Friday, November 21, 2008

Cold Pattern Turns Dangerous Before We Boiler Up & Thaw Out!


Actually it is so cold outside you may need about 3 hot chocolates a day to keep the cold at bay. The good news is the worst of this cold pattern is almost over. By time we boiler up on Saturday afternoon it will feel much better. How cold has it been... I am talking about it feeling pretty good outside with a forecast high in the middle 30s on Saturday. In the meantime, a full-fledged hot chocolate advisory is certainly in effect and you can see why above with shocking wind chill chart showing single digits by Friday morning. Make sure the kids have gloves and hats and plenty of layers. Even bundling up will not be enough. We have gone from cold to dangerous cold. How seriously should you take it? With wind chills not far from zero this morning you can get frostbite in as little as 40 minutes. It is a good morning to wait with your kids in the car at the bus stop. You need to limit your outdoor exposure and cover all areas of exposed skin.

Speaking of kids I wanted to give a big shout out to some wonderful third-graders and teachers at Wea Elementary. Those kids made Thursday a very bright day for me even if it was cloudy outside. They learned about how extreme our weather is and how we have had tornadoes in every single month of the year here at home. Here are some smiles to warm you up on a cold day.

Lisa Fankhauser's class was excited when I told them at least two snow days are coming their way this year. The morning announcements were also a blast. Thanks again Wea!!

Pets are also impacted by wind ch
ill. You will even want to bring in the big dogs. Have you had enough of all this cold talk. Okay, here is something to warm you up! I was forwarded this wonderful e-mail from our Chief Engineer Mark Brooks yesterday. It made my day and it took some of the bite out of this cold weather. Enjoy!

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university pr
ofessor now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives.

Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups-por
celain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite-telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand the professor said 'notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.

While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup you are drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the h
ot chocolate. In most cases, it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What you all really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cup. And then you began eyeing each of their cups.

Now consider this: LIFE IS THE HOT CHOCOLATE; YOUR JOB, MONEY, AND POSITION IN SOCIETY ARE THE CUPS. They are just to hold and co
ntain life. The cup does NOT DEFINE, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate. We choose the cups. THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE THE BEST OF EVERTHING. THEY JUST MAKE THE BEST OF EVERYTHING THEY HAVE. LIVE SIMPLY, LOVE GENEROUSLY, CARE DEEPLY, SPEAK KINDLY. AND ENJOY YOUR HOT CHOCOLATE.

They say chocolate reduces pain and give
s you energy. I already feel a surge of energy after reading this and I haven't had my hot chocolate yet! I will never look at hot chocolate the same! This time of year I become part meteorologist and part psychologist so I hope that made you feel better.

The stats are staggering when it comes to cold weather and fatalities. Here is the list for the top 5 weather killers in the U.S. over the past 50 years.

1) Hot weather and heat waves
Cold weather and winter storms (New research puts them at top of list)

2) Floods
3) Hurricanes
(Katrina and Ike causing big move up)
4) Lightning
5) Tornadoes

The one thing left off of most of these lists is cold weather and winter storms. It gets no real respect when it comes to safety and keeping your family safe. So I have a more realistic chart for you than you will find anywhere else. I put cold weather and winter weather at the top of the list along with heat waves that kill the most people every
year when it comes to extreme weather. The reason being is that even though heat waves officially kill about 200 people a year and cold weather and winter storms kill about 100 people a year the cold weather deaths are usually way underdone. You can even make a case that cold and winter storms top the list. One New York Times study had over 12,000 people that died from hypothermia from 1979 to 1995 which comes out to about 3 deaths per 1 million people per year. So really it is not even close. During these cold waves and winter storms most people die in their automobiles and when they are caught out in the storm. So that is just another reason to stay tuned to WLFI for the latest this winter and of course here on the blog at WLFI.COM.

Now that I have your attention about winter weather, here is the latest NOAA Winter Outlook and what I think this means for us below. I will post explainers a little later today. Remember we will have less snow this year but a better chance for bigger snows! This is why I am in deep training for the Golden Snow Shovel contest. I better go pump some iron and run a few miles. Have a good day and I will see you soon!




23 comments:

Anonymous said...

is there a problem with the web page??? its a mess!

Anonymous said...

Yeah I think that I can go for the less and more thing.

So really, when its gonna snow...its GONNA SNOW!

TWC was saying a possible inch today. I almost came unglued when I opened my curtains this morning and seen nothing. :(

Anonymous said...

Reporting in very light snow flakes falling in Monticello right now.

Anonymous said...

That is a nice E-mail mike!

Cold Cold Cold is what I'M reporting this morning!!!!! Current temperature is only 24.8* degrees.....Brrrrrrrrr (I Like It)

Starke County and counties up north are looking for snowfall amounts today of mainly in the 1 to 3 inch range. still some could see closer to the 5 to 8 inch range mostly in Places like Marshall County,

Justin in Lafayette

Anonymous said...

I'm convinced I was a polar bear in a past life - the cold air is almost as good as a good cup of coffee to shake the cobwebs out of your head LOL! And the bright sunshine after the last few gloomy days is a nice plus. Of course if there'd been a few inches of snow along with the gloom I'd be even happier! And yes... what's with the website? You get a headache looking at it. Hope the glitches are resolved soon.

Cheryl in Brookfield Heights

Anonymous said...

Is any one else having problems with this web page? When I bring it up its all scrammbled!

Anonymous said...

Hi group! I had a low of 17* this morning! What a wakeup call! Welcome to winter :-)

I saw another snow bank in the sky yesterday as I drove to the doctor to get a shot. What a beauty of a sky again but nothing like I saw the other day! Yesterday’s cloud formation was similar and yet very different. There was a definite “wedge” formation to the main snow sector with the white shaft from cloud to ground but didn’t look like a roll cloud like the other one did. I actually saw snow on the ground and experienced snow on roads, too. I was in Kentland. It was snowing very hard and sticking.

Anyway, tis the season! We have been blessed with a very pretty day today with sunshine and less wind.

The winter forecast scares me and for anyone who lives along a creek or river, stay tuned. Above normal temps in winter bring rains and or warm temps to quickly melt snowcover. SCARY. oh, it also brings ice storms. Give me an old-fashioned winter anytime!

Mary Anne in Remington

Anonymous said...

WOW, what a beautiful night for seeing the space shuttle! Awesome sight, I caught it this time!

Thanks for letting us know Mike!

Teri In Laf

Anonymous said...

Hey.

I had a high today of only 35.4* degrees....

Mary anne, sounds like you had a cold start as well!! Hope you stayed warm!!!!!

Looks like a nice weekend coming up!! Nice and crisp!!!!!

Do you all have your Turkeys ready for the big day?? I can't wate to smell that good turkey on Thanksgiving!!!!! My Fav part!! :-)

Snow would make it and even better thanksgiving but it will still be fun and family filled!

Have a great weekend everybody!!!!!

Justin in Lafayette

Anonymous said...

Justin did you see the space shuttle? was really cool!

Anonymous said...

No I did not get out to see it Wish I had.....I heard that we would be able to see it tonight but did not look! :-( I walked out at one time and looked up did not see anything and thought wow it's cold and wen't back inside!! LOL.....:-) Oh well I guess I'll get the next one!

My current temperature is 18.5* degrees COLD!!!!! We have really leaped into winter.....I think it is an extra blanket on the bed tonight!!!!! Keep your pets warm everybody and don't leave them out to long!!!!!

Justin in Lafayette

Anonymous said...

My fav part of turky day is sleeping during foolball,after it is the woman who do most of the cooking and cleaning:) Burrp, oops

Anonymous said...

Bless your heart Justin, yes do bring the pets in, there are so many without shelter! My dogs have been out for about 3 mins and are barking at the door to get in, the are done that was quick! LOL

Teri

Anonymous said...

LOL Justin about looking at the sky and getting cold, I was in stocking feet and no jacket, ran out for a monent and ther it was! my toes were numb

Anonymous said...

LOL I know it is COLD.... :-)

Teri My dog was doing the same thing!! Poor little guy! I wait by the door. He runs out does his stuff and runs right back in like a flash!!

I was looking to see who plays on thanksgiving Foot ball not the colts Darn :-( They are my team!!

We put the turkey in the oven late the night before thanksgiving so I stay up and help cook it!! Always have and always will :-)!!!!! Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!!!!

Justin

Anonymous said...

Almost forgot Your Thanksgiving day forecast as of now is looking very nice for warm weather lovers with a warm up just in time for the big turkey day!! With highs near 50* degrees and mostly clear skies!!!!!

I'M also forecasting a lot of full tummys!!!!! :-) LOL

Have a great night / day bloggers :-)

Justin in Lafayette

Anonymous said...

The red sunrise and frost on the grass made for a beautiful morining.

Anonymous said...

its still very blustry out there with a temp of 26*

Anonymous said...

Justin, no turkey for us or any other meat. Have you seen how they kill those poor birds? there is a very graphic video on the net. Not cutting you down for liking turkey, but if you watched the video you would be sick.

We will be eating baked mac and cheese,mashed potatos, sweet potatos veggies, beans, rolls, all kinds of good stuff,but no meat!

Sorry....

Anonymous said...

Hey everybody has there thing! No problem.....

I would rather not see it though for I don't have a strong stomach :-)

I could not be a farmer though.....one of my old friends always had pigs and then took them to the fair to be sold for you know! And I could not do that I mean raise something from little on and then sale it for that!!

Anyways the water in my pool is froze.....It is very cold out.....Nice day to set in by the fireplace.....:-)

Justin in Lafayette

Anonymous said...

Hi gang, everyone watching football? Yep Justin is nice day to sit by the fireplace. And have a nice bowl of homemade veggie soup.

So Justin, do you help with the cooking on Thanksgiving or do you keep opening the oven door all night to see how the turkey is doing LOL!

My daughter always gets up in the middle of the night a snatches a deviled egg or two:) and some how a small piece of pumpkin pie disappeas during the night, wonder who does that:)

Was very cold this morning, I could not get warm, There was alot of frost on the grass and cars, the sunrise was beautiful!

Teri in Laf

Anonymous said...

Hey, Hey, Hey!!!!!!! PURDUE WON!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

No I help cook lol!!!!! :-)
Sounds like you have a house full of ( Not me's) lol..... And or ( I didn't do it) :-)

Did not watch collage football all that much I like pro better!!!!! I know more of the player's! :-)

Tomorrow though GO COLTS!!!!!
I will for sure be watching that game! :-)

Justin in Lafayette