Six More Weeks of Winter

[Mhayes]

Well it official: Punxsutawney Phil (famous groundhog) saw his shadow and we are going to have six more weeks of winter. <sigh>

Here is Kansas we are under a winter storm warning with snow falling and by the end of the day around 7-9 in of snow. That is not record breaking, but high winds later could cause drifting snow. The temps tonight will be around 4 deg and tomorrow's low -4 deg. I know I am a wimp compared to the weather  Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota are having.

Tell us what kind of weather you are having. I will try to be pleasant to those living in Florida or Tess and Athol that live in Australia and are enjoying summer.

Margie

[Tori803]

Central Minnesota is still cold but we have sunshine today! I like the sun, makes me feel like there will be a spring someday.

Tori

[Pat]

Our little corner of the world here in southern Michigan woke to 2F this morning and enjoyed a balmy 25F this afternoon –a very pleasant reprieve from the icy below zero temps, cutting winds of 30 plus mph that make you feel like you need to grab an anchor before heading out the door, snow, and even freezing rain of recent days.
 
Parking lots and parking spaces are getting smaller, roads are getting narrower, and blind intersections are becoming more prevalent as we run out of places to pile the snow around here.  I'm thinking Punxsutawney Phil knew what he was doing when he crawled back into his little burrow.  I'm ready to hibernate until spring.

We didn't get much sun today as a new system is setting up to bring another six to nine inches of snow tonight thru tomorrow.  That's going to be nothing compared to the next storm that's already gearing up to hit us after this the weatherman said.  He seemed to have a gleam in his eye.  I think he's enjoying all the extra air time he gets with the added watches, warnings, and alerts.
 
On the bright side our extra snow is raising the level of the Great Lakes which is very much needed.  Also the extra cold is expected to kill off the over-population of insects that have that become harmful to our environment over recent years.

[PhotoBob]

We got a nice snow here in St. Louis too. 4-5 inches. I took advantage of the situation and photographed the birds on my deck.



Bob

[Pat]

Great picture Bob.  Nice to see you back on the forum.

Pat

[PhotoBob]

Thank you Pat!  I hit a rough patch last November and had to re-group. I think things are smoothed out for now, so I needed to jump back in. That's always a good thing when I know I'll have time to work on photos.   :up:

Bob

[Mhayes]

Bob,

Great to see you back and that is a beautiful photo of the female cardinal. It looks like she wants to come inside. I have a male cardinal that perches on the ledge of my picture window and drives my two cats nuts! Stay warm and great to have you back!

Margie

[Tess (Tassie D)]

Beautiful photo Bob.

Be careful what you wish for Margie. The east of our state has terrible bushfires  with loss of homes and stock. Luckily they are nowhere near us.

[Pat]

So glad to learn you are safe Tess!

I just read that the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported 70 fires fanned by winds gusting up to 62 miles per hour were burning in Victoria Sunday including some near the outskirts of Melbourne.  They are saying the fires are considered the worst outbreak since the disaster of 2009 that destroyed 3000 structures and claimed 173 lives. 

Pat

[Mhayes]

Tess, I definitely wouldn't wish for the wildfires and this seems to be a constant threat over there. Has it always been like that or has it gotten worse in the last few years. I am so glad you got to move to a greener area and one where it rains!

Does anyone know what ever happened to Max and whether he is safe?

Having said that, I still am looking forward to spring and summer. Way too cold and too much snow here. I guess it makes you appreciate the seasons more.

Margie

[Tess (Tassie D)]

Max is doing ok, bought a caravan to do a bit of touring. Got flooded in again last rainy season.

Margie it has always been like this. That said, people wanting to live in the bush has grown enormously and the cities spread out into these areas. The bushfire is the only way some of our native trees can spread their seeds so it's been happening for an awful long time.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on the planet so dry lightning storms start as many fires as arsonists.