Aftermath

 As predicted, it was a stormy day yesterday across much of the southeast.  In Alabama, storms began in the northwest in the early afternoon, and continued on through the state until about midnight.  Fortunately, these "storms are underperforming", according to the most prominent meteorologist in the region, James Spann.  There were incidents of severe damage, of course.  The small town of Gordo, AL was hit particularly hard, as was Calera, not far south of my own home.  But as of this writing, no fatalities have been reported statewide, and injuries seem comparatively minor.  At my location, we were battened down and prepared for the worst from early Saturday morning.  I'm glad to report that we suffered no more than heavy rain - 1.81" - and very blustery winds for most of the day.  No apparent damage to the house or property.  I'm very relieved that things didn't develop to be worse.  It's only the beginning of the Spring tornado season here in central Alabama, but I really hope that's the worst we'll see this year.

Bounce house

 Not to humblebrag, but my household has more cars than garage space.  Yes, the house's two car garage is spacious enough to accommodate our two vehicles and a small wooden sailboat I built myself a few years ago.  But this leaves one vehicle that must be parked outside in the elements.  When severe weather is forecast, I sometimes use my Hail Protector to shield the vehicle from damaging hail or flying debris in a storm.  It is, in essence, similar to a children's inflatable bounce house.  In other words, a fabric shell that is inflated by a constantly running electric fan.  This is designed to provide enough of a cushion to protect a vehicle from large chunks of ice falling from the sky.  It takes me about 15 minutes to install the thing, so advanced warning of severe weather is essential.  I have it set up at this moment, in advance of expected severe weather, including large hail, later this afternoon.  I've had this gizmo for a couple years, and deployed it a handful of times, as a precaution.  Haven't yet had any actual hail to be protected from.  Hope that streak continues today...  Stay tuned.

Springtime for Bham

 As we move into early Spring, we begin the most tempestuous time of the year for central Alabama.  The hints began almost a week ago as professional meteorologists began to mention the possibility of severe weather this weekend.  As data rolled in and computer models became more refined, it has developed that the forecast for tonight and tomorrow calls for especially severe weather, the type of which is seen only every few years.  And my home and nearby Birmingham seem to be right in the middle of it all.  High winds, large tornadoes, and large hail are all possibilities.  It is almost certain that some people in the state will be dealing with the loss of their homes by the time things calm down late tomorrow night.  All that can be done now is to prepare a safe place to go to when tornadoes are near, and to ensure a reliable source of weather information.  I've done that and now can only wait.  As it turns out, the waiting is the hardest part.  And as a homeowner, I worry about significant damage to my home and belongings.  Here's hoping things turn out to be less severe than predicted, and there's no loss of life in the region.  If you're interested, you can monitor my local conditions here in real time.  At least as long as the power and internet stay functional.  See you on the other side.

EDIT:  Since posting this, the risk for severe weather tomorrow has been increased to the maximum level- "5 High Risk" for central Alabama.  Somebody is going to have a really bad day tomorrow.

Snow Day

 

Two days ago, on Friday the 10th, we in the Birmingham metro area woke to a blanket of fresh white snow.  For this area of the country, this is a rare event that happens maybe once every other winter, at most.  Fortunately, this event was well predicted, which allowed nonessential workers like me to stay home and enjoy the scene from the warmth and safety of home.  Area roads were, for a time, icy and impassible.   So after the initial wonder at the falling flakes and a brief trek outside for few photos, I was able to concentrate on more pressing matters:  Postcrossing.   Houseguests and holiday activities have meant that I have not devoted much time to writing postcards lately.  And with my status as Alabama's #1 Postcrosser to defend, I have been trying to catch up on my postcards over the last couple days of this unplanned long weekend.  By tomorrow morning, Monday, I should have about 40 outgoing cards to drop in the mail.  That includes several to Canada!  The Canadian postal worker strike has been resolved, and the mail backlogs cleared, so the USPS and Postcrossing have both resumed sending postcards to Canada.  I have really come to enjoy the contemplation and ritual of drawing an international address, selecting a card appropriate for the recipient, placing stamps, writing a short message, and addressing the card before sending it off on its (sometimes) very long journey around the world.  Several cards I wrote this morning will be going to China, about as far away as possible on this globe of ours.  Well into my second decade of this hobby, I enjoy it even more than when I first started.

And that rare snow event that gave me the chance to catch up on my Postcrossing?  More cold weather and perhaps even snow is possible before the end of the month.  Get ready, USPS, for another pile of cards!  Write on. 

Oh, hail!

 Springtime in central Alabama means strong storms, occasional tornadoes, and the potential for large hail.  Last night, all three were in the forecast, so it was time for me to deploy my vehicle hail protector, or as my wife calls it, the "bounce house".  Since I haven't yet figured out how to fit three cars in our two-car garage, my daily driver Chevy Malibu stays outside.  I have a cover that protects it from damaging UV rays during the weekends when I don't drive the vehicle, but last night more was required.  Thus, Hail Protector.  This is basically a two layer car cover, with a fan that blows air between the layers to create a cushion that protects against falling hailstones.  After some time spent to assemble the device and learn how to efficiently install it, I can now deploy it in about 15 minutes.  So last evening, I had it in place before the expected storms.  It turned out to be a false alarm, and fortunately there was no severe weather in our area.  But should the risk of damaging hail again loom, I will be ready with my bounce house.

Snow or no?

 I live in a part of the country where snow is rare.  And actually, that's a good thing, since we don't deal with snow very well in Birmingham, Alabama.  The normally terrible local drivers are an absolute menace when the flakes start to fall.  Children love the rare snow events, but adults lose their fricken' minds!  Panic buying at grocery stores (and sure, liquor stores) precedes even a faint mention of possible snow.  You'd think we were going to be snowbound in a mountain cabin until the spring thaw, the way people react.  Usually, any snow that may accumulate melts away quickly, leaving only a pleasant memory and a fridge full of deli meat, milk, and bread.  So naturally, long range forecasts are of interest in these parts.  Personally, I ignore the ones from self-appointed YouTube "experts", regarding them as the useless trash they are.  If anything is worth some attention, it might be a serious analysis from NOAA, the government weather professionals (and not the ones with a map and a Sharpie).  The real professionals have recently issued a long-term forecast for the coming winter, and there is a suggestion Birmingham may see more snow than usual.  Which means some snow.  The culprit is a mid-to strong El Niño cycle this year which has the ability to bring snow to the southeast.  NOAA fills their article with disclaimers, and in actuality the skill at these long term forecasts is pretty small.  Also, snow in Birmingham is a tough situation:  for snow, one needs moisture and cold.  The way things work around here, we often have only one or the other.  Cold air comes to us from the north, but by the time it gets here, it is usually very dry.  Moisture comes to us from the south, but it comes from the warm Gulf of Mexico, so the wet air masses usually aren't cold enough for snow.  It's a tricky thing to get both here at the same time.  Anyway, for what it's worth, we have a higher chance than usual for snow, say the experts.  Stay tuned.

Shutdown!

 This is always one of my favorite days of the year. Just moments ago, I turned off the house A/C system and opened the windows. Cool, dry air is now flooding in for the first time in months!  The A/C has earned a well deserved rest after running nonstop since mid April. Such is life in the Deep South, in a world where man is driving the climate dramatically hotter. But at last, an authentic Autumn day has arrived. 

Raindrops fallin' on my head

 For decades, I have had a strong interest in the weather, and so my home is a reporting station for meteorological data.  Through an automated Tempest weather station that feeds updates to the internet, anyone may view the current conditions at my location.  But as a less automated endeavor, I make a daily report of rainfall to CoCoRaHS, the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. Each morning at a certain time, I and a vast group of registered volunteers across the country go out to take the reading of an accurate rain gauge and send in the reading to the network.  This data is compiled and is made available for use by farmers, meteorologists, civic planners, and others.  It's quite satisfying to contribute to such a useful organization.  The CoCoRaHS network in turn provides me with some nifty graphs and charts of all the data I contribute.  So whenever somebody asks me, "What's the weather like?" I can give them an answer far more detailed than they expected.