Stormfly

Yes to properly quote Geddy Lee!

Yeah pines tend to fracture like that in severe winds. We lost a perfectly healthy spruce in Sandy. We had one that lost its top and it came right across the roof. I was in the kitchen and heard the wind roaring and then heard a ruckus and looked up through the skylights in the kitchen. It looked like a scene in twister seeing what looked like an entire christmas tree flying completely airborne! I poked my head out to get a better look and had to immediately close the door as I was getting pummeled with needles. I really need to top our line to the NW, those are hitting 80-100' but I'm getting a bit too old for hanging at the top of the zipline.

At least the horse was snow white! I'm all down for a March blizzard! But we'll probably get some freak thunderstorm outbreak with a foot of hail.

Mud season's gonna be bad. Lots of mud, ruts, and dull chains. YUK! And by time I'm done with buckin', it's gonna be skeeter season! And that's even worse!

Yeah and well see where that got him!

Yes it was bad here too, legit sustained tropical storm force average wind for a few hours with frequent gusts over 60. I have a rule here, if a tree is within the danger zone of the house it gets trimmed/topped or felled. All trees kept in check with hatchet, axe, and saw!

Cicada killer (wasps) typically don't show their buzzing asses until end of June (earliest) and get into full swing here by mid July. Way past periodical cicada season. They do hit the annual cicadas pretty hard though. I remember a few years ago I had a queen buzz me while I was on the zero turn (mower). At first I thought it was a hummingbird it was so big! Then I realized what it was and when I made my pass back I saw why. I mowed right over its burrow and it looked like a gopher did it! What amazing diggers they are. We get them near the sidewalk, I'll take the blower to their mounds in the evening and by late morning the next day the dirt is back on the walkway and there is a mound a few inches tall. I need to set up a timelapse.

March is coming, it's supposed to be windy! It has been surprisingly windless this entire winter season! Last time we had decent wind was Christmas eve/early Christmas AM. A repeat of the March 02, 2018 event is fine as long as the winds are out of the east! Superstorm II? As the saying goes you can wish in one hand...

1970 was bad. 87 not as bad and 04 seemed awful. If you cannot hear them around your home just drive with windows down. It usually doesn't take long to find an area overrun with them. They can get really LOUD too when in big numbers. I remember I was in Columbia near Merriweather Post in the woods and it was impossible to talk on the phone. As I was walking toward the end of the woods they started landing on me. They aren't much to worry about until they start crawling on the back of your neck and dig their damn claws in like a kitten clinging for dear life! The periodical cicadas remind me of steamed crabs with their orange exoskeleton and red eyes. The more familiar annual cicadas are larger and dark green. Songs are different too.

I'd imagine not too many here are in China!

All along the watchtower @39.580323 -76.477394

Ditto on the measurements! I will say this though, this is the first time since 2010 that my deck has had over a foot of snow in the middle for the entire month (so far) of February. It's been a weird winter but I'll take it! If severe is weird and we catch a tornado on one of the security cameras I hope it's a tiny one like this!

Best snow rates of the year and it lasted a while. 4" new. Sleet mixing in now. 30/28

You're gonna love the arrival of brood X cicadas!

Cleared out with the blower, yes lots of hard stuff in there almost like the second stage was handling gravel! Snow changed over to light ZR. This is ridiculous At least the clouds are thinning enough to let the sun do its work. 30/28 light frz drizzle.

Nice snowy morning. Road was OK at 7AM. Now not so much. 26/26

Best rule of thumb with lightning is if you can hear thunder you are at risk! It's better to err on the side of caution rather than to be dead! I take lightning very seriously. I have been "lit up" numerous times due to being dumb/stubborn in an occupation that is outdoors often in high places and risky. That and the lure of watching CG and the adrenaline rush as it gets closer and closer. 45-50 mph in summer typically brings down limbs off deciduous trees in the 1 to 2" diameter which is enough to cause injury. A weakened tree or saturated soil condition can also result in an entire tree toppling which is obviously dangerous too! Sycamores will pelt with those annoying "monkey balls" too! And having a large deck canopied with oaks getting shelled like crazy with acorns can cause a painful fall if someone haphazardly dashes outside after a storm passes to check things out! That combined with typical summer decor (patio furniture, pool trimmings, et al) and you have the perfect setting for a missile race that would not happen when such winds are more common in fall/winter months.

Yes 80s and 90s had classic squall lines oriented nearly NS moving due east. Sometimes NESW moving SE. Now it seems we have them NESW moving NE causing a lot of training and flash floods. The worst ones are the blobs stuck at 60dBz with thimble sized drops that don't move for an hour. Anyone living near a creek is in big trouble when that happens. I'd say 90% of the severe warnings for us we aren't even close to severe criteria (wind/hail). Sometimes we don't get warned and get one or both and the yellow box pops up just to our east/southeast depending on where it's moving. Then the summer evenings where the sky and sometimes the ground lights up like there's a war going on and the storms are 100+ miles away!

I have really good balance on towers, trees, high places and get called all kinds of <insert expletive here> crazy for it. But slipping on ice and having zero control? It scares the hell out of me! Now seeing someone fall, it's impossible not to laugh because it just looks funny. Of course if in person I have to at least make sure they are alright.

Careful, falling is one thing and we laugh like stoned hyenas when we're alright... I remember taking a walk to the mailbox and everything seemed OK down to the last 10 feet or so. I knew I was in big trouble and could do nothing about it. Wiggle left, wiggle right, do the Watusi while sliding downhill picking up speed. Like the first time on skis not knowing how to slow down you intentionally fall to stop. Except this time I fell backward and smacked the back of my head on a gravel road. Back of my head looked like a strawberry. That really sucked!

25/25, Freezing mist. Can see the ultrasonic anemometer housing nicely encased in ice via surveillance PTZ. Would not want to walk around on this! Treated roads probably OK at these temps but black ice and steel plates and bridges - watch out!

Blast from the past! Maybe, just maybe this could happen soon?! 28 years ago next month, and yes it was a sleetfest but the frontside thump was crazy. And the wind! Biggest thing was the pressure - 966Mb for us. Verified on both digital and mercury column barometers! Incredible!

By far this storm is the sloppiest of this season. March is coming, I'm sure there will be more fail. Anyone remember March 1st, 1980? Started out great with 7" all snow. That was a Saturday. The following Saturday, just. a week later the only snow remaining was piles in lots. Severe storms that evening (well the severe parts missed us) but warm like May with thunderstorms in the evening. A week after a legit warning event. If this March is like that I'm fine with that.

Yeah the biggest bust that comes to mind was Jan 25, 2000. Of course that was great for snow lovers!

Mostly sleet here. It's LOUD out there. Ugh! Big drop in temp though. 22/21