Yeah, that's Cousin Filbert again. He always likes to be wherever the trouble is. He's the one wearing the bandana.
I suspect he brought at least a 2-4 of beer with him, but may have drunk it all already.
Winter Storm Fern looks like real trouble for the US South up through the East Coast. Here in Ontario, we may get 8" of snow, but although inconvenient, at least we have the means to deal with it.
Further south – not so much.
Ignorant people (not mentioning trump by name) are asking what happened to global warming?
Well, this is a textbook example of what happens BECAUSE of climate change. The Arctic zones are warming far faster than the temperate zones. The Jet Stream is usually the boundary between the two, and its winds are powered in large part by temperature differentials. As the temperature differential drops, the wind speeds drop.
Everyone knows that a fast river cuts straight, but a slow river meanders – and now the Jet Stream is meandering further south, and storm systems are moving more slowly – which means they drop more precipitation because they linger.
Hence, climate change/global warming is, in fact, a major cause of Storm Fern.
Q.E.D – quod erat demonstrandum
Thanks for the setup, Lion!
And all of you – keep warm, and be prepared! There could be days-long power outages because of ice accumulation, and because it might well be over a widespread area, it will take a long time to get power back on for everyone.
Kat, you should be OK. The systems looks to be passing well north of you, although temperatures are going to drop in the aftermath. I believe you're getting highs today in the mid-70s. By Tuesday, you'll be back to nighttime lows near freezing.
Enjoy it while it last!
And everybody – do as Lion says. Check on your friends and neighbours. This is a time to support and help one another, OK?
Kimmi’s cold and it looks like it’s here to stay awhile. Snowmageddon starts about 4 pm here… 😨
