Persimmon weather predictions.

[djm]

NAmerica is too huge to cast such generalities. A mild winter is relative, obviously. For us here, it means not as cold, but that doesn't mean it won't get cold, or that we won't get even more snow than usual. Long term forecasts are pretty loose in the best light, and can't be given too much weight.

djm

[SteveShaw]

NAmerica is too huge to cast such generalities. A mild winter is relative, obviously. For us here, it means not as cold, but that doesn't mean it won't get cold, or that we won't get even more snow than usual. Long term forecasts are pretty loose in the best light, and can't be given too much weight.

djm

I've lived in my Cornwall house for 19 years and I haven't seen complete snow-cover once in my garden in all that time. This year we had a frost-free January (very unusual). So far we haven't had anything even approaching a frost this autumn. The lowest daytime maximum so far has been 13 celsius, 55 Fahrenheit on November 2. It's extremely rare to get a day on which the temperature doesn't go above zero (32 F). We had a run of several such days in January 1987. We do get a lot of driving rain and gales in winter. It isn't quite so mild in the rest of the UK. Except on higher ground, lying snow is usually short-lived. Average daily maxima in the coldest part of the year are around 7 to 9 C (45 to 48 F).

Can anyone tell me how to do that little circle symbol for degrees on my keyboard?

Steve

[Walden]

Except on higher ground, lying snow is usually short-lived. Average daily maxima in the coldest part of the year are around 7 to 9 C (45 to 48 F).

Ordinarily snow melts off pretty quick here, too.

Can anyone tell me how to do that little circle symbol for degrees on my keyboard?

One way is to use Character Map, assuming it's installed on your computer. Another way is to look up a temperature at Yahoo, or such and cut and paste. Our high, today, is predicted to be 71° Fahrenheit. Also, there is this page, which shows you how to type all sorts of symbols: http://www.theworldofstuff.com/characters/

[Doug_Tipple]

What we call a severe winter in Oklahoma: It snows an inch or two, then the sun comes out and melts it slightly, which promptly refreezes overnight. Next morning another snow hits, followed by a rain and ice storm, leaving a thick sheet of ice over everything, including people's lawns. This ice sits on the brink between freezing and thawing, so that it is so slippery it's nearly impossible to walk on, especially on hills. The ice gathers on the trees, causing them to fall on the power lines, leaving hundreds of people without electric power. They are without electric power (and, in some cases, without heat) for days, because the weather has the rural roads blocked.

This reminds me of the severe ice storm that we had last January in the county where I grew up as a child. Three inches of ice clinged to everything with catastrophic damage to trees. The woods where my father was living was visually transformed into an ice wonderland, but it was very dangerous to be outside. You could hear the loud snapping of branches breaking overhead and falling to the ground. Since this ice event covered several counties of the state, thousands of people were without electrical power (no furnaces) during the coldest part of the winter. One neighbor was so traumatised by the event that he didn't even plant his garden in the Spring. He was still trying to recover psychologically.

[SteveShaw]

It's 14° today. Wahoo, I did degrees!

Steve

[djm]

Character Map in Windows is C:\WINDOWS\system32\charmap.exe. Just make a short cut to this on your desktop so it will always be handy. Another way to get the degrees symbol is to hold down the Alt key and type in 0176.

djm

[Doug_Tipple]

Penn State has a tutorial on how to use windows character map for dodo's like me.
http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/inte ... armap.html

[SteveShaw]

Character Map in Windows is C:\WINDOWS\system32\charmap.exe. Just make a short cut to this on your desktop so it will always be handy. Another way to get the degrees symbol is to hold down the Alt key and type in 0176.

djm

The only way I seem to able to get the program is to type it into the "Run" box. How do I make a shortcut to it on the desktop? There doesn't seem to be such an option. Sorry to be so dumb.

Steve

EDITED TO UPDATE!

I now have it on the start menu which is OK.

[Walden]

Character Map in Windows is C:\WINDOWS\system32\charmap.exe. Just make a short cut to this on your desktop so it will always be handy. Another way to get the degrees symbol is to hold down the Alt key and type in 0176.

djm

The only way I seem to able to get the program is to type it into the "Run" box. How do I make a shortcut to it on the desktop? There doesn't seem to be such an option. Sorry to be so dumb.

Steve

EDITED TO UPDATE!

I now have it on the start menu which is OK.

Well, if you did want it on your desktop, just right click on the desktop, click on "New" and then on "shortcut" and paste it into it.

[SteveShaw]

Well, if you did want it on your desktop, just right click on the desktop, click on "New" and then on "shortcut" and paste it into it.

'Tis done, and another lesson has been learned. Cheers!

Steve

[djm]

Sorry, Steve, slept all afternoon and missed your questions. Glad to see others were here to help you out.

djm

[scottielvr]

I need to go look for some wooly caterpillars..............

Up the road from here in Banner Elk, NC, they are really into wooly bear caterpillars, i.e., "wooly worms". They have an annual festival in which they hold wooly worm races. Here's waaay more than you needed to know, courtesy of the festival (WoollyWorm.com, natch):
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Niko Wins 28th Annual Running of the Worms
Banner Elk, NC - Lori Parada's woolly worm, Niko, won the championship race and took home the purse of $1,070 at the World Famous Woolly Worm Festival on Saturday, October 15, 2005.
As tradition holds Niko was carefully examined and his colors interpreted to provide the 2005-2006 Winter Forecast.
The Winter Forecast
Week 1: Cold and snowy
Week 2: Cold and snowy
Week 3: Cold and snowy
Week 4: Cold and snowy
Week 5: Severe cold and light snow
Weeks 6-11: Normal cold, No snow
Weeks 12-13: Cold and light snow
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The woolly worm, in fact, is so common that it is easy to forget how complex and amazing the wee beasties truly are.

First off, the woolly worm is not a worm at all - they are caterpillars, the larva of the Isabella tigermoth. The name "worm" has stuck, at least in the South. People in New England and the Midwest call them "woolly bears."

Here are some interesting facts about the woolly ones:

When disturbed, the worms curl into a tight ball, with their "fur" (more about that later) bristling.

The worm has 13 segments to its body, which traditional forecasters say correspond to the 13 weeks of winter.

Woolly worms have three sets of legs, one each on its first three segments. There are some "false legs" behind those (non-working ones), and a leg for propping in the back.

Scientists don't believe the worms have weather forecasting powers. They argue the varying colors are caused by temperature levels and, possibly, moisture, during the early days of their life. Of course, over the last 20 years the worms have an 85 percent record for accuracy. Maybe the scientists are jealous.

There are two generations of worms each year. The first appear in June and July, the second in September. It is the second generation that are the "weather prophets."

Where are the woolly worms racing when they cross a road? They are looking for places to hide. As cold weather arrives, they curl up under boards, logs, boulders and other safe places.

Here is something truly remarkable. Once settled in, the worms hibernate, creating a natural organic antifreeze. They freeze bit by bit, until everything but the interior of their cells are frozen. They can - and do - survive to temperatures as low as -90F.

This ability to adapt to cold shows up particularly in the Arctic, where the woolly worms live in a strange state of slow motion. Most caterpillars live for two to four weeks before becoming moths. The Arctic woolly worms, however, spend at least 14 years in the process!

The woolly worm we see now will winter over and emerge as moths in May. They will then lay eggs - the summer, or first, generation - and die.

Woolly worms have very tiny eyes, and limited range of sight. That is why sometimes you will see them rearing up, possibly mid-race, to feel around and seek out, by touch, the next place to go.