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