This week went by pretty fast!  Not sure why, but it felt like a quick workweek.  Weather is pretty quiet across the U.S. with a few exceptions.  The cold front that pushed across the northeast dropped temperatures overnight, and it looks like we’re back to sweaters and coats this weekend.  The tail end of the front is parked across the southeast back into the Gulf Coast states, so that will focus some showers and or thunderstorms throughout the day from the Carolinas back through Louisiana.  Another cold front pushing across the Northwest will bring with it some unsettled weather, while the southwest will still deal with warmer than average temperatures.   Santa Ana winds won’t be a problem for Southern California, but because temperatures will still be in the high 80s and 90s with very low humidity, red flag warnings remain up for the area.

Hurricane Omar has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm, and is moving very quickly out into the open waters of the Atlantic.   We should be winding down the tropical season in the next few weeks (despite the fact that the season officially ends at the end of November)

I hope everyone has an easy Friday!  I’ll post an Open Blog for you guys to discuss weekend plans shortly!

Good morning! 

I started the morning a little rough…I ordered a whole wheat bagel toasted with butter from one of the little deli’s across the street from FOX, and when I got to my office and opened the tin-foil, there was a thoroughly burnt bagel!  You do not want to be in the same room with a 6 months pregnant woman when she’s looking forward to her little toasted and buttered bagel…and instead finds a blackened breakfast just inches away from her expanding waistline and hungry baby inside!  UGH.  I was so hungry I ate part of it, and threw the rest away.  I wished I had the energy to walk right back across the street and scream at the man who burned my bagel!  

Ok, thanks for letting me rant.  I’m going to have to sneak a little green-room snack before I head to my weather desk!  My advice of the day is always open up the tinfoil and check your breakfast before you head out of the deli!

In weather news, unfortunately we have another day of Santa Ana winds making life very difficult for firefighters and residents in Southern California today.  Gusts of up to 70 mph along with dry vegetation will bring extreme danger to the region for the rest of today.  Thankfully, winds should calm down tomorrow, and that will hopefully allow those brave firefighters a break in the weather to contain the already out of control fires. 

Across the nation’s midsection, we have a stalled front that will be the focus for heavy rain and or isolated thunderstorms across the Plains.   Flooding will be a threat for this area throughout the day.

And in the tropics, we’re still watching Tropical Depression 15 which will more than likely become Omar today.  There’s also an area of disturbed weather east of Central America that could also become TD 16 today.   Neither of these storms will affect the U.S, but will bring heavy rains to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Nicaragua, Honduras and Belize.

I will post an Open Blog for you guys in a second - sorry it slipped my mind yesterday!

jd

done

These are courtesy of  the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office,  Director Becky Herrin.  Here’s what she wrote:

At 4 p.m. today I captured these pictures of a huge waterspout which appears to have hit the causeway at  the Sigsbee naval base just off of North Roosevelt Boulevard in Key West. It was headed right for my window when I shot the pics. Amazing!

Awesome!

Hey everyone!

I’m just getting caught up on all the activity on the blog the past few days.  I’m so glad that everyone continues to interact when I decide to take a break!  We took a computer with us on the trip back home, but I tried to keep myself away from it as much as possible.   The visit was nice, but the weather was gloomy.  It will be nice to see some sunshine in the forecast this week in NYC!  (After this cold front moves through).  The Canadian news was all over the U.S. financial crisis, but didn’t focus too much on our Presidential Election and debates.  They have their own election happening soon, so I was a little thirsty for updates.   Once again, the weather is pretty quiet, so I can sit and get myself back on track with everything else happening in the world!  It’s been interesting to see all of the “financial experts” in the last few days contradicting one another.  It’s hard to tell who’s right and who’s not.  I’m not sure anyone has a good grasp of what the heck is going on.  I’ve been fascinated by what economists are saying, and those who have spent their entire careers studying financial markets. 

Onto weather…as mentioned, still very quiet across the country.  We have a cold  front pushing across the Northeast, and the Mid-Atlantic which will bring some showers and possibly an isolated thunderstorm.   Once the front moves through,  and the Upper Level trough pushes away, we’ll have a nice stretch of fall weather.  The central U.S. is clear while the Pacific Northwest will see a pattern of wet, and cool weather heading into the weekend. 

There’s also a tropical storm out there — Laura is way out in the Atlantic, and is quickly becoming “extra tropical”…Laura was never a threat to the U.S, and that’s the way we like it!

I wanted to ask you guys if you have time, and a camera, I’d love to see some of your fall foliage pictures!  Driving home yesterday through upstate New York, the colors were bursting!  It is such a wonderful time of year for pictures.

I also see there was a little bit of discussion about posting news stories here on the blog and the plagiarism issue.  I have no problem with “snip-its” of stories as long as the person posting includes where they got the story.  Yes, I realize that sometime the links get caught in spam, but I always check the spam box a few times a day, and will retrieve them.  I definitely think we need to credit the source, so I am glad it was brought up.

That’s about it for now everyone!  Hope all is well, and I’m so glad that you guys keep it fun and civilized on this blog.  I do appreciate it, and keeps me coming back! 

jd

(Picture courtesy of Clipart)

Good morning!

Monday, Monday.  It feels like a Monday.  I slept in this morning after waking up at 3am and staring at the ceiling for an hour before falling back asleep.   I’m one of those people that can’t stand being a few minutes off my schedule since it throws everything out of whack.  At any rate, I’ve caught my breath, and feel like I’ve gotten back on course…we’ll see how long that feeling lasts for!

The low pressure system off Puerto Rico has not been upgraded to a tropical depression yet, but it does look like conditions will be favorable for development today and tomorrow.  We should see Kyle out there in the Caribbean in the next day or so.   Parts of Puerto Rico have seen over 2 feet of rain already, and this has brought on extreme floods and mudslides to the Island.   Folks in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic and the southeast Bahamas need to watch the progress of this storm over the next few days.    The computer models are still moving this storm to the north and west and may threaten parts of the east coast later on this week.  At what strength, and the timing of the storm is still unknown as it will depend on what a coastal low does off the Carolinas (as that will help to steer the storm)   Definitely one to watch.

In other weather news, the first day of fall arrives officially at 11:44 am eastern time.  It’s the Autumnal Equinox if you want to get fancy on terms…when daylight and night are each 12 hours long. If you were standing on the equator, the center of the sun would be directly overhead.   And of course, we’ll start to notice it getting darker and darker much earlier.

That’s about it for now…hope everyone had a great weekend!

jd

 

The weather remains very quiet outside for much of the country this weekend.  The one exception is Florida where a stationary front won’t budge - and continues to bring unsettled, wet weather in certain areas.  The Northeast rocks with very nice comfortable temperatures and plenty of sunshine throughout the day.  Along the coast, we’ve got some strong surf and rip currents from Northeast winds this weekend, so it will be a rough weekend on the beach. 

Still feels like summertime over the Northern Plains with above average temperatures, and the Northwest will finally get a break from the heat this weekend as a system moves in from the Pacific and drops those temperatures like a rock. 

The tropics are also very subdued with just one cluster of thunderstorms around the Antilles that we’re keeping an eye on.   We could see some slow development over the next few days, but for the meantime - nothing threatening or menacing on the horizon.

In other stuff, thanks for all your advice on maternity wear!! Some very good suggestions, and I’m going to try doing some on-line shopping as well as just buying stuff a few (many) sizes up! 

Happy Friday everyone! 

jd

While it’s stormy on Wall Street, the weather across the country is very quiet once again today.  The northeast will get its first taste of what’s yet to come with record breaking lows over night in the 20’s (eek!) and 30’s.  Freeze and frost advisories are up from Pennsylvania to Maine where the extra blanket will be taken out of storage!

Meantime, a pesky stationary front will bring more showers and thunderstorms to Florida for the rest of the week.  Warmer than average temperatures move into the Northern Plains and the Midwest while the heat will finally break across the Northwest this weekend.

In other news, (I hope the men on this blog don’t mind that I may be getting into “chick territory” here) but , can I just say how disappointed I am in the maternity clothing world?  I went to a few mommy-to-be shops that shall remain un-named (for now) to purchase some work clothes since my sweaters, skirts and jackets are getting a tad bit tight (understatement).  I came out of the stores so upset because not only are the clothes not very well made, and have never heard or seen of colors other than grey and black–but they are outrageously priced!  For (one of the few)  red wool jacket that I may only wear for a few weeks, this store was asking 350 bucks!   The other sad fact was every pair of pants I tried on seemed to be made for size zero models that seem to have all their weight in a small little bundle on their midsections.  I was depressed and frustrated.   I almost walked out in tears.   I am disappointed in the maternity clothing industry.   How on earth do working women manage to look presentable in the last few months of their pregnancy?  Am I missing something here?  It’s not like this is a new idea!  I realize my hormones are on overdrive, but is it too much to ask for retailers to come out with reasonably priced, well made, pieces of clothing that don’t look like we’re all going to funerals? 

Ok- I’m done now.    Thanks for letting me vent!

jd

Hey everyone.

Weather-land has been very quiet over the last few days, and I guess I’ve been trying to take it a little easier while I have the chance!  It has been absolutely gorgeous here in the Northeast.  September weather can really give us fantastic weather for being outdoors, or to just keep the windows open a bit at night for that refreshing cool air.   It’s lovely.

The Midwest and much of the Plains are also enjoying some drier conditions which I know they are appreciative of after a nasty few months of flooding.

The Southeast is still into the unsettled stuff with a stalled boundary bringing the chance for showers and thunderstorms for the next few days.

And the Northwest is dealing with above average temperatures, and the threat for wildfires today as conditions are very dry, and as an approaching system moves in to the west of the area, dry lightening is making things even more dangerous.  Red flag warnings are up for parts of Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho.

jd

A nice break from watching storms!  Jennifer writes this:

I hope this picture of a sunrise off the North Carolina Coast would give us all reason to count OUR blessings as they face such turmoil from Ike.  And a shout-out to our son Chris, serving in Iraq.  He always enjoyed a quiet sunrise.