Topic: How's the weather?

[Kathy]

We may get snow but I'm very happy that we do. When my aunt moved out to Colorado, she was required to sign some forms regarding water usage. First come first served if there are shortages.

A 14 year drought has resulted in the Colorado River drying up and Lake Mead shrinking to potentially catastrophic low levels. See here: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lake-mead-is-shrinking-and-with-it-las-vegas-water-supply/

[Blair]

Berlin is way north of all major Canadian cities (and thus the entire US*) ... And yet we've never had such snow storms that were reported from the US.

Likewise it amazes me how there are areas with lush green pastures in one part of the US and barren desert on the same latitude in another part. Climate is a very strange thing.



On a completely different random note, the primary national weather station for decades in the United States has been The Weather Channel. Other than local weather, it was all I knew existed for the first two decades of my life. My father, who has watched the channel to death for the past 30 years, started complaining a few years back: "They barely show weather anymore. All that they ever show is Storm Stories. All they would have to do is put a little radar in the bottom corner and leave it there all of the time."

My assumption for why the channel moved from 24-hour radar and reports to several hours of weather documentaries is that my generation and below will just take 10 seconds to open an app if we want to see the weather, and the company has been trying to draw people back in with something different.

Well, DirecTV (a prominent satellite television provider in the U.S.) and The Weather Channel were apparently not able to negotiate a new deal (that has been happening a lot lately with TV providers,) so out with The Weather Channel, and in with Weather Nation which I did not even know existed (according to the above article, it was started by DirecTV a few years ago.) Within two days, during my usual "How are you feeling today, Dad?" conversations, he told me about the news and how "They have only weather on all of the time instead of those stupid stories."

You'd think he just won a prize!

[MEJHarrison]

Here in Portland we had a pretty good storm pass through.  It started last Thursday.  And since most years we don't get snow or it doesn't stick, people around here aren't used to big storms.  With little more than a dusting on the roads, it took me an hour to get home last Thursday.  And it's a 10 minute drive.

We got around 3-4 inches last Thursday.  Another few on Friday.  Then freezing rain.  Today is the first day I've been able to drive anywhere.

So, it was a somewhat rare storm for us and tons of fun.  But now it's back to business as usual.

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

it took me an hour to get home last Thursday.  And it's a 10 minute drive.

Had a car like this too.

[Blair]

Just when it seems like things are clearing up a little, more comes along. It went from below freezing to 60F back to freezing, and now it's hanging in the 40s with a steady slow drizzle and lots of wind. I'd take a frozen road without rain over this.

[MEJHarrison]

it took me an hour to get home last Thursday.  And it's a 10 minute drive.

Had a car like this too.

Not to imply my car isn't a total piece of shit (because it is), but... It wasn't the car.

It was people panicking at a dusting of snow and 90% of the city's residents all on the roads at the same time trying to get home.  I got lucky.  I have a friend who lives about 30-45 minutes away and it took him 4 hours to get home.

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

it took me an hour to get home last Thursday.  And it's a 10 minute drive.

Had a car like this too.

Not to imply my car isn't a total piece of shit (because it is), but... It wasn't the car.

It was people panicking at a dusting of snow and 90% of the city's residents all on the roads at the same time trying to get home.  I got lucky.  I have a friend who lives about 30-45 minutes away and it took him 4 hours to get home.

Seems to be the same problem everywhere if the region isn't really used to get snow.

In Germany we have this joke about two snow-flakes meeting over Germany:
Where are you going?
Bavaria, meeting my family to become part of the winter-wonderland. And you?
Hamburg, all alone, to cause a major traffic jam.

[Dragonfire]

This has been the coldest winter here in I don't know how long..the most snow too.  The schools were only open a handful of days in January and early February.  It has been below zero several times...evidently it is coming again - the stupid Polar Vortex decided to make another visit.  It was like 60 on Friday and Saturday...it snowed again starting Monday night and today.  It didn't amount to much, but still.  And there are still massive piles of snow in parking lots...and part of what I called the iceberg is still in the turn around area of the driveway.  It is much smaller, but still there.  Big hunk of snow that was too frozen for the snowblower to go through. 

It was like 3 weeks ago I think..and it was a Tuesday evening.  I was at work...noticed just before 8 pm that it was starting to snow.  It was time for me to go - and the manager told me to go before it got bad since I live further out.  So I was getting ready to go - logging the computer and stuff.  Then I went to start my car - I have remote start, a wonderful, wonderful thing - and I opened the back door to use it and the car was already covered.  it had only been a few minutes.  It normally takes me about 20 minutes to get home..it took me an hour.  The snow was coming down so fast, the plows that were out couldn't keep up with how fast the snow was coming down.  Heard on the news later that it was 2 inches an hour.  It was very hard to see, especially once I got out of town and away from the street lights.  I drove in the tracks I could see...I think I was going down the middle of the road.  I had trouble seeing where the curves in the road were at times. That was not a fun drive home.  The snow then changed over to sleet or freezing rain...which is why the iceberg was nice and frozen in the driveway.  I did go to work the next day, but I didn't get in by 9.  I got there fine, and then got stuck in the parking lot there.  Someone else got stuck there too.  Think we ended up with close to a foot of snow that time.

There was more freezing rain or sleet or both..another night when I was driving home.  That time we didn't get it as bad as some other areas. 

It is supposed to get really cold again over the next few days.  Not sure if more snow is coming or not.  I just want winter to go away.

[DJ Doena]

Aside from the joke I posted a few weeks ago, we didn't have a single snowflake this winter. Even here that's unusual.

[Dragonfire]

I think I got your missing snow. Please keep it next year.

[Blair]

We've been dodging tornadoes and flood warnings for the past few days.

Our area has been very lucky so far given some close calls and the unfortunate circumstances for those who were not as lucky as we.

[DSig]

Sunny with a slight breeze.  Northwest rocks .. until 5 minutes from now when it might be raining

[DJ Doena]

Until the day before yesterday* we had sun and 22°C (72°F). But then it got cloudy and now we have rain and thunder and urgh weather.

*You seriously need to invent a word for that, German has one.

the day before yesterday = vorgestern
yesterday = gestern
today = heute
tomorrow = morgen
the day after tomorrow = übermorgen

You even can do it to the extreme: the day before the day before yesterday = vorvorgestern

[Kathy]

Rain, rain, rain, a few minutes of sunshine, and more rain.

Next day: Rain, rain, rain, a few minutes of sunshine, and more rain.

Repeat for weeks on end.

I no longer have a yard, I have a pond.

[DSig]

übermorgen ... just add an über ... i like that