Category: Weather

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Kansas City Meetup

The snow has canceled school from as far west as Fort Worth, up through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and then swiped an eastern path across the midwest states all the way to the East Coast and up through New England.

I called my sister in Kansas and she told me that schools are closed there for today, too. She has been home all day trying to learn how to use her new pc, installing her instant messenger and setting up a new email account. She’s learning her way around the internet – finally. She even surprised me with the confession that she’s hoping to start dating by using the internet.

Well, she’s been divorced for over two years. I say its about time she started dating. Especially if she uses a quality dating site like Great Expectations. I know my sister, and she’s not interested in a lot of casual dating. She wants to meet a nice guy and be in love again. If she signs up for Great Expectations Kansas City she can attend some of their local events that let people actually meet in a comfortable, non-threatening environment and really get to know someone. I’m glad she’s making the effort now – she deserves to be happy.

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Snow Day

Winter storms have been brutal for most of the country this year. We’ve had a lot of cold temperatures and rain, but not the snow that our neighbors to the north are dealing with. We thought all that might change last night, as the weatherman was calling for up to 2 inches of snow for the entire mid state. Of course, officials immediately canceled school and there are thousands of kids sitting home enjoying a snow day. Except there is no snow. LOL

The air was filled with blowing snowflakes this morning when I woke up, but the snow melted as soon as it hit the ground. I’m actually glad that we don’t have the snow to deal with, and I’m sure the kids are happy to have a day at home playing video games and watching TV.

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Inauguration Day

This morning started early for everyone in Washington, DC. This is Inauguration Day for President Obama.

There were already huge crowds of people on the Washington Mall and scattered along the transport route from the Blair House to the Capitol steps. Officials are estimating that there will be up to two million people in Washington to witness this historic event.

It is sunny but bitter cold, as is typical in the Washington D area in January, They expect temperatures to stay in the teens, and just south of the D area they are predicting snow showers for Southern Virginia. I think it is symbolic that Obama is facing very cold weather but that the sun is shining, with warmer weather ahead. I hope that sets the tone for his first few months in office.

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Snow or No

Tomorrow the weather forecasters have declared that we will have snow. Somewhere. Maybe here, maybe north of us, maybe east – up on the plateau. But we shall have snow in the area.

Since Monday is a legal holiday, the snow will not mean that schools have to close. They are already closed. So if it does snow, I hope the homebound kids have enough on the ground to play with. Maybe some sledding downhill and a few snowmen.

And I certainly hopes it all melts by Tuesday morning so that traffic is not snarled.

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Out of Gas

As the millions of people in Texas and neighboring states deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, the rest of us – especially in the southeast – are sharing some of their pain by paying even higher prices for gasoline and going without gas. I have every confidence that the emergency response teams are doing an excellent job helping restore power and order to the areas devastated by the hurricane.

In a small way, there might be some comfort to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina that some of the painful lessons from Katrina were learned and applied here for Hurricane Ike. Of particular notice to me was that the animals of the area have been cared for this time.

But the gasoline situation is horrendous. The Texas refineries supply about a quarter of the country’s gasoline and oil. However, the Texas refineries supply over HALF the gas to the southeastern states, and these states are having to deal with spikes in the price plus shortages.

The gas stations around my house are out of gas. Not just one or two stations. I mean like 40 stations. They don’t know when they will be getting any more deliveries. Period. I drove around in ever widening circles for hour before I could find a gas station that has any gas at all, and all they have is premium grade gas. The cars were lined up in the parking lot and out into the street just to get whatever gas they could get from this station.

I hope with all my heart that the people of Galveston and Houston are safe and on their way back to a normal life after Hurricane Ike. And I hope that the refineries can reopen in the next couple of days and start shipping the gas out to the southeast. Because we are hurting, too.

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Dog Days of Summer

Well the heat wave finally hit here. It’s hot. very hot.

Had to go to a funeral yesterday and stand out in the hot sun for about a half hour for the graveside service. It was 110 degrees and no shade trees in the cemetery. It was a typically bleak western cemetery. A lot of dirt and rocks with a few rows of headstones, some dating back to the 1800’s. It was a very sad day and the cemetery was no comfort for the mourners standing there in suits and black dresses.

We could use some rain – everything has turned brown and grey. Even the creeks and ponds have dried up. Good thing August only has 31 days and then we have Labor Day weekend to flag the end of summer.

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Wind Power

For the little bit that I actually watch TV, the fact that I saw three commercials yesterday by T. Boone Pickens about his plan for bringing wind power to America is remarkable. From what I’ve heard so far, wind power makes sense if the geographic area has sustained winds of about 10+ mph.

Now, a clever guy in Petaluma by the name of Steve Rustad who draws cartoons has a good idea about wind power, too. If I did this link correctly you can see his idea here. Thanks, Steve!