Blue Northers!
Blue Northers - © Kent Fletcher
November 27, 2006
From the website http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/BB/ybb1.html (The Handbook of Texas Online) comes this explanation for a Blue Norther:
BLUE NORTHER. The term blue norther denotes a weather phenomenon common to large areas of the world's temperate zones–a rapidly moving autumnal cold front that causes temperatures to drop quickly and that often brings with it precipitation followed by a period of blue skies and cold weather. What is peculiar to Texas is the term itself. The derivation of blue norther is unclear; at least three folk attributions exist. The term refers, some say, to a norther that sweeps "out of the Panhandle under a blue-black sky"–that is, to a cold front named for the appearance of its leading edge. Another account states that the term refers to the appearance of the sky after the front has blown through, as the mid-nineteenth-century variant "blew-tailed norther" illustrates. Yet another derives the term from the fact that one supposedly turns blue from the cold brought by the front. Variants include blue whistler, used by J. Frank Dobie,qv and, in Oklahoma, blue darter and blue blizzard. Though the latter two phrases are found out-of-state, blue norther itself is a pure Texasism. The dramatic effects of the blue norther have been noted and exaggerated since Spanish times in Texas. But that the blue norther is unique to Texas is folklore.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Dictionary of American Regional English, Vol. 1 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1985).
When I first arrived in Texas, way back in December 1990, the weather was balmy, very pleasant for December. Temps were in the 70s and low 80s all the way up to around the 20th. On the news though, I was hearing about an arctic cold front coming in, a Blue Norther as the locals called it, kind of like a nor'easter, lotsa rain and wind. I remember that on the 20th or thereabouts I was standing in the doorway to my command at NAS Dallas, sweating to beat the band with the temps hovering in the low 80s, and in winter uniform, thinking, "Lord, puh-lease, get on with the program, let that Blue Norther in the door!"
Believe me, He did just that. I got back to my duplex around 4 that afternoon, the weather was still balmy and humid. I let Zeke and Hercules out for their daily walk. I noticed a heavy cloud line north of the area, and though, "Well, what do you know, here comes that Blue Norther the weather folks have been yakking up for the last couple of days." Oh, how little did I know.
Around 5 that afternoon, that sucker blew in with a vengeance. The temperature dropped like a brick. In a matter of a couple of hours or so the temperature outside was in the 30s. The temperature inside had fallen into the 50s as well. I found the thermostat quickly. The wind was just relentless the rest of the evening, finally tapering off late that night. Thankfully I had gotten my waterbed up and running, but with the mild temperatures I had not yet cranked up the heater. I put the pedal to the medal on that heater rather quickly!
I let the pups out the back door very briefly, as the wind wasn't hitting me in the face then, just whipping around the corners of the duplex. Not too bad, actually, but cold just the same. The pups did their thing rather quickly, getting back inside pronto without my having to call them in. The duplex was still in disarray, however, as I had only moved in a couple of weeks before. Didn't bring any furniture of substance with me, having sold a wonderful living room suite for pennies on the dollar before I left Norfolk.
So I sat on the floor with my pups for a bit, watching the weather forecasts in earnest, still dressed and even wrapped in a blanket. Dang, it was cold in there! Around 10 or 11, I had had enough of the cold, so we went to bed. The waterbed was warming steadily, but it was still rather cool. I threw a couple of extra blankets on top of the sheets, threw the comforter on top, put a blanket on top of that, and we crawled in for the evening. The pups even crawled under the covers with me.
When I got up the next morning, the temps were in the low 20s and the wind was still blowing out of the north. Not quite as hard, but blowing just the same. I made my coffee, turned on the TV to the weather channels, got an inkling of what was to come for the rest of the day, and crawled back under the covers. By midday that day, the bed had warmed sufficiently, so that's where I stayed unless the pups needed to go out or I needed something to eat. At least the day before was the last day at work before Christmas rolled in, so there was no particular place I had to be.
Actually, the pups were in heaven with the cold weather, running and playing, peeing and pooping all over the place, yapping at the wind, and in general just in a frolicking attitude. The old man couldn't get warm however, so their outside time was pretty limited. Not knowing the neighborhood very well at all, I didn't let them stay outside by themselves, but watched and attempted to play a little myself.
But there was no snow, no sleet, no ice, just plain and simple cold, cold, cold. Thankfully a couple of days later the temps climbed back above freezing, comfortable enough for me to get outside a little more, even taking the pups for their compulsory walks. By Christmas Day there was hardly a remembrance of the cold snap.
Well, today, November 27, 2006, the weather forecasts are calling for yet another Blue Norther. I utilize a weather website, my-cast.com, to stay up with developing conditions, and all the stations I have tagged to the west and northwest of my abode are predicting the same thing: Drastically falling temps and rain, ice, and sleet beginning late Wednesday afternoon. As I now live with a roof over my head, I still live in a drafty, 30-year-old mobile home. The manufacturers way back then didn't think too much about insulation in the walls or overhead, no double-paned windows, lotsa gaps in the sheet metal covering. It's not too bad in the spring and fall, but summer and winter can be trying for any semblance of comfort.
One other little teensy-weensy thing: The houseflies around here are the worst I believe I've ever seen. As I've written before, as long as the weather outside is comfortable, I have an open-door policy. Plus the fact I've got four kinda-sorta permanent house cats and one little pooch, I see no need to keep all the doors closed on breezy days. But the damned flies are getting a little on my edge. As I asked God back in 1990, "Please, God, give me some relief!" I'm sure He's going to answer my fervent plea in the next 48 or so hours.
I've been out and about with my blind friend, taking him places where he had some business to attend to. The preemptive rains have come and gone, and the wind is still out of the south. It's still balmy and humid, in other words, and the flies have set up shop at the front door, have to wave my arms a lot just to get in the door. But I have GOT to go outside, remove three window air conditioner units, stuff the crevasses with newspaper, old blankets, bedrolls, or maybe even some caulking or fiberglass.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, I have to go to Fort Worth and Arlington for several things, one of which is a follow-up appointment with the doctor who pulled my toenail off several months ago. If I get crackin' now, at least tomorrow I can do little piddly things on shoring up the home place for the coming Blue Norther. Otherwise, I'm going to be living in my waterbed for a few days. Fancy that!
November 27, 2006
From the website http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/BB/ybb1.html (The Handbook of Texas Online) comes this explanation for a Blue Norther:
BLUE NORTHER. The term blue norther denotes a weather phenomenon common to large areas of the world's temperate zones–a rapidly moving autumnal cold front that causes temperatures to drop quickly and that often brings with it precipitation followed by a period of blue skies and cold weather. What is peculiar to Texas is the term itself. The derivation of blue norther is unclear; at least three folk attributions exist. The term refers, some say, to a norther that sweeps "out of the Panhandle under a blue-black sky"–that is, to a cold front named for the appearance of its leading edge. Another account states that the term refers to the appearance of the sky after the front has blown through, as the mid-nineteenth-century variant "blew-tailed norther" illustrates. Yet another derives the term from the fact that one supposedly turns blue from the cold brought by the front. Variants include blue whistler, used by J. Frank Dobie,qv and, in Oklahoma, blue darter and blue blizzard. Though the latter two phrases are found out-of-state, blue norther itself is a pure Texasism. The dramatic effects of the blue norther have been noted and exaggerated since Spanish times in Texas. But that the blue norther is unique to Texas is folklore.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Dictionary of American Regional English, Vol. 1 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1985).
When I first arrived in Texas, way back in December 1990, the weather was balmy, very pleasant for December. Temps were in the 70s and low 80s all the way up to around the 20th. On the news though, I was hearing about an arctic cold front coming in, a Blue Norther as the locals called it, kind of like a nor'easter, lotsa rain and wind. I remember that on the 20th or thereabouts I was standing in the doorway to my command at NAS Dallas, sweating to beat the band with the temps hovering in the low 80s, and in winter uniform, thinking, "Lord, puh-lease, get on with the program, let that Blue Norther in the door!"
Believe me, He did just that. I got back to my duplex around 4 that afternoon, the weather was still balmy and humid. I let Zeke and Hercules out for their daily walk. I noticed a heavy cloud line north of the area, and though, "Well, what do you know, here comes that Blue Norther the weather folks have been yakking up for the last couple of days." Oh, how little did I know.
Around 5 that afternoon, that sucker blew in with a vengeance. The temperature dropped like a brick. In a matter of a couple of hours or so the temperature outside was in the 30s. The temperature inside had fallen into the 50s as well. I found the thermostat quickly. The wind was just relentless the rest of the evening, finally tapering off late that night. Thankfully I had gotten my waterbed up and running, but with the mild temperatures I had not yet cranked up the heater. I put the pedal to the medal on that heater rather quickly!
I let the pups out the back door very briefly, as the wind wasn't hitting me in the face then, just whipping around the corners of the duplex. Not too bad, actually, but cold just the same. The pups did their thing rather quickly, getting back inside pronto without my having to call them in. The duplex was still in disarray, however, as I had only moved in a couple of weeks before. Didn't bring any furniture of substance with me, having sold a wonderful living room suite for pennies on the dollar before I left Norfolk.
So I sat on the floor with my pups for a bit, watching the weather forecasts in earnest, still dressed and even wrapped in a blanket. Dang, it was cold in there! Around 10 or 11, I had had enough of the cold, so we went to bed. The waterbed was warming steadily, but it was still rather cool. I threw a couple of extra blankets on top of the sheets, threw the comforter on top, put a blanket on top of that, and we crawled in for the evening. The pups even crawled under the covers with me.
When I got up the next morning, the temps were in the low 20s and the wind was still blowing out of the north. Not quite as hard, but blowing just the same. I made my coffee, turned on the TV to the weather channels, got an inkling of what was to come for the rest of the day, and crawled back under the covers. By midday that day, the bed had warmed sufficiently, so that's where I stayed unless the pups needed to go out or I needed something to eat. At least the day before was the last day at work before Christmas rolled in, so there was no particular place I had to be.
Actually, the pups were in heaven with the cold weather, running and playing, peeing and pooping all over the place, yapping at the wind, and in general just in a frolicking attitude. The old man couldn't get warm however, so their outside time was pretty limited. Not knowing the neighborhood very well at all, I didn't let them stay outside by themselves, but watched and attempted to play a little myself.
But there was no snow, no sleet, no ice, just plain and simple cold, cold, cold. Thankfully a couple of days later the temps climbed back above freezing, comfortable enough for me to get outside a little more, even taking the pups for their compulsory walks. By Christmas Day there was hardly a remembrance of the cold snap.
Well, today, November 27, 2006, the weather forecasts are calling for yet another Blue Norther. I utilize a weather website, my-cast.com, to stay up with developing conditions, and all the stations I have tagged to the west and northwest of my abode are predicting the same thing: Drastically falling temps and rain, ice, and sleet beginning late Wednesday afternoon. As I now live with a roof over my head, I still live in a drafty, 30-year-old mobile home. The manufacturers way back then didn't think too much about insulation in the walls or overhead, no double-paned windows, lotsa gaps in the sheet metal covering. It's not too bad in the spring and fall, but summer and winter can be trying for any semblance of comfort.
One other little teensy-weensy thing: The houseflies around here are the worst I believe I've ever seen. As I've written before, as long as the weather outside is comfortable, I have an open-door policy. Plus the fact I've got four kinda-sorta permanent house cats and one little pooch, I see no need to keep all the doors closed on breezy days. But the damned flies are getting a little on my edge. As I asked God back in 1990, "Please, God, give me some relief!" I'm sure He's going to answer my fervent plea in the next 48 or so hours.
I've been out and about with my blind friend, taking him places where he had some business to attend to. The preemptive rains have come and gone, and the wind is still out of the south. It's still balmy and humid, in other words, and the flies have set up shop at the front door, have to wave my arms a lot just to get in the door. But I have GOT to go outside, remove three window air conditioner units, stuff the crevasses with newspaper, old blankets, bedrolls, or maybe even some caulking or fiberglass.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, I have to go to Fort Worth and Arlington for several things, one of which is a follow-up appointment with the doctor who pulled my toenail off several months ago. If I get crackin' now, at least tomorrow I can do little piddly things on shoring up the home place for the coming Blue Norther. Otherwise, I'm going to be living in my waterbed for a few days. Fancy that!
posted by Fletch @ 2:07 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home