Almanacs “How bad will West Michigan's winter be? Forecasters share their snow ... - MLive.com” plus 3 more |
- How bad will West Michigan's winter be? Forecasters share their snow ... - MLive.com
- Calypsonian Almanac passes on - Trinidad Express
- Almanac: The ducks are in South Dakota - Minneapolis Star Tribune
- Daily almanac - Columbus Dispatch
| How bad will West Michigan's winter be? Forecasters share their snow ... - MLive.com Posted: 08 Nov 2009 05:47 AM PST By Ted Roelofs | The Grand Rapids PressNovember 08, 2009, 5:33AM
"After two record snowfalls in a row, I don't think we're going to do it a third time," said Marino, a local National Weather Service forecaster. The 107 inches piled up in the winter of 2007-08 and 104.9 inches last winter rank as the second and fourth highest totals since 1892. The all-time high of 132 inches was set in the winter of 1951-52. This winter, Marino predicts 80 inches, 8 more than the average of 72. "That's still below the average of 85 inches over the last 10 years," he said. If anything, Marino foresees a mild start, with the coldest period arriving in February and March. He bases the prediction in part on expectations that El Nino, the warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific, will peak next month and then begin to fade. El Nino is often linked to mild and warm winters in the Midwest. There are other predictions as well, based on alternative, often more colorful, theories of long-term weather. The Farmers' Almanac foresees "numbingly cold temperatures" in the Midwest and a winter that is "bitterly cold and dry." Its secret forecast formula looks at sunspots, climatology and other factors and claims 80 percent accuracy. There are partisans of the "woolly worm," a fuzzy striped caterpillar thatemerges in the fall. Legend says the thinner the brownish red bands, the harsher the winter. Some claim its track record is 85 percent accurate. The official forecast out of the Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk, N.C., calls for several weeks of cold or below-average temperatures and a snowy winter with lots of flurries. Other local forecasters agree about the snowfall, though with some caveats. WXMI-TV's Peter Chan predicts 88 inches, adding that the "decade-long trend for above-normal snowfall will continue" with temperatures near-to below normal. He adds "a weak to moderate El Nino has not proven sufficient enough to hold the cold and snowy weather at bay." At WZZM-TV, meteorologist George Lessens calls for 82 inches of snow and predicts "temperatures will be a little above average." WOOD-TV meteorologist Bill Steffen predicts 83 inches. Steffen calls for a "relatively cold" December with a brief thaw in January and a "cloudier, colder and snowier March." But at WWMT-TV, meteorologist Keith Thompson bucks the trend. He expects below-average snowfall of 66 inches. "I think we're going to have warmer-than-average temperatures. We're not going to have as much as snow as typical." If all that science leaves your scratching your head, perhaps another folk method is worth considering. In Tennessee, a woman named Helen Lane gained mythic local fame when she wrote in a 1959 newspaper column she had counted 12 heavy August frogs, observed "numerous" spiders and crickets and found the corn husks were "very thick." That led her to predict 12 heavy snows for the winter, which in fact saw 14, totalling 60 inches. Students had to make up 13 days of school. El Nino. El Schmino. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Calypsonian Almanac passes on - Trinidad Express Posted: 08 Nov 2009 04:50 AM PST Visually impaired calypsonian Almanac passed away at around 9 p.m. on Friday succumbing to liver cancer while at Ward 24 at the Port of Spain General Hospital. Born Anthony Francis in St Lucia on August 20, 1942, Almanac migrated to Trinidad as a child and when he was 14 years old lost his sight due to Glaucoma. He began composing and singing calypso two years later while attending the School for the Blind at Santa Cruz. Almanac began his professional calypso career in 1962 as a member of the Independence Brigade Calypso Tent alongside the likes of Pretender, Spitfire, Young Killer and Lord Brynner. From that tent he went on to perform with Sparrow's Young Brigade, Stalin's Calypso Court, Kitchener's Calypso Revue, Kaiso House and Klassic Ruso among others. During his career Almanac has composed as many as 400 calypsoes and taught the art form to many young people. He attended nearly every calypso show that took place and was considered to be a godfather to many senior calypsonians that looked to him for advice and critique on their works. Almanac was not married nor did he have any children. The Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation is taking care of funeral arrangements. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Almanac: The ducks are in South Dakota - Minneapolis Star Tribune Posted: 08 Nov 2009 03:17 AM PST The delayed crop harvest continues to hamper Minnesota pheasant hunters. "I'm still hearing frustration,'' said Kurt Haroldson, DNR pheasant biologist in Madelia. But he said recent good weather should boost crop harvest, which will help hunters. "I still believe we have a lot of pheasants around,'' he said. "We have potential for some good hunting -- we just have to be patient.'' Meanwhile, pheasant stamp sales are down about 10,000 -- or 10 percent -- from last year. Wanted: DucksDuck hunting was fair to good last week, according to the DNR's weekly waterfowl report. Hunting pressure was low, though, and while some ducks moved into the state, most areas noted a significant drop in ducks. See the report at www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/waterfowl/index.html. Elk meat wasted?The recent slaughter and disposal of 560 captive elk at a farm near Pine Island, Minn., following the discovery in January of one elk infected with CWD, has drawn many comments from readers wondering why that elk meat couldn't have been utilized. The herd was wiped out by federal sharpshooters and tested recently, and officials found three more animals with CWD. The carcasses were disposed of. Paul Anderson, assistant director of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, explained why the elk meat couldn't have been used for food. "CWD has a very long incubation period, probably 11/2 years or more,'' he said. That means even some of the elk that weren't found to have CWD could well have been infected. "Chances are good others were infected,'' he said. "We don't think it [CWD] affects people, but we just wouldn't take any risks.'' Testing deer for CWDBecause of that infected elk herd, officials will collect samples and test for CWD up to 3,000 wild deer killed by hunters this fall in that area, beginning this weekend. About 200 college students will help DNR employees collect the lymph nodes at 26 southeast registration stations. Hunters who agree to donate a tissue sample will be eligible to win a muzzleloader donated by the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. Did you know?• Archers killed 305 deer last weekend during the second two-day special hunt at Camp Ripley. That's a record for the second hunt. Combined with the 172 deer killed Oct 19-20, hunters bagged 477 deer, one of the top harvests ever, said Beau Liddell, DNR wildlife manager. Just over 60 percent of the deer killed were antlerless. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Daily almanac - Columbus Dispatch Posted: 08 Nov 2009 03:45 AM PST Today is Sunday, Nov. 8, the 312th day of 2009. There are 53 days left in the year. HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY • On Nov. 8, 1909, the original Boston Opera House opened with a performance of La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
As he peers into his weather crystal ball, William Marino will go with the odds. And that might be good news for those who detest snowy, record-beating West Michigan winters.| You are subscribed to email updates from Almanacs - Bing News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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