Category snow

Feb 2 2016

Winter Storm Jonas

This is about a week late, but I finally had time to upload some Winter Storm Jonas photos my friends and family sent to me. According to The Weather Channel, “Winter Storm Jonas produced prolific amounts of snow in parts of the East, rivaling infamous snowstorms of the recent past. Snowfall totals from the storm topped out near 42 inches in West Virginia and at least 14 states in total received more than a foot of snow from the storm.”

This storm was one for the books, that’s for sure!

Many people sent me these photos since I couldn’t experience this storm for myself. My family and friends never let me down!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We recently found out we will be moving back to Central New York this spring, and I can’t wait to be back up north to experience these crazy winters!

Jan 10 2016

Winter finally hits Upstate New York

We didn’t end up having a “White Christmas” — instead it was 67 degrees — but I did get to see some snow and ice before I left town. Of course, now that I’m no longer there, the snow has hit hard and is staying (just my luck).

It had snowed a couple times before Christmas, but nothing stuck. So now that the snow is finally hanging around, I would say winter has finally arrived up north.

My friends, Laci and Dan, live on Lake Delta in Rome (as I stated in my Fall foliage on Lake Delta post). I had the opportunity to take some pictures after the storm hit Monday night into Tuesday morning, Dec. 28-29. Unfortunately the WordPress website isn’t allowing me to upload all the files at this time, so I picked a few photos from Christmas Eve and the storm and posted them below. The Christmas Eve photos were taken from my cousin’s house.There is nothing like fall and winter in Upstate!

12442830_10205599474890885_848086496_n

It was a full moon and 60 degrees on Christmas Eve.

12400685_10205599480891035_4596423858486896377_n

Ryan and I enjoying the warm weather and full moon on Christmas Eve.

IMG_2466

Foggy Lake Delta after the ice storm hit.

IMG_2475

Looking down the icy staircase leading to Lake Delta’s brisk, cold waters.

My next adventure is to New Orleans (for the third time in the past year and a half)! The “Big Easy” is one of my favorite cities I’ve been to. I can’t wait to go back and experience all the fun. I hope to get some great weather photos while I’m there!

Dec 14 2015

Will you have a white Christmas this year?

Ah, it has been a little over a month since I last posted on my blog! While I am sad I have not posted, a lot of things have occurred in the last month that held me back from writing.

This past month I have been traveling to visit family and friends in New York and in Florida (since I was without a full-time job.. why not?!). But when I returned to Georgia from those adventures, I landed an interview with a local newspaper and was offered the job. I happily accepted!

I am a journalist for the Bayonet & Saber newspaper on Fort Benning. I have learned so much already, and I am having lots of fun so far. I have always been interested in working with a media company, so it has really been such a great experience. I get to contribute my marketing skills to the job, too! I really love marketing, communications, writing, editing, social media, etc. All of it truly excites me. While I really enjoyed working at a credit union/nonprofit, I am thankful for a different type of experience to enhance my knowledge in these areas.

With all that said, I have barely had any time to write and build my personal social media presence as much as I have in the past. I spend many nights working on stories when I come home from work. Once I get a good grip of my current job, I’ll be able to post more frequently.

Well, enough about me! Let’s talk about Christmas… will you have snow in your front yard this year?!

In the words of Bing Crosby, “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas.”

Temperatures have been quite warm for this time of year. Even my hometown of Rome, New York  has not had any snow (besides a few flakes back in October, but nothing stuck).

I will be going home for Christmas this year, and I am truly hoping there is snow on the ground for the holidays. I look forward to winters at home every year I can go!

Meteorologists say if there is at least one inch of snow on the ground on Christmas morning, that is defined as a “white Christmas,” according to The Weather Channel’s website.

“This year, we have one of the strongest El Niños of record in play. That and a persistently warm East and Midwest, along with a cold, wet West, is setting the table for what we may see Christmas morning,” the website’s article adds.

So, who will have the one inch of snow or more this Christmas? Below is the map The Weather Channel put together showing where snow is most likely to be on Christmas.

map_specnews10_ltst_4namus_enus_650x366Photo Source: The Weather Channel

It looks like I do have a possibility of seeing snow on Christmas! I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed. Today it was almost 80 degrees here in Georgia, so I am really wanting that cooler weather so it feels more like the holiday season.

Click here to read more about the white Christmas forecast, and click here to read more about El Niños.

.

 

Nov 10 2015

What exactly is a blizzard?

Winter will be here before we know it. Some states, like Nevada, have already felt the early onset of winter. I recommend reading this infographic by Jon Erdman on The Weather Channel’s website describing what a blizzard really is. There are a lot of facts on there that not even I, the weather enthusiast, knew about.

One example is that everyone has heard about “tornado alley”, but I had no idea there was a “blizzard alley”. The infographic states “A 2002 study by Dr. Robert Schwartz and Dr. Thomas Schmidlin compiled the number of blizzards from 1959-2000 over the U.S., finding a clear “blizzard alley” in the Dakotas and western Minnesota, extending into Iowa, Nebraska, southeast Wyoming and eastern Colorado.”

Source: The Weather Channel

If you live in an area where snow is frequent, I definitely suggest reading the infographic and be aware of the snowy conditions around you when they come. It provides a lot of good information that every person living in a colder state should know. There are some major differences between a normal snow storm and a blizzard, and winter is coming up quickly, so be prepared by knowing the facts.

The bright side of winter being on its way… Thanksgiving (even though this is still technically the fall season), Christmas, and 2016 will be here SO soon!

Feb 17 2015

Winter Storm Octavia

Winter Storm Octavia did not back down yesterday into today. Fayetteville, where I live, got approximately .29 inches of solid ice (for more snow and ice total reports, click here). Check out some pictures I took below to get a better idea of how much ice we really had. It took almost an hour for me to clear off my car!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Another fact about Winter Storm Octavia is that this same exact day/weekend has brought winter weather to North Carolina for the past three straight years. The reason I know this is because my dog, Sable, passed away on February 16, 2013. It snowed here the day she died. Last year it snowed the same exact weekend. This year, yesterday and today, she has brought winter weather to us again. I truly think that is a sign she is looking out for me! I never get to experience this weather because I for some reason have bad luck with this – but she always makes it work the same weekend every year!

Unfortunately I did not blog about the first experience with this in 2013, but I do have a photo of the moment on my Instagram which you can see here. To read more about Sable and previous storms, click these links to go to my previous posts: Winter Storm Leon and Another Major Storm Hits the South… Winter Storm Pax!

Feb 17 2015

So. Much. Snow.

I went to Upstate New York this weekend for a quick home visit. I was amazed at how much snow there was! I know they have had a rough winter (not as bad as New England), but I had no idea until I saw it myself. You can see what I’m talking about in the picture below – this is downtown Syracuse right after the SU men’s basketball loss to Duke (so depressing).

IMG_0052-1

The temperatures were insane! It felt like I was in Alaska. It was -13 degrees (it “felt like” -31) when my mom dropped me off at the Syracuse airport this morning.

Now that I’m back in North Carolina, I can only hope for some snowy and icy weather from Winter Storm Octavia…

Jan 9 2015

Frozen!

I had to share this picture that my best friend, Sarah, sent me this morning. She lives in Rome, NY (where I’m from) and when she went got to work this morning she saw this! It was -8 degrees Fahrenheit with a “feels like” temperature of -25!

2015/01/img_0007-1.jpg

Nov 18 2014

Arctic Blast in Western New York

The snow came down hard last night in West Seneca, NY. My brave friend, Kelsey Wrzos, was so kind to me and went outside to take some pictures! Take a look at the crazy snow storm that hit her hometown!

Oct 16 2014

Max

I’ve been all over the place lately and haven’t had much time to update my blog! As all my family and friends know, I love shelter animals. My family and I have been rescuing dogs and cats for years. All of our pets either came from a shelter or were saved from a horrible situation. As a Central New York native, I did not realize how awful the dog and cat situations down south were. There are tons of high-kill shelters where most animals only have about a week to get out safely. Unfortunately, not many do make it out.

I work very closely with a few local rescues here in North Carolina. Our main focus is saving the animals at Harnett County animal shelter in Lillington, North Carolina. While helping the animals is very rewarding, it can also be very emotional. A few months ago I fostered a dog named Max through Operation Dog Tag, a rescue that I currently volunteer for. He was a hilarious and loving dog. We had him for about two weeks and then he was off to Casper Humane Society in Casper, Wyoming to find his forever home. Howls on Wheels transport met with other fosters and myself in Spring Lake, North Carolina to pick up all the foster dogs and get them settled into the van. They made stops in Indiana, Michigan, Wyoming, and Colorado. Below are some of the photos before Max went off to Wyoming! We miss him each and every day. He was one of the hardest dogs to leave us.

My sadness quickly turned into happiness when I found out a couple weeks later that Max was adopted! We were so happy. The Casper Humane Society let me get in touch with Max’s new owner who currently resides in Casper. The family is beyond thankful and happy that they now have Max. Just knowing that I changed a life for Max and a family makes fostering so well worth it.

Anyways, you’re probably wondering how this relates to the weather. Click here to see the video I received from Max’s new owner a couple weeks ago. They have snow in Casper already… and Max LOVES it! Check out this video – he is just so great!

If you are considering adding a new pet to your family… please adopt, don’t shop! If you don’t currently volunteer or work with a local rescue or shelter, I would highly consider it. The experience is very emotional but also VERY rewarding as you work to save so many lives!