A writer and a tropical muse. A funky Lubavitcher who enjoys watching the weather, hurricanes, listening to music while enjoying life with a sense of humor and trying to make sense of it all!
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
The Trouble With Models That Don't Always Work... Post Game Analysis Father's Day. Why You Should Prepare For Hurricane Season. Alberto to Michael. Julia to Matthew. Patterns Repeat. Heavy, heavy storms over Florida.. no name but rain is the game now... what about later in the season? Oh Erin Brockovitch For Fun
There is nothing happening officially in the tropics.
There is a huge High Pressure system.
You can see it wearing stylish black below.
Yes the high is hogging the whole Atlantic Ocean.
Double barreled HH on the map above.
Note there has been persistent convection near South Florida.
At some point it will get pulled North.
Lost it's chance to be an Invest.
But Miami people will remember the rain and flooded streets.
What's important to remember is that the water is also warming up.
Note the big red Bermuda like Triangle over Miami and the Bahamas..
Yeah that's happening.
So enjoy your quiet time and use it wisely.
As in doing Hurricane Preparation.
Father's Day Weekend 2019.
I finally got to see the inside of my husband's barbershop ;)
We went to the Mall.... I shopped while he shopped.
Victoria Secret's
Sephora
Belk!
So as I am reminding you there is nothing tropical going on.
But what I am going long on today is life.
Why the models don't always know what's going on...
..and how and why patterns persist and repeat.
Two recent years show us that a pattern persists.
But you got to read along or just look at the pictures...
...to get to that point as today I'm writing.
I'm blogging.
I'm hiding from the heat in Raleigh.
Waiting for rain and planning dinner.
"RESTING"
I'm under a friend's orders to "rest" so complying.
Prepare for long rambling sentences. Movie mentions and too much information.
It's hot, grab some Sweet Tea and sit a spell!
Spike it if you want I won't tell..........
Remember a blog is basically an online diary.
Especially on a day like today.
This was a therapeutic experience.
Not editing or spell checking neither...
In a mood but a good one!
Father's Day Weekend is alas over. I hope everyone had a really wonderful day whether it was laid back or full of adventure and most importantly I hope the weather cooperated! In Raleigh the weather was "oh my gosh gorgeous" with blue skies, a nice breeze and the weather didn't heat up until late in the day when we ate frozen yogurt outside after pizza by a big cement pond. My husband who wears many father hats had a good day despite not being near any of the kids but he got some of the things he needed but had been putting off buying until a good sale so thank you Belk! He had donuts for breakfast, a haircut at his fancy haircutting place and Greek Salad for lunch and pizza for dinner. This was basically an almost perfect day food wise for him though I'm sure he'd have enjoyed being with the kids. We do travel often and he saw them recently and hopefully down the road there will be another kid adventure soon! Meanwhile he has a haircut, a new suit and he's usually happy when everyone else is happy so he said he had a good day. I'm making BBQ chicken for dinner with mashed potatoes and corn because it's my happy meal and we all need to be happy!
I will say though I missed my father a lot and because of that Father's Day weighed heavier on me than it used to back when he was jumped on by my brothers and I gave him whatever gift I thought would make him happy. He like my husband has kind of easy needs in that he was a low key person when it came to happiness... again if everyone was happy he was happy (okay mostly my mother in his case....) but let's leave Father's Day at that. Actually going to post an old crappy picture of my father with my cousin Brian and I down in the Keys on a cold windy day; it's a copy of a copy in crappy condition and he used the word "crap" often so that kind of fits. It's an old picture obviously but a nice memory as he had a job down in the Keys and he took us with him for a private alone time trip sometime after my Uncle died while he was trying his best to reach out to my cousin (and partner in crime often) Brian. My cousin was my best friend growing up living next door and always up to who knows what but on that day we made my father happy and let him take us out down to the Keys. Note the jacket and sweater and my favorite pair of jeans.
Note this blog this morning is free form, flow of thought as today is not exactly a #breakingnews day in the Tropics. The tropics are so slow that even the Epac refuses to cooperate and spin something up. There's an Invest in the West Pacific which is too far away for me and most people reading this to care. In truth if the Eastern Pacific erupted into a mere Invest I'd get all excited and follow it. Okay not really... I'd be excited to see an Invest and follow it but I wouldn't exactly do a happy dance ya know. Traditionally I remind y'all that when the Epac spits something out like an odd shaped water melon seed and it mozies on off into the Pacific you can count ten days until something begins to bubble up in our basin. Sometimes the Atlantic fires up first as it did with andrea that I refused to capitalize because quite honestly it didn't stick around long enough to get a capital A. If Andrea was given a grade by a cranky teacher she'd probably get a D minus because I don't think F plus is a thing even today. But we are moving on to Barry and I'm hoping he's a long distance runner like Barry Sanders! My father was a Detroit Fan but that's it with Daddy for the day I promise.
So what can I tell you about the tropics today?
It's raining as if a tropical storm is forming over Miami.
it's not but it's hot and feels that way.
The last few days have been a nonstop rain fest.
Street flooding. Messy highways.
Not a lot of sun.
Only fun for storm chasers.
Or photographers in search of stormy pictures.
Phil from Channel 7 has tried his best to stay on top of it.
It's been nonstop.
If you look carefully you can see this area has a bit of spin.
Not a lot of spin but more than we've seen in a while.
In the old days we'd talk on this and have fun.
The models on some level have stolen all the fun.
Not the models but the NHC in a way.
If an area is not favored by 2 models they refuse to play.
Then they name Tropical Storm Julia over land the next day...
...with lot's of explanations that no one understands.
In 2016 we had to go Southbound to see the kids.
Some child decided to get married in Mid September
I chose the timing of the trip to intercept tropical weather.
There's a guy online named Dutchsinse. He's a controversial figure who people love or people love to hate or people who love him hate those who don't love him and he has quite the fan group. A woman I know asked me why he doesn't run for President. I'm pretty sure many in official government jobs wish he would disappear and take up mountain climbing or something. But when things are boring and slow and there's no where to go I'll watch his videos and get lost in geography, maps, names of places far away and discussions on fault lines I studied in geology a long time ago. God I love maps. To quote Julia Roberts in the movie Erin Brockovitch "I'm a map slut" and that's true. Never really saw a map I didn't stop to look at... But back to controversial but fun to listen to Dutch.... one thing he does often that is truly incredible is he explains to people how they should prepare for an Earthquake if they live in Earthquake Country. And the problem with living in earthquake prone areas is much like hurricane coasts places like LA and other coastal cities in California are prone to people moving in for a season, getting a job or chasing a dream of being a big movie star or the next Victoria's Secret's model and if they are lucky like some that's good but most do not and when the big one comes most people are as unprepared for an earthquake as they are for where they will go next when they can't afford the rent and their career doesn't take off as well as Madonnas did. A billboard will make you famous but you won't win no Oscar unless you build a career. But people remember Angelyne always.
There's a sub theme here if you haven't figured it out.
So Dutch tells people often to keep a knapsack filled with emergency items appropriate for the season as what you might need in Alaska in an earthquake in January may be different from what you might need in July; Dutch is detailed oriented if nothing else. The devil is always in the detail. And the truth is his list is pretty much solid gold for hurricane supplies except that in the case of earthquakes or Tropical Storm Gordon or Julia you might need to evacuate fast. Being serious... love him or hate him his nonstop discussion on how to prepare for the Big One is golden and the Big One will happen in LA or San Francisco or near the New Madrid Fault eventually as those faults have been active for centuries way before the United States ever existed. If you live in a place known to have had large earthquakes do not hang hanging shelves or you may lose your collection of minnie bobbleheads if ya know what I mean. Do you know how to secure kitchen cabinets that hole your Old Country Roses China? If not you may want to listen to the tail end of one Dutch's long videos after an earthquake in New Zealand. Oh unless you believe the New Madrid Fault was some curse from an Indian Chief... if you believe in science and I do I'm betting it will snap at some point and people will sadly not be prepared so again this post is about preparation! Hurricane Prep... Earthquake Prep. Oh by the way there was just a big one in Japan an hour ago. Earthquakes happen.
Sometimes people call other people crazy.
Time shows they were not so crazy.
Erin Brockovitch is a great movie.
Funny.... smart... based on a real story.
Staring yeah you know.. Julia Roberts.
I told you there would be more Julia discussion didn't I?
I've always understood that movie.
I was a single mother.
Took the kids with me storm chasing sometimes.
Know what to say to get a man's attention ;)
Spoiler alert.... his office had maps.
She told him she was a map slut ... or something like that.
See the maps ...
Hey a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do.
You got to do what you got to do.
If you are reading this from Florida....
...or along GOM or East Coast.
Prepare for Hurricane Season.
I know it's not a sexy subject ...
...but it's a life or death subject!
Choose wisely.
Again....... let's go back to the basics.
Alberto in 2018.
An early late May storm.
Academics reminded us early formation doesn't mean...
..a busy season.
Yeah, academically speaking that's true.
In the same way academics said 2019 might be a mild season.
Weather will happen later today in the shaded areas.
I'm hoping to get some.
Bottom Line here......
Please, please, please prepare for hurricane season.
I cannot say this enough.
Quiet means the oceans are heating up.
The high is putting down an anchor.
Waves are rolling off of Africa too high for June.
And I just heard a Cicada and I'm not happy about it.
It's way too early in Raleigh to hear a Cicada in June.
This year is running ahead of schedule.
It's more Mid July than Mid June.
Waves will be viable soon enough.
Don't say I didn't warn ya...
Check out that wave.
Not a strong wave but way too high.
Viable waves begin when they are here...
...where this wave is located.
Not the bottom part that's flaring up.
The top part.
North of the bright convection.... there's a high latitude wave.
Yes there is shear in the upper left corner.
In a month or so that shear will be gone.
And waves will be spinning Westbound.
It takes time.
Use the time wisely.
Start stocking up!
I'll put the maps in motion.
For extra credit...
Chris played where Florence made landfall...
PREPARE
Los residentes de nuestro condado pueden prepararse para la temporada de #huracanes al tener un plan y un kit de emergencia y al tener en cuenta las cosas importantes que se deben considerar antes de ir a un centro de evacuación. #HurricaneStrongpic.twitter.com/0U26MOwaKi
Ps... Angelyne was the Queen of the scene in LA when I lived there once upon the time. And when I lived there far from hurricane country I read everything I could on local geology, earthquake faults and old California history. As long time lovers of my blog know... I loved LA! So if you live there prepare for the reality an Earthquake could rock your world way more than a little tar from the La Brea Tarbits bubbling up onto the boulevard messing up your morning commute... IF YOU LIVE IN HURRICANE COUNTRY.... prepare this year as if you think your city will be the point of Landfall of a Major Hurricane and if you ares impacted already by a wannabe invest or an early tropical storm take special notice as when a pattern is hot it's hot and oh by the way it's HOT in South Florida with a strong High out there and hurricanes are forecast this year to form close to land...this may be mean you. Follow https://twitter.com/MiamiDadeEM on Twitter and enjoy the music from the real West Coast.
Passing of Legend John Coleman & January Thaw Into February Freeze. Not really "NEWS" It Happens Every Year. TWC Rant
Nothing much going on today.
Changes down the road.
Sunny and Cool in my world today.
So what to talk about?
Things that annoy me.
TWC is advertising the return of Winter.
"February Freeze"
Yah....happens in February.
I'm under the weather today and trying to find something to watch. The Weather Channel is not doing it for me today. Why you ask? Because they show a possible "wintry pattern" and ask very dramatically "how long will this last?" and I'm thinking "until Spring probably." Let's see maybe until we are done with February? It's obviously everyone has gotten spoiled by the last few warm winters and everyone seems shocked we may get another "shot of cold air" again. It's January 25th today and we are just a month into winter so I think we may have more shots of wintry weather in the near future. You can circle March 20th as the Spring Equinox and that is almost two months away so I suggest everyone not used to putting on the heat in the South or possibly getting snow in the NE just deal with it. Won't continue forever, soon we will move into Spring and then the Hurricane Season.
I also seriously dislike those DERMA PERMA whatever they are commercials that look as if there is an infomercial on and you worry you may be sitting on the remote control only to realize it's just a stupid advertisement. It may or may not work I don't care as I am not buying skin cream from TWC commercials. Speaking of those annoying commercials I hate that "My Pillow" commercial and usually change channels as it goes on and on forever. The problem is that commercial is now on CNN, FOX and every other channel that obviously caters to Baby Boomers as no one else is watching cable TV anymore. Okay possibly Gen X kids still watch it (that generation ends around 1981) but even many of them have moved over to alternative solutions to watch entertainment and receive their news.
Someone who I generally like on The Weather Channel just explained by way of a graph that in the NE February actually gets very snowy. Mike, from www.spaghettimodels.com, has complained frequently that the show is getting too boring and they sound more like a Science for Kids show than a real WEATHER show and I'm going to agree. The level of dumbing down the weather is off the charts lately or more so they seem to believe that people who watch their channel vs the other 358 other channels cable provides know nothing about weather. Think about that. I'm pretty sure the people actually watching TWC and their explanations on "why snow falls" know why snow falls they want to know if it is going to fall. They don't need to compete with "Bill Nye the Science Guy" they just need to do what they did that got there here. They always have this need to fix something that isn't broken and then they have to fix it again.
I've watched TWC since the beginning as most old timers know. So mentioning it here that one of the most original weather people around passed away this past week. I remember when John Coleman announced on his morning show he did the weather for that he would be leaving as they were starting a new channel that would show weather 24/7. Those were the days before reality weather shows and they began to branch out into gardening and showing how a volcano erupts. You see anyone under the age of say 50 knows that to know that all you got to do is go to Youtube.
And it's also worth noting I am now getting old school style TWC on my Facebook Feed as Accuweather now goes Facebook Live with breaking weather the way TWC used to do. Old timers who we miss such as Dave Schwartz took a page from John and knew how to be themselves and when they could make the forecast fun. Let's be honest sometimes the weather is boring. But people like John Coleman never let us be bored. I can fall asleep when TWC does a long explanation of something so simple that if I am watching TWC I obviously KNOW why snow forms. Rather than their veiled commercials for travel destinations they do chit chat where usually some woman with a Masters Degree at least in Weather stands in a semi sexy dress nodding her head up and down while some guy in long sleeves and a tie shows her how the front may move in later this week. No words.
Remember when Weather People actually did the weather? What I love about John Coleman is he was always taking risks and staying fresh. Some people retire and fade away; not him he stayed busy almost until the end. I'm going to try and read the book that tells the story. Jim Williams from www.hurricanecity.com suggested I read it and will try. I've looked through it but now seems as good as any to start a real book vs an article online! Thanks Jim!
St. Paul Winter Carnival is being advertised on TWC. May I remind you they get money for that it as basically a commercial; let's call them advertising partners. Other than the word "WINTER" nothing newsy is going on unless something happens there this particular year. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about it in the 1920s. Spoiler Alert his Southern Belle heroine wasn't real excited aboiut getting lost in an icy maze and went back down South real fast. It's been around a long time, not really news but obviously TWC doing an advertising segment as not much is happening today.
I'm okay. I think. I've been worse. Just tired and a bit annoyed that while hiding from the constant agenda driven news on CNN and FOX I tried to just leave TWC but that's not gonna do it for me today. I guess I'll be a Millenial (love them) and watch Netflix or just turn off the cable and leave on the collage of every changing pretty pictures and listen to some music.
It's beyond blue and beautiful outside. Maybe I'll put on a few layers of clothes and take a walk or go out and pick up everything on the balcony that fell down when Raleigh had wind gusts in the high 30s on Tuesday before the "dry cold front" blew through. Maybe I'll work on my journal offline (the real one) or read a short story by Scott or play on Ancestry. Not dying my hair or doing my nails today. Just resting.
I like fun and crazy and happy and though I am oddly wearing the same shade of green that the girl on TWC is wearing today I'm not interested in being shocked that there are Ice Jams in Winter... oh my!
Hope your day is awesome. I don't really care about his political agenda or anyone's today but if not for John Coleman there wouldn't be a Weather Channel or the other imitation Weather Channel and Accuweather probably would never think to do a Facebook Live when there is breaking weather. Or they just copied Mike from www.spaghettimodels.com either way when weather is really breaking those of us in the Gen X to the Baby Boomer Generation are incredibly happy to have them covering the story.
Besos BobbiStorm
@bobbistorm on Twitter
Ps The 80s were wonderful. Perhaps TWC should try doing musical segments to show the weather vs advertising Summer? And, Yes I know they have added women Mets who have Doctorate degrees but they still dress them like Gidget.
Back when they were a media phenomenon people wrote songs about them...
Location: Miami, Raleigh, Crown Heights, Florida, United States
Weather Historian. Studied meteorology and geography at FIU. Been quoted in Wall Street Journal, Washington Post & everywhere else... Lecturer, stormchaser, writer, dancer. If it's tropical it's topical ... covering the weather & musing on life. Follow me on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/#!/BobbiStorm