What the Folk!

SW, I love when snow coats the tree branches like that and the photo of the houses looks so peaceful and pretty.

Faith, that video is hysterical. Usually we assume the weather reports are more hype than fact but this time they were dead on for us.

My boss was nice and let me work from home Thursday, which is a good thing because it took me most of the day to dig out my car. People who hadn't bothered to dig out their cars by yesterday morning were ending up getting their cars dug out with bulldozers and towed away by the city so the streets could be plowed. Most of the streets are still pretty sketchy though. On my way home from work last night I took a corner too quickly and found myself sliding diagonally through the intersection. Fortunately there were no pedestrians or cars nearby so it wasn't as terrifying as it sounds.

Jim Cantore is such a dork in that video, isn't he 4ever? I mean the thunder snow was cool and all, but it wasn't THAT exciting.

I thought the videos of Lake Shore Drive as a parking lot were pretty impressive. There were a couple of good news articles about it too:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 7021.story
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_localchi/ ... s-stranded

OMG! Wow. We had miles of cars abandoned on major highways a few storms ago but I never saw photos or vids as to what the situation actually looked like, you're looks pretty bad.

Bumping this up, since the week has been full of wild weather across the US. In New England, we've been pretty much immune to tornadoes, but this week I was home when the Springfield Massachusetts tornado hit, and as the storm cell traveled toward RI, I was on the edge of my seat. There were rotating cells in 3 different spots in RI at one time. I realized that being in my corner apartment would not be the best place to be during a tornado.
At one point, a good part of the country was showing up red, meaning severe storms.

So how did you all make out? Any close calls? The closest I got was hail, which was scary enough when you have 5 windows.

Nothing here in MI, just a couple of heat waves and typical thunderstorms. I've been amazed at all of the tornadoes and pretty horrified at the death toll. With the spotters and chasers, more warning sirens should have been going off. But even when they do people just don't always think it's going to happen- and then it does- too fast. I wish everyone had a storm cellar in the earth that latched on the inside.

I'm glad you didn't get hit by anything too severe, Nancy.

So your new place- about how far are you from where you lived before with your Mom? And how is she?

Nothing going on here, and we're on the northern edge of Tornado Alley. We chase them, but I wouldn't wish any of the tornado outbreaks this season on my worst enemy. They've just been awful.

Thank heaven they've subsided for now. I've always been afraid of thunderstorms because when I was a kid a house in my town was hit by lightning and burned to the ground. Everyone got out except the dog and the bird. It makes an impression on a little kid. I got over my fear for a while when we lived on Riverside Drive in NYC, because we were right on the river and could see all the way up from 94th St to the George Washington Bridge. We used to sit up on our loft bed and watch the storms come down the river, which was kind of neat. But now that these storms are consistently so severe, the old fear is back.
Laura, the new place is so nice and peaceful. I'm about 24 miles from my Mom, a straight shot up Rt 95, then 10 miles on a cowpath of a road that gets me to North Kingstown. During the awful floods we got in the Spring of 2010, this road had a spot where it washed completely away, and took weeks to rebuild. Thankfully, this Spring has had a normal rainfall.
Oh, and Mom's doing okay. We had a meeting with the staff and they told us that she's going downhill, which is to be expected given her mental state and her fall. This was not news to me, I had noticed it. But she knows who I am, she's happy, and always has a smile for everyone, so I'm thankful for that.

So has anyone else had the lovely, cool-ish, non-humid temps that we've had? I actually had to wear a sweatshirt last night, but I din't mind. I know the hot, sticky stuff is coming. Ugh.

Figured it was appropriate to renew this thread due to what we are enduring in Phoenix right now.

I got back from Denver yesterday around 11:00am. It was already 110. By 2:00 in the afternoon it climbed to dangerous heat: 118 degrees. (a record for this day).

Today we are all happy with the drop in temps, it is 109. But the payoff is, the humidity skyrocketed to 46%.

I am in my house totally grossed out. I am going to movies in an hour and really do not want to walk out the front door.

It may seem trivial, due to the people who suffer through tornadoes, hurricanes, snow blizzards, but it is so awful, with no end in sight.

Everyone gets in really crappy moods, drivers have little to no patience, and dumb asses are inevitably on the news cuz they left a pet or child in car while (running an errand) and the poor thing dies. That just seems so incredibly cruel, I am in my car to two seconds before turning the key and jacking up the air, I could not imagine being left behind and locked in my car, it would be a horrific end.

I'd LOVE the humidity to be only 46% here. And despite what that chart says, in summer it often gets up around 98% before the weather breaks. At least it's not that hot though. 109? Crikey! That's 42 celsius - I'm sweating just thinking about it! And 118? *faints*

Yeah, Ryche, that is really pretty nasty. And doesn't Phoenix use swamp water air coolers? My ex's sister lived there for awhile, she had one, and she thought it was unbearable. I was there once and it was 114, and when you went outside, the hairs on your arms were standing up and soaking wet. Not fun.
I think anyone who's lived in the Northeast would be happy with 46% humidity. We've been very lucky so far this summer, we've had very low humidity, but we're just waiting for it to soar up to 85 - 90%, where it can hover for days of icky stickiness.

We had a torrential downpour today. There's no soft, summer rain anymore. I miss it.

I am heading back East for seeing family/friends in PA later in August. The 18th thru 29th actually.

I am hoping that the weather is a bit cooler, or will it be icky humid, I don't remember that time of year too well. Do you have any idea how it may be? No putting pressure on you, I know you are not a meteorologist or anything.

I am planning some outdoor activities like watching a bunch of Little League World Series games in Williamsport, going to Ontario for wine festival, and a few days going to NYC and hopefully a WTF NYC meetup!!

Here in NJ we've had somewhat cooler than usual temps thus far this summer but high humidity is usually present regardless. At this moment it's cool but swampy. Clamminess seems to be persistent. It's great for the skin, hair & nails. I can deal with it, even though it's gross.

Late August in these parts will most likely be hot and humid but maybe you'll luck out. I didn't think you could even feel 46% humidity. I thought I read once that when temps get as high as 110 + the air won't hold much humidity which is why very hot climates are often dry rather than swampy.

I'm looking forward to a WTF meet up in August.

Me too!! It is gonna be my unwind time, yay!

Okay folks, it's Hurricane Irene Central.

This storm is a flipping monster. The Weather Channel said it's roughly the size of Europe. Europe, people!
They've evacuated certain low-lying zones in lower Manhattan and Long Island. In Jersey, I know Long Beach Island has been evacuated. I did a wonderful summer of stock there - it's a little strip of an island, less than a mile wide, and right on the ocean, so the probability of major damage there is very high, as is a good bit of Jersey shoreline, which they've also emptied.
We bagged an NYC meetup because of Irene. Lucky thing - Mass Transit will be shut down tomorrow at noon, as will Jersey's service. I don't ever recall them closing down public transportation before, but I wouldn't want to be caught in a subway tunnel that was flooding, either.

Even if it hits NYC and LI and not directlyNew England, RI is due to suffer major damage from the storm surge. We're due for an astronomically high New Moon tide on Sat, so paired with 5-8 more inches of rain, we are in for a good ole time. Gulp.

Anybody else getting hit, or battening down the hatches preparing for Irene?

Had to add this: Brian Williams' friend said, "Nature always bats last". So true.

Thanks, Nancy. Europe?!?!?

SecretCheri is going to be driving from New York City to Philadelphia this morning for an all day exam on Monday. I'm trying not to worry. Any updates, info or advice from anyone along the route would be so helpful. Right now I'm wondering if the traffic getting out of the city is moving. I can't seem to find a site that has info of that type re: roads or bridges to avoid right now. Are a lot of people trying to leave? I think she needs to cross the Washington Bridge.

SC made it to Philly safe and sound, and just as the rain began! I hope everyone weathers the storm safely and without too much aggravation. I can't imagine the inconvenience of mass transit being shut down in NYC, New Jersey and Philadelphia. I hope you all avoid power outages, flooding, wind damage, tornadoes and boredom!