Trixology

WeatherCat => WeatherCat General Discussion => Topic started by: elagache on January 24, 2019, 10:42:08 PM

Title: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: elagache on January 24, 2019, 10:42:08 PM
Dear WeatherCat users in America's heartland,

The Monterey office of the National Weather Service ended this morning's forecast discussion with this intriguing paragraph:

One final addition - If you`re a weather nut watch the weather over the Mid West the next week or two. Two solid pushes of arctic air will cause temperatures and wind chills to plummet. The overall anomalies with these airmasses are off the chart and will be the coldest season.

Here is the National Weather Service headline about it:

https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/hpcdiscussions.php?disc=pmdspd (https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/hpcdiscussions.php?disc=pmdspd)

How about WeatherCat users in the region report in on this thread about how cold it actually got at your weather station?

Definitely bundle up!  [freeze]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: Felix on January 25, 2019, 04:23:49 PM
Keep an eye on Steve's PWS, he's not too far south of Lake Erie, west of Cleveland. I suspect that area is gonna get hammered with some seriously cold weather next Wednesday - Thursday, especially when you add in stiff winds to drive down the wind chill.


https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KOHAVON11
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: Steve on January 25, 2019, 09:26:13 PM
The forecast here is only for a low of 2?F on Wednesday and -1?F on Thursday. That's not cold yet. Ten days out doesn't have anything colder. Even checking at  my hometown of Bellefontaine, in central Ohio (where temps are usually colder than here), has a few days at zero and one day at -6?F, and one day at -3?F. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: Randall75 on January 26, 2019, 02:25:52 PM
Hi WeatherCat Weather Watchers
 Here in central Ohio it is suppose to get to -3 Wednesday morning with a high of 5, then -1 Thursday morning with a high of 11


I have had -6.5 on the 21st with about 6" of snow.


cheers
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: nowait on January 26, 2019, 04:55:21 PM
Reporting from Bellevue Nebraska Station KNEBELLE1 (near Omaha):
Temperature Weekly Low was -4.1 25-Jan 5:01AM
Davis Vantage Pro 2 weather station with a Davis Digital LCD Display Console and a Davis Weather Envoy
My *heated* station froze over so my precip is not useful (thanks to wind and ice).

For Elagache: I also had a corner of what appears to be french toast warming in the frozen over Davis rain collector (with bird spikes).  Darn Squirrels!!!

nowait
http://nowaitweather.com
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: xairbusdriver on January 27, 2019, 01:57:15 AM
A frozen rain funnel?! Perhaps you can get your wife to hold a hair dryer on the cone while the precip comes during those low temps? cmu:-)

Also, sounds like you need one of those "rat" shields like they put on ropes holding ships to the dock! Maybe a metal 'shield' connected to a small electric power source...  [banghead]
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: Weatheraardvark on January 27, 2019, 04:31:50 AM
I have a relative in Detroit who owns a scrap metal business. He said last week the rail car wheels were frozen to the tracks.
Title: Obviously not feeding your squirrels enough! (Re: Midwest WeatherCatters)
Post by: elagache on January 27, 2019, 11:09:33 PM
Dear Felix, Steve, Randall, nowait, X-Air, Weatheraardvark, and WeatherCatters who commune with wildlife, . . . .

The cold is supposed to continue into next week so we'll see if indeed there is any substance to the hype . . . .

For Elagache: I also had a corner of what appears to be french toast warming in the frozen over Davis rain collector (with bird spikes).  Darn Squirrels!!!

 [wink] . . . . Obviously you aren't feeding your squirrels enough to keep the satisfied! . . . .  lol(1)

Like many, we depend on Costco to save money on bulk purchases.  We also are especially fond of quail.  So for a while we could buy Costco-sized quantities of bird seed and scatter some on the driveway for the quail.  Alas, Costco bird seed mix had a very large quantity of sunflower seed and squirrels are rather fond of sunflower.  It wasn't long before we had half a dozen or more squirrels feasting after every seed application. 

That was bad enough, but the sunflower started to attract turkeys.  At that point drastic action was necessary.  We started buying seed only from a specialty store that had among other things a dove and quail mix - no sunflower.  That should have sent the squirrels packing, but they had gotten fat and lazy.  Eventually they found something in the dove and quail mix they were willing to eat.  So we still have 4 or more squirrels on the driveway - at least during the lean months.

Ya' know, I used to think squirrels were kind of cute.  These days I think they are a bunch of fat lazy slobs!  >:(

So yes I can sympathize nowait! (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/D'oh.gif)

Oh well, . . . . Edouard
Title: Re: Obviously not feeding your squirrels enough! (Re: Midwest WeatherCatters)
Post by: Steve on January 28, 2019, 03:19:51 PM
Like many, we depend on Costco to save money on bulk purchases.  We also are especially fond of quail.

Mmmmm! Quail is tasty! I didn't know Costco carried it. Gonna have to look next time. Freezer section or on the rotisserie?





 [roll]
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: pbeaudet on January 28, 2019, 07:21:34 PM
Ground squirrels, sage rats, squirrel song, make great targets..... [rockon]


Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: Blicj11 on January 29, 2019, 12:30:24 AM
Loved the cartoon Weatheraardvark, and the good laughs from Steve and pbeaudet. We need an occasional break from the serious WeatherCat quandaries into which we venture.
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: Felix on January 30, 2019, 02:08:51 PM
I see you're down to -2.6?F this morning, Steve. My oldest son is in the Dayton area and hit -6?F a little after daybreak. Too bad we don't have anyone in the Chicago area for a blow-by-blow description. According to the news, they are going to remember this one for awhile. And Minneapolis, wow!
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: Steve on January 30, 2019, 04:52:48 PM
I see you're down to -2.6?F this morning, Steve. My oldest son is in the Dayton area and hit -6?F a little after daybreak.

Yep, a pleasant, sunny -2?F out now at noon. I had to slip on a light jacket to go get the mail across the road.  ;)

My mother and two brothers all live in and around Bellefontaine, 50 miles NE of Dayton. They always get some of the coldest temps in the state due to the terrain. They were at -12?F this morning.

Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: xairbusdriver on January 30, 2019, 05:06:38 PM
Quote
I had to slip on a light jacket to go get the mail across the road.
Just don't slip on any of what used to be liquid water! I'm not sure we've ever had any mail that was worth getting to at those temps!! [freeze]
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: Weatheraardvark on January 31, 2019, 03:30:20 PM
Today is a start of a slow warmup.  Although all the universities were closed, we lost one pre-med student who died of exposure yesterday.  Not sure why he was out, when the University canceled classes.   The U of Iowa  is along the Iowa river valley and the wind blows down the river area and it is ungodly cold.

Tuesday night the furnace was chugging to maintain 70, so I went down and replaced the filter, although it was clean and put in a new one.   Then the temp rose up to 75 and has been cycling normally.   

I recorded the low  on the 30th at -29F.  Humidity 60% and windchill  -32F,  22mph wind from the nW.   I think that is a bit cold. So  schools shut down yesterday.   We park outside, no garages but have engine starters (remote)   and new batteries.  So we started them today.

Had to encourage the dog to crap inside, which he is puzzled, but worried his foot pads might freeze

forecast is for a warm up into the 40s Saturday and maybe 50 on Sunday before  dropping back into the 20s.   

Right now it is -10 windchill.   I am planning on going to the drug store around noon.   I have to get a prescription, my legs still are having problems and I do not go back to the doctor until the 13th.   

The Vortex, or whatever, is something that certain individuals in Washington DC  don;t seem to correlate that the warming of the Arctic Ocean  which normally would contain this crappy weather  isn't doing it, yet the US  poo-poos the concept  of global warming so they can continue polluting.  Yeah  i tis political, and hard to understand when it iis going to be in the 50S  as this system freezes the rest of the midwest and heads to the New England States and Nova Scotia.
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: Blicj11 on January 31, 2019, 03:50:09 PM
Thanks for the tip Weatheraardvark. I just shared it with my sister in Chicago, who can't get her inside temperature to rise about 53? this morning. She obviously needs more than a filter, but every degree will help.
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: jennajon on February 02, 2019, 12:46:20 PM
Although i live in Maine (and we never get as cold as Midwest), I thought I would share this photo my sister sent on 1/30 of the car temperature in Elgin, IL. She was on her way to work!

We did finally break 0F here this AM, low was -2.1F. However, Mainers take that as a sign to challenge the weather, I witnessed one at the local Wal-Mart the other day (10F) in shorts and short-sleeved shirt.
As we say here, "It's a Maine thing".


 [freeze]

Title: Thanks for sharing. (Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - record breaking cold?)
Post by: elagache on February 02, 2019, 10:44:55 PM
Dear Jenna and WeatherCat users to have to deal with extremes,

Although i live in Maine (and we never get as cold as Midwest), I thought I would share this photo my sister sent on 1/30 of the car temperature in Elgin, IL. She was on her way to work!

Thanks for sharing.  I'm also on a small classic Buick forum with a lot of members in the effected areas.  It obviously really effected their lives.  However at least one continued to work on his Buick restoration through the cold.  Even his heated garage got rather chilly!  [freeze]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: Blicj11 on February 03, 2019, 04:48:49 PM
Weatheraardvark:

After my sister in Chicago changed her furnace filters, the temperature inside her home raised from 53?F all the way to 68? (12?C to 20?). Thanks again for the tip - because of you I am her furnace hero.
Title: Re: Midwest WeatherCatters - ready for record breaking cold?
Post by: xairbusdriver on February 03, 2019, 09:46:46 PM
We're having some remodeling done and I'm waiting until they finish before changing the filters. But just thinking about it them has changed the outside temps to 71.9! [lol]
Title: Furnace filters affected by atmosphere (Was: Ready for record breaking cold?)
Post by: elagache on February 03, 2019, 10:58:58 PM
Dear Weatheraardvark, Blick, X-Air, and WeatherCat home maintenance personnel,

:
After my sister in Chicago changed her furnace filters, the temperature inside her home raised from 53?F all the way to 68? (12?C to 20?). Thanks again for the tip - because of you I am her furnace hero.

It is important to keep an eye on your furnace filter and not simply assume they should be replaced after a fixed period.  We run some extra capable 3M filters to keep the contaminants down in the house.  During the worst of the wildfires last year, I had to replace the filters early because of the ash and other fire related particulates.  The Camp fire plugged a filter after only 2 weeks!

More modern furnaces are also more fussy about their filters.  Modern high-efficiency furnaces need more careful maintenance to maintain they energy efficiency.

We're having some remodeling done and I'm waiting until they finish before changing the filters. But just thinking about it them has changed the outside temps to 71.9! [lol]

 [wink] . . . . Hmm, is that a case of mind over matter? . . . . .  lol(1)

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]