A Real Cold War

In this time of season we really see the clash between temperatures that led to Green Bay picking up 10 inches of snow this week, while today a tornado went through St. Louis, causing heavy damage to the airport and many homes.  This upcoming week again looks like their is a high potential for more tornadoes and flooding.  I can't make posts every day nor want to continually show destruction.  If I see anything interesting it will get posted otherwise I will be mixing it up a little more.

On to my post...

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There is nothing better then bringing two of my biggest interests together, hockey and weather.  They don't often share the same spotlight other then perhaps on January 1st when the NHL has their annual Outdoor Classic.  But this week they came together in what certainly caught my attention.

It has long been rumored throughout most of this season and even in years past, that Winnipeg would see a return of an NHL team.  At times the rumor involved Atlanta, maybe Nashville or possibly Phoenix.  This year the Phoenix rumored move to Winnipeg began taking shape with Phoenix running into major financial issues.  The ball very slowly began to roll all throughout the season until people quickly felt this was almost a sure thing.  In fact, heading into the playoffs, some media members reported the announced move would come perhaps within weeks of whenever Phoenix was eliminated.  With that kind of talk it was little surprise the Coyotes did not even win one game.  And as soon as that game was over, the Winnipeg talk began.

Phoenix goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, their four-year starter and upcoming free agent when asked if he'd go to Winnipeg said "probably not" with one reason being it's too cold.  Normally I would not think much of this however, Bryzgalov was born and raised in Russia.  They don't exactly have the warmest weather around. 

It got me at least thinking about some common weather misconceptions, though neither Russia or Winnipeg being cold are on this list.  They are cold. 

1.  Seattle (The Rain City)-  Probably the most popular myth among people is that Seattle receives constant rainfall.  The average rainfall in the city is 37 inches, lower than New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, Houston and Chicago to name just a few.  However, with 80% of their days being cloud covered and 40% of the days during the year receiving measurable rainfall, it is easy to see how they got their reputation.

2.  London-  Sticking with the rainy myth, London does not receive a lot of rain.  At just 22 inches, most other major European cities receive more, some twice as much.  Like Seattle though, many days are cloudy and cool and sunshine is almost nonexistent.

3. Chicago (The Windy City)- In many ways somewhat of a mystery, the nickname for Chicago really does not apply.  Both New York and Boston are windier.  Sorry Chicago.  And there are many other areas across the plains and northeast that would bypass Chicago.

4. Allentown- If I told you that Helsinki, Finland and Moscow, Russia both received less annual snowfall than the Lehigh Valley, would you buy it?  You should, cause it's true.

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Deadly Days

No matter how hard I try, I don't believe I could ever emphasize how good our area has it when it comes to weather.  We experience a little bit of everything but rarely anything to the extreme.  Thousands of people throughout the south awake to a more peaceful Sunday to complete destruction.

Spring outbreaks are a concern every season as instability in the atmosphere and the jet stream combine to form a deadly combination.  The last two days have shown just how potent these ingredients combined can become.  In the past two days there have been over 200 reported tornadoes (not actual number) and even worse, a death toll approaching 50.

The outbreak started on Thursday with Oklahoma seeing the majority of the tornadoes.  By Friday, Alabama and Mississippi were hit hard.  (Map Below.  Red circle indicates tornado report)

 

Sometimes words and pictures don't do any justice for those of us not use to this type of weather.  In the video below from multiple cameras at a hardware store in Theodore, Alabama, watch how quickly things change (no volume). 

 

Watching this a few times, the first thing you realize is these folks are very lucky.  The second thing, and the one that is so crucial to better understanding tornadoes is that they had no clue this was coming.

In the first camera angle it looks like the customer initially notices the door flying open which prompts the employee to quickly check it out.  In the second angle we see the same scenario as the first but also notice a man behind the desk, leaning back on a chair like it was another normal day in this small Alabama town.  The flickering lights and racket get him up as well as the first employee darts out of camera range and the lady quickly backpedals behind the desk.   In almost unison, all three at the 27 second mark make a move to look back out the door.  One second later the tornado hits.  And nothing reveals how unaware they were then seeing the man at the end still sitting and working as the storms blows through the store.

And this is in Alabama.  A place that deals with this kind of weather quite frequently.  Without volume it's hard to know what kind if any warnings were being sent out.  Reactions suggest there were none.  By the way, this was an EF2 on the Fujita scale, suggesting winds were between 115 and 135 miles per hour.  Had it been stronger, this video would have recorded something far worse. 

That is how these become so deadly.  People are caught completely off guard.  With virtually every other type of weather related disaster, there is some form of advanced warning.  With tornadoes you get virtually zero.  The weather service can put out as many watches as possible, but warnings only appear when a tornado is either spotted or viewed visually on radar.  That gives people all of what, an average of 5 to 10 minutes?  And if sirens aren't sounded, radios or televisions aren't on, and people are going about their lives, how would you ever know?

North Carolina was the target on Saturday with a reported 90 tornadoes.  The state average per year is less than 20.  At last check roughly half the deaths from this outbreak occurred in the state.  Raleigh dodge the massive tornado that was estimated to be one to two miles wide, however I haven't seen reports of the strength on that particular one.  There are many videos out there since most of these storms occurred during the day, in higher populated areas, with various elevation changes.  I was caught by the location the Weather Channel kept checking in from.  It was from a residential section of a town I can't recall.  Mike Bettes stood in front of two homes, one of which had actually shifted completely off the foundation leaving the two cars in the garage sitting out in the open.  The other was a pile of rubble.  The houses right next door, across the street and in the development behind, suffered no more than some minor structural damage.  The residents in the house left in rubble were not home as they were attending a child's soccer game.  It just goes to show how truly unpredictable these events are.  Not only do we not know where they will form but don't know which direction they will move.  

So the next time you feel like complaining about our weather, realize how great it actually is.

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Spring Floods

I remember being amazed a few years ago as I watched video of the Red River continually rise and damage homes, roads, land and the lives of people in North Dakota and Minnesota.  The combination of the spring thaw and spring rain spilled the water far beyond its banks and into many communities like Grand Forks, a city of 52,000 that sits right along side the river.  There were countless stories of the good-natured mid-western folks helping each other out.  It was one of those all for one type moments that we often see in times of crisis.  The people haven't changed but the story is becoming played.

Oslo, Minnesota will become an island for up to a week as the Red River has completely encircled the small town.  The last boat of out of town left yesterday, leaving residents who stayed behind miles from dry land.  It's the third straight year this has happened.  I understand not wanting to leave but at some point you would think people would get tired of this.

I happened to catch briefly on the news that residents along the river started making sandbags two months ago.  As if this has become an annual event.  And I caught this picture.

It's a picture of I-29, a highway that runs north and south near the river.  As of now it looks like this for miles.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but how exactly do you drive on a road you can't see.  It's almost like residents have become so use to this that driving on what looks like a lake is normal.  Surrounding your house with bags is regular routine.  Missing work and school is virtually penciled in.  When do you realize all the effort and money being put into this is going towards winning an unwinnable fight?

I don't have figures but there have been plenty of towns along the Mississippi that have been virtually bought out.  The people pack up and leave and move to a place further away from the river where flooding will not be a constant threat.  It's one thing to live in tornado alley or along the Atlantic seaboard where there are going to be occasional close calls.  It's another to deal with flooding every single year or wonder what might happen next with every drop of rain. 

But that is life in the mid-west.  They experience what has to be some of the harshest weather in the country.  Take Grand Forks.  Since January of this year, 19 days did not get above 5 degrees.  For the first time this year they hit 60 this week.  They will get 2-4 inches of snow on Friday.  Their winters are often bitterly cold with high winds that whip over the flat land causing frequent blizzards and wind chills ranging from -30 to -50.  Their summers can be down right hot when the jet stream lifts and produces incredibly unstable air leading to intense thunderstorms and tornadoes.  Without protection of mountains and with no large bodies of water in sight, temperature swings can be dramatic, at times changing 30 to 40 degrees within minutes.  They have hit 100 in every month from May to September and the difference between their record high and record low is 152 degrees.  Perhaps a little flooding isn't as big of a deal as I initially thought.  

Either way, you can check off Grand Forks as a potential relocation destination.

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Weather or Not

Once in awhile, probably more often than I'm willing to admit, I find the part of my brain that processes information unable to sleep.  With my computer playing an old sitcom before bed, I sometimes find it nearly impossible to not go searching for answers to some random subject that has popped into my head.  This then leads to additional searches for more information about another intriguing or maybe boring topic.  A typical search for me on let's say the Civil War, leads me in two paragraphs to the Mason-Dixon line, which takes me to the coordinates of the line, how did they measure the line and who was Mason and Dixon.  That then goes to where were they from, what did they do and who is related to them that might be around today.  Chances are it snowballs from there.  An hour later and I'm wondering how I even got to this point.  Well, the other night I had one of those nights.

It started off as innocent as always.  A few weather maps here, a couple watches and warnings there.  It's my basic sports, news, weather combo and I was hitting the last one.  But I saw one thing on the NOAA watch map that I hadn't seen since early October.  The only winter storm warnings posted were for the Sierra Nevada range.  And you know when they get hit, they get hit hard.  Sure enough, the call was for 1-2 feet at lake level with higher amounts at peak level.  Notice I use the term lake level.  That's because every time I look at warnings for the long mountain range in California, I always click on Lake Tahoe.

See, I've always had this fascination with that area.  I'm an east coast guy, but the town of South Lake Tahoe gets to me.  My last laptop had the lake as my desktop background.  Perhaps it's the imagery (and snow) that intrigues me.  The landscape is astonishing.  Tall mountains in the background, a tree-lined beautiful lake and an actual town as in 23,000 people.  Okay.  The amount of snow they receive also plays a big role.  This certainly has not been the first time I've done some digging on this area.  By digging I mean looking at potential job openings or careers of some kind, local real estate, average incomes... you catch my drift.  It was always one of those, could it be places.  Then I got to thinking.

It's not a simple place to pick up and move to.  As picturesque as the area is, it is what it is.  And it is a tourist location.  This is a place for skiers, hikers, bikers and campers.  The people that live near the lake might only be part-time residents who aren't looking for work in town.  They have money.  Chances are if you want work you will be working in the service industry be it at a restaurant, casino, hotel, ski lodge, boat rental shack or any other form.  That's not exactly me.  And I have my doubts if the people in this industry even live in South Lake Tahoe.  One can always dream.

Once I finished reading how many ski resorts in the Tahoe area passed 600 inches of snow for the season, I started down a different track.  I'm a lover of winter.  Never grew out of it.  Never will.  I don't need bone chilling cold or arctic winds.  A 30 degree day with light snow is like white sand, blue water, 80 degrees and sun to most others.  Bermuda is a likely destination for one of those, but what about the other?  Tahoe gets the snow (albeit not nearly the 600 inches the resorts see) and is large in size compared to other western locations that get high snow amounts but logically is not a suitable location.       

An older gentleman has told me numerous times, "RD, move to Syracuse."  The thought always rolled right off.  As big of a geography buff as I am, the first thing that comes to mind when hearing Syracuse is orange.  I've never been there, never looked at pictures or took much of an interest in it.  I know where it's located and quite frankly, my knowledge ends there.  But after realizing Tahoe was all but a crazy dream, the thought of Syracuse emerged as if never mentioned before.

It has the size I am looking for in that it's a city with over 100,000 people so you know there is opportunity.  And being realistic with the economy and everybody else looking for work, an opportunity is all I can ask for.  Then there is the snow.  I'm not sure, but could venture a guess that there are very few other cities of this size that get the kind of snow Syracuse does.  In fact, I don't think anybody tops them.  They average 121 inches a year.  For comparison, Allentown averages just over 30.  Those of us who "survived" the record breaking 93-94 season of 75 inches, well they received that much this past December.  Assuming the season is over, Syracuse will finish the year with a solid 177 inches.  We rarely get into math here but that is slightly below 15 feet... for a city on the east coast...not in a mountain range...that you could drive to in a day from here.

My intrigue has ballooned.  Now I want to know information about the area like crime, the local job market, biggest employers, real estate and rental prices, family income, even the future direction of the city and suburbs.  Can you see how one simple search turns into something big?  A brief search later and I see Syracuse is ranked one of the best places to raise a family and one of the most affordable.  A check on rental properties quickly reaffirms the latter.  Crime rate is rather low compared to most cities the same size which is a likely reason for the other ranking.  They are suffering through the same economic downturn as the rest of the country with an unemployment rate right at the national average and have only a few major employers.  So where do you go from here?  Deeper searches will surely follow as I can never get enough information.  But what after that?

I've always had this notion of picking things up, moving and changing the daily routine.  When that got old, I'd do it again.  At some point, whether you believe or not, somebody has probably read to you your zodiac traits.  For some they are accurate and others not so much.  I always remember the one that said my sign hates being tied down and likes to travel and thought, there is the one trait that doesn't fit me.  Then I recalled my answer as a high school senior in the class year book regarding future plans nearly ten years ago.  "Attend college and move far away."  Verbatim.  It's as if even back then I had this same notion.  Yet only one of those was accomplished.

It's easy to understand why people in situations like mine have a difficult time relocating.  It's an intimidating idea.  I often think about where I'd go if given the opportunity to work and earn a living.  And weather plays a major role as not many people are looking for colder and snowier climates.  However, given the opportunity and making/creating an opportunity are two very different things.  

I have a job.  It takes care of the bills and provides what I need.  I have few complaints.  It's no more than five miles from where I graduated high school and graduated college.  Is it a career?  Yes.  If you let it be.

I fully believe certain individuals with a strong passion can accomplish anything within the realm of possibility.  It's not easy.  That's why I say certain.  My mind has been racing over the last few days.  I'm fully aware of what lies in the road ahead.  But deep down I've always wanted to make a change.  So what is stopping me?

Oh yeah... Nothing.

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A Long Two Months

If April showers bring May flowers, what does an April snow bring?

I'm going to guess a long wait until summer begins.  I mentioned in an earlier post that the first week of last April saw highs approaching 90 for multiple days.  One year later and snow is on the ground, it's overcast, cool, damp, dreary and wet.  What do you really expect from April?

March ended with over five inches of rain for most places, which might be why we are feeling the strain now.  This is that time of year that mother nature likes to tease you.  A warm and sunny day here and there, followed by average temps to below average temps and rain.  The long range is really no different.  The next three days are slated to be overcast, possibly a shower in spots and temperatures below normal.  Then the tease.  Monday comes strolling along, a day most people despise, with a high that could reach 80.  Feel the joy at the office with people chirping of summertime fun.  It won't last.  Monday will always get you.  It reached 74 degrees last Monday.  The average high for the other five days in April so far is 55.

The temps will flatten out again by Tuesday and begin to slowly dip by weeks end.  A shift in the pattern will allow storms to stream from west to east increasing the likelihood of multiple days of rain and showers.  And with this kind of weather, highs won't get out of the 50's.  

Bottom line.  Enjoy Monday.  You won't here that from me very often.

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A Rarity

I can't even remember snow in April.  Flurries, perhaps.  But not snow.  The kind you can see on the grass and actually measure.  When I woke up Friday morning I did the same thing I always do when snow has been forecast for the previous night.  I lifted the shade on the window.  Nothing.

For a few days the accumulations had varied greatly.  Even though my exact location never once was issued an advisory, Lehigh county did receive multiple watches.  In fact, I believe Wednesday into Thursday alone, the city at least at one time or another either had a winter weather watch, warning or advisory.  And totals ranged from one to ten inches.  Yet Friday morning I look out the window and see nothing but a wet road with light drizzle falling.

45 minutes later and I looked out at this...

I would have taken pictures of a more noticeable amount but I had to leave.  I can't recall driving in snow as heavy or with flakes as large as this little April snowfall.  Driving into work I had my wipers going one notch below full.  Visibility had to be less than a quarter mile.  It was a great and wacky way to end an interesting season.  Heavy snow, didn't stick to roads, lasted maybe two hours and was pretty much completely incorrectly predicted. 

Not many places reported totals, but I was able to copy the public info screen on the NOAA site for a few select locations.  I get a bigger kick at looking at the date of this report.

No locations in the Valley reported and I don't think the report in Kutztown is entirely accurate, though working not far from there, I don't think it is way off either.  Regardless, I enjoyed the last snow of the 2010-11 season.  Here is a lasting image to enjoy for the majority of those ready to look ahead.  Video of the flakes can also be enjoyed on the right side of this page.

Even the flowers are ready for Spring.  (Photo from The Morning Call)

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