As we approach the end of Autumn in southern New England, one can look back and see that this has been a rather crazy three months, especially here in Connecticut.
First, as detailed in my previous blog entry, we had an earthquake. While the quake was centered in Virginia, it was clearly felt throughout much of the northeast. Less than a week later, Hurricane Irene came barreling up the east coast, passing just to the west of central Connecticut. The storm weakened to tropical storm strength just before reaching us, but the winds downed trees and power lines throughout the state. My home was without electricity for four days, and the beginning of the Fall semester at CCSU was delayed. It was an unpleasant experience to say the least, but at least it was warm enough, and the days were long enough to make sitting in a house with no power not as bad as it could have been.
Little did we know that just two months later, a freak Halloween weekend snowstorm would hit the state. With many of the trees still in full leaf, the weight of the heavy, wet snow (which accumulated nearly a foot in my neighborhood) brought even more trees down than in the August tropical storm. Much of the interior of Connecticut was in the dark once again, and with so many towns without any power, the restoration took a lot longer. This time, my home was without electricity for nearly a week. Others in the state spent up to 12 days in the dark. And, as we had just turned the clocks back that weekend, the nights came earlier, and the temperatures were considerably colder. There was more tree debris to clear, and even now, there are lots of piles of cut branches that have yet to be picked up and disposed of.
Finally, as I write this, it is 64 degrees outside. Incredibly warm for late November. And by midweek, temperatures will drop back into the 40s. As I said, it's a bit crazy out there.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Earthquakes, Hurricanes, What's Next?
As I write this, Hurricane Irene is working its way up the east coast, heading for New York City. This just two days after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck in Mineral, Virginia, rattling buildings from Atlanta to Toronto. For me, this was the first time I had ever felt an earthquake. I was sitting in my office when my chair started moving, and then I realized the whole building was swaying. I looked at my secretary (who also noticed her chair moving from side to side) and said "we're having an earthquake." By the time I could decide whether or not to leave the building, the swaying had stopped. It didn't take long to confirm that we had, indeed, experienced a rare east coast earthquake. What could top that?
How about a hurricane? Hurricane Irene is expected to strike Connecticut late Saturday night and Sunday with 75-80 mph winds, a storm surge of up to 10 feet along the shoreline and rainfall that could be in the 5-10 inch range. How much damage it causes, and how it will affect everyone's daily routine here on campus remains to be seen. But no doubt, these are interesting times....
How about a hurricane? Hurricane Irene is expected to strike Connecticut late Saturday night and Sunday with 75-80 mph winds, a storm surge of up to 10 feet along the shoreline and rainfall that could be in the 5-10 inch range. How much damage it causes, and how it will affect everyone's daily routine here on campus remains to be seen. But no doubt, these are interesting times....
Thursday, April 7, 2011
What's Going On Here?
Some of you may recognize the title of this blog entry as a question that was often posed by the late Dick Young, sports columnist for the New York Daily News. Every so often, Mr. Young would stop and contemplate the state of affairs in the world of sports and those columns would always carry that title.
I decided to use (steal?) that title for this entry after reading about a San Francisco Giants fan named Brian Stow. Mr. Stow, along with some friends, decided to travel down to Los Angeles to attend Opening Day at Dodger Stadium, as the world champion Giants opened the 2011 season with their in-state National League rivals. Being the Giant fan he is, Mr. Stow was wearing a full set of Giants regalia. The Dodgers won the game 2-1, but that isn't the story.
Following the game, as Mr. Stow and his friends were leaving the stadium, he was attacked by a couple of Dodger fans (wearing Dodger Blue). Mr. Stow was kicked, beaten and knocked to the ground. His attackers melted into the crowd and have not yet been apprehended. Meanwhile Mr. Stow (a Santa Cruz paramedic, and father of two) remains in a medically induced coma, and has suffered brain damage as a result of the beating. Authorities are interviewing members of the crowd who may have witnessed the attack, and have released sketches of the alleged assailants. A reward, which has now grown to $150,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the attackers.
While we may have become accustomed to the "hooliganism" that we sometimes see at soccer games in other countries around the world, this sort of attack is out of the ordinary for American sports fans. We can toss good-natured insults at fans of other teams (as I often do to Red Sox fans I know) but physical violence is something that has, up to now, been rare at baseball games (aside from the occasional alcohol-fed fights in the stands at various ballparks). Let's try to remember one thing, everyone--It's Just a Game!! Your life and my life are not any worse if either of our favorite sports teams loses.
So, the question remains, "What's Going on Here?"
I decided to use (steal?) that title for this entry after reading about a San Francisco Giants fan named Brian Stow. Mr. Stow, along with some friends, decided to travel down to Los Angeles to attend Opening Day at Dodger Stadium, as the world champion Giants opened the 2011 season with their in-state National League rivals. Being the Giant fan he is, Mr. Stow was wearing a full set of Giants regalia. The Dodgers won the game 2-1, but that isn't the story.
Following the game, as Mr. Stow and his friends were leaving the stadium, he was attacked by a couple of Dodger fans (wearing Dodger Blue). Mr. Stow was kicked, beaten and knocked to the ground. His attackers melted into the crowd and have not yet been apprehended. Meanwhile Mr. Stow (a Santa Cruz paramedic, and father of two) remains in a medically induced coma, and has suffered brain damage as a result of the beating. Authorities are interviewing members of the crowd who may have witnessed the attack, and have released sketches of the alleged assailants. A reward, which has now grown to $150,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the attackers.
While we may have become accustomed to the "hooliganism" that we sometimes see at soccer games in other countries around the world, this sort of attack is out of the ordinary for American sports fans. We can toss good-natured insults at fans of other teams (as I often do to Red Sox fans I know) but physical violence is something that has, up to now, been rare at baseball games (aside from the occasional alcohol-fed fights in the stands at various ballparks). Let's try to remember one thing, everyone--It's Just a Game!! Your life and my life are not any worse if either of our favorite sports teams loses.
So, the question remains, "What's Going on Here?"
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Hey wait a minute! I was right!
In my last blog entry, on February 9th, I indicated that I thought that we had broken the back of winter, and that we had seen the last of the really cold air for the season. Well waddya know? I was right!
While February did produce over 15 inches of snow at Bradley Airport, there were no monster storms, nor was the cold as deep or unrelenting as we had seen in January. In fact, the winter had effectively ended once the upper level pattern shifted as it did last month.
And even though March began on the chilly side, temperatures have reached the mid-50s on a number of occasions, and just about all the precipitation for the month so far has been rain. And there doesn't seem to be any really cold air around that might bring a return of Old Man Winter.
I do, however, remember a few Yankee Stadium opening days, that were played in snow, and this IS New England, so let's not rule anything out just yet.
While February did produce over 15 inches of snow at Bradley Airport, there were no monster storms, nor was the cold as deep or unrelenting as we had seen in January. In fact, the winter had effectively ended once the upper level pattern shifted as it did last month.
And even though March began on the chilly side, temperatures have reached the mid-50s on a number of occasions, and just about all the precipitation for the month so far has been rain. And there doesn't seem to be any really cold air around that might bring a return of Old Man Winter.
I do, however, remember a few Yankee Stadium opening days, that were played in snow, and this IS New England, so let's not rule anything out just yet.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Finally, A Break in the Pattern
After the most miserable month of January since records have been kept in Connecticut, there appears to be a major shift in the weather pattern for the first part of this month. Since the Christmas Night storm of December 26th, Connecticut has been pounded with one major winter storm after another. On January 12-13, we received over two feet of snow from a single storm, breaking the all-time record for one snowstorm, held since 1905. One week later, another 12-18 inches fell, followed by more snow later in the month. The single-month snowfall record, fell victim to winter's wrath. By month's end, 57 inches of snow had fallen at Bradley International Airport in January, shattering the January record of 43.1 inches, as well as the all-time single-month record (from December, 1945) of 45.3 inches.
As of this writing, 82.6 inches of snow has fallen at Bradley, putting the winter of 2010-2011 in the Top Five of all years since 1905. And to go along with the snow, it has been brutally cold throughout much of the month of January. The month averaged 2.7 degrees colder than normal. Only 12 of the 31 days had highs above the freezing mark. The low for the month was 7 below zero on January 24th. So the snow that has fallen has primarily remained on the ground with almost no melting at all. Many roofs and a significant number of structures (including the bowling alley where my weekly league was housed) collapsed under the weight of all that snow and ice. The only bit of good news was that we did not experience any sort of January thaw that might have caused rapid snowmelt and serious flooding concerns.
But now, there finally appears to be a major change taking place in the weather. Upper level patterns are shifting, keeping the storm track away from the northeast. The long-range outlook for the next 10 days shows no significant snowstorms threatening southern New England. And the strength and volume of cold air in Canada appears to be decreasing, almost as if it has all been drained out. We may actually see temperatures reach the 35-40 degree range later this weekend, which would allow for some slow and steady melting of snow with no threat of flooding.
We appear to have weathered the worst that winter can throw at us. Yes, the snow piles in my neighborhood are still well over six feet tall, but they will slowly begin to shrink. The climatologically coldest part of winter has passed. It won't be long before someone asks, "hot enough for ya?" I can't wait.
As of this writing, 82.6 inches of snow has fallen at Bradley, putting the winter of 2010-2011 in the Top Five of all years since 1905. And to go along with the snow, it has been brutally cold throughout much of the month of January. The month averaged 2.7 degrees colder than normal. Only 12 of the 31 days had highs above the freezing mark. The low for the month was 7 below zero on January 24th. So the snow that has fallen has primarily remained on the ground with almost no melting at all. Many roofs and a significant number of structures (including the bowling alley where my weekly league was housed) collapsed under the weight of all that snow and ice. The only bit of good news was that we did not experience any sort of January thaw that might have caused rapid snowmelt and serious flooding concerns.
But now, there finally appears to be a major change taking place in the weather. Upper level patterns are shifting, keeping the storm track away from the northeast. The long-range outlook for the next 10 days shows no significant snowstorms threatening southern New England. And the strength and volume of cold air in Canada appears to be decreasing, almost as if it has all been drained out. We may actually see temperatures reach the 35-40 degree range later this weekend, which would allow for some slow and steady melting of snow with no threat of flooding.
We appear to have weathered the worst that winter can throw at us. Yes, the snow piles in my neighborhood are still well over six feet tall, but they will slowly begin to shrink. The climatologically coldest part of winter has passed. It won't be long before someone asks, "hot enough for ya?" I can't wait.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Remembering the Challenger - 25 Years Later
Tomorrow, January 28th, marks the 25th anniversary of the loss of the space shuttle Challenger, and its seven astronauts. The Challenger disintegrated just 73 seconds into its mission after rubber O-rings on the shuttle's solid rocket boosters (SRB) deteriorated in the cold weather, allowing hot gasses to escape out the side and burn a hole in the external fuel tank. The spacecraft became aerodynamically unstable, causing a massive disintegration of the external tank and the orbiter itself.
Among the passengers onboard was Christa McAuliffe, NASA's first "Teacher in Space." Another "Teacher in Space," Barbara Morgan, who was Ms. McAuliffe's backup, waited 21 years to get her ride, finally going into orbit aboard STS-118, in August, 2007.
I recall being in class that fateful Tuesday morning. TV coverage of the launch was almost non-existent (only CNN was televising the launch) as most networks felt shuttle launches were too routine to interrupt normal programming. But around mid-day, I started hearing people talking in the halls--"Did you hear? The space shuttle exploded!" I found it hard to believe. How could such a thing possibly be true? We managed to round up a TV set and, by now, all the networks were covering the disaster. The liftoff was picture perfect on a very cold Florida morning. But a minute later, our lives had all been changed, as had the entire U.S. manned space program. Although NASA initially claimed that the cold weather (it was 28 degrees F that morning in Cape Canaveral) contributed to the accident, later studies showed that the cold was the main factor in causing the SRB O-ring to fail.
Seventeen years and four days later, on Feb. 1, 2003, the shuttle Columbia was destroyed during re-entry. Some of the thermal insulating tiles on the leading edge of its wing were damaged during launch, and did not protect the shuttle from the intense heat of re-entry, resulting in the breakup of the orbiter over Texas. Among those lost was Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut.
These incidents serve to remind us that the exploration of space can not only be rewarding and exciting, but risky and dangerous as well. On this 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, we remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice to advance our understanding of "the final frontier."
Challenger Crew: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Ron McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judith Resnik.
Columbia Crew: Rick Husband, Bill McCool, Mike Anderson, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark.
Among the passengers onboard was Christa McAuliffe, NASA's first "Teacher in Space." Another "Teacher in Space," Barbara Morgan, who was Ms. McAuliffe's backup, waited 21 years to get her ride, finally going into orbit aboard STS-118, in August, 2007.
I recall being in class that fateful Tuesday morning. TV coverage of the launch was almost non-existent (only CNN was televising the launch) as most networks felt shuttle launches were too routine to interrupt normal programming. But around mid-day, I started hearing people talking in the halls--"Did you hear? The space shuttle exploded!" I found it hard to believe. How could such a thing possibly be true? We managed to round up a TV set and, by now, all the networks were covering the disaster. The liftoff was picture perfect on a very cold Florida morning. But a minute later, our lives had all been changed, as had the entire U.S. manned space program. Although NASA initially claimed that the cold weather (it was 28 degrees F that morning in Cape Canaveral) contributed to the accident, later studies showed that the cold was the main factor in causing the SRB O-ring to fail.
Seventeen years and four days later, on Feb. 1, 2003, the shuttle Columbia was destroyed during re-entry. Some of the thermal insulating tiles on the leading edge of its wing were damaged during launch, and did not protect the shuttle from the intense heat of re-entry, resulting in the breakup of the orbiter over Texas. Among those lost was Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut.
These incidents serve to remind us that the exploration of space can not only be rewarding and exciting, but risky and dangerous as well. On this 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, we remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice to advance our understanding of "the final frontier."
Challenger Crew: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Ron McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judith Resnik.
Columbia Crew: Rick Husband, Bill McCool, Mike Anderson, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Had Enough Yet?
This winter of 2010-2011 is certainly going to be one that I'll remember for a long time. In the 33 years I've been living in Connecticut, I cannot remember a two-week period (from the 12th to the 26th of January) in which so much snow has fallen (and is forecast to fall) and it has been so cold. Since the first of January, Bradley International Airport has seen over 41 inches of snow. Adding to the 14 inches recorded in December of 2010, that brings us to around 55-56 inches of snow so far this winter. By the way, the normal snowfall for an ENTIRE winter is 45.3 inches. So we've already surpassed by over 10 inches the total we might normally expect for an entire winter season. And January isn't even over yet. Bear in mind that normally, February is the snowiest month of the year. I can hardly wait....
Add to that the persistent cold weather so far this month. After starting off the new year with a 51 degree reading on January 1st, there haven't been many days where the temperature has risen above the freezing mark. Since January 2nd, there have only been six days that got above the 32 degree mark. On the 14th and 15th we had overnight low temperatures of 3 degrees above, and 6 degrees BELOW zero, respectively. I personally have over two feet of snow on the ground at my house, and it shows no signs of melting (except into my roof and down through the ceiling of my family room). The forecast for the next few days features temperatures that will reach 5 to 10 BELOW zero at night and struggle to make 20 degrees during the day. Adding to that, there is a possibility of yet another major snowstorm on Wednesday of next week (the 26th) that could add to the already outrageously high piles of snow on the ground.
What could possibly explain why I still live and work here in the northeast?
Add to that the persistent cold weather so far this month. After starting off the new year with a 51 degree reading on January 1st, there haven't been many days where the temperature has risen above the freezing mark. Since January 2nd, there have only been six days that got above the 32 degree mark. On the 14th and 15th we had overnight low temperatures of 3 degrees above, and 6 degrees BELOW zero, respectively. I personally have over two feet of snow on the ground at my house, and it shows no signs of melting (except into my roof and down through the ceiling of my family room). The forecast for the next few days features temperatures that will reach 5 to 10 BELOW zero at night and struggle to make 20 degrees during the day. Adding to that, there is a possibility of yet another major snowstorm on Wednesday of next week (the 26th) that could add to the already outrageously high piles of snow on the ground.
What could possibly explain why I still live and work here in the northeast?
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