Squiggler

Global Warming? Hahahaha

It is nearly 11 AM at my house in Southern California and the thermometer reads 40 degrees, up from the low of 23 degrees in the early morning hours. Our fish pond had floating ice sheets in it this morning. We are freezing. Not only is it unseasonably cold for this area, but we have no gas. No gas means no running furnace, no working oven or burners and no relief from our gas lit fireplace. Late yesterday afternoon some idiot goofed with a backhoe and took out the major gas line for our street. I have a small electric space heater left over from years ago and someone's apartment living days. Naturally, with the recent move and all, that heater was buried in the garage under piles of excess furniture and boxes. We we were all down unloading the garage hunting for the thing by the middle of the night. I also found a laprobe I used to use for my Mother that is like a very small electric blanket.  So there we are, my son, my daughter-in-law, myself, two very cold dogs and two cats who pretended they were unaffected but suddenly decided they were lap cats when they discovered my lap blanket was a nice warm sleeping spot, all huddled together, at first playing a game and later sleeping all bundled up together.

So much for global warming.

IT'S FREEZING COLD IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

And it isn't even Halloween yet! Yikes! Global Warming, Mr. Gore?

I cannot believe that I lived in Buffalo, New York for 5 years. I graduated from high school at Kenmore West Sr. High School and used to have to get up 2 hours early in the Winter just to shovel my way out the front door and get down the driveway. All I can say about this is  IT IS THE MIDDLE OF OCTOBER!!!

A rare early October snowstorm covered parts of western New York with up to two feet of snow, prompting widespread blackouts, closing schools and halting traffic. (AP photo) Oct 13, 2006

BUFFALO, N.Y.  An early October snowstorm left parts of western New York blanketed with 2 feet of snow this morning, prompting widespread blackouts, closing schools and halting traffic.

The snow downed scores of tree limbs and toppled power lines, leaving more than 155,000 customers without electricity.

By early today, 14 inches of snow had been recorded at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, with reports of 2 feet elsewhere, said Tom Paone, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The snowfall was expected to continue throughout the morning, he said.

On Thursday, 8.3 inches of heavy snow set the record for the "snowiest" October day in Buffalo in the 137-year history of the weather service, said meteorologist Tom Niziol. The previous record of 6 inches was set Oct. 31, 1917.

"This is an extremely rare event for this early in the season," Niziol said.

The Buffalo Police Department received more than 3,000 calls late Thursday and about two-thirds were related to the weather, Lt. James Watkins said.

"There are power lines going down all over the place," he said.

Crews worked into the night to restore power, but many customers were expected to remain in the dark through the weekend and into next week, National Grid energy company spokesman Steve Brady said.

"This is extremely heavy snow and most of the trees still have most of their leaves, he said. "We can't do a complete damage assessment until the snow stops falling."

Dozens of schools were closed and states of emergency were declared in the City of Tonawanda, and towns of Cheektowaga, Elma, Lancaster, Akron and Depew.

Unnecessary driving was banned in Buffalo and suburbs Amherst, Blasdell, Orchard Park and Hamburg.

"We have a condition where 80 percent of the roads are impassable," said Lt. Stephen McGonagle of the Amherst Police Department.

Officials said the snowstorm caused flight delays and cancellations at Buffalo's airport, which was shut down for almost two hours late Thursday.

Meanwhile, tree branches were strewn across the roads around the region. A large box maple tree split in half, falling on Joan Casey's home in Buffalo.

"The whole house shook," Casey said. "We were very afraid. Originally I thought it was just the thunder, and then I came outside and I couldn't believe it."

Ernesto Strengthens Into Hurricane, First of 2006 Atlantic Season (3 hour auto updates) (Sticky)

Coastal Watches/Warnings and 5-Day Cone

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Click Here for a Printer Friendly Graphic 

Hurricane Wind Speed Probability	50-knot Wind Speed Probability	Trop Storm Wind Speed Probability	Wind Speed Probability Table
Warnings and 3-Day Cone	Warnings and 5-Day Cone	Mariner's 1-2-3 Rule	Wind History

Sunday 8/27/06 12:30 PDT: Governor Jeb Bush declares "State of Emergency" for Florida as Ernesto tracks directly over Cuba on its way to the Florida coast. All visitors ordered to vacate the Florida Keys immediately.

2:01 PDT: Ernesto downgraded to Tropical Storm as it crosses land in Hispanola, expected to reintensify when it reaches open water again. Described as having all the signs of being able to intensify to at least a Category 1 when it reaches the Florida coast. Strong warnings still in existence. It was just one year ago today that Katrina was a low level hurricane as it slammed Florida and we all know what happened there when it she got back over the water.

Storm Watch - Chris - Updates every 3 hours

Coastal Watches/Warnings and 5-Day Cone

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Hurricane Wind Speed Probability	50-knot Wind Speed Probability	Trop Storm Wind Speed Probability	Wind Speed Probability Table
Warnings and 3-Day Cone	Warnings and 5-Day Cone	Mariner's 1-2-3 Rule	Wind History

Wow Pic of the Day - Whew!

Hat tip: The Presurfer

Tropical Storm Alberto - Updated and bumped from 6/11/06

Coastal Watches/Warnings and 3-Day Cone

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Worrisome as my daughter and only grandchild live in Kissimmee, Florida.

Related:

More Satellite Imagery and Image Loops

GOES Storm Floater 1 (Updated Every 1/2 Hour) Visible Image - Loop Infrared Image - Loop Shortwave IR Image - Loop Dvorak IR Image - Loop The Dvorak Technique explained Water Vapor Image - Loop

GOES Storm Floater 2 (Updated Every 1/2 Hour) Visible Image - Loop Infrared Image - Loop Shortwave IR Image - Loop Dvorak IR Image - Loop The Dvorak Technique explained Water Vapor Image - Loop

UPDATED:

Winds up to 70 mph on parts of Florida coast

UPDATED:

Shelters are opening. 7500 Natonal Guard are put on "stand by" per Gov. Jeb Bush. Landfall expected Tuesday possibly as a Cat-1 hurricane. Moving about 10 mph.

Storms

Our thoughts and prayers are with the residents and family members of those hit hard by the storms across the South and Midwest yesterday. I'm happy to report that my own family in Indianapolis are okay, but some get the day off today because of the downed power lines and trees causing hazards in the downtown area.

More on the storm in St. Louis ...

Indianapolis got hit pretty hard too ...

Twenty-three dead in Tenessee, Arkansas ...