Fifth Day of Christmas, and Crisp Weather

Sunday, December 29, 2013. Depending on how you see it, Christmas has come and gone: or we're at the fifth day of Christmas.

We had a white Christmas this year: complete with a little fresh snow. Weather announcements flip-flopped between calling today's weather winter weather and a blizzard, with a winter weather advisory from 6:00 p.m. Saturday to 6:00 p.m. today. This morning all that was left of that advisory was a weather statement about wind chill.

As someone said on my way to church this morning, it's been a crisp day. It's about -18° Fahrenheit at 9:00 this evening.


Christmas Eve at Our Lady of Angels. December 24, 2013.


Christmas lights. That snowman on the roof is new this year. December 27, 2013.


If my eyes were sensitive as a cat's and I could still see colors, back yards in my neighborhood would probably look like this. December 27, 2013.


This is pretty close to what I could actually see. December 27, 2013.

Finally, merry Christmas, and happy new year.

Related post:

• "Winter Storm and a Webcam in Central Minnesota"
  (December 28, 2013)

Winter Storm and a Webcam in Central Minnesota

A Winter Weather Advisory started at 6:00 p.m. today, and runs until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. It's the usual thing: wind, blowing and drifting snow, occasional whiteout conditions, and "wind chill values of 20 below to 35 degrees below zero." That's Fahrenheit, which means that folks going outside should cover any part of themselves they want to keep.

Weather tracking and forecasting technology has come a very long way since my 'good old days,' which I don't miss: and that's another topic.


The WunderMap, from wunderground.com, earlier this evening. December 28, 2013.

The view through my webcam mostly shows a lot of dark right now.


View from my north window at 11:41 p.m. - shrunk a bit to fit this blog's format. December 28, 2013.

I've been keeping track of the weather, partly out of habit. Now it's time for me to sleep.

Related posts:

• "Labor Day Weekend So Far: Wind, Hail, and a Beautiful Day"
  (September 1, 2013)
• "Sunshine, Storms, Trees Down: Another Week in Minnesota"
  (June 23, 2013)
• "Another Day, Another Winter Storm"
  (April 14, 2013)
• "Checking the Weather at Midnight"
  (March 18, 2013)
• "Bright Blue Afternoon Today, Inteterstates Closed During Storm"
  (February 12, 2013)

Picture-Postcard Weather for Christmas: Maybe

Sunday, December 22, 2013. If I was committed to buying a Christmas present for someone at the Rosedale shopping center in the Metro, I'd be crazy. I'd also have only two days left, since they're closed Christmas Day, Wednesday - and shut the doors at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, Christmas Eve.

As it is, my family has our Christmas shopping done: including me, oddly enough. True to form, I haven't gotten my wife's present wrapped yet: and that's another topic.

I haven't been around town much since last week, but did get some photos. We're having a white Christmas this year: picturesque, but a bit on the chilly side.


Picture-postcard weather for the Christmas season, seen through my webcam. Snow kept getting 'refreshed' with new snowfall or frost. December 17, 2013.


Frost on the trees, Saturday morning. December 21, 2013.


Not much wind, so we still had a 'fairyland' at noon. December 21, 2013.

On the other hand, we have a warm spell that melts all the snow: unlikely, but this is Minnesota.

Christmas Lights, Mostly

Sunday, December 15, 2013. This was one of those weeks when I got very little done: and took all week doing it. The "very little" didn't include any new photos, so here's a 'Christmas lights' selection from previous years:


Christmas is coming: one of Sauk Centre's more thoroughly-decorated yards. November 25, 2012.


Santa, maybe taking off - or landing - with a jet pack? Hats off to the folks who put that up, for a different angle on Christmas lights. December 7, 2011.


Downtown Sauk Centre: lighted garlands over the street, and Main Street Theatre's signs. December 7, 2011.

We've still got a very white cover of snow. It's nice to look at, but the below-average cold that came with it isn't universally popular.


Monday noon, and Christmas-card weather. December 9, 2011.

That's all I've got for now, see you next week.

Ice on the Trees, Christmas is Coming

Sunday, December 8, 2013. The sounds of someone's snow blower are filtering in as I write this. That's a guess, actually. It's dark out, and I'm not going out to see where the sound comes from.

It's fairly warm this evening: about four degrees above zero, Fahrenheit. There's also no wind to speak of. There's a wind chill advisory from three tomorrow morning until noon, probably because the wind will be picking up.


Friday was clear, cold, and featured iced trees. December 6, 2013.

I took that photo through a window screen. It was a good angle to catch sunlight in the ice: and I wasn't thrilled with the notion of going outside just then.


My kids set up the Christmas tree this week. December 8, 2013.

Christmas is bearing down on us, around the corner, and less than three weeks away. I still have some holiday preparations to make, but plan to relax as much as possible.

Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas; and weather-related announcements

Someone parked north of the house this morning. I didn't see what happened, but the driver probably didn't take winter traction into account when rounding the corner. Happily, nobody got hurt. The car will have to be towed: its right front tire wheel is folded under the hood.

Other than that, it's a fairly routine early-winter snowfall. The radio has been running cancellation announcements.

There's a winter weather advisory on until 3:00 a.m. Tuesday.

These pictures are from my webcam, shrunk to fit this blog's format:


A little before 9:00 this morning. December 2, 2013.


Snow. Definitely snow. December 2, 2013.

Related post:

• "Snow, Seasons, and a Sunset"
  (November 24, 2013)

Advent, Day One

Sunday, December 1, 2013. It's the first Sunday in Advent. More folks have their Christmas decorations out, and there hasn't been a serious snowfall yet.


This will look more 'Christmassy' when there's snow on the ground. November 28, 2013.


TFirst Sunday in Advent, at Our Lady of the Angels church. December 1, 2013.

On a more personal note, I'm successfully dealing with an antibiotic-resistant infection, and my son had to have his appendix removed yesterday.

I'm hoping for a comparatively uneventful December.