Okay, So We Had Another Severe Storm . . .

It wasn't as bad as depicted in the stock photo above, to be certain, but it was bad enough.  Fortunately, it didn't last very long.

A strong cold front came through the American Northeast, with storms producing wind gusts at a mile a minute and the storms themselves moving at about the same rate.  I was certain that we'd lose our electricity (we didn't) or at least lose or cable service (we didn't), and I hope that storms like this get climate change skeptics to wake up to reality (they won't).

Meanwhile, Hurricane Iota - the thirtieth named storm in the Atlantic hurricane season - has approached Category 5 status as it approaches Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast.  This is only the second November hurricane to reach Cat 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale; the first such storm occurred in 1932.  Joe Biden is already thinking about an ambitious program to reverse the effect of climate change, and he's no doubt conniving with Kamala Harris and designated White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain about how to get it implemented as soon as possible without Republican obstruction.  More power to him on that front.  Because, at this point, despite my earlier comments, I am beginning to fear the weather more than the COVID virus.

MORE STORMS?

My neighborhood has had at least one severe thunderstorm every week for the past three weeks, and last week we had two - and the second one wasn't supposed to materialize.  Tomorrow (Tuesday), my neighborhood will likely get another severe storm.

And each storm feels like it's been worse than the one preceding it.

See that big red blob of intense rain over northern New Jersey in the NAM 3km projection, for 3:00 PM Eastern time tomorrow, above? That's where I live. 

These storms have left me frazzled, and one more severe storm could send me over the edge. A dead tree up against the wires on my street - :-O - might be sent over the edge. It's not the lightning so much that has been a problem with these storms, but the mile-a-minute wind gusts the come with hem. Even if the overall wind is about five miles an hour or so, one gusty thunderstorm could increase the wind speed tenfold. And that's not to mention the flash flooding.

I won't be here tomorrow; I've already decided on that.  Assuming I still have power, I hope to be back on Wednesday. 

In Like a Lion . . . Again

The weather will be rocking and rolling in my neck of the woods to start off March.  The American Northeast is about to be subject to a nor'easter, and not only has confidence been growing in the forecasts for a big storm, predictions for how bad it will be have progressively worsened.  After a hopeful sign that the storm, expected to begin tomorrow night and produce two inches of rain, could be gone by late Friday, it is now expected to linger into Saturday morning.  And after early signs that the winds would be at a manageable 20 to 25 miles an hour, they could now be as high as 35 mph, and that's just inland - not at the coast, where winds could be higher still and cause flooding at high tide under a full moon.  And oh yes, the heavy rain could turn to snow just before it tapers off.

We're going to get everything.

And how will this affect my electricity, which has gone out over forty times in the past ten years?  I don't know yet, but right now I'm cautiously optimistic, because it could be worse.  Tempering that hope, of course, is the fact that the forecast has been getting worse.  As always, stay tuned - I may be back.  

So Cold It Blows

The forecast for a snowstorm that was supposed to be no big deal for my area turned out to be just that.  The coastal storm shifted more inland even as its pressure rapidly dropped with no floor in sight - a process called "bombogenesis," the word twisted out of proportion by on-camera TV meteorologists who want to scare people - and produced more snow than initially expected.  (Ain't that always the case?)  But the snowfall paled in comparison to the bitter winds and the equally bitter cold that have followed - temperatures are supposed to get below zero this weekend, and to respond to complaints from foreigners that I'm making too big a deal of sub-zero readings . . . I ain't talking Celsius!  (It's going to be 18 or 19 below Celsius, is that below zero enough for you fans of centigrade?)

To add insult to injury, even though temperatures are supposed to recover to a point above freezing by Monday, the "warmup" could be accompanied by rain and sleet.  And some forecasts haven't ruled out some sort of ice accretion in the Northeast next weekend.

Anyway, we in New Jersey got lucky.  The South Shore of Massachusetts - where some of my friends live - got hit hard, particularly Kingston and Scituate. Maine and Nova Scotia got hit worse.  There should be a January thaw for the Northeast and the Canadian Maritimes soon, but February could see more of what we just had.

Winter is only beginning . . .

The latest hijinks in Trump World?  Relax, I'll get to it.

First Snow Of the Year

And it might be worse than it currently appears. 

This is the amount of snow forecast for New Jersey on Thursday, courtesy of News 12 New Jersey.  This snow is due to a big, powerful, significant, massive storm - described with all of the adjectives you never want to hear in any weather forecast - and even though my area is in the two- to four-inch range (in fact, I'm in the edge between a coating to two inches and two to four inches) and there's no winter storm watch for my county as of yet, those numbers could increase and there could be a storm alert for my county if the storm continues to turned west as it has been doing.  (As anyone who's ever seen Kanye pop up on hot topics online can attest, "trending" and "west" are two words you never want to hear together.)   This storm will include high winds, the most severe of which will be at the shoreline.

Then, after the storm, comes the worst cold of this winter so far - single-digit highs and sub-zero lows!  The good news?   It'll warm up into the forties by next Monday.  (Remember, all temperatures are Fahrenheit.)  Since I likely won't get the worst winds or the worst snow, I think my electricity should be alright.  

My pipes, on the other hand . . .

Ima let you thaw, but . . .   

Rain and Wind and Thunder, Oh My!

It doesn't look like much on the model map for 2 PM Eastern Time today. 

The American Northeast is getting one to two inches of rain today, as much rain as we got on Tuesday.  So what? you ask, that's obviously nothing you can't handle.

Well, what if I told you that the ground was already well saturated before Tuesday, and we're no under a flood watch for the second time this week? 

What if I also told you that a strong wind is also expected - mainly in the upper teens in terms of speed but also with gusts of 40 miles an hour possible?

What if I also told you that my area could get severe thunderstorms with even higher gusts that would almost certainly topple trees onto power lines and cause outages that could last a long, long time?

What if I also told you that I have to go out today four times? 

Well, I am telling you all that - right now.  This could be the worst storm my area has seen in a long time, even counting the recent winter storms we've had.

Since we haven't had an electrical outage of an hour or longer for awhile, and since my power utility has been reliable in very nasty weather of late, I'm cautiously optimistic that we will not lose electricity.

Our cable service, on the other hand . . . :-O

Stick around . . . I may be back.    

Unsettled Spring Weather

We're getting something in the American Northeast that's been quite rare recently . . . a nice day!

April is associated with rain, of course, and it appears that the Northeast - northern New Jersey especially - has been getting a lot of it. It's also been chillier than usual, making outdoor activities even more difficult. Even today, with temperatures in the low 60s forecast, has a lot of wind. After a cloudy day tomorrow, there's a chance of more rain in the following four days. The Passaic River in northern New Jersey can't take much more.

And even though the flowering trees are blooming, as are the tulips and the daffodils, it's hard to think springlike thoughts when you're still wearing your winter coat half the time. I'm kind of glad I won't be taking part in the annual New York five-borough bicycle ride. Circumstances involving time and good weather (or lack of both thereof) have been such that I haven't ridden my bike once this season so far.

Many people don't think spring really begins until Easter arrives. This year it arrives on the second latest date possible, with the season already a third over. Well, once Easter arrives, maybe we'll see more springlike weather follow.

Better days are ahead . . ..

The Mother Of All Storms

I can't remember a winter storm being this bad. The nor'easter that hit the greater New York area this past weekend didn't produce any snow, and there was no winter storm warning, but it was still a winter storm (spring hasn't officially begun yet), a storm full of howling wind and driving rain, and it was a doozy. The storm left over 300,000 houses without power, my house included. But that's just part of the story. My cable service went out. That meant no telephone service, no television, and no Internet connection. The power was only off for five hours - some people are still experiencing outages as I type - but my cable outage lasted nineteen hours. The service finally came back on at 11:00 PM last night.

Then, overnight, it went out again.

And now? I'm typing this blog entry from a computer in my local library. You can guess the rest.

How long will I be without any form of communication at home? Speaking of guessing, I can only guess that, too.

I can't wait until spring.