Saturday, December 11, 2010 (10:00 a.m.)
It was another fun morning on Good Morning Jacksonville. Our tradition of eating chocolate was taken to a whole new level. We brought in Mark from Peterbrooke Chocolates and he let me partake in a chocolate-dipping demonstration which included drizzling on some white chocolate. That is the only drizzle in the forecast today...okay! The toughest part was not eating the chocolate dipped strawberries until after the interview. So this was one case where it was okay to double-dip and in my case I quadrupled dipped! Yes, in my life there is God, country, family, weather, and CHOCOLATE. It has been proven you live longer by eating chocolate. Of course you want to do it in moderation to some extent or run at least 25 miles a week like I do...lol...now today is a 2 chocolate day....usually I grade our weather based on the chocolate-eating tradition we have started before all our shows. Here is the scale:
No chocolates for you----weather that will make you want to fly away or stay in bed.
1 chocolate day------weather that interrupts you life and big plans you may have.
2 chocolate day------not the best weather and it will be more of a nuisance than anything
3 chocolate day------weather that will not slow you down and you will want to take a walk or run in
4 chocolate day------the reason you moved to Florida, the weather simply could not get much better
I give today a 2 out of 4 because it is a nuisance to not only me but all meteorologists. We have a varmant of a low pressure off the coast and it is taking its sweet little time moving up the coast. This timing issue can mean the difference between 55 and 70! Today I went with gradual clearing from west to east and notice the big temperature differences above at 3:30 p.m. I think highs will top out near 70 close to Interstate 75 where it clears out earlier to the lower 60s along Interstate 95 and near Jacksonville, while southeast Georgia will be stuck in the clouds and upper 50s until late today. So it does look like a good shopping day and one other big note is that the grouper are apparently biting and being caught in big numbers off the Florida coastline. If you are fishing today the wind will be northwest to west at 10 to 15 knots. Remember when the wind is west fishing is best! Seas will be mainly from 3 to 5 feet with a water temperature of 57 degrees. This will only be a narrow window of opportunity because nature is ringing the warning bells like anchor Len Kiese you see below. A small craft advisory and even a gale warning is likely on Sunday and Sunday Night.
We had Pam Bells the bell ringer from Valdosta, Georgia in the studio and she was absolutely full of energy and awesome. She showed Len some cool tricks. Nature is not just ringing warning bells but bringing us the strongest cold front of the season Sunday afternoon. We will really start to feel the cold by Monday morning when temperatures will plummet into the single digits. Make sure to tune in tonight and we will take a closer look at this approaching front which will bring brutal wind chills, gusts, record lows and pipe-dripping weather. We will also have to watch out for a strong thunderstorm. This is a very dynamic system that is already causing blizzard conditions in Minnesota. Areas that are even missed by this storm will be hit hard. Boiler country could see at least 4 inches if not more and by time you head to Remington, Indiana you will be well over 6 inches of snow due to Lake enhancement.
Here at home this brutally cold air mass will collide with our warmer air mass and bring us some heavy downpours and possible wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph. I do think the biggest severe threat remains in the Panhandle of Florida but we cannot rule out severe weather whenever you are talking about a jet stream with over 130 mph winds involved. Tonight make sure to tune in on the timing of these showers and storms. Will it in fact clear out for the Jags game. Right now I do think I would take it all....your loudest cheering voice, biggest coat and even the ponchos. While things should dry out as we head through the afternoon it does look like there may be some lingering leftover showers behind the main line of rain. Rain amounts have generally been in the .25" or less but keep in mind if you do get under a thunderstorm that could be much higher. Our chances of snow in Jacksonville which were 10% earlier in the week have fallen to about 2% and I will still keep an eye on it for you snow-lovers. I will also have an update on rain amounts at 6,7, and 11 since we are in an extreme drought. In the meantime, enjoy your 2 chocolate day...okay 2.5 chocolates since you do not worry about weather every waking moment like me! You will want to do this before the temperatures drop or in this case the other shoe drops! It will fall with a very hard thud! Here is the latest forecast for the St. Augustine Regatta of Lights.
If you get a chance send me some pictures so I can show them on the news at mprangley@firstcoastnews.com. All weather pictures are greatly appreciated or even any question you may have. Take care and yes make it a great day weather wise and otherwise. You also have to check out our free weather app at FCN Wx with your 10 day forecast and street-level mapping. We are only one of five stations in the entire country that does OUR OWN 10 DAY FORECAST! Make sure to also sign up for text alerts at http://www.firstcoastnews.com/. This will come in handy by tomorrow! I will send you text alerts during the game with rain, wind, and temperature updates as needed! Thank you.
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