Sissy stuff to keep warm with during the "VORTEX"?

[Betty]

It was nice & sunny all day here with a high of 45F (7C). But I see the east coast got hit with a snow storm.

For well over a week our temperatures have been about normal for this time of the year & no snow. Last year at we were in an arctic freeze most days through almost the first half of spring. It wiped some of the local wildlife.

Today I saw a squirrel outside my window for the first time since September. Yesterday there was lots of birds out there frolicking too, much to my cats enjoyment.

By Saturday night they say it will get down to the teens, & Sunday's high will only be in the 20s F (single digits C). Monday it might hit 30F (-1C), but they say it might get up to 50F (10C) by Wednesday.

[Betty]

Spring was nice while it lasted but the arctic vortex has returned. It got down to 18F (-8C) last night. This morning it's a breezy 20F (-7C) making a wind chill of 7F (-14C). I see there's an inch of new snow on the ground outside my window this morning. They say it will get down to 11F (-12C) tonight!

They say we might have daytime highs the 30s on Tuesday, & 50s on Wednesday. But the vortex shifts again by Thursday night bringing temperatures down to the low 20s, & in the teens Friday night.

I had a laugh watching the local weather guy last week say we probably won't get any snow again until next winter. Yeah right... in your dreams. This arctic vortex has been going crazy for over a year now, with quite a few abnormally cool summer days too. I don't seeing this vortex activity stopping just because a calendar said it's spring. Plus more often than not we get some snow near the end of October too.

Of course all the stupid people will go outside, feel the cold, see some snow, & say there is no global warming, rather than look at the rest of the world. But those vortexes that push the cold downward, also swing back up, pushing our warm air towards the poles. So while we freeze our ass off, polar bears are sweating, & glaciers are melting. As ice caps & glaciers melt, the oceans become less salty. Salt water absorbs & retains more heat than fresh water. If the oceans get less salty they won't get warm enough, & warming ocean currents, like the gulf stream slow down or stop.

Without the warming Gulf Stream ocean currents, the UK would be covered by ice most of the year. So global warming can actually cause a mini ice age. But the stupid people see "mini ice age", & think we need global warming or it doesn't exist. With longer colder winters, & more of the world is covered in snow & ice longer, it reflects more of the Sun's warming heat back out into space & can cause a chain reaction, to cause a big ice age. Even though in the short term, global warming puts more energy into the atmosphere, causing more erratic & extreme weather or temperature changes, in the long term, it would plummet most of the world not near to the equator into an ice age. We'd freeze or starve.

And while most stupid people won't believe in global warming when it gets cold out or snows, or the pool isn't warm enough in the summer, here's some facts... Seattle had the warmest February on record this year. For several years in a row Anchorage Alaska had milder & warmer winters than Buffalo did.

[Betty]

It got up to the mid-40s yesterday. It was raining all morning, but now it just started snowing real hard. The vortex returns with weekend overnight lows in the teens expected.

[Angela M...]

Crazy weather, my fridge and stove both failed in the last week or so after 19 years of service. I have fixed the stove several times over the years but the fridge was great until now. It looks like brand new on the inside and outside but would be expensive to fix if I could get parts. So delivery was today for replacements and two hours before they arrive we get snow and slush just to make the walks slippery. Two big burly guys showed up after lunch and didn't have much trouble moving the new appliances in and old ones out even with the crazy weather. They put the old appliances out front on my lawn for Habitat for Humanity to pick up. They said the would take them to repair or for parts but after I called before supper they said thanks but they had nobody available to pick up until after Easter. Sorry bud but in this town they will be gone by morning for scrap I would think. Two hours later, gone. never saw who got them but they were gone.Hope somebody gets some use out of them again.

[Betty]

They won't even allow us to put stuff like that out on the curb anymore, even if there's junk collectors & parts salvagers around. If it's electrical of any kind it's hazardous waste now. You either have to store it forever on your property, or haul it to an approved electronics recycler at your own expense.

LOL, my fridge is 40 years old. It came with the apartment & runs, but I bet it's half my electric bill.

[Angela M...]

Wow Betty,
forty year old fridge, I believe it. They took pride in things back then and made them to last. That is why Rick at American Restoration in Las Vegas has so much success with old items people bring in to fix up. When I was working I had two crews of six to eight people and less than half of them were willing to make an effort to produce a good product and most of them were woman. The others spent more time looking for ways to waste time and get out of a full days work. Some were totally not trainable and were let go or given simple jobs they could handle when we had such work. Building heating and cooling equipment with complicated control panels meant there were not that many sweeping or insulating jobs to be done so many were let go in the last few years I was there. I worked there forty two years from the ground up with some night school courses and made a great salary and had seven weeks paid vacation but even when we offered to pay for night school these kids today either declined or dropped out after only a few nights. It is easy to see why industry is moving away to foreign countries where they are willing to learn. I also think it is our education systems that don't offer a trade any more to those who are willing to learn.
Any way that's my two cents worth for today.

[Betty]

Yuck! There's about an inch of snow on the ground this morning, with more expected.

Happy Easter everyone!

[samantha1]

more snow again Betty,when do you think the snow will finished this year for you

[Betty]

It's 32F (0C) now. But there's more snow expected through to Monday, & on Wednesday. Golly, that's odd though. They say it will hit 50F Monday, & 43F Wednesday. It can't snow at 43-50F according to science.

[Betty]

They changed their forecast overnight from snow & 50F (which is scientifically impossible) to clear & 44F for today, & no snow for the rest of the week (but lots of cold rain). They entirely changed their prediction dramatically in less than 8 hours.

I don't tune in or look up the weather to find out what the weather is, I can look out my window to find that out, I want to know what the weather will be later or tomorrow.

What a job. They can be way off days in a row or more than half the time, & not get fired. With no degree in meteorology, & no weather equipment, yesterday I successfully predicted it would not snow at 43-50F (although it can happen, it isn't likely), & it was not going to get anywhere near 50F today.