Another Temporary Setback For Global Warming With Snow Again In The North Texas Forecast

Via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram  this morning I saw something I did not want to see.

That being a five-day forecast with incoming snow on the menu, scheduled for this upcoming Tuesday.

I was hoping we were done with this chilly nonsense for this current Winter, with a return to the cozy comfort brought by global warming.

Optimistic that I perpetually am, I had packed away my winter blankets and longjohns. I guess I should be pro-active and unpack my winter blankets and longjohns in anticipation of another big chill.

More Snow On Day 4 Of Being Snowbound In Texas

Around 11 the snow stopped falling. While it was falling I was out in it. That is one of my motorized vehicular devices you see covered with a thick white substance.

The white substance was very powdery, so I easily removed it.

Walking in the 6 inches of snow was a lot easier than dealing with walking on ice. But, I had an incident or two where I nearly slipped into falling mode.

I took several pictures to take you on a virtual tour of my latest Texas Snow Day.

Looking out at the pool it is hard to believe I used to swim in that thing. It looks very cold currently.

The icicle I showed you yesterday now is surrounded by a ring of snow.

Above I'm up by Albertsons, looking down on Boca Raton Boulevard. The van on the right is stuck.

To the left of the view of the stuck van is a couple rows of parked, snow-covered cars. I don't know if they are stuck.

That is the Super Bowl Buffet on the right, with a truck and a car going slow on the Loop 820 Interstate. It does not appear that the Super Bowl Buffet is open today.

On the south side of the Super Bowl Buffet looking across the parking lot at Albertsons, which is open.

Currently it is 22 degrees out there. I think that's the warmest it has been for days. The sun seems to be trying to break through the clouds. Some sun might help warm things up a bit. And cause melting, which will then freeze again into a slippery, icy mess.

It is days like this that cause me to miss the temperature, moderate, easy going weather of Western Washington.

I called my mom this morning while I was out playing in the snow. Mom politely listened to me whine about the weather and then told me it was me who chose to move to this place. Phoenix froze last night, down to 26, according to my mom.

Miss Puerto Rico just called to tell me she is out of essential groceries. I told her I'd go on an emergency essentials hunt at Albertsons this afternoon.

July 21 In Texas Thinking About Snow & Swimming

No. That is not the morning of July 21 view from my patio.

I was stopped from taking a picture this morning of the view from my patio, due to the fact that when I turned my camera on it told me to charge the battery.

Actually, what it said was "Replace Battery Pack". I'd not seen this message before.

What you are looking at is the view from my patio last winter, around Christmas, if I remember right. A very rare foot of snow fell on North Texas.

Hard to imagine that possible in our current status of going over 100 every day, Heat Index-wise.

I find it difficult to believe, right at the moment, that I continued taking a morning dip in the pool all winter long. But I did. Often a very quick dip, then a fast run for the hot tub. I don't know if I am going to continue this bizarre practice this coming winter.

I'll be heading to the ice free pool in a little bit, after the sun finally decides to arrive. The early morning, very dark sky was still missing the moon this morning. Where has the moon gone?

I think I'll do me some virtually tripping to the East Texas Piney Woods zone again today. To Marshall. A town with an interesting history.

Snow Falls On North Texas On The Last Day Of Winter & First Day Of Spring

That is the first day of Spring, 6 in the morning, view from my patio balcony. Note the white stuff on the balcony railing. Apparently the heavy wind kept the snow from sticking to tree limbs.

Yes. It snowed here in formerly non-Arctic Texas, just as the National Weather Service predicted, with the white stuff falling both on the last day of Winter and the first day of Spring.

The flakes began descending yesterday around 5. Because it was so windy, flakes were not making straight vertical descents. Yesterday's flake were minimalist in volume and widely varied in size. By the time the sun turned out its light for the night, no snow had accumulated, at least in my limited view.

When the sun arrives for the first day of Spring, and I'm able to more accurately assess conditions on the ground, I may decide to make my way to the pool and photo document swimming in the snow on the first day of Spring. It is a bit treacherous, with these conditions, to make it to the pool, due to a large pond of water that accumulated yesterday and may be frozen this morning.

On to a totally non-snow related subject. The number of people who have gone missing continues to grow.

Steve Doeung has been missing since Wednesday.

I believe the Queen of Wink has returned from her visit with Shamu or Namu or their descendants, but the Queen seems to be incommunicado, except for one cryptic message.

The Scrabble Queen of Washington has disappeared. She was being the temporary Scrabble Queen of Florida, doing her Scrabbling from a Gulf of Mexico beach location on the Florida panhandle.

Elsie Hotpepper was going to investigate some of these missing person cases, but now Elsie Hotpepper seems to have gone missing.

It is all very perplexing.

Snow In Texas On The Last Day Of Winter

That is the radar look at the storm that is currently hovering above me.

In the article about today's bad weather, in this Saturday morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, it said that today was the start of Spring. I may be wrong, but I'm not wrong as often as that newspaper is wrong, but I believe today is the last day of Winter, with tomorrow, Sunday, March 21, being the first day of Spring.

Rain started hitting my bedroom window during the middle of the night. It continues. The forecast is for the temperature to drop throughout the day, getting into the freezing zone, with the wet stuff possibly turning into wet frozen stuff.

As in snow in Texas on the last day of Winter, or, according to the Star-Telegram calendar, the first day of Spring.

Below is the National Weather Service Winter Weather Advisory (please make note of the fact that the National Weather Service also believes this to be a Winter day).

Tarrant-Dallas-Including The Cities Of, Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas 4:19 AM CDT Sat Mar 20 2010

Winter Weather Advisory In Effect From 6 PM This Evening To 7 AM CDT Sunday.

The National Weather Service In Fort Worth Has Issued A Winter Weather Advisory For Snow, Which Is In Effect From 6 PM This Evening To 7 AM CDT Sunday.

A Powerful Upper Level Storm System Will Move Across The Region And Result In Widespread Precipitation Across The Area. Rain Is Expected To Become Mixed With Or Change To All Snow This Evening. Snowfall Accumulations In The Advisory Area Are Expected To Average 1/2 Inch On Elevated And Grassy Surfaces, But Northern Dallas County Could See Amounts Up To I Inch. In Addition To The Snow, Strong Winds Of 20 To 25 Mph Tonight May Result In Periods Of Blowing Snow And Reduced Visibilities.

A Winter Weather Advisory Means That Periods Of Winter Precipitation May Cause Travel Difficulties. Be Prepared For Slippery Roads And Plan On Some Travel Delays.

The Snow Is Melting & Me & My Fellow Texans Are Out Driving Around Breaking Rules & Being Scofflaws

You are looking east on Randol Mill Road in east Fort Worth, Friday afternoon around 3. As you can see we have had some snow melting.

I'd been outside enjoying the Winter Wonderland in walk mode, but, when I realized the roads were easily doable, I quickly went and did them in fully mechanized mode.

When I got the wheels turning, first, I needed to go to the Post Office. There I found a mysterious, thick envelope from the Queen of Wink. I've not opened it yet. I'm saving it for a special moment. I also found something else that once more sent me to the Chase Bank on Beach Street.

I did not even consider the possibility of having me one of my regular walkabouts on the way to the bank, which would be my regular pattern.

I left the bank and saw that the Trinity River is flooding over Trinity Falls at the infamous location of the Express Energy Services Trinity River Water Withdrawals. It looked so different, all white, with the rutted up, muddied levee, looking all pristine and clean.

I then went to Town Talk. Fewest cars I've ever seen there. Got some good stuff, cheese, hummus and apple cider. Really good apple cider.

It was when I left Town Talk I encountered the Road Closed sign on Randol Mill Road.

I think being all cooped up due to being snowbound had the scofflaw side of my makeup all revved up. I wanted to see what was closing Randol Mill Road. Something dire, I assumed. Maybe the old bridge, that crosses the Trinity River, had finally given up. It's had trucks banned on it for years, which I've also seen ignored, having had encounters, mid-bridge with both big UPS and Fed-Ex trucks.

I suspected if the bridge was the reason for the closure, the Road Closed sign would have been more dire sounding, as in, "Danger Ahead Bridge Out."

I was not long past the Road Closed sign when I encountered an incoming car. I thought maybe they were coming out of the north entrance to Gateway Park.

And then more incoming cars. I got to the infamous Randol Mill Trinity Bridge and encountered the oncoming car you see in the picture.

Prior to this incoming car I saw what I think had the road closed. Some snow damaged tree material was leaning over the road. I hit some when I could not swerve around it, due to one of those incoming cars I mentioned.

I met so many incoming vehicles I assumed only the eastbound lane of Randol Mill was closed. I was wrong. The westbound lanes were more seriously blocked than the eastbound, as you can see in the picture.

Why were so many Texans scofflawing today? Usually we are such a docile people, living in fear of an encounter with the taser wielding Fort Worth Gestapo Stormtroopers and never, ever breaking any rules.

Taking A Snow Covered Tour Of My Zone Of Texas, Fort Worth, The Arctic Of The South

You are looking at the Friday morning view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony at what 12 inches of snow, give or take an inch, looks like in Fort Worth, Texas.

Miss Puerto Rico called me about 8:30 asking if I could lend some pushing assistance to a stuck vehicle. I'd not helped unstick a vehicle in decades, so that sounded fun.

I made it to the stuck vehicle in about 5 minutes, but it was already unstuck. But I opined that its current location left it vulnerable to other sliders. Moving it to the other side of the parking lot got it stuck again. So, I got in my desired vehicle unstuck help.

That is the unstuck vehicle, the green one, currently stuck in front of the office of the Havenwood Apartments. As you can see there is a lot of snow hanging over the stuck green car.

That is Miss Puerto Rico's Jeep covered with snow. She actually drove it to this location, from her abode, in this snow covered condition. That is Miss PR behind the open door, on the phone, consulting with her boss.

As I wandered around, taking pictures, the snow was falling out of the trees, at times in big bursts. After getting hit by a really big avalanche of snow, I decided it was not a really good idea to be under a snow covered tree. Another good reason not to be under one of the snow covered trees is below.

A limb snapped under the snow weight, toppling over a sidewalk. I suspect before today is done there will be a lot more tree limb snappings happening.

I was going to BBQ and have a picnic today, but the table and BBQing device I use for that activity appears to be not very usable today.

There are mechanized transportation devices out on the roads. I don't think I will be joining them, unless we get a quick melt.

As you can see, this morning I have a lot more cold white vehicle coverage than I showed you yesterday. Even if I cleared off all the snow and ice I don't know if I could make it over the snow hump.

All the snow that fell since I showed you the Snowball Head, yesterday, has dulled its delicate features, like its orange eyes and big toothy grin. I don't think my van is likely being very happy with its thick coat of ice and snow.

I don't think this tree or bush or shrub or whatever it is, that I see from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony, is likely too happy with its covering of ice and snow. It's being very droopy.

This tree seems to have given up in icy cold exasperation and is sticking its snow covered fingers in the air. Now lets go visit this morning's swimming pool with all its extra snow.

Icicles appear to be hanging from yesterday's icicle free fountain. The pool is the color of blue you see when you're on a snow covered mountain and look into a crack in the snow.

The thing sticking up from the center of the snow-covered table is an umbrella in its down position.

If I had known it was doable, and not an iced over, impossible to walk on mess, I would have taken an icy dip this morning. Doesn't it looking inviting? One more pool picture and I'm done with today's look of the Arctic of the South.

Friday Morning With North Texas & Dallas/Fort Worth Under Record Breaking Snowfall, School Canceled, Power Outages

It is over an hour til the sun shows up. The picture I took a few minutes ago, from my patio window, does not do justice to the pile of snow out there.

Thursday's snowstorm continued well after the sun set. By midnight the official National Weather Service location for D/FW, that being Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, had recorded a new one day record of 11.2 inches. And the white stuff was still falling. By 4am the 24 hour total was 12.4 inches.

The snow piled heavy on tree limbs, which by 8pm had wreaked havoc with power lines to the tune of over 70,000 people powerless in the D/FW Metroplex.

Most Dallas/Fort Worth area schools have canceled Friday classes. If you were were supposed to show up in Tarrant County court today due to jury duty, don't bother til Tuesday.

Road conditions are expected to be terrible this morning, possibly impossibly impassible. Currently at a bit past 6am it is 31. The predicted high for today is only 35, which would seem to indicate we will not be seeing any fast melting.

Meanwhile, while we here in the south, in North Texas, are under a thick cold blanket of snow, up north, in Vancouver, desperate measures are in play to get a snow covering on some of the Olympic venues slated to need snow real soon.

The Great 2010 North Texas Snowstorm Is Now Over 12 Hours Old & It Is Still Snowing In Fort Worth

We are over 12 hours into the biggest snow storm to hit North Texas in decades. It is still snowing hard and still hovering at 32 degrees. In a couple hours it will be a frozen, icy, slippery, dangerous mess out there.

At 3 I decided to brave the elements, once more, to see if I could free a mechanized transport from its white blanket and get mobile.

As you can see in the picture a giant snowball head has grown in front of my snow covered van. The snowball head appears to be wearing a stocking cap, complete with a ball on top and is sporting a toothy grin and big orange eyeballs.

The snowman I showed you previously, the one with the big, misshapen derriere, has gone missing. I suspect that snowman morphed into the big, grinning snowball head.

The conditions are not conducive to a satisfying cross country skiing experience. That requires a more solidly frozen base. The base out there, in places, is a slushy mess. The skis sink to the slush and it becomes a tough, un-fun slog through the snow.

The few drivers I saw on the road appear to be driving with extreme caution. I ran into some icy spots walking, I suspect there are plenty of icy spots, already, on the roads.

As you can see, the other mechanized transport device, that I showed you being inoperable earlier, is now even more inoperable, without a lot of snow and ice removal.

I have never come to possess snow and ice removal equipment of the sort that were always kept in my vehicles in Washington, due to the need here, in Texas, being so rare. Right now I wish I had an ice scraper. Have you ever tried scraping windows with a credit card? It is slow going.

After I was done checking out the snow status of the transport devices I decided to check on the pool.
What you are looking at in the picture is the fountain that flows water into the pool. This creates a soothing babbling brook sound effect that I like at night when my windows are open.

Something about the juxtaposition of the icy blue of the pool and the bright white of the snow makes me want to get into the water. I let the feeling pass without taking any action.

So, that's my Texas Snow Day, so far. As of right now the snow appears to have slowed up quite a bit. It has been at this point several times today, and then come roaring back. Which seems to be happening even as I type.

I keep getting comments, today, from Snow Day Home Bound Garth the Texan, seeming evermore happy as he imbibes in his Kermit doctor prescribed tonic. I think it has a high alcohol content.

The Snow Continues To Pile Up At 2 In The Afternoon In Fort Worth

That is the afternoon view from my patio window, coming up on 2 and hour 11 of the biggest snow storm to hit these parts of Texas in almost 3 decades.

So far we seem to have accumulated between 4 and 5 inches of the white stuff. If the forecast is accurate the freezing faucet should turn off around the 6 inch mark.

Currently, it is still freezing and still snowing hard, with big flakes.

Many people across the D/FW Metroplex are having themselves a Snow Day.

For instance, it appears Garth the Texan is home today, sending out dozens of blog comments, after consuming his doctor's order quota of Irish Coffee. I thought I remembered Garth the Texan telling me he did not like coffee, preferring Dr Pepper. I remember being appalled when I heard that, because I could not see the connection between that sickly sweet cherry flavored drink and coffee.

So, maybe Garth is drinking Irish Dr Pepper and slightly not following his doctor's orders. I assume since Garth's doctor prescribed Irish Whiskey to a diabetic, perennially prone to attacks of the vapors, that Garth's doctor must me one of those infamous Kermit doctors currently making the national/world news.

I could use some of Garth the Texans' Irish Coffee right about now. I'm cold. And going stir crazy. But I don't feel like going through the hassle of going cross country skiing again. It was not all that much fun, with no hills.

Cross Country Skiing Over To Miss Puerto Rico's While The Snow Continues To Fall On Fort Worth

The snow continues to pile up, here in Fort Worth, with 1 hour to go before noon.

I decided to take a slide on the adventurous side and drag my cross country skis out of the closet. I thought the skis had delaminated, but apparently that must have only happened in one of my nightmares.

It has probably been at least 6 years since I've been on cross country skis. It is sort of like riding a bike, roller blading or playing tennis, as in very easy to get back into slipping and sliding mode.

I decided to ski over to Miss Puerto Rico's to get a picture of the white view from her balcony. There are not many vehicles out there mucking up the streets. I only have to negotiate a couple roads between here and the aforementioned balcony. A passing Fort Worth bus did inconvenience me by launching a splash of slushy snow in my direction, which I artfully dodged.

Above you see the aforementioned Fort Worth bus, careening down the hill towards me. I am under the protection of tree leaves, so there is not a lot of snow in the foreground. When the bus passed it caused snow to fall out of the trees, on to me. I did not care much for that unexpected additional snowfall.

My skiing route took me by my pool. You can sort of see why it did not seem like a good idea to go swimming this morning. Although the hot tub likely would have been pleasant, with the falling snowflakes having a nice cooling effect, obviating the need for repeated cool down dips in the pool. The hot tub is that thing you see on the right, spitting water into the pool.

It is still freezing out there and still snowing. The forecast has been changed to an expectation of an accumulation of around 6 inches. D/FW International Airport is having trouble getting planes in the air. And out of the air.

My source for the D/FW Airport information is Jovo the Newshound. Jovo is monitoring the storm from his outpost in Sulphur Springs, where he also plans to go skiing, except without cross country skis. Jovo is going to make his sliding attempt using conventional downhill type skis. Good luck with that, Jovo!

Way too much snow is covering my vehicle right now. I am hoping, if the temperature goes above freezing, clearing the snow will be fairly easy. Then I can escape from here by motorized means. If the snow keeps getting deeper I may go for Round Two of cross country skiing.

While I was sliding around I saw other people out having fun with the snow. I saw one snowball fight, several people taking pictures, one adult pulling 2 kids on a sled and 2 guys working on a snowman.

I have never been a big fan of constructing men from snow. Way too quickly the ball of snow grows way too big and then is way too difficult to lift into position. A properly built, conventional snowman consists of 3 snowballs. According to the Frosty the Snowman Guidebook to Successful Snowman Construction.

My aversion to rolling balls of snow may have something to do with the fact that I've likely not done so since I was a little kid. Now that I'm a big kid I likely would have an easier time of rolling and lifting the heavy balls of frozen water. But, I fear at my almost elderly age and relative frailty, I'd likely manage to put my back out if I were to attempt to build a proper snowman.

Due, likely, to the lack of opportunity to learn snowman building skills, due to the infrequency of snow in this zone of Texas, the snowman I saw this morning was not the most attractive of that species that I've seen. First off, he is made of only 2 balls.

This snowman's front side is covered with a big shirt, leaving the backside completely naked. This snowman's big misshapen rear put me in mind of my visit to Wal-Mart yesterday.

Below is the last snowy Texas view I'm showing you for now. This is the look to the west from my abode, at the forest of trees across the street, all whited up into Winter Wonderland mode.

The Sun Is Up And Lighting Up A Very White North Texas While Snow Continues To Fall

Dawn has now broken in North Texas, with the sun trying to light up the place. Snow continues to blanket the ground.

The current view from my patio door window is now quite white. The flashing camera makes the snowflakes look like twinkling stars.

When I lived in Washington, in the Banana Belt Skagit Valley, where it rarely snowed, I developed an extreme fondness for the rare snow days. Mostly, I suspect, because, if enough snow fell, school might get canceled. That always seemed like a Christmas present.

Sadly, the best snowstorm of my school in Washington years occurred during Christmas vacation. If I remember right, that snowstorm occurred when I was a Junior in high school. That snow storm is the only one I ever remember hitting the Skagit Valley that resulted in snowdrifts.

40 miles north of the Skagit Valley, in Lynden, where my grandma's lived, that area of Washington is in a completely different climate zone from the Skagit Valley. Cold Arctic air comes down the Fraser River Valley and heads out to sea, blocked, usually, from hitting the Skagit Valley, due to a conveniently placed mountain range, but that cold air hits Lynden and Whatcom County, bringing a lot of snow, as in several feet, at times, and heavy winds that cause big snowdrifts, drifts so tall they reach the roofs of barns.

North Texas has no mountains, nothing to cause weather systems to affect one area differently than another, as far as I know. So, I suspect all of North Texas is being quite bright white today. I've not heard, yet, if schools are closing.

I may drag out my cross country skis today, if the white stuff keeps accumulating. Currently, at almost 8am, we are still below freezing and the snow keeps falling.

The Predicted Thursday Snowstorm Has Arrived Coloring North Texas White

You are looking at the same view out my patio door window I've been showing you the past couple days.

Three days ago the view was gray and wet, the day after that the view was clear and blue, the day after that the view was gray again.

And, now this morning, Thursday at 6am, the view out my patio door window is black and white, with the white being provided by snow.

Yes, the predicted snow has arrived. Apparently really big flakes started hitting the ground around 3am. I was not up to see them, but I did hear something hitting my bedroom window.

The National Weather Service currently has us, here in long-suffering cold North Texas, under a Winter Storm Warning until midnight.

The sun should be trying to shine a light on the white in about a half hour. I will not be braving the elements to experience an icy, snowy walk to the pool this morning. I will likely be housebound today. I expect to be quite cranky by the time noon rolls around.

I am low on my supply of vittles. I probably have enough to last a day or two. I suppose if I get desperate I can walk across the street to Albertsons. I do not like Alberstsons. But sometimes desperate times require desperate measures.

Texas Snowman

After being cooped up much of yesterday due to ice, snow and cold it was nice to escape today to Oakland Lake Park. You wouldn't know we had a blizzard here yesterday except for some archaeological evidence, such as the snowman you see in this photo with the Fort Worth UFO in the background. Other snowmen in the park had already collapsed into their component parts and were now just slowly melting balls. But this one guy remained intact, standing proud with his orange nose pointing towards the lake.

The snowman looked a bit lonely, standing like a guard in front of the tennis courts, and with the snow gone from the ground and Texas back to its usual brown color he looks really out of place, like ice in a desert.