What a Difference!

This was the temperature today at around 2:30 p.m. Note that it is February 22nd, the 29th anniversary of the day that I met my wife. 

Do you know what the high temperature of that day was, back in 1995?

That's right. 49 degrees, 32 degrees lower than today. 

Not that I mind the gorgeous summer weather, but it's February at 43 degrees latitude in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Oh. And tomorrow? 

Snow is forecast. 

A February Tornado

I'm still in Madison on business, staying on the top floor of an eight story hotel, and there's been a heck of a storm in the area. Here there was just bad lightning and rain from what I could see out the window, but nearby Evansville Wisconsin had a tornado touch down.

There's been no reported injuries and I hope that doesn't change.

This is apparently the first confirmed tornado to ever sit down in Wisconsin during the month of February. As of today Wisconsin has had a confirmed tornado in every month of the year.

It's still better than a snowstorm

Sleet and icy rain this morning.  

Record Heat and School Cancellations

Both Tuesday and Wednesday of last week (August 22nd-23rd) featured extreme heat by Wisconsin standards; Tuesday we crossed 100 degrees F here in Milwaukee for only the 34th time since records were kept (dating back to 1871). 

In response, Milwaukee Public Schools closed both days. I know folks in Texas and the Deep South probably find this amusing, but up here most schools not only don't feature air conditioning, the windows barely budge. In fact, Junie's school just remodeled to, in part, *remove* the ability to open windows, leaving the school to be cooled only by small vents in each window. 

In 100 degree heat, ya might as well coat the kids in butter and salt and pepper and serve 'em up on a barbeque platter. 

Oh, and it was a WET heat too. Ick. 

[apologies for Junie's language in the text. Not cool, pun intended.]

Today's Drive

My ride into work at 6:30ish A.M

And my ride home at around 4pm - given that this two lane road is itself the detour route (putting me an extra 4 miles out each way) I inched along the edge of the drainage ditch, through some of the branches, to get through. 

So Much for Spring

80ish degrees for a week, then snow and ice this morning.  Welcome to Wisconsin.

Lisa's Accident and a Heck of a Snowstorm

Thursday a snowstorm hit Milwaukee, starting at about 5pm and going well into the next day. It was heavy, wet stuff that was hard to shovel and very slippery to walk/drive on. Tree limbs were down all over the place. Total accumulation of snow in some areas: 10 inches. 

Unfortunately, Lisa had to drive home from work in that slop. In her own words: 

Spun out on freeway last night and ended up being hit by a semi. Walked away from it. Car, not so much. Now me and Dan are stranded with a flat. The good and back luck lately in our family so interwoven and complex it's mind boggling. Staying positive and reminding one another we are still so blessed.

That casually written post doesn't really hint at the close call she had. Although she refused to go to the hospital, it was clear that Lisa was both in shock and concussed - immediately after being hit she texted the family group chat "Hit by semi, Need Help, 911" rather than call 911 herself. (That was met with screams of horror by the kids)  She also thought an ambulance on the scene was a tow truck, etc.  But other than bruises and aches, and a concussion that has lingered for a few days, she walked away FROM BEING T-BONED ON THE DRIVERS DOOR BY A SEMI ON THE HIGHWAY. 

Thank you Lord. 

She arrived home in the back of a deputy's car, and we sat and talked about what happened. And then, at 12:58 AM. the storm knocked out our power. Over 3000 of our neighbors were affected, and it remained out until almost noon. Even then streetlights along a major road by us were out for literally sixty blocks well into the afternoon. 

And then, when in the AM, when I drove Lisa to a doctor's appointment, my tire went flat. May I point out that it was cold, and snowing, and I was already hours late for work. Oh, and I couldn't find parts of the jack so I had to bite the bullet and call roadside assistance. We pulled into a Hardee's restaurant lot and had breakfast while I waited it utter humiliation of needing another man to change my tire.

  

So, not the greatest 12 hour period. But we ended it alive, in one piece, and thankful for the gifts we have. So there's that. 

Here's to a better start to my birthday weekend next week!

Winter Rain

I'm not sure where they get their "half an inch" forecast, because I think we've reached and passed that mark already, and it's only 7:30am. It's a dang typhoon out there. 

Here's hoping the temperature doesn't drop today and turn the streets into a skating rink. 

The Forecast Was Snow Joke

Look, I'm not saying this is the storm of the century. So far, it's so mid that I think MPS jumped the gun by cancelling school (and to do so yesterday evening? Waaay too soon). Then again, I chose to work from home rather than commute, so who am I to talk?  

But it's coming down, and coming down steady. It's a mid snow too, not airy but not completely wet and sticky. 

Anyway, to stay ahead of the curve LuLu and I headed out to shovel and cleared the property, and our share of the alley, of the first couple inches of the mess. 

Future efforts will be delegated to Dem, Smiley, Lisa, and Junie. 

The dogs don't seem to mind it tho

I don't think so Tim

Uh,  yeah.  No.  Why? Because of this:

I guarantee you,  unless you live in some new,  hermatically sealed home,  your *thermostat* may say 60 degrees,  but that's at that particular spot. The next room over might be 50 degrees. 

And F that WE Energies. 

Tornado Warnings

We're under a tornado warning here at work and the building has been evacuated, with the staff grouped around the interior restrooms. 

The tornado sirens have been pretty constant.  It always takes awhile for the sediment to settle and the facts to be clear, but we've been told there's confirmed tornado touchdowns in Burlington, Whitewater, and New Berlin. 

Over at their job Lu and Lisa are hunkered down too.

We'll be fine. I hope the same for everyone in the path of the storm. 

Record Rain

Sunday's rain was as fierce and historic as it felt when you were out in it. 

Here's a pic taken the next day. Just out of sight is a sign warning of deep standing water. 

Yuck Yuck and, what's the word? Yuck.

It's only the 33rd time in recorded history that Milwaukee has reached the century mark. 

Yuck

Snow Squall

 

75 Years Ago Today - The Blizzard of '47

Today marks 75 years since Milwaukee was buried under THE Blizzard - the epic Blizzard of '47: 18.1 inches of snow, which combined with 60 MPH winds that created ten foot high drifts of snow, effectively shutting this city down for two days. 

From @milwaukeemag: "As the sun rose on Thursday morning, Milwaukeeans made extraordinary efforts to help neighbors and strangers alike, despite the weather.

A dozen or more Milwaukee Ski Club members – men and women, some as young as teenagers – spread out over the city, responding to phone calls of sick or injured persons... At least three expectant mothers arrived at hospitals on sleds (and another eight mothers delivered babies at home, with doctors providing instructions to husbands over the phone). A pair of 14-year-old boys... found 34-year-old Gladys Friedland, partially paralyzed since birth, trapped in a streetcar at South 14th Street and National Avenue. She had been stuck for over 24 hours and needed to get back to her family home at North Third and West Clarke streets – some four miles away. Without hesitating, the boys carefully loaded her onto a sled and made the slow crawl towards her home. Two-and-a-half hours later, Friedland was reunited with her desperately worried family."

From Gary Steven, MD from the Allergy, Asthma and Sinus Center. “Today is the highest tree pollen count of the season thus far, and the highest we’ve seen since the count of 5647 on May 17, 2018. It is the fifth highest count of the past decade.

Too Much

 Enough already

Truly Romantic Weather

 Current temperature: negative 9 degrees F, with a wind chill of negative 18. #Toasty

Deadly Cold

 Welp. That's gonna suck. Stay inside, stay safe - and think of everyone that doesn't have that option. - Me

Please God let everyone be inside tonight and off the streets. - Lisa