101 Degrees Of No Fun

WRAL is predicting a high temperature of 101°F (39°C) for the Raleigh, North Carolina area today, including where I live. They report: "...we will probably see the warmest day so far in this heat wave, the warmest so far this year and the warmest since June 10, 2008, when we saw 101 degrees at RDU." (RDU is Raleigh-Durham International Airport.) It's also very humid. The air quality is not good today, with high ozone levels. I am feeling it in the forum of sinus issues typical of my seasonal allergies and a raw, sore throat. I do need to make a quick run to the market but otherwise, fortunately, can work from my nicely air conditioned home.

Pardon me if I wax political... A heat wave like this is not evidence of global warming. We've always had heat waves and there have always been unusually hot days. What is evidence, indeed proof, of global warming is a sustained increase in the average temperature of the planet over a number of years and a continued warming trend. We have that data and yet there are those, for political reasons or out of plain old greed, continue to deny that global warming exists or that it is a problem despite all of the scientific evidence.

The worst part is that these naysayers, those who ignore science for profit or simply because they just don't want to pay a bit more for energy in the short term, are having their way. Here in the U.S. our Congress is poised to ignore the President's energy proposals and do precisely nothing about global warming or our dependence on oil, even in the wake of the worst oil spill in history.

I really, truly believe our children and grandchildren will curse us for leaving them a decidedly unpleasant planet to live on. They will call us greedy and stupid and they will do so with plenty of justification. Indeed, if things continue to go unchecked I expect that our grandchildren and great grandchildren will have a very difficult time indeed. Of course that can still be avoided if enough people demand action.

March Snow in North Carolina

As of 10:30 this morning we still have a few flurries in the air but otherwise the snow is probably over. We got about 3" (8 cm) of snow in all which is a big deal in North Carolina. Folks further west got quite a bit more than we did. In this area schools are closed, events have been canceled and businesses delayed opening. As I mentioned yesterday people up north find this funny. In New York or Wisconsin 3" of snow is no big deal. Here it dominates the news.

One thing for certain is that it is cold with temperatures likely to stay below freezing today. Right now it's 29°F (-2°C) and it is expected to drop to 13°F (-11°C) tonight. Roads will probably become quite icy in time for the morning commute tomorrow.


The photos were taken by my housemate in the backyard this morning taken around 8:30 this morning. It is pretty around here and the coffee is hot.

Snow Again! (...or a conspiracy to sell more bread and milk)

Back in January we got a little over 5" (13 cm) of snow. The picture above is what my street looked like after a plow came through. Looks pretty, right? My housemate and I thought so and we went out for a walk and she took some pictures. We get a snowstorm like this maybe once every three to five years where I live. They predicted a second big storm last month but all we got was a dusting.

Actually they predict several of these events every year but most never materialize. My housemate claims to believe this is a conspiracy concocted by retailers and meteorologists to sell more bread and milk. As I noted last November supermarkets are jam packed before every would-be snowstorm and they always sell out most all of their bread and milk.

Well... depending on which media outlet or meteorologist you believe we should be getting anywhere from 2" to 8" (8cm to 20cm) of snow tonight and tomorrow. Right now it's just raining but this is supposed to become snow and, by North Carolina standards, lots of it, as in enough to paralyze the area.

Yes, folks who live up north in snowy climes or came from the north like I did find it all very humorous. It's funny until you see the locals try to drive on snow or ice. Then it's not so funny and you want to stay home as much or more than they do.

Anyway, I did go to the market today and yes, they were busy. They still had plenty of bread and milk. I guess there is less panic buying during a depression. (Yes, I still believe our "economic crisis" or "most severe recession in 70 years" is really a depression. More on that in upcoming posts.)

Will it snow? Probably. Will we get lots of snow? Who knows. They're even predicting "thundersnow", a thunderstorm with snow instead of rain. I've never seen that, even when I lived up north.

In the meanwhile here is another pretty picture from January taken a few minutes later during our walk a bit futher up my street:


It wasn't quite as pleasant a walk at this point. We'll see if tonight and tomorrow bring more of the same. If they do I'll try to get some more pictures.

First Snow

Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while now knows I live not too far from Raleigh, NC. I've lived here for nine of the past 11 years. In those 11 years we've had a real honest to goodness snow storm here exactly twice. Even the mention of the word snow sends people rushing to the supermarket to buy up all the bread and milk they can find. My housemate claims it's all a trick by the supermarkets to boost sales. Anyway, I digress...

The other day we had what the local news called a "10 minute blizzard", as in near white out conditions. Of course, nothing stuck to the ground and it was over. The fact that 10 minutes of non-stock snow even makes the news tells you just how little snow we get around here. Still, that was our first snow of the season.

When will the second snowfall come? The forecast calls for snow showers tomorrow. I guess I'd better run out and get some bread and milk :) Oh yeah, that's right, I don't drink milk. Make that soy milk.