Snow is falling and the wind is blowing.
The blizzard warning for this area was updated to show a more reasonable expected snow depth; it's predicting 2 feet of snow now, down from the 3 feet that was predicted this morning. Here's hoping the lower prediction is the right one. And no, I don't think 2 feet of snow is reasonable; it's just better than 3!
I took a mid-afternoon break to walk in the early hours of the storm. The weather at the time? Snow, and freezing fog.
As I was driving home last night my phone beeped. After I stopped to look I found a notification of a change in the weather forecast. The blizzard watch had just been upgraded to a blizzard warning. Ah, I was hoping it would move in a different direction.
I woke up to find a light skim of snow on the ground with the heavy snow predicted for tonight into tomorrow. The words on the forecast have been changed to mimic the storm warning.
Blizzard WarningThe words in the forecast show a large snow accumulation with 3 to 5 inches predicted for today, 13 to 19 inches tonight, and 7 to 11 inches tomorrow. Can I hope that the forecast is wrong?
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
439 AM EST FRI FEB 8 2013
...A POTENTIAL HISTORIC WINTER STORM AND BLIZZARD IS EXPECTED TO DROP UP TO 3 FEET OF SNOW THROUGH SATURDAY...
The Portsmouth piece of the new Memorial Bridge was placed on January 15th. I had been thinking about taking a day off to watch; unfortunately I missed the day before the event announcement only finding out about the placement as it was happening. The Kittery section is supposed to be put in place sometime in March and the center span is scheduled for June. I've signed up for email notification in the hopes that I find out about the lift section placement in enough time to (maybe) spend the day watching.
THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD, A GUSSETLESS BRIDGE
The new bridge design has eliminated the most vulnerable part of a truss – the gusset plate – that has historically been the cause of costly maintenance, repairs, and replacements. A gusset plate is a thick plate (sheet) of steel used to connect the various pieces of the bridge (or truss members) and kept in place with steel bolts. As the gusset plates corrode and weaken (and require costly retrofitting), as was the case with the 1922 Memorial Bridge, they compromise the strength of all the separate pieces.
The design team eliminated gusset plates entirely. Instead, the metal sections are all uniform in size so they fit together like puzzle pieces, through a process called splicing.
...
USE OF A METALIZED COATING
The steel portions of the new bridge will be finished with a metalized coating expected to last 40-50 years without requiring maintenance. The process utilizes an electric arc spray gun to apply molten zinc onto the surface of steel. Zinc provides the highest protection from corrosion and also keeps the look and feel of the new bridge in-line with the local U.S. Navy shipbuilding history.
We've had very little snow so far this winter but it looks like the weather wizard may be planning a change very soon. Unlike the snow forecasts earlier this season that called for snow that didn't happen, this one sounds like it could be real. Funny, the words for the local forecast don't say anything about snow accumulations but the posted warnings do.
The bright green section of the map below (where I live and work!) is under a blizzard watch; the blue is a winter storm watch.
Blizzard Watch for Eastern Essex County (Zone MAZ007)
...A POTENTIAL HISTORIC WINTER STORM AND BLIZZARD IS EXPECTED TO DROP 1 TO 2 FEET OF SNOW ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY...
Forecast courtesy of the National Weather Service
The air was full of snow flurries when I headed to Maudslay State Park this afternoon. Funny, as I drove closer to the coast the snow lessened, disappearing by the time I arrived in the park. Last week's warm weather and rain removed the little snow that was on the ground and the past few days left the ground frozen instead of muddy.
The sky was gray, the air was cold. It was a very good day for a walk in the park.
This one's for you +Lori Carey!
As I wandered in Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, NY yesterday afternoon I found myself drawn to the very decorated underground walls of the World War II fortifications that are hidden (in plain sight) beneath grassy hills.
Looking at Lori's photos must be influencing me, teaching me to look beyond my usual (landscape) images.
It was a day of brisk temperatures and skies wearing a background of blue, a good day for a walk by the ocean (along the New Hampshire coast).
My first stop was driven by a desire to walk on the beach. Jenness State Beach allowed me to walk, to enjoy views of the clouds reflecting on the very wet sand and of the sanderlings quickly running along the water line.
Next I headed for a different kind of beach walk at Odiorne Point State Park. Rounded rocks line the "beach" creating a slippery sliding walking surface. Most of the rocks were dry but there was one section of rocks wearing a visible thin layer of ice.
Every so often someone puts together an interesting viewer to look at Google+ photos. I like this new one by +Jari Huomo. It creates a panel of the most liked photos (of those I've posted to Google+) where clicking on the photos brings up a larger view with arrows to scroll through the set.
Click on the image below to jump to my Google+ Photobox, then click on one of the photos to bring up a larger image. If you hover over the sides of the panel an arrow will pop up to scroll through the images one by one.
Thanks to Jari for his creation!
Chasing butterflies with a camera is always an interesting exercise since they don't seem to like to sit in one spot for any length of time. I love their colors and patterns! I find it interesting that the underside of the wings - the side that is showing here - is much paler than the wings viewed from the top.
