JK@> Hi Daryl,

Hi, Janis...

 JK@> I was reading an article recently about weather patterns "these days"..
 JK@> I guess what makes these weather patterns we're seeing now so
 JK@> surprising is that for example in NY, we haven't had temperatures drop
 JK@> below 0F since 1998.. and now we've dropped below zero (well below 0F)
 JK@> a number of times in two weeks.. brrrr..

  I saw a picture on Facebook, where a squirrel (or was it a groundhog??)
was holding a sign that noted "We've discovered that the weather has a
Bi-Polar disorder". 

  Speaking of which, it's almost time for Groundhog Day...and I don't mean
the movie with Bill Murray.  His character hit the nail on the head,
when he said "a bunch of people out here, freezing their butts off, to look
at a rodent".  

  But, for Punxatawney, Pennsylvania, that's a big economic deal to them 
each year. I understand they make a "killer breakfast" (eggs, bacon,
sausage, etc.)...and there's even an amateur radio "special event station"
for the event.

 > And, after winter, it's tornado season. :(

 JK@> Yes, probably will be a bad season for that as well but I hope not!

  Ugh, I hope not. I've been under 2 tornadic funnel clouds, been within
a mile of 2 rain wrapped tornadoes, been indirectly struck by lightning
twice (although I carry no charge, and can be handled safely ), and
have been in swirling floodwaters. So, I tend to get nervous when severe
weather threatens.

  Ironically, around here, there are so many ways to get weather information,
but there are so many who are seemingly willfully ignorant of forecasts,
warnings, etc. The radio and TV stations have literally gotten "death
threats" from people, because their favorite sports program, drama, reality
show, soap opera, documentary, cartoon, etc. was interrupted by a severe
weather bulletin.

  In Arkansas, a tornado and a divorce have the same thing in common...
either way, you're going to lose the trailer. 

  But, the worst time for a tornado warning would be when they do the
required weekly test (12 Noon local time on Wednesday). 95% of the
people (if not more), would never know the difference. :(

  The 5 most dreaded words to an emergency services worker are "This is
not a drill". Those were also the exact words telegraphed on Dec. 7, 1941,
as the Japanese started the bombing at Pearl Harbor...which, as you know,
got the U.S. into World War II.

  Plus, they think weather forecasts are like Post Office Boxes...where
you can only check them once or twice a week. Actually, forecasts are
like diapers. They are constantly needing to be changed, and if the
forecast adversely affects your activities, it truly stinks...pun
intended. 

  But, what's worse is that so many have no clue as to where they are 
located in the state...never mind the county name. It's as if they are 
trying to learn geography by a Tornado Warning bulletin. By the time one 
realizes where the storm is, it's too close to them for them to take 
shelter.

  One individual wanted "exact specifics" on upcoming severe weather...
meaning type (tornado, large hail, damaging wind, flooding), extent of
it (EF-0 to EF-5 tornado, hail size from 1/4 inch to over 4 inches in
diameter, the speed of the winds, and the amount of rainfall/flooding),
plus location and time on when it'd occur...BEFORE there was even a
cloud in the sky!!

  You could NOT convince that person of the fact that ONLY The Good Lord 
knows that information before the event occurs, and He is not telling 
anybody!!

  When I told the person that "you might as well be asking who the
next Pope of the Roman Catholic Church will be, while the current
Pope is still alive, or even before the College Of Cardinals has
met"...and "you might as well be asking the exact moment of when
you will die"...they replied "you don't have to get nasty about it".

  You figure it out...I guess they're an example of someone who could
not find their buttocks with both hands in a blizzard...never mind on
a sunny day. :P

Daryl

... Early birds get the worm; the 2nd mouse gets the cheese.
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