Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Rain, Sleet, Hail, Snow!!!

I'm pretty sure I DID make a wrong turn and I'm in Kansas, or maybe a little closer to Chicago.   Sunday evening the clouds started coming in about dusk.  Yes, I heard all the weather news, but with the sun still shining and big puffy clouds floating through the air, I didn't believe a word of it!!
In the back of my mind I did wonder why the sunset was so gorgeous on this evening.  I vaguely remember something from high school about the clouds being full of water.
I probably should have paid a little more attention.  Yesterday's morning temperatures of 36 were doable, but I was cold all day.  I just couldn't seem to get warm in spite of my rig heater setting of 67 degrees.  Reason being, it never got above 46.  I know I keep saying this, but doesn't everyone escape to the WARM desert in winter??  This is like escaping to my back yard!!
Around 10:00 am the rain began, followed by hail and an oppressive cloud cover that felt like it was 50 feet over our heads.  Except for a quick run to the grocery store, Patty and I stayed hunkered down all day, with me cuddling by the puppies for warmth.  
Last night, I stuffed pillows in every window and vent opening I could, pulled down every sunscreen shade and regular shade in my motorhome, turned the electric blanket (thank GOODNESS for the electric blanket) on high and the thermostat to 65.  An hour later I was toasty warm and asleep!!

It was then that I received the screeching alert on my phone for a hard freeze ... right here in the sunbelt .... with temperatures expected in the mid 20's tonight.  I'm hoping my tank of propane holds out for another week and I'm praying the temperatures get back to normal.  I'd like to blame this one on Nick Russell, but gosh darn it, he's too far East, almost to Florida (look out Florida!!).  

My thoughts of Tombstone and Bisbee are waning with the weather!!  Today I'm going to drive around in my Jeep (with the heater on high) and check out a few more properties, but am only interested in ones with HUGE fireplaces and central HEAT!!!





3 comments:

  1. Red sky at night, sailors delight.
    When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow.

    Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.
    A red sunrise can mean that a high pressure system (good weather) has already passed, thus indicating that a storm system (low pressure) may be moving to the east. A morning sky that is a deep, fiery red can indicate that there is high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain could be on its way.

    It's obvious sailors have never sailed in the Arizona Desert because most inland sunsets are usually Red or orange
    so I guess were going to have to throw that sailors theory out the window but if I guess you're near the water that sailors rhyme should work well but there was nothing in there to say anything about hail so I guess you want to call it just heavy rain

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  2. Well I think I should give you the rest of the story
    I'm sure you all know it but it is nice to refresh

    Shakespeare He said something similar in his play, Venus and Adonis. “Like a red morn that ever yet betokened, Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field, Sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds, Gusts and foul flaws to herdmen and to herds.”
    (now I really have to ask you did they really talk like that)

    In the Bible, (Matthew XVI: 2-3,) Jesus said, “When in evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: For the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowering.”

    Weather lore has been around since people needed to predict the weather and plan their activities. Sailors and farmers relied on it to navigate ships and plant crops.

    But can weather lore truly predict the weather or seasons?

    Weather lore concerning the appearance of the sky, the conditions of the atmosphere, the type or movement of the clouds, and the direction of the winds may have a scientific basis and likely can predict the weather.

    In order to understand why “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning” can predict the weather, we must understand more about weather and the colors in the sky.

    Usually, weather moves from west to east. In the mid-latitudes, the prevailing winds are westerlies. This means storm systems generally move in from the West.

    The colors we see in the sky are due to the rays of sunlight being split into colors of the spectrum as they pass through the atmosphere and ricochet off the water vapor and particles in the atmosphere. The amounts of water vapor and dust particles in the atmosphere are good indicators of weather conditions. They also determine which colors we will see in the sky.

    During sunrise and sunset the sun is low in the sky, and it transmits light through the thickest part of the atmosphere. A red sky suggests an atmosphere loaded with dust and moisture particles. We see the red, because red wavelengths (the longest in the color spectrum) are breaking through the atmosphere. The shorter wavelengths, such as blue, are scattered and broken up.

    so there you have the rest of the story

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    Replies
    1. That's pretty interesting!! I guess people have been contemplating the red skies for eons!!!

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