Nana/National Weather Association/Louisville Ike Story

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Odile has fizzled out in the eastern Pacific and the remnant of Norbert is being pulled into the approaching frontal system. Now, we have newly formed Tropical Storm Nana in the central Atlantic. Also, it looks like a new storm is forming in the eastern Caribbean. That one will be named Omar. Neither of these new storms will threaten the upper Texas coast.

Warm weather continues for Houston. And I can tell you it is also warm in Louisville, Kentucky, where I am currently attending the annual National Weather Association workshop. It is not humid, just warm and dry. Warm and muggy weather will continue in Houston with rain likely on Wednesday. Some rain will also be possible there on Thursday and Friday as the front shifts by to the north and then high pressure pushes a backdoor front into the area for the weekend.

Here in Louisville, a few showers are possible on Tuesday as the same front moves through. It will be cooler in the mornings.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The Ohio River views are just gorgeous from here. We ate dinner looking out over the water. So my word for the day is the water or el agua, pronounced l AH-gwah. In Spanish, words with an emphasized first ah sound are considered masculine and have the masculine article el.

Even though I'm gone, I will still be getting orders out...so don't be afraid to purchase our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product of 2008 at http://www.frankandpaco.com/, Ventura's Educational Supply, Dolo Publications, Carlex Inc., The Curious Mind Store, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
It is so neat meeting up with everyone at the annual workshop. Kristine Kahanek gave me a copy of her new weather book for children. It's called Katie and the Magic Umbrella A Stormy Adventure. It is a great story and very colorful. You can purchase this terrific book at many bookstores. We are wishing Kristine luck as she gets ready to begin a national book tour.

And Betsy Kling is the proud mommy of 10 week old Josie. Betsy I sure hope I spelled her name correctly. Betsy is still a bundle of energy (to go along with her bouncing bundle of joy). Congratulations Betsy!

Talking to our waitress, Tiffany, we learned a lot about how Hurricane Ike had affected the Louisville area. For one thing, the servers for Joe's Crab Shack were offline for 4 days, making order taking very difficult. Tiffany herself lost power at her home for 12 days!!! She believes about 20% of the area lost power. One of her friends lost power for 3 days. And lots of trees and limbs were broken. Our shuttle driver from the airport said the wind was just horrible and she had sore muscles from fighting the wind while driving the big bus.

Well gotta run for now!
Have a great week everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Celebrity Meteorologist Revealed/Norbert/Odile/NWA Conference

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
As of this writing, Norbert alreayd made landfall on the Baja peninsula and it now moving across the Gulf of California (heading for the Mexican mainland) with 100 mph and little change in strength forecast. Meanwhile, further to the south, Odile is about 35 miles from the coast of Mexico and from here on moving away from the coast. It is apparently much weaker than thought. And the only reason this became known is because the recon flying to Norbert flew through Odile and found out.

The warm, humid weather here in Houston will continue for several days. Cold front approaching Tuesday will trigger showers Tuesday and especially Wednesday. It will be a bit cooler a day or so in the middle of the coming week, but not much cooler. For those of you heading to the National Weather Association (NWA) conference in Louisville, bring a light jacket for evening or early morning. But actually, the weather won't be that much different from the weather here. Rain chances will be lower but there could be a few showers in the middle of the week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Tomorrow I will be heading to the airport or aeropuerto, projounced eye-row-pwear-TOE. Why you ask? Because I am going to the NWA conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Yeehaw! This is a meeting of folks who love weather and for many, who work doing the business of weather. See you in Kentucky!

While I'm gone, Elsa Acosta, a bilingual educator and one of our fabulous content developers for our Spanish teaching DVD series and my mom, co-performer of our music will be at the Barnes & Noble in Sugar Land for a special event for area teachers. But anyone can come. So, head over there anytime after 5:30 pm on Monday, October 13th.

Even though I'm gone, I will still be getting orders out while I am gone so...don't forget to purchase our award winning DVD for children is the perfect gift! It is entertaining and educational. You can purchase Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product of 2008 at http://www.frankandpaco.com/, Ventura's Educational Supply, Dolo Publications, Carlex Inc., The Curious Mind Store, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
My stepdaughter, Megan just asked me not to send her this blog anymore. Wahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! She is just not interested. Now understand, she is the sweetest gal in the world, but wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. She just doesn't care about what I do!

Okay...enough of that...The celebrity meteorologist returning to air tonight is former FOX 26 meteorologist Matt Lavine. He will be on 9 pm on CW. Don't pressure him! He had to learn a whole new graphics system in just a few days. But he is super smart. So, I know he is going to definitely break a leg.

Have a great weekend!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Norbert and Odile/Celebrity Weather Personality Return

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Norbert is a stronger hurricane this evening...back to a Category 2 and will hit the Baja California peninsula Saturday morning and the Mexican mainland very late Saturday. It will be weaker by the time it hits the mainland...a weak hurricane or down to a tropical storm. Odile has a chance to become a hurricane as it moves parallel to the Mexican coast...a small jog to the right and it will make landfall.

Back to balmy here and that will be the case this weekend. Lows will be in the 60s and highs will be in the 80s. Look for showers and thunderstorms as early as Tuesday but more likely Wednesday as the next "cold" front arrives. It will actually stay warm at least through the week.

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY

This is my Mom's brief way to remember the rules for accenting syllables: If the word ends in a vowel, the syllable before the last is accented. If it ends in a consonant other than s or n, the last syllable is accented. If the word does not follow these rules, it will bear a tilde to show you where to put the accent.

Now, I compared this to Adriana's and let me make two changes:
If the word ends in a vowel, s or n, the syllable before the last syllable is accented. If it ends in a letter other than s or n or a vowel, the last syllable is accented. If the word does not follow these rules, it will bear a tilde to show you where to put the accent.

I like my revised version. Don't you?!

So since this weekend's weather will be so balmy, I am choosing the adjective tropical or tropical, pronounce troh-pee-CAHL. This tropical weather reminds me of where I grew up, the Rio Grande Valley.

It's beginning to NOT feel a lot like Christmas (unless you are from Australia or the Rio Grande Valley). Seriously, one year it was 94 degrees in Harlingen on my sister Barb's birthday on December 22nd. Really!!! So, warm weather like this weekend's actually reminds me of my youth. But I digress. Our award winning DVD for children is the perfect gift! It is entertaining and educational. You can purchase Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product of 2008 at http://www.frankandpaco.com/, Ventura's Educational Supply, Dolo Publications, Carlex Inc., The Curious Mind Store, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
Okay...my mystery celebrity asked me to wait just a little longer to make the big announcement. But I will give you one clue...it will happen Saturday night!!! (as in tomorrow). Stay tuned!!!

I am getting super excited about the upcoming Groundhog Day Gala benefitting the educational programs provided by the Weather Museum/Weather Research Center. Now, seriously, you can tell people--oh yeah, I have plans for Groundhog Day. You betcha I do!!! I'm going to the gala. You know, the Groundhog Day Gala. Anybody who's anybody will be there!!!

Seriously, there will be these meet the animal sessions and celebrity guests and important people honored. Of course, I'll have more details soon! Your's truly will be there. That's enough...isn't it?!!!

If you would like to be one of those in people, contact me at cecilia_sinclair@yahoo.com or go to http://www.wxresearch.com/.

Have a terrific weekend!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

High Speed Internet Withdrawal/Talking to Gene Norman/Norbert and Odile

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Norbert has weakened quite a bit (but this is partly due to some lower winds measured during reconnaisance). Still, the forecast track should still be that it heads into Mexico on Sunday. It will be fairly weak by the time it hits Mexico. The remnants of Norbert will be pulled northeastward by the approaching cold front which will arrive here on Tuesday. It will be a weak front. But, look for some rain on Tuesday and possibly later in the week depending on return flow and how much moisture hangs around.

Odile is another slightly interesting feature as it is forecast to move northwestward, parallel to the Mexican coast. It shouldn't get very strong however. I am also putting up it's forecast path.

Another pleasant day today with a high of only 82. Took Sarah and her good buddy on a park outing and nice little walk. You just want to be outside on a day like today. Of course there's always something and there were some Ozone Warnings today. It is also ragweed season. I know both of these things make life miserable for folks with respiratory problems.

Humidity will increase Friday. And it will be a warm, humid weekend. Some showers are possible starting Saturday with the most likely day being Wednesday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Today's word of the day is school or escuela, because I am definitely going to school about this whole accent rule thing. It is pronounced s-QUELL-ah. Here a lesson on how to figure out accented syllables from Adriana Gutierrez, well known local Spanish teacher.

"Understanding where to put the emphasis in a word can be as difficult as sounding out the word itself. Fortunately, Spanish makes it easy for you. When a word is stressed on an irregular syllable, an accent mark will appear above the stressed vowel. Accent marks look like this:
á é í ó ú
Pay attention to accent marks! Two words might be spelled exactly the same, but the presence of an accent mark can completely change their meaning. For example, esta means “this” while está means “is.” Llamo means “I call” while llamó means “He, she, or you called.” Accent marks are also used to distinguish how a word is used: for example, dónde and donde both mean “where,” but the first is used to ask a question while the second is used in statements. So no matter what you do, don’t forget the accent!
Where Does the Stress Go?
Rule 1.
Most Spanish words that end in n, s, or a vowel are stressed on the penultimate (or next-to-the-last) syllable. Listen to the examples below, repeat each word in the gap that follows, and note where the stress falls. The stressed vowel sound is underlined to help you.
camisa, blusa, chaqueta, pantalones, hablo, como, llamo
Some words that end in n, s, or a vowel are stressed on the last syllable instead. These words must carry an accent mark to warn the speaker. Listen to these examples and repeat them aloud.
televisión, conversación, pais, inglés, alemán, mamá, papa, comió, escribió
Rule 2.
Words that do NOT end in n, s, or a vowel are usually stressed on the last syllable. This includes most verbs in their infinitive forms. For example…
comer, hablar, escribir, estar, seguridad, español, actor, doctor
When these words are not stressed on the last syllable, an accent mark is placed over the stressed vowel. For example…
lápiz, árbol, fútbol, vóleibol"

Thank you Adriana. Did I get it right on es-QUELL-ah?

Tomorrow, I will show you how my mom (National Spelling Bee coach) explained it (unless she tells me not to after reading what Adriana wrote). Ha!

Only 2 and half months until Christmas!!! I know...can you believe it. Be proactive, bypass stress and get an affordable, fun and beneficial gift for the youngsters in your life. Purchase our award winning DVD Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product of 2008. You can buy it at http://www.frankandpaco.com/, Ventura's Educational Supply, Dolo Publications, Carlex Inc., The Curious Mind Store, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, and barnesandnoble.com.


AND MORE
With my frustration with Comcast, I considered working off my wireless Internet modem forever...well let me just say...DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is so slow...almost as slow as my old dial-up modem and it disconnects frequently. ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Okay, I feel better.

Say...anyone know a good high speed/home phone (local/long distance)/digital Cable company--besides Comcast?

Gene Norman and I are long time friends (I would say old friends but I don't like that word old). He is the one who actually got me my first job at KFDM in Beaumont. You see, Gene and I knew each other from the local American Meteorological Society. At the time, Gene was working for the Space Flight Meteorology Group at NASA. But he was also working in Beaumont on weekends as the on air meteorologist at KFDM. Well, when Doug Johnson left Channel 2, and Frank Billingsley opened a slot at Channel 13 by filling the spot Doug Johnson vacated, I contacted Gene and told him he needed to fill that opening at Channel 13. Well of course, Gene was already ahead of me. He had already applied and was waiting to hear back. I just knew he would get the job. So, I told him that when he left KFDM, he had to get them to hire me as his replacement. I also was working full time during the week, but I was doing air quality meteorology. Well, Gene wanted to help but he asked me to bring him a copy of my aircheck (that's inside TV lingo for a copy of your weathercast) to his place. Get this...he wanted it on 3/4" tape (which doesn't exist anymore as far as I know). He wanted that because he had a 3/4" player that his sister had given him. I still don't know why his sister had that.

Well, Gene looked at my aircheck and decided he could feel good about recommending me. So, once he got the position at 13, he walked into KFDM, told the news director he was leaving, and handed him my aircheck tape and said that I was his replacement. And they hired me!!! There is a little more to it than that like the fact that my dearly departed friend Robert Smith called and bugged them and demanded that they hire me. And I can't forget that Greg Bostwick, the chief at KFDM and a fellow Aggie demanded that they hire me even though I hyperventilated during my audition.

Anyway, thanks Gene. You got me into KDFM...a great place to work!

In any event, back to Gene...he is very happy to be back in Houston! He had been the chief at a CBS affiliate in Atlanta for 8 years. I teased him about all the action this hurricane season. But he is definitely a cup half full kind of guy, because he said he had 3 storms Dolly, Edouard, and Gustav to warm up on before Ike hit. Wow! He's got a great attitude. Welcome back Gene and keep up the good work!

By the way, Gene is not the mystery weather celebrity I mentioned yesterday. I can't divulge that just yet. But I will soon. So stay tuned.

Have a fabulous Friday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Hurricane Norbert/News on a Weather Celebrity/100 blogs

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
First of all, this is my 101st blog! I forgot to mention yesterday was my 100th blog. Okay...everyone sing. Happy 100th blog to me, Happy 100th blog to me...hey, who's singing out of key?

Well, anyway, I'm having fun and I hope you keep coming back for more. Today's weather was definitely Chamber of Commerce, made to order. Tomball, Conroe and Huntsville all dipped into the 40s this morning. And almost everyone else was in the 50s. Look for a repeat performance on Thursday. Humidity starts returning on Friday and in a big way by Sunday. Next front approaches early in the coming week...slightly increasing our rain chances. But, it is beginning to look like the front won't make it...so don't get too used to wearing those extra jackets...not just yet.

Hurricane Norbert is making headlines!!! It's off the coast of Mexico and moving away from Mexico. What's the big deal? Well to begin with, it is a Category 4 hurricane with 135 mph winds. But more importantly the ridge over Mexico and then in a few days our next approaching upper trough and associated surface front could steer it across the Baja Peninsula and into Mexico with the remnants moving into west Texas early next week. Historically, this is not unprecedented. In fact, there have been some major floods in places like the Texas Hill Country from storms like these. So, will track that. I put this afternoon's National Hurricane Center forecast track on the right.

Some interesting information about Tropical Marco. It was teensy-tiny...in fact the smallest tropical storm ever. Do you remember that very strong but very small Hurricane Bret which hit the King Ranch? Marco was less than half the size of that. Wow!!!

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
In honor of Marco, today's word will be tiny or diminuto, pronounced dee-mee-noo-toe. My Mom keeps telling me to put the accented syllable in caps. I don't always know which one it is. So, if you know, leave me a comment and I will mention it in the next day's blog.

Early language learning improves cognitive development and function, increases neurological development (makes brain tissue in the area of language learning more dense), increases scores on standardized math and science tests, improves memory, improves hypothesizing in science and more. Our award winning DVD is one of the best ways you can help you child reap the rewards of early language learning (while from their perpective, they are being entertained). So, don't wait! Purchase Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product of 2008. You can buy it at http://www.frankandpaco.com/, Ventura's Educational Supply, Dolo Publications, Carlex Inc., The Curious Mind Store, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
A little birdie told me that one of Houston's favorite and long-lived TV meteorologists will be reprising that role again...no, no, it's not me. But coming up soon, I'll let you know who it is and where you can catch the broadcasts.

Don't forget to vote in our poll about whether $6000 is an unreasonable amount for moving a damaged boat from a marina to a shipyard.

Have a great Thursday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Cooler Weather/Latest on Marco/Boat Considered Scrap

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
What a neat little squall line we had this morning. We drove Sarah to school this am as we didn't want to get caught. Also, warned my neighbor who usually walks. She was very grateful. My husband teased me because although it was raining when we got back to the house, it wasn't Armageddon (yet).

Most areas picked up about 3/4 inch but Bush Airport had 1.1 and Conroe to Huntsville had even more! The cold front itself moves through overnight. Temps in the morning will be in the 50s....brrrrrr!! Look for 50s again on Thursday morning. The weather will be pleasant with low humidity and highs in the 80s through Friday. Humidity and morning lows increase over the weekend through Tuesday. Next weak cold front will move through on Tuesday with another round of rain likely.

Tropical Storm Marco (with some creative estimating from The National Hurricane Center) increased to 65 mph winds. It made landfall at 10 am this morning along the southern Mexico coast and is now weakening inland.

Elsewhere in the tropics...nice and quiet.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
I began teaching 1st grade catechism at my church this afternoon. I have never taught 1st graders before, only middle-schoolers. Well, 1st graders are much harder because their attention span is about 5 minutes max. So, you had better keep it moving. There is a lot more advance planning needed. Fortunately, my co-teacher Kim Castillo, loves arts and crafts and works at a scrapbooking store. Thank goodness!!! We had a really good time, and I had fun trying to be creative.

So, I thought we should do the word for children -- los niños, pronounced lohs nee-nyos. This is generic for a room full of kids, but if you had all girls, you would say las niñas, pronounced lahs nee-nyahs. By the way, ñ, (called n-yah) is a distinct letter of the Spanish alphabet. If you look in a Spanish dictionary, you will find a section (albeit small) of words which begin with ñ.

One research study investigated how bilingualism affects cognitive development.
French-Italian bilingual children (aged 7-11)...[and]...a control group of monolingual Italian children... [were given]...a series of cognitive tests...It is concluded that bilingualism in early childhood exerts a positive effect on the formation of cognitive processes in children.

This is from Fardeau, O. (1993). Franco-Italian bilingualism in early childhood and cognitive development...Il Forneri, 7(2), 83-99. from Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts database.

So, stimulate cognitive development in the little ones you love. Purchase our DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1, a Dr. Toy as a Top 10 Educational Product of 2008. You can buy it at http://www.frankandpaco.com/, Ventura's Educational Supply, Dolo Publications, Carlex Inc., The Curious Mind Store, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
At the party we attended the other night, I had a chance to visit with the area's new Meteorologist In Charge, Gene Hafele. He is not "new" to the National Weather Service as he worked at the local office for many years, serving as Bill Read's right hand man. As you know, Bill Read was promoted to Director of The National Hurricane Center. I commended Gene on his hard work before, during and after the storm. He was very modest, saying that his job eased up and that he really feels sorry for the emergency managers and responders who are still working extremely hard...with still much work yet to be done. A friend of mine told me today that while Gene was working so hard, Gene's church sent a group to clean up his debris strewn yard, including a large tree which had fallen into the pool. Now you know how much Gene is loved and appreciated.

If you look to the right, you will see a picture of my brother-in-law's boat. I had captioned it...don't worry it's okay. Well, come to find out, it is not. My brother-in-law was informed that it had been towed to a shipyard and supposedly in the process, it was wrecked and made unsalvageable. He was told this by the insurance adjustor. And although my brother-in-law has insurance to pay off the rest of the note, he did not know it would cost about $6000 to have the boat moved to a shipyard. I am putting a poll to the right--Do you think that $6000 is what it should cost to move a 40 ft boat to a shipyard?

This weekend, I am heading to the National Weather Association meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. My friend, Meresa Fincher, who is from Louisville, helped me learn how to say Louisville. It is NOT Leweyville, it is Louil-ville. Now you know! Thanks Meresa!!! I plan to keep blogging while I'm there, although I'll have to be briefer. Lots of meeting to attend and fun to have you know!

The John C. Freeman Weather Museum is selling tickets to it's Feb. 2, 2009 Weather Heroes gala to be held at the Houston Zoo. This is Groundhog Day. The museum wants to expand so it can handle a larger volume of children (and larger tour groups). The museum does so much for educating the young folks of our community. You can find out more by going to http://wxresearch.org/. Remember to give me credit if you buy tickets...I'm on the board.

Be safe and be back soon.
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Marco/Cold Front/Ike Victims/Advice on Market Plummet

HURRICANES AND MORE
I am adding the following link to my list of links...thanks John (Book Hathorn) for this animation of Hurricane Ike!
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/projects/ike08/radar/IkeLong.gif

Tropical Storm Marco formed today in the southern Gulf...not a threat to us...will drift westward into Mexico. Thanks Frank Brody for the heads up!

Cold front will arrive in the morning along with some scattered showers and thunderstorms--40% chance. By the way, that 40% means that if you were to stand in one spot for that time period (say tomorrow morning), you have a 40% chance of being affected by that type of weather.

Sunshine returns Tuesday afternoon and it will be very pleasant (for a few days) and even in the 50s Thursday morning. Another Pacific cold front approaches over the weekend. Look for some showers and thunderstorms especially Sunday into Monday.

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY
Since I filed my sales tax report today, I will do--the taxes, los impuestos, pronounced lows eem-pweh-stows. It's a pain, but when you have a business, you have to do it. Hey, it least I had some los impuestos to report--always a sign of life!

Won't do the research part today as I have a pot of water about to boil on the stove. You know what they saw, a pot you don't watch boils way too fast!

But I just want to remind you that we are now less than 3 months from Christmas and you can beat the rush and buy a great gift for every youngster on your list by purchasing our DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1, a Dr. Toy as a Top 10 Educational Product of 2008.--it is less expensive right now at Best Buy and Barnes & Noble. Order through http://www.frankandpaco.com/, Ventura's Educational Supply, Dolo Publications, Carlex Inc., The Curious Mind Store, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
Here are some great articles from my field reporter, Peyton Cascarelli. She got these from the Galveston Daily News. There is even discussion about missing folks...thanks Peyton.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=186c0000610bb3a3
http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=d1dac7f5b4b842a5
http://www.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=8a2b2996d5a8581c

The market dropped below 10,000 today...1st time in 4 years. Before you go selling off everything, remember to buy low, sell high. My advice would be to buy right now. Wish I had some extra cash to do so. The last time the market dropped drastically (I believe 1999), we lost 1/3 of our wealth (on paper). But we recovered that and then some. Remember that you are in this for the long haul (at least most of you). So hang on!!! Now, if you need to sell at a loss, then now is the time to do it. You can get some benefit from that on your taxes. Of course, consult your tax professional before buying or selling.

I have a Masters in Business Adminstration (in addition to my degree in Meteorology). One of the things I learned was that over the long haul with only one exception of a 29 year run (several decades), history shows you are always going to make money on your retirement investments. So take heart everyone and don't sell!!! It is only on paper until you sell and make it real!!!

Be safe everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman