Mild and Drizzly Sunday

The mild, late winter continues but the sun of Saturday gives way to clouds and drizzle on Sunday. The few clinging leaves left over from last year decided to take a tumble yesterday: the March leaf-fall. The yard that was greening is now leaf strewn. I'm guessing the new leaves are cleaning up things for their arrival.
An aftershock on the southern edge of the Central Va. Equake Zone shifts the shaky focus south and away from Louisa. Seems like the zone is not settling down anytime soon although the shakes continue to weaken.  A big aftershock off Japan two days after the anniversary of their 9.0 quake no doubt has rattled their already edgy nerves. We are still edgy here, too but nothing like they are.
Enjoy the spring weather!!

Spring A Little Early

The not as cold as thought morning will quickly turn into a warm, southern air day with temps well into the 60's with nothing but warmer conditions coming for the week ahead. Blue skies and spring-like temps with the extra hour of daylight at day's end will make Sunday a fine day to be out on the big planet.
For those up late enough to see the waning gibbous moon, you may have noticed the two stars riding with the moon. Only one was a star; the one on the left (east) was (and still is) Saturn and it's easy to see that with a pair of binoculars. The star is Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. The moon will be up 50 minutes or so later tonight and will have slid farther east of the the star and planet but it won't be far away.
Get out and check out your home planet.

Sunny and Cool

The cold front cleared Va. early yesterday but the real cold (cool?) air did arrive until today. It looks sunny and lovely out there today but a north wind and high pressure will quickly remind you we are still in winter. Here in the cold zone in central Va. we will be lucky to make 50 today. As the center of the high slides east tomorrow we will shift to southerly breezes and after one last cold morning warm well into the 60's. Next week brings little chance of much rain and temperatures may well hit 80 before week's end. Freezing temps will likely make their last appearance in this part of the world tomorrow morning and then be gone well into the long range forecast.  Spring will seem to be arriving early.

CLOCKS MOVE AHEAD AT 2am SUNDAY AS WE MOVE THE DAYLIGHT FROM MORNING TO EVENING.

Aftershocks early morning Wednesday wake few but remind us we're still in the CVEqZ.
Venus and Jupiter continue to close on each other in the west at sunset while Mars is the red beacon in the east and outshines all but the moon for the rest of the night.

Get out and enjoy Today On Earth!!

SNOW DAY!!!

A clipper system tracks a little north, has a little more pop than normal and we have a SNOW DAY in central Va.  Snow started about 6am and is now up to 3 inches on my measuring table at 8:30 and it's still coming. Two hour delays turn into closures as the white stuff continues to fall.  The birds are wild on the feeders but the air is still and quiet with the gentle snowfall.
Get out and enjoy some snow; it will likely be gone tomorrow -well, not if it keeps coming like this!!!!

March Enters Like a Wet Lamb

A mild winter continues with a lamb-ish start to March, well, here in Central Va.  West of the Appalachians things are neither mild nor pretty; another huge cyclone slams into warm, moist air from the Gulf and the instability sets off the second round of tornadoes to rip through the mid-section of the US this week.  We get heavy showers Friday that turns to drizzle late and short showers come and go early Saturday with a promise of clearing by afternoon.

Wasn't an increase in storm activity and severity something the global warming folks have been predicting?  Hmmmmmm...maybe it's nothing. But then, there is nothing but change.

Another little aftershock here in the Yanceyville seismic shake zone, early Tuesday morning at magnitude 1.8.  I went semi-fetal as it rumbled and rattled things, still edgy.  Lot of edginess out there on the big planet. Earth is sending us messages that we understand more and more but it seems fewer and fewer are listening.

I'm trying to pay attention, hope you are, too. Enjoy your ride today on Earth.