h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you guys don't hear from me for a few days it will be because I have no electricity. *sigh* We have ice on the way followed by the snow that some of the country is already experiencing.

I am sooooooooo ready for spring.

Yeah, you're sitting too far south to have to worry about it. I remember how that was.

We get nothing like you have Hypatia but I do sympathise, the cold gets to me too, and I am ready for Spring and some sunshine, however shortlived. I am determined to get out in it this year. The mirror tells me I look something like a not a pretty sight!

Hope you don't lose your electricity.

Websailor

*fingers crossed*

I, too, am tired of this winter bidness.

We're expecting temps down in the twenties over the next couple upcoming nights. I'll be dragging the plants in yet again. I'm not anticipating any reports of broken waterlines or anything like that though.

When it gets seriously cold down here along the coast, it's a problem. No one is prepared for it. I don't know why, it's not like it NEVER happens. But every few years we get a hard freeze and chaos ensues.

We are less likely to lose power this year than last winter. The electric company has replaced a lot of poles in my neighborhood. They also recently went through trimming trees. The last ice storm was a doozy. I was without electricity for 4 days. This time I'm better prepared, too. Remember my new gas cooker? That will give me a way to cook and also provide some heat. Also my fireplce now has gas in it with a stove large enough to heat 1200 square feet. And I have plenty of candles and oil and wicks for my lamps.

It's been a long and cold winter here too. The good news is that we have great snowpack for our water needs next summer, but the bad news is that there have been some very cold spells here. We are looking at sub zero F temps here this week for the low on at least one day.

We're supposed to bottom out at -9ºF on Wednesday night. Then we'll start warming back up. The good thing about here is that the bitter cold doesn't last for weeks on end like some places.

Tomorrow´s the first day of spring, here in Ireland. And while it´s still very cold, yesterday was a real bright warm day and really spring-like.

Winter came early here, and it looks as if it will last a good while yet - and I'm sooooo tired of the snow. Never thought I'd get so fed up with it (most winters the last few years have been rather snowless) but enough is enough.

The last few days it's been thawing during the day only to freeze again overnight. And we still have quite a lot of snow left. Spring is feeling very distant.

How much ice are you forecast to get, Hyp? Any snow?

St Louis is going to be a MESS this week. Where I work we're supposed to get up to an inch of ice, followed by 3 to 5 inches of snow. Where I live we're in for a quarter to a half inch of ice, followed by 8 to 12 inches of snow. and just a few miles to the north and west (and I do mean just a few, not like 20 or 30) is the break for the ice, but they're forecast 12-24"

I'm SUPPOSED to be off work tomorrow, but of course I'm on call. I'm scheduled to go in on Wednesday.

We've got a forecast low of 19F on Tuesday night, 17 on Wednesday night. That's colder than I remember it being in London. Maybe once or twice when I was a kid. We had a 17° low last year too - killed off a whole bunch of plants around town. Palm trees mostly (we don't have as many of those in Austin as in San Antonio, but there are quite a few), several prickly pears, an agave or two, and a fantastic bougainvillea that was outside a Mexican restaurant near where I live.

They planted another one and built a cold frame for it that's been out several times already this winter. At least, I guess it's a cold frame - might be heated but I don't think so cos it's made of plastic. I don't know if it'll protect the plant from something as low as 17 though.

-9F? Good grief, that's horrible. I hope you stay cosy indoors, Hyp. And the rest of you too.

It's supposed to go down to -6ºF tonight: last time it was this cold it went down to 0F one night in 2003! I can't believe I ever wore sleeveless shirts, ever. Ever.

The latest forecast is calling for us to get between 0.5 and 1 inch of ice topped by 16-18 inches of snow. 40 mph winds, so we can expect some monster drifts. We are under a blizzard warning. The worst of it will follow the I-44 corridor, which means us. I guess we're due. We had it go around us three or four times last winter.

Even though it hasn't arrived yet, things are already shutting down. All of the area schools are closed tomorrow and probably Wednesday. The ice is supposed to start around 11 pm. The snow will start around 5 am and get heavier through the afternoon. We might get thunder snow. I don't remember ever having that. The last of it should end around 1 am Wednesday. Wednesday night is suposed to be our coldest night.

As a bit of trivia, one weatherman announced that this will be the worst storm in the Joplin area since 1984. That isn't what I wanted to hear.

What's your local TV station Hyp? I always like looking at the weather reports.

Gosho, it depends on which station you watch what the forecast is. I think the one most likely to be accurate is KOAM. This is our CBS affiliate. This company also owns the local Fox Network channel. Both stations use the sme meterologist.

http://www.koamtv.com/

We also have KSN (NBC) and KODE (ABC) which are owned by the same company but have different news teams.

http://fourstateshomepage.com/

As the storm gets closer, they have decreased the possible ice accumulation. That is going south of I-44. So we'll get about a half inch. It is coming up to 11:30 and I'm just now starting to notice some glazing on my driveway.

Thanks

I like to follow these too
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/data/obhistory/KJLN.html
http://www.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KATT.html

I should have been a meteorologist.

As you can see, I have electricity. I'm not sure how much snow I have so far. A friend's hsband went out and measured at theirf house and says 7 inches. It doesn't look like that much to me. But they're about 6 miles north of me, so they could hve that much. They have a Welsh Pembroke Corgi with little short legs. He had to go shovel a place for him to pee. What a hoot!

I heard the ice falling last night. It started for real around 1 am. The worst of the storm is supposed to get here now around noon.

My shelties love it! I have three wet dogs.