December 21, 2022

At the Wednesday Night Café...

 ... you can talk your way through the storm.

Here in Madison the winter storm warning says we're getting snow through the night, with wind "on the lighter side overnight, but... quickly ramp[ing] up on Thursday behind a cold front with gusts of 40 to 50 mph Thursday night and Friday. Wind chills will plummet on Thursday, dropping to 25 to 35 below zero for late Thursday afternoon through Friday night."

All right then. We will snuggle up inside.

68 comments:

mongo said...

“All right then. We will snuggle up inside.”

Be glad you don’t live in Europe. Similar weather but no heat in many homes.

Old and slow said...

Has anyone here ever walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain? Dave Begley? Seems like your kind of thing... I'm considering doing the del norte route next autumn. It's about 850 kilometers. I figure I'm good for at least 45k / day.

HistoryDoc said...

I guess the huge, record breaking creation of jobs reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for Q2, prior to the election, turns out to be bogus (off by 99%) - and instead confirms that we are in a recession.

Amazing how all these errors always are in the service of democratic politicians.

I guess this is another example of "fortifying" the election.

Original Mike said...

It already seems anticlimactic. At one time they were predicting a foot. Now it's more like 4".

OTOH, most of the big storms I've lived through weren't predicted to be big. They were a "surprise".

Clyde said...

Post 6 of 15 - Clyde's Top 10 Favorite "New" Songs of 2022
#10 - Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway - Crooked Tree (Crooked Tree - 2022)

'Crooked Tree' was the bluegrass album that Molly Tuttle's fans had been waiting for, and the title track showcases her songwriting, singing and guitar-playing skills. This is a great live version of the song with her band, Golden Highway.

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway - Crooked Tree (Live)

Lucien said...

Proud to be an American despite Stanford’s lame attempt at emasculating expression — a retarded bid to enslave free-thinking Americans, in a stupid framework crippling free expression in the university. This bunch of language-nazi Karens may think they’ve gone balls to the wall, but lack the huevos for man-to-man verbal fisticuffs.

Lucien said...

Snuggling is rarely a bad option.

JohnJMac862 said...

I am dropping by to say I haven't visited in a while and didn't form any connections to this community the first go 'round as mostly a lurker. I always enjoyed the comments and Ann's light touch. She's doesn't flinch at mere words.

Happy to see that this site is still going, and I wish everyone Merry Christmas. The Bob Dylan thread made me smile.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

-2 for the high tomorrow here. Snowing cold now as we all share the same cold blast. I pray for the animals forced to endure.

cheers and happy snuggling

Josephbleau said...

Wind chills only encourage the weak. Don't listen to the media weather psychos.

Minus 10F is bad. In the US north it gets to -10F or even -20F. in bufu falls ND it sometimes gets to -30F, seldom.

So you are not going to see -10 or -20 on a regular basis.

As an old Iowan, I only saw -20F once. But of course you will never see these temps due to global warming now.

Dave Begley said...

Minus 30 wind chill predicted for Omaha!

Seriously, a realistic study in Minnesota done by John Hinderaker’s think tank showed that MN would experience a 55 hour blackout in January if net carbon zero was in place. People in Europe can’t afford to heat their homes right now.

The Left is a death cult.

On the speech tonight, Zelensky is no Churchill. Weak rhetoric. I expected much better.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

We've gotten about 4" of snow over the last couple of days with another inch forecast for Thursday. Tonight's low is going to be 15 and Thursday's high will only reach 22. Rain is forecast for Friday and beyond.

tim in vermont said...

So they never found any evidence that the Russians blew up the pipeline, per the Washington Post, and nobody is talking about who did it, but Sweden, which did the investigation, just passed a law making it illegal to publish investigative reporting which might lead to disunity in NATO.

Also, apparently the Russians are just going to let us set up a Patriot battery, which are huge and immobile, in Ukraine, at a cost of 1.3 billion dollars. The Russians have already deployed a hypersonic missile in this war, probably as a warning to NATO. Hypersonic missiles travel low enough to hide behind the curvature of the earth, they are "air breathing" scramjet powered, unlike ballistic missiles, and won't be picked up by radar until it's too late. They can be picked up from space, but you can't use a satellite, with its inherent delays, to control a defensive missile. And you aren't going to catch a hypersonic missile with a conventional supersonic missile anyway, since hypersonic missiles can change course, unlike conventional ballistic missiles, which travel at supersonic speeds, but on a predictable trajectory once they begin to fall from the sky to their target, so aside from speed, they are impossible to intercept by any tech we have at this time. Maybe the Patriot battery will come up with a hack that might work, IDK, but the US doesn't have hypersonic missiles to use to test such a hack.

Supersonic = Mach1+ to Mach 5
Hypersonic = Mach 5 and higher. So I guess Speed Racer's car was hypersonic.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. I don't think we should be fucking around, because I am kind of concerned that we are going to "find out." I suppose the US response to a hypersonic missile is a stealth cruise missile, which in theory, is just as difficult to defend against. Yay! All of this risk over a civil war on Russia's border that is none of our business.

BTW, stealth aircraft can be detected by long wave radar, it's just not accurate enough to control air defenses. But there is noise that by combining a lot of signals, one can track a stealth aircraft tightly enough to shoot it down. I once read an article about a guy who claimed his team did it by processing the echoes from cell phone towers. The ChiComs claim to have worked out something similar.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/rip-f-35-and-f-22-china-claims-it-has-radar-can-detect-stealth-aircraft-59977

Why are we risking this over a region that is even named "borderland" and, I am sorry, but buffer states have existed as long as there have been great powers, and it isn't going to change.

Heartless Aztec said...

Way down in Palatka, Fl along the river we're hunkering down for 4 nights or temps in the low 20's with significant freeze times to 10+ hours each night. The citrus trees are covered, the delicate hibiscus (blooming) plants are covered, the camilia plants, also blooming, are good to go without covering... We shall see. First long hard freeze in a while down here. Great manatee watching down at Salt Springs in the Ocala National Forest. They'll be gathering at the constant temp headwaters for warmth - 70° to 72°F.

Joe Smith said...

If the R House doesn’t immediately subpoena and release Hunter, James, and Joe Biden’s tax returns, they are worthless pussies and unworthy of support.

And since Fauci won’t answer Rand Paul’s question of whether or not he receives royalties on vaccines, his tax returns should also move to the top of the list of those to be made public.

And let’s do Matt Damon, Rob Reiner, Maggie Haberman, etc. next.

P.S. Fuck Ukraine. Enough is enough.

Joe Smith said...

'I guess the huge, record breaking creation of jobs reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for Q2, prior to the election, turns out to be bogus (off by 99%) - and instead confirms that we are in a recession.'

This is impeachable...

Humperdink said...

Franco Harris of Immaculate Reception fame, died last night. Sad day for me. A couple of anecdotes.

Franco and I were at Penn State at roughly the same time. He graduated in 1972, me in 1973. In my early college years, I majored in playing rec basketball on the courts in Rec Hall (ha). By happenstance, one evening I played against Franco. He at 6'2" 230, me at 6' 160. Quickest big man I ever played against.

2) My mother, of Irish lineage, would listen to the all Penn State football games on radio. They were not televised back then. After one game, she commented to me: "That O'Harris guy is pretty good". That's what she heard - Frank O'Harris. Still brings a smile to my face.

wildswan said...

I had relatives who went on the Camino, two separate lots on two trips, and it's one of their great memories for all of them. There's hostels every six miles or so. The trail can be very steep and rugged. It's not easy but it was done by people in their early seventies and by teenagers. Maybe you could take some godchildren - that's what they were doing.

farmgirl said...

There’s a Martin Sheen movie about Camino de Santiago. It was great!
Old and slow is a perfect speed for that walk. I’m excited for you!

Merry Christmas, JohnJ.

Crimso said...

Not expecting the bitter cold here (in Almost Alabama) until Thurs night/Fri morning. Scalding cauldron of vegetable beef soup goes on the stove tomorrow, and don't you wish you may have some?

n.n said...

most of the big storms I've lived through weren't predicted to be big. They were a "surprise".

Chaos: The Baby Effect. Development from a single cell to a large-scale system with unpredictable complexity.

Vance said...

Saw -25 a few years ago. Doubt we will get anywhere near that tonight or this week. But it's still cold out there! 5 "unsheltered" people died in Salt Lake over the last 2 days as they froze to death.

The left is once again waging war on language. And the homeless.

Owen said...

-35 with windchill is right frisky. It is getting into the danger zone where breathing is actually painful. Certainly you do not want to spend much time facing into that onrushing air. But you don’t need me to tell you that.

n.n said...

Wind chills only encourage the weak.

Stay dry and insulated to mitigate the empathetic effect.

donald said...

Just landed in Maui. Y’all muddle through as best ya can.

Sheridan said...

Ann, you receiving elements of the same storm that passed through us here in NW Montana over the last several days. Our challenge tomorrow is minus 25 degrees moderating to only minus 12 degrees by late afternoon. Then we face more snow over the Christmas weekend. So yes, stay bundled/snuggled up but also check the fuel-level in your standby generator. Happy Holidays.

rhhardin said...

Wind chills are weather clickbait.

What's the temperature of a metal flagpole when it's 25 degrees out with a wind chill of minus 40 degrees? 25 degrees.

The actual temperature is what's responsible for snow shoveling heart atacks. Your aerobic capacity has to heat up all the air you breathe to body temperature, which takes a lot of strain if you're breating a bit hard, requiring you to breathe harder yet. Yet your muscles aren't tired.

Wind chill has to do wtih frostbite of exposed skin, which isn't going to depend on the weather bureau's announcement but what kind of wind you're actually in, say in your driveway or in the woods. Might be almost anything.

boatbuilder said...

In light of your post last week about the alleged threat to endangered right whales from the operations of Maine inshore lobstermen, I offer this piece discussing the threat from the eco-lefty's holy grail, the offshore wind turbine. https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/12/20/lieberman-whales-on-losing-side-of-wind-energy/
What do you think a 200' wind turbine sounds like underwater, to an acoustically sensitive gigantic mammal?
And do the eco-lefties care?

rhhardin said...

I tried out a coverall fur lined polar suit around 2003 when it hit a real -18 here. The suit was fine but the damn pockets were on the outside so didn't get any warmth at all from the body, in fact being well insulated from body heat. A slight design flaw.

That didn't solve the heavy breathing problem if you're working but it was comfortably warm.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Is weather the last woke frontier?

Narr said...

Still mild here, but temps to plummet tomorrow.

This afternoon I was in the front yard and heard noise in the back--hard to figure out. I started toward the back and realized that a branch or animal had fallen on some of the power lines along our back property line, and the neighbors' on east and west.

It was quite a light show for several minutes, with the lines arcing and sparking and insulation dripping off. The sparks ran back and forth and squirrels dashed around in a panic, though I didn't see any get fried this time.

I called 911 who connected me to the Fire Dept and it took them only a few minutes to get here. They determined it wasn't immediately dangerous--no lines down, nothing smoldering--and called MLGW (Memphis Light Gas and Water). They were pretty fast too, and the troubleshooter has requested a crew first thing in the morning to trim some branches and restring--specifically citing the predicted winds tomorrow.

The neighbors behind have a lot of old junk oaks right along the line, that will just be more trouble as time goes by. Maybe they'll take the hint when the crew shows up tomorrow.

We shall see.



Mike Smith said...

The latest on the winter storm and cold wave.

https://www.mikesmithenterprisesblog.com/2022/12/the-extreme-cold-air-is-running-ahead.html

Dave Begley said...

Old and slow:

I attempted the Ignatius trail from Loyola and completely wrecked my feet in one day. Extreme pain!

Get your feet in shape.

I know one guy and his wife in Omaha who did the de Santiago, but he’s in great shape.

You really need to train for it. My training was inadequate. I could do the walking, but my feet blistered.

Rt41Rebel said...

A Falling Iguana Warning has been issued for FL this weekend. Not a joke! When temps drop to below ~45° the large invasive lizards go into a coma-like state and fall from their perches. Most will recover when the temps return to normal.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Comic Andrew Shultz black face bit

Big Mike said...

Accuweather is predicting freezing rain starting early tomorrow morning, followed by low probability of precipitation after 1:00 PM with a short period of rain around 11:00. Weather.com is predicting a deluge, rain all day turning to snow later. Nothing to do but wait and watch.

Five boxes still to be wrapped. Some garlands to be hung on the staircase banister. After that wife and I will clean up the house while we await sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren arriving Sunday. Grandchildren are a gift. I am so much more fortunate than my later uncle. If ever a man was born to be a wonderful grandfather, it was him. But one daughter wanted nothing to do with children and the other never married.

Bob Boyd said...

It's 20 below here right now, measured, not wind chill.
Global warming is turning out to be a big disappointment. I'm disgusted, after all the hype.

Political Junkie said...

Enjoy hot chocolate, a fire in the fireplace, and bad holiday movies.

Big Mike said...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics seems to have been just a little off in its job growth estimates just prior to the midterms. Instead of 1.12 million jobs being added, the Philadelphia Fed says that the real number is more like 10,500. Hey, what's a couple zeros, right?

Well, when in justifying the latest boost in rates three weeks ago, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell pointed specifically to the robust labor market. If the labor market is as flat as it really is, then raising the prime rate increases the risk that the US economy will enter a severe recession next year -- one that cannot be quibbled away with the definition of what a recession is. So in exchange for blowing sunshine up people's asses to help Democrat candidates last month, we are now at risk for a serious recession next year. Will people make the connection? We'll see.

Jay Vogt said...

Old and slow, I did the Camino del Norte about ten years ago. I did it in October and November. They do call the northern route "the stairstepper", so 45k/day is too much. It's pretty steep for the first week or so (I left from Irun). It is lovely though.

Iman said...

Time for the pot of boiling water thrown up in the air off the back porch ?

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Here in Salem, the temps aren't supposed to be drastic -- 22F, which I bet a lot of you would welcome -- but there is a forecast of freezing rain. Anyone who has been here for more than 2 years remembers the last ice storm. For us, it meant ca. 12-13 large limbs fallen off trees, including one entire oak that demolished our bottom deck. Soooo . . . now we've paid ca. $6K in tree removal and subsequent trimming, plus I-don't-wanna-say-how-much for a new deck.

Just hoping for less damage this time. We hope that the last one demolished all the vulnerable limbs already, but there is one limb off one oak that starts off at about a 45 degree angle to horizontal, and continues for about 40 feet, ending up slightly below horizontal. I am amazed that it didn't give up the ghost two years back, but if anything out there is doomed this time, that'd be my guess. Thank
fully, it doesn't look as though it'll hit anything.

Ampersand said...

Los Angeles will be sunny in the mid 70s. Weather so good that grifters can use it to impose horrendous government upon the stupid and their victims.

Jamie said...

A friend in her early 60s just walked the Camino de Santiago in September - not sure which route (because, silly me, I didn't know there was more than one!) but she walked about 500 miles, so the northern route seems like a good bet.

She loved it. Met many people from many places, walked anywhere from 0 to 20 miles a day (she took 5 rest days) and finished in about six weeks, if I have the dates correct.

Nobody said...

Stay inside and stay warm/safe to all in the snow belt. I'm on the southern border of NM...zero chance if snow. But we got migrants like snow coming up North.

Sprezzatura said...

I see the “cold” and “snow” tags on this post.

How about a “relocate” tag?

Or, at least, a “second home shopping” tag.

Sheesh.

Gospace said...

According to the latest detailed forecast I see somewhere between 1200-1400 Friday we’re getting a 30 deg F temperature drop from unseasonably warm to a little colder than normal for late December. I leave for work usually around 1430. They’re still not predicting exactly what’s going to happen here weather wise on Friday. I suspect I’m not going to enjoy Friday’s commute. But this is central NY. The weather forecast right now for the morning could change in the next hour….

effinayright said...

EV owners, not to worry: Triple-A has a fleet of charging vehicles out on the roads, each capable of spending an hour to give your stranded EV enough juice to run your radio while you await a tow truck take you to safety.

But enough power for you to actually drive home?...fuggeddabouddit.

Lawnerd said...

I’ve read a number of articles that now claim that the extreme cold is caused by. . . Wait for it . . . Global warming.

gadfly said...

tim in vermont said...
So they never found any evidence that the Russians blew up the pipeline, per the Washington Post, and nobody is talking about who did it, but Sweden, which did the investigation, just passed a law making it illegal to publish investigative reporting which might lead to disunity in NATO.

Also, apparently, the Russians are just going to let us set up a Patriot battery, which is huge and immobile, in Ukraine, at a cost of 1.3 billion dollars.


Germany investigated the Nord pipeline punctures, as did Denmark and Sweden, but only Sweden passed a law that no legislative member had to explain since it must mean that Sweden did it! Huh? Heck, if the Russians denied starting the war, everyone believes them.

And as for large and immobile Patriot batteries, see this. If this portable launcher and eight missiles cost a billion dollars, Raytheon and Martin-Marietta are ripping us off.

Big Mike said...

Latest forecasts agree that we’re far enough south to see mostly rain after but precipitation will start out as snow. Cold front won’t move in until precipitation has ended.

We hope they’re right — for a change.

planetgeo said...

All these "storm of a generation" stories remind me of comedian Sam Kennison's advice to starving Ethiopians, and I generalize to anyone living where it's too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, or too Democrat...move the hell out of there.

And just for the record, "weather professionals" have now joined my Hall of Professional Shame along with "medical professionals" for no longer being trustworthy.

Breezy said...

Given their numbers and the lack of accommodations, are unhoused south of the border migrants at high risk of exposure?

Jefferson's Revenge said...

@humperdink. We were there at the same time, though my stay was briefer. After leaving in 1970, I returned in 1973 after the Army and stayed till 1979. I also was a regular participant in games at Rec Hall and met Franco a few times. Athletes were more normal then.

Someone once asked me why people who went there were so fond of the place. After all, we all called it Happy Valley. I said it was a place in which there was no inherited status. No one really knew whether your parents were rich or poor. Whether you had a car or not was meaningless. You could create your life anew and the place gave you ample opportunity to dive into whatever you want and be whoever you wished to be.

For me it was a safe place. Not physical safety but safe in a deeper sense. In many ways, my second period there, it wasn’t as a student- just a drifter then an hourly worker, saved my life. Rec Hall, Zeno’s, HiWayPizza, Rathskeller, etc.

It was like Brigadoon, Shangrala or Bali Hai. At least for me.

Humperdink said...

At least we've moved on from the "storm of the century" to the "storm of a generation". Sixty years of progress on the weather front.

(My spouse and I argue over what constitutes a generation. I say 40 years, she says 20.)

Scott Patton said...

Something Joe Rogan said in the ice video reminded me of "Indiscipline"
...
playing little games
like not looking at it for a whole day
and then.. looking at it.

There's a newish live video (no Belew)

Jersey Fled said...

My wife informed me that we are about to experience a “bomb cyclone” sometime in the next few days.

Sounds scary.

Tank said...

Rough day in SE NC. Rain, some wind, 65 degrees. They're covering the greens though, so something's coming.

MadTownGuy said...

Just when I thought it was safe to go back to Florida...Falling iguana alert

DocTeach said...

Old and slow-I hiked the Camino in 2017-the Francis from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. I was 47 and my experience was similar to Jamie’s friend. No rest days though. My lowest mileage day was 7 and highest was 21. It’s a unique experience. I’ve considered going back for the Norte but I don’t think I have the motivation now.

I don’t know where you live but see if there’s an American Pilgrims in n the Camino chapter near you. Great information with that group.

iowan2 said...

(My spouse and I argue over what constitutes a generation. I say 40 years, she says 20.)

Your spousal average is perfect.

I think about families. One the average, 3 generations exist at the same time. Life span about 75. 75/3=25

Old and slow said...

Thanks for all the comments about the Camino de Santiago! I figured there would be a few here who had done it. I'm good on the fitness aspect. I average about 120 km per week of running, but that is starting to wear on my body so I'm doing more serious long walking sessions these days as well. I like the idea of spending a few weeks just walking alone. I intend to leave all my electronic devices in Ireland and just spend the daylight hours on my feet. Northern Spain is a lovely place, though I'm much more familiar with the Mediteranian Catalan side.

wendybar said...

"The FBI is packed with conspiracy theorists.

The FBI said Putin rigged the 2016 election.

The FBI said Russia rigged Hunter's laptop.

Now the FBI says anyone who doesn't believe its lies is a conspiracy theorist.

Hmm.

If we are conspiracy theorists, does that mean we are all eligible for the $170,000-a-year salaries and fat pensions the conspiracy theorists at the FBI get?"

H/T Don Surber

wendybar said...

"WND reported, "Seth Rich's laptops may hold deeper secrets than Hunter's."

And I thought the thumbnail drive Rich gave Wikileaks was the most important thing. It cost him his life.

Odd how many times laptops keep popping up at the FBI and go nowhere. Anthony Weiner's. Hunter's. Now Seth Rich. Hillary's. And yet none of these laptops ever lead to an indictment.

But they did lead to one death, didn't they?"

H/T Don Surber

wendybar said...

"Tens of millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet, largely due to the economic and societal crises caused by the very representatives that are supposed to defend our rights in Washington.
In my life, there has never been a greater separation between the common man and the Washington Uniparty man than there is today.
President Trump rightly declared the corporate media “the enemy of the people.” Our elected officials in Congress are no better. They’ve earned this same label."

https://dossier.substack.com/p/congress-declares-itself-the-enemy

Rusty said...

gadfly said...
"tim in vermont said...
So they never found any evidence that the Russians blew up the pipeline, per the Washington Post, and nobody is talking about who did it, but Sweden, which did the investigation, just passed a law making it illegal to publish investigative reporting which might lead to disunity in NATO.

Also, apparently, the Russians are just going to let us set up a Patriot battery, which is huge and immobile, in Ukraine, at a cost of 1.3 billion dollars.

Germany investigated the Nord pipeline punctures, as did Denmark and Sweden, but only Sweden passed a law that no legislative member had to explain since it must mean that Sweden did it! Huh? Heck, if the Russians denied starting the war, everyone believes them.

And as for large and immobile Patriot batteries, see this. If this portable launcher and eight missiles cost a billion dollars, Raytheon and Martin-Marietta are ripping us off."

Gadfly. You voted for this. The people in charge are YOUR people. Don't blame Martin-Marietta for political graft. This shit is exspenive because of all the Democrat middlemen.

Marc in Eugene said...

The weather mages have been promising snow, snow, snow for almost a week. The morning started out with a 80% chance. At noon, the snow was supposed to happen at 4 p.m. By 4 p.m., the start time had been postponed to 6 p.m. At 5:41, Eugene's emergency alert system texted that there was an 'ice storm emergency' begun. I was assured (by a real person) at ~7 p.m. that while the streets are slippery, there was nothing much in the air and certainly no snow. I'd be overjoyed if this all turned out like MDT's recollection of a couple of years back in Salem but my pessimistic heart tells me that the ice but no snow will be done with by noon tomorrow. I hope I'm wrong.

Marc in Eugene said...

Pft. Not a flake of snow on the ground this (Friday) morning that I can see, not a one. Am disgusted at being deceived yet again by the weather mages. Of course, not being omniscient, it may be that there was snow elsewhere in Eugene etc etc. My front steps are icy, however, and a fine mist is falling, so I can believe that there may be serious ice issues in places. Still, pft.