas to the Mid Atlantic keep your eye on your best weather source for local advice. The weather will spread up along the whole coast of the US and someone, somewhere will get actual winter weather ala snow. However, weather is weather and when it gets nasty it can wreak havoc from travel problems to just regular every day problems. 

In North Carolina we have had record rainfall this year and other areas as well have had and between wet winter storms and snow further to the North at some point Spring Floods may be a real concern down the road... or rather down the river. Stay tuned...

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter

Ps... This is called "Sea Foam" and it's fun to watch along the Outer Banks. But after the departure of the Great Carolina Snow Storm ;) it really kicked up the waters along OBX. Enjoy the video.... great place to visit and spend time in any weather but I prefer it when the wind is blowing.