The Wind

This has been a particularly windy spring. I think I have said that before. It was windy again today.  Living in town, sometimes it is difficult to estimate just how hard the wind is blowing, and if you do not pay attention to what the mph means in terms of its effect on  you, the impact of the wind can be surprising.

The horizon profile and footprint of Lubbock has an interesting influence on the wind. Central Lubbock is surrounded by a Loop.  Inside the Loop, the impact of the wind is largely mitigated. Depending where you are, and the direction from which the wind is blowing, the impact can be tremendous. This is especially noticeable when the dust is barely blowing outside the Loop.  Inside the Loop, the dust may be barely noticeable on the horizon, but not in town.

In the winter, for houses who have pipes on the north side of the house, the pipes are more apt to freeze, than if the pipes are on the south side of the house.  My house faces north, so a north wind is not felt too badly in the back yard.  Because of fences, trees, and my neighbor's houses, a south or westerly wind is very noticeable in the trees, but not too bad in my yard.  I do feel the east wind, though.

My front porch is enclosed on 3 sides, open to the north. It gets no sun, so is cooler than the sunny air sometimes. But unless the wind is from the north, it is stiflingly warm in the summer, especially at night, when the concrete and brick have been absorbing heat all day.

Throughout town, inside and outside the Loop, large buildings have the same mitigating effect on the wind.  It is amazing.

The building I work in is in the middle of large cotton fields. We are outside the Loop. The parking lot is very large, and the walk to the building in the wind can be bitter.  Especially because the parking lot is open to the north.   As people on the South Plains like to say, there is nothing but barbed wire between us and the North Pole.  That factor often induces me to wear a much warmer coat in the mornings than I might otherwise choose.

So, we live with the wind. It influences many choices in our lives. A friend and I went out to see if it was too windy to go kayaking today.  The lake we use in town is a "run off lake."  The playas and canyon lakes catch a lot of run off water.  That means garden chemicals, street chemicals and trash accumulate in the lakes.  We do not mind kayaking on top of the water, but do we do not want to be swamped with waves on windy days.  It is less pleasant to kayak in the wind. If the water were clean, I would not mind getting wet on really warm days. But not with that water.

Drought and Wildfires

We are in a drought.  Not only are we in a drought in West Texas, we are in the midst of horrible wildfires, fueled, in part, by the luscious growth that occurred after last year's rains.

But the wildfires are not the only concern. The water supplies for Texas are depleting. We are being asked to conserve our yard watering.  Lake Meredith  http://www.nps.gov/lamr/index.htm a long time source of water for Lubbock and the South Plains, is drying out.   The Ogallala Aquifer is being depleted http://www.npwd.org/new_page_2.htm. 

Lake Alan Henry http://www.lakealanhenry.com/  is touted as a source of water for Lubbock, but it is down hill of the Caprock, and its contents will need to be pumped uphill.

-We live in a semi-arid region, but we live as if we are in a rain forest. Maybe we need to adjust our lifestyle.

Blowing Again

It is blowing, again.   This is West Texas, and Spring, and the two combine for some very blustery weather.  When I was out just a little while ago, I could hear the wind roar in the lines.  Which means the speed is about 35 MPH.  The Weather Channel said 28 MPH gusting to 36 MPH.  I really do get tired of the wind.

Interestingly, I am watching the NASCAR race, which is at Texas Motor Speedway, so 300 miles west.  The wind is a factor there, too.

Later in the summer, when the fields are no longer bare (hopefully crops will be growing) the dust will be much less noticeable.

It is interesting what is affected by the wind.

A Wind Advisory

We are in, and have been consistently in, a hazardous weather situation:  the South Plains are dry, and the winds are strong. Any small spark can ignite a fire and send it whipping along the plains.

We are blessed. I remember some years ago, when I spent time out in the country, seeing grass fires blowing through the fields.  It was eerie: it looked like the flames were about 18 inches or so above the ground, and everything just burned in its path. There is nothing on the plains to stop these flames. I do not know how firefighters combat these grass fires. It would be phenomenal! And dangerous.

If you live on the South Plains, be careful about flames and fire: including cigarette butts, cooking fires, and hot equipment.

Raking Leaves

I grew up in New England, and raking leaves was done in October, generally done by Halloween or early November, as we could expect snow to bury the leaves by then.  Now, living in West Texas, I do not rake leaves until November, December, or even as late as January (around New Years Day.)

I have already raked leaves twice this year before this week, because I get tired of looking at them. But, this week, with most of the area trees bare of leaves (except the neighbor's live oak) I raked again.  Raking in West Texas is a little frustrating for me.  There are areas of the yard where mounds of leaves have collected, so it is easy to gather those leaves.  The frustrating part is on the yard where the leaves are sparse.  Sometimes, the leaves are so brittle, that raking basically just breaks the leaves into smaller pieces.  I do the best I can, but the smaller bits are hard to scrape up... I tell myself it is okay, because small bits of leaves are good mulch, good fertilizer... Even so, as I have raked the leaves, the yard does look neater...

The Storm as Background Effects

On the 21st of October, I was at a Reading Circle.  We were discussing Isaac's Storm,  by Erik Larson http://www.randomhouse.com/features/isaacsstorm/.  This is a story about the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston. We were in a large second story room, facing large picture windows that looked East.

As we talked, a storm blew in... Watching storms blow into West Texas is phenomenal:  You can see the front move in...You can see the lightning, unimpeded by hills.  You can see the clouds lower, the virga, the areas of downdrafts, the outflow boundaries, the anvil clouds, the towering cumulonimbus clouds.

This day, the storm moved in black as night...The clouds lowered, and eventually let loose with rain... Although various parts of town had hail, there was none where we were.

What a spectacular backdrop to a discussion about the deadliest hurricane in US history!

My How the Sky Changes

Monday, October 18, the weather was a little unusual…We were supposed to have a record high in the high 80s but that did not happen. The clouds came in during the afternoon. It was not cool, but it was not hot, either. Then, a storm cell moved in. In the distance to the west, it was possible to see the down drafts, some areas of virga, but the down pouring of the rain. The winds shifted and changed rapidly from dead calm to rapidly swirling. But, the winds were not strong. And it rained.

As the one did on the 17th, this storm had a well defined front. It was larger and darker than the storm on the 17th. Dark enough to seem like night. But as I drove north, I drove out of the storm into bright sunlight. There was a beautiful, broad double rainbow to the east, framed against the very dark clouds. Within a couple of hours, the storm had dissipated, and the sky was dusky but not cloudy…


What weather we have in Texas!

Deer Flies

When I grew up in New England, we had big black biting flies that we called horse flies.  When I moved to Texas, I was introduced to big striped flies, called deer flies.  This week, I have been kayaking at Dunbar Historical Lake in Lubbock.  The mosquitoes are not bad:  I saw one in two nights.  But the deer flies are awful...  Although I did a lot of swatting, I have at least 5 deer fly bites on my body.  They itch, I swell, and the swollen area is hot and tight.  Deer flies are a hazard of outdoor activity in this part of the world...

From my days of outdoorism, I was reminded, as I was writing this, that meat tenderizer helps to quell bug bites.  I keep meat tenderizer for just this purpose, so applied a past to the various parts of my body that are afflicted with deer fly bite swelling.  The sense of ease was immediate.  The swelling did not go down, but the irritation was eased... Not bad!

Minor Wind Event

We are having what I would call a minor wind event tonight:  it is blowing consistently, but not damagingly, and with no dust. Even though the ambient temperature was in the low 80's the windchill makes it feel much cooler.  When I moved to West Texas, my first stop was Amarillo... The press for Amarillo said that the days may be hot, but the evening winds cool everything down.  It may be true there, but during the summer, it is not true in Lubbock. 

I have moved the laptop, with electrical hook up, into the back yard for the first time this season. Why have I not done this sooner?  I do not know! But, it is very pleasant, especially because there are no mosquitoes right now, but that could change in a heart beat.

It is so beautiful out here, and I am so grateful to have a wonderful place to sit out and enjoy the fresh air and moon shine.

Pronunciations: Say it like a native

I grew up in a part of the world where there were town names like Worcester (Woster), Leominster (Lemonster), or Athol (Athall not Athole, as I had heard it pronounced).  When I moved to Texas I was surprised at some of the pronunciations of names... I knew a little Spanish, and thought Lamesa would be LaMaysa, not the local Lameesa.  It made sense in a way, because the Spanish name was Anglicized. I was also appalled at how little effort locals made to learn correct pronunciation of non-Anglo names, my own Polish one (at the time) included.

Growing up in a part of the world where there were many ethnic backgrounds, we did learn to say names, at least, as their owners pronounced them. Which meant someone with a Polish surname could say Italian names reasonably well...

So, I moved to Lubbock (not Luubock but Lubbuck).  And was amazed at the mispronunciations I heard... Ideal for idea, nucular for nuclear, lano for yawno (Llano).  And I learned early on that Bexar County (Bayer County, home of San Antonio) was not pronounced they way it looked... And, I am always amazed that life long Texans do not know this.

There are some famous mispronunciations, one of the most famous for these parts is the way natives pronounce New Orleans.  I will not even try to phoneticize the way natives say it. Or the famous New England accent "Pahk the cah" (park the car) or go to Hahvavd (Harvard.)

Tonight, I was watching The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/ as Vortex2 www.vortex2.org/home/ was airing their tornado chase.  I had to smile as I listened to the broadcasters back in The Weather Channel studio... Borger (hard g) became Borgier (soft g), Dumas (Duumas) became Dumass. The broadcasters were doing their best to report places about which they had no knowledge, and about which they have never heard before... I appreciate their effort, and the difficulty of knowing the local pronunciation.

Being Lazy or This is a Hot Tea and Hot Soup Day

My usual schedule for Saturday includes getting up fairly early, although sleeping in a little later than a work day, and starting on Saturday chores.  This usually includes grocery shopping, laundry and housework.

Some Saturdays include other things.  This Saturday saw me finish a book I was reading so I could drop it off at the library when I was out running errands.  But, I have also read the newspaper, and now got on the computer.  I am just wasting time, being lazy.  It is a grey day, cool for West Texas in May, and good weather for hot tea and soup.  So, that is what I will have.  And snuggle up with another good book, later.

Severe Weather Radio

I was speaking to a friend who lives in another part of the country which typically has some severe winter weather, but not the tornados we have in West Texas... I mentioned the severe weather radio, and she was unfamiliar with this...It occurred to me, others of you might be unaware of Severe Weather Radios:  http://www.noaawatch.gov/themes/severe.php.  It may be that you are not covered by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, parent agency of the National Weather Service)  Severe Weather Radio... But if you are, these are great tools for dealing with severe weather...

Basically it is a radio receiver (get one with battery back up in case of power loss) which enables the listener to set the radio to the local NOAA broadcast, by a set of codes.  You can get constant weather broadcasts, or just set the receiver to get the emergency broadcasts... They also broadcast Amber Alerts http://www.amberalert.gov/.

The first weekend I had my radio, I thought I made a mistake...It was a weekend of multiple area severe weather, and it went off, and went off, and went off.  But, really, I was glad to have the warnings, and watched the weather (around me) on TV, and gave thanks for the information....

In Lubbock, the last several years, a local TV station KCBD http://www.kcbd.com/ with meteorologist John Robertson, and the United Supermarkets http://www.unitedtexas.com/ have joined to make a weather radio very affordable.  That is a great community service.

Maybe you need a severe weather radio.

The Winds of Change

Well, I do not know what the winds of change are, necessarily... But I do know about the winds of Lubbock... Today was a wind storm day...  I learned about winds in Lubbock the first year I was in Lubbock.  It was December, I was in a 12th story office, and saw Styrofoam cups passing by....

Wind storms vary...Today was a windstorm that lifted fine silty grit in the air...The windstorm was predicted to last overnight until the next day. The fine silty grit is insidious.  I worked in a "sealed' building.   It got in....

Some windstorms start mid-morning, and go until sunset or there abouts.

Some windstorms are red.  I remember a three day windstorm, with winds so strong, the plate glass windows at the airport were blown out.

Some windstorms do not stop at night...They just keep going...

I saw a windstorm of rolling black dust blow in one time...

Windstorms can cause serious damage.  They can cause power outages. They can property damage. They move dirt from one place to another. They move tumbleweed. They move trash, cause automobile accidents, negative ions in the air. 

A Change in Weather

So, yesterday was a mellow and warm day.  Today,  the weather was balmy in the morning, but as the day continued, the weather temperature dipped.... Sake wanted out today, as she did yesterday...Due to my obligations yesterday, Sake did not get to go out. I brought her out into the yard tonight so she could experience the wind,  and she was  not interested in staying out.

Spring in West Texas is Amazing

It is about 11:30 PM and I stepped outside just a few minutes ago, and the night air was phenomenal!   There have been some showers in the area, but the night air is just mellow...It is not unusual that this mild air prevails...This is why I live in West Texas..

The Wind

It is the second day of spring, and the sun was bright and strong.  I had lots of indoors activities to do, but spent some time outside this afternoon.  Although the temperature was in the low 60s the wind was brisk, and at times, made it feel colder than low 60s, even in my somewhat protected back yard.  The wind was from the West, so the protection was not as good as if it were from the North; my house faces North, and blocks the wind in my back yard.

Before I moved to Texas I read stories about the wind howling, roaring and moaning.  In Western Massachusetts, I do not recall the wind howling and moaning. It may have, I was just not aware of it.... It whipped, it rustled, it whispered.  The leaves swayed, the branches swung. 

After moving to Texas, I understood what noises the wind can make: it roars, it howls, it moans.  Today, there was no dust.  But dust is often a companion of the wind. 

Sometimes, when the wind blows in from the North, it is a bone chilling wind.  I think of that wind as a "Blue Norther."  Folks around here associate a "Blue Norther" with a blizzard snow storm.  I do not think we necessarily need the snow.  Just the bone chilling wind, to have a "Blue Norther."

In the spring, the wind swings to the Southwest.   Even at high speed, it has a sense of being a kinder wind.  It is a warming wind, and sometimes, a moist wind.

On the Caprock, the wind from the East is often a blessing.  We are a dry area, and the wind form the East carries Gulf of Mexico moisture.  As it climbs the Caprock,  clouds form and sometimes, the Llano Estacado is the recipient of rains...

No matter how much flash flooding we have from rain, rain is a blessing in West Texas, except during cotton harvest.  It may delay planting, but when planting happens, there is moisture in the ground.

There was a book written about West Texas wind: 
http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Barker-Texas-History-Center/dp/0292790368/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269220013&sr=1-1

It was made into a silent movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019585/

The wind can create "wind chill" http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml.  If you have not experienced a strong wind chill, it is amazing what a difference the wind makes in terms of comfort.  Phenomenal! 

This is information about wind related fatalities:  http://www.weather.gov/os/hazstats/wind08.pdf.

There are a lot of electricity creating windmills being erected in this part of the world.  While thought of as a "clean energy" there are still many concerns about the use of windmills.  They alter, and to some, destroy the skyline. The are dangerous for birds, that might fly into their blades.  Some windmills are erected not too far from residential areas, and their noise is considered a nuisance.

I do not like being out in the wind.  It makes breathing difficult.  It can water your eyes so it is difficult to see. If the dust is blowing, it blows into every orifice of your body. It hurts, it makes you itch. It creates negative ions and static electricity that can result in visible sparks, audible snaps, and keyboard disabling electrical currents. 

The Influence of El Niño or The First Day of Spring and It Is Snowing!

Okay, so the title gave it away. Last night was one of those what used to be very common but now are rare nights for me, in which I just could not get tired enough to go to sleep, and it was well after 3 AM when I finally crashed...

Consequently, I heard, when at about 1230 or so, the sleet and rain started, and within 30 minutes there was snow, starting to cover the grass. Eventually, it covered the concrete, but by morning, it was melting, and while, at about 2130, there is still some snow around, it has mostly melted.

I grew up in New England, where the saying was "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute."  I moved to Lubbock, Texas and guess what?  The saying is "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute." I do not think I ever told anyone we said the same thing in New England. (Texans are so egocentric, I think they would be insulted to know someplace else, with a LONGER history of settlement, people say the same thing.)

Weather is just a fickle thing...With good instrumentation, computer models, human observation, and knowledge of past history, meteorologists do a fair piece of making predictions.  But predictions are not statements of fact, they are just conjectures based on lots of information... If you want to know the weather go outside and look up. 

I have written this before:  One of the things I like about living in West Texas is the wide open sky and horizon that allows me to look at what is happening in the sky... Being an informed observer, sometimes it is possible to predict what will be happening with the weather... Like yesterday morning, which had a very low percent chance of precipitation.  I looked at the clouds, and knew something might happen.  I was driving to an appointment when the sprinkles happened. Not much, no long, but it happened.

And, so it is now officially spring, and we move into another cycle of renewal, growth, decline and dormancy.   This is the way of life.  So doggedly predictable, yet many people seem to be surprised by the decline and dormancy phases of life.  They are inevitable. And, the reality is, some year, we will not be around for spring. But while we are, ENJOY!

Weather, March 8, 2010

Weather in Lubbock can be amazing.  This morning it was raining.  As the day progressed, we had strong winds, blowing dust, mud drops, bright sunshine and virga. Weather truly can change very quickly in Lubbock, and today was no exception.

Because of the amazing weather in Lubbock, especially the severe storms, tornadoes and rapid changes, Lubbock is a prime spot for National Weather Service meteorologists. An interesting claim to fame...

A Tour of "the New County Jail"

Today I went on a tour of the new county jail in Lubbock, or the Lubbock Detention Center.  The people in charge of the county detention center, if they enact the plan they present to the public, "get it." 

The configuration of the jail is such that the offenders will be in "direct supervision."  They will be in pods where they have access to a day room and courtyard area, juice bar, microwave, showers.  Under the supervision of an officer. With videos cameras recording everything.  For minor violations, they can be placed in the cell for 23 hours...The emphasis is on following the rules... They will have access to GED classes, learning life skills, parenting and anger management (mostly done by volunteers.) When they are first arrested, they have unlimited access to phone calls, to try to get out of jail... The day rooms have free access to phones.

The mental health ward will place an emphasis on medication compliance. 

A member of the group asked why the center is not open, if it has been finished for a year... The tour guide explained it has not been finished, because although the outside looks done, the electronics are not.  Taking over the building would mean the county would have to pay for fixing what was not right in the first place...

Visitation will be by video access.  And, eventually for those who can not travel to the detention center, computer access on a library or home computer will be possible... There will even be computer video access for some court proceedings (not trials.) 

This prison was spearheaded by our former sheriff.  The one, who when another mayor died, wanted to run on the Republican ticket, but I am sure because he was Hispanic, the Republicans did not support him.  The Democrats offered to support him to run as a Democrat.  He declined.. He did not want to change his party to win.  So, he ran as an Independent, and won handily.  This sheriff has been on many statewide commissions and committees, and currently is on the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole...So, the county voted to fund this state of the art jail... The county commissioners axed some of the technology, and to the credit of the sheriff's department, they sought out grants, and got them, to fund their plans...

It was a most enlightening tour... The people who toured us were obviously excited and dedicated to the project.  I am a realist, and I know not every employee who will work at the Lubbock Detention Center will have their zeal and vision... But what a culture of positivism.

Go Lubbock County Sheriff's Department!

South Plains Storm Spotters

A grave omission in my blog of yesterday was about Storm Spotters.  It was so grave, I will give the Storm Spotters an entry of their own.

Storm Spotters are volunteers who are trained to watch the weather, and report back to the National Weather Service the conditions they see.  They go out in severe weather events, using their own vehicles, their own radios, and paying their own expenses for traveling. They have a station at the National Weather Service, populated by one of their own, and report the conditions they are observing.

With all the sophisticated equipment the Natonal Weather Service has, eyes on is still very important.

Who are these Storm Spotters?  Many of them are emergency response personnel, including police and sheriffs, firefighters, and emergency medical responders.  Some, however, are just volunteers who do this because they want to. It is exciting, and dangerous.  It provides a community service that we so little think about, and we do not bother to thank these people.

So, today, I am thanking the Storm Spotters.

For more information: http://www.spsst.org/ is the website for the South Plains Storm Spotters, and http://www.skywarn.org/ is the national website.