Severe weather
10/02/14 05:41
OK, it is still cold in South Dakota. But the forecast calls for warming temperatures this week. We’ll see the snow melt by the end of the week if the forecasts are accurate. Meanwhile in my home town, they’re hunkering down for another blizzard. Winds are expected to exceed 50 mph this afternoon and evening with visibilities reduced to complete whiteout overnight. It is a good night to keep off the roads and stay where you are back there.
A quick glance at the headlines from around the world reveals that we don’t have much to complain about in the weather department. Over in England, thousands of homes along the River Thames are threatened with flooding. Sixteen severe flood warnings are in place. At Marlow, much of the cemetery is underwater. At Burrowbridge on the Sommerset Levels, the water is deep enough to submerge cars and trucks. The Worcester city center is flooded and could be closed for a week or more. They are building up earthen banks and piling up sandbags, but it is clear that there will be more problems before this is over. The ground is so saturated that it cannot absorb any more water and the groundwater is causing problems, undermining rail tracks, roads and other structures. There are many delays and cancellations in rail service. It could be relatively dry today, but the rest of the week will bring more rain and raise the Thames even more by the weekend.
On the other side of the globe, the Australians sure would like to see some rain, but none is in sight for Victoria, where dangerous fires are raging out of control. Many rural roads are closed due to the bush fires and thousands have been evacuated from their homes and are anxiously and eagerly awaiting news. For many, the news is not going to be good. Yesterday’s fire north of Melbourne left blackened earth and destroyed homes in its wake. As many as 12 of the wildfires have been started by arsonists. Not only is the dry and windy weather a problem, a wave of criminal activity has threatened the lives of firefighters and homeowners alike. Forecasters aren’t predicting any relief from the conditions anytime soon.
Since we don’t have the power to do anything to change the weather, it makes sense to adapt. For the most part, I find myself dressed in cold weather gear that I’ve had around for years. I’m not worried about fashion when I step outdoors, just keeping warm. But there are plenty of folks who could benefit from a trip to a farm supply store for a pair of insulated coveralls or at least some good, warm boots. I am amazed at the number of teens we see at church and around the schools who are inappropriately dressed. Their lack of adequate clothing probably only causes mild discomfort, but the threat is real. If a car were to break down and they were to need to walk a few blocks, that discomfort could turn to danger in a short time.
Since today’s youth are so entranced with gadgets, maybe instead of basic layers of warm clothing, they would be inspired by technological devices to ward of the cold.
A good pair of insulated gloves are good enough for me, but I know that there are battery powered heated gloves for those who want to shell out the money. With the new high-tech insulations available and extended life batteries, these can put out high heat for a couple of hours and lower levels of heat for as much as 12 hours between recharges. They make heated gloves that recharge through a regular outlet or by plugging into the USB port on a computer.
Or how about an electric shoulder warmer. Like a mini electric blanket, this device that you wear across your shoulders uses infrared heat to keep you warm. You plug it into the USB port on your computer for power.
Actually there are a whole bunch of heated devices that plug into USB ports. You can get a heated mouse to keep your hand warm. I’m not sure what you do with the other hand. I’m no good at running a mouse precisely with my left hand. I guess you can stick that hand in your pocket. There are also USB powered heated footrests for cold toes.
If you have to leave the house or go out without a computer equipped with a USB port, battery-powered seems to be the way to go. How about a pair of foot-warmer insoles. Once you have these babies charged up, you can control the temperature with a remote control.
Maybe the shivering teens would go for a headphone stocking cap. It has an internal wiring system with detachable speakers. There is a built-in pocket to hold your iPod or other MP3 player. There are also stereo headphones that are covered with ear warmers to look like very fashionable ear muffs.
In New York City, folks are having to turn to their computers to shop for winter boots. The stores have simply run out as demand exceeded supply and finding a pair of warm waterproof shoes in a shoe store in New York City isn’t going to happen anytime soon. I’m glad I already own warm boots. After reading about the shortage of boots in New York City, I decided to check out amazon.com just for the fun of it and found out that Sorels in my size are out of stock. I’m sure online purchasers can find some warm boots, but it does look like even the online sellers were caught a bit off guard by the cold weather and the high demand.
So we don’t have it bad. We’ve got plenty of warm weather gear. The pantry is stocked and the cars are in good running order. Things aren’t too bad around Rapid City and we’ll probably have a pretty normal week. And you don’t have to look too far to find folks who are having a worse time with the weather.
A quick glance at the headlines from around the world reveals that we don’t have much to complain about in the weather department. Over in England, thousands of homes along the River Thames are threatened with flooding. Sixteen severe flood warnings are in place. At Marlow, much of the cemetery is underwater. At Burrowbridge on the Sommerset Levels, the water is deep enough to submerge cars and trucks. The Worcester city center is flooded and could be closed for a week or more. They are building up earthen banks and piling up sandbags, but it is clear that there will be more problems before this is over. The ground is so saturated that it cannot absorb any more water and the groundwater is causing problems, undermining rail tracks, roads and other structures. There are many delays and cancellations in rail service. It could be relatively dry today, but the rest of the week will bring more rain and raise the Thames even more by the weekend.
On the other side of the globe, the Australians sure would like to see some rain, but none is in sight for Victoria, where dangerous fires are raging out of control. Many rural roads are closed due to the bush fires and thousands have been evacuated from their homes and are anxiously and eagerly awaiting news. For many, the news is not going to be good. Yesterday’s fire north of Melbourne left blackened earth and destroyed homes in its wake. As many as 12 of the wildfires have been started by arsonists. Not only is the dry and windy weather a problem, a wave of criminal activity has threatened the lives of firefighters and homeowners alike. Forecasters aren’t predicting any relief from the conditions anytime soon.
Since we don’t have the power to do anything to change the weather, it makes sense to adapt. For the most part, I find myself dressed in cold weather gear that I’ve had around for years. I’m not worried about fashion when I step outdoors, just keeping warm. But there are plenty of folks who could benefit from a trip to a farm supply store for a pair of insulated coveralls or at least some good, warm boots. I am amazed at the number of teens we see at church and around the schools who are inappropriately dressed. Their lack of adequate clothing probably only causes mild discomfort, but the threat is real. If a car were to break down and they were to need to walk a few blocks, that discomfort could turn to danger in a short time.
Since today’s youth are so entranced with gadgets, maybe instead of basic layers of warm clothing, they would be inspired by technological devices to ward of the cold.
A good pair of insulated gloves are good enough for me, but I know that there are battery powered heated gloves for those who want to shell out the money. With the new high-tech insulations available and extended life batteries, these can put out high heat for a couple of hours and lower levels of heat for as much as 12 hours between recharges. They make heated gloves that recharge through a regular outlet or by plugging into the USB port on a computer.
Or how about an electric shoulder warmer. Like a mini electric blanket, this device that you wear across your shoulders uses infrared heat to keep you warm. You plug it into the USB port on your computer for power.
Actually there are a whole bunch of heated devices that plug into USB ports. You can get a heated mouse to keep your hand warm. I’m not sure what you do with the other hand. I’m no good at running a mouse precisely with my left hand. I guess you can stick that hand in your pocket. There are also USB powered heated footrests for cold toes.
If you have to leave the house or go out without a computer equipped with a USB port, battery-powered seems to be the way to go. How about a pair of foot-warmer insoles. Once you have these babies charged up, you can control the temperature with a remote control.
Maybe the shivering teens would go for a headphone stocking cap. It has an internal wiring system with detachable speakers. There is a built-in pocket to hold your iPod or other MP3 player. There are also stereo headphones that are covered with ear warmers to look like very fashionable ear muffs.
In New York City, folks are having to turn to their computers to shop for winter boots. The stores have simply run out as demand exceeded supply and finding a pair of warm waterproof shoes in a shoe store in New York City isn’t going to happen anytime soon. I’m glad I already own warm boots. After reading about the shortage of boots in New York City, I decided to check out amazon.com just for the fun of it and found out that Sorels in my size are out of stock. I’m sure online purchasers can find some warm boots, but it does look like even the online sellers were caught a bit off guard by the cold weather and the high demand.
So we don’t have it bad. We’ve got plenty of warm weather gear. The pantry is stocked and the cars are in good running order. Things aren’t too bad around Rapid City and we’ll probably have a pretty normal week. And you don’t have to look too far to find folks who are having a worse time with the weather.