Pellice

Hard ice glaze from freezing rain on top of maybe an inch and a half of sleet. Maybe the first time I would not have the strength to clear my walkout and car to move it for parking spot clearing. Salting would not help at this depth without some rising temperatures and melting and maybe sun. Nobody going anywhere in this development until that happens.

My recollection is that the guy who "owned" the site got mad about something and took it down suddenly. I remember pleas made to him to let the writers to offload it to someone else or at least download their own data and maps, and one who was friendly with the owner volunteered to approach him personally to beg for a reprieve, which I believe was granted. He would not permit the site itself to change hands. Again if I remember correctly, he left the site up long enough for a new site to be set up and announced. You didn't transfer, you had to sign up for the new site. *Some* of Eastern is still available on the Wayback machine, although I don't entirely understand how to navigate that site. The topmost referenced site under it led to an Indonesian wagering site. But somewhere I was able to pull up some old postings. Plus ça change ... capes Apr 23 2006, 10:03 PM Received a grand total of 3 inches for the event, and with tonights pulsing storms maybe will add a bit more. We desperately needed the rain, I just wish it did not come in a deluge. Not good for the grass seed I planted last week. Hard to believe there are some in here whining about a bust just because the QPF did not come out perfect. Some need to quit model hugging and learn not to take the maps literally. Both the GFS and NAM were pretty good at depicting the slow progression east of the closed low and the rich feed of moisture up the coast. BTW, I thought Mount Holly did an excellent job forecasting this event. Of course, they usually do.

I am watching my development's maintenance crews struggle to clear sidewalks. Snowblowers apparently are not working on this slushy muck, and they are working in pairs with shovels - slowly. They are having to plunge the shovels down and really scrape. And it's getting more difficult as temperatures fall. I think there is a good chance tomorrow that many cars will be iced in by piles left by plows that will be very hard to clear. Because it's night, not many will have done clearing in stages as is normally the case.

I am horrified at the destruction. If California comes out of this without fatalities, it will be a credit to the state and first responders. As for controlling the weather, so far we find ourselves trying to UNDO the effects of our influence on the weather. Climate change is having unforseeen consequences that include large-scale destructive events. Desertification by cutting down forests - and the destruction of Amazonia is affecting the weather as well. I await with fear the waging of war by weather (which will follow the paths of waging war by damming rivers, plowing salt into the soil, setting fires. We do not have the wisdom and the foresight, at least yet to, "control" the weather.

Regarding that February storm last year, had a report on one of the bird alerts that the very northern tip of Sandy Hook, NJ, had a foot of snow while the south end (5 miles south) had much less.

Does our drought pattern appear to be broken or fading? Not the drought itself, but the dry pattern?

Depends on the crop. Nothing will germinate now because of the sun angle, but fall and winter crops will continue to grow, though very slowly, throughout winter. We are now at hardiness zone 7 here in central NJ, but it changes quickly to 6b and 6a as one moves farther north. Here in NJ, spinach, upland cress, most lettuces, and crucifer greens will produce all winter, except in long temperature streaks in the teens and below, and can be harvested by taking outer leaves as they grow. In NY, similar but with reduced variety. And one crop, lambs quarters (goosefoot), a mild, sweet green, will grow much further north in much colder weather. And a determined gardener can make things happen almost anywhere, with a lengthy sun exposure, heat retaining elements (like brick, or crop covers, or plastic enclosures), and protection, even an old sheet, during freezes

Yes, it's the dryness, but it's also the constant cloudless skies. I could never, never live out west. I like brilliant blue skies and sunshine, but, day after day in a semi-desert presents no variety. I also like clouds. I like rain. Too much of any of these begins to get to me. Can we please have our varied weather and changeful skies back? And some rain. You can keep San Diego.

Question on upcoming drop in temperatures on Thursday. With such a dramatic drop from the Wednesday high, why aren't we getting a front from the NW? Particularly with a round of storms preceding it? It looks as though it will be coming from the NE to E. Are fronts dropping from the NE more likely at this time of year?

Not everyone hates humidity. Yes, 90+ humidity is unsuited for much except lemonade or cold beer, a chaise lounge, and a magazine, but it's 76F with 100% humidity, which feels SO GOOD to me. Joints fully mobilized, dry nose cured, and feeling like a cool princess. (with the acknowledgement that the majority here likes it at 65F with a cold, dry airmass).

This is almost a copy of the previous cell.

Should be storming there right now. Not far from you and getting a shower with huge drops.

This guy was in Long Island over last weekend. It will be interesting to see what the NY Rare Birds Committee decides - whether it will be accepted into the state records or not. Flamingoes do not wander like roseate spoonbills do, and it isn't the right time of the year for "post-breeding dispersal." I can't think of any storm with strong enough south winds last week to carry it northwards. The Committee will consider the winds, prior sightings of flamingoes, whether the bird is banded (though some wild Florida birds are also banded), whether any collections have reported one missing, etc. Very exciting!

The Washington Post has produced an interesting article on the increase in winter temperatures that includes an eye-catching map and listings of temperature increases per decade since 1980 for individual cities. Winter is warming almost everywhere. See how it’s changed in your town The Post is behind a paywall, but I think the first few articles are free. The author even gives a detailed account of his methodology which would be of interest to data nerds here. New Brunswick, NJ, has increased nearly 1 degree F per decade, 0.93 F.

I have a question about last Saturday's snow. It was very light and fluffy, but it also seemed to have very high water content, melting immediately if I even lightly touched it. Not sure I could have even gathered it into a snowball before melting. I thought those qualities - the lightness/fluffiness and the high water content - were incompatible, that wet snow was always heavy snow, but clearly that isn't the case. Is this type of snow rare, or was my impression incorrect?