Category Archives: Weather

Guess What Day It is!

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Guess What Day it is? 

Mike Mike Mike, Guess what day it is!? Nope not Hump Day. It’s February 2nd – Ground Hog Day. Today’s the day we find out if the groundhog will see his shadow. So what you ask, Why do I care? Well if tradition is right when the ground hog sees his shadow he’ll be  scared and run back into his burrow. He’ll hide and we’ll get 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow then we’ll have an early spring. As you can imagine everyone is hoping  “No Shadow”.

Punxsutawaney Phil

Punxsutawney Phil is a groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and they go all out for Ground Hog Day. There are lots of local ground hogs and mini ceremonies but Puxautawney Phil gets the lime light. And according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, Phil’s opinion is the only one that matters. He was even the Ground Hog in Bill Murray’s movie Ground Hog Day. As I write this I’m waiting to hear if Phil saw his shadow this morning or not. It’s quite overcast here in Massachusetts but who knows what it’s like in Pennsylvania? 

Meanwhile in Punxsutawney PA

The top hatted, frock coated, officials are leading a chant…Phil, Phil, Phil. They have to wake him up to get him out of his den. I guess you could say that’s the original rude awakening! Phil has a “Handler” and he’s approaching Phil’s home. He looks a little hesitant to me. Maybe Phil wakes up grumpy?  As he reaches in the crowd quiets and there’s Phil! 

Did The Little Critter see his shadow?

Groundhog Day results 2020: No shadow! Phil predicts early spring is coming.

This is only the 20th time out of 124 in his recorded history (there are 10 years where no record remains) that Phil hasn’t been able to find his shadow. That’s only a 40% successful prediction rate. Still at this mid-point of a New England winter it’s nice to think we might get an early spring.

The Volcano Tour Begins

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Evidence of Volcano Activity  is Everywhere

As we made the rounds to the various resorts we passed remains of past volcanic activity. Lava turns into very rich topsoil but it doesn’t happen overnight.  The Big Island is the youngest of the Hawaiian Islands. There are six volcanoes that have worked together over the last (give or take) one million years to create the Big Island. These volcanoes formed one after the other and partially overlap. From oldest to youngest their names are: Mahukona, Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Three volcanoes are still active: Hualalai, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Kilauea is currently erupting while the other two could erupt at any time. Mauna Kea is dormant, Kohala inactive and Mahukona has probably never breached the ocean surface.

The lava flows we passed on the Kona Side were from Mauna Loa’s last eruption is 1984

 

Lava flow to the ocean

Kona Coast

A Snow Capped Volcano

Halfway to Hilo we pulled into a picnic area. This was a former boy scout camp. It was clean and well maintained. The only negative was another tour had arrived before us and took the only handicapped table. Zane, our tour guide , and the young Aussie men pulled another table over to the edge of the paved walk way. This worked to allow our handicapped guest a way to wheel up to a table. Lunch was a excellent boxed lunch. The sandwiches and cookies were amazingly fresh. Zane explained that everything in the lunches from the fruit to the bread to the cookies were all local grown. In fact he had to wait for the cookies to come out of the oven this morning before he picked us up. It was cool while we picnicked. We were in the saddle between the 2 volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. We could see the snow on the mountain tops.

Snow Capped volcano

 

Rainbow FallsHilo and Rainbow Falls

Zane told us that it would rain once we got to Hilo. Hilo is part of the rain forest and it rains every day. We skipped Akaka Falls and headed to Rainbow Falls. Sure enough it started to rain. When the sun is out there are rainbows over the falls caused by the spray, hense the name, Rainbow Falls. We’d just have to settle for the falls today, no rainbows.

tour bus

When it Rains It Pours

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Suddenly the rain started

There was no sign of rain as I left Akaka State Park. By the time I entered Hilo the sky was getting really dark and clouds were rolling in. I was stopped at the light in front of Ken’s Pancake House when BANG! A thunder clap so loud it seemed to shake the car opened up the downpours. I do mean Downpours! This was rain of biblical proportions. It was a deluge. I know Hilo is on the rainy side of the island but this was crazy! I decided to scratch Rainbow Falls and head back to Kona…the dry side. Of course I never do anything easy. I missed a turn somewhere  and found myself down by the harbor. It was breathtaking even in the weather, or maybe because of the storm. The waves were breaking high on a rocky shore. No quiet black sand beach here. 

Hilo swell

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Ken's pancake house

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Ken’s Deserves a Mention

Although I didn’t stop for lunch at Ken’s it was a familiar landmark. When we were on the Big Island in 2007 we ate many meals there. I was good to see it was still operating. From the looks of the parking lot, which was full, they were still doing a brisk business. Ken’s House of Pancakes opened its doors in 1971. It became the first, and only 24-hour business on the East-side of the Big Island. It’s got a huge menu with a wide variety. Just because it says Pancake house doesn’t mean you can’t get a good burger.

The Deluge Continues

Flash Flood

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Back on the right track I decided to head over toward Volcano National park. The rain was showing so sign of letting up but I was hoping it would follow the normal pattern of a brief rain shower and then sun. It wasn’t looking promising.  If anything the rain was coming down even harder. Windshield wipers on high just couldn’t keep up. Cars were pulling over to wait for a break in the storm.  I continued on, slowly. When I reached Volcano National Park and there was no sign of the rain letting up I decided to head back to Kona. I didn’t know that with the new road it was quicker to retrace my steps than to go over the southern mountain. Besides I wanted to see if the road was as scary as I remembered it. After all, I survived the Road to Hana on Maui so this road should be a piece of cake.

I don’t mind the rain

I don’t mind it raining on my vacation. Without the rain there’s be now rainbows. The water falls would dry up and the lush jungle flowers would disappear. Bring on the rain!

Rainbow

After the rain,, the rainbow

 

Winter in New England

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Its still Winter

Winter doesn’t respect the calendar in New England.  The first day of spring (March 20) is right around the corner and yet we are in the path of another winter storm. February was quiet but since March 1st its been one storm after another. The worse damage is to our beaches. Beach erosion has destroyed homes, businesses and beaches. There are still homes without power which means without heat. Carbon monoxide from generators is a real risk. Just this morning the news carried a report of a death from this colorless, odorless gas.

snow covered trees

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Snow can make driving a challenge

We lost power at work last Friday. We were sent home to work in hopes that we’d have power at our homes. Getting home was the challenge. The roads were snowy and slippery but the real threat was from falling trees. I only live 12 miles from work but I wasn’t sure I’d get home. The first road I took was completely blocked by a down tree. The 2nd road was closed by the police. I finally found a side road that let me connect to the main street. Street lights weren’t working and it was easy to see where large branches and trees had been cleared to allow traffic to pass.

Home Safe and Sound

waves break over the sea wall

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I was very happy to see my condo complex and even happier to see that the parking area had been cleared. I grabbed my computer and dashed into my condo. It was warm and toasty and my power was on. I was able to get several hours of work in from home before I eventually joined the rest of New England in the dark. The crazy power outages and internet interruptions  are the reason my posts have been slightly off schedule. I thought about going out in the storm with the camera to get some fresh photos but it didn’t take much to make me change my mind and stay tucked inside, warm and safe.

 

The Road (or flight) Home

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On the road again

The road home from Jackson turned out to be an interesting challenge. I woke up around 3 am only to find that it had snowed.  Yup 6 inches of slippery, sloppy white stuff. My concierge told me I had a front wheel drive car so I’d have no problem getting to the airport. Then he went out to bring the car around and got stuck!

Plow Schedule

Loading my bags into the car my valet cheerfully explained that the roads aren’t plowed until after 9 am. He didn’t even know if they would bother to plow today or just let it melt. I could expect to have snow covered roads and highway all the way to the airport. Oh Joy!

The Snowy Drive

The first part of the drive was pretty dicey. It’s very dark out there in Wyoming! The snow was still coming down and when you met another car or truck, splat! Jackson was a different story. With less snow and more traffic most of the road was just wet. It continued that way until the airport. I’m sure the locals hated me because I kept my speed right around 35-40 mph. Once in the airport I found the car rental return only to face a windy, cold trek to the terminal.

Delay upon Delay

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Jackson Hole Airport (stock photo)

Once inside I learned my flight was delayed due to the condition of the run way. Ok by me. I’d rather be safe on the ground that plastered against one of the mountains that ring the airport. As I chatted with a fellow traveler I learned she was the same person that had watched the elk herd with me a few days before! Small world.

Elk Migration

Are we ready now?

As we chatted they changed gates for my flight and started to check in. But it was not to be. My connecting flight is in Denver and turns out the airport was closed  due to fog. We had to wait for Denver to reopen. Finally we had the green light and boarding began. One last trip through the de-icer and we were ready to roll. Everyone held a collective breath as the plane slid (quite literally) into position but finally we were airborne, climbing steeply over the majestic Tetons. We were lucky to get out of Jackson Hole!

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