Early January, 2014 Weather Around Cousins Country

It has been a crazy Holiday Season for Weather. Acton, Massachusetts got one foot of snow three days ago—beautiful to see as the animals track and hunt their way through our back yard. Our college age son woke up at the crack of dawn (NOT a normal happening) to make it first to the local ski mountain.

 

My brother Tom in New Jersey writes: South Jersey has survived the first snow of 2014. Rain turned to snow last night around 9 pm and it snowed through the night; it is bright and sunny now, 11 am on Friday. I would call it 4 inches, but I'm certain the locals will describe the snowfall as 6 to 10 inches. All quiet in my town -- very few cars moving. Schools and businesses are taking a long weekend. I may have enough snow to get out my new (three-year old and never been used) cross country skis. That will be a thrill.

Tom Kinsella--Not a Winter picture, but check out that Hat!

My sister Sue in San Francisco writes: It is COLD here (just north of San Francisco) – although most of you will laugh. Right now it’s 38°, according to weather.com. It’s supposed to go up to 67 later in the day. I have the heater on, which is usually only required a few weeks out of the year. I don’t believe it when it says it has heated the house up to 70 – I’m still shivering and wearing a thermal shirt and a jacket over that.

Our concern, though, is that we haven’t gotten much rain for a long time, over a year, and people are increasingly worried. It often doesn’t rain here from May to November, but by now we should have gotten at least a couple good, week-long rainstorms. Blue skies with morning fog instead – which, except for the drought problem, is otherwise wonderful.

Sue Kinsella

And of course, our irrepressible cousin Chuck Lochner chimed in with:  In Syracuse, last night it was 5 below and snowing like hell.  Dave thought he was in heaven.

I was with Ted in Massachusetts for a couple of days.  We worked up a sweat hiking in a State Park on News Year’s Day.  Spun out on the Thruway on the way home in the snow and cold.  Messed up the front bumper, grill, left headlight, etc.  Anything for a thrill ...

Yippee!!”

 

Tom Kinsella writes again: I just got back from about an hour of cross country skiing at the local middle school, which has spacious open grounds. For the previous two winters there has not been enough snow to try them out. Today, in about 4 inches (8 in the big drifts!) I got my chance, skiing by the new moon. Lovely, cold night down here. Ice and snow on the roads.  The skis work, though my body will probably have other comments tomorrow morning.

Much love from South Jersey

Julie Lochner Riber in Colorado writes: All was clear here in Denver until 5:30 this morning when Wes woke up to let the dogs out and informed me that if I was going to go walking with my neighbor, Deanna, we’d better get going.  Well, that wasn’t about to happen...  Since then we’ve had about a foot of snow.  I’ve shoveled once and Wes reluctantly went out mid-football game (Kansas City vs. Indianapolis) to snow blow.  Since then only a skiff.  I looked out one other time this afternoon to see one neighbor cross country skiing with his dog and another neighbor with two huskies pulling a plastic toboggan full of kids, with Dad lagging behind on his cross country skies. 

Glad you got to finally break in your skis, Tom.  Susan, I’m sorry you’re suffering with temperatures dipping to 38 degrees (sigh!).  Chuck, are you sure you weren’t just doing donuts on the Thruway?  What Lochner could ever resist that?    

GO BRONCOS!!!

 My brother Jim writes from Greece, New York: I and the girls are loving it too!  Yesterday I brought the girls out cross country skiing in the front yard but, since they did so well, we packed the skis up and went to a local park (where they play soccer in the summer).  The girls went down some hills, through the woods, and climbed a hill near the end so they were exhausted.  They loved it.  On returning home they HAD to go skating so we did that on the ice rink. 

We LOVED the big storm...  Bring on another is what you'll hear from us!!

And, from Minnesota, Diana Taylor McCarty writes: Well this morning when I got up it was 22 below with wind chill making it -44.  Now it's a balmy -13 at 3 in the afternoon but hitting the deep freeze again tonight and tomorrow with expected lows if you count wind chill of -65.  I think that this is where I say it's a dry cold so you don't feel it so bad - LOL.  Oh well-- school is closed again tomorrow -- the issue is largely the diesel busses after two weeks of just sitting there for Christmas break – school departments cannot get them started or keep them going and the danger is too high if the bus would get stuck somewhere.

 Diana also sent me a picture from a Christmas thirty years ago--1983. She writes that they (Arnon and Maria, Carol Ann and Diana and her family) had traveled from Minnesota to New York for Christmas on Amtrak to visit with Arnon’s son Jim and his family.

In the picture from left to right are:

Bill and Diana McCarty and their kids, Jon, Mike, Kris, then Carol Ann, then Jim and Jean Taylor and their girls--Erin and Coreen, and lastly Arnon ( holding Lance the poodle) and Maria Taylor.

From minus 65 degrees to 67 degrees above and we never did hear from the Florida cousins—that is a LOT of weather going on. Enjoy the sledding, skiing, skating, hot chocolate and hand warmers stuffed in mittens. Stay warm, cousins!