Tips on staying safe in Winter Conditions and when the power goes out, from the National Weather Service.
If Your Heat Goes Out
Close off unneeded rooms to avoid wasting heat.
Stuff towels or rags in cracks under doors.
Close blinds or curtains to keep in some heat.
Eat and drink. Food provides the body with energy for producing its own heat. Drinks lots of water and other non-caffeinated, non-alcholohic drinks to prevent dehydration. Cold air is very dry.
Wear layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing. Remove layers to avoid overheating, perspiration and subsequent chill.
The GFS model has been showing an anomalous cold spot near Mexico for several days now. It’s not just our rendering either - other sites/apps show the same issue too.
Mostly offline teaching a wilderness first aid class. For #disasters and #weather (and #Ophelia), you can find quite a bit on my server at https://m.ai6yr.org/public/local (many people here are posting on what's going on there and other WX/disaster situations).
The #weather changed rapidly. It's been sleeting and raining a lot. Driving a car wasn't nice in this weather. Trails on the #road were full of water and the #wind was choppy. #suomimastodon#finland
📷 I post this view looking southeast from the back yard almost every day: "Same shot, different day."
Today, note how pale/hazy the sky is. It's full of particulate matter from the forest fires up north.
It 94º and muggy with a UV index of 11 (severe) and an #AQI of 155 (unhealthy).
Others have much worse heat and/or air, so I'm not complaining so much as documenting the effect of #ClimateChange on the weather/environment here in the US mid-South today.
I reached out (via email) to the National Weather Service Office in Peachtree City (#NWSAtlanta) about their Twitter feed.
I received a response (the TL;DR): 1) too much bureaucracy to find a Twitter alternative, and 2) limited agency resources to post to another platform. Instead, I was referred to a Twitter -> RSS service ($).
Yikes. Federal gov't comms access policy needs to change.
Public info shouldn't be locked behind a paywall operated by an impulsive manchild.
We're in this liminal state where everyone is waiting on MMSD to decide whether or not to open tomorrow because of the extreme cold/wind chill (even though my wife and kids don't work for or go to MMSD, our schools are intertwined with busing), so now I have to make their lunches...
Okay, the wind is now officially to much for me to remain nonchalant about it. It’s a persistent howling gale with gusts that make parts of my house creak. Something just got blown up the road. I don’t know what.
This is why, if you can afford it, heatwave mitigation will pay off sooner rather than later:
Al Jazeera: Record heat index of 62.3C scorches Rio de Janeiro
"A heatwave stifling Brazil has set new records with Rio de Janeiro’s heat index hitting 62.3 degrees Celsius (144.1 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest in a decade, weather authorities say.
The heat index measures what a temperature feels like by taking into account humidity."