Page 1 of 1

Goodbye and thank you

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 10:00 am
by Gord_on_snow
Hello!

As some of you know, I will be leaving to return to live in England at the end of this month. I came out here in September 2004 with no knowledge of Ohio weather...and over the past 2 years I've had so many people on this board help me understand the weather patterns in this part of the world and I've learnt a lot of ohio weather, (though I'm sure there is still a lot more that i haven't seen!) so i wanted to pop in before i go to say thank you!

I've seen some very different weather to what I'm used in England while I've been here. most notable is some of the high temps in the summer and some of the cold temps in the winter. also the way hot and cold spells can be much more prolonged than they are in England. Anyway, weatherwise, my top 3 months have been:

3rd place: November 2005
A bit of everything during this month. Severe thunderstorms, snow, warm sunny weather....it was all here...and the quick changes in temperature was pretty impressive too.

2nd place: December 2005
The first 3 weeks really. Two decent snow events, freezing rain, prolonged cold spell and made the build up to xmas feel very festive. Shame it was gone by christmas itself...and wasn't to know how awful the rest of winter would be. So this month gets 2nd place because it saved what was overall an awful winter...meant we didn't go entirely snowless!

1st place: Easy one this! January 2005
Mainly because events this month were quite new experiences for me. From the very mild and record breaking rainfall in the first half of the month..then that sudden flip with a very exciting cold front to very cold and snowy conditions that dominated the 2nd half of the month. This was the first month that I got a taste of what Ohio can really do! The day we went from 69F to 28F with that front was a very new thing for me! And exciting too!

So, my worst 3 months for weather were:

3rd place: November 2004
Cant actually remember any weather from this month except a snow flurry on thanksgiving!

2nd place: January 2006
so much promise....so much let down. One day of snow...the rest of it zonal!

1st place: February 2006
even more promise, and even more let down...i didn't think it was possible to cancel so many winter storm warnings at the last minute. If the forecasts had come off, we could have had a lot of snow on the ground...but the total accumulation for the month was a big fat zero inches!

And May 2006 is heading towards 3rd place right now!

On a more personal note. I've had a great time out here in the US. the people are very friendly and I'm pleased I've come out here and found out that Americans are genuinely friendly, nice and helpful people. I've been overwhelmed by how helpful people can be out here....my only criticisms are that you dont have roundabouts on the roads and you hang traffic lights in wires above the road so you cant see them when you have the sun visor down in the car! :wink:

I've had some very tricky moments getting used to a new country and a whole different culture. But its been worth it. there is a lot I'm going to miss out here. Everyone on this forum has been friendly and helpful to me and i will continue to check in to see what is happening when I'm back in England...and maybe reporting whats going on over there while i'm at it. Kind of fitting that the weather here has turned more British!

Anyway, thank you again, particularly to the Ohio people, particularly Ms Mary who helped me through my first winter here understanding what is going on! And thank you to those who were wishing for a big snowstorm before i go...shame it never came off!

Never mind, when the Atlantic shuts down, England should get more snow anyway!

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 10:47 am
by Miss Mary
Aw Gord, you've got me tearing up!!! Truly you do. Thank YOU for such a nice, positive opinion and appreciation of our country. We often take it for granted, ya know. ;-) Yes we do. Even our crazy wx patterns. Here in Ohio and the Midwest, yes we can go from one extreme to another, in mere hours. Again, we seem to take it all in stride. Pouring rain one day? We know it won't stay that way (unless you live in Seattle maybe, ;-)!) Here in Cincinnati, we've had it all - blizzards, freezing rain, 18 inches of snow in a 36 hour period, tornadoes (tragic results), severe draughts and temps in the low 100s (1988 comes to mind), etc. I'm sure Columbus, where you lived, wasn't much different.

I do wish you got to experience one decent snowfall though. That was a disappointment. You watch, next winter we'll get slammed (ah but I've been saying that for years).

Now just because you're going back home, don't forget us here at S2K. Please stay in touch and remain part of our family!

I wish you the best.......

Mary

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 11:42 am
by TexasStooge
Wishing you the best, Gord.

Keep in touch with us sometimes. :D

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 11:45 pm
by CentralFlGal
Be well and travel safely, Gord. Our loss is England's gain. Thank you for your kind words - they won't be soon forgotten.

And, we'll check into those roundabouts for you, okay? :D

(I can't stand not being able to see the lights with the visor down either)

Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 11:48 pm
by CajunMama
Good luck Gord....you will still be visiting us when you get home, right?????

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 12:34 am
by Audrey2Katrina
There's ALWAYS the worldwide web! Keep in touch! and Good luck Gord!

A2K

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 6:00 am
by Janice
Yes, Audrey is right. You can get ahold of us anytime at Storm2k :D

Pop in every so often and keep us updated on your life.

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 7:23 am
by sunny
Hey Gord - I know you must be happy to go home, but we all hope you will still visit us here! Have a safe trip back to Merry Ole England :D

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 7:31 am
by cycloneye
Have a great trip back to your home.But dont forget to visit storm2k as I know it's your second home. :)

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 7:33 am
by azskyman
Gord, I may have only touched base a time or two, but I know so well how helpful and terrific those Ohio (weather) people are! All the way from Dick Goddard the weather institution in Cleveland to Miss Mary's terrific support in Cincinatti (I'm a Tony Snow fan too!) , they are among the best!

Finally, you will be happy to know that here in Scottsdale, Arizona, we just put in 3 new roundabouts on a street improvement on 96th Street (I live on 91st) , so I have seen that right here in America we do still do that!

Good luck, and join us from the UK when you get there. And if you need the addy of a terrific weather guy over there, I have one for you. Just drop me a PM and I'll share his contact with you!

Steve

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 8:01 am
by rainstorm
good luck

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 9:35 am
by Stephanie
Have a safe trip back home. I'm so glad that you enjoyed your stay here in the States and by all means, please check in from England!!

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 9:49 am
by tropicana
Enjoy your trip back to England, Gord!

-justin-

Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 12:01 pm
by therock1811
Miss Mary wrote:Aw Gord, you've got me tearing up!!! Truly you do. Thank YOU for such a nice, positive opinion and appreciation of our country. We often take it for granted, ya know. ;-) Yes we do. Even our crazy wx patterns. Here in Ohio and the Midwest, yes we can go from one extreme to another, in mere hours. Again, we seem to take it all in stride. Pouring rain one day? We know it won't stay that way (unless you live in Seattle maybe, ;-)!) Here in Cincinnati, we've had it all - blizzards, freezing rain, 18 inches of snow in a 36 hour period, tornadoes (tragic results), severe draughts and temps in the low 100s (1988 comes to mind), etc. I'm sure Columbus, where you lived, wasn't much different.

I do wish you got to experience one decent snowfall though. That was a disappointment. You watch, next winter we'll get slammed (ah but I've been saying that for years).

Now just because you're going back home, don't forget us here at S2K. Please stay in touch and remain part of our family!

I wish you the best.......

Mary


This says it all. Best wishes from the other side of the Ohio River. Thanks for your positive opinion of this country. And I want you to know, I have never been there, but I do have a positive opinion of England...it's guys like you that make this world a great place. Now, in true hillbilly fashion, I will say just one more thing. Y'all come back now, ya hear?