Everyone Talks About the Weather...

[IloveFauns]

Soo terribly hot her today, it was like walking into an oven going outside. Getting an aircon on Tuesday, I lasted 11 years without one but it is for free, but of course power bills need to be paid.

[Puddleglum]

Ilovefauns; I'm guessing you are far from here. If I could send you a snowball I would.
Many right now I am sure are wishing for there to be warmer temps. But then, with all the snow falling we would probably be suffering through floods instead of having to push whatever transport we have out of the snowbank.
I suppose I should try to put a pleasant face to it all. We don't have the flooding that the folks out on the North-East coast did from the storm surge. ( Prayers going that way.)
At least 6" for now with more falling, but not as hard as earlier. Four fell during service this morning alone. I think the worst is over for now. I suspect the other arm of the front to swing by later tonight. So long as the wind keeps down, I think we should do alright.

[stargazer]

...I just Google-mapped "Embarrass", and wow, it looks to be in the middle of a gorgeous area, surrounded by protected forests and state parks. And not too far from the Canadian border ... within an hour, anyway.

Indeed it is, jo! Those state parks and the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are among my favorite places to camp and sight-see.

Trivia note: Embarrass and the nearby town of Tower have a friendly sort of weather rivalry. When Tower set the still-standing state temperature record of -60F/-51C back in Febraury 1996, Embarrass 'only' got down to -57F/-49C.

How much snow did you get out of this latest big storm, jo? I see some locations in New England are reporting in excess of 40 inches/1010mm. That's a lot by just about anyone's standards!

Wouldn't that sort of snowfall in May, ie late spring, be a late reminder of winter in a place close to the Canadian border where coldness is expected? Or is it in the mountains?

We're close to the center of North America (indeed, just hours from the Canadian border), with no mountains or moderating oceans nearby. Cold air coming straight down from the North Pole has few obstacles, sometimes bringing that late snow here.

On the other hand, visitors are often surprised to learn that Minnesota isn't snowbound all year long; warm humid air can come up from the Gulf of Mexico in summer (though rarely with the extremes of more southerly climes, and certainly nothing like Australia's been having this summer).

But Embarrass, Minnesota? Isn't that a somewhat embarrassing sort of address to have?

I suspect it, like the cold, is a matter of pride. It apparently comes from the French fur traders who called the river embarras ("to hinder with obstacles or difficulties") since it was hard to navigate.

We're on the southern edge of this winter storm: freezing rain fell this morning, keeping our snow totals down to about 5 inches/127mm so far, with more expected tonight and tomorrow. I don't look forward to freeing my car from its layer of ice.

[fantasia]

We are definitely getting what I think of as Kansas springtime weather. The temps are up and down, up and down. Yesterday it was a gorgeous day outside, in the mid-60Fs I believe.
Today is insanely windy, they're saying gusts up to 36mph, but I can't believe that's it. It feels way worse than that. I was out driving around and kept fighting the wind to keep from being pushed into the lane next to me.
Wednesday we're supposed to have a winter storm come through. There are all sorts of warnings for freezing rain. At this point, I no longer care what kind of precipitation it is, I'll take anything.

[waggawerewolf27]

Soo terribly hot her today, it was like walking into an oven going outside. Getting an aircon on Tuesday, I lasted 11 years without one but it is for free, but of course power bills need to be paid.

It looks like that once you get the air conditioning, the weather will start getting a bit on the cool side. It is February 19th and already it is a little nippy this morning. Autumn in the air. It looks like that Punxatawney Phil from Pennsyvania might not be so far out after all.

Ilovefauns; I'm guessing you are far from here.

Me, too. Try the Southern Hemisphere.

We're close to the center of North America (indeed, just hours from the Canadian border), with no mountains or moderating oceans nearby. Cold air coming straight down from the North Pole has few obstacles, sometimes bringing that late snow here.

On the other hand, visitors are often surprised to learn that Minnesota isn't snowbound all year long; warm humid air can come up from the Gulf of Mexico in summer (though rarely with the extremes of more southerly climes, and certainly nothing like Australia's been having this summer).

Yes, it would be cold in Minnesota. But I thought that, on the whole, Russia is much more bleakly cold than North America, apart from Alaska, Northern Canada and Greenland. I've been as far as Beijing, in January 1986, when we were told it was a nice warm day on the Great Wall of China the maximum temperature being -2 degrees, Fahrenheit I think. But Beijing is as far North as Melbourne or Christchurch is South of the Equator, and about the same level as New York, isn't it?

I agree that mountains and where they are certainly make a huge difference. We live about 50 km from the top of the Blue Mountains at Katoomba, and it is generally a good five to ten degrees cooler there than in Sydney on any given day.

Most of our weather ultimately is generated by Antarctica. There is nothing but open sea between Adelaide and the Great Australian Bight coastline on one hand and the Antarctic ice cap on the other. We are heavily influenced by hot spots in the Indian ocean at ILF's end of Australia, and the El Nino/La Nina cycle on this side.

Thank you for the explanation of the name of Embarrass. Many of our names Down Under were merely adapted from the local Aboriginal words. So it is worth noting that Canberra, our national capital, means in the local Wiradjuri language "meeting place", whilst Wagga Wagga means "place of many crows".

[IloveFauns]

Todays weather is warm it is meant to reach 35. It was nice yesterday, today is going to be not great.

we used the aircon most of the week which we have had it but only when it is hot.

[stargazer]

I've been as far as Beijing, in January 1986, when we were told it was a nice warm day on the Great Wall of China the maximum temperature being -2 degrees, Fahrenheit I think. But Beijing is as far North as Melbourne or Christchurch is South of the Equator, and about the same level as New York, isn't it?

Sounds about right. I see Beijing is at 39N. We're at 45N, though continental terrain probably influences our weather most. -2F here would also be a pleasant January day.

Thanks for mentioning the meaning of Canberra and Wagga Wagga!

The current winter storm, which the Weather Channel has dubbed Q, has dumped over a foot of snow in Kansas and closed the Kansas City Airport. I see Missouri and Arkansas are getting rain, freezing rain, or snow as well.

This storm won't arrive here until tonight, with forecasts calling for 6-8 inches by Friday evening. Hardly worth noting compared to Kansas amounts.

Another storm is on tap for early next week. Maybe if we get enough snow it'll help ease the drought conditions.

[fantasia]

The current winter storm, which the Weather Channel has dubbed Q, has dumped over a foot of snow in Kansas and closed the Kansas City Airport. I see Missouri and Arkansas are getting rain, freezing rain, or snow as well.

This storm won't arrive here until tonight, with forecasts calling for 6-8 inches by Friday evening. Hardly worth noting compared to Kansas amounts.

SO THANKFUL we are missing out on that freezing rain because two or three days ago, they were suggesting we might get up to a quarter of ice. Yeah, I can do without that...
Instead we now have the most snow I've ever seen here. I'm not sure how much we have exactly, but it's well over a foot. We're currently in Round Three of this storm, and I think it's the last. The first bit came yesterday morning, the second bit was overnight last night, and the third bit started about an hour ago. It's definitely coming down hard.

Maybe if we get enough snow it'll help ease the drought conditions.

Amen to that! Just last weekend my parents-in-law were discussing if they wanted to bother with putting fertilizer on their wheat this year. Two years of drought and lots of dead crops and you want to be sure you don't lose any more money than you have to. This snow is a God-send.

[IloveFauns]

nice change today, the weather has cooled off a lot, the humidity has gone.

[fantasia]

The final snowfall total from Winter Storm Q: 14.2" !! That is the second highest amount of snow ever received in this city. The highest amount was 15" long before I was born.

I'm sure all the people up north of here are like *snicker*15"... that's nothing LOL.

[wolfloversk]

I'm sure all the people up north of here are like *snicker*15"... that's nothing LOL

For one storm I'd say it is something where I'm from, although we tend to get storms like that a few times a year at least... If you head into parts of the Adirondacks though I think that's pretty normal. As I've mentioned before we used to get a lot of snow, but not in the past 5 or 6 years or so... weather cycles can be weird

[stargazer]

The 15 inches received in Kansas made tonight's national news, with a remark that the previous time this much came from one storm was 50 years ago. I thought of you immediately, fantasia.

15 inches is considered respectable here, though it's a lot more common than it is down there. Just a couple months we got abut 18 inches and while life went on to a large extent I was a terrible person and didn't try to dig my car out for church that morning.

The official tally for the latest storm here was 8 inches of light, fluffy snow; retrieving my car was fairly easy. More is on tap for next week.

[fantasia]

Well, we Kansans will take that 15" and top it here in another couple days. With Winter Storm Rocky heading this way, we're expecting another 4-6". I think the center of the state is even expecting another several inches on top of that.

I know it's irritating to most people but I'm SO HAPPY for the moisture.

[waggawerewolf27]

Well, what latitude North is Kansas, anyway? Doesn't the Tropic of Cancer go through USA at all? At church this morning the minister added a prayer for the wild snowstorms the USA have been having, so I hope you are all bearing up well.

nice change today, the weather has cooled off a lot, the humidity has gone.

That is good. We had major bushfires in places like Coonabarabran, which destroyed many houses there. Now we are having major flooding in places east of there, especially around Kempsey on the mid-North Coast of NSW. Not nice gentle, pasture soaking, steady rainfall, but torrential downpours with rivers bursting their banks. I hope Coonabarabran and places further inland get some of the rain though.

[fantasia]

Well, what latitude North is Kansas, anyway?

I believe Kansas falls between 37N and 40N.

Yep, we're holding up well here. Not sure about the east coast.

[johobbit]

I know our resident hobbit is looking forward to more of the white stuff, and I assure you I enjoy the scenery it creates emmensly. But, I must admit I am tiring of the cold already. Perhaps I am just getting a few too many creaks in the joints for it.

Maybe increase the consumption of eel stew. I've heard tell it does wonders for the joints.

Glad you're able to get an A/C, IlF. What a relief!

How much snow did you get out of this latest big storm, jo? I see some locations in New England are reporting in excess of 40 inches/1010mm. That's a lot by just about anyone's standards!

Not nearly what the New England States experienced. We 'only' received 14".

[Embarrass, MN] apparently comes from the French fur traders who called the river embarras ("to hinder with obstacles or difficulties") since it was hard to navigate.

Many of our names Down Under were merely adapted from the local Aboriginal words. So it is worth noting that Canberra, our national capital, means in the local Wiradjuri language "meeting place", whilst Wagga Wagga means "place of many crows".

All very interesting!

The final snowfall total from Winter Storm Q: 14.2" !! That is the second highest amount of snow ever received in this city. The highest amount was 15" long before I was born.

Amazing! So glad you're finally getting some needed precipitation.

There is another large system heading our way Tuesday through Thursday. There is much speculation, because even the meteorologists are not sure which way this thing will turn: it's balancing on the freezing mark, so if it drops at all, we'll get a very decent amount of snow; if it raises even a bit, the rainfall will be plentiful. Of course, at this time of years, I'm rooting for the snow. We shall see ... and then come Friday, an Arctic air mass is hitting us again, with strong wind chills and very cold. Which will keep whatever snow we receive over the next few days around for awhile, hurrah!