STORM2K

We all know why we're here, it's one common bond, the weather but....does the weather dictate your life and your every move?

For me, "YES!" First off, our business, doing commercial landscape maint., environmental impact studies and assessments, the weather plays a HUGE, if not, the MAIN roll in our day. This time of year, late winter, early spring, there's not a whole heck of lot going on...with systems blowing in off the Pacific every other day, we have to plan each day as they come, not weeks in advance like summer. Secondly, Search and Rescue missions become more urgent, take for instance, yesterday, had we, along with 34 other volunteers, not been on the scene in short order, the victim would not have made it out alive.

Bottom line, the weather DOES dictate my life and there's the reason for my curiosity and love for it!

Dennis

Good topic Dennis!!!

The weather dictates my life in many ways. First, I drive back and forth to the university Monday-Friday. It is an hour drive one way so I have to keep on top of the weather or I could find myself stranded.

Also... I have garnered a reputation by friends and even some former teachers about the weather and they will email me and ask questions about the weather... especially if it looks like a big snow is coming this way.

Life pretty much goes on here whether it's 104º in the shade or if there is knee-deep water flooding the streets. I had to get used to it. I'd see people wading through the water like it was no big thing just to get to the hospital for work. I soon learned that an extra pair of socks in your desk drawer is a necessity. And when it's really flooding bad, we just wear old shoes and jeans and change at work.

Then again, if something's brewing in the Gulf, I get a handful of emails per day asking for copies of the graphics and models, plus a summary of the discussion (which, of course, I gather from the great information and insight you guys all offer here! ).

So, I can't really say it dictates my life. We just work around it and live through it for the most part. But on occassion, it rules.

I know emotionally it affects me - the winter darkness does have a depressing affect on me. I feel like I can be like a bear and hibernate all winter long.

During the spring, summer and fall I am outside in my garden. I love having the windows open in my house to let the fresh air in.

My company is affected by the weather. The casino industry has become less seasonal over the years, but the summer months are our busiest. We have the summer shore crowds down at that time.

For me it means whether or not I need my raincoat, or my jacket in the mornings during the school year since I am a crossing guard. It also means being able to go and visit my mother's gravesite and be able to sit and talk to her . I still think of her and wish I could talk with her.

For me it means a few things too.. Whether I can go to outdoor events. Whether I can go places {if its going to rain since I have to take the bus everywhere I'd probably get sick pretty easy}

Or my personal favorite.. If we have to evacuate during hurricane season lol

In my case, Dennis, weather DEFINES my life.

From a young age when my dad and I would wait til the winter storm was raging and THEN head out to the country roads with our tire chains on...just so we could stop, shut off the car, get out, and feel it in the darkness of night!

My passion for weather became more apparent in college and I took every course I could about weather...and did well in them too. Witnessing a deadly tornado that took 24 lives and injured 450 people impacted me as well.

I then kept a daily weather log in Vietnam...alongside my personal journal. That journal sits beside me here at this computer in my bookcase.

Then 23 continuous years of backyard weather observing started in 1974. I was involved in everything from writing weather-related articles (I was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, TV Guide, even Ladies Home Journal!) to bringing people together from all over the country to annual meetings for those who enjoyed weather as a hobby. We met in places like Boulder, Colorado, Pinkham Notch Camp, New Hampshire, and Asheville, North Carolina among others. I was editor of the American Weather Observer for 14 straight years.

I've served on weather boards and committees and am still a member of the National Weather Association and the American Association of State Climatologists. I am a certified Skywarn Spotter here in Phoenix as well.

Weather has been a passion of mine for my entire life. In recent years, I have put more emphasis on the PEOPLE who love and enjoy weather rather than weather itself. My weather station is simpler now..and I only keep daily records of precipitation any more. (I still have 3 thermometers, 3 barometers, too)

I have weather friends in high places (Like Tom Skilling on WGN. Jack Borden of For Spacious Skies, or Ray Ban, a VP at TWC), and I cherish those relationships. But none are any more important than those folks I have come to know right here at Storm2k.

I can name you at least one weather enthusiast in every state of the country and a dozen foreign countries without looking at my list. In fact, I sometimes call or write someone in a town where storms have been fierce just to get their first-hand account.

I am humbled by the opportunity that God and the skies have opened up for me. I suspect I will continue to pursue weather and people who enjoy weather until my last days...and in the end, what will matter most is that I have spent my lifetime helping to bring people together under the weather umbrella.

Oh, and one more thing. Weather DICTATES my work life too. I have printed newspapers for the past 25 years. I worry about rainy days because there is nothing nastier than having someone pick up a soaking wet newspaper in their driveway!!!

There's lots of seasonal activities, of course, like shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, etc.

But my original interest in the weather came about because bicycling is my passion. January is usually off time because of extreme cold and short days. I've gone so far as to make charts by hand of sunrise and sunset and that extended to length of daylight, then temperatures. In colder weather, a difference of 5 degrees affects how I dress. In the warmer seasons, the overriding concern is not getting rained on. On questionable days, I'll be studying the local weather radar to see if I can get out and back before the thunderstorms start.

great question.
Well, six months out of the year is hurricane season. That is when we watch and worry and become more obsessed with the weather. The potential of a storm heading our way strikes fear into all of us.

the temperatures here are always warm here but of course they are the warmest mid day. so, when I can, I try to only exert myself either early in the morning or later in the afternoon. I cool out mid-day..hence, the origins of "siesta"

and as far as rain goes, the funniest thing in the Caribbean, at least on St. Maarten, is that people just do not go out in the rain. Usually the rain here is showers.so you just wait for the showers to end and then you go out. Many an event is canceled because of steady rain and I do not mean a deluge..I just mean ordinary rain. A lot of people here do not even own umbrellas!
we are definitely fair weather animals down here!

msbee wrote:great question.
Well, six months out of the year is hurricane season. That is when we watch and worry and become more obsessed with the weather. The potential of a storm heading our way strikes fear into all of us.

the temperatures here are always warm here but of course they are the warmest mid day. so, when I can, I try to only exert myself either early in the morning or later in the afternoon. I cool out mid-day..hence, the origins of "siesta"

and as far as rain goes, the funniest thing in the Caribbean, at least on St. Maarten, is that people just do not go out in the rain. Usually the rain here is showers.so you just wait for the showers to end and then you go out. Many an event is canceled because of steady rain and I do not mean a deluge..I just mean ordinary rain. A lot of people here do not even own umbrellas!
we are definitely fair weather animals down here!

very interesting... thanks for the perspective!

Stephanie wrote:I know emotionally it affects me - the winter darkness does have a depressing affect on me. I feel like I can be like a bear and hibernate all winter long.

Me too.

Part of why I get so obsessed with snowstorms during the winter is becuase it feels like there's nothing else to do -- and I get quite depressed with the constant cold and lack of sunshine.

Spring would probably be the best time of the year for me IF it weren't for school being in session; obviously due to HS summer is my favorite. The first really warm (75F +) days of March or April are one of the best things in life!

By summertime I'm used to the heat and humidity so it doesn't seem like quite as much of a treat, but I still root for the heat waves and hope to hit the mid/upper 90's whenever possible. Severe weather hits its peak around the central Mid Atlantic during late spring and summer, so that's another plus.

Mid and late fall... easily the worst part of the year. If I had to choose a time to hibernate, this would be it. It has all the gloom of winter but without any hope of winter storms . October and November can be just miserable, especially if they are cool and wet. Combine this with the fact that the school year is fully underway but still has 7 months to go, and it ain't pretty !

But then when December 5 rolls around and we get what has apparently become the official date for our annual first winter storm in the I-95 corridor... the whole thing starts over and things don't seem so bad.

Since it IS my major, it does affect me to the point that it is the first thing I think about when I get up and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep. Some people read the newspaper, watch TV, me I check all the boards and weather sites I have crammed into my favorites list (which is becoming obnoxiously long). I run into the same thing as others have stated on here-I get called, emailed, etc. when the weather is actually an issue for "normal" folk. Plus given my health issues, severe weather can OCCASIONALLY give my body fits.

Im a delivery driver for a pizza place and during inclement weather the amount of deliveries double due to people not wanting to go out in the rain/snow etc. Folks tend to tip more than usual too...so its worth getting wet

Double Cheese and Italian Sausage for me George....

Well, if it's hot, cold, sunny, windy, rainy, snowy or overcast, I stay indoors. (*as if I had a choice...*)