The green flag is waving and folks swimming in our Fine February pattern

Sunday, February 20, 2011

It is good to be back on the weather blog and yes I have gotten my second wind after completing the 26.22 mile National Marathon to finish breast cancer. Here was a shot from the beach portion of the run and when you looked out over the ocean you really could not feel any pain. This was not about me or my aching achilles heel. I thought of all those that this disease has impacted and how we really are close to finding a cure. It all starts with love and all of us coming together for great events like this one. I believe you can do anything you set your mind to especially if you are working with others on one common goal. There is no stopping us now, we are finally going to finish breast cancer!  I wanted to thank all the wonderful folks from around the country I talked to during the race! They really did keep me going and I loved hearing about all the crazy weather from the coast to coast. They were surprised when I told them about our wild weather ride here at home and they could not believe it snowed here this winter. One of the highlights of my race was when I got to run on the beach and talk to running legend Bill Rodgers. I could hardly believe I was running next to one of the all-time greats! I kept up with him for a bit and we also talked about the rough winter he was having back in Massachusetts and he was thankful for the picture-perfect weather day we had. He was training for the Boston Marathon which of course is in April. Nature has already put us through a marathon of its own this winter with our coldest December and January period on record! But things have certainly changed and it looks like we are running straight into Spring way ahead of schedule. Officially Spring begins March 21st but we have had back to back 80 degree days now in Jacksonville and I cannot rule out a couple more 80 degree days on the way as we finish out February. How nice has this weather pattern been? Well check it out below!

This is the Delfano family enjoying a nice swim yesterday in Jacksonville! Now the air temperature did hit 80 but keep in mind the water temperature was only in the middle 60s. Yes, half the kids in this picture are visiting from New Hampshire and this was like a nice June day in Lake Winnepesaukee! Yes, more snow is on the way for New England this week and they could not be happier here in Florida. I was not brave enough to jump in since I already paid my dues at the Polar Plunge...LOL.  I will be ready to swim in March but not the middle of February! This is in stark contrast to last February when we did not have any 80 degree weather and our first 80 degree day held off until March 30th! This weather change is well deserved and just in time for race day at Daytona! The green flag will be flying and it will be the first time in 3 years we will not have to worry about any weather delays! Check out the latest forecast that does include plenty of sunny comfort!

There will be a sea breeze developing that could drop temperatures a bit during the afternoon but otherwise it looks terrific. Here in Jacksonville our temperatures will also reach the lower to middle 70s today and with the east breeze kicking up off the ocean this afternoon it will hold in the upper 60s to near 70 on the sand! This will also be a great day to check out the Moe's Southwest Grill Sunshine Lacrosse Classic at Everbank Field. I was singing the Notre Dame Irish fight song this morning on Good Morning Jacksonville since our producer Anne Roy is a graduate from there. She is simply an amazing producer and appreciate all she does.  Yes, I was also looking for a little extra weather time since everybody knows I am a Boilermaker fan first and foremost. I really hope nobody from West Lafayette is reading this and if you are please forgive me! Boiler up! Other top teams like Duke and Georgetown are also competing today. A lot of folks do not know much about lacrosse but today is the perfect weather day to go check out how great of a sport it is here in downtown Jacksonville. Yes, stop the goal and there is no stopping this Spring weather pattern! Check out our latest synoptic map this morning!

This pattern is producing blizzard warnings in the Plains and tornadoes to California. Once again from coast to coast the weather is frightful except here in Florida! We could actually hit 80 again on President's Day due to all the extreme weather to the north helping to whip up nice balmy southwest breezes! Yes, more swimming weather for some! These mammoth storms are forming along the big temperature contrasts taking place in the center of the country. The flow around these storms are bringing us balmy breezes. This trend should continue at least for another week. This means Spring is king in your forecast. Will this pattern hold into March and can we actually plant early this year. Make sure to check back here on the blog and tune in tonight at 6, 6:30, and 11 p.m. for much more! Thanks again for reading and it is good to be back blogging! Enjoy the weather and remember the sunscreen.