It’s World Meteorological Day. How appropriate. The meteorologists around here are excitedly dealing with a typical Colorado weather forecast for the next 24 hours. Typical in that very little about our weather is ever “typical.”
Right now, it’s a beautiful sunny spring day. My thermometer says 79°, although official sources are reporting a few degrees cooler. And yet snow plows are lining up, trucks are being filled with salt, sand, and/or mag chloride, and everyone is watching the sky with fingers crossed. Conditions are expected to change drastically later this evening, with a front bringing in high winds, cold, and snow. I’ve heard predictions of 1″-3″ across the metro (not really a big deal aside from being our first moisture in about a month), with rain expected before the snow. And while this part of the state is currently under a critical Red Flag fire warning because of the drought and wind, the south side of the metro is now also on a blizzard watch.
It was Will Rogers, famous Oklahoman, who said of his state, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.” (Oklahomans always claim it was Will Rogers; others say it was Mark Twain.) And in the 60 or so years I lived there, I found it to be true. However, it seems to be even more true of Colorado. We can thank our mountains for that.
As for the “… more” in the title, it’s also Cuddly Kitten Day, National Puppy Day, National Chip and Dip Day, National Melba Toast Day, Near Miss Day (reminder of the day in 1989 when a 300-meter-wide asteroid passed within 450,000 miles of Earth), and OK Day (celebrating the word “OK” which is recognized and used around the world).
Yikes, my thermometer just hit 80°. But the snow forecast still stands.
Gotta love Colorado.
3:25 pm: Posted this at 3 pm. Since then, clouds have rolled in on a 20 mph south wind and the temp has dropped 5°. To the southwest, looking between the houses, I can see virga. Looks like our change has begun.
Hope it doesn’t get too bad up there … of course, nothing might happen. That’s the way it’s been here, especially the past couple of weeks, with temperatures all over the place and assorted other weirdness.
I tried cuddling the furry one for Cuddly Kitten Day, but he was having none of it. Is there a Band-Aid Awareness Day, or Cranky Asshat Day? 😉
Heh, a winter weather advisory just came across on my phone, and the forecast now says 3″-6″. Typically that will be mostly on the south side of town and I’m out north. Looking forward to this. The more the better. But then, I’m retired. Sure makes a difference when bad weather is incoming.
My feline doesn’t cuddle either. He’ll lie next to me for warmth, but only on his terms, which don’t include my picking him up. I thought Band-Aid awareness ran 24/7/365 for cat owners.
Out here a fast change in the weather is going from 80 to 90 degrees in 3 hours. It might even rain this weekend – from sunny to rainy in two days. Moves fast here. 😉
I’m beginning to think that’s the new norm with global warming. Rapidly changing extremes in weather.
Very likely – as the temps rise, ie more energy in the atmosphere, the system becomes chaotic and subject to wild, rapid changes. I’ve seen some of the mathematical models that describe this, but it’s beyond my BA in English to explain properly.
I didn’t realize how much longer we in Maryland had to suffer. When I came here at age 19, a college friend told me the Maryland philosophy – you don’t like the weather, wait 15 minutes. I should have moved to Colorado and only would have had to wait a minute. Better yet, I could have stayed in Forida where only 15 minutes of every day is a downpour.
LOL. Well, I may have misquoted the amount of time, but sometimes here it really is just minutes. You can have Florida. I’ve been there twice and hated the weather both times. The humidity is suffocating.
Melba Toast caught my eye.
I don’t know if you know the origin of this toast, named for Dame Nellie Melba, an Australian soprano in the late 19th early 29th centuries, Also Peach Melba
Her name was Helen Porter Mitchell, changed to Melba, she was from Victoria, capital city Melbourne.
Supposedly had a fling with the Prince of Wales; later Edward VII,
My mother as a young girl sang on the stage (with others children of course) with Dame Nellie at the Town Hall, Loughborough, during WWI
She has rather a big page on Wikipedia, she had a big USA connection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Melba
You might be interested in this lot XD
I’ve been seeing quite a deal of stuff on Colorado, mostly Denver on the TV lately. Beautiful state, I’m sorry I never got to go there!
I’d never once wondered about the origin of the names Melba toast or peach Melba. Now I know.
You may be seeing a lot of Colorado stuff because Judge Gorsuch, current nominee for the Supreme Court, is from here. As for the beauty of the state, keep in mind that the mountains are only about 50% of the state. The other half is prairie, not nearly as scenic. But IMO the mountains more than make up for the prairie.
I lived for a time in the Great Sandy Desert, and at times it was immensely beautiful so I think perhaps the prairie would be too.
Well next time you go to breakfast with a relative you can order some Melba toast and show off your superior knowledge, or a Peach Melba after a dinner engagement 🙂
Nie to feel smug at times 😉
It’s a different kind of beauty. I appreciated it more when I lived in Oklahoma, where there were no mountains competing.
I read in the New York Times today, Friday (Thursdays paper) that the Democrats may filibuster the nomination process for said judge, and also there may not be the numbers for his confirmation; 8 short.
Yes, that’s the last thing I heard. I’ve mixed feelings, since I understand he’s probably the best of the conservative judges that could have been nominated. I’d prefer him to a less qualified but equally conservative judge. And a family friend who knows him says he’s really an outstanding judge.
I’m with you on Gorsuch. Sometimes the wise course is to take what you can get, especially when in the minority. He seems well qualified and about as far toward the middle of the road as anyone this administration is likely to propose.
I worry a bit about his stances on women’s rights and just hope he’s more dedicated to existing law than to personal beliefs.
Too many day things to celebrate.
Maybe the people in charge of day naming should combine them into one
National Near Miss Meteorological Chip and Dip with Melba Toast Cuddly Kitten and OK Puppy Day.
LOL. Makes just as much sense as the current system. Or we could divide the calendar up into more days. Or give every cause just a few hours out of each day.