Mid-Winter Summer

Yeah.  We've had strange weather--like so many others.  We were promised horrendous, bad wintry weather--which we were blessed to not have happen so much right here.  But we did have cold enough weather that our fireplace was kept going 24/7 for a least a week.  (And our electric bill was about $100 more than the previous month anyway!)

Then . . . we somehow had a heat wave!  We'd had temps down in the teens at night with high's in the twenties during the day.  This past week, however, we had highs in the high seventies and even broke out in 80 degree weather for one afternoon!  Lows in the mid sixites.  It's weird.  Today we started out in the high forties!  YES!  Loved it!  And we're promised a high of only sixty something.  More like my kind of weather.

I'm grateful it has not been so severe that there's been loss of life due to weather in our area.  There has been so much disastrous weather/loss of life and property in other parts of the country.  My heart goes out to each and every family so affected.

Hope your weather is not destructive wherever you are.  And I'd still like a little more of the cooler, more wintry, seasonally based weather--IF I could.  But, since it's not up to me, I'll enjoy what I can--when and however the weather comes--that will be.

Thermodynamics

I need some help.  I don't have a background in physics, meteorology, or thermodynamics.  Perhaps if I had some training, schooling, understanding of all the above I would not be so perplexed by the weather conditions we've been experiencing during the last 12 to 15 hours.

If you can help to enlighten me, please, PLEASE explain it in rudimentary terms, so I'll not misunderstand. 

This is what has occurred since about 10 PM last night.

The outdoor thermometer registered 27 degrees.  As I understand it, it means BELOW the freezing mark, hence water freezes BEFORE reaching that temperature.  (Water is supposed to freeze at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, I think, right?)  Wellllllllllllllllll, at 10 last night, my daughter brought to my attention that it was drizzling outside AND the thermometer read 27 degrees.  Now, we also noticed that the barbeque grill had an icy glaze complete with icicles.  So, does that mean that water only freezes at 32 degrees F ONLY when it is dropping on a surface that is 32 degrees or below?

So then, today we've watched the outdoor thermometer and the precipitation. (We must have received some snow before we woke this morning because we saw patches of it on the kids swing set slide and elsewhere before we saw the rain or watery precipitation start back up.)  There were icicles hanging off the eves, and other surfaces, patches of ice on the patio, trees, shrubbery, etc.  The temperature has NOT raised above the 30-31 degree mark all day.  The precipitation has ceased.  And yet . . . we have water continuing to drip from the roof .  I'm not sure about it dripping off other surfaces, since I'm staying inside close to the fireplace. 

 I don't know if you can actually see the water dripping off the roofline.  

Maybe you'll have to look really closely.

So if any meteorologists, physicists, or thermodynamicists are out there willing to enlighten me, please, (again) do so now and help me avoid further consternation. I need to know.  Have to know.  *Sigh*

And additionally, if anyone has light to shed on the subject . . . does cold weather make YOU crave chocolate?  If you feel you can only weigh in on one topic of discussion, best make it this chocolate one.  Heaven knows it's the one that will count most in the end.  I think.  ;-}