MedFaire Weather

The bulk of the weather passed north of the Faire. We got damp and windblown, but the temperature was warm enough to compensate for it. The worst will pass through in just a few hours and then it will be overcast with late afternoon dampness (but more likely late evening dampness) and the rest of the weekend will be mostly sunny and 70’s.

I have had several people ask about Itzl’s carry pouch and am making several tonight while the Scottish Eggs and the roast bake in the oven.

Tomorrow is School Day – every school that can get here (and wants to) will be here, and we will be spending all our time telling the kids they can’t buy this or that because they aren’t allowed to have them on school property. If they argue with us, we make them bring a teacher over to settle it.

It makes an otherwise pleasant day somewhat stressful, but we deal and they deal.

Saturday and Sunday are the fun days, and if there’s a day you’re going to pick to go to the Faire, Sunday morning is the best time – the crowds are less the merchants are eager and friendly and the performers are thrilled that it’s almost over and tend to get a bit slap-happy. Some of the best extemporaneous performances happen Sunday morning.

MedFaire Weather

It looks as if the weather I predicted last July for MedFaire is still reasonably accurate. The storms right now are predicted to be heavier on Thursday than I said they’d be, but Friday, Saturday, and Sunday look to be almost spot-on.

If you go, don’t wear thin shoes or clothes that drag on the ground. It will be somewhat muddy, at least on Friday. After that, it should be hard packed and dried out enough not to worry. Dress warm for Friday, but do so in layers so as the day warms up, you can remove some of them. Bring extra socks that are dry in case your feet get wet.

The wind will be the usual MedFaire wind – I’m thinking around 20-25 miles per hour, with gusts up to 35. We may get a burst of higher wind Saturday night – maybe up to 40 or 45 miles per hour.

If you’re a merchant out there, bring good tie-downs and sturdy stakes. If not, any of the blacksmiths can make stakes for you, Elm Tree Forge usually stocks pre-made stakes – he’s on the south side of the Faire on the other end of the row of merchants immediately south of the SCA Compound, backing on to Jenkins Avenue where the cross walk is in the middle of the block.

I will have Scottish Eggs, roast buffalo, cheese, and bread to share. Maybe some fruits and cookies. On Sunday, I’ll have treats to celebrate Itzl’s birthday.

Global Warming/Little Ice Ages

Solar Flares and Weather

Solar flares drive weather patterns, and may be larger than expected contributing factors in the global warming we are experiencing. This is something we’ve known for a long time, studying solar patterns as we’ve been doing. We’ve used solar flare patterns to successfully predict even micro-climactic weather. I’m not at all surprised by these findings.

Even though humans are contributing to the hastening of global warming, we aren’t the sole factor, and I believe it would happen even without our input because of longer term weather patterns we haven’t studied. It’s possible that there may be little we can do to avoid a “small summer” or a subsequent “little ice age” except to develop the technology to see us survive it.

Weather

We don’t need to sink billions of dollars into keeping Americans safe from terroristic activities of other humans when Mother Nature is taking us out a few at a time.

We need to sink billions of dollars in severe weather detection and warning devices, and then train citizens to respond to them.

Nature is a bigger threat to the average American than any terrorist could be.

Cold

2-15-07

It’s cold.

Fortunately the insulation in my house is good enough that the temperature indoors hasn’t fallen below 45º, and it will warm up rather quickly.

This isn’t the last cold spell of the winter, but it is the coldest one we’ll get this year. I think there will be one more snow or cold spell in March, then we’ll have typical wet and chilly weather alternating with gorgeous warm weather until mid-April. Then it will get hot.

But right now, it’s so cold my tea has already cooled, the melty wax candle isn’t melting even lit, and the ground beef is taking its time browning.

The outside temperature is 17º, and the low will be 8º.

More Snow

Even though it’s been snowing almost constantly since Tuesday, this is all the snow that’s accumulated.

Itzl isn’t too sure of it, and he quickly wanted back in where it’s warm and dry.

In fact, he’s taken up residence in my lap because I have a space heater under the desk that keeps our immediate area warm. If I had a fireplace, he’d compete with the cats for a spot in front of it.

Snow

2-14-07

It’s snowing again.

It’s been snowing since yesterday.

This morning, on the way in to work, I stopped at my donut shop because it struck me that people were going to need donuts today. And I was right. Everyone who came in said, “Man, I wish it was Friday, when you bring donuts.” And I was able to smile, and say “Friday came early this week. Have a donut.”

The snow today is light, powdery stuff that hasn’t been sticking all day. This is the kind of snow I don’t mind. But then, I’m not homeless and huddling against the bitter wind that’s accompanying this snowfall. The windchill outside is in the single digits. On days like this, every person should have some shelter, some warmth, a place to go, however mean and humble it might be.

My house is cold in weather like this because I don’t have heat that can be left running when no one’s there. We rely on electric space heaters, the heated mattress pad, and lots of winter baking to keep the house warm. I’d like to install a fireplace, and I’m beginning to think I’d like two.

I want to knock down the wall between the livingroom and kitchen, convert that into a kitchen island, and I could easily put in the cooking fireplace I’ve always dreamed of when I do that, with a bar to either side and shelves that can hold books on the living room side and kitchen equipment on the kitchen side.

The other fireplace would go in the library, of course. Libraries need fireplaces.

Of course, snow always makes me antsy for a fireplace anyway.

Lasagna Streets

2-1-07

The streets are lasagna, and not in a good way.

They are ice under snow under ice under another layer of snow, under ice again, and it’s snowing again.

I wish I could find a spot that shwed the layers so clearly that would photograph well with my camera, but the flash blurs it out and with no flash, it’s not visible enough.

But if you look at a place where the layers were broken, you’d see them quite plainly – the ice is thin and shiny, the snow a bit thicker and sparkly.

I’ve seen weather like this in Germany and in more northern regions, but not around here before. Usually, one winter storm will melt nad clear away long before another strikes, and our most common weather pattern is mid 30’s to upper 40’s with rain, dipping for a couple of days to near freezing so we get a light snowfall that melts completely away within 48 hours. We get 2 or 3 such snowfalls a winter.

That’s it.

Every 5 or 6 years, we get worse weather, where one snowfall or ice storm lingers for a weeek to 10 days, and then no more for the rest of the winter.

This year, though, we got the heavy snow at the end of November that clung for 5 days, and since January 11, we’ve had ice alternating with snow continuously. The three days where the sun came out and the temperature climbed into the upper 50s didn’t put much of a dent in the ice. It cleared the roads for the next onslaught, and that was about it – oh, and it gave me time to mow my ridiculous lawn that insists on growing even under the ice! When this batch clears up enough to haul out the lawnmower, I’ll be mowing again before Valentine’s Day.

That’s not right. I should have 2 seasons off from mowing – late summer and winter. Late summer is mow-free because we get no rain from the 4th of July until mid September. Since I don’t water grass, it doesn’t grow.

But this year, we’ve had a damp summer and mildish winter so my lawn just keeps growing and growing.

Even under the ice.

My lawnmower wasn’t designed to shear frozen grass. I’ll need to buy a new blade come spring nad the proper mowing season.

More Snow

The ice storm came in on January 11th. Today is the 26th, and this is what remains. This isn’t my garden, it’s part of hte garden where I work, just outside my north doors in a sunny spot. My yard is totally free of ice. I have a hot yard.

I think it’s a new state record for ice hanging around – 15 days and counting.

And tomorrow, of course, they predict snow.

Not much, jusy a dusting. Since today’s temperatures will be near 60, it will be too warm for any snow to stick around for long. I can’t wait until we return to the 48 hour snows that are more normal for here.

Last November, when we got that heavy snowfall (6 inches is heavy for us, don’t laugh), it lasted 4 days, but only because the snow fell for three of those days. By the 5th day, the roads were clear and most of the snow was gone.

That reminds me, as soon as things dry out a bit, I need to mow again.

I know, I just mowed on January 10th, but what can I say? I have a hot yard and grass grows quickly.

No 10″ of Snow Today

The weather service has been predicting heavy snow today in my area. Heavy for us is anything over 3″, and they were telling us to prepare for up to 12″ of snow. This caused panic shopping. Stores were flooded with paniced, rude shoppers striving to grab that last bottle of water, that last box of PopTarts, that last bog of Ice Melt.

Well, except me. I patterned the weather and decided it wasn’t worth the hassle of shopping for anything. I already have all I need to survive a siege lasting at least 3 months – plenty of pet food for the assorted critters, lots of bottles to fill with water, lots of preserved foods to eat, books to read, blank paper upon which to write should the power go out (not a likely thing to happen), lots of oil lamps, candles, etc for lighting needs, lots of warm blankies, alternate methods of heating (since my primary method bit the dust last winter, and we’re improvising anywhay this winter, this was easy enough to accomplish), alternate means of cooking foods, and plenty of things with which to occupy ourselves.

There was no reason to go to the store.

And, we have rain mixed with icy rain, and not much of that. No snow, and now the weather service says we won’t be getting snow.

This is a severe disappointment to the children, but a relief to those of us who must travel in it.

This warmer weather maans the 4″ or so of ice coating the ground will have a chance to finally melt away.

The streets are mostly clear, simply due to the amazing number of employers who are willing to risk the safety and lives of their employees for a few bucks of profit, profit they could easily re-coup later.

I’m not an advocate of closing things down over snow, because snow offers traction and melts quickly (witness last November, when we got all that snow and it was totally gone in three days). But ice is a different matter. Ice offers no traction. Ice can be invisible, lurking in disguise as water, to treacherously take the lives of those who stumble on it. Snow is inconvenient. Ice is evil.