Sunday, February 6, 2011------7:30 a.m.
Everybody has been watching and waiting. That is right everybody is ready for some sunshine. Now for meteorologists this weather pattern has been great! I have loved tracking this busy weather here at home. It has been the best gift of all that I received from nature for National Meteorologists Day which was on Friday. No, I did not receive any other gifts, chocolates, or even a card....lol. I teased my news director that we celebrated a ground hog on Wednesday, but there was no mention of meteorologists on Friday. That is okay because we are a humble breed, yes a little strange too at times, but the ground hog can have all the glory as long as I do what I love! Now you see Jaxon de Ville and Jake yesterday were keeping their eyes to the sky yesterday looking for our brightest star in the sky to make an appearance. After all, it is the sunshine state! They did not get to see any sun but Jake's 8th birthday party was a success yesterday and they were thankful for a nice break in the rain during his outdoor party that Live Doppler Radar showed clearly heading our way during Good Morning Jacksonville. I breathed a sigh of relief because my kids were at that party and there was no room for error on that forecast. I would never have heard the end of it if it rained on Jaxon de Ville and all that good food that was outside....lol. Speaking of rain February you have a right to be a little antsy for sunshine since it has brought rain on five of the first six days this month and so far this year our rainfall is running about 2.34" above average. Now keep in mind we are still in a drought and St. Augustine is still running about an inch below average for 2011. So yes even though it has been a bit gloomy this month so far at least we really need the rain and it has made for some good sleeping weather. Ready for more good news! Okay, drum roll please....
We will have sunshine return to the area today. But it depends on where you live. I do think we will have a few lingering showers south of Duval County but it should be a much drier day. The farther north you go the better chance you have of seeing at least some glimpses of sunshine. Now it will not be a bright sunny day with what I call filtered sunshine through the high cloud canopy, but it is an improvement! I would say this is still a big improvement from all the thick fog and rain that has turned Jacksonville into London East. Temperatures will remain seasonable today with highs in the lower to middle 60s.
First Coast News is lucky to have Mike Lyons who like me will stop on the side of the road no matter where he is to take photos of clouds and the weather. Today he did capture a shot of some breaks in the clouds! Thanks Mike, I do hope we get more blue patches than this but it is a start. You even see a little blue. So today that is our theme. It will not be picture-perfect but at least we will see a few rays of sunshine and maybe even a bit of blue to replace the never-ending gray skies. The good news is nothing will be slowing you down or any fog to worry about if you are going out grocery shopping this morning. Yes! It is Super Bowl Sunday. It is all about family, friends, commercials, and yes there is also a game. I do have a couple recipes I want to share with you as promised on our 7 a.m. Good Morning Jacksonville show today. Lori Dorman who also helped form Kick it Up First Coast was kind enough to send it this to me! Here is HEALTHY CHICKEN NUGGET SUPER HORS D'OEUVRES!
Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Eggbeaters
Bread crumbs (whole wheat is best if you can find them)
Reduced fat Parmesan cheese
Paprika
Italian seasoning
Cayenne pepper (optional)
Any other seasonings you like
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet(s) with aluminum foil, spray with Pam.
Cut chicken into bite-sized cubes. Combine bread crumbs, cheese and spices in a shallow dish. Pour Eggbeaters into another shallow dish. Dip each nugget into Eggbeaters, then dredge in crumb mixture. Place on prepared baking sheet(s). Lightly spray tops of nuggets with Pam. Bake approx. 20 minutes or until cooked through. They don’t even need sauce, but you can use your favorite dipping sauce if desired.
Okay I know the game is still 10 hours away but I am very hungry after reading this! Thanks Lori. Make sure to check out Lori's cool blog at firstcoastnews.com. She has a lot of fun with it like I do and one of the nicest people you will ever meet! Okay, ready for another recipe. This is from my wife and this Mexican Dip is legendary! I brought it in for an early morning show about a month ago and set it out at 3:15 a.m. It was gone by 3:45 a.m. Yes, this dip recipe is dangerous because it may cause your guests to want more and it runs out quickly. Here it goes...
Seasoned black beans for the bottom layer, drain and mash (black bean chipolte dip does very well)
Second layer is guacamole (homemade is best)
Third layer is a cup and a half of sour cream with taco seasoning (tastefully simple fiesta works best)
Then add shredded lettuce, Colby Jack cheese and sliced cherry tomatoes
It is easy to make and it took me longer to find the ingredients than to make it!
Now that I posted all this good eating, I am thinking I will need to run all this food off! My saying is I RUN SO I CAN EAT!! Well the National Breast Cancer Marathon is ONLY A WEEK AWAY! Here is a sneak peak at the forecast. It could change but hopefully it does not!
This will be my 9th marathon and now the hardest part is waiting! I wish I could start it now especially with a forecast like this. Ideally, the best running weather is when temperatures stay below 65 and it looks like everything is on track. Notice we will have GREEN FLAG conditions which means the weather will pose a low risk to runners. During the race there will be Heat Index Risk flags set up at all the first aid stations and they should all be green! Here are what the different colored flags mean just in case...since all participants should monitor alert flags to understand and react to the level of risk of participation based on the measured heat index on the course.
Black Flag: Heat Index Greater than 82 degrees F( Greater than 28C) -Extreme or hazardous risk. Be on high alert. Take steps to reduce risk.
Red Flag: Heat Index 73-82 degrees F (23-28 C)- High risk, everyone should be aware of injury potential and individuals at risk should not compete
Yellow Flag: 65-73 degrees F (18-23 C)- Moderate Risk- level increases as event progresses through the day.
Green Flag: Less than 65 degrees F (Less than 18 C) LOW RISK- BUT RISK STILL EXISTS ON THE BASIS OF RISK FACTORS
throughout the It may be a bit breezy but I will continue to fine-tune that for you as we get closer. The big news is we are going to FINISH BREAST CANCER. LET'S GO!!
Tonight make sure to tune in to First Coast News. I will talk more about this bizarre weather pattern not going away anytime soon and why February will not live up to its dry reputation as you see above. More heavy rain is on the way with another rainy Monday looking likely. Whenever you receive beneficial rain this time of year I would certainly say it is bonus rain. Most of our rain in Florida comes during our thunderstorm season from June through the first part of October and of course from tropical systems. We fell so far behind last year that we need a whole lot more of this "bonus" rain. Expect more flooding around the area before all is said and done this week along with the threat of strong thunderstorms. You will also want to check out the 7 day forecast that does include a freeze. Yes, it will be like my own Super Bowl as always. I look forward to seeing you soon! Have a fun day.
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