Volcano in Iceland

Last year, a volcano in Iceland erupted, and that eruption interfered with air travel for many parts of the world.  This year, another volcano http://www.herald.ie/breaking-news/world-news/iceland-volcano-wont-cause-chaos-2654462.html is erupting, and the concerns are present that the same problems will occur. 

Well, that may be true.  But no one controls those volcanoes and their eruptions.. As human beings we sometimes seem to act and think as if we control the universe and the natural events on the Earth.  But we occasionally or repetitively and consistently need a come-uppance to remind us that we do not control nature, and we need to learn to prepare, adapt, and otherwise be flexible about the adversities that weather heaps on us.

Strange Spring

I do not know for sure, because I have not documented the weather in the past, but this seems to be a strange spring.  We have already had some 90 and 100 degree weather.  The wind has blown incessantly it seems, although the dust storms have not been as vicious as some I have seen in the past.  Now it is May, and we are having some cooler weather.  We have had minimal rain, and are in a terrible drought.

There have been killer tornadoes in the southeast, and the Midwest flooding is some of the worst it has been. 

Who knows what is going on. There may be some speculation and attempts at scientific explanations, but what happens, happens...

So it Rained. Finally.

Well, we had a chance of precipitation, and early this morning, a storm line blew threw.  There was wind, thunder, lightning, some hail up to golf ball size, and rain. It started about 5:10 or so AM. I was wakened by the thunder and the weather radio.  I stayed awake, but moved to the sofa and just relaxed. Storms do that to me.  I had The Weather Channel on, for updates.  

My rain gauge, which seems to "under report" indicated a little less than a half inch of rain. The hail was so sparse, no damage occurred. By this afternoon, the wind, which blew all day, had dried the fields and dust was blowing, once again. 

Yesterday, I did not open the windows because of the heat.  Today, I have opened the house, in hopes of cooling it down, but it takes a while.

Thank God for the rain!

Desert Snow

Writing about the desert brings to mind  a trip I made from Lubbock, TX to Phoenix, AZ in December 2004.  There was a slight winter storm, so snow covered the desert. 

I remember year after year of magical snows in New England: the snow, especially powdery snow, made the world look like a crystal kingdom.  It coated everything and sparkled in the sunlight. At night, in the moon light it still sparkled.

This trip into the desert was also magical. The snow was a fine accent on the geological and plant features along the way. It sparkled and highlighted the outlines with a sharp contrast to the features.  It was awesomely beautiful.

Years ago, when I still lived in New England, I read a story about a family who were spending Christmas in the desert. They missed the snow and cold, but found a tumbleweed tree, and decorated it, and shared their Christmas spirit with other folks in the campgrounds.  When I drove through this winter storm in the desert, it reminded me of that story and its message about relationships and human connections. It swelled my heart, and as I re-tell this tonight, it swells my heart again.

The desert is not devoid of life and human connection.  We just have to open our minds, our eyese and our hearts to know what is there.

This is the Desert - Well, Sort Of

I am not going to write about the drought which we are experiencing, and which is making us all heart sick.  It is too sad to think about.

I am going to write about the night air.  It was in the 90s today.  It was hot.  But there was a brisk breeze, which ameliorated the intensity of the heat, some.  Not much, but some.

Until the sun began to sink, and the direct rays were no longer beating on us.  In the shade, and in the cooling influence of the breeze, the evening air was really, really pleasant.  This is an aspect of the South  Plains that is often over looked.  Until sometimes as late as July, the evening air in Lubbock is very pleasant. The cooling effect of the breeze is amazing, and it makes for sitting out in the night air so pleasant.  And, this year because of the drought, we do not have the mosquitoes bothering us like we do some years.  So nice.

We are not technically a desert region: we are considered "semi-arid."  I think the distinction is the difference in average rain fall.  But like the true desert, we experience the temperature extremes between night and day. Such as today and tonight.  

How Late is Too Late?

The Angels and Red Sox baseball game was scheduled to be on ESPN television tonight.  I had a meeting I wanted to attend, but turned the game on when I returned home.  Except, I saw "bonus coverage" including part of the Yankee vs. Tigers game.  A couple of times during the telecast, the announcers talked about the Red Sox vs. Angels rain delay, and the game was in the top of the 5th inning.

The game was scheduled to start a little after 7 PM Eastern Daylight Time.  It is now almost 11 PM Eastern Daylight Time, and they are getting ready to resume the game. There are a few fans left in the ball park. 

I understand why they want to restart the game.  It will not take much more to make the game a complete game, even if there is another rain delay afterwards.  Completing the game means that it will not have to be rescheduled, which chore sometimes is very difficult. My question is, how late is too late to restart a baseball game?

What is in the Sky?

The sky and air in Lubbock has been unusual lately.  We have dust storms that fill the air with very thickly suspended particles of dust.  I remember a time when we had smoke clouds from Mexican wildfires, and recently, we have had smoke in the air from Texas wildfires. 


Tonight, we had strange grey clouds that appeared to be real clouds. But, the low lying haze made me wonder if it was smoke or dust.

No rain happened.  We need rain. What was in the sky today?

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.

Beautiful nights

This is the time of year that the nights on the South Plains are just beautiful... I spent the evening sitting outside, reading. I have, in the past, moved my computer outside, to write, or even watch a movie.

I moved inside to go to bed, then decided to work on the computer. Sheer laziness kept me from moving it outside, although I will admit, before I moved inside, I had had to find a jacket to wear, as the night air was cooling off.

Now, the house windows are open, and I am hoping the night air will cool off the inside of the house.

And, I still have things to work on before I go to sleep.

Cooling Down

The weather has become summer warm, and controlling the temperature in the house at this time has become a bit of a gambit.  It is really not warm enough for the air conditioner, especially with the over night temperatures reaching into the 30's sometimes. But the day time temperatures are sometimes in the 90's.

So, I am struggling with temperature control right now. In the evenings, after the sun has gone down, and the wind blowing the dust has laid, I can open the house to try to cool the temperature.

But, I am well aware of the crime rate in my neighborhood, and am concerned about easy access through windows.

So, I open windows where I can monitor them. The windows I have do have a lock feature, but that only allows 3-4 inches of air in.   And, I do not trust the lock feature. So my open windows are open when I am up and alert, and can monitor them.

I am hoping to cool the house down tonight. What with the blowing air, and the ambient temperature, I may get some help.

Hoping for A Storm

It has been a dry spring.  The weather predictors have suggested a possibility of 20% chance of rain. Tonight, the percentage was increased to 40%.  We need the rain. There have been a plethora of grassfires throughout west Texas. There is a lot of dust in the air when the wind blows.

I am hoping for a storm this weekend. It would be nice to have the rain, and nice to have a lazy weekend.

Severe Weather

This has been a time of severe weather.  Across various parts of the nation, during various times since the winter season started last fall, there have been a myriad of crippling and damaging snow storms. The storm that affected Lubbock a few weeks ago spread from Arizona to the New England states.  Its breadth was amazing.

Tonight, the midsection of the country is experiencing severe thunderstorms with possible tornadoes. The end of February is a little early to see this kind of activity, but obviously very possible.

Lubbock had some severe winds lately. Including today, the dust was up.

This coming weekend, the Science Spectrum in Lubbock http://www.sciencespectrum.org/new/publicevents.shtml is hosting Severe Weather Awareness Day.  I went last year.  There was a presentation about storm chasing, and a tour of the National Weather Service offices, which are in the same building as the Science Spectrum.   This year, there is an OMNI presentation of the film Storm Chasers. 

Maybe this is an activity that will interest you.  Being aware of and prepared for severe weather, whether it is snow, ice, wind, thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, cold, heat, floods will help you to better survive it.

If you do not have a severe weather radio, it is a very good idea to get one. http://www.weatherradiostore.com/?s=g&kw=noaa+weather+radios&gclid=CJTQuNqmoqcCFUpj7AodgXIzEg.

Dew vs Condensation

The last two mornings dawned gray, with lost of condensation around.  I would not call it dew.  Dew is droplets of sparkly bright moisture. This was sodden moisture, not rain, not drizzle, just condensation. I think there is a clear distinction between dew and consdensation.

Bitter Cold

It is winter on the South Plains.  We are experiencing a polar blast, and yesterday, by late afternoon, the air temperature turned bitter cold.  It continued today, not getting above freezing.  We are anticipating the continuation of bitter cold for a couple of more days, warming to above freezing during the day, but still being bitter cold at night.

What has made this cold even more frigid is the very strong north wind. It is driving and biting. There are many people in this part of the world who are experiencing frozen pipes.  If your plumbing is susceptible to freezing, do what you can to protect those pipes:  use heat tapes; keep cabinets open, open the faucets and allow a trickle of water to run.  

Water/ice is an unusual compound: ice is lighter than water, and floats.  It also expands so when pipes freeze, then thaw, they sometimes break. Hopefully, if your pipes have frozen, they thawed safely.

A Gray Day

It has been unseasonably cold and we have had several days of light snow. Yesterday, it was bright and sunny, and the temperature was well above freezing, so there was plenty of melting occuring.  But a view to the northwest indicated that there was another front was moving in.

I arose before dawn today.  It was wet, and cold, barely freezing.  There was a mix of rain and snow.  The sky stayed gray.  It is still gray after noon.  But it did not really even lighten until mid-morning.  A good day to stay in as much as possible, drink some hot tea, curl up and read. 

Price Gouging

We had a "Snowmageddon" in Lubbock last night. Which is a facetious way to describe a small snow storm with arctically cold air which blew into Lubbock yesterday,in the course of 2 hours. There were a lot of closures and late openings today, including schools, clinics, day cares.  This is good.  It especially keeps our children safe at home. But what about parents whose work does not close, and they have no alternate child care plans, whether for school aged children, or children in day care.

Yesterday, before the storm hit, the stores were Bedlam.  Lubbockites take seriously the advice to be prepared, and any time a major storm (or minor storm) is blowing it, the grocery stores are a beehive of activity: people buying provisions to see them through the storm.

On the way home from work last night, I decided that it would not hurt to top off the fuel tank of the Vue. Today, the price of gasoline at that gas station had jumped $.14.  I went to the grocery store today: their gas prices had jumped the same amount.

Was there some other event that influenced the gasoline prices?  By $.14?  To me, that smacks of price gouging...

Weather Phenomenon

Unusual weather phenomenon in West Texas is not really that rare.  Dirty rain is not unusual.  On Dec. 31, 2010, I went shopping in the morning, and was in the store for about an hour. When I came out, there was evidence of slight precipitation. It was obvious, looking at my vehicle, that there had been some "dirty rain."  This means when the precipitation came down, it brought down with it dirt particles in the air.

Later that day, actually that night, we actually had "mud rain."  I think it was a combination of light rain and blowing dust, but it sure dirtied a lot of property.

Last night, we had ice and snow. Strong winds with zero plus or minus temperatures and wind chills.  Today, there were snow drifts around.  And many of these were covered with blowing dust or sand. I have lived in West Texas for almost 34 years, and this is the first time that I have seen dust brown snow drifts.

Does it surprise me.  No.  Just West Texas weather.

Bitter Cold

The first real bitter cold of the winter dropped upon us today.  True to form, our worst winter months are January and February.  It dawned gray, drizzly and cold and the day became colder as it wore on.  The biting wind did not help and created quite a wind chill factor.

The conversation at work was similar to what was in my head:  I had hoped we might dodge the winter bullet, as we have, sometimes in the past.  But not this year. However, if I had a choice, I would choose the deep wet snows of last winter, with the icy road conditions, over the bitter dry cold we have experienced so far this year.

But, the weather is not for my choosing, and my role is to cope as best I can: stay warm and dry, dress properly, keep my vehicle in good condition so it will run properly.

Today, when I left work, the Vue ground for a moment before it started:  a cold battery.  I am not sure if it is also a worn battery.  I remembered, though, a trick I did not need:  sometimes, turning the lights on briefly will warm the battery just enough to get it started, if it is cold and not discharged.

Stay warm.

Dry Skin

Living in West Texas, I have dealt with dry skin for a long time.  There are a combination of factors that contribute to dry skin. It is amazing how the arid atmosphere just seems to suck the moisture out of the skin.  When I travel to other parts of Texas, or the country, I can feel the moisture returning to my skin.  It is just amazing, and if you have not experienced it, this is something that is very difficult to understand.

The factors that influence dry skin include not only the arid climate, but the cold, and the wind. Additionally, in West Texas, the water is very hard, so often a shower feels like little sand grit being pelted at the body. It is not unusual for lips to chap and crack, even after just a few hours of exposure to the elements. Skin also chaps easily, and may be red, cracked, scaly, or all three.  It is also not unusual for skin just to be very itchy... And, in the winter time, the temptation is to take long hot showers, and we know that exposure to hot water contributes to the dry skin.

Years ago, I discovered that a coating of body lotion helped to keep the skin warm and not chapped in the winter weather. This is something I have used often, including if I know I am going to be out in the cold, I will lotion my legs and arms.

A problem area for dry skin is the torso... For some reason, that seems to dry out and become itchy early in the dry skin season.  Amazingly, a body wash with additives such as aloe, shea butter or oatmeal can make all the difference in the world.  I was once again amazed when I switched from my perfumed body wash to an oatmeal and shea butter body wash a few weeks ago. The first shower felt like I was slathering  my skin with comfort, instead of taking a shower in grit.  The relief was palpable. 

Dry skin seems to be a minor discomfort, but when the skin cracks, bleeds, and causes unceasing itching and pain, it is serious.  Open skin wounds are ripe areas for infection.  Just the pain and discomfort and distraction are serious.

Years ago, a friend suggested using Curél http://www.curel.com/products/default.aspx This product is pricier than some, but its soothing properties, and lack of greasiness are absolutely well worth the cost.  Because it is so effective, less is needed, and it lasts for quite a while.

Other products work, of course, with varying effectiveness.  The important thing to remember is to take care of your dry skin and chapped lips.

Winter Dry Skin

I always suffer from winter dry skin.  It is a combination of factors: the wind and cold seem to dry out skin out.  But we do not seem to be as thirsty, so we may drink fewer amounts of fluid.  The negative ions seem to dry us out.

Remember to drink plenty of fluids without caffeine or alcohol. Water is optimal, and do not forget, you can drink warmed water.  Juices are good. Cranberry juice is very good.

Use lotion or cream, whatever appeals to you...Although it is said that talcum powder dries the skin, it also seems to calm the itch... But use medicated powder or cornstarch, too.  Oatmeal soaps and bath preparations are very soothing to the dry skin.  Although a steaming hot shower sounds wonderful, the really hot water dries the skin.  Tone it down.

For the lips, use lip balm.  If your lips become chapped, a medicated lip balm is probably in order vs. a Vaseline only based product.

Keep your skin covered when in the cold.  Use a hat to decrease heat loss from your head. Stay warm.  Stay dry...