Side Lined by Tonsilitis...

Booooo! The last few days I have been replaying the Brady Bunch episode where, oddly, Cindy goes from sneezing only twice in front of Carol to having the doctor make a house call and prescribing she have her tonsils out. Fast forward past the ugly operation (we never *do* get to see it) to Cindy shaking her head "yes" when asked about her favorite kind of ice cream. Apparently it is all three: chocolate, vanilla, & strawberry. But I digress. After my doctor visit today, I found out that even if I wanted my tonsils out, I can't. They are too much of a mess right now to even touch them. So, I sit (silently -- and that is not easy for me...yeah, I'm sure you already knew that) and wait for the medicine to work some magic. I had to laugh at Topper earlier today when he told me that one of the medications I was on would really rev up my appetite. I say this because it has been really difficult to swallow at all the last few days. "Great", I thought. But enough about tonsilitis...

How about this Thursday, huh? Looks like a nice coastal storm may be eyeing us. And we're not alone; This could be a winter mess for the folks across Dixie, too....maybe even coastal Dixie. As far as the longer term pattern...it will be interesting to see if we get another warm-up (a la 70s) again this winter. I'm thinking we may get a respite from the c-c-c-cold, but I don't know about super duper warm-ups. There are a lot of computer models to look at out there (even a Japanese computer weather model -- Tony Pann (I believe) is a big fan of that one...or so I have heard(!)) When they all begin to squawk a certain way, then you have to start paying attention. As of this writing (and it *is* so nice to have extra time on my hands this hour of the night when I am usually fast asleep), it looks like a lot of those longer term models are hinting at more cold than warm. Just an FYI.

Okay, my fine friends of the blogging community, I must bid you well. Go read Mike Walter's blog now. And while you are at it, give Andrea's and Nicole's a look-see, too. We are, after all, on the same team (then let me know what they wrote!) Just kidding -- I read them too! Have a great few days; I'll return when I get my voice back. Enjoy the silence!

IT ONLY TOOK 21 DAYS INTO JANUARY 2007...

 

To get our first snowfall…Officially 1.1” fell at National yesterday.  More snow totals include:

 

MARYLAND

 

·         Oxon Hill  2”

·         La Plata 2”

·         Hollywood 1.5”

·         Colesville 1.2”

·         Mount Airy 1”

 

VIRGINIA

 

·         Falls Church  2”

·         Fredericksburg 1.5”

·         Winchester 1.8”

·         Manassas  1.4”

·         Mount Vernon 2”

·         Reston 1.8”

·         Leesburg 1.6”

·         Stafford 1.5”

·         Front Royal 2”

 

WEST VIRGINIA

 

·         Keyser 2.8”

 

On top of the fresh snow, we had a layer of ice as freezing rain developed into Sunday evening.  Thank you to all the 9 News Weather spotters who emailed us their snow totals – we appreciate you!

 

Ice Storm '07 continues here in San Antonio this morning. My flight was cancelled but I am hopeful I will catch my afternoon flight back to DC.

The weather has been nearly constant around 32 degrees the last several days. A little higher up in the atmosphere, warmer air sits. It also has a lot of moisture feeding in from the Pacific Ocean. As it falls into the more shallow, freezing, layer of air at the surface, the rain is freezing on contact. This is freezing rain and this is what I have been walking through (in my heels no less!) every day between the Marriott and the San Antonio Convention Center where the American Meteorological Society's weather conference is being held this year.

I snapped some pics last night of the palm trees outside the restaurant I was at, coated in ice. I also included a picture of a new friend I made in my hotel -- a PEACOCK! As I was eating lunch yesterday, I kept hearing this tap tap tapping noise. I couldn't figure out what it was until I turned around and found a beautiful peacock tapping the window with its beak. Evidentally it wanted some of my salad...

I'll be back bright and early Thursday mornig -- see you then!

Kim Live in San Antonio -- Hello!

Hello from San Antonio! Do you know it has been warmer in DC the last few days than it has been here? No joke, I am FREEZING! A quick look at the map does indeed show that San Antonio is actually farther south than some parts of northern Mexico (!!) A freezing rain event is engulfing much of Texas, including south Texas where San Antonio is.

Here's the deal: Arctic air from the north has seeped southward into the area here at the lower levels of the atmosphere. It is 32 degrees as I type. This may not seem "arctic" to you and me, but for this area it certainly is. A moist flow from the Pacific Ocean is streaming in from the opposite, southwest direction, pumping in the moisture higher up in the atmosphere. The result is warm air stuck on top of cold air at the surface. The warm, moisture-laden air is falling as rain and freezing on contact as it travels through the last couple hundred feet in the lower levels of the atmosphere. The main result has been freezing rain. However, the local meteorologists here are even calling for sleet and snow!

Watching the local news here in San Antonio is all filled with "Arctic Blast" icons, etc. In fact, they're "pulling a channel 9"! Yup, the poor morning folks have to go on the air at 4:30 am tomorrow (and here Andrea, Mike, Nicole and I thought we were the only ones that had to do that during tough weather times!) Many ramps onto the interstates (I-35, I-10) are closed. Several schools are closed or are starting a few hours late. One of the local chief meteorologists gave a welcoming speech at the AMS conference this morning and joked that the entire area has only one deicing truck over at the airport and even *that* doesn't work.

The crazy thing is that I am here attending the AMS weather conference of all things. Hundreds (a thousand or more?) of meteorologists from across the country and even some international locations are meeting here in San Antonio to expand our weather knowledge. All of us collectively were looking forward to a nice mid January warm weather break...NO SUCH LUCK! In fact, while I have been away it has been in the 60s in DC and in the 30s and 40s here. When I return Wednesday, DC will be back in the 30s for a high (!) The question is whether I will even make it...there is even a chance of snow on Wednesday. Great.

I'll update more tomorrow about what I have learned. I also plan on walking over (in the freezing rain of course) to the Alamo. Perhaps I'll snap a few pics and post them.

Stay tuned for more Texas weather updates -- miss you!

--Kim Martucci

2007 Weather Dates

We are 9 days into January and I *think* we may finally get a snow shower.  How’s that for a late start to winter?  I do realize we had a flurry a few weeks ago, but it hardly counts.  Today’s flurry possibility is as close to winter that we’ll get for the next 7 days.  Before you know it, we’ll be back into the upper 50s for a high temperature this weekend.

 

So…how’s your new year going?  I hope well.  So far I have primed about 500 feet of lumber (dry rot project), watched “Farmyard” with my nephew, explored Shepherdstown WV, and *thought* about exercising more (I’ll let you know if that thought bubble becomes a reality.)  Oh yeah, I also have a new found fondness for the Greater Frederick Police Department (who do their jobs well!)  I’ll be joining a huge gathering of “weather geeks” (and I am proud to be one of them) at a weather conference shortly.  I plan on taking a short course on Forecasting the Extremes: Tropical Cyclones and Severe Storms.  This should prepare me well for our upcoming severe weather season.  Here are some meteorological dates to keeping mind:

 

*National Weatherperson’s Day:  February 5th

First day of meteorological spring:  March 1^st

First day of astronomical spring:  March 21^st (Vernal Equinox)

First day of Hurricane Season:  June 1^st

Summer Solstice:  June 21^st

 

*No need to send a gift…just take it easy on me when I miss one once in a while…

 

Have a great day!