That California drought

Two pairs of pictures, both of California, from different vantage points, showing the severity of the drought taking place just now in that state.  I think these two give terrific indications of exactly what's taking place.

Fascinating.

Scary but fascinating.

Below, two photos of Folsom Lake, just North of Sacramento. 

This is how serious the situation is.

Fol

Snow. In May. In Kansas City

From photographer/friend Roy Inman :

Last time it snowed in Kansas City in May was on the 3rd in 1907. Union Station was completed in 1914, same year that WWI started. We are talking history-making stuff here folks.

On our weather forecast: uh-oh

From a Facebook post just now:

US National Weather Service Kansas City Missouri

 

2"-3" of snow has fallen near Omaha this evening, and thundersnow is being reported in Nebraska City, just across the river from the northwest tip of MO. Trends are suggesting accumulating snow may make it further south and east than previously thought, and may make it into Kansas City. We'll have an updated snow forecast in a few hours.

Look at the forecasted snow amounts for Southern Missouri

Just now, from Meteorologist Doug Heady's photo on Facebook.

KCUR. Frank Morris and all our snow get big exposure

From and on NPR today:

Drought-Stricken Farmers 'Giddy' Over Heavy Snow

The snowstorms create some inconveniences for farmers, but they also bring much-needed water

by Frank Morris

Link: http://www.npr.org/2013/03/04/173241623/drought-stricken-plains-farmers-giddy-over-heavy-snow

A great, local, snow story

By: Amy Hawley

KANSAS CITY, M o. - Let’s call it “The Miracle on 74th Street.”

A group of families who live on 74th Street in Kansas City, Mo., came together to dig an ambulance out of snow and firefighters say they likely saved a man's life.

About 12:30 p.m., on Tuesday, the group living in a Waldo neighborhood noticed an ambulance stuck in the winter snow, delaying precious minutes on their way to an ambulance call.

KCMO firefighters said the man on the street had had minor cardiac issues in the past and on Tuesday had trouble after shoveling snow.

However, the emergency response to him was slowed when the ambulance tires started spinning.
Neighbors one by one came out of their homes, shovels in hand, and dug a whole city block in a matter of minutes because they knew the clock was ticking.

"We went down there and started trying to dig out,” John Molloy, who helped dig the stuck ambulance out of the snow, said. “Ten or 12 people came out and everybody just started shoveling. It's a real testament to the whole city block of people in the neighborhood."

Read more:  http://bit.ly/X9tjQo

The latest weather/snow forecast

 

Another Major Winter Storm... Starting Soon - Snowfall Forecast

*This forecast is subject to change. For the latest information, check back frequently for upda...tes*

SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

After looking at some fresh information, here is a look at our latest forecast regarding our next winter storm!

Our storm system will continue to dive southeastward from the Rockies today and will make its way eastward into the Texas Panhandle by the afternoon and evening. We are expecting snow to develop this afternoon across Western Kansas, although heavy snow is not expected. Some light freezing drizzle could accompany the snow with dry air aloft. The low will continue to push eastward tonight along the Oklahoma/Texas border with snow moving eastward across Western and Central Kansas. The low will undergo intensification as it moves into Central Oklahoma, which will lead to heavier snow development east of a line from Hays to near Liberal overnight tonight. The low will continue eastward with the heavier snow continuing eastward across Central and Eastern Kansas with lighter snow in Western Kansas on Monday. It is now becoming clear that heavy banding of snow could occur from South Central into portions of East Central and Northeast Kansas. The low will begin to push northeastward as it hits the Arklatex Region Monday night with snow ending by early Tuesday.

There is a chance that Southeast Kansas will see rain for most of this event before the heavy snow moves over the area Sunday night, which is why only 1-3 inches is shown in extreme Southeast Kansas. Heavy snow will come in to play for Southeast Kansas Monday night with 3-6 inches possible across much of Southeast Kansas.

As mentioned, the heavier snow is expected to fall east of a line from around Plainville to Liberal and into Central and Eastern Kansas where 6-12 inches is possible. Banding of heavier snow is expected to occur over South Central, East Central and Northeast Kansas where a foot or more of snow is currently expected.

3-6 inches is expected across portions of Southwest and North Central Kansas with lighter amounts of 1-3 inches over far Western Kansas as upper level dynamics do not look to support heavy snow at this time.

Gusty winds and blizzard conditions can be expected with this storm over Southern Kansas. Blowing and drifting of snow can be expected with the strongest winds occurring Monday and early Monday night. This will lead to low visibilities and possibly white out conditions which will make travel extremely difficult if not impossible.

Stay tuned...

 

Link: https://www.facebook.com/Capitalists/posts/487356071325006?comment_id=88418715#!/CirrusWeather?fref=ts

The latest snow prediction for Monday

Doubtful you're going to like this one, kiddies. (click on pic for better viewing, as ever).

 



From the US National Weather Service Kansas City Missouri:

 

This system is expected to bring light snow or rain showers to the area Sunday night through midday Monday, and accumulating snow from Monday afternoon through Tuesday. Although snowfall amounts are still uncertain, preliminary forecast amounts range from 5 to 10 inches across much of the area, with lesser amounts in far northwest Missouri, and the possibility of locally higher amounts in central Missouri. The track of this system can change, so please continue to monitor the forecast as we head into the weekend.

 

Have a great weekend, cats and kittens!  Enjoy it while you can.

The Kansas City weather forecast of the future?

I saw this weather prediction a few days ago:

Climate contradiction: Less snow, more blizzards

It seems appropriate for us, at least today.  We'll see how it plays out, of course.

Latest snow/weather forecast

 

Link: 41 Action Weather Blog

The latest snow prediction for Wed/Thurs

From the US National Weather Service in Topeka (click on picture for easier reading):

Stay tuned.

Link:  https://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection?source=mobile_mirror_nux#!/US.NationalWeatherService.Topeka.gov

The news

On last evening's news, on KCTV5, all they could do, all evening, it seemed, was show live footage of a helicopter flying over an overturned bus that had apparently been hit by a 4-door red sedan.

Incessantly.

It's as if they hadn't produced a news program earlier that day.

For local news, in their ideal world, they like to get shootings, fires, live helicopter footage or someone crying, for any reason.

Today, on CNN, all they can do is flip between the two stories of the big snowstorm that's supposed to hit New York City, Boston and the Northeast over the weekend and the Los Angeles policeman who killed--what? 3 people?--and who is on the loose.

Ad inifinitum.

Flipped over to NBC news and they told of--guess what?--the LA cop on the loose.

This is one slow news week.

Notes on a hurricane

--How ironic--and horrible for the people effected by it--that hurricane Sandy should hit the most dense part of the nation, hardest of all;

--How, again, ironic and awful that the same storm should also hit on the very day of the full moon, increasing high tides that much more;

--How unfortunate that these three storm fronts should collide in this one area and create everything from downpours of rain and so, flooding, as well as heavy snow, this early in the season;

--It has always seemed unnecessary to me that the Weather Channel should and would have their reporters outside, in the midst of the storms, period, but especially the hurricanes, to report to us. We know it's raining/snowing/storming (whatever). They shouldn't need to stand out there in the rain/wind/snow or whatever, do you think?

--It nearly makes me feel guilty for the perfectly calm, mild, even beautiful and comfortable weather we're experiencing here, in the middle of the nation, while so many hundreds of thousands are in the midst of a huge, even dangerous weather event, just to our East.

Third week of April, 2012

Snow last night in Philadelphia--they were forecast to get 6 to 8 inches of it. Meanwhile, about 80 warm degrees just North of San Francisco, 104 in Palm Springs and about 65 here for the high, in the middle of the country. Grateful, anyone?

Spring?

All right, it's been dark and cold and snowy and icy and a really awful, old-fashioned January around here--in fact, over much of the US that gets a real winter--but the forecast for tomorrow is 55 degrees AND trout season officially opens tomorrow.

Spring can't be that far away now, right?

Enjoy the sunshine, y'all.

Links:  http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/26/2684492/outdoors-digest-missouri-trout.html

Ever thought how fortunate we are?

Think about this.

Look outside right now.

What's the temperature?

Eight degrees?  Fourteen?

Every morning, I wake, put on my robe and go into the bathroom for my shower and each day, as I turn the handle on the faucet, I think how magical and wonderful this is--that I can easily turn that handle and have as much hot, wonderful water pour out of the shower head  so I can get clean and warm up, both.

And then it occurs to me--daily, every day, seriously, honestly--how lucky we are to be living now, with our warm, comfortable beds and our equally-warm and comfortable homes, what with furnaces and all, through these bitter winters.

I don't take it for granted.  Not completely, anyway.

Really, think about it--it's only been about the last 100 years--a tiny fraction of time in humankind's existence--that we have these warm, comfortable refuges to return to each day, after working our mostly 8 hour day jobs.  Sure, some of us--heck, a lot of us--work more hours than that but still, the point is that there are a great deal of things we count on now that give us warmth and rest and peace and quiet and leisure time and we shouldn't take them for granted.

This seems like a great time to point some of them out and be mindful of them, this time when it's so bitterly, bitterly cold.

The unnecessary joke that is the local evening news

The evening news has now become, after parroting the local and dying newspaper, a recap of whatever loose connection they can make between the latest YouTube video and what's happening now.

Last evening, as a terrific example, KCTV 5 ran a video of a snowplow in New York City that trashed an SUV, as though it had any connection to what's going on here in Kansas City:

Sad.

Pitiful.

Pathetic.

Reporters, anyone?

Bueller?

Notes on the first snowfall of the season

After having driven from Smithville at about 6:45 pm, down to Briarcliff, then from there to Mid-town at 9:30 pm approximately, then from there to Waldo at 11:30 pm and, finally, back to Smithville at 2 am, I think I'm pretty experienced in the snowfall around town last evening and what the street conditions were.

First, hmmm.  It was forecast as a "dusting" and that's what we got up North--a dusting.  Hardly any snow at all.  Further South, the further you got, the more there was, ironically.  Since it was so windy and snowing, then, from left to right, so to speak, rather than straight down from the sky, there were both plenty of small, fluffy drifts and some packed, icy,slick areas.

That said, there wasn't one city truck out once in all my driving, in all those areas, putting down and sand to take down the slickness.

I saw a wreck, too--at least one--and it was ironic, too, since it was just outside the Barnes and Noble on the Plaza, right at the intersection.

You would have thought---I did, anyway--that this would be the area where everyone would take it slow and easy and no one would hit anyone else.  It just didn't seem like that kind of snowfall but there you are, they had a wreck right there.  The police had to block off the intersection completely--there was no getting through for a while.  This was at about 11:30.

So there you are.  That's the wrap-up.  Everyone who was out--and traffic seemed very, very light, really--was driving intelligently.  That is, respectfully of the conditions without being too overly cautious and dangerous in that way.

Keep warm today, folks.  It's our coldest yet, as we all know.  Enjoy your Sunday.

Sharp contrasts

 

Last evening on the Plaza was in sharp contrast to the night before, since the previous evening was all drinking and loud conversations.

As this shows, it was warm temperatures and wide open stores. It was really nice. While not yet completely, officially Spring, it surely felt like it.

And it's also in sharp contrast, apparently, to what it's going to be like on the Plaza this evening, when the rain comes in, and then this weekend, when the temperatures fall further and we get snow, if the forecast is correct.

But what the heck--last evening was terrific, Spring starts this weekend and next week has promises of temperatures in the 60's.

Somehow I think we'll make it.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Thoughts on a Friday morning

--it was sure great to see and be in the sun and have such warm temperatures yesterday;

--so what if it's going to cloud up and bring us rain and snow this weekend--a) Spring begins this weekend, too and b) by next week, we'll be back in the 60's;

--I like the way Google predicts my searches (just don't try finishing my sentences);

--If I didn't have to get to the office this morning, I surely could have taken what I think were some terrific photographs;

--Great news for the weekend as it looks as though we're going to get at least some health care reform relief this weekend. The Democrats finally decided to "play rough", thank goodness;

--I wish I had more times and reasons to say "acoutrement". I love the way it sounds. (heck, for that matter, I wish I could speak French).

Let's have a great weekend, y'all.