Travel Weather/2009 Hurricane Season Forecast/Brett Favre

HURRICANES AND WEATHER

The Weather Research Center has published its forecast for the 2009 hurricane season. They are calling for a 40% chance of a tropical storm or hurricane hitting Texas. The average chance is 51%. So, the odds are in our favor against getting hit next season. Remember that doesn't guarantee there won't be a strike and any strike can be very serious. The Louisiana/Mississippi/Alabama coast has the highest chance - 70%--average chance is 59%. Here is the link to the article:
http://www.wxresearch.org/press/2009huroutlook.pdf

Trouble spots tonight are around the Great Lakes states, especially Michigan, New York and much of New England and the northern Rockies/Intermountain Region. These will also be the worst areas for winter travel on Wednesday. Be sure to check with your airline especially for flights to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York City and Boston.

The cold spot will be the northern plains with highs in the single digits.

Houston will be very comfortable with lows in the 40s and highs near 60 on Wednesday. It will be a bit cooler on Thursday with more cloud cover. Also, look for some showers on Thursday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do new year or año nuevo, pronounced AHN-yo new-A-voh. It's almost time for the año nuevo.

We are doing a new poll about resolutions for the New Year. If you are resolving to make more money, you might want to know that research shows that people who know more than one language (on average) make more money. So, make your New Year's resolution one of helping your children or grandchildren or other loved ones, learn Spanish. A great way is with our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. So, order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Does anyone know why Brett Favre's name is pronounced Farv? I know they joked about it in the movie, Something About Mary. But they didn't answer it. I'm sorry but no matter how I look at that name, I just can't reconcile the way it is pronounced. Did someone in the media mispronounce it early on and then Brett just gave up and let it go? I wouldn't even be asking this question except there is a lot of football watching up here in Iowa. And we watched the game with Brett Favre yesterday.

Happy bowl game watching!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Travel Weather/Important Tire Safety Information/Poll Results/New Poll

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
A new mass of cold air is pushing southward. Highs on Tuesday will be in the low single digits over the northern plains. There will be snow over the northern Rockies and northern Intermountain region and some snow/rain/ice in Chicago on Tuesday.

Houston will enjoy another cool morning and mild afternoon. Next front arrives Thursday with storms.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Since most of us eat a lot over the holidays, let's do to eat or comer, pronounced coh-MARE.

Make your New Year's resolution one of helping your children or grandchildren or other loved ones, learn Spanish. A great way is with our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. So, order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Our latest poll (How do you think 2009 will compare to 2008?) is closed. 66% said they think it will be better and 33% said they think it will be worse...no one thought it would be the same.

Our new poll is about resolutions for the new year...note you can select more than one answer.

My friend Tom Ryan, formerly of the Texas Dept. of Public Safety, sent me a link to a very important safety story about tires (from ABC's 20/20). If you don't want to watch the whole 9 minutes, go to the last 3 and you will learn about a code on the tire which tells you when the tire was made. A British safety council says you should not sell a tire that is 6 or more years old because the tread can fail. Look for numbers at the end of all the other information printed on the tire (it might be on the inside). 3202 means the tire was made in the 32nd week of 2002. 239 means the tire was made int he 23rd week of of 1999 and so on. Thanks Tom! Here is the link:
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

One more news item from Dairy Queen--and I am not being paid for this. They have baby sundaes...you just have to ask for them...just like you can get a kid's cone. That's good to know if your resolution includes eating fewer calories and fat grams.

Have a terrific Tuesday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weather Change Many Will Like/Most Popular Dairy Queen Item

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
The weather will be calm for most of the country on Monday. The coldest spot will be the northern plains with highs in the teens. The weather will be mild and even warm across the southern plains and the southeast. Look for snow over the northern Rockies and Intermountain Region.

Houston will enjoy a gorgeous Monday with a cool morning and mild afternoon. Next front arrives Tuesday. There will be a few showers as early as Wednesday. Rain is most likely on Thursday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
One nice things about vacations is that you usually get to sleep more. So today's word is to sleep or dormir, pronounced door-MERE.

One of the most entertaining ways is through our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. winner of two prestigious educational awards. So, order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
I forgot to mention something else my niece Lindsay said about what she learned from working at Dairy Queen--the most popular item is Blizzards. I would have thought it would be chocolate dip cones. Now I'm wondering what the favorite Blizzard flavor is...I love the butterfinger type. I remember getting dilly bars as a child. There was no such thing as blizzards then.

Brrrr....at least the weather on Tuesday will be warmer for ice cream eating (at least for many locations in the south).

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Severe Storm Outbreak/Malts versus Milkshakes

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
A major outbreak of severe weather along and ahead of the cold front pushing into the Ohio Valley and Mississippi Valley. As I write this, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for western Tennessee and western Kentucky. There were 3 tornadoes reported (3 in Missouri and 1 in Illinois) and several hail reports and dozens of severe wind reports. 2 people were injured in a Texas fireworks stand that was blown over with them inside.

Sunday that line of storms will continue marching eastward although I don't think it will be as severe. Look for rain and thunder from the northeast to the southeastern states.

Meanwhile on Sunday, there will be cool temperatures but a moderation in the midwest. I know where I am in Iowa, the high should reach the low 40s. Today we were in the 20s all day, after some snow showers very early.

There will also be snow showers in the Intermountain Region including Boise, Idaho and Montana, and Utah. The coldest spots will be the northern plains with highs in the 20s. The warm spot will be Florida with highs in the 80s.

Houston will be much more cool and comfortable on Sunday with highs in the 50s. There could be a sprinkle or two. Then look for sunshine and pleasant weather Monday and Tuesday with lows in the 40s and highs in the 60s. Enjoy!!!

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The word is fire of fuego, pronounced FWAY-go. There is nothing nicer on a cold day than to sit by a nice warm fuego.

We had a sale of our English teaching video on Amazon!!! But, if you are reading this, you probably have English as your native language or primary language of use. And, I just know you want your young ones to learn Spanish while it is super easy for them to do so. One of the most entertaining ways is through our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. winner of two prestigious educational awards. So, order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Are one of those people who believe that malts are thickers than milkshakes? Well, I have it on good authority that they are about the same. My niece, Lindsay, is an experienced malt and shake maker, a retired Dairy Queen employee. She said that many customers order malts believing that the difference is that the malts are thicker. She wants everyone to know that the difference is simply that the malts have malt powder added. Now, I don't know how much they add, but I would suppose if you add enough, it could (theoretically) make the malt thicker. What do you think? I'm telling you, this is one of those things that could keep me awake at night.

OOhhh, thinking about shakes is making me cold. My in-laws have a wonderful fireplace and we had a rip-roaring warm, toasty fire today. It is sooooooooooooooo nice to set on the hearth and warm your back. Love it!

Stay warm (or cool depending on your preference).

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Bad Weather--Good for Me

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Threat of tornadoes early this Saturday morning across Kansas and Missouri. Looks for storms from the Ohio Valley into Texas on Saturday. It will be chilly with some snow in the midwest.
In Houston, another muggy day and then a cold front arrives by late afternoon Saturday. There will be some storms in the afternoon, possibly severe. Then, cooler weather Sunday through Wednesday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The word is birthday or cumpleaño, pronounced coom-pleh-ahn-YO. We went to my brother-in-law Dave's 50th cumpleaño celebration.

Here's a good new year's resolution--give your youngsters an edge through language learning. Order our Spanish language DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. winner of two prestigious educational awards. So, order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
We're in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Our plane was supposed to go through Chicago but because of ice, Southwest called off the stop there. So, we got to shave off that leg of the trip...nice for us but surely a disappointment for folks wanting to get to Chicago or wanting to leave Chicago to go to Omaha. It was a weird flight...only 10 passengers...we hung out with one of the flight attendants, just visiting and passing the time. I've never been on a flight with so few people. Kind of nice--we had all the crackers we could ever want. Ha! Ha!

Happy and safe travels everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Improving Travel Weather/Next Cold Front for Houston

HURRICANES AND MORE
Improved travel weather today around the country and it looks like Friday will be good too. Watch out Saturday as pre-frontal storms march across the midwest and southern plains. Figure to right shows the winter storm watches/warnings as I write this. Michigan has a snow advisory. Remember that the browns are for wind advisories/warnings.

Friday will be warm and balmy across the southern plains and the southeast. There will be a few thunderstorms possible from Texas over to Louisiana and northward into the Ohio Valley. Look for snow with some snow/rain mix around the Great Lakes and some snow over the Rockies. There will be some showers in Seattle and Portland, Oregon. Highs will be in the single digits (northern New England) and teens northern plains.

Houston will be muggy and there could be some fog overnight Thursday into Friday. Cold front arrives Saturday with some thunderstorms in advance. Then it will be lows in the 40s and highs in the 60s starting Sunday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The word is peace of paz, pronounced PAHZ. After all the excitement, Sarah is napping and I am filled with paz.

As you look ahead to the new year, what could be better than helping your young ones pick up a new language? Before the age of 9, their brains are geared for language learning and when they learn, they reap a multitude of benefits including improved cognitive development and memory. Our Spanish language DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco is the recipient of two prestigious educational awards. So, order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
A very Merry Christmas--I hope that you are enjoying the day surrounded by love.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Best Way to Track Santa/Changes in Travel and Local Weather

HURRICANES AND WEATHER

Well, before I do anything else, let's get down to the important business of tracking Santa--here is the link you need to Norad--don't be fooled by imitations. It's really neat because they offer the tracking information in several languages.

http://www.noradsanta.org/

Happy Santa tracking! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Well, back to weather. There are some improvements--a cold front is marching into the eastern U.S. this Christmas Eve afternoon. And although there will be thunderstorms (and there is has already been a high wind report (causing damage) in McCreary, Kentucky--the line is moving fast enough that the storms should be over fairly quickly. It is actually a fairly mild today ahead of the front but it will be noticeably colder after the front passes.

One good thing is that aside from any ice that will freeze from leftover puddles, icing won't be a widespread problem for major population centers. So places like Boston and New York City should be okay for travel on Christmas Day (again watch for patches of ice early). The main trouble spots will be along the Great Lakes and in northern New England. Out west...still lots of winter weather advisories in place--mainly for the higher elevations.

Christmas Day, Thursday, will be in the teens for the northern plains--in the 30s and 40s across the northeast, 20s and 30s northwest, 50s southwest, 20s, 30s and 40s midwest, and 50s, 60s, 70s south and southeast. The wettest areas will be out west and in the Carolinas.

In Houston, we do have a weak cold front approaching. The bad news is that it really is weak. Looks like it will stall close to the coast and then head back north before most of us can even notice a dip in temperatures and humidity. So, we'll start the day in the upper 50s and end up in the 70s with the muggies returning by afternoon. The low clouds and fog will hang around. Stronger cold front arrives (with rain) on Saturday, bringing lows back down to the 40s and highs back down to the 60s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The word is anticipation or expectativa, pronounced x-spect-tah-TEE-vah. I can tell you firsthand from dealing with Sarah that expectativa is at an all time high the day before Christmas.

A special thank you to all of you for supporting our endeavor--Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. You believed in us, some of you participated in our shoots and many of you have spread the word about our award winning product. Please continue to tell your friends to go to www.frankandpaco.com and www.frankypaco.com. We are looking forward to many new developments with this line in 2009.

AND MORE
Received 2 packages from the U.S. Postal Service. They rang the doorbell and Sarah and I opened the door and caught the attention of the postal clerk err she drove out of sight. We shouted Thank You and Merry Christmas and she shouted Merry Christmas right back. And to all a good night!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman