Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let’s finish the job.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

The willow is too close to the house.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

DeSantis transforms Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

T R E 4 5 O N

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Republicans in disarray!

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Early Morning Open Thread: Whither the Weather?

Early Morning Open Thread: Whither the Weather?

by | 88 Comments

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From a period many years before the groundhog took over forecasting duties…

“If Candlemas is bright and clear,
There’ll be two winters in the year;
If Candlemas brings snow and rain,
Old winter shall not come again.”

Required legal boilerplate: Not a scienterrific methodology. So, what’s the weather like in your neighborhood this morning?

Reader Interactions

88Comments

  1. 1.

    Blue Raven

    We’re predicted to have showers through the week starting today. But California winter defies Candlemas and the groundhog on a regular basis. Comes from the fact we don’t get that cold barring global climate changethe occasional fluctuation in the pattern.

    As a side note, I think the animal predates Candlemas, but citations are hard to come by on such matters. I do know that in Scotland they used snakes and in Ireland, the hedgehog. And it’s Imbolc, feast day of Brigid the goddess and saint and the celebration of the sheep starting to lactate. After a winter of dried meat, fresh anything makes you want to do handsprings through a snowdrift.

  2. 2.

    Joseph Miller

    Well, one of the weather guys here said we were in for a chilly stretch, where the daytime highs would only be 78-79 and it would get down to 60-62 at night. We won’t see 80s again until later in the week. And he was serious about the chilly thing.

    God, I LOVE Hawaii.

  3. 3.

    Ruckus

    If we get sun it will be in the upper 50s. If not, lower 50s.
    Have worn sun glasses 3 times in the last 4 weeks, kind of unusual for nor cal even in the rainy season. And it’s in the upper 40s to lower 50s at night. So not nearly as bad as many parts of the country this year. It almost makes up for the lack of a functional state government.

  4. 4.

    Mustang Bobby

    It’s currently partly cloudy and 71F here in Miami. The closest thing we have to a groundhog here is either the neighbor’s cat or an iguana. I have no idea of their predictive abilities, but I hope they stay out of the trash can.

  5. 5.

    Ruckus

    If I just click on click to edit it does not open another window so no edit.

    If I open click to edit in another tab, editing works. After saving the edit I have to refresh the comment tab to see the edit, but it is a work around.

  6. 6.

    robertdsc-PowerBook & 27 titles

    My iPhone’s Weather app says it’s 1 degree right now in Signal Hill, CA. I had to make a screen cap because it’s so off, lol.

    The app forecasts a week of 65 degrees with possible rain during the weekend.

  9. 9.

    asiangrrlMN

    13 degrees. Snow. Highs in the high 20s to low 30s this week. Lows in the single digits to the teens. In other words, balmy.

    @MelodyMaker: Aw, I’m so sorry on your loss. She is a beauty. My condolences to you and your loved ones. May she run swiftly to the other side.

    @Ruckus: Google Chrome is your friend. It opens a pop-up window and then automatically saves and goes back to old window.

  12. 12.

    Platonicspoof

    @Ruckus:
    If it helps narrow things down, edit/cancel with timer work for me with IE 8 and XP SP2 just as they do for asiangrrlMN and Chrome.
    I just tested on a dead thread.

  15. 15.

    abo gato

    South Texas…drizzly, foggy, 48. High low 50’s today and pretty drizzly all day. Pretty gloomy week it looks like.

    But, hey, no snow. Yay for that.

  16. 16.

    Phyllis

    It’s 45 here in the (almost) South Carolina Low Country. The forecast high for today is 44 & 80% chance of rain. Felt warmish when I went out to get the paper, and no rain that I can tell.

    Although I’ve reached the conclusion that I can predict the weather with a stick and a crystal ball just about as well as those guys on the teevee with all their elite, fancy radar stuff. Also.

  17. 17.

    cat48

    Across the harbor from Charleston, SC, 48 w/light rain; increasing to heavy later today w/1-2 in. total. Flooding advisory, of course.

  20. 20.

    jacy

    Chilly and damp here in Louisiana. This week will be upper 50s in the daytime and mid-30s overnight, with a billion percent humidity.

    Pah. What’s the use of living in a sub-tropical climate?

    @MelodyMaker: Condolences. Remember the joyous times. :)

    Off to scrape the ice off my windows so I can drag the kidlets to school.

  21. 21.

    demo woman

    It’s 38 and cloudy. We had a few showers over night and it’s quite cloudy. Although I have not heard the local Atlanta news, it’s unlikely that Beauregard Lee has seen his shadow.

  22. 22.

    GReynoldsCT00

    It’s 15 here, snow flurries predicted. Partly cloudy at the moment, hope it’s cloudy enough that mister hedgehog does NOT see his shadow. Bring on spring.

  23. 23.

    Incertus

    @Mustang Bobby: You still have iguanas? The cold weather a few weeks ago destroyed the iguana population in Fort Lauderdale and points north, which is a shame, really. I liked looking at them, and I don’t like smelling the carcasses the maintenance crews have missed.

    But yeah, low 70s, overcast, slightly muggy. Perfect February weather for south Florida.

  24. 24.

    Keith G

    In the center of Houston, not unlike what @abo gato: says.

    Its been in the upper 40s all night, cloudy, with humidity in the 90s. Light breeze from the NE makes the morning pleasant for a quick jog. Clouds may keep the temp from hitting 60 today.

    Some of abo gato’s drizzles (are you south of Victoria?) may pester us by late tonight.

  25. 25.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    28°F with light snow here in Chicago.

    As far as cold and snow go, this morning is rather pleasant – no wind.

  26. 26.

    Ash Can

    @MelodyMaker: So sorry to hear that. Condolences on your loss.

    Here in Chicago, we’re having a spell of normal-to-mild weather for this time of year, 20s at night and 30s during the day. Right now it’s 28 with light snow, with no more than an inch on the ground. Not bad at all.

    So the weather should not be a factor in the primary elections today, hint, hint, for those of you who live in Illinois. Get out and do your civic duty! If you live in the Chicago area and have no idea who the judges, water reclamation people, etc. on the ballot are, check out the Chicago Tribune’s election guide.

  28. 28.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Cold and clear here. Half of my apt. electricity is out because of a blown breaker or something. The kitchen lights and electric work, but the living area, closet and bath do not. Fun stuff that the landlord hasn’t been able to figure out yet. And teh kitteh has learned to open a cabinet, to my consternation.

  29. 29.

    abo gato

    @Keith G…..nope, San Antonio….mostly foggy and less drizzle than yesterday….maybe it’s moving in your direction now.

  31. 31.

    MR Bill

    38 degrees, with rain showers, to diminish this morning in Trendy Blue Ridge GA, clearing later today with wind, and an high in the 40s.

  32. 32.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @Ash Can:

    I’ll be voting for Pat Quinn for Governor, David Hoffman for Senator, Toni Preckwinkle for Cook County Board President and Todd Connor for Water Reclamation.

    Do you have any recommendations on other races?

  35. 35.

    Steeplejack

    It’s 26° and cloudy in this Virginia suburb of D.C., with snow predicted from midafternoon into the evening. A thick crust of snow is still on the ground from a big snow last Saturday. Supposed to have highs in the upper 30s and lows in the mid-20s for the next week or so, with occasional snow. Sort of more wintry than is usual (just going by my memory).

  36. 36.

    cybrestrike

    Orlando…65 foggy as hell, with some sprinkles here or there. Couldn’t see the tops of the buildings downtown this morning…gloomy, super gloomy.

  38. 38.

    Ash Can

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: Me personally, no, with the exception of the 10th Senate District of the IL General Assembly. Our alderman, who is a putz, is running for the state senate unopposed on the Republican side, so I’m backing the front-runner on the Dem side, who, besides being a good guy and earning endorsements by the truckload, has the best chance of beating Alderman Putz in November.

  39. 39.

    Libertini

    Carrollton, Texas reporting.
    41 degrees and cloudy. Partly cloudy this afternoon with a high of 52.
    Hope it’s cloudy enough to obscure that shadow. Please bring on the warm weather. This wimpy Texanne HATES cold.

  44. 44.

    Felicity Simpleton

    In Indy, it’s 30 and cloudy, but I see some (tiny bit) of blue sky. Blue sky in the winter here is pretty rare and much appreciated.

    MelodyMaker: I’m so sorry for your loss. Thanks for the picture showing her in a prancing mode. I had a girl kittie just like her once named Spot Ann. Those torties are special!

  46. 46.

    Morbo

    @mr. whipple: Happy b-day indeed.

    The Subaru said it’s 18°, and the official is 16.5°. High of 27° with 80% chance of snow. Broke my glasses going to bed last night, so I’m wearing old style contacts that I managed to scour up. And I didn’t sleep for shit; it’s going to be a long day.

  49. 49.

    Ash Can

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: Decided to add, but editing time ran out: Seriously, do check out the Trib’s election guide. They really do their homework. Imagine that — real journalism. All the information on the candidates is there — their CVs, statements, responses to questions posed by the editorial board, state bar recommendations where applicable, the works. Like for example, remember that you can pick three water reclamation people, not just one, so the guide will tell you who actually have science backgrounds and know best what they’re doing.

  50. 50.

    DZ

    In Portland, OR, it’s still dark so I can’t see anything, but the forecast is for partly sunny with high of 55. A lot milder than the winters that I grew up with in Michigan.

  51. 51.

    rootless_e

    we’re having portland style weather here in austin. only consolation is that it probably wont last forever.

  53. 53.

    Svensker

    23 in New Jersey and sunny. Not as cold as it has been. I’ve just been freezing this whole winter, cannot get warmed up. I’ve been here over 20 years and I still miss California, where they understand what weather is supposed to be.

    Melodymaker — sorry about your tortie. Big hugs.

  54. 54.

    Linda Featheringill

    26 degrees in Cleveland. Supposed to get over freezing today!! About time. It has been so cold for so long.

    MelodyMaker: Sorry for your loss.

    I seem to wind up with older cats and so lose one now and then. My oldest baby now is only 15 years old, so maybe she’ll be around for a while.

    But it can hurt when they go.

  57. 57.

    PTirebiter

    @robertdsc-PowerBook & 27 titles: Signal Hill! That’s a stab from the past. When I was a kid, you couldn’t join the girl haters club until you’d ridden your bike down Shell Hill. The Hilltop nightclub was an entirely different rite of passage.

  58. 58.

    flukebucket

    Northeast Georgia reporting in. Temps in the mid 40’s and as they say around here it is raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock.

  61. 61.

    mandarama

    Melodymaker, so sorry for your loss. Torties are such beauties.

    High of 48 here in Middle TN–hopefully it’ll knock off some more of the ice & snow we got this weekend. Cloudy and gloomy, but we might see a little sunshine. In other words, a pathetic fallacy for being a Dem.

    asiangrrl, you’d laugh your ass off at what constitutes a winter weather disaster here. We got 4-6 inches of snow with an ice crust–so the kids were out of school for a 4-day weekend. We turned the hilly street into a luge, built snowforts and an impressive 6-ft. snowman, and generally romped all over. Today they returned to school, thank God, Dog, and the FSM. Hopefully that’ll be our total winter experience for this year.

    Are we still having a Juicer get-together in Nashville, btw? SiobhanDuinne?

  63. 63.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Phyllis: The one with the cleaning supplies, unfortunately, the others are too high for her.

    For those who are supporting Quinn, if I might asked seriously, why? The guy has done nothing too much in his short tenure as Gov. The state seems almost as gridlocked as Calif. and facing mounting deficits.

    I realize that apparently the governor has next to no power next to the political hacks in the legislature, but why Quinn?

  65. 65.

    Josie

    Cool and slightly overcast in deep South Texas, but I can see little patches of blue sky peeking through. My tomato and pepper seedlings are starting to come up. Yay!

  66. 66.

    Ash Can

    @arguingwithsignposts: Quinn has been a huge disappointment. The other Dem candidates haven’t distinguished themselves either, but since I’m getting a Dem ballot today, I’m going to take a flyer on Hynes. This may turn out to be one of those rare times I end up voting for a Republican come November.

  68. 68.

    HRA

    14 degrees here w/o the wind chill in WNY. Snow predicted for later on.

    Happy birthday, Mr. Whipple.

  69. 69.

    Sarcastro

    Mandarama, you should have seen what those 6 inches did to Chattanooga Friday night. Abandoned cars all over the place. It was like the zombie apocalypse… on ice! But yea, hopefully that’s the last of it. Two measurable snowfalls this year, that’s a mini ice-age for southern Tennessee.

    High 30s and raining right now. Bleh. At least it will get some of the sand off the roads. Before the ice weasels come again …

  72. 72.

    twiffer

    in CT: 25°F, partly cloudy, might get some flurries.

    i’ve always wondered why nice weather meant more winter, where as if it’s actually wintery outside, then spring must be on the way. probably something to do with warmer air holding more moisture…right?

  73. 73.

    Randy P

    Left NYC under a pretty sunrise. Arrived in the Philly area to a pleasant, windless winter day in the 30s.

    I never understood that whole Groundhog Day thing when I was a kid in Syracuse, NY. Who ever heard of winter ending in February? Or March for that matter? Of COURSE there was more snow coming.

  74. 74.

    Viva BrisVegas

    Things aren’t too bad here in BrisVegas. The sky is blue, the beach is hot and the sun is shining, so don’t go outside without your hat.

    High of 30, low of 22. Centigrade of course. I was going to convert into Farenheit, but fuck it, anybody who can’t be bothered to learn metric deserves to miss Mars.

    No groundhogs to speak of, but plenty of cane toads, which are almost as cute.

    You’re all welcome to visit as soon as I get the damned air conditioner fixed. Until then I may start up a combined sweat lodge and drum circle in my living room.

  75. 75.

    Betsy

    28 degrees here, weak sun. But there was never any doubt that we’d have a minimum of 6 more weeks of winter.

  77. 77.

    OriGuy

    The Mexican tradition on Candlemas is to have a party, and the person who found the Christ child doll in the Rosca de Reyes (king’s cake) on Epiphany is supposed to bring the tamales.
    Who’s bringing the tamales?

  78. 78.

    EvilleMike

    Central Virginia:
    We got that monster snow storm a week before Christmas (22 inches – most of it’s gone now, but there are still mountains of snow in the local shopping centers’ parking lots).

    Then we got another 6 inches this past weekend.

    Today it’s overcast and low 40’s, with a very strong chance of rain/freezing rain the next several days, and a fair probability for another good-sized snow storm this coming weekend.

    This has been an extraordinary winter.

    Time for me to go the grocery store and buy all the bread and all the milk they have (it’s a tradition here).

  80. 80.

    asiangrrlMN

    @arguingwithsignposts: Child-locks. They are your friends. Supposedly. So I’ve read. In other words, don’t blame me if Smudge figures out how to open them. Where is that sweetie pie? Haven’t seen her in a bit. How’s she doing?

    @mr. whipple: Happy birthday, mr. whipple! Hope you do something fun.

    @mandarama: Sad to say, it’s becoming that way here, too. If we’re expected to get six inches of snow, it’s news. News? This is Minnesota, people. Sheesh.

  84. 84.

    Sentient Puddle

    About 50 and overcast in Austin…looks like what everyone else from Texas says. That’s pretty cool for what we’re used to, but I’m quite alright with it. I know when summer rolls around, I’m going to be longing for conditions like today.

    Beyond that, after hearing about SCOTTEVEST from one of the previous open threads, I decided to order one. Partly because it’s been cool enough that I want another layer above my jacket, but mostly because I like pockets. I do want enough cool weather so that it doesn’t arrive in time for a long hot spell…

  85. 85.

    Ruckus

    @Platonicspoof:
    Works the same for me on Firefox so it could be the way my machine is set. Or it’s the phase of the moon. Or it will work correctly once again as it did in the past.
    I only use IE to update XP, it seems to be safer that way.
    Tried Chrome and Safari and for some reason that I can’t remember I didn’t like the way they worked.
    Oh well, if we didn’t have computers to piss and moan about what would we do?

  87. 87.

    Yutsano

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: You lucky stiff. If J.J.’s arm is still holding up good he’s a helluva closer. He can be hit or miss (what closer isn’t?) but overall a solid pick-up there. I cried when the M’s let him go.

    I’m never awake early in the morning.

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