TimB

On 3/11/2021 at 2:14 PM, TimB84 said:

Not every year the Big Ten has four legitimate national title contenders.

Edit: Three. Didn’t realize Ohio State went into a tailspin down the stretch, though that pleases me.

This aged well, though I’ll admit I questioned it after the Big Ten tourney.

A comprehensive list of all the Pittsburgh years that had less than 0.7” of snow from Feb. 23 until the last measurable snow of spring:

1. 1903* (0.1”)

2. 2021** (0.1”) 
*observations were not taken at KPIT, would likely have been more than 0.1” if the airport existed at the time

**still ongoing, though increasingly likely we’re done

Interestingly, the official total of 2.19” at KPIT yesterday appears to be the highest total in PA reported by the NWS. If only we could get that bullseye during a snowstorm. (Not necessarily saying 2.19”, obviously that would be historic at 10:1 and an all time record at 12:1).

Looks like 1.85” of rain so far at KPIT. 2nd wettest March day on record. Won’t catch 3/6/45 with 2.58”. (Edited 7pm)

14 minutes ago, Itstrainingtime said:

 

Probably none of us are on here stemming from a fascination of the day when we were younger and it was sunny and 67.   

It depends on whether that day was in April/October or in July. As a cold fan, a sunny and 67 July day in PA for me would be wonderful.

11 minutes ago, Mount Joy Snowman said:

And yet I root for all of it.  Guilty as charged.  I can't help myself.  I want maximum chaos when it comes to weather.  I want to see extreme events and records broken.  Heck, it's the reason I'm a weather enthusiast and on this very forum.  But you are so right that lives are lost in all extreme weather and that reality does have to fit in somewhere.  A tricky balance.  

Someone in my home thread put it in this perspective for me: weather will happen and lives will be lost whether we root for it or not.

Tornadoes and blizzards are much more fascinating than 70 and sunny. I can’t imagine there are many weather enthusiasts in San Diego.

21 minutes ago, sauss06 said:

severe is how i started following weather. Being in the fire dept, kinda goes hand in hand. I cringe when i hear someone say they hope we get this or that. They obviously never personally experienced  a tragic event. They would never wish for it again. I've had the not so much pleasure of seeing to much death  and destruction. I'm not a fan, I don't need to see anymore really.  

At the root of it, and to play devil’s advocate, is there really any difference between hoping for a tornado or hurricane vs. hoping for a blizzard/historic cold/record heat wave/etc.? Lives are lost in all of the above. I would argue that all events where someone dies are tragic. Some (not necessarily me, unless we’re talking about massive devastation where people lose everything and not just something like burst pipes or a flooded basement or needing a new roof) might even argue that all events where anyone’s property is damaged, even if no one is hurt or killed, are tragic.

3 minutes ago, Voyager said:

I'd love to be able to work from home on an "when I feel like it" basis (snowstorms) but I'm a truck driver. There's no working from home for me...lol

Believe me, I understand that job and many others can’t be done from home! Thank you for the essential services you provide to our society.

2 minutes ago, Bubbler86 said:

It's interesting in that I have been WFH for 3 years now and it gets a little long in the tooth as to less social interaction.  Probably have to find a happy medium for myself....some of both...before I become a hermit.  

I’m all for a happy medium. I have absolutely no interest in going to the office more than 3 days a week ever again in my life (preferably 2), but not 0. Guess I didn’t articulate that when I said I wanted to wfh “forever.”

11 minutes ago, Voyager said:

Yup. Mine is my career choice and driving and working in ice and snow. Chasing a storm on the models is fun, but then reality hits...

Pre-pandemic, this was definitely a consideration for me. As long as I’m wfh (hopefully forever as far as I’m concerned, but probably not), it’s a lot easier to root for crippling blizzards, severe weather, wind storms, etc...anything that has the potential to eff up a commute. But even if I’m ever back to the office, I imagine there will be more societal flexibility toward wfh when weather conditions suck (employers know many of us prefer it and are going to have a hell of time getting us to come back), so maybe I can still root for these things without worrying about my commute. (And yes, I’d still be sneaking the occasional post on weather forums in the office, so no judgment!)

Would think the idea of the SPC upgrading any part of the Carolinas to a high risk tomorrow, especially in light of what transpired today, would be a very poor decision.

5 hours ago, Itstrainingtime said:

My wife spent a week in Tuscaloosa days after 4/27/11 helping clean up efforts. The pictures and video she sent to me were...I don't know. Street after street of nothing but concrete pads. There were areas where there was literally nothing left. 

Unfortunately, it appears we now have a PDS warning for Tuscaloosa. 

7 minutes ago, Itstrainingtime said:

My wife spent a week in Tuscaloosa days after 4/27/11 helping clean up efforts. The pictures and video she sent to me were...I don't know. Street after street of nothing but concrete pads. There were areas where there was literally nothing left. 

Haunting images for sure. Speaking of which, satellite seems to show partial to full clearing over central MS at the moment. Can’t be good.

1 minute ago, Itstrainingtime said:

Yes - hoping for the same result today. I realize that this is part of the drill down there, and I'm not a severe guy by any means, but the dialogue from SPC seems very concerning to me. 

Those that are more “in the know” than I am seem to be saying this won’t be another 4/27/11, but I’m sure people in those areas didn’t wake up that morning with any idea of just how bad that day would be.

10 minutes ago, Itstrainingtime said:

That's an ugly map - hate seeing such a large area under a MDT or HIGH today. I'm afraid there's going to be some devastation over the next 24 hours. 

It’s definitely a concern. But for those that don’t want to see a tornado outbreak in those areas today, the last high risk day (5/20/2019) included a maxed out PDS watch and turned out to be a relatively minor event and no one died.

1 hour ago, Wmsptwx said:

Big severe day coming up in southeast tomorrow!

I’ll bet some of that large moderate risk area gets upgraded to high with the 6z D1 outlook tonight.

18 hours ago, Ahoff said:

Ok...I only care about the snow total at the end of the season.  55" contained mostly between December and February is pretty perfect.  It was a great winter.  My point was, if we get low totals for March, that's just the way it goes, I didn't mean literally that .1" is the only way this could go.

I think .1” is the most likely total we end up with for March. With that being said, it depends on how you grade a winter. Do you look at it as a whole, or do you look at individual months in addition to that whole? I would say I do the latter (and I count all months that average an appreciable amount of snow - Dec. through March), in which December was unquestionably an A+, January was a solid B, February was probably an A, and I would have to say March would unquestionably be an F if it ends at the total we have now. I don’t think I weight March as heavily as the other three, so it only drags an A/A- winter down to a B/B+ in my mind, but it’s hard for me to give a 55” winter an A on the whole, even without looking at individual months, considering we do better than 55” about 20% of the time.

1 hour ago, Ahoff said:

Just the way it goes.  Good thing we got 55” over the winter.

That’s fair. Of course a good winter helps to make up for a low March snow total, but one caveat: a winter with 55 inches or more of snow is much more common than a March with 0.1 inches or less. In fact, if the 0.1” total holds, it will be something that has never been experienced by any Pittsburgher under the age of 75 (which of course means never at KPIT). Hardly “the way it goes” unless you’re an octogenarian.

Compare that to this March, where if the models are correct, we have a very good shot at finishing the month with only the fluke 0.1” we recorded on the 1st.

2 hours ago, Bubbler86 said:

I wish my boxes and boxes of 80's cards were worth what we thought there were going to be.  If I had invested all that money in stocks, I would surely be up a million dollars vs what my 50 Steve Jeltz rookies are worth.

 

 

That’s my Buccos, putting up a 10-spot in the top of the first and still finding a way to lose!

2 minutes ago, Bubbler86 said:

That's a good question.  It frankly has been like this since I got involved in the early 90's.  There are all kinds of personalities and with it comes all kind of opinions. I think most of us are regular folks...not many CEO's of companies or doctors on here because they are probably too busy (Ha) but lots of regular folks who all have opinions. I would guess there are just as many Dem's and there are Repubs and a lot in between. 

I would guess that’s a fair assumption. I certainly deem myself to be a “regular person.” On a weather forum I’m a weather enthusiast first and have no desire to engage in political debate. (I don’t think the one main “political” issue related to weather is really a political issue, it’s a scientific one.)

4 minutes ago, Itstrainingtime said:

Do they even realize that not only are they excluding others, but they're also turning off some of their own peeps? How many good people have left down there because of the ugliness. And the worst part is - they honestly don't give a damn.

At the end of the day, it’s a weather forum. I understand banter, but maybe not divisive topics? As a lifelong weather enthusiast who is very new to discussing it on forums, it does raise my curiosity - does the weather enthusiast community lean one way or the other politically or is it mixed?

7 minutes ago, Bubbler86 said:

Its hard to believe nothing from the S/W PA slug gets over here but HRRR says to keep the umbrella on the shelf.

HRRR several hours ago indicated the same general idea in Pittsburgh, with partial clearing and temperatures reaching 74 this afternoon. I can assure you, it’s 58 and rainy here and never got past 63.

6 minutes ago, Mount Joy Snowman said:

First time in 45 years no Duke or Kentucky in the tourney.  I'm holding out hope for a miracle Penn State run in the B10 tourney but we all know where this leads haha.

Covid rudely closed Penn State’s window last year. As an alum of another Big Ten school that was better last year than they are this year, I can commiserate - though a PSU win tonight would add to my misery. 

2 minutes ago, Bubbler86 said:

UVA was way down.  Not thinking they defend their title with this team.  LOL.  Michigan is a power house when healthy. 

Not every year the Big Ten has four legitimate national title contenders.

Edit: Three. Didn’t realize Ohio State went into a tailspin down the stretch, though that pleases me.