Bad Weather is Coming

I didn’t see it, but apparently tonight there was a ring around the moon.  Some people may not think anything of it, just a ring around the moon, but I know better.  Bad weather is coming our way.  I hope that this time around everyone is getting prepared. If you haven’t gone to the store already go tomorrow (Wednesday) stock up on water, milk, cereal, bread, food that will get you and your family through at least  3-4 days buy things that won’t spoil easily in case the power goes out. If you have medication you need on a daily basis and you’re almost out, don’t wait! Get it filled now! If you wait until Thursday to get all this done, it’ll be a mad house and I know I wouldn’t want to be out driving in icy conditions. Some good tips I got from FEMA’s website is to have rock salt on hand to melt the ice from your porch, sidewalk and driveway, sand to improve traction (also having some of these bags in your trunk/bed of truck will help if you have to drive out in the crazy weather that’s coming) and of course make sure to have a shovel if you didn’t get one during the Blizzard of 2009, also a good idea to have an ice scraper handy for your windshield if you don’t have a garage or carport for your vehicle.  If we get the amount of ice they’re predicting there’s a good chance people will lose power, if you have a fireplace stock up on firewood, make sure your cell phone is fully charged – Energizer has a pretty nifty one I’m going to go look for at Walmart tomorrow. Another must is insulating your pipes. If you didn’t do that last month, I would say it’s a definite must now, we’re talking ice people! If you have an elderly or disabled neighbor go knock on their door and make sure they have a plan in case the power goes out if they don’t offer your assistance! You can find more helpful tips at FEMA’s website so go check it out.

Just remember that this:

Can quickly turn into this:

And please don’t try to drive because do you really want to drive in conditions like this? The only reason to drive in this type of weather is if you lose power to your home and you have family or friends that still have power and you can go to their home. In that case be safe!

If you have some tips you’d like to add, please mention them in the comments, especially my readers up North and on the East coast who may be used to this type of weather any helpful advice would be welcome.  Thanks!

Okay Texhoma you've been warned!

This came through my WeatherBug alert:

WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING
THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT


Urgent - Winter Weather Message
National Weather Service Norman OK
1136 AM CST Mon Jan 25 2010

Harper-Woods-Alfalfa-Grant-Kay-Ellis-Woodward-Major-Garfield-
Noble-Roger Mills-Dewey-Custer-Blaine-Kingfisher-Logan-Payne-
Beckham-Washita-Caddo-Canadian-Oklahoma-Lincoln-Grady-Mcclain-
Cleveland-Pottawatomie-Seminole-Hughes-Harmon-Greer-Kiowa-Jackson-
Tillman-Comanche-Stephens-Garvin-Murray-Pontotoc-Coal-Cotton-
Jefferson-Carter-Johnston-Atoka-Love-Marshall-Bryan-Hardeman-
Foard-Wilbarger-Wichita-Knox-Baylor-Archer-Clay-
Including The Cities Of, Buffalo, Alva, Cherokee, Medford,
Ponca City, Arnett, Woodward, Fairview, Enid, Perry,
Cheyenne, Taloga, Weatherford, Clinton, Watonga,
Kingfisher, Guthrie, Stillwater, Elk City, Sayre, Cordell,
Anadarko, Yukon, El Reno, Mustang, Oklahoma City, Chandler,
Chickasha, Purcell, Norman, Moore, Shawnee, Seminole,
Holdenville, Hollis, Mangum, Hobart, Altus, Frederick,
Lawton, Duncan, Pauls Valley, Sulphur, Ada, Coalgate,
Walters, Waurika, Ardmore, Tishomingo, Atoka, Marietta,
Madill, Durant, Quanah, Chillicothe, Crowell, Vernon,
Wichita Falls, Munday, Knox City, Seymour, Archer City,
Holliday, Lakeside City, Henrietta
1136 AM CST Mon Jan 25 2010

, Winter Storm Watch In Effect From Thursday Morning Through
Late Thursday Night,

The National Weather Service In Norman Has Issued A Winter Storm
Watch, Which Is In Effect From Thursday Morning Through Late
Thursday Night.

* After Two Weeks Of Relatively Mild Weather, A Winter Storm
Will Take Aim On The Southern Plains Around Thursday. Cold Air
Currently In Place Over Canada Will Move Into The Area Wednesday
Behind A Strong Cold Front. As The Cold Air Deepens Over The
Area Late Wednesday Into Thursday, A Storm System Will
Approach From The West. A Variety Of Winter Weather Will Be The
Result.


* Timing: The Most Likely Time For Hazardous Winter Weather Will
Be From Early Thursday Morning Through Early Friday Morning.

* Main Impacts: Freezing Rain May Begin To Accumulate On
Power Lines And Elevated Surfaces During The Day Thursday. The
Most Likely Area For Significant Ice Accumulations Appears To Be
Across Southern Oklahoma And Parts Of Western North Texas. Sleet And
Snow Accumulations Appear More Likely Across Central And
Northern Oklahoma Although Some Freezing Rain Will Be Possible.

* Other Impacts: Gusty North And Northeast Winds Around 25 To 35
Mph Will Add Additional Stress To Power Lines That Have Ice
Accumulations. Some Blowing An Drifting Of Snow Will Also Be
Possible.

* Precautionary/Preparedness Actions,

A Winter Storm Watch Means There Is A Potential For Significant
Snow, Sleet, Or Ice Accumulations That May Impact Travel.
Continue To Monitor The Latest Forecasts.



*************************************************************************


Better to be prepared then get stuck in the ice that may be coming our way. You wouldn't want to end up in one of my ice storm videos. :)

Driving in the Blizzard of 2009 on Seymour Hwy

It's been a couple of weeks since our Christmas Eve Blizzard of 2009 hit our town and since it's been a while since I've posted here I thought I'd share one of the many videos I got to take that day, since my hubby thought it would be a great idea if we all went with him to get diesel. Little did we know that all the gas stations were going to bag their pumps!
So enjoy one of the many videos of our drive in the Blizzard of '09.
I'll post more videos and some photos later.

It's going to get cold out there Texhoma!

So I get to the office and my WeatherBug icon is blinking at me. Here's what the lovely ladybug had to say:

Wind Chill Advisory In Effect From 6 PM This Evening To 6 Pm
Cst Friday...

The National Weather Service In Norman Has Issued A Wind Chill
Advisory... Which Is In Effect From 6 PM This Evening To 6 PM Cst
Friday.

* Frigid Air In Place Over Western Canada Will Move South Today As
An Upper Level Storm System Moves Southeast From The Northern
Rockies. The Leading Edge Of This Airmass Will Enter Far
Northwest Oklahoma Shortly After Noon And Will Push Through The
Red River Valley By Mid Evening. Strong Gusty Northwest Winds Of
25 To 35 Mph Will Produce Very Cold Wind Chill Values.

* Timing: The Coldest Wind Chill Values Are Expected Thursday Into
Thursday Night. The Winds Will Not Be As Strong On Friday But
Dangerously Cold Wind Chill Values Will Still Occur.

* Wind Chill Values Of -15 To -20 Degrees Will Be Possible Across
Northern Oklahoma. Central Oklahoma Can Expect Wind Chills To
Range From -15 To -5 With 0 To -5 Degrees Along The Red River
Valley.

* Impacts: In Addition To The Hazard Of Very Cold Wind Chill
Values... Very Light Snow Or Light Freezing Drizzle Will Be
Possible For A Few Hours Just Behind The Cold Front. This May
Result In Some Slick Spots On Area Roadways And Sidewalks.
Snowfall Amounts Will Range From A Trace To Less Than An Inch.
The Best Chance Of Wintry Precipitation Will Be Across North
Central... Central... And South Central Oklahoma.

Precautionary/Preparedness Actions...

A Wind Chill Advisory Means That Very Cold Air And Strong Winds
Will Combine To Generate Low Wind Chills. This Will Result In
Frost Bite And Lead To Hypothermia If Precautions Are Not Taken.
If You Must Venture Outdoors... Make Sure You Wear A Hat And
Gloves.

So be careful out there or better yet DON'T go out there stay inside where it's warm. If you have kids bundle them up so they look like the little brother from Christmas Story! Don't let them walk home pick them up from school or have them ride with a friend. If you do have to be out there wear thermals under your clothes, put on a hat, throw on some gloves, wrap a scarf around your neck, put on a heavy coat, THE WORKS! Don't show any skin. You may think you look ridiculous, but at least you're protecting yourself and your family from possible frostbite!

Fiesta Patrias Parade

Saturday was the parade for the Fiesta Patrias. A two weekend event that celebrates Mexico’s independence from Spain, which actually happened on the 15th of September or Dieciséis de septiembre. The local high school bands marched in the parade along with some of the local elementary schools. Unfortunately not a lot of the community came downtown to see the parade (and you missed out on all the candy!), but I also didn’t see a lot of advertising for this event. Communication people! So if you want a great tasting gordita and some wonderful entertainment for the whole family add September 12 to your calendar the festivities start at 11 am and go until 10 pm the location is the Our Lady of Guadalupe church at 421 Marconi. There’s a program that starts at 5 pm and a concert that starts at 7 pm with Groupo Cobra.

Here’s some photo’s from the parade for those of you who missed it and check out my other blog for more photos.

What is going on with the Lucy Park Pond???

A few months ago the pond started to turn green, we thought it was just leaves that had blown into the pond, but eventually the green took over the entire pond. We had a good week of rain and the green seemed to disappear, but slowly it made it’s reappearance below are some pictures I took today.

The stuff is so thick these two Styrofoam cups didn’t sink!

A close up of the green stuff.

Update this AM: as I was leaving for work this morning Parks and Rec was dragging the pond, but I'm not sure exactly why and I couldn't stick around to see what they were going to do. Still plan on calling and going home for lunch to see what the pond looks like in the afternoon. I also had someone from my Twitter followers tell me it looked like duck weed. I thought he was playing a Snoop Dog joke on me lol :) I Googled "duck weed" and it turns out it's some kind of protein that is good for ducks to eat. Go figure.

Fishing at Lake Arrowhead

Looking for something to do? How about a visit to Lake Arrowhead State Park. There’s different types of fish in the lake and plenty of areas to try your hand at catching “the big one” Of course if you have a boat you can add more fishing spots to try out. There’s covered tables to have a bar-b-que and spots to go camping if you ‘d like to stick close to home. Every year they have a fishing tournament for kids of all ages usually in June starting about 9 am and ending around 4. Believe me it can be quite exciting getting those fish in before the final bell!

In my opinion the docks are not the greatest spots to fish because then you may end up having to do what my hubby had to do in the picture above and fish for your rod!

Here’s a great spot: under a tree with some shade and on the bank. And yes fish have been caught by my two fishermen. Here’s one of the many:

Visit Lake Arrowhead State Park for information.