Winter in Wisconsin 2011-2012

I can honestly say I haven't minded Winter this year! Which is an amazing statement, as I usually hate Winter.But this year, it's been mild. Some people worry about it, but I don't worry about things I have no control over. And I can't control the weather. I can influence the weather. I have Weather Fairy's that will help me from time to time, but I haven't bothered them much lately, as I'm rather satisfied with what's provided.

What has been Wonderful about THIS Winter is how blue the sky has been. Usually Winter is a ubiquitous grey. It makes me SAD with seasonal depression. I'd have to take Vitamin D3, sit under sun lamps, and it didn't really work, just took the edge off. This winter, with the sunshine and blue sky I've been happy, cheerful, content!
Winter this year has come in very small doses. It will be pleasant for days, then give us a brief snow (less than 3" accumulation) and a few days of real cold. Then it goes back to being pleasant. I've been able to walk to work lots of days! I've been outside more this winter than in the previous 8 Winters combined.
The whole country has had unusual weather this Winter. Is it a sign of global warming? long term trends? the end of time? I don't know. All I do know, is I'm enjoying it!

Frosted Windowpanes

It's 8am, and the temperature is hovering at 10 below! We're going for a high today of 4 degrees! Welcome to the first official day of Winter!!

We've had more snow. Beautiful snow. The last batch was light and fluffy and SPARKLING. Everywhere you look, it's glittering and twinkling. Probably because it's little ice crystals, dah! Even though there were 6-7 inches of snow on my car, it was easy to whisk it off. No scraping or chipping. It was like I was removing the snow magically, it was so easy.

Of course with such light snow, the wind is able to blow it around. It's not just going to be cccccccold today, it's going to be blustery. With the wind chill, the temperature is going to be 20 - 34 degrees BELOW 0. (I wish we'd use the Celsius standard)

We both have the day off. I'm sipping hot chocolate while I watch Winter out the window. The sky is clear, so when the sun begins to stream into our apartment, I'll do a little sun bathing. I've a big vat of oxtail soup simmering on the stove. I don't plan to step foot outside today!

I'll just keep humming the Christmas song with the lyric, "frosted windowpanes...."

Update: At noon, the temperature is -6. I don't think we're going to make it to the predicted 4 degrees above 0 today!

Who Could Ask for Anything More?!

We're having a few days of perfect weather.







The temperature has risen steadily, today it's in the upper 60's, and it's been clear and lovely. At night, it's a bit cold without the cloud cover, but the stars are so brilliant it's hard to complain.
It's been cold and blustery. The wind has blown most of the leaves off the trees. The trees that were left still had green leaves on them. Finally we had a frost and now, the remaining leaves are turning color!
It's quite glorious to see. There isn't much orange, but LOTS of bright yellow, and some red. Most of the red color is coming from the bushes.

Turning Bush





on the other side, becomes






Burning Bush



All over town you can see this vivid crimson and brilliant yellow color scheme. It's really Beautiful against the blue sky.
Goodbye October, Hello November.

Indian Summer?

We have had the most incredible weather! We were calling it Indian Summer until we read about what makes an Indian Summer, and this spell of good weather doesn't qualify.

To be a TRUE Indian Summer, it must be proceeded by a frost. We haven't had that. I hope the frost arrives some distant time in the future, like February!

The weather has been warm. Sometimes in the middle of the day, it's actually hot (80 degrees). The warm stays into the evening, and I've been comfortable being outdoors in a sleeveless top at midnight! It's cool enough at night to sleep well, but not cold. For me, this has been utterly perfect weather! We've taken advantage of this lovely weather by taking long walks.

Guess it is coming to an end beginning tomorrow. Next week the prediction is for much cooler temperatures , with cooler evenings. No frost, and still not cold, but more what you'd expect for Fall Weather in Wisconsin. Maybe I'll have to break out a sweater.

Funny how we are about the temperature. In the Summer, if the thermometer drops below 50, we're all cold and grab a light jacket to protect us. But in the Winter, if the thermometer gets above 40, we're all outside in our shirtsleeves!

Wisconsin Weather

One thing I can say about Wisconsin Weather is IT'S NEVER BORING! We're at that time of year when I'm not sure whether to get out the cold weather gear, or wait a bit. It's warm, then it's cool. Then it got positively hot and humid when the weather came our way from Hurricane Ike. In the morning, driving to work I sometimes turn the heater on. In the afternoon, coming home from work I roll the windows down. So far, I'm still sleeping with my summer blanket, but I know where to find the warmer bedding.
Fall is definitely in the air. A few trees have begun turning, and the trees that are green don't have any life in them anymore. You can see them gearing up for cold weather. The flowers that are alive are all cool weather specimens. The mums are lovely, the snapdragons are putting on their final show of color, and the zinnias are in their glory!

We're thinking of moving across town, closer to work. The apartment we're considering is much smaller than where we're at, but how much space do we really need? I would be able to walk to work (7 minutes, I timed it!) and we'd be close to Sundance Cinema and the Hilldale Mall. The main thing that keeps me from jumping on the opportunity is that we'd have to pack up our stuff and physically move it!!! I HATE the physical act of moving, but I adore being in a new space. Time will tell.

It's Raining!

Funny how the weather figures into my life. Rarely do I leave the house without consulting the computer to see what's going to happen during the day. I'm to that point in my life that I can often predict what's coming by the way my body and/or joints feel! The weather is a major conversation factor, especially with strangers (safe topic?!).

So it seems funny to be excited about rain on its way. After all the complaining I did at the beginning of the summer, I thought I was ok with this warm, dry weather. Then I noticed that the grass was browning up, and the flowers were all wilting, and there was a fine coat of dust on everything. We need a good rain shower!
Then the sky got dark, the wind began to blow, and the next thing you know--RAIN!


Rain with lightening and thunder. LOUD thunder! and LOTS of rain.

It rained so hard a couple of times that I didn't want to drive the car, or leave the house for that matter! It didn't last long, but visited us in small, intense storms for a couple of days. Then the grass greened up, the trees and streets and buildings sparkled from the shower they received, the flowers perked up and new blossoms formed. I love how things look after a good rain. It smells nice too!

Beautiful Weather

After all that rain and the complaints about the weather, this week it's perfect! Warm, but not too hot. Low Humidity. Interesting skies. Cool nights. In other words, simply marvelous!!All that rain, and now the sun and heat has produced the lush vegetation we've come to expect in Wisconsin. We drove up to Appleton over the weekend and couldn't quit exclaiming about how beautiful everything is.

It's Raining, It's Pouring....

That nursery rhyme from childhood plays in my mind: It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring...bumped his head when he went to bed and he couldn't get up in the morning. I don't know about the whole tune, but the raining and pouring is correct. It's also thundering (old man snoring?) and lightening, with occassional hail and the odd tornado! FUN! or not.

The tornado sirens have gone off several times during the past few days. Everyone prepares to evacuate to the basement, but then it passes by and we are spared again. I stashed some snacks and water downstairs. Never know when they'll be needed.

The flooding is more serious. The ground is saturated, the level of many lakes and rivers is up and there is nowhere for the water to go. So there are many detours. I've seen people drive through the barricade and cross the washed out road. Hell, I used to do the same thing in California. But no more. A directive was issued warning people not to drive into flooded areas. They say "Most flood deaths occur in automobiles. Never drive your vehicle into areas where the water covers the roadway. Flood waters are usually deeper than they appear. Just one foot of flowing water is powerful enough to sweep vehicles off the Road. When encountering flooded roads make the smart choice... turn around... don't drown." It made an impression on me!!

I'm nearly ready to start singing another childhood melody, "Rain Rain, Go Away. Come Again Some other Day!"

weather (again)

I'm not complaining. Really I'm not! But I absolutely must note that the weather is odd. It was May before we finally overcame Winter. May saw wide extremes in temperature. Which is normal for both May, and Wisconsin.
By now I expect a little continuity. It gets hot (and humid) and we put on summer gear. Next day the temperature drops 20 degrees, and even though it's in the low 60's, it feels cold. So, the blanket goes back on the bed, and I've been known to wear my jacket in the morning.

I watch the temperature map for the whole USA, and it seems like this is happening everywhere.
What's the weather like where YOU live?

First really nice day!

At the first hint of actual warmth people turned out by the dozens! Everywhere there were people running, and biking, and playing all types of ball and frisbee. Picnics were packed and smiles abound!

One thing I noticed across the board, most of the men were in shorts. Most of the girls were in capri's or short sleeve tops. The female population didn't change into warm weather gear. I wondered why and realized it's a female thing. We're always colder, so it has to be genuinely warm to put on sleeveless or shorts. Another reason is that females are vain, and we have no tan to our legs and arms, so they aren't on display! Men don't suffer from these compulsions, so they put on their shorts, took off their shirts and enjoyed the sunshine!

As I drove to work, I saw a sight that made me laugh. In the park at the edge of Lake Mendota people were out enjoying the weather. What made the sight funny was that the lake is still frozen, and there is snow along the fence line that protects the town from the winds coming from the water. That didn't stop them from running and jumping and throwing and catching.

There is no green yet. The grass will probably green up first, but still no sign of it. I long for green, for color. The bulbs have sent up their shoots, and eventually we'll have flowers. Patience is REALLY hard to come by just now!

Back to the Weather!

It doesn't just rain, it POURS--SNOW!!! We had warmer days and lots of snow became slush. Then it froze, creating a smooth layer of ice which has been snowed on. 8-12" so far, and it's going to snow harder now. We may have 20" before we're done. Plus, the wind is blowing, so there is drifting and whiteout for moments.

Driving home from work, normally a 15 minute drive, took me 40 minutes. In the main streets, cars were stalled, spun out on that layer of ice under the snow. The snow is so deep, that once you turn off a main road it's anybody's guess whether you'll make it through the intersection. I was white knuckling it most of the way home. But my car made it! Bless her engine!!

Now I guess we make hot chocolate, toast some cheese sandwiches and turn on the TV for entertainment. I'm home for the evening, even though it's only 3:30.

HA! We learned that the malls were closing and that the bus lines were going to suspend service at 7pm. Warnings were issued to motorists to STAY HOME unless absolutely necessary, as the driving conditions were going to get worse.

My hubby had taken the bus to work, and now the bus service was going to stop, just when he needed to get home. So I volunteered to go get him. Big mistake! I barely made it out of the driveway, the snow was so deep. I was forced to turn Left instead of Right (toward the main roads) because two of the neighbors were digging their cars out and multiple people were gathered in the road trying to push these vehicles to the proper side of the road for the evening (reread my blog on Madison's Winter Parking Laws!).

The left turn put me in no mans land. I was slip-sliding all over the road, but was making progress until I came to the corner to turn into a plowed road. The snowplow had deposited the excess snow in the intersection I needed to cross. My car came to an absolute halt. When I got out of the car, it was buried to the wheel wells.

I ranted, I raved, I swore a blue streak. Then I got down on my hands and knees to start trying to remove some of the snow. Eventually someone got stuck trying to enter the road opposite me, but they called someone who came quickly and helped get them going. Then they turned their attention on me, and a couple of strangers walking by assisted in pushing the car once we got some snow removed. THANK GOD FOR THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS!

Once I was on the plowed road, I was fine. I called Loren to find he'd been able to catch the very last bus and was walking the last half mile home. He was closer to our house that I was. So I circled around, on the plowed roads, to get back home. While I'd been having my little adventure, the landlords had been by to clear the driveway and walks. We all helped two more people on the street dig out their cars and get them onto the proper side. All in all it was a real adventure. But next time, I'm just going to stay home with my hot chocolate!

Later we heard on the news that two semi's had jack knifed in the bad weather conditions and people were stuck on the freeway for up to 8 hours! They had to call a couple of local snowmobile clubs to help rescue people by taking them liquids and blankets.

Oh me, Oh my...

Just read the forecast for the next few days. More snow on the way. Big whoop. I have quit freaking out every time it happens. It's Winter, this is Wisconsin...Snow is normal. I'm getting used to it.

What has me worried this time is the COLD that is coming after the snow. Friday night the cold begins, and the low, with wind chill will be 17 - 27 degrees BELOW zero! The high on Saturday is going to be 2 degrees! It is supposed to be sunny, so that is some consolation. Sunday will be about the same. The high might get all the way to 4 degrees. Guess it's time to buy the additive to keep the fuel line from freezing.

What was I thinking when I agreed to leave San Diego for a life in Wisconsin?

Whether the Weather

Extremes, that's what we have this week in Wisconsin. Saturday and Sunday were HOT. It was 86-88 degrees, humid and so warm no one could imagine that it's October. Today (Tuesday) the high was 54 degrees. The sky is all dark and gloomy and we're expecting rain and cooler temperatures until the weekend.

I don't know about you, but that's a little extreme for me. Has the weather never heard of moderation?!

Still Complaining...

Guess I just love to complain, because it's all I seem to do about the weather. I really think Wisconsin has odd weather! That is NOT a value judgement. It's neither good or bad, just odd. Last weekend the temperature got up to 58 degrees! The week had been in the high 80's and low 90's. Then 58 degrees on Saturday? Sunday got up to 66 degrees. Oh my. It will warm up again on Monday, and I'm shocked to find I'm looking forward to it. I'm not ready for weather under 75 yet.