THE NEWSLETTER MARCH 2009

Welcome to the issue of the WEATHERFUN Newsletter

Words From Jerry

Welcome fellow Weatherfun members to the March issue of the Weatherfun newsletter and Jerry's words. As you know the past 24 hours has brought a mega snowstorm up and down the east coast. Some areas that have not seen snow in years, have seen it in the past 24 hours. Flights have been canceled, and airports closed. Highways have also been closed. They were predicting for my area 10 to 15 inches, but I watched the radar and could actually see the storm move more to the west, and I only ended up with 8 inches of new snow. This brings my seasonal grand total to 54.5 inches. I sure hope this was the last storm for this season with spring just around the corner. Of course you know that Susan and I just came back from the sunshine state of Florida. We started off in Orlando, went to my cousin's in Ocala for two nights. We woke one morning to a low of 28 F. Of course by 10 a.m. the temp has risen to the low 60s. We then traveled northeast to visit Kristen and her family in Orange Park. Thank you Kristen and family for a grand evening and a great dinner at the Hurricane Grill. We woke the following morning to T-storms and tornado watches, but this did not last long. Thanks to Kristen and family for a grand time and Sammy has promised to bake a cake from scratch for the grand finale cookout to be held at my house. We then traveled south along RT 95 to Cocoa and Steve's area where we spent the remainder of our visit. In Steve's area the temp did warm up a bit, and we were able to get around in our shirt sleeves. We were able to visit the Brevard Zoo, where I gave Bill and Lynn a phone call, and then onto the Kennedy Space Center, where we seen the next shuttle to be launched. The weather was great for the weekend. Here is hoping that we can do it again for my 68th birthday next February. Now that our trip is out of the way we look forward to the 2009 Weatherfun Family Reunion, to be held the second week of July, at the Quality Motor Inn, in Somerset, Mass. I hope to get WPRI TV 12 involved in our activities in addition to some new events. Miss this one and you will definitely miss a grand time. Carolyn Eagan will also visit us and put on a presentation sometime during the week. As you know spring is just around the corner and I hope you all are looking forward to an early spring and some warmer temperatures. It has been a tough winter here in Warren and we are looking forward to an early spring. Remember this is your newsletter and if you have a weather related article that you would like to see in a future issue why not send it to Bill or me and we will see that it gets into a future issue. Until next month stay safe and keep an eye to the sky, and see you all at the 2009 Family Reunion. JERRY LAROCHE WEATHERFUN FOUNDER/PRESIDENT

February's Weather 2nd: The Kentucky ice storm in late January has been called the worst in history. Tens of thousands are still without power. 5th-6th: Cold air reached all the way to the Gulf with below freezing temperatures from Louisiana to central Florida. 7th: A storm came ashore in southern California bringing 2-7" of rain that caused mudslides and 1-2' of snow in the mountains. 9th: Another Pacific storm, the 3rd, rolled into San Diego County bringing rain with snow in the mountains. The storm brought 27 inches of snow on Mount Charleston in Neveda. 10th: Tornadoes broke out in Texas and Oklahoma. 8 people were killed by the twisters in Oklahoma. 12th: A rare, but weak, tornado at Kapolei, Hawaii. Wild wind with gusts sometimes reaching hurricane force has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers and disrupted travel from the Great Lakes to the East. 3 people lost their lives in the New York City area. For the first time since August, all 100 North Carolina counties are experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor map. 13th: Up to 10" of snow in Nebraska with drifts to 3 feet. 16th: A tornado in Georgia destroyed power lines and damaged over 100 houses. 16th-17th: A huge midwinter storm left much of California rain-soaked and snowbound and caused plenty of traffic havoc, but the state dodged the major mudslides and flooding that had been feared. 18th: Ten tornadoes, one packing winds of more than 160 mph, touched down in parts of Georgia. 19th: One person was killed and at least 16 were injured when fierce thunderstorms swept Georgia and Alabama with tornadoes, hail and lighting, downing trees and power lines. 22nd-23rd: A winter storm blew through northern New England dumping 2 feet of snow in spots, forcing hundreds of schools to cancel classes and leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power. 23rd: Recent warm weather and rain led to a series of snow avalanches that closed Idaho 21 between Banner Summit and Grandjean Junction. 24th: Utility workers were still trying to get power back to 57,000 customers in Maine after the snowstorm on Sunday and Monday knocked down utility lines. 26th: A major winter storm moved through Minnesota dropping 5-11" of snow and causing at least one death.<27th: In Wyoming a mile-long avalanche killed three snowmobilers near the Wyoming-Idaho state line. 28th: 23 homes and three businesses were destroyed in central Texas. 3 tornadoes in east central Alabama destroyed one church and damaged another. Ten homes and a school were also torn up by the twisters.

CAM OF THE MONTH SkyCam Chattanooga, TN

Links 4 You AMS Data Streme Project	Hello New Members holdenr52@yahoo.com
Did You Know? In the last nine years in Oklahoma, ice storms have created more destruction than tornadoes, costing the state more than $1 billion in damages.	Contest Winners Bill from Long Island was the winner of the February Question in our Monthly Contest. Gary from Bear, DE won the Bonus Question. You can checkout the Standings in our Monthly Contest HERE

We hope that you enjoyed this month's Newsletter. See you next month, and be sure to visit the WEATHERFUN Website but most of all have fun with your weather.

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