Monday, February 23, 2015

Wanna Sit On The Deck And Get Some Sun?

That, my dear readers, is NOT what would happen if you sat on our deck today.  First off, the wind chill would instantly turn you into a human ice cube, and then the wind would blow you plumb off the deck into the woods.

We currently have sustained 41.4 mph winds gusting up to 50.6 mph according to our local weather source.  There are times when it looks like a white out, but it's not snowing.  The wind is picking up the snow on the ground and blowing it all the way to Canada, I do believe.

This morning we saw a strange weather phenomenon.  We had what looked like large clouds of low hanging, rapidly moving fog.  It wasn't the blowing snow but rather masses of what must have been tiny ice crystals.  The "fog" didn't seem to settle anywhere, just kept blowing across the land.

I know some of you in "the south" who don't normally see snow and cold weather but are currently are not happy.  Those of you in the northeast are getting a little ding-batty what with all the tons of snow you've had to handle this winter.  We up here in the northern mid-part of the country are used to the temperatures in the deep freeze but this winter's continuing winds are starting to get through to us.  I don't mind it as much during the daylight hours when I can walk from window to window inside and observe what's going on out there, but at night listening to the wind howl is not a comforting feeling for me.

If we ever got a serious snowfall with the winds, we could be experiencing one humdinger of a blizzard like we read of in tales of long ago.  ("Wait a minute, Pa.  Let me tie a rope around your waist before you go out to do the evenin' milkin'!")

Yesterday we woke to a temp of -19.9 degrees.  This morning it was -20.4.  But tomorrow it's supposed to be above zero to start the day.  Gee, if the wind dies down and the sun comes out, maybe it will be warm enough to sit on the deck and get some sun.

No?  Okay.  I'll just keep taking my Vitamin D3 for another month.  Or two.  Or three.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

All I can say is Uff da! JoAnn a former Minnesotan

Carolyn said...

Your hardiness is truly amazing. Strong winds freak me out. Strong winds with twenty BELOW? No freaking way. I'd just stay under the quilts in a fetal position and cry.

Mama Pea said...

JoAnn - Ya sure, you betcha! ;o]

Mama Pea said...

Carolyn - Oh, come on now! Anybody who can stand Pickles' screaming day after day could handle anything!

Lisa B said...

The wind here in Delaware has been crazy also, no where near your level but high 30's frequently. I am afraid to look outside to see the mess I have to clean up.

Tombstone Livestock said...

I'll stay in California, thank you, we actually got over 2 inches of rain since Sunday morning.

Sandy Livesay said...

Mama Pea,

It's time to make another quilt!!!!! With all this weather and temperatures below zero. We have ice and snow today with temperatures about 10 degrees. Tonight is going to be bad with all that black ice.
Stay warm, and safe. I remember those winds with crystals flying living up north.

Sparkless said...

Maybe you should move to Canada, at least Western Canada is much warmer then where you are. We are having an early spring and I think in a couple of weeks we are having our water main replaced which means the ground isn't even frozen.

Sparkless said...

That should be "than" not "then" I am having some technical difficulty with my brain lately. Hopefully I can send it off to be fixed soon.

Sue said...

DOn't get me started. Oh wait--I am!
I was comparing last years temps (when it was a COLD winter according to the weatherman) and this year's. This year is definately MUCH BELOW last year. I've already had 5 days that the temps have hit MINUS 25.We have had 6 of the last seven days below 0.
My propane is going very fast, to say the least. And so is my "love" of winter.....................
Just looked at the weather. Now you're sending your leftover winds??????????
I wish I could book a vacation somewhere warm.
How many more months of this---One? Two??? Yikes

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

I feel your freeze. All water pipes but one running cold, are froze today. The wind is due to pick up here today, and I'm not looking forward to the barn chores. Brrrr! Stay warm.

Laurie said...

This is a happy Southerner today. It is actually snowing. We may get anywhere from a trace to 2 inches. By this afternoon, however, it may be a distant memory. Lol! Hope the wind dies down for you. I don't care much for the wind in winter, either.

DFW said...

Wind at night is one of the scariest things to endure, especially if you have trees near any buildings. I remember, during a close call with a hurricane, watching one of our tall oaks sway back & forth all day. I kept waiting for it to snap during the night & fall on our porch. Thankfully it never did.

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - I can just imagine what all the wind can toss about and relocate at a place like yours! Our wind finally stopped sometime during the night. It was calm until about 9 a.m. here this morning. Now the wind again. Geesh.

Mama Pea said...

Oh, my gosh, A! That's wonderful. You must have gotten your total for the year right there! ;o]

Mama Pea said...

Sandy - Too much ice in your area for me! Be super-careful! Our temp has actually risen . . . 20 above now at 10 a.m. Wa-HOO! (But still with wind . . . boo-hiss.)

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - Ah, yes. The ol' brain problem strikes again. That's been happening a lot in our house lately. The really bad situation is when both hubby and I suffer it at the same time! (So I can really send mine off to be fixed, huh? I'll bet my warranty has expired though.)

Mama Pea said...

Sue - You'd have to be careful in choosing your "warm" place. Folks who don't normally have ice, snow and frigid temps are sure getting them this year. And they are really hurting 'cause they are not prepared for it. Uff da!

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - Hang on to that one running pipe! We have sun and 20 degrees today (yippee!) but the wind still persists. Drat.

Mama Pea said...

Laurie - You're another area that doesn't usually get snow, right? What's happening with Mother Nature?

Mama Pea said...

DFW - And you can't do a thing about those bad winds, can you? I can remember years ago when we never had wind at night. It always died down by sunset. That's sure not the case anymore! :o(

Susan said...

Me, too, with the night wind. I can never sleep if there's a high wind at night - in any season. This morning it hit an all-time low for the season: -18. The house is not old but it was heaving and groaning and let out a bang like a gunshot at 3A. That did it for me. The dogs just peered out from their blankets on the sofa and looked worried. That makes four of us, kids. I've actually gone through all of my D3! Eeek.

Mark said...

Now that is COLD. We occasionally hit those temps - if you include the wind chill. I can't imagine what -20 temps with a 50 MPH on top of it feels like. If it's all the same to you, I'll pass on an extended sit on your deck lest you find me frozen stiff and hanging from some tree limb when your spring thaw finally arrives.

Take care and STAY WARM!

Mama Pea said...

Susan - Up here in the woods when it gets so cold the trees actually will crack with a sound that is just like a gunshot. They don't fall over but something inside them contracts (or maybe expands) when it gets really cold and makes that sound. Really creepy if you don't know what it is.

Mama Pea said...

Mark - I get such a bang out of your way with words! Come spring I could just get a ladder, take you down and prop you up as a scarecrow in the garden!

odiie said...

Well, the sun came out, but we had winds today that about blew the vehicles off of the road. Seem to have died down tonight, but never fear, more wind chill warnings for tomorrow.

Lisa said...

Sounds like great quilting weather to me!! During our ice storm last week, we experienced what the weatherman called 'freezing fog'. Had never heard of that before? All I know is that from now on I am REALLY going to pay attention to the Almanac as they predicted this winter to be severe..... and it's been right-on. Got @3" snow yesterday and expecting 3-7" snowfall to begin late this afternoon. Love the snow, not so much the ice. Stay warm and hope you are knitting or sewing!

Mama Pea said...

odiie - We only had -8 this morning . . . so things are warming up! No wind at this moment. Fingers crossed it's done for a while. Ooops. Just check local weather . . . there's a wind chill warning until tomorrow morning. Sigh.

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - I'll bet that's what we had . . . freezing fog. I haven't had a Farmer's Almanac (for the weather predictions) in many years so I don't know if they've been right as far as our winter's gone. But they sure seem to have hit it on the head for you folks.

I have been knitting. This "sock addiction" is hard to shake! Also a little quilting. Yay, yay!

Misty Pines Homestead said...

North Alabama,yeah we got a foot of snow,something unusual for us.Staying home today for sure.I did take pictures though! I don't know if I could live in your type of weather,so,I'll take the south for now.

Mama Pea said...

Amanda - A FOOT OF SNOW??!! The kids in the area must have been delighted!

I couldn't take your heat in the summer time :o] so I guess we're evened out! Good thing we don't all choose to live in the same area, huh? That would make for a very lopsided country!