Severe Storm Threat/Cooler Weather Almost Here!

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Last advisory for Henri has been issued. It is just a remnant low with no forecast for redevelopment. Just east of the Lesser Antilles, there is less than a 30% chance for a new area of disturbed weather to develop.

In the eastern Pacific, there is one area with less than a 30% chance of developing.

Severe weather is marching across the central US (Including west Texas) as I write this post late this Thursday evening. There have been several reports of hail and high winds. And there are tornado and severe storm watches in effect. This is along and ahead of a cold front which will finally bring an end to the heat and humidity the south has been enduring. Along and ahead of the cold front on Friday, there will be numerous severe storms. Although tornadoes can not be ruled out, the biggest threat is high winds. A very chilly day for the northern Rockies and northern plains on Friday with highs only in the 20s and 30s. 40s and 50s for much of the Midwest. Warm and sultry across the south (ahead of the front) and southeast. Mild along the west coast.

Houston, Friday is your last morning to wake up all sweaty. Cold front moves through mid-afternoon. Look for storms as early as late morning with the most intense weather around mid-afternoon. For the weekend, cooler weather with some scattered showers (lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s with low humidity...yeah!!!).

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do cat or gato, pronounced GAH-toe. If you're going to wear scrubs, might as well have some with gatos all over them. See the AND MORE section for more.

Well, I've been making the big push this week...burning the candle at all ends...is there a wick on the side of that candle? Yep!!! And Yippee!!! Volume 2 is now available through our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. Order your copy today...it makes a great birthday or holiday gift. Volume 2 has three chapters (and about 50 words/phrases) My Day, My Body, My Feelings.

AND MORE
Thought you might get a kick out of Megan's scrubs...cats all over...quite appropriate given she is "The Cat Lady" and she works at a cat hospital. Too cute!

Have a safe Friday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Tropical Storm Henri/An End to Unbearable Heat/Babies/Spelling Help

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical storm Henri formed late today a few hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles. It is forecast to move northwest while weakening...should not be a problem for any US land area. By the way, that is one of the French type names from the set for this part of the world (name for this set are English, Spanish or French in origin). It is pronounced on-REE.

All is quiet in the tropical Pacific.

Chilly on Wednesday across the northern Rockies and plains with highs in the 30s and 40s. Very warm and sultry across the south and southeast with highs in the 80s and 90s and extremely high dewpoints (i.e. humidity). Elsewhere, highs will be in the 50s, 60s and 70s. There will be some thunderstorms from the southwest to the northeast.

A very hot day in the Houston area--official high at Bush Airport 93 (one degree shy of the record) and the high at Hobby Airport 92 (tieing the record of 92 set in 2005). It wouldn't be so bad except the humidity is exceptionally high (dewpoints of 79...yikes!!!). So it is very stressful heat. But hang on...cold front arrives 2nd half of Friday and brings in cooler weather for the weekend. In the meantime, be prepared to sweat and look for thunderstorms especially Wed. even more so on Friday as the front approaches.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do arrival or llegada, pronounced yay-GAH-dah. We are celebrating the llegada of our 2nd volume of the award winning series Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco.

Yep!!! And Yippee!!! Volume 2 is now available through our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. Order your copy today...it makes a great birthday or holiday gift. Volume 2 has three chapters (and about 50 words/phrases) My Day, My Body, My Feelings.

AND MORE
That's my baby sister Barb's new baby boy. Sorry the picture is so dark. This was sent to me via phone messaging. I tried to lighten it up, but could only do so much because it was low resolution. Anyway, Tyler Richard joined us on Monday, October 5th, 9.5 lbs and 21.5 in. long. This is my sister Barb and husband Jeff's 3rd child. The first is Jared, age 4 and the second is Riley (a girl), age 21 months. They are all red heads. Congratulations Barb and Jeff. By the way, the middle name Richard is in honor of my father whose name was John Richard and I have a brother named Richard. Too cool Barb!

We saw Ned and Danielle's twins recently. Michael and Alexander (as you can see) are getting big! And big brother Teddy is having a ball with them. Too cute!!!

Here's a tip for all of you struggling with teaching your kids spelling words or anything else. Use some of those tub crayons (I get them at Target) and write the words on the tub as soon as you get them. By the end of the week, they will have looked at them so much, they'll know them. Sarah is struggling with her addition facts and I just got the lightbulb...ding...to put up her math equations as well. I think this is going to work!!!

May you solve all your problems as brilliantly as me! Ha!

Happy Wednesday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Tropical Storm Grace/Not Feeling Like October/Respect Life

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Storm Grace formed this evening in the northeastern Atlantic. Already a vigorous system when it attained tropical characteristics, it made its debut as a tropical storm with 65 mph winds. Forecast is for it to move north-northeast and weaken. There is also a disturbed area with less than a 30% chance for developing in the central Atlantic.

All is quiet in the tropical Pacific.

Brrrr!!! It is going to be a chilly Monday with some parts of the northern Rockies getting snow and with highs only in the 30s. Highs will be in the 40s across the northern plains. There are numerous winter weather advisories and warnings across the Rockies. Warm and sultry for the southeast and southern plains with highs in the 80s and 90s. Very pleasant elsewhere with highs in the 50s to 70s.

In the Houston area, sitting in church today, heard the rumbling of thunder as the cold front backed up and over us as a warm front. Had some more decent rainfalls. Now, it is warm and muggy again and brace yourselves, it is going to get even more humid and this should last all week. Some rain is possible each day but the next fireworks arrive Friday as the next front moves in. Then upper system shifts so that we have a northwest flow aloft on Sunday and that means some dry, pleasant weather a week from Monday. But, be ready to sweat this week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do wet or mojado, pronounced mow-HA-doe. It sure was mojado early today.

Volume 2 is in the house, literally! Our web site is being updated so that it can be purchased there. I will let you know when that is. I have uploaded it to Amazon and it should start showing up in about a week. I will monitor and let you know about that. And I will be getting it out to our vendors. In the meantime, you can order our award winning Volume 1 DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco from www.frankandpaco.com/. I will also be getting Volume 2 to the following vendors who sell Volume 1-- http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Every year around this time...October 2nd to be exact I would remember the birthday of my old buddy Robert Smith. This was the man who helped me get started as an on air TV meteorologist. He changed the course of my life--helping me fulfill a lifelong career dream in a place where I met my life partner--Gordy. A year ago in April, Robert was working his property, putting in some plumbing lines using a backhoe. His son asked him to wait a week as his wife had just had a baby, and he wanted to help him do it safely. But Robert was determined to get the work done. There was an accident and the backhoe fell on him. Tragically, as a result of his internal injuries, he died. This man not only helped me...he helped dozens of people launch their careers and follow their dreams. He was so full of life. Robert would have turned 61 this year. My prayers are with his family, including 6 surviving children and a loving wife.

Today was Respect Life Sunday. I have said this before and I will say it again...I do not agree with abortion. I believe that life begins at conception and that every life is sacred. When I look at Sarah and think that if people were doing prenatal genetic testing for her syndrome, some people would choose to abort. I tell you I can not imagine my life without her. Her zest for life is extraordinary and she is one of the most amazing, funny and loving people I have ever known. Certainly, my life would not be the same without her and yet there are people on this earth who would choose never to have someone like her. Yes. We have had to endure hardships. Yes. It has been unbearably difficult at times. And Yes. It has been a life of joy beyond comprehension.

Don't forget to hug the ones you love.
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

More Quick Weather Changes/Allergy Hotline/New Poll

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
There is one little area in the western Atlantic (with less than a 30% chance for developing). In the Pacific, there is Tropical Storm Olaf and it is forecast to move eastward and over the Baja Peninsula form the end of the weekend. It is also forecast to weaken.

Today, cold front is marching across the US. Highs will be in the 50s across much of the northern states. There will be 70s, 80s and 90s across the south with some thunderstorms there and along the eastern seaboard.

Houston will be pleasant today...prefrontal trough brought a vigorous line of thunderstorms through the area between 4 and 7 am. Some nice soaking rains with totals of 1 to 2 inches for much of the area and some 3+ totals around Friendswood...this information courtesy of the Harris County Office of Emergency Management rain gauge network. Cold front was hot on its heels and it is very pleasant outside. Highs will be in the upper 70s today with low humidity. I've got the windows open. Ooohhh Ahhhh. Quick change on Saturday as the cold front backs up, bringing thunderstorms 2nd half of Saturday and into early Sunday. Next cold front arrives middle of the coming week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do allergy or alergia, pronounced a-lur-HEE-ah. Do you have an alergia...find out how to check air-borne allergy levels in th AND MORE section.

BIG NEWS! Volume 2 should arrive today!!! We will updating our web site so that you can order it from there. I will also upload to Amazon but it won't be available for about a week. You can our Volume 2 and our our award winning Volume 1 DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco from www.frankandpaco.com/. I will also be getting Volume 2 to the following vendors who sell Volume 1-- http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Before our lovely wind shift and rain, Thursday was not a good day for allergy sufferers. I was a mess. I haven't had trouble with ragweed before (it is ragweed season now). So, I called the City of Houston Health Department allergy hotline 713-247-5846. Ragweed was extremely heavy (so who knows...they say after 7 years, you become sensitized and maybe I have done just that). But tree pollen was at heavy levels (with it being elm pollen). Now, in the spring, I am severely allergy to tree pollen (oak). So, I get a shot of kenalog and depamedrol last lasts 3 months. Also, mold spores and grass pollen were at medium levels.

The other day I had to go up the Katy Freeway to get to downtown. It was the first time, I had seen the Katy Tollroad. I love this idea...you can go on it if you are willing to pay. The lane on the right is for people who pay and the lane on the left is the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane. Police were on sight monitoring who wasn't complying. I wish they had this option on 59.

My poll about yard work is closed. 55% mow their own yard. 66% prune. 66% fertilize. 66% put in flower gardens. 33% put in vegetable gardens. 22% like to pull weeds. 22% don't ever do yard work. Thanks to all who participated.

The new poll has to do with air-borne allergens. Which ones are you allergic to. Or are you one of the lucky ones (like my husband Gordy) who doesn't suffer from allergy. You know what makes him sneeze is when he eats peppermints. Too funny. More than one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for participating.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Dry and Pleasant But Another Change Soon/El Nino Impact on Winter

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic is quiet. There is one area with between a 30 and 50% chance of developing in the eastern Pacific.

Jet Stream is on the move this week. Another cold front will sweep through the plains and eastern US on Thursday and Friday bringing rain and even some severe weather. On Wednesday, look for some severe storms over the central plains. Highs will be in the 50s and 60s across the Pacific Northwest, Rockies and much of the northeast. First Winter Storm Warning of the season is in effect for the mountains near Salt Lake City (elevations above 8,000 feet). Across the south, highs will be in the 80s. There will be some 90s across the desert southwest.

Houston will be mild with lows in the 60s and highs in the 80s. Rain returns Thursday afternoon and there could be some severe storms especially early Friday. More rain is possible on Sunday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do cat or gato, pronounced gah-TOH. Taking care of gatos can make your feet hurt. See related story in the And More section.

There are no cats but there is one dog named Max in our award winning Volume 1 DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Volume 2 should arrive this week. Order today from www.frankandpaco.com/, http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
New figure at right shows El Nino and La Nina winter weather patterns. The latest report from the Climate Prediction Center indicates that sea surface temperatures (eastern Pacific) are running 1 degree above normal. And they are forecasting that the El Nino pattern will strengthen and last through the winter. For the upcoming winter, this likely will mean that much of the south will be wet and on the cool side. For the Ohio Valley it likely means dry weather. From Alaska through western and most of southern Canada as well as the northern one or two tiers of states (through the Great Lakes) will be warmer than usual.

My good friend Mollie gave me a tip that kids eat for $2.50 on Sunday evenings at the SouperSalad in Sugar Land (Town Center area). I sent SouperSalad an email requesting more information (like is this deal for every Souper Salad). So, I will let you know.

Megan is loving life at the cat hospital. She is definitely in her element taking care of those cats. But, her feet are tired...she had foot surgery in May. If anyone has any suggestions for her, please let me know.

I briefly mentioned that Sarah turned 8 on Sunday. Well, let me tell you what that rascal did this time. I had wrapped her gifts and put them in our master closet. I figured surely Gordy or I will hear if she tried to get into them. As I have mentioned before, she is often up well before the crack of dawn. Well, that little stinker (after having already kicked Gordy out of the bed around 3 am) woke up around 4:30 and at some point got into those gifts. When I woke up around 7 (and by the way, she had tried to get me up a few times between 4:30 and 7), she said, "I'm sorry I opened all of my presents". I couldn't believe me eyes. She had somehow (without me waking up) dragged all of the presents into the living room and opened them. I did not hear a thing. I had no inkling of what she was doing. There was paper and cardboard everywhere. What was I to do...she was the birthday girl. Oh well!

We had a birthday greeting on the marquee in front of Sarah's school. On Monday evening, I decided to drive over and get a snapshot. Well, I was just in the nick of time. The sign changing volunteer was literally reaching to start pulling the letters down. And I cried, "stop, stop...let me take a picture before you do that". So, she laughed and backed up so I could do just that. Now, that was cutting it close. I guess greetings demand is very high and they only leave up the messages for about 2 days. I had just noticed it that morning. Almost missed it completely!!!

Well, don't miss out on the nice weather on Wednesday!
Enjoy!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Cold front almost here/How much milk in your cereal?

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Nice and quiet in the tropics! Yay!!!

A front it moving across the central US and producing some severe weather in Illinois this evening as I write this post. On Monday, there will be thunderstorms over south Texas and the southeast as well as the Great Lakes states, the northeast and the Eastern seaboard. Highs will be in the 40s and 50s over the Great Lakes states. Lots of 80s and 90s across the southeast and south Texas. 100+ in the desert southwest. 70s and 80s along the west coast. 80s and 90s Intermountain Region. 60s northern plains. 60s and 70s Midwest, central plains and north Texas.

Houston, there could be an isolated storm. It will be a warm day initially. Then a cold front moves through in the early afternoon. This will be usher in some lower humidity and morning temperatures will be in the 60s for a couple days starting Tuesday. Next cold front arrives Friday with thunderstorms. Should be a pleasantly mild weekend coming up.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do milk or leche, pronounced leh-CHAY. How much leche do you like with your cereal. See AND MORE for a discussion.

Get a jump on holiday shopping...order our award winning Volume 1 DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. And Volume 2 should arrive this week. Order you copy from www.frankandpaco.com/, http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Well, I've been meaning to bring this up for a while and now, I just can't wait anymore. It's the cereal thing...you know--the amount of milk. I finally got it through my head that my husband just doesn't like a lot of milk in the cereal. You can definitely see the cereal in his bowl. Some of it is longing to be wet. Now I on the other hand...like to drown it. I want there to be milk left over and then I like to drink it all up. Now, this is not a toilet paper over/under thing, but I think this could be a pattern found in most marriages. Therapists say that we subconciously look for a mate who rounds us out. And even though these differences often drive us crazy, it is precisely those differences that our subconcious knows we need to make it through this world in the most optimal fashion. I'll bet if you checked with your spouse, you would find that they like the amount of milk in the cereal to be opposite the level you like. Let me know...I think this might be book material.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a sweet little angel (Courtney) with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She had been a special guest at The Wiggles when we got to meet them. Courtney's mother and grandmother are valiantly fighting to get the funds they need for her care. As part of that effort, Courtney recently got to meet Elvis. For more, see this article:
http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/09/27/pasadena_citizen/news/092709_houston_elvis.txt

Sarah turned 8 this weekend. I thank God that she is so healthy and has such a zest for life. We enjoyed looking at pictures of her as a very tiny baby. She was 4 lb 15 oz at birth. Now, she is a 70 lb bruiser! Wow! I can barely move her much less pick her up any more. Happy Birthday Sarah!!!

Just heard back from Randy Beall, close friend and president of Parents and Researchers Interested in Smith-Magenis Syndrome (PRISMS). The web site is www.prisms.org. This is the syndrome that Sarah has. He said 300 families attended the international conference and there are only 650 known cases in the world. When we first got Sarah diagnosed, we were told that the incidence rate is 1 in 25,000. Now, the researchers announced they think it is 1 in 15,000. The first would have been 250,000 people in the world...now the number is more like 400,000. Obviously, it is way underdiagnosed (some because of mis-diagnosis).

Congratulations and best wishes to Megan!!! She got her first job at a place that cares for cats. She starts tomorrow!!! When she volunteered at CAP, they called her The Cat Lady, because she was so good with cats. Yep...they are getting a good one!

Have a great week everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Warming Up/Next Front/New Poll/Garden Pests/Eating More Candy

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
One new area has popped up in the eastern Atlantic, but the chance for development is less than 30% (according to the NHC). In the eastern Pacific, there is tropical depression Nora and another area with less than a 30% chance for developing.

Upper low will sit over central US one more day and then lift out to the northeast over the weekend. This will swing a weak front through Texas, slightly increasing rain chances on Saturday. Hot spot on Friday will be Phoenix with a high near 100. There will be some 90s in Florida and over the western (non-coastal) US. Highs will be in the 60s around Denver and into the Midwest. Elsewhere, highs will be in the 70s and 80s.

Houston will have some showers again on Friday. Thursday, most areas averaged about 1/3 to 1/2 of an inch. Saturday, there could be a couple thunderstorms. A weak front will move through Texas, but I don't think it will cool Houston off. In fact, Friday's highs will be in the low to middle 80s and then warmer over the weekend. Next front moves through end of the coming week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do garden or jardín, pronounced har-DEEN. Do you have a jardín? Answer our new poll.

We have been giving scores of our ESL DVD to various churches in the Houston area and even in Irving, Texas. It is helping to get the buzz going. In the meantime, for all of us whose primary language is English (and want to learn Spanish), there is our award winning Volume 1 DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. It makes a wonderful birthday or Christmas/holiday gift for the youngsters. And, Volume 2 should be here within days. You can order the your copy from www.frankandpaco.com/, http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Our poll about favorite high temperature is closed. The high in Houston today was in the mid-70s, it was probably widely appreciated because 63% of our respondents said highs in the 70s are their favorite. 27% said they like highs in the 80s. 9% said they like highs int he 90s. No one said they liked higher or lowers than those numbers. Thanks to all who participated.

Now that the weather is cooling down, I thought it would be nice to see how you all feel about doing yard work. You can pick more than one type of yard work that you enjoy (or you can say that you don't do any yard work). Thanks in advance for participating.

Okay, my mother, with her eagle sharp gardening eye, noticed that I had these little white things on my sago palm. She took the liberty of asking about it at her favorite nursery. They said it was probably thrips and I needed to apply some all season horticultural oil using a sprayer. So, I picked some up and applied it. I'll let you know if it works. I will tell you that I saw a neighbor's yard with these little white things all over their sagos. Another friend told me that something wiped out all of their hibiscus plants (guess I'd better go check on mine). And, the Houston Chronicle ran an article in the past week that there are 4 pests attacking area plants (especially ornamentals). So, check out those plants everyone.

At the grocery store today, Patrice told me that all of sudden they are noticing that people are buying more candy. She speculated that maybe its a way of handling stress. I think people are looking ahead to Halloween and practicing their candy eating techniques. She also said that sales of beauty products have increased. She said that sales really dropped off over the summer. Now, women are telling her, you know what, I'm just going to go ahead and get what I want. I can tell you that I recently bought two new nail polish colors. But, that was because I didn't think my hot pink polish was very fall like. Who knows? Interesting observations there. Any thoughts?

Well, don't each too much candy.

Happy weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman