Tornado Season

I fibbed.  The bike post will wait.  The tornado is the one weather event that is as fascinating as is it frightening.  Last week we had another example of a heavily populated city taking a direct hit from the most powerful of storms.  I didn't make mention of it on here for little more of a reason than if I posted about every event I would probably have to quit my job and many other hobbies.  However, here I am.

The tornado in my mind is near or at the top in horrifying meteorological events.  They are completely unpredictable, extremely violent and in simple terms, don't give a shit.  They form when they want to, where they want to and move wherever they desire.  Oh yeah, and it happens in the matter of moments.  That's the scary part.  A sunny spring day can turn into a nightmare in a few minutes.  No place on earth deals with these as much as the United States and especially the central part of the country.

This past week Moore, Oklahoma was added to list of places to get hit by an EF5 tornado.  Since the new scale was established in 2007, this has been the ninth according to the weather service.  It was a list Moore didn't want to be on but have found themselves too often.  They already were on the list for an F4 and F5 tornado all since 1999.  The first thing that came to mind when I returned home and saw the news of the event was this was like Joplin all over again.

It was oh so very clear.  The news crews standing on piles of ruble.  The interviews with people who had lost everything hours after waking up on a warm Monday morning.  The inaccuracy of the reporting.  The we've-been-here-for-hours and are starting to run out of useful information.  We've seen it before and will see it again.  Maybe it is the nature of the people in the mid-west and south but if I had experienced loss of that magnitude and came back to find cameras and media all over the place or standing on whatever was left of my house I wouldn't be too friendly.  And maybe part of it is understanding that this is how life is in that part of the world.  Nothing echoed that more than the older lady standing on the remnants of her home being interviewed by whoever and realizing her dog was probably gone only to have somebody point out the dog struggling to free itself from the ruble a couple seconds later.  A great moment captured for all to see.

What we won't see is how the rest of the story plays out.  The media leaves and unless you live close by or make an attempt, the story ends here.  I said the same thing about Joplin after that city was destroyed and many lives lost.  I still follow the rebuilding of Joplin.  That tornado was two years ago.  In fact there was a short picture slideshow with images of various places around the city from the time of the tornado to today.  The time it takes to rebuild is amazing.  The nice thing about today with social media is that anybody who has an interest in helping or donating in anyway is easily able to do so.  That part of the story can't be overlooked either.

I don't want to diminish other natural events.  It's just that tornadoes bring a different dimension of destruction and loss.  Tropical storms move slowly, carving out a path before making or sometimes not making landfall.  People get enough advanced warning to stock up on items, board up and fly or drive somewhere else if they desire.  Plus, if you don't live along or near a coast susceptible to this particular event, you don't have to worry.  Flooding has long been particularly deadly.  There is though an inherent risk when living near water and that is risk number one.  A little common sense can go a long way in flood situations.  Outside of those two events, I'm not sure what else in terms of weather would be high on the list.  Maybe blizzards or heat waves which again fail in comparison.

People can argue that by living in tornado alley, many people are putting themselves at risk.  It is a risk but so is getting in your car in the morning.  Living next to a river or along the Atlantic is a pretty specific choice.  Living in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas or the other dozens of states that are prone is basic life.  Tornadoes can happen almost anywhere.  There have been 20 states since 1950 that were hit by an F5 tornado.  Ohio has been hit four times.  Guess who else is on the list.  Pennsylvania.  I don't know if Pennsylvania will ever see it happen again, Ohio probably will.  But what will happen is there will be a tornado this year somewhere in this general vicinity.  Where it will be, who knows?

And that's what makes tornadoes so insane.  You wake up one morning and go to work only to come back and find your neighborhood is gone.  So is everything you owned.  Your family had a few minutes to grab what they could which was likely nothing more than themselves and maybe a pet.  Then you need to find shelter and hope for the best.  This type of event could happen at any time or any day for a lot of people.  Very scary proposition.

I'll leave you with this video.  From a video recording device, in a car, hundreds of yards away, the sound of this thing gave me goosebumps.


          

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Winter Recap

With our temperatures expected to top 90 a few times this week I think we can officially close out the 2012-13 winter season even though some places are still seeing snow and others will continue to as well.

Let's begin locally first.  One of the more interesting aspects of watching winter unfold is seeing how well these fine meteorologists do in forecasting ahead.  The simple answer is not very well.  And while I'm on the subject, I officially will forever be taking any forecast from anybody with a grain of salt.  My weekend ride to Manayunk last weekend was far wetter than the partly sunny forecast that was given.  Anyway, it's really not going to come as a surprise to see nobody was remotely accurate in predicting Philadelphia's snowfall.

According to the latest record the city ended with 8.3 inches.  That's about ten inches less than the closest lowest forecast that came from Fox who said 18-24.  So I guess Fox wins that round?  It was really more or less a swing and miss from every station.

Now the Lehigh Valley.  I still look at it as a decent winter.  It snowed often just not in very high amounts.  The totals I show for Allentown for the season were 21.4 inches.  Not bad but below average.  For the group who gave predictions it was once again a swing and miss, or maybe a foul tip.  We never got the big coastal storms that pounded New England this year.  If one of those would have gotten us both Allentown and Philadelphia would have ended with the predicted totals.  That didn't happen though so we all get a D in predicting. 

News and Notes

It wasn't a competition since factors in various areas greatly differ, but I can clear off my snow zones on the right side of the page now.

Assuming the season is actually over, Houghton will end will right around 225 inches.  Really nothing out of the ordinary.  That area is in such a prime area for snow that it's almost hard to believe people settled there.  If you like that type of weather and remoteness then maybe a job at Michigan Tech is for you.

Caribou ends the season at 108 inches.  Again, a pretty typical winter in northern Maine.  I think the bigger issue in that part of the country is the cold.  In my mind the weather tends to be more similar to that of the plains in that cold air dips down from Canada constantly and warm ups are hard to come by.  When it snows, it sticks around for awhile.

Last but not least is the always consistent Syracuse that finished with a quiet 115 inches.  They were also once again the snowiest city in the United States even though the mid-west and New England areas did quite well.  Their snow falls lightly but often which really adds up.  If you care to see the joys of lake effect snow pull out a map of New York.  Auburn got 72 inches.  Fulton got 171.  In the middle is Syracuse.  All are about 30 miles from each other.

SUMMER SEASON

The snow totals are gone on my page and this year we introduce something different.  Starting on June 1st and running through September 30th, or basically what I generally consider the summer season, I will be picking complete random cities to track total rainfall.  Obviously this will indicate very little and serve no real purpose outside of my entertainment, but it might help with my subject material.

Here will be the cities of choice in no particular order and literally being picked as I type this post.

• Des Moines, Iowa
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Savannah, Georgia
• Portland, Oregon
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I'd like to give a good explanation of why these cities were picked, but I cannot.  I tried to get a decent amount of the country involved in places I know should get decent rainfall totals due to a variety of circumstances.  Some will be from coastal (west) others could be tropical or some from heavy thunderstorms.  I also didn't want to take the slam dunk areas like Florida that see rain all the time or the proverbial Seattle that doesn't actually see that much rain.  Plus Portland is basically a younger cousin.  I'm also at this time assuming I can find totals for these five locations.

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Next Post:  My Extended Bike Ride

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Get Out

With the optimal weather conditions we have been experiencing lately the theme has been to get outside.  A beautiful day should not be wasted sitting inside watching television or aimlessly perusing the internet.  There are ample amounts of activities that can be done with little more than a willingness.  That's why on a whim, I decided to dust off the bike and get out.

I can't remember the last time I was out.  My guess would be October.  The low tire pressure would probably agree.  Nevertheless I was intrigued to get back on and couldn't ask for a better day.  In between runs, running hikes, gym workouts and hockey games I assumed my legs would be up for the peddling motion that had been avoided for the past six months.  Sitting on a narrow seat with your back at an awkward angle could be a different story.  Which is why it is better to get back in the game slowly after a prolonged absence.  In keeping with normal tradition, that is exactly what I did.

With the tires inflated, water in the bottle and gear on my back I headed out with a plan in mind that I had conjured up a few hours before.  How far I would go or care to go would really be the question.  On such a nice day you can get quite lost in the ride and the sights.  With little preparation, time would also be a determining factor since like a run, as far out as you go you still have to come back.  And returning in the dark was not on the list.

The initial first few miles felt very good.  And of course I wasn't taking it that easy.  A pair of bicycle shorts might end up on my list of things to get since the seat can start to feel like a rock.  Most times you don't take much notice.  It's more about being out in nature and getting the most that you can from the day.  Two hours after I first set out, I ended up here.

Yes, that's the Rocky statue.  In front of the Art Museum.  In Philadelphia.  Like I said, you have to take things slowly when you first get back out there.  Or you take my approach and totally disregard that logic.

This was my turn around point.  One because with the 15 lanes of traffic in that part of town there was no point in going further.  Two, the area for obvious reasons becomes very touristy.  Buses were stopping to let people out, other people were on a site seeing tour of the city and others were renting bikes near the boathouse.  Let's say it got congested.  Even the people in the picture above were waiting in long lines to get a picture.  And my last reason being very important was I still had at least a two hour bike back to my point of origin.

I made it back out of the crowded streets and past the boat houses where I finally pulled off to the side for a bit of a breather.  Alongside the river I got a picture of all the rowing teams out and about.

I would have waited for them to get closer but my break lasted all of a few minutes since I knew the ride back would become a bit more of a challenge.  It actually wasn't as bad as I thought.  I never stopped except to drink water or fill my bottle back up from a fountain.  I enjoyed the ride back almost as much as the ride down to the city even though there was much less to look at.  It even took me about the same amount of time to get back which really surprised me. 

The last two to three miles was the point where I started to feel it in my legs.  Up until then I had been going at a steady pace for the entire trip up and back.  Now it was starting to get to me as was my back from leaning over the bars.  When I considered stopping for rest I knew I had only a mile or so to go and continued on.

The ride ended up being about 46 or 47 miles according to markers.  I was gone for almost exactly four hours.  Realistically my timing and prep work could have been better.  Either way it was a blast.  Not to mention at least twice as far if not more of what I would be accustom to do.

Great way to spend a day.  Tired me out and left me a bit sore.  Next time I'll plan a little better and include more stops to really take in everything without having to crunch for time.  There will definitely be a next time.

         

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When Winter Ends

My blog seems to suffer a fate similar to winter as the snow stops so do my posts.  The reality is our local weather tends to get boring for a few weeks or maybe a month.  I'm a big fan of winter but right now I don't think anybody could be complaining about our warm days filled with sunshine and cool nights to let the windows open.  We have snuggled into a very calm pattern that shows no real sign of ending.  Even April was quiet.  Our average temperature for the month (Reading) ended up being 53.  A whole one degree higher than the normal average.  And the April showers never materialized.

Now what I would like to do is give a final 2012-13 winter briefing to discuss the winning cities across the country, how we did locally and also some of my blogger picks.  Trust me, I'd love to still be talking about winter on the first of May.  While I'd like to wrap up my report with a post or two, others are still living it.  I can't even begin to remember the last time I had the Weather Channel on.  Are they still naming winter storms?  They have to be at letter Z by now.  Here is another to add to the list.  In MAY.

Winter in the plains won't stop.  Some of the April snow totals have been astounding.  Duluth and Rapid City had their snowiest months ever recorded this April.  Not snowiest April ever.  Snowiest month ever recorded.  We can shut the book on those and open up a whole new book for May.  From Minnesota to Iowa to Nebraska to Kansas more snow will fall this week.  I think it is fairly certain this will be the last storm for any major cities this year.  It's all still very bizarre.

On the opposite side of the spectrum and in the category of good news, the 2013 season has been very quiet in terms of severe weather.  This is normally the time the southeast and south become a breeding ground for tornadic activity.  Not this spring.  Nobody complaining about that.

Sit back and enjoy these beautiful days or get outside and run, hike, bike, walk, or whatever else it is you desire as you never know when things will change.  Next post, assuming the snow stops, will be a late season winter recap.

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