Double Weather Disaster

I knew the weather in my area this week was going to be bad. But not this bad.

Yesterday, New Jersey had numerous severe thunderstorms that knocked out power to many (I was spared , at least this time) as well as knocking down several trees, and more severe weather is expected today.  Than late tomorrow, Tropical Storm Elsa - originally expected to go past New Jersey over the open waters of the Atlantic - is going to go over the southern and eastern parts of the state before crossing Long Island.  Tropical storm watches are up for coastal counties of New Jersey but not my county - not yet, anyway.

Given what I've written here in the past about climate change, I think I can expect more of the same and more frequently in the coming years.  By the way, Elsa will affect New Jersey a year to the day after Tropical Storm Fay passed through here - and so I have a feeling that we will in fact get another storm in her August exactly a year after Isaias.

Stay tuned . . . I may be back soon. 

Here We Go Again

I could be talking here about the pandemic, the new voting-restriction law in Georgia, or President Biden's infrastructure initiative, but no, here I am talking about the weather again.

As you all, know the American Southeast has been hit by numerous tornadoes, and while tornadoes in that part of the country are not uncommon at this time of year, the intensity of the storms is.  There have been so many serious storms there of late that they're making national news and turning network news anchors into on-camera meteorologists.

And then there's my neck of the woods.

Severe thunderstorms aren't supposed to materialize in the American Northeast this early in the year, but now there's a marginal chance of severe weather in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut today, with greater chances in Delaware and Maryland.  And there's a particular line of storms that, according to one computer projection, could deliver severe weather right over northern New Jersey - literally hitting my where I live!

It's too soon.  But thanks to climate change, late-March thunderstorms will be a thing.

Oh yeah, there could be a tornado or two in southern New Jersey.

And remember, my area could get a hurricane in August.

I'm not looing forward to the rest of the year, and not just because of the pandemic.    

Weather Weary

We're nearing the  peak of hurricane season soon, and it's too soon to say whether Tropical Storms Fay and Isaias are the worst storms my area is getting for this season.  Last week, we had a triple threat of severe thunderstorms - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - and we got at least one severe storm that passed before it could do any damage. But there are no indications that we're going to get anything comparable to those storms in the next two weeks.

That's not to say we won't get any inclement weather in the next two weeks.  A cold front arriving on Labor Day is expected to being showers and thunderstorms all up and down the Northeast . . . and it's going to stay here for much of the week.  It's too soon, though, to say whether any of them will be severe.  But tropical cyclones, though they will still form, will mostly stay away from the East Coast.  As I type, one tropical depression that formed off the East Coast and has become a tropical storm, though its trajectory will take it out to sea.  Any storm that forms off the west coast of Africa is likely to also remain out at sea, what's called a "fish storm" because those are the only living creatures affected.   (As for frog storms, you can read about those in the Old Testament.)  There is one potential cyclone that could affect land - a storm heading west across the Caribbean toward Central America.

It should be noted that even though the East Coast will not be affected by a tropical cyclone during hurricane peak period - September 10 and a couple of days before and after - we in the Northeast could still be hit by a hurricane much later.  Repeat: Sandy hit us in late October.  But for now, at least, the weather is giving us a break.

Hot Hundred

Or close to it.

Temperatures in northern New Jersey have flirted with one hundred degrees Fahrenheit over the past couple of days, and a lot of us in this part of the country aren't happy about it.  Me, I've been taking it easy, going to the pool, and just trying to do everything possible to stay cool.  

Am I hoping for a break in the heat?  Yes, but not a clean one.  I don't want to see it get to the point that when a cold front does come through, it doesn't whip up the sort of severe thunderstorms that knock out the electricity for hours.  While the heat hasn't put a strain on our electricity, it's already tested our cable connection - a TV outage this past Friday was followed by a telephone and Internet outage on Sunday and four more telephone and Internet outages yesterday.  (Part of all this had to do with a cut cable, but what caused the cable to break in the first place?)  This coming Friday's forecast calls for widespread thunderstorms all day long thanks to a cold front, and temperatures should come down enough to provide noticeable relief. 

Just the same, I'll have to cross my fingers when the cold front does come through . . . and hope the more comfortable weather for the weekend doesn't come at a price. :-O

The Storms Are Over

I got through yesterday's severe thunderstorms, and one of them did blow through my neck of the woods, though it lasted only half an hour and the core of it was away from my house.  No problems ultimately, but some of that wind and rain was (were?) pretty scary. 

No storms on the horizon anymore, for now - even that tropical storm coming out of the Gulf is likely to be no big deal by the time what's left of it gets here.

So - how about that special U.S. House election today in Georgia between Jon Ossoff and Karen Handel?  He's working his Ossoff, and she is trying to Handel the pressure.  Sure to be a nail-biter when the election returns come in tonight.