Monsoon's Weather Forecast / Bunk Birthday Bash
Tuesday, February 24th is the 6-month anniversary of The Bunk’s birth, and he is still (at about 35 pounds now) just as wonderful as the day we got him in November.He’s been a little finicky with his food, and a couple of incidents have driven (rather graphically) home just how sensitive his stomach can be.But I think we’ve got a good handle on his intake now, and of course the folks at Total Dog continue to take great care of him.
Here are a couple of recent photos. In the first, The Bunk merrily chews his rubber chicken chew toy. The second is a bird's-eye view of The Bunk with the evidence of his lavatory marauding. (The Bunk has an insatiable appetite for facial tissues—preferably used—as well as toilet paper, paper towels, and the like.In fact, Sasha and Ruthie had that same proclivity. Does anyone know why dogs go gaga for these sorts of things?I mean, I get that it’s fun to tear it up, but beyond that, is there a reason? Are cats like this, too? I am fascinated.) And the third shot is of The Bunk napping sweetly on the big pillow.
Happy Birthday, big man!
The Bunk Gnaws Chicken, On the Alert.
Exhibit A: The Bunk Caught in Brazen T.P. Raid.
The Bunk Bunks Out Blissfully on the Big Pillow.
So, the weather...as I said in my last communication, I’m thinking we are approaching spring rapidly.Notwithstanding Tuesday night’s frigid temperatures, there’s little evidence that we’ll have to deal with “wintry” weather (precipitation or chills) for much longer. Check it out...
The weather:
Weather narrative: For the remainder of the week, we’ll see far milder temperatures.Some rain is possible on Thursday into Friday, after which things will cool off somewhat again for the weekend.
Next week will start out seasonably cool, but temperatures will once again rise into the 50s by week’s end. Rain is possible on Tuesday and Wednesday, and into Thursday morning. If a cold front coincides with some weekend precipitation, we may see some sleet on or around the 7th, but then things moderate again.
Beyond the forecast: Warming up as we approach mid-March.
We Want the Bunk! Gotta Have that Bunk! (ow)
Habari mori,
The purpose of this post is twofold: to update you regarding my thinking about the potential storm next week, and to update you about the growth of The Bunk.Starting, then, with the most important news of
the two...
Bunk just turned five months old on January 24th and is filling out nicely. He’s every bit the delight he was when he first came into our lives two months ago, and his training continues to go swimmingly. (He’s mastered “sit” and “down” and is working on “stay,” “come,” and “leave it.”)
I thought I’d share some new pictures of Bunk, who now weighs 32 pounds—he was around 22 when we got him—and will apparently not stop growing until sometime this summer!In the first picture, Bunk is happily stretched out on the rug in our bathroom; in the second—an action shot—Bunk is furiously trying to bite the hot air that is being blasted from the hair dryer by his cruel daddy. And the final picture is a close-up of Bunk’s sweet face as he sleeps serenely at the end of the couch.
The Bunk at 5 months
The Bunk at Rest
The Bunk vs. Hair Dryer
An update about the Nor’easter that could affect our weather on Monday and Tuesday: the models continue to be out of agreement, but trends suggest this is going to be a bust.We’re still nearly 48 hours from the event (or at least the part of the event that could be interesting), so a lot can happen between now and then, but here’s what I’m thinking as of now...
Monday will bring rain showers by late afternoon continuing into the overnight hours, with a few snowflakes mixing in.Maybe as much as a coating to a half-inch by Tuesday morning, but nothing to worry about.High 41, low 33.
Tuesday will see some snow showers and increasing wind, but since the low looks to be positioning itself off the coast, the storm will track to the east of what was originally thought, the amount of moisture will be less, the foot-plus snow dump will be averted.High 34 low 18.
Wednesday will see some lingering flurries, high winds, and much colder conditions.High 26, low 14.
The remainder of the week looks sunny, seasonably cold, and dry: highs around freezing and lows in the low 20s.
The weekend looks cloudy and milder with highs in the upper 30s to near 40, and lows just below freezing.
The following week is looking a bit colder; I’m still looking at the 13th and 14th for something interesting...
Bunk is a star!!
Yes, Bunk was featured on NBC10 this morning in a segment called "Take This Job" in which Terry Ruggles goes to area businesses and learns about the job. Bunk attends doggy day care at Total Dog and a Little Cat in Adamstown, where Jon and Lori take great care of him. (I know: we are those people, as in, I can't believe those people who lavish so much attention on their dogs and pamper them like they're actual human beings. Never thought it would happen, but Bunk came along and changed all that...)
Anywho, Bunk is at the beginning of the video trying to climb up the gate (and barking), and he's pictured at about the 42-second mark milling around on the floor. ("Little Bunk"--so named because he has the same coloring as Bunk and the two are constantly palling around together at Total Dog--can be seen at Bunk's feet.) That's Bunk's tail at about the 10-second mark too.
Enjoy!
Monsoon's Complete Weather Update for Monday, 29 December 2008
Greetings to all during this fantastically lengthy holiday break!
We are having a fine holiday season and enjoying the fuzz-ball—aka BUNK—as he brings his sweetness and energy to our home.Bunk just turned 4 months old and is growing by leaps and bounds (and, is leaping and bounding all around the house).Below are two recent pictures of Bunk: in the first, he rapturously gnaws on the chew toy his Aunt Megan got him for Christmas; the second features Bunk in a recumbent pose on the hassock, looking just as cute as the day is long.
On to the weather, which has been screwy of late: a high of 67 at my house on Sunday, and the low on New Year’s Eve will be in the teens.I’m currently looking at three potential snow/ice events for the region: Friday 1/2, Tuesday 1/6, and Friday 1/9.See details below and stay tuned for updates...
The weather:
Weather narrative: Enjoy these next couple of days in the 40s, because it’s the last time we’ll see temperatures this high until about the third week of January.Very late Tuesday night a system will move through to our north, and it may clip us with some snow showers into Wednesday, but nothing really to worry about there.Watch out for high winds and powerful gusts on Wednesday.
Friday’s system is a bit more intriguing, in terms of the amount of moisture and temperature levels.I’ll send an update later in the week as that comes into clearer focus, but it could evolve into an accumulating storm.
The next issue looks to be Tuesday, with a potentially unpleasant mixture of snow and ice that could cause a disruption in our school schedule.The Friday after we return is looking snowy, too, but I’ll leave that speculation until we get closer to the event.At the very least, it looks like we’ll be very cold by then, so it doesn’t appear we’ll have to worry about mixed precipitation with that storm.
Beyond the forecast: Continued cold with a significant storm possible for mid-January...
The Official Monsoon Martin Winter 2008-09 Outlook
‘Sup,
Before I reveal my first annual Official Monsoon Martin Winter Outlook, I want to welcome a new member to the Martin family.His name is Bunk, he’s a three-month-old standard poodle, and he’s a bearish bundle of furry sweetness; the sound of his inquisitive paddling around the kitchen sounds like a five-year-old in footy pajamas skimming happily across the floor, and makes us very happy.Of course he cannot replace Sasha and Ruthie, whom we lost earlier this month and miss desperately.Thanks again to those of you who offered your kind condolences on their passing.
But Bunk can help fill the void left in our lives by the absence of our late companions, and recover some of the peculiar joy we derive from welcoming an animal into our home.I look forward to keeping you posted on his growth (he’s 25 pounds or so now; he’ll grow to at least 60 pounds) and shenanigans.
Now, for the Official Monsoon Martin Winter 2008-09 Outlook, which is based on my own study of forecast models and meteorological trends, with a generous helping of “gut feeling” thrown in.I’ve divided the winter weather season into seven periods beginning with the first half of December and ending halfway through March (roughly, meteorological winter).Each entry begins with normal temperature ranges, followed by temperature and snowfall predictions, along with accumulation totals and winter weather cancellations and delays for area schools.
Please note that my outlook applies to the region encompassing a roughly 20-mile radius round Adamstown, bounded by northern Berks County to the north; Pottstown and western Montgomery County to the east; Mt. Gretna and eastern Lebanon County to the west; and Paradise and central-southern Lancaster County to the south.
Speaking of the weather, I wanted to share my favorite recent weather-related quote.It was uttered by Danny McBride, who plays Cody, a mulleted pyrotechnics expert in the film Tropic Thunder, when he blows up a row of palm trees: “Mother Nature just pissed her pantsuit!”[A note about Tropic Thunder: I love the film, especially Robert Downey Jr.’s performance in it—he does his best work since his role as Ian in 1985’s Weird Science and as Derek in 1986’s Back to School—but I realize it’s not for everyone.I found its gleeful disregard of propriety intoxicating and Downey’s “400 years” speech made me laugh as hard as anything I’ve ever seen in the movies.]McBride’s phrasing is something I plan to use liberally this winter in endeavoring to explain meteorological anomalies that may arise...
Where was I?Oh, yes.Kind of a lot going on lately.I’ve had a bit of trouble focusing.Back to the Official Monsoon Martin Winter 2008-09 Outlook.There are few really useful climatological clues this season—such as the presence of El Nino or La Niña, neither of which is present in the Pacific this year—so it’s especially difficult to make predictions with any accuracy (particularly regarding precipitation) until just days before the event.But I’m not in the business of equivocation or excuse-making here; I’m about rockin’ this outlook, and rockin’ it hard.Here goes...
First half of December: Average highs are typically in the low to mid 40s, lows in the upper 20s to low 30s.
December 1st to 15th will be colder than normal over all, with some nasty wind chills dipping into the teens.I’m fairly confident we’ll see a snow event in the 4-6” range somewhere around the 9th or 10th of the month; temperatures will become a bit milder then toward mid-month.
Winter weather cancellations and delays: Most of us have 10 school days in this period.I’m predicting 1 cancellation and 1 delay.
Second half of December: Average highs are typically in the upper 30s to low 40s, lows in the low to mid 20s.
December 16th to 31st will be average to a bit warmer than normal, and I do not believe we’ll see a “white Christmas” this year.
Winter weather cancellations and delays: Most of us have only 4 to 6 school days in this period.I’m predicting no winter weather-related cancellations or delays.
First half of January: Average highs are typically in the mid to upper 30s, lows in the low 20s.
After a relatively mild start, the bitter cold sets in by around the second week of January.I’m looking for a small to moderate event in the range of 4-6” early on.
Winter weather cancellations and delays: Most of us have 10 school days in this period.I’m predicting 1 cancellation and 2 delays, mainly due to icing problems.
Second half of January: Average highs are typically in the mid to upper 30s, lows in the low 20s.
Colder to begin the second half of the month, with a significant storm in the range of 10-12”, then a “thaw” with milder temperatures to end the month.Winter’s not over yet, though...
Winter weather cancellations and delays: Most of us have 9 school days in this period.I’m predicting 1 cancellation and no delays.
First half of February: Average highs are typically in the upper 30s to low 40s, lows in the low to mid 20s.
We’ll see very cold conditions and a one-two punch of winter weather events: a fairly moderate storm (6-8”) followed by a big snow (in the range of 12-15”) by mid-month, right around Valentine’s Day.
Winter weather cancellations and delays: Most of us have 9 school days in this period.I’m predicting 1 cancellation and 2 delays.
Second half of February: Average highs are typically in the low to mid 40s, lows in the low to mid 20s.
Around average, with a few days of milder “thaw” temperatures: winter’s chill begins to recede and the snow begins to melt, but a couple of freezing rain/sleet/snow events will make travel treacherous and disrupt schedules in the region.
Winter weather cancellations and delays: Most of us have 9 school days in this period.I’m predicting no cancellations and 2 delays.
First half of March (through the Ides): Average highs are typically in the mid to upper 40s, lows in the upper 20s to low 30s.
I’m looking for near-average temperatures with a few colder days mixed in.If these colder days coincide with a Nor’easter, we could see a major storm develop in the first or second week of the month; I don’t think the pattern is set up for this right now, though.
Winter weather cancellations and delays: Most of us have 10 school days in this period.I’m predicting no winter weather-related cancellations or delays.
Totals and summary: I’m predicting a very active (and frequently, quite cold) winter, especially when compared with the previous 3 or 4 winters, which featured a dearth of snowfall and milder temperatures than normal over all.Snowfall totals will be in the range of 36-42” generally, with fluctuations within the forecast region I outlined above.
Totting up the winter weather-related cancellations and delays: I think we’ll have 4 cancellations and 7 delays.Hell, we may even have an early dismissal or two, particularly in the active period from mid-January through mid-February.
Mother Nature will most definitely be shitting her wetsuit.Or was it sweating through her pantyhose?Puking in her soup?Ahh yes: pissing in her pantsuit.I’ll get it straight...