The Shortest Day of the Year

As you know, December 21 is The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year.  Every year, I am amazed, but no longer surprised, at how quickly and noticeably the length of daylight hours increases after the 21st..  It is always pleasant.   I dislike the short daylight hours.

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.

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. 

A Front Blew In

We have had early winter weather already:  a polar vortex, freezing rain and snow bad enough to delay work opening by two hours, and today, another front blew in.  It was almost mild this morning, but windy, and the wind shifted direction, coming from the north, and increased as the day wore on.  A cold front was scheduled to blow in this afternoon, and guess what, it did.

My house is snug enough.  The thing about the wind is I hear it on the roof. I am not sure why, but I do.  And I heard it today.

A Change in the Weather

We were having spring and almost summer like weather in Lubbock, but last night, a wintry front blew in, and we are expecting a few days of cold weather. It was very cold this morning when I went to work, and although the temperature was in the low 70s midday, by the time I left work tonight, it was cold and the blustery wind made it feel even colder.

I grew up in New England. The wisdom about the weather in New England was "if you do not like the weather, wait a minute and it will change."  I moved to West Texas in 1977.  The word about the weather was "if you do not like the weather, wait a minute and it will change."  I never said anything to the native West Texans about that, but really, isn't that the truth almost everywhere in the middle latitudes.

This week is a good example of that.

Blizzard!

This afternoon, the National Weather Service http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lub/ issued a blizzard warning for an extensive area of the South Plains, until Monday.  I usually am prepared for whatever.  I had planned to have Monday off, but was intending to run some errands, although I could have done some today.  I did decide to run to the grocery store for a few items, and went about 5:30 PM.

The grocery clerk acknowledged that business had picked up after the National Weather Service announced the possible blizzard.

I was just looking at the radar, and the precipitation seems to be tracking to the northeast, and not east enough to impact us, but that could change. 

We are also expecting cold and high winds.  We shall see what the weather has in store for us.

We shall see what happens.

A Winter Sky

It was not supposed to freeze overnight.  I do not know if it did nor not, but I do not think it did.  I awoke at 7 AM and it was still dark, so I rolled over and slept longer.   It never got really bright today.  The high temperature was 56° according to The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/. 

The sky is a winter sky.  It is grey with high thin clouds and no bright sun. For Texas it is cold, but not that cold.  But it is grey. This is a fireplace day.  But, of course, I do not have a fireplace. 

But it is a winter sky.