Saturday, January 4, 2014

Weather Sense





We still have snow left from the other day and they are predicting another storm should be moving in any minute now.

Actually the predictions for exactly what is coming our way are wildly variable and no two places seem to agree on what is going to happen. This is a good time to briefly mention another important aspect of post collapse self sustained living that will be important.

Weather Sense.

Last night right after sun down the wind shifted or more to the point started up blowing hard out of the South. That is not the direction our wind usually comes from but is a good sign of warming temps when it does. The temps began climbing all night long, another good sign that something is brewing.

What we are seeing is the moist warm front advancing up from the South and pushing the cold dry air back into the North. Ya pretty basic stuff but there may come a time when this kind of basic weather knowledge could save your life because this time of year a cold dry front to the North is NOT going to be pushed around much especially with the Jet Stream backing it.

This storm is building now just to the North of us and will shortly perhaps come raging back Southwards now armed with all that moist ammo it took from the front that was pushing it backwards. There is already snow shown as falling in Southern Iowa. The real question, and one the forecasters cannot really answer, is just how bad it is going to be. That explains the wide variance in predictions.

What my weather sense tells me is it has the potential to go either way but it being January now it is best to prepare for the worst.

So once again here I am. Splitting another load of wood. Covering everything with tarps. Starting the tractor and generator and just generally getting everything ready just in case.

My cold seems to have left my sinus cavities for the most part which means I can once again think reasonably well but it has settled down in my chest a bit and that slows me down a bit as well in the manual labor department. Not to mention my ribs hurt from all the sneezing so now when I cough I have to hold my torso to lessen the pain. Oh well at least I know I am not dead eh.

A quick grocery run at 6AM this morning to beat the motorized coupon shopping crowd and we are all stocked up and ready for a big storm. Of course that means we won't get hit with anything but what's a prepper to do if he can't be ready.

Still forecasting a low of -11 for tomorrow night. Oh and my Mother bought a little kiddy pool for the barn dog. I found a place for it and filled it with old sheep wool that he had made himself a bed out of. He doesn't like his dog house very much and one of the barn cats that refuses to come inside has taken his house over anyway so now he has a kiddie pool full of sheep wool to burro into although my bet is he will be in the house tomorrow night anyway.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!


6 comments:

  1. Preppy - This was actually on my list of things to reacquaint myself with this year - meteorology was one of my favorite classes in college, partially because it was so practical. The knowledge helps too because it is transferable: growing up in one part of the country I know that weather pattern. Now that I am somewhere different, I need to learn another one - or really, remind myself behind the principles of weather to use it anywhere.

    Stay warm. Sounds like it is going to be miserable.

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  2. Still learning the weather patterns & indicators for Alaska; had the Missouri signs down pat after 45 years. Cirrus clouds in MO, for example, meant rain's coming. Here, it means a cold front coming through. But always a good idea to pay attention to things like that; good reminder.

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  3. They are calling for rain tonight, not sure how that is possible as it is still cold and the ground is frozen solid. I am thinking sleet or snow. Monday night is our cold one so I am making Tuesday my day off. Still need to go to the store for a couple of things.

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  4. That kind of weather is not fit for man nor beast. I'm glad I don't have a lot of livestock to take care of. My dogs and cats are bad enough to have to brave the cold to feed and water. Stay warm!

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  5. Every time we get a big storm the weather guys can never pin down any amounts of snow. Stay warm you know how bad its getting here in MN.

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  6. Glad you're feeling better. We're getting ready for middle to upper 20's here in central FL. Coldest it's been in 4 years, so they tell me. Just watch the news, you'll see we've swapped out flip flops for parkas down here!

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