February kicks off things with a possible winter storm!

After a somewhat normal January – the high and low averages were only slight below the 30 year averages, things look to get interesting on Saturday, February the 1^st. Freezing rain to the north of my home in Forsyth Missouri on Saturday and then a nice winter storm for the start of the work week! At this time, the estimates are for somewhere between a half and a full inch set to fall by early Tuesday morning. This forecast is still a bit up in the air and could swing from no snow to a lot of snow quite easily.

Typically the high and lows move up a bit in February – to 50 for daytime highs and 26 for lows. So, over the course of the month we might easily expect to see a few warmish days in the mid to upper sixties! Rainfall for the month should come in at around 3 inches – at least we can hope that is what happens. January was a big disappointment coming in at only an inch of precipitation.

More snow to start off February 2014!

Yes, it looks increasingly more likely that the cold and snowy weather we've had this season will continue with a few inches getting dumped on southwest Missouri on or about Monday late or Tuesday early! Prior to that event, central portions of Missouri may see some icing early on Friday, January the 31st.

The National Weather Service thinks that this will be an all snow event with most of the moisture (and therefore snow amounts) in and around the south central parts of the state! So, think about shopping and doing outside stuff over the weekend and then sit back and watch the snow fall....

In other news, the ambient radiation levels seems to be increasing for some reason. Normally Forsyth would see levels at about 11 micro roentgens per hour. Over the past few days, it's been average close to 14 with counts running at 28 per minute versus a more normal rate of 24.

Cold? I think not!

'Oh my gawd! It's so cold out there', I've been known to grumble to passerby as I've dashed from the warm confines of my vehicle to a local store. 'This has just got to be the coldest it's been in a long time', I lament to anyone who cared to listen.

The passersby just glance briefly my way and continue on their way.

The truth be told, this winter has been pretty much dull normal in terms of the high and low averages! The big difference, and what most of us might notice the most, has been what we all experienced in 2012-13 when temps were significantly above what they should have been! December 2012 saw readings, in and around Forsyth MO that were close to or at 70F on a number of occasions! Even January of 2013, typically the coldest month, was a little warmer than normal! So of course, by contrast this year has felt much colder. A few days in both months, where the temperatures flirted with zero or below also helped to enforce those feelings...

Now, with January 2014 fading into the rear view mirror, eyes are turning towards February while we all wonder how bad we'll get whacked in heating costs if the current cold trends continue! Still, I have to wonder where the heck Al Gore got off to? After all the hype, things remain pretty darn normal in all respects...