In thrall of/ to Nature

             After an earlier chide from the gas company about my using waaaay more gas for heating than my “efficient” neighbors, I received another letter giving me a “GREAT” and two smiley faces. I had used 80% less gas this month, only two CCF. “Efficient” neighbors averaged ten CCF and “All neighbors” used 19. My rank—out of 100 neighbors—was #6. ( How were they to know I was gone for two weeks during that period? Ha! Joke’s on them). Their suggestions for energy saving: check air filters each month, seal air leaks, be smart about dish washing—only full loads, use air-dry setting, avoid special cycles like ‘rinse only.’

Happy 54^th birthday on December 3 to my second son Eric, a soon-to-retire career highway department employee, who lives in Hot Springs with wife Lisa and daughter Lainee. His son James lives in England AR. Color me proud, proud, proud.

Here are some unusual (to me) facts about weather gathered in one place from my readings over the last few years. Perhaps you will find them interesting, too.

* In January, 2010, the United Kingdom was the coldest in thirty years. The lowest temperature was minus 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit. Norway was the coldest in two decades at minus 44 degrees, F.  [Understatement: “It’s cold. It’s just cold.” ––John Lewis, National Weather Service meteorologist, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, hereafter known as AD-G) article by K. Heard.]

* The “Acqua Alta” phenomenon denotes exceptionally high tides that often flood most of Venice in the winter.

* The 2010 earthquake in Haiti at 7.1 on the Richter scale was the worst in 200 years. [Joe Downey, New York fire battalion chief, describes the earthquake in Haiti as of “a magnitude at least 100 times worse than Katrina. Leonard Pitts, in an AD-G column January 16, 2010, said, “Sometimes, the earth is cruel.”]

* “I’m not going to miss the sight and sound of rain and thunder in February to sit inside a church building and wish I were outside.” – Pat Laster, on a Sunday morning after retirement as the church music director.

* Any time the earth moves under one’s feet, it’s scary.” – Scott Ausbrooks, on Guy’s [Arkansas] several earthquake swarm, October 2010. About 100 earthquakes have been recorded since that September in Faulkner Co (AR)—all near the community of Guy.]

            * Any earthquake less than 43 miles deep is considered shallow.” – Ibid [Unfathomable! That is the distance from Benton to Arkadelphia!]

* “We took on Mother Nature. She threw everything at us but the kitchen sink, from timber, to boats that were sunk, to tree branches,” said George Pavlou, acting regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. “We prevailed in the end.” --AD-G, October 12 2009. [ I doubt that! Perhaps temporarily.]

            * In mid-January 2011, every state but Florida had snow on the ground––even Hawaii.

            * Two phenomena caused the extremes of weather during winter 2011: La Nina and a large high pressure system over Greenland.

            * On February 28, 2011, I actually felt the 4.7 magnitude earthquake, one of the Greenbrier-Guy swarm. First, my recliner shivered, then the strangest sound began, centered in the dining room. By the time I arose, the sound was dying, and I could see the gentle shaking of the dishes in the china cabinets.

            *April 2011 was the deadliest tornado outbreak since March 1932 that killed 332.

            *The Mississippi River crested at 59.2 feet in Arkansas City on April 21, 1927 and in Helena, 60.2 feet on February 21, 1937.

            * Sand boils . . . can cause cavities to form in levees, especially if the pressure on both sides is not the same. Sand boils with sediment seeping is NOT good. Clear seepage is okay.

            *One definition of tornado: “indifferent destruction of the wind.” – S. McCrummen

            I am in complete thrall to/of Nature. We are forecast to be hit with frigid temps from a polar vortex very, very soon. So glad that good neighbors/ friends lit the pilot lights here.

Whether and whither the weather

by Pat Laster

                “Goodness, how we’d like to know/ Why the weather alters so.” –Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939) from “Children’s Song”

               How many years has December arrived in Arkansas with temps ranging from 54 to 72? On December 2 in 1982, it was 79 degrees, a record at that time. In 1918, in February, Little Rock’s high temp was 87 degrees.

                Why is it, I wonder, that I seem to equate December with winter, though winter doesn’t actually begin until near the end of the month. But, the climatological winter season, according to the National Weather Service, begins December 1 and lasts through February. Maybe that’s why.

                Last Saturday and Sunday were warm enough to work outside and neighbors on three sides blew or raked, then burned leaves.

On Sunday afternoon, I took all the cuttings that had rooted—begonia, epesia, a lantana sprig and three African violet leaves—to the porch and potted them.

                Then I snipped off all the frozen chrysanthemum blooms, leaving a second set of buds. Don’t oak leaves in flower beds make good winter mulch? I went online and found different opinions, but most recommend shredding oak leaves.

                It was still warm on Monday, so I texted local Daughter to see if she would come over and saddle the red Troy-built Pony and ride over the yard to shred the leaves, thus helping my grass—cur and mutt grass, not like the back neighbor’s fancy stuff.

                While she did that, I blew as many leaves as I could from the foundation/flower beds. By the time Annamarie finished the front yard, there were no leaf pieces to return as mulch to the beds. Heck, I never mulch anyway.

                Lately, weather has been in the news, especially weather extremes. Here are a few items I jotted down:

                * The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season tied as being the 3^rd most-active season since 1851.

                In 2012, extremes—weather-wise—were:

*Arctic ice melt—an area larger than the US (4.57 million square miles.)

*Droughts were “devastating” to nearly two-thirds of the US, as well as Russia and Southern Europe.

* Floods swamped West Africa.

* Heat waves affected much of the Northern Hemisphere.  

* In 1917, Little Rock received 26.8 inches of snow from December – February.

* In 1918, Calico Rock (Arkansas) received 48 inches of snow through February.

* In 1983-84, Arkansas temps were below freezing for 12 straight days, December `9 – January 1.

* In 1889-90, there was NO snowfall.

* The National Weather Service (where most of this information was found and shared by K. Heard, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) records-keeping began in the early 1800s.

In the final page of “The Old Farmer’s Almanac Book of Weather Lore,” by Edward F. Dolan, is this British School Rhyme:

“Whether the weather be fine, / Whether the weather be not; / Whether the weather, / Whatever the weather, / Whether we like it or not.” #

 

c 2012 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press, Benton AR