Starship Asterisk*

Beyond wrote:Yes, Ann, and then the water freezes and you have to put your bicycle tire chains on to get any traction

TNT wrote:I'll bet the weather up there is a lot better than down here, Orin. We have rain, lightning, and wind like no winter has ever had before! In fact, there was a tornado warning not too far west of here, although it expired about 15 minutes ago.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/29/us/missouri-branson-storm/index.html wrote:

400 mb water vapor

(CNN) -- <<Officials in the resort city of Branson, Missouri, were relieved an EF-2 tornado, which damaged musical theaters and other businesses, did not strike two weeks later, when the prime tourist season begins. They said Wednesday the town was still open for business, although tourists might have to change entertainment plans. "We are getting through it," Mayor Raeanne Presley said of the storm that moved through overnight Tuesday.

The tornado had winds of 120 to 130 mph, was 400 yards wide and was on the ground for about 20 miles, according to a preliminary report from the National Weather Service. The tornado smashed at least seven miles of the city's commercial strip. Thirty-three injuries were reported; most were minor or moderate. One person was listed as critical, according to City Administrator Dean Kruithof.

Gov. Jay Nixon said damage was in at least in the tens of millions, perhaps higher. Crews were still assessing the extent of the losses. "We are confident that Branson will be back bigger and better than ever," Nixon told reporters. "I woke up this morning and looked outside and saw houses were destroyed," said resident Steven Scharmanzer. "I've never seen anything like this in the 20 years I've lived here." Presley told CNN she couldn't recall a storm that hit so many structures.

The strong winds, like in other severe storms, seemed to be arbitrary in their targeting. Silver Dollar City theme park, for example, appeared to be unaffected. Kruithof said about five or six of the city's roughly 40 theaters were damaged. The Branson Variety Theater was heavily damaged, he told CNN. "One of the big issues is cleaning up and getting rid of the debris," he said. "(However), many, many more of our theaters had minor, or no damage at all."

The city's convention center and an attached Hilton were damaged, as was a portion of Branson Landing, a large shopping and entertainment complex "While we do have significant damage, this is not to the extent to what you saw in Joplin," Kruithof said. "Some properties will be difficult to repair."

The May 22, 2011, EF-5 tornado in Joplin, killed 161 people and injured more than 1,000. Joplin is about 110 miles west of Branson. "We sent crews to Joplin the day that happened," Kruithof said Wednesday. "I have already received e-mails from Joplin to show they are ready to help us." Damage across Branson included one neighborhood and familiar tourist spots. A World War II-era biplane in front of a miniature golf course was knocked from its perch. A P-51 Mustang airplane in front of a veterans museum was heavily damaged.

Visitors coming to the town this weekend should be aware of the recovery, officials said. "Many people who have plans ... will probably need to check with their lodging or shows they had tickets for," Kruithof said.>>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/ash-wednesday-storm-of-1962-50-year-anniversary/2012/03/06/gIQANAPGvR_blog.html wrote: This winter’s weather in Washington, D.C.?
By Jason Samenow

<<It was the warmest meteorological winter (December through February) in Washington, D.C. since the Great Depression (only 1932 and 1890 were warmer), ranking third mildest on record. This certainly reminded me of the 2001-02 winter around here when we couldn’t get cold weather nearly the entire time, and snowfall was in super short supply. Well, it turns out that this winter edges out the 01-02 winter by .1º F to be the third warmest on record. It’s definitely the warmest modern-day meteorological record, but still an entire 1 degree behind 1890.

And as we all know, this winter has also been characterized by its dearth of snow. We’ve had 2” of it (tying with 2008-09) and never more than 0.6” in a single day! Assuming we don’t get any more snow by the end of April, it will rank as 3rd least snowy (only 1973 and 1998 had less) on record since 1871.>>

TNT wrote:
The Midwest is in the spotlight! Snow in the west, warm temps in the east, and severe weather right in between. Already over tWelve tornadoes have been reported across the Great Plains, and the storms seem to be heading this way! It's still unknown whether these storms will strengthen or weaken, but I'm seriously hoping that these storms will weaken by the time they get here. If they don't, we could be in for a big surprise.