Weather Where You Are

[Zeedman]

Because we have such mild winters with very little really cold weather, there are no snow plows, they send out trucks to put sand on the main roads, that's about all.

I never would have associated snow with Texas until I moved here from San Diego in the 90's. I drove through Amarillo in late January - and couldn't help but notice that there were no snow plows down there. It had apparently snowed several inches, then either partially thawed or got rained on, and then the slush froze. I-40 was covered with 4-6" of ice, with tire ruts frozen in; and where the tire ruts were, that's where you were going, like it or not. Sometimes I had to follow the ruts onto a ramp, then follow other ruts back onto the freeway. I was towing another vehicle, so that was a real white-knuckle drive for about 100 miles.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

I never would have associated snow with Texas until I moved here from San Diego in the 90's. I drove through Amarillo in late January - and couldn't help but notice that there were no snow plows down there. It had apparently snowed several inches, then either partially thawed or got rained on, and then the slush froze. I-40 was covered with 4-6" of ice, with tire ruts frozen in; and where the tire ruts were, that's where you were going, like it or not. Sometimes I had to follow the ruts onto a ramp, then follow other ruts back onto the freeway. I was towing another vehicle, so that was a real white-knuckle drive for about 100 miles.

Sheesh that was a rough drive. Glad everything went okay. Alabama has a few snow plows but once or twice when they’ve had to get them out to plow they had rusted because they hadn’t been run or maintained in the past 3 or 4 years.

 

[flowerbug]

we made it down to about 4F last night, wind chill down to -11F. glad i don't have to go out and chop wood or bring water in from the well this morning. the forecast had us going down to -1F, but we didn't get there. a few days in the coming forecast we're supposed to be below zero, but perhaps that won't happen either.

 

[flowerbug]

Pampers are better than puddles on the floor and black dots all over the place.

I used to nurse the orphaned little ones in the old barn and slept there to, it was exhausting but so worth it

orphans!? aww...

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Thunderstorms moved in over night. I’m procrastinating going out to the coop in the rain. It’s supposed to rain most of the day. Not quite getting below freezing tonight which a relief since I have to go to town tonight.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The year I lived in London I remember a reporter on TV talking to an official from Yorkshire. York and the county was shut down due to snow. The official was explaining that snow was such a rare occurrence they did not have the equipment to deal with it, too expensive to buy and maintain for how often it was needed. The reported said that is exactly what you told me last year when we were going through this.

 

[Carol Dee]

Really bad time to be a fire fighter, wet + sub-zero is a formula for frostbite. I hope your son is OK. Chances are there will be more fires before this arctic blast is over, everybody with a wood stove or fireplace is probably using them now... I know I am.

Thanks Zeedman, all are o.k. The house was a total lose though

 

[digitS']

I'd like to say something about the forecasters.

Imagine you are coming up to a 3 day weekend and you have looked at the models, done your homework. You broadcast the forecast: "it will be 15°f with sunny skies and no wind."

And, it isn't. The day arrives and it's 10 below zero and there is a 15 mph wind. Drifting snow!

People have made outdoor plans. There are people out on the lake, ice fishing. Skiers. Now, there are people stranded on highways!

It has seemed to me that weekend and holiday forecasts are usually very conservative. This is true during sudden changes in the weather. "Take Cover!" Well, almost like that.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

I'd like to say something about the forecasters.

Imagine you are coming up to a 3 day weekend and you have looked at the models, done your homework. You broadcast the forecast: "it will be 15°f with sunny skies and no wind."

And, it isn't. The day arrives and it's 10 below zero and there is a 15 mph wind. Drifting snow!

People have made outdoor plans. There are people out on the lake, ice fishing. Skiers. Now, there are people stranded on highways!

It has seemed to me that weekend and holiday forecasts are usually very conservative. This is true during sudden changes in the weather. "Take Cover!" Well, almost like that.

the past year has been pretty bad, but did you see that post i made some weeks ago about the weather models that used to be getting all that flight information that were suddenly not getting that information any longer?

perhaps that is still a part of the problem? i don't know. but you would think that by now they'd have a better grip on things. aside from the fact that weather is chaotic and subject to local conditions. um, ok...

Sunny and cold here still. wind chill says 1F, air temp says 12F, probably a bit warmer because that was a wihle ago when the weather station took their reading...

 

[Zeedman]

It has seemed to me that weekend and holiday forecasts are usually very conservative. This is true during sudden changes in the weather. "Take Cover!" Well, almost like that.

I've noticed that in my local forecasts. More often than not, the temperatures & conditions they predict are worse than what we actually experience. That could be the result of an intentional "fudge factor" to make the weather look better than expected, thereby making the forecaster look good. It's better to give the worst-case scenario - and let the viewers be pleasantly surprised - than to under-estimate the severity of those conditions & be blamed for the consequences.

Or, it could be that they are just predicting the worst possible conditions for the broadcast area. Those conditions can vary widely. I know that if I look up my forecast by zip code, it returns the results for the local metro area, which is close to the lake; cooler in summer, and 1-2 degrees warmer in winter. By the same token, the temperature in my rural garden - surrounded by mostly open space - is a few degrees cooler (or a few degrees warmer in Summer). My suburban gardens generally escape the first frost in the rural garden, and often the frost which strikes my home doesn't make it to DD's home, a couple blocks from the lake. For all intents & purposes, the city, my suburban home, and my rural garden are in 3 different climate zones - all within an area 10 miles wide.

We've already had 5 straight days of sub-zero nights, with another 5 days of that to go (and a really cold upcoming weekend).