Refreezing After The Storm

There was a lot of melting of snow and ice today, which is good, but after sundown, the temperatures dropped below freezing and all of the moisture has frozen.  About 9:30 PM the Lubbock Police Department announced the closing of the Marsha Sharp Freeway from Avenue Q (north central Lubbock) to West Loop 289 (west central Lubbock.)  It also announced the closing of the Loop 289 from West Fourth Street (north west Lubbock) to South Indiana (south central Lubbock.) I live in south central Lubbock. The biggest problem with these highways are the bridges and ramps that freeze up and are very dangerous. Yesterday, the ramp from South Loop 289 to Interstate Highway 27 was closed due to icing conditions.  

My concern is that the roads will still be icy when I have to go to work in the morning. Some schools, and very few businesses have delayed opening tomorrow. So far, my agency has not.  That does not matter.  I have lots of leave. I may just decide to go into work late.  

Snow in Lubbock, Again

I worked late tonight. This seems to be a common theme with me these days.  Not by choice, necessarily, but by a sense of obligation to my patients.  On my way home at about 7:30 PM, the icy rain started. By time I was home, it was mostly snow.  Much of the snow that fell after Christmas was melted by today, and now, the lawns and dirt areas are snow covered. A peak out the door shows that the concrete and asphalt are still wet, and not frozen, although we can anticipate the freezing will occur overnight.  The weather forecasters anticipate the roads will be dangerous early AM but clear up later in the morning.  So it is my hope. It is what it will be. 

Another Winter Storm

Today, Lubbock was forecast to have drizzle, freezing rain, and snow. Mid-day, you could see the snow flakes interspersed with the sleet, drizzle and freezing rain.  By late afternoon, the moisture continued, and continued to interchange in form, but mostly was unfrozen.

I was even able to scrape some snowy ice off of the walk on the north side of my house, so it was truly above freezing today, and helping the snow and ice to melt.  I heard a comment at work today, and it was on target: With this slow melt, the snow is melting into the ground, where the moisture will do some good, versus melting quickly, and creating run off that will either flood or run into areas that do not need the moisture.

Tonight, I saw lightning to the north.  Not much, but it did occur.  It was again, a winter storm.

The Winter Storm

The winter storm is long gone, but the snow remains.  Although Monday and Tuesday were beautifully sunny, little melting occurred, and the residential streets are still a mess, even today, but now passable. 

Today, it was above freezing, but grey, overcast. That is probably good.  If it were warm and sunny, the snow would melt so fast there would be some flooding.  A slower melt is actually better.  We have had some light dusting of snow, but no accumulations and the wind has not been so bad.

The big problem is that it freezes overnight, so what melted during the day freezes at night creating large patches of frozen slush and black ice.  This is dangerous.  And, it takes until mid or late morning until the melting occurs again.  Fortunately, I do not have to get out tomorrow.  

We may get some freezing drizzle over night, but it  should be sunny tomorrow,

I will plan to go to the Texas Tech men's basketball game (complementary tickets from work) Saturday afternoon, and add a trip to the library before that. I did my weekly shopping today, though in anticipation that if there is another storm, I am not unprepared.

The Winter Storm

The winter storm started as predicted on Saturday night, December 26, 2015.  It started with sleet and freezing rain, but progressed to snow.  There was a lot of wind.  Overnight, it was tough, but not awful. It subsided Sunday morning, but by late Sunday morning, the sleet and rain started, and later, the snow began. The wind was of blizzard proportions.

I work for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, at the John T. Montford Prison, TDCJ.  Tonight, at about 5:00 PM, the emergency alert system sent out the notice that the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center will be closed, due to the storm on, December 28, 2015.  This means, as a social worker at the Montford Prison, I am not required to report to work, as social workers are not essential personnel.  This is a blessing.

I am sorry for the officers and nurses who have to report as essential personnel.  I hope all of them traverse the roads safely and report to work in one piece. But I am thankful I do not have to traverse the treacherous roads during this winter storm.  I am thankful that the administration at TTUHSC has a compassionate understanding of taking care of their staff

Safety first.

The Patriots Vs. The Broncos

Okay, so tonight the New England Patriots are playing the Denver Broncos in Denver, Colorado  http://espn.go.com/nfl/schedule.  As the game is progressing, the weather is getting worse, with light snow to now heavier snow. It can be said that the weather conditions cannot really favor either team.  They both play in winter weather venues.  Perhaps the Denver elevation might make an impact. 

It Was an Ice Storm Weekend

The weather on Thanksgiving Day was not bad.  But Friday, it started off rainy and changed to icy.  Saturday continued icy.  I ran errands early Friday morning, before the cold front moved in, but sheltered in place after that.  This afternoon, I did all the errands I would have spread out over two days of a typical weekend.

I enjoyed having a stay at home, quiet weekend.  I had thought to rake leaves but not in this weather.

I am thankful for a day above freezing, so I could run errands.  Most importantly, I went to the library. The other stuff was incidental. 

Ice Storm Moving In?

Today was a very mild day, but somewhat cloudy.  As I drove to eat lunch with friends, there were minor sprinkles on the windshield of my car.

The weather forecasters are predicting wintry mix or icy conditions from Thursday midnight or later till Sunday morning http://www.kcbd.com/weather. 

As I sit in my computer room, I could watch the clouds move in from the north.  In fact, at one point, the sky to the north was dark, and the sky to the south was sunny.

I am hoping the weather forecasters get it wrong. My biggest concern is a power outage.  My contingency plan is that I will do my weekly shopping on Sunday, when the temperatures are predicted to be above freezing.

We will do what we need to do to stay safe. 

Winter Came Again

As predicted, inclement weather struck again.  It started raining overnight, early this morning. By early afternoon, the rain changed to sleet, and eventually, snow. Non-essential personnel were allowed to leave from work at 4 PM. I am ambivalent regarding my status as non-essential. But, I was glad to be able to leave work early.  I did not leave at 4 PM. I stayed until I completed the tasks I wanted to complete today, so I left about 4:15 but that still allowed me to get home earlier than usual. The car was not too iced over.  It was easy to scrape and clear.  I parked so the windshield face south, which helped a little, but the ice/snow on the car was minimal. I was impressed.  It seemed that somehow, the ice on the side mirrors melted while the car engine was running.  So that was nice.

I drove very slowly going home.  I did not get on the loop, but took the access road, where I could drive slower, without other drivers crowding me.

It is too cold and too icy to drive the Covenant Lifestyle Center. I have not been there for several days. I am doing other exercises at home, but they do not seem to be as effective.

I am tired of winter weather, but I can adapt and adjust as need be.

Wintry Weather, Three Days in a Row

Well, it turned cold over night again, and we woke up to freezing fog and heavy grey skies.  Although the skies have lightened this afternoon, we did not really have any sun today. However, the temperature has risen to above freezing, and when that happens, thawing occurs fairly quickly and extensively.  The down side is, that without the sun, the moisture will not dry well off the streets and sidewalks, except maybe on some of the more well used thoroughfares.  So, driving overnight and in the early morning will be treacherous.

The weather service says that it will warm up early in the week, cool off, then warm up again. There is a slight chance of precipitation.  So, maybe a reprieve will occur.

I did not have to go anywhere today, so I opted to stay in, again. I get cabin fever, and years ago, I would have bundled up and gone out for a walk.  I am in hopes that someday, my physical aches and pains will be resolved to the point that I will once again be able to look forward to such a walk.

Wintry Weather

I do not think it ever got above freezing today.  I waited until right after noon to run errands, driving very slowly, taking my time. It is interesting how the street conditions were.  My street, and several of the residential streets in my neighborhood looked fairly clear.  Some of the more well travelled major streets were still snow covered.  I am not sure what that is about.  As I think about it, maybe the major streets were more traveled yesterday, and the snow could have been packed into ice, as it was not even close to freezing.  When people started going out on the residential streets today, the snow melted with the traffic as it was not packed into ice.  Maybe. Maybe not.

I timed it right. By the time I got home, the temperature had peaked and the temperature was dropping.

I would normally have gone to the Lady Raider Basketball game, especially because it is senior night, the last regularly scheduled home game of the year. But, I did not want to be out and about driving tonight.

In fact, it was a double header today, with the men's team playing this afternoon.  It was senior night for them, too.  If the weather had been nice, I probably would have gone to both games.  The men's team won.  Let's hope the women's team does too. 

So, the weather has affected my plans.  I am okay staying home, and being safe.

Winter Weather

The South Plains were predicted to have rain by about 6 PM tonight, and later in the evening, snow. Hmm. The rain started about 3 PM.  I knew the predictions were off.  I wanted to go to the pool and do my exercises and then go on to the Lady Raider basketball game.  But I decided that the weather predictions were not accurate, and I decided to stay home, instead.

Sure enough, the snow started earlier than predicted.   I am glad I am at home and safe tonight.

Meltdown!

Well, the morning started foggy and cold again, but by late morning, the melting had started in Lubbock.  That is the thing about snow and ice in Lubbock:  when it melts, it usually melts with a vengeance:  everything warms up, and the snow melts, there is no place for the water to go, so we have some minor street flooding.  Ice melts and comes crashing down from lights, branches, roofs, and what have you, sometimes causing more damage with the crash than with the weight of the snow and ice. 

Usually, it does not all melt in one day, and refreezes overnight, with the possibility it will continue to disappear.  We may get some snow tomorrow, but now we have wonderful sunshine.

That is one of the things that amazes me about the weather in West Texas.  The other thing is how quickly things dry out after a rain, even a heavy rain.  Usually, but the next day, all traces of rain are gone, except maybe, debris.

Winter Weather, Again?

I knew we were scheduled to have winter weather again today.  I was hoping the forecast was wrong.  It started cold and grey again, and by mid-day or a little later, it was raining.  The rain started freezing late in the day.  We were allowed to leave work early again, as the driving conditions were deteriorating.

But, scraping off the car was not as difficult as it was Tuesday, and walking, you could feel the slush versus ice, but there were plenty of icy patches.

As I drove home, I drove through sleet, rain, snow flakes and rain.  The temperature actually went up a degree by the time I got home, according to the sensor on my car.

But, it must be a real weather event.  Lubbock was mentioned twice on the NBC nightly news cast in reference to the winter storm, which is very wide spread!

Snowbound?

Well, not really.  And not in sense of the poem by Snowbound by John Greenleaf Whittier http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/whitt02.html.  I never have read the whole poem but it is about a family that is truly snowbound, and how they pass the time.

My snowbound status started with the freezing drizzle Tuesday afternoon, that sent me (and my coworkers) home from work a little early, on emergency leave. 

Overnight, the freezing drizzle and ice coating was covered with snow. Although I had plenty of plans for December 31, 2014, nothing was essential, and it seemed to me that staying home was wiser than chancing risky driving and a possible accident.

I had thought that if the weather improved, I might go out for a while on New Year's Day.  Well, it has stayed freezing cold with freezing drizzle at times during the day, so it made no sense to me to take a purely pleasure excursion.  I do see some traffic out and about, but I have no idea why the people traveling are doing so.  Nor does it matter much to me. Only that I hope their travels are safe. 

I had stocked up with what I wanted and needed for the holiday, so I have no reason to have to be out.  I really try not to do last minute shopping.  I do not want to face crowds or the possibility of something else happening. 

I have entertained myself with reading, watching TV, computering, visiting with the cats and what have you.  

But I am getting a touch of cabin fever.  If walking did not aggravate my sciatica and back pain, I would go for a walk.  I am okay.

I anticipate going to work on Friday. It may be that the starting time is delayed, if the weather does not improve, and so far, it does not appear it will do so.  And, on the way home from work, I can take care of the few errands that need tending to.

Being snowbound in this day and age does not isolate someone from the world.   There is too much access as long as the electric power endures. 

Snow

Well, we had more of an ice storm than a winter snow storm yesterday.  The forecast included that it would not warm up for the next few days.

I woke up about 4:30 AM and thought it was after 7:30 AM. As it was white out, I thought it was the white and bright of dawning day.  But no, it was the white and dull of low clouds and snow on the ground reflecting what little ambient light there was in the area. It does not hurt that we have a waxing gibbous moon right now, that provided some light above the cloud cover. That was an interesting sensation.

It has stayed cold today, so the typical snow and melt cycle of West Texas did not occur.  While I had plans for the day, nothing was urgent or emergent, so I decided to go with safety first and stayed in, and stayed warm.

I often think it would be nice to have a day to myself, with no obligations pending. Well, that was not quite the day, as I did do some chores around the house, but they were all pleasant, easy, and things that I enjoy.

The rest of my New Year's Eve will be more of the same.  Thank you. 

As we enter into the New Year, my wish for everyone is peace.

Winter Storm

It was predicted that we would have very cold weather with the potential for snow or more likely, freezing rain.  It was grey when I drove to work this morning, and cold, with a very strong north wind blowing that front in.  It was starting to mist.  By the time the second shift nurses arrived before 2 PM, they were reporting very dangerous, icy road conditions.  Texas Tech sent non-essential people home at 3 PM.  I had a lot I wanted to do, still, so I spent about 45 minutes more wrapping things up.  Still left a lot undone.  We have several people out, and I discovered that my co-workers who were doing coverage were not checking phone calls.  I did those I could, and hopefully can finish up Friday.

It took me about twenty minutes to scrape off the car  well enough to drive safely.  It took me about 30 minutes to get home (when there is minimal traffic, it takes 12 minutes.) I debated  between taking a totally land street route home, vs the Loop.  The totally land street route has about a .5 mile section of infrequently travelled road, and I opted for better travelled.  The news keeps saying the TxDOT trucks are out on the streets treating them, but I saw none.  I saw two city trucks.  But, driving slow, the streets were passable.

But I did arrive home safely.   The cats were very excited and skittish when I got home.  I think it was the combination of my earlier than usual arrival, and the cold/weather change. They get excited any time we have a storm.  During a wind storm, they are especially skittish and bitchy.  I think it is the negative ions from the wind creating static electricity on their fur:  it is sometimes a shocking event to pick up a cat in a wind storm (it does not hurt me, and I do not think it hurts them, but it is a crackling sensation.)    I bumped up the day time temperature of the thermostat to the nighttime temperature of 68°.

I have a list of chores that I had planned to do on the 31^st. several of which involve driving to locations.  None are urgent.  I have a 7 day library book due tomorrow, and if I cannot renew it online, I will owe a fine. At $.05  a day, it is not worth the trip unless the roads drastically clear tomorrow.   Many of the chores are those I can do at home.  My biggest concern is if I lose power due to ice on the electric lines somewhere.   I do not NEED to go anywhere on the 31^st.

I had thought to go to the Lady Raider Basketball game tonight, but I am not that dedicated.  If I cannot watch it on TV, I will try to listen to it on the radio.  The admission is free, if anyone wants to go to the game.

Hope everyone is safe, and is prepared to enter into the New Year.