Monday, January 15, 2007

Funky & Freaky Weather

OK - when I first moved to Coastal Texas 27 ½ years ago, everyone told me "If you don't like the weather, just stick around. It'll change." Well, I waited around all summer and it didn't change. It didn't even cool down at night. I mean, it'd drop from 92 to 85 at night, but that's hardly a cool down. And the humidity - man! Unbelievable! Especially for a kid who was still used to the arid valleys of Southern Nevada!

Then winter came. Winter, in all it's glorious 'lets you know you're alive' presence! Woohoo! Um - where's winter? Oh, don't tell me you don't have winter down here! That's just wrong!!! No, they dont' have snow (except Christmas Eve, 2004). No, they don't have ice. No, they don't even have cold! Well, not much of it. Winter in Coastal Texas comes in bits and pieces. A little here, a little there. A total of two weeks of "winter", spread out over a three-month period.

Since I've moved to Yewsten, Texas, I've experienced a little more of winter than I did in Corpus Christi. It gets cooler here than it did there. And the cold snaps last maybe a day longer. And we get maybe one more every year than Corpus Christi does. So, Yewsten get three weeks of what those of you from north of I-10 (read: Yankees!) would call "winter". (Yeah, I'm south of I-10 in Yewsten, so I ain't no Yankee! Yeah, I'm pickin' a fight...)

This weekend, though, has baffled meteorologists, both professional (National Weather Service, TV) and amateur (your intrepid blogger). Last Monday, I checked a 7-day forecast and found that they were talking about an ice storm in Yewsten next week. Starting on Sunday, the temperature should drop down from the 70sF (20sC) into the 30s (0C) and by Monday be in the 20s (-5C). That's downright cold for Yewsten (our all-time record low is 5F or -15C) even if you "Yankees" don't think it is.

Throughout the week, they kept warning us on TV and radio about the severe cold snap that will shut down Yewsten on Tuesday of next week (which is now tomorrow). The good news is, they were probably right about that. The funny thing is what happened this weekend.

Saturday, we went to Texas City. It was hot. I don't mean warm winter weather like the 50sF (10C), I mean it was pushing 80F (25C). It was warm for winter. 'Course, we've come to expect that, even in January. That's not uncommon. Uncomfortable, but not uncommon. I checked the forecast before we left the house, and the National Weather Service (NWS) said the low would be about 64 Saturday night. Not bad. We won't have to cover the plants. We likely won't have to run the heat, either.

On the way back from Texas City, we stopped and filled up the car about six miles from our house. It was warmer and muggier than it had been all day, even though it was after dark. I don't know the temperature, but it was stiflingly warm and humid. When we got home, it was much cooler outside. I checked - the temperature was 65F (18C). The NWS website had adjusted the forecast low to 51F (10C). That was about 9pm. At 11pm, they had adjusted the forecast low to 44F, an adjustment of 20 degrees in a matter of eight hours. On television, they said that the low we had anticipated arriving on Sunday had already arrived.

Sunday came, and we all got bundled up for what promised to be a cold day. The forecast high was 51. Lucky thing I'd learned that layers work better at keeping one warm, so we all wore several layers of clothing. Another good thing about layers, you can peel them off as the day warms up - which Sunday did. It started off rather cool and foggy, but quickly warmed up to the mid 70s (23C) and stayed there most of the day. We were out and about all day, finally getting home about 9pm. The temperature finally started dropping about 8:30 and continued all night.

This morning, it's cold and raining. The forecast is that the 40F (4C) right now will be the high for today and it will continue dropping to 27F (-3C) tonight. Tomorrow is forecast to get up to 31. That is the first time in several years that our high temperature did not exceed freezing. Research through the beginning of 2000 indicates that every day this millenium got above freezing. January 16, 2007, however, is forecast not to rise above the freezing point.

Temperatures like that, with the precipitation forecast, mean the city of Yewsten will be glazed in a sheet of ice. The roads will not be safe for travel. Therefore, the city will likely shut everything down in order to minimize accidents. We do not have the equipment required to remove the ice from the roads. Since this is the first ice storm in at least seven years (I think the last one was in 1989), it would not be economically feasible to buy the equipment and let it sit around rotting while not in use.

The schools will close, many offices will close, and many people will not be paid. Economically, it will impact us, but not too bad. Our tropical plants will suffer - my wife and I have been discussing how to prepare our flowerbeds for the cold. While much of our flora will be OK, we need to protect our roses, and other sensitive flowers. That means going out in the cold rain and wrapping them with old bed sheets. Likely, the sheets will freeze to the plants, but only the top layer of the plant will freeze. Good news on this, though - we'd been meaning to trim those roses. Now they'll trim themselves!!!

Lastly, remember my family. Our central heat died a couple of years ago, and we don't have the $$$ to fix it. It's not a serious problem, as we have some portable heaters. We also have a fireplace. They work quite well at keeping one room warm, and we will use them as much as we can. I will also do a lot of cooking today. I feel a pork roast coming on...

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