Frozen

Winter Storm Fern has coated our town in inches of sleet, now frozen into glassy ice. With the temperature sitting at 16°F, we ventured out to take it all in… and, of course, to go to Waffle House.

One squirrel watched us like we had lost our minds. I don’t think I’ve ever been judged so harshly by wildlife.

 

Katrina - 20 Years

 

Katrina was unlike anything we had ever seen. Everyone knows the story of New Orleans, but what’s often forgotten is how Mississippi and the rest of Louisiana were devastated too. By the time Katrina reached where I lived, she had weakened to a Category 1 hurricane—but she was still fierce. Our reservoir churned with 14-foot waves, and we were without power for two weeks. Even then, we considered ourselves lucky compared to the people to our south, who endured unimaginable loss.

We must never forget what happened in New Orleans. The people there were failed. And we must also remember the many others Katrina touched—their lives, too, were forever changed.

Below is an excerpt from my blog, written on August 28, 2005. 

Katrina is on her way

Katrina Packing Wind of Nearly 175 Mph 
AP - 1 hour, 11 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin ordered an immediate evacuation Sunday for all of New Orleans, a city sitting below sea level with 485,000 inhabitants, as Hurricane Katrina bore down with wind revved up to nearly 175 mph and a threat of a massive storm surge. Acknowledging that large numbers of people, many of them stranded tourists, would be unable to leave, the city set up 10 places of last resort including the Superdome arena. "This is a once in a lifetime event," the mayor said. "The city of New Orleans has never seen a hurricane of this magnitude hit it directly." From Yahoo

This is going to be bad, I hope all my friends in NO and the Coast are Hitailing it out!! My thoughts are with you all!!!!

I can still vividly recall standing in the middle of my street, surrounded by darkness. The sky was full of stars, and the only sound was the low, steady hum of generators.

Storm Watch

Earlier this week, a series of storms rolled through the area, leaving the air crisp and charged with a quiet energy. The next morning, as I stepped outside, the sky put on a breathtaking display. Thick clouds still lingered, but where they curved and parted, slender beams of sunlight pierced through, casting a soft, ethereal glow. It was as if the sky itself was gently backlit, each cloud edged in light, creating a scene both dramatic and serene.

Spring Storm

On Monday, March 24, a brief but intense storm swept through, bringing massive raindrops that pounded so fiercely they mimicked the sound of hail. Thunder rumbled overhead, accompanied by occasional flashes of lightning. Though the much-needed rain was short-lived, it left behind a stunning scene. Later, when I took the dog out, the sky put on its own spectacular display, illuminated by the warm glow of the afternoon sun.

 

Coldest of Days

No matter how cold and dark it may seem. Keep hoping for the sun and the warmth of a new day.  

Grapevine Lake

I have lived in Texas since late 2012,   I have had the chance in that time to do some exploring and my frequent flights have given me a chance to see first hand that for the entire time I have been here the lakes have all been well below their banks.   I have never visited a lake in the Dallas area that wasn't in water conservation, it was always strange to see the eroded original shoreline and then walk down to the current shore line.  Well after the storms of the last few weeks, that has changed dramatically.   I've seen more thunderstorms in the past month than in my entire time in Texas.  And as you can see, Grapevine Lake, is well above it's banks... a dramatic lesson in extremes. 

 

Electric Blue

As the storms rage in your heart the thunder echoes in your voice the electric blue of the lightning reflects through your eyes. 

These images were captured with my Blackberry Curve… yes… with my phone.   I have not edited these images as I occasionally do.   I took them tonight as I walked west along Panama City Beach.  The storms raging in the distance towards Seaside and Destin were bathing my world in a beautiful occasional splash of Electric Blue.

©2011 J.G.W. Blakeney all rights reserved.

Click Here for More Watery Wednesday Posts.

Tropical Storm Lee

Although it is just a tropical storm, Lee is affecting the weather from here all the way back home to Mississippi.   The rain has been off and on all day today, leading to me spending a good portion of the day wet. Lee also provided a chance for me to see some massive waves come ashore at the Panama City Beach County Pier.  I must say, I am not as brave as the people standing close to the water, these waves can sweep one out to sea in a heartbeat!

Clouds

Clouds have been rolling in across Mississippi, scattered showers are expected… with the sun peeking out occasionally. Life is like that in many ways, we just have to keep a look out for the sun peeking… and take the clouds as they come, after all clouds can be quite beautiful… if you really want them to be.

Reaching Out

It is amazing how time flows… it seems like just yesterday we were at the dawn of a new decade, and now the year is nearly half finished. So many things change, and so fast… it never ceases to amaze me. Time to me is like a river, you can’t stop it and occasionally you hit rapids or pick up people on the banks! The Mississippi River is the most important River in the United States, and here it is flowing under the I20 and Old Hwy 80 Bridges in Vicksburg, MS.

Many of you have heard about the Tornado’s that devastated my home state last week. I would like to report that I am well, my city was not affected, however Yazoo City and surrounding areas about 30 miles north were devastated, if you would like to help please visit Here and Here.

We also have another series of storms moving in this week, hopefully nothing as severe as those last week.

Burrrrr

Snow does not happen in Mississippi all too often, so in early December when we were graced with the powdery sky dust… we were all a bit shocked, and assumed that would be our winter, from there it would be as mild as usual.

We were wrong. Temperatures the next few days are colder than they have been in over a decade. (Today a high of 29F -2C with a low of 18F -8C.) These frigid temperatures are not known to most Mississippians, and we have to deal with things we hardly ever have to deal with, like ice, and wind chill. I do hope that all my fellow Mississippians are safe and take proper precautions, as well as the rest of my fellow Americans on our frigid North American Continent in the massive cold that is sweeping from Canada to Florida, I also hope that everyone in other places stay safe as well. Best of Luck and Stay warm!

The Tide

I had the world at my fingers, and it slipped away… I watched it shatter at my feet broken and distorted. I was lost, not sure what to do, everything lay at my feet… all that I worked for, all that was to be, lost in one moment.

Then, something happened. I am not sure when, but I was handed another reality… one that I have trouble comprehending, one where everything is the opposite than it once was. Before I did not have control, I had no say in everything that once transpired… that has changed… now I am rebuilding something, I see a light. Just one problem….

Is it what I really want?

I think so.

Yes, I do.

(This was a rainbow that appeared over Flowood, Mississippi on 12-July-2009 at the Dogwood shopping center. It was unique in that it was not raining that day, just a few clouds, and yet the rainbow was the brightest I have seen in a long while.)

Mississippi Slushie

Winter in Mississippi is not a very wintery event usually, believe me when we found out that it was supposed to snow we were very shocked and surprised. However when a majority of our state turned into a big slush puppie (minus the flavor)… needless to say I am sad. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to have built a rare Mississippi snowman to post on here… but instead y’all will have to handle a bit of wet snow on a trampoline in a flooded back yard. Tonight, we get to have tons of fun… when most of this turns into rare Mississippi Ice!!!!

Ike

Ike… How we loathe you! To quote a political slogan from years past, “We Don’t like Ike!” Of course I am talking about the hurricane that is currently taking aim on the Texas coast with Katrina-like consequences for the southeast, and hopefully none of the Katrina-like damage or any further loss of life for those in its path. Ike has not yet made landfall as of this post, and yet already gas stations are experiencing a shortage, and this particular gas station is forced to ration gas at $40.00 a person. With Ike already having far reaching results, I sincerely hope that he is not as bad as people tend to think he is going to be. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path of this dangerous deadly storm.

Dark Skys

Everyone has a dark side, some more than others… how can we truly say what is good and evil, when each one of us skirts a very fine line. I've met some very righteous people in my life, and I've met some heinous people… but in reality we all have the same potential, it just really depends on the decisions you make, and where life takes you. There is only one judge, and no one can ever dare to truly equal the true judge.
Bad weather skirted my area today, tornados and thunder... the usual. There was something eerily beautiful about these clouds when I left work today… how can something so dangerous be so beautiful…

The Pearl Tornado of 2008

Yesterday was an interesting day for the city of Pearl, Mississippi... For the last fifteen years I have said that Pearl will never be hit by a Tornado, it has not happened in recorded history… so it is unlikely to happen.

Well yesterday I was not feeling well… so I was in bed listening to the rain and thunder… Suddenly the wind changed and came in a lot harder, it really sounded like someone was hitting my window, right above my head… so I got up and looked out, I could see nothing and it looked like things were flying through the air… and then there was the siren, and the power outage. I got up and went out in the back yard... I could see nothing, but rain and so I came into the office where my room-mates dad was, and told him that I didn’t think we were safe… he agreed… at about that time there was a loud noise. (A stack blew off the roof).

After it was all over, turns out that a F1 Tornado Touched down and went through the city and caused some minor damage, no one was injured… but there was an eye witness that said that the funnel did in fact go over my house… So we had a Tornado in Pearl…

This is St Jude Street, just a few blocks from my house… It was completely blocked, noticed the trees snapped halfway up, a tale-tale sign of a Tornado.



Another Home on the corner of St. Jude and Barrow.



This SUV was on the corner of S. Bierdeman and Pine Circle, it was for sale, the tree only really luckily crushed the windshield… hope they had not canceled the insurance.




This home is on the corner of Barrow and Louise Drive… It is always sad to see bad things happen… I hope everyone was ok.


The approximate path of the storm is in blue, based on what I was able to get from Media reports and damage. The map used is a Google Map!

Snow!

This is a rare sight in Mississippi, very rare indeed; and I apparently missed most of it by an hour. I’ve only seen snow maybe a dozen times in my entire life and the most I have ever seen was 7 inches on January 1, 2001. So needless to say I was surprised to walk out my front door and see about an inch of snow on the neighbors roof, and on mine and my room-mates car.. I love it!!!