It occurred to me this morning that in order to make it in
your own business (not that I'm trying) you have to find a niche or untapped market. We’ve seen it recently in the weather
community either on a local level or a nation level. Websites target specific areas. Local television has weather on wheels with
the newest technology and cameras mounted to anything. Weather chasing has become a career for some
no matter if it is hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or winter storms. We can’t all be like a Jim Cantore, but even
these few who are placed in the path of bad weather will only stand in the
elements while the camera is rolling before finding shelter in a hotel or
vehicle. So after spending an hour
outside this morning and seeing absolutely nobody, maybe I’ve found my own
market of the few people who take on any condition.
It’s no big secret I’m not shy when it comes to tackling the
outdoors no matter what. My plan was to
run this morning, hopefully in a light snow.
And run I did. Except the light
snow was a heavy sleet. Oh well. Not my first sleet run of the winter
season. I headed for the Lehigh canal
trail to keep me off the streets. On a
normal day there would be runners, walkers and bike riders. Today it was me and some geese.
Watching a train pass the Steel Stacks next to the river with sleet raining down and not a person in sight is a great way to begin a weekend morning. But onto the weather report.
What started out as heavy sleet, on top of about a half an inch of snow, turned into a mix of sleet and rain (freezing) about half way through my seven mile run. Now here is where we can get into a weather discussion. One thing I probably mention every time I talk about freezing rain is that this terminology describes plain old rain that freezes to surfaces that are colder than 32 degrees. It can be incredibly deceiving to hear and see. Usually the air at the surface is below 32 but the air a few hundred feet up is warmer. There isn't enough time for the transition back to snow or sleet by the time it reaches the surface so the water freezes on contact. And because of my lengthy stay outside we can show just how easily this happens.
Obviously I didn't spend the overnight hours outside in the 20 degree air. Also as a living creature my body is already giving off warmth especially while doing physical activities. Needless to say there is going to be a good amount of warmth surrounding myself. Yet after 40 minutes I stopped to take this picture of the front straps of my pack that sit directly on my chest where the rain hits.
Always a unique occurrence for me when your own items start to freeze.
I'm certainly not the only one who was out today. It happened that nobody else was on the trail at 8:00 in the morning or earlier because there were no footprints. Some might go out later or others were in a different part of town. But it got me thinking of all the others times I've been out in less than desirable conditions.
Like that time in Pittsburgh when I began my trek from downtown to the lookouts on Mount Washington. It was misty, overcast, with fog rolling in along the river and temperatures at maybe 50. I think I passed one runner and that was in the city. Not exactly the view I was hoping for.
Or the time earlier this year when the area got the biggest snowfall in recorded history with over 30 inches falling. By the time I got out there had to be about 20 inches and was so bad I couldn't get my legs up high enough out of the snow to move forward.
This was me on the trail with snow just below my knees followed by Church and Main Streets. (Click to enlarge pictures.)
Maybe it's time for a new name for this site. Something that focuses more on the people like me who play in this weather and less on the maps and graphs.
Read more...
Now the question becomes is this enough to be measured or will this only go down as the first flakes of the year. Might get measurable snow tomorrow anyway.
It's common for me to take a bit of a break over summer since my main focus tends to be on winter. Which is coming soon by the way. The midwest has not received that news yet. One of the recurring subjects discussed on The Weather Channel recently is the lack of cold for Minneapolis. The average date for the first recording of a 32 degree temperature is October 8th. Now into November they have yet to hit 32. They are not forecast to hit the freezing mark over the next 10 days. Not that we are breaking records in this area, but we have hit the 32 degree mark four times so far this year and have multiple days forecast to go below freezing this week. Needless to say the majority of the country is still in the same pattern dominated by a large ridge and warmer temperatures.
I'd like to try and find a correspondence with the end of daylight saving time and the weather except I'm not sure I can. Either way in recent years the first 10 days of November have taken on a quality more inline with early autumn. Last year we hit 70 four times in that span, once the year before and twice this year. It usually doesn't take long after that for a shift to take place. It looks like that could start by this weekend when the temperature trends shift back to average or slightly below average. Temperatures aren't really the story. Since the beginning of August we are under seven inches of total rain. I wouldn't normally root for a chilly November rain, but in this case it is needed.
Since I don't always get much of a chance to post I hope to at least include random things that are happening in the world. I was aiming to start with a winter video somewhere where winter has already started. Unfortunately the news today was a bit different. This is what rolled through areas near Rome in Italy today.
With the rainfall yesterday Allentown passed the five inch mark and for good measure decided to pass the six inch mark too. There is another three hours left to see how much more can be added to the monthly total.
I arrived home about 30 minutes ago from the Reading area. When I left it was warm and sunny as it has been most of the day in that part of the state. The northern and especially eastern parts of the area have been bouncing back and forth between scattered showers. It's been one of those months. Tonight was more of the same. The closer I got to Allentown the darker the sky became. It started as large building clouds from a distance. Then a steady rain started. You wouldn't have guessed I started my drive with sunny and blue skies.
This same cell has been sitting over us for 20 minutes barely moving. Most of the rain is missing the airport so it is unlikely this data will be collected. Might at least make for an interesting night as more storms begin to take shape. Updates to follow.
UPDATE 1: 40 Minutes have passed since that radar image above was captured. Here is what it looks like now. Very little movement.
