Breaking News

(Today's word will be in red and bold.)


The other day I was discussing with someone about the difficulty sometimes of coming up with topics for posts.  The person suggested a post about the triple digit temps we had last weekend.  I said no, I wasn't going to, because I've written quite a few posts already about the weather.

His response was that I wouldn't be writing about the weather, it would be about the record breaking temperature; he had a point.  It's kind of like Michael Phelps winning Olympic medals, (okay, not exactly, but follow along please).

Phelps broke a record Tuesday, July 31, 2012, when he won his nineteenth Olympic medal.

The Portland metro area broke records Saturday, August 4, 2012 as several areas hit temps over 100 degrees.  Coincidence with these two events?  Most probably not; however both did help me with writing this post.

Of course, the person I was talking with is who really deserves the thanks.  Therefore, thank you Stuart, for your blog post suggestion!  I do apologize if I've spelled your name incorrectly.

Of Mid-Life And Menopause

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)


(Not being a meteorologist, or even a weather person, I'm left to my own conclusions about the current weather situations around the globe. That, and I have more fun making up my own stories!)


We all know the world has been around for eons. I'm thinking in universe age, our little planet might be in it's middle age years at the moment.

My reasoning is due to the odd weather most places have been experiencing lately. If Nature was male, it would be having a mid-life crisis. Next thing you know, our aging solar system would be served divorce papers, and good ol' Nature would be out looking for a younger galaxy to hang out with.

We all know however, Nature's full name is "MOTHER Nature", and therefore is a female.

In terms of the weather, this makes complete sense. After all, women going through menopause tend to have various symptoms, like hot flashes, cold sweats, mood swings, bloating and the like.

Now look at the weather throughout our world lately: Unusually warm, or cold; flooding; tornadoes; earthquakes, and the list goes on.

Does anyone else see the pattern I'm seeing? Sudden warmth is equal to hot flashes; and much colder weather can be the same as cold sweats. Flooding would be like bloating, and earthquakes and tornadoes definitely seem like Nature's version of mood swings.

As I've said, this is just my theory on the subject; my odd sense of seeing things differently than others. In no way however am I trying to make light of the devastation that's been happening lately. I definitely realize the enormity of what's happened to many over the last few days and weeks. Hopefully I haven't offended anyone. If I have, I do sincerely apologize.

Of Weather & Roadways

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)

I've been sitting at my computer, trying to figure out how to write today's post. I've started several times, only to delete what I've written and try again.

It's not like I haven't written about the weather before; most of my recent posts have mentioned the conditions I've been experiencing in my part of the Pacific Northwest.

Today's post however has to do with the weather and drivers. I don't know what it is, but some drivers just seem to lose all common sense with the changing of the weather.

For instance, around here, it rains a lot, so when the sun comes out, there are those who seem like moles. The bright sunlight blinds them and makes them drive crazy.

Then again, when it hasn't rained in awhile, there are those who seem to be just as crazy as the sun people.

Rather than try to make sense of it to those drivers, I've decided to make things simple.

Dear drivers,

Whether it's sun, rain, hail, sleet, or snow coming down, trust me, the sky is not falling; therefore PLEASE don't drive like it is!

Thank you.

Reading Between The Lines

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)

Right up front I'll say this, weather people do tend to get a bad rap over all. I don't think there's anyone who hasn't heard, or made, a joke about how weather people can still have jobs when they're wrong a lot of the time.

To be fair though, even with the best tools and equipment, those reporting the weather are still at the mercy of Mother Nature.

Over the years, I've learned to read between the lines when it comes to weather reports.

If it's a run of the mill, average weather report for whatever time of year it is, then it's probably going to be exactly that.

However, if the weather becomes the top story of the news, and a majority of the broadcast is dedicated to the subject, it's probably NOT going to happen. This is especially true if stations stay on the air with continuous reports, when the actual news broadcast is over.

Doesn't matter if it's extremely warm weather, cold, windy, or what, if there's a big hoopla about it in the media, it's more than likely going to fizzle out and be nothing.

On the other hand, when forecasters say there might be a chance of some type of extreme weather, (again, warm, cold, windy, etc.), but it's just a slight chance, and not a big deal, it's time to hunker down and take cover!

Such was the case with the snow here this past week. At first the stations were making a big deal about it; then it looked as though it wasn't going to happen after all. When it looked to be quieting down is when the snow hit.

Predictions were then made that there would be a slight chance of more snow before the weather switched over to rain. This was to happen probably between 1am and 7am yesterday, (Wednesday, January 18, 2012). It was a small window of time and each station said there wouldn't be too much, if any snow accumulation, during that time. Guess what? Yeah, it started snowing heavily around 9pm Tuesday night, and continued until at least 4 Wednesday morning.

It's switched over to rain now, however the snow isn't clearing out very fast at all where I live. Other places, yes, just not here at 1100' in Washington.

Hopefully the weather will just be normal for a bit, and the weather people can have a break, and so can the rest of the area.

Sunny Days Are Here Again!

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)


You'd think living in the Pacific Northwest all my life, I'd be used to the cold and rain. Okay, I am used to it; I still don't like it though!

As I've said in at least one other blog, I feel this area got cheated out of summer this year. We had some warm days, however nothing like summer in the Pacific Northwest is supposed to be.

Now it's fall, the middle of October, and chances of nice, somewhat warm days are slim to none for the most part.

Hold on though; what's this? The entire next week is supposed to be sunny, and warm?! Yay!!! There's still hope before the real cold and wet sets in!

Mind you, I realize that since this is the Pacific Northwest, that forecast can change a hundred times or more between now and the weekend. At this point in time however, I'm simply choosing to ignore that possibility. Instead, I'm going to stay positive that the SUNSHINE and warm weather will be here again before winter!