Snow day!

[angus]

There's a light snow falling now, but I think that the worst of it is over.  We got maybe 7 or 8 inches, but the driveway is clean!  So is the little sidewalk from the driveway to the front door, although it isn't as though anyone ever uses that. 

We were out for over two hours today.  My son managed to find two sisters having a snowball fight and he decided to take them on, to his disadvantage.  Afterward they made snow aliens and fashioned a little hill to sleigh down.  I'm glad some of the neighborhood children were out, because it gave him something to do rather than "help" me shovel the drive.  When he helps me, it takes about twice as long as it does when I do it myself. 

Martial arts class cancelled tonight, so we have just been warming up by the fire for the last 30 minutes.  The wife didn't get off early today, so I had the pleasure of preparing the meal, which featured two meats, one vegetable, and rice.  When she makes it the meat to vegetable ratio is reversed, but if I'm in charge of the kitchen I prefer to have a 2/1/1 dinner.  Beef and pork, and it was finished with a nice Rosario Duoro from portugal.  I'm so exhausted that I might not finish the bottle in one sitting.  That rarely happens. 

Ah, who am I kidding?  That bottle will be empty before the hour is over.

Cheers!

[angus]

Two-hour delay today.  Just enough time for me to scrape the couple of inches that had accumulated overnight from the driveway.  Back to normal, I think, although there will be little melting over the next several days.  The high temps for Thursday through Sunday will be in the 20s.

We have only had snow twice this year, but the total snowfall in just those two storms was about 33 inches, which is more than the annual average for this part of the world.  Generally, it has been a very warm winter.  Record high temperatures on December 23, 24, 25, and 26--something like 70 degrees on Christmas day!  It has been a weird winter.

[angus]

13°F on the way home from the club today, and about a 20 mile per hour breeze.  Flags were standing erect, like a 14-year-old boy when he wakes up in the morning.   We walked, but wrapped ourselves up well.  Scarves across the face, dark glasses, and hats pulled low.  We looked like terrorists.  The forecast is for near 0°F tonight.  When I lived in Northern Iowa, this was common for a couple of months each year, but in Southeastern Pennsylvania, it's rare.  I've become a wimp.  My fingers and toes were aching by the time I got to the club, and again by the time I got home.  Nothing closing, though.  Snow does it, not temperature. 

[Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy]

The only time it snowed in Buenos Aires in recent years was on a national holiday

[Metis]

World shattering contribution: The weather in most parts of Europe is ruddy, but we haven't had anything worth calling 'snow' this year. Except maybe for that Harington boy.

[kcguy]

It's interesting how much of a difference a short distance makes.

Here in KC, it's been a pretty mild winter.  We probably haven't gotten more than a couple of inches of snow all winter, and we've been routinely getting highs in the 50's.  (I think the high so far in February has been around 73° or 74°.)

I met someone this weekend from Omaha, and I asked her if it had been such a nice winter up there, and she asked me if I was being sarcastic.  Apparently, they've had a horrible winter.

[Ban my account ffs!]

It's been mild in most places this winter.  The influence of El Nino is particularly strong on North America because of our proximity to the event itself (in the Pacific ocean directly south of North America).

The long range models are beginning to hint at a rapid collapse of El Nino with a descent into La Nina conditions by summer and fall. 

What this means for weather?  All over the place.  Summers with a transition from El Nino to La Nina tend to be warm and dry across the USA and the winters after tend to be stormy and wet, especially in the north.

The analogs if a moderate to strong La Nina forms for NEXT winter would be 2010/11, 2007/08, and 1998/99 in recent times.  All three were quite wet in the western U.S.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Be careful or you may get snowdin.

[angus]

It's been mild in most places this winter.

yes, even with the near-record two feet of snow we received a few weeks ago, and the fact that it was bitter cold last week with lows around  0°F on a couple of nights (22 is average), the winter has been warm.  Record highs were recorded here on December 23, 24, 25, and 26.  It was 70°F on Christmas day, and we didn't get our first snowfall until mid-January.  According to MU meteorologist Eric Horst, February showed a slight negative departure from normal (-0.67°F), but December and January had significant positive departures.  The next week or so is expected to be mild, with temperatures above average.  I'll take it.

 

[angus]

weird weather.  Yesterday there was a pollen alert from all the trees budding in the spring.  Today, on the other hand, there was about 3 inches of heavy wet snow.  Just outside my house this morning:

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Wasn't snowing in Philadelphia! Just the suburbs! Night and day out there! Brutal

[angus]

Now it's just overcast and about 36 degrees.  Snow is melting, but from the radar it looks like we're going to get a second wave starting around 4 or 5 pm.

[muon2]

I woke up to less than an inch of snow, but it was dry and didn't accumulate on the pavement. No shoveling needed.