Wanda. Yellow Circle Seeds an EPAC Storm. Kind of the Story of the Year in the SW Caribbean

 

The hard to see red symbol is Wanda, mixed into that whole cloud mess on the other side of the ocean. It's also kind of hard to notice the yellow on the edge of a beach abiout to jump into the Eastern Pacific that is at 0% chances in the Atlantic.

But if you move on over to the Eastern Pacific part of the NHC Main Pages you will see our little X is healthier and is being given 30% chances of development in there. Actually another yellow circle pops up there on the 5 day as seen below.

This has really been the story of the year on many levels and will be researched by many to see why the East Pacific received so many of the low, westbound waves that normally potentially dangerous SW Caribbean  storms that gave them a longer season than normal. And, when I say that I mean normally as the Atlantic goes into high gear the East Pac slows down, there's a normal ebb and flow of energy and yet this year the seedlings for the dangerous SW Caribbean Storms all slid across the isthmus into the Pacific. 

In general the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season was either STORMY WILD or soooo slow. It had a sputtering sort of nature where everything formed in groups and you can see that by the graphic above. June and early July were busy, whereas later in July and August it was not. Late August and September were busy, though many were "shorties" that barely lasted yet did pump up the number of actual storms we had even if most of you cannot remember their name. Since the beginning of August it's been quiet.  Note if you take away all the blue dots and only look at the orange dashes you'll see we really didn't have such a busy season. It's really a matter of prespective. Quality over quantity and in this case we lucked out as Larry and his friend Sam both stayed out in the Atlantic putting on a colorful show on the satelitte imagery but not thrashing our beaches or drowning out cities so for that we are grateful.  It reminds me a lot of how morse code works, dot, dot, dot, dash, dot, dot ...well you get that if you ever learned Morse Code which I did but I do not really remember; a cute neighbor boy was involved who wanted to ran cables from our houses to each other so we could "talk" when we were young. (He was probably a boy scout now that I think about it)

I digress... because there really isn't much to talk about. If I go to Windy.com I'm prone to watch the images for cold weather and who is going to get some snow.

Why does the blue (really cold air)

stop at the Mason Dixie?

Kentucky gets it but not Tennessee?

Just odd things always amaze me on graphics like this.

But winter is coming.

Tropical storms are not.

So have a great day.

Malls have Christmas decorations up...

.... no real crowds where I live.

But the msuic is nice.

TJ Maxx is a winter wonderful.

Pink Flamingoes are in storage.

It's the sign of the times!!

Not proofing........

....I have a headache.

Wish I was in Key West this morning!

Sweet Tropical Dreams,

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter and Instagram

Ps... Where are you spending the holidays? 

Thanksgiving blends into Chanukah (early) this year.

Christmas... flows into New Years Eve.

I know... we haven't even eaten turkey yet for Thanksgiving.

2021 has been on Zoom Zoom time.......so do you have a clue?

Christmas Island - Jimmy Buffett.wmv By the way the locals used to call the small island to the West of Key West, but they developed it and renamed it Sunset Island. But it's really a place...........there's also another one, we have lots of names locals use for things down on the rock. 

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.

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.

Foggy Miami on an April Day. Not April Fools... After the Rain

Miami dressed in fog.

Okay it's actually Hollywood.

But it's one big megalopolis.

From Miami to WPB it all blurs together.

Especially today.

I woke up this morning half asleep and dragged myself out of bed to watch my grandson play before he goes to his mother this afternoon after school. I'm pretty sure we all know that slice of life these days in 2017. He's a bundle of energy in the morning. I call it "The Judah Show" and I sip coffee half asleep watching him get dressed for school. I enjoyed the espresso and looked out the window. Well, I had to open the blinds and look outside first.... And, then I wondered why it was raining that hard and I didn't hear the rain. Obviously, I was not fully awake yet. Out through the blinds, past the screen window and below the old school Hurricane Awnings everything was covered in gray with only the green, green grass peeking through to jazz up the view. And, then I asked my son "Is it foggy out there???" A light went off somewhere in my head this could be fog in Florida. Understand, we don't get a lot of fog in South Florida and it's usually in December or maybe February. Who remembers it's a pretty random event and I do mean pretty.

Remember my pretty tropical sunrise the other day.

Same Christmas Palms.....

...but cloaked in gray today.

Who knew a foggy day would wake me up? It's been a long few days while my in-laws are slowly saying goodbye to my Father-in-law. Mind you he could be weeks or months away from actually shuffling off to Restaurant Heaven, but he's at the point where arrangements are being discussed and everyone is coming in to see him. He's a Vet, he wants to be buried with other Vets who fought in distant wars or just served their country. I'm somewhere between seeing several kids who live in this area, taking care of some historical research and visiting with the other family so I didn't get to write much about the not tropical low that traveled across South Florida on it's way to socking Charleston and riding up the coast. I did enjoy the heavy rain that woke me the night before last and the puddles everywhere added a counterpoint to what has been extremely beautiful weather this trip home to Florida. Blue skies gave way to gray days and as the fog lifts today who really knows for sure? Well, I guess Phil Ferro knows but I didn't watch Channel 7 news this morning as Judah is watching his show that sounds like every other show he watches...

As it's Miami and not San Francisco the fog will lift, it's not London so if I don't go stare at the poetic fog I'll miss it's departure. Sort of a lot like life ....huh? My father used to always say God has a strange sense of humor. Why do the most beautiful picture views happen on garbage day? Seriously? 

That's the way the weather is going today.

Well, most of this week maybe.

Hopefully I'll enjoy the sunshine.

Cooler air, but not cold.

Okay the house AC is set at 73 it's cold.

So I'll be back sooner or later.

Just keep checking in.

Send me thoughts on Twitter

@bobbistorm

And y'all come back now .. please.

Besos BobbiStorm

Ps Going out and about today... 

Enjoying the city...

You got to enjoy the rain but know...

...every storm runs out of rain.

So true...

Winter Solstice .. Game On Winter is Here to Stay. But Rain Not Snow for Many These Holidays

No that's not a Survivor Finale.

Nor is it the Fiji Islands.

It's Seattle at the Solstice or more specifically Fremont.

http://fremontartscouncil.org/winter-feast/

Fremont is a funky place any day of the year.

It celebrates the Solstice with festivals.

I was there one year for the Summer Festival.

I can't really show you those videos.

You'll have to Google it!

But for those who hate the short days of winter.

Know tomorrow is the shortest day of the year.

That's got to be a reason to party!!

I used the capital of the USA for the time.

You can check with this site for your town.

https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/december-solstice.html

Yes the Winter Solstice is here...

South Florida refuses to participate.

Northern Florida is a team player.

South of I-4 no they don't want to play.

You can make out the large High that is holding on tight to S Florida.

You remember it from the Hurricane Season.

What is the Winter Solstice really?

Winter is officially here to stay!

The freeze and frost line is far to the South.

However the snow is not going to fall for the holidays over the East Coast.

If you want snow that bad go to Colorado skiing!

Chilly water down there in the tropics.

A nice loop to watch by the Enya song below.

And Winter Came...

I wish I could give people who want snow better news.

But think of all the places you can go and things you can do..

...if it doesn't snow on Christmas.

I mean really in Miami we do the holidays without snow all the time!!

In short sleeves and sandals outside under the palm trees swaying.

Swaying with the palm fronds :)

You really don't need snow for the holidays!

Though a boat makes it so much finer :)

So even if it doesn't snow...

You can show your holiday spirit...

Be happy, be generous and share the love.

I'll be updating in real time if and when some weather shows up.

Til then I'm shopping, mailing things out and watching loops.

Mind you I am cold in Raleigh this December.

Very cold. My toes are cold.

Very cold... 

But my winter will be interrupted by a trip to Israel in January.

To the Israeli Riviera ...

(that's what she said...)

So I'll be saying goodbye to North Carolina for a few weeks in January.

Is that cool? I'll be blogging from Israel ;)

Maybe on the beach!

My daughter's boyfriend proposed in one of these planes over Netanya.

That was then this is now.

They live in Miami.

 I'm going to meet the Israeli family. 

Kind of like a birthday present!

Never been there ...go figure....

Adore my son-in-law!
 Getting in the spirit here and sharing with y'all...

So I'll just count down the days til warmer weather.

And tomorrow maybe I'll have hot chocolate?

Or a Starbucks Green Tea Latte?

Do something special tomorrow!!

When home in Florida I like to go to Key West!

What I'll do tomorrow...

...only time will tell!

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter

Ps Good to have a good sense of humor if you are not in Key West

Personally I'd rather be here ..

...and if you are on Lincoln Road check out the parrots..

December Weather. Everyone Mum on El Nino. Shhhh Let It Play Out in Real Time. Holiday Forecast... Sugar!

A tale of two worlds.

Tropical Weather down in Central America.

Winter reinforcing it's grip on the US.

Nothing unusual about that.

And that perhaps IS the news.

This year is not forecast to be like last year.

After months of arguing on El Nino everyone is quiet.

They are quiet as they are holding their breath.

Waiting to see if this is a Neutral Year...

...or an El Nino year arriving late.

Late as in time for Valentines Day!

A simple search of Tweets brings up this:

Also a lot of holiday displays . . .

There is one thing I can predict 100%

First week in January EVERYONE is dieting!

The second half of December is laden with holidays.

Jews end December with a late season Chanukah.

You don't have to be Jewish to like Potato Latkes...

Then there is Christmas on Sunday this year.

Monday being a holiday as well for most.

Long 3 Day Weekend.

Many people will want to travel.

I'll update on the travel forecast as we get closer.

Goes without saying if you be traveling...

...stay in touch with your airlines or check road conditions.

You may taking a vacation but Mother Nature is NOT!

Stay informed!

Whether you will be eating Fruit Cake

Or Jelly Donuts for Chanukah...

I predict Sugar will make a come back the last week in December ;)

You will be dieting come January 2nd!

No matter what the weather.... 

...you will be dieting ;)

Besos BobbiStorm

Ps on a quiet day in weather I'm shopping for presents.

Wish I could send everyone health, happiness and wealth this year!

Either way... be happy today!