Sunday, February 15, 2015

More Snowflake Bentley



 I learned more about how perfect snowflakes form. It has to do with moisture off the ocean that comes from a nor'easter hitting into the upslope of the western slopes of the Green Mountains. It's best if the air is 5F as the snowflakes form, and the surface temps are between 26F and 29F. Cool!
Also, I learned that Wilson "Willy" "Snowflake" Bentley was appreciated by the weather folks in Boston. They sent him the weather map every day, so he could consider it alongside his data from the same day. He sent them his information and so much of what he was researching and discovering became part of early forecasting. Very cool.

The view from Bentley's home:

5 comments:

  1. Howard Dean is First this chilled New England day!

    How cold is it? Well, last evening we set the new, unopened bottle of wine outside on the porch to chill for a little while. We forgot about it. This morning the cork and seal had popped off! Wine Slushy, anyone?

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  2. Ya, pretty cold here, too. Was under 0 and a windchill of -20º when I went to bed at three. Left both heaters up at full on, and was 61º this ayem. Oven's on--up to 71º now, whew!

    Kiddle emailed this ayem--single digits and no elec.

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  3. Dad's been in and out all day snowplowing and shoveling. He said it's brutally cold, especially with the wind. He was comfortable except for h is hands. He's been wearing gloves instead of mittens. Also he's coming down with a cold. Poor fellow!

    Window-eyes isn't talking on the Win7, the faster and more reliable of my two computers. It's odd. There are regular computer sounds, and all was working normally when I shut down last night. But I don't like to bother Dad. I can muddle through with the cranky old XP for a while.

    "The Deam's List" quiz is finished and submitted, awaiting editor approval. I've also finished and submitted my first crossword. That will probably need further work. Writing a crossword is hard! But, it costs nothing to try.

    Currently reading a teen supernatural romance called "Everneath," the series. Can't see anyone else here reading it, but I'm enjoying it.

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  4. It is ncredibly cold up here. We are so lucky to have a propane woodstove-style stove that works even if we lose electricity. So far, though, we still have the power. ;-)

    Cat! Gosh, it's hard enough to have to go outside and clear away foot after foot of snow, but with these wind chills, it's brutal! When Spring comes, folks won't believe their good luck!

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  5. Beautiful sunset this evening; I took a nap before driving home and left the hospital just after the sun set behind the mountains that rise immediately to the west of the town. Enjoyed the sunset for a good three quarters of an hour as I drove.

    I see in the newspaper that my favorite local used book store will be closing at the end of this year; the owner is eighty years old and has been unable to find a buyer. It is one of my two all-time favorite used book stores, but the press of work has made it extremely difficult to make time for browsing. alibris.com is great, but there is nothing like spending hours going through a good used book store and uncovering something both interesting and unanticipated.

    This was among the slowest weekends I have ever had at the hospital; I got in a couple of good naps, but nevertheless there is as much maintenance and quality control work to do overnight as in a far larger hospital--no matter if it is a slow weekend or a busy one. Well, one year, eight months and two weeks to go.

    --Alan

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