Weather Update

Although it's supposed to rain and snow on and off - but mostly on - between this afternoon and Friday morning in northern New Jersey, where I live, the National Weather Service has only seen fit to issue a winter weather advisory for my area from 6 PM tonight to 6 PM tomorrow night. And despite winds averaging 25 mph with gusts over 40 mph, not only has there been no high wind warning issued for my neck of the woods, there hasn't even been a wind advisory (a kinder, gentler version of a high wind warning) issued.

Al of this could change, of course. The wind might pick up enough to warrant an advisory of some sort, and the winter weather advisory might be downgraded to a storm warning. I'm not guaranteed to get through this storm - expected to affect the greater New York area for 45 straight hours - unscathed, and there's a nasty gust as I type this (and the precipitation hasn't even begun yet). But I'm not freaking out as much as I did only a day or two ago. I go by what I call the Quinn Factor, named for Lonnie Quinn, the weatherman on the local CBS station in the Tri-State area. See, if Lonnie Quinn reports the weather forecast on the air with his suit coat on, I can relax. But if he's on TV and not wearing his suit coat, his shirt sleeves are rolled up, and he's visibly freaking out - as happened in the days leading up to Superstorm Sandy - I'd better worry. So far he's hasn't freaked out with visible rolled-up shirt sleeves. And even though the storm has barely even begun, I think I have reason to be optimistic.

Back later.