Weekend Weather Wrapup/Holiday Shopping Progress

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.

A few travel trouble spots on Saturday...some scattered thunderstorms for coastal southern California and parts of New Mexico and Arizona. Temperature wise, we're looking at 40s and a few 30s (extreme north and higher elevations) for the northwest, Rockies, Great Lakes, northeast and northern plains. Elsewhere highs will be in the 50s to 70s.

On Sunday, there will be some thunderstorms and rain from Texas all the way into the Great Lakes. There might even be some rain/snow mix around the Great Lakes. From the Great Lakes west and south in the desert southwest, highs will generally be in the 30s and 40s. The southeast and coastal California will be in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Houston will be cool early Saturday with increasing humity and some clouds...highs in low 70s. Sunday will be milder with lows in the 60s and highs in the mid to upper 70s and thunderstorms possible later in the day. Look for it to be cool Monday through Wednesday with some rain Monday and Tuesday as a closed low over the southwest US lifts northeastward and produces rain.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do championship or campeonato, pronounced cahmp-pay-oh-NAH-toe. My Aggies didn't win, but I know someone who just won a state campeonato. See the AND MORE section for details.

Judging by the results of our poll on shopping progress at this point, many of you have a long way to go. Let me make your life easier. Your friends and family will thank you win you get them the Volumes 1 and/or 2 DVDs of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. By the way, big news!!! Megan found one of our DVDs on the shelf of Barnes and Noble store on the west side. You can also order these educational and entertaining DVDS through http://www.frankandpaco.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.ebay.com/, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/, and http://www.bestbuy.com/.

AND MORE
And this one comes to you from the department of "I threw my brain out the window"...driving westbound on Highway 290 (outside Houston) on Thursday afternoon, I become concerned and perplexed as the traffic almost comes to a halt. I decide to get to into the left lane which is moving a bit and I can't help but notice all the Aggie stickers and flags etc. on the cars. And I think, well this is the way you go if you are heading to A & M. But then I start noticing Longhorn stickers etc. and then I realize just where I am...very close to the turnoff to Highway 6 and what is happening in College Station in just a couple hours--why the big Aggie/Longhorn game. And I did get to watch it, once I got to my sister's in Austin. Sorry about how it turned out Aggies. After staying the night and visiting with family all day, Sarah and I headed back home..arriving just a little while ago.

Speaking of football on a more happy note...Congratulations to the St. Albert's football team of Council Bluffs, IA for winning the state football championship. Don't even ask me what division. I have no idea. But, I do know they have a great team, made even better because my nephew Nick is on the team.

Well, did you go shopping today? As I write this post, only a little time left to answer the poll about how much shopping you completed by 10 pm today.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone and safe travel home!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Thanksgiving Weekend Travel Weather/Favorite Thanksgiving Food

HURRICANES AND WEATHER

Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.


Excellent travel weather on Wednesday. Only potential trouble shots are some scattered storms in central and southern Florida, some rain and possible snow showers in the upper Midwest/western Great Lakes and some showers in the Pacific Northwest. Highs across the northern 2/3rds of states will generally be in the 40s and 50s with 60s and 70s in the south (80 for Florida). Thanksgiving Day looks even better with a few rain showers Chicago and rain/snow showers Great Lakes and some showers Pacific Northwest and extreme southern Florida. For return travel on Sunday, some trouble east Texas into Arkansas with some thunderstorms.




SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Let's do gratitude or gratitud, pronounced grah-tee-TOOD. This is a time of gratitud for all of our many blessings.

Make you holiday shopping easy! Get that perfect educational and entertaining gift for the young ones in your life. Order Volumes 1 and/or 2 DVDs of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco from www.frankandpaco.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.bestbuy.com, www.ebay.com. Note: some Barnes and Noble stores are now carrying Volume 1.

AND MORE

My poll on favorite Thanksgiving food is closed. Stuffing was the big winner with 44% of the vote. Turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and other dish each got 11%. No one picked cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, broccoli casserole, other casserole, rolls, cherry pie, pecan pie, or other pie of dessert as their favorite. Would whoever picked other dish please give me a comment and tell me what that favorite dish is? If you want to do it privately, you can email cecilia_sinclair@yahoo.com. Let me know if I can tell everyone else what it is. I won't reveal your name. Thanks to all who participated in this poll.



Watching all the ads for Friday sales, the award for earliest opening goes to Toys R Us. They are starting their sale at midnight (the start of Friday). Yikes! Those poor workers. Kohl's and JcPenney are starting at 4 am. Walmart is starting at 5 am.



Well speaking of holiday sales, our new poll has to do with how much holiday shopping you expect to complete by 10 pm on Friday. Only one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for participating.



I am so very grateful for the many blessings in my life. This Thanksgiving, I am reflecting more than ever on these things. Maybe it has to do with learning life's lessons. I am so grateful that God is in my life...even with all the questions I have. Teaching CCE has reinvigorated my faith. I am grateful for the generous people I meet every day...the ones who are outwardly focused, trying to make life better for others. I am grateful that I see these efforts more than I used to and that I am less cynical. I am grateful for my husband who puts up with me and my family. He is an amazing man, truly the salt of the earth and someone who understands me surprisingly well. I am grateful to be a mother to two beautiful daughters who bring me joy in ways I never imagined possible. I am grateful that we are all healthy and that when our health does suffer, we have access to the best medical care. I am grateful for my parents (that includes you Gerry) and my in-laws and my extended family. I am grateful that my parents sacrificed so much to show me the right way to live and to make sure that I had all the tools I needed. I am grateful for work that is fun and interesting. Let us never forget those who don't have so many of the things I just listed.



And of course, I am grateful that you are reading my blog. I do have a much longer list, but I think you need to get on with your own Thanksgiving celebrations. Enjoy!!!



Be safe everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair

Wonder Weather Woman

Thanksgiving Weather/New Moon/Weather Outlook December-February

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
The official end of hurricane season is November 30th, but I went ahead and took off the Atlantic and Pacific figures. If something pops up, I will put them back on. But for now, all is quiet.

Trough will dip south over the western US on Monday and that will cause some thunderstorms to develop over the eastern part of the central plains into the western midwest. There will also be a few storms in Florida. Highs will generally be in the 40s and 50s across the northern 2/3 of the country with 60s and 70s across the southern 1/3.

For Houston, Dense Fog Advisory is in effect until 9 am Monday. It will be a mild day after a cool morning. Then on Tuesday, look for some showers and thunderstorms in the morning as the next cold front arrives. Lows will be in the 40s for several days with highs in the 70s....very nice even into the long holiday weekend. Enjoy!!!

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do moon or luna, pronounced LOO-nah. Have you seen new luna (I mean the movie).

Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco is now available in 2 volumes...just in time for the holidays. Order the award winning Volume 1 DVD (home/eating/drinking/play) or the newly released Voluem 2 DVD (my day/my body/my feelings) from www.frankypaco.com, www.amazon.com, www.ebay.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.bestbuy.com.

AND MORE
Climate Prediction Center has released its 3 month outlook for temperature and precipitation for the months December, January and February. (see figures at right). After such a chilly summer, I'm sure many folks in the Midwest will be pleased to see that above normal temperatures are expected. Alaska should also be above normal. But, for most of us in Texas, we can expect below normal temperatures. Rain chances are above normal in south Texas, especially for those areas still suffering the most from drought. All of the southern states are expecting above normal precipitation chances.

The John C. Freeman Weather Museum had a special end of hurricane season clean out your pantry recognition day on Friday. Some of the attendees included myself and Gene Norman of Channel 11 KHOU in Houston. Jill Hasling, museum director, gave a presentation on the Weather Research Center's outlooks for the next several hurricane seasons. Texas has one of the lowest chances of getting hit in 2010 but one of the highest in 2011. For more on the Weather Museum and The Weather Research Center, go to www.wxresearch.org and don't forget that the Groundhog Day Gala is coming up on February. Seats are still available. Speaking of the gala, I had the honor of notifying Dr. Steve Lyons of the Weather Channel that he will be honored as a weather hero at this year's gala. So, you can see...there are going to be some big names there. Get your seats now!!!

On Thursday, Megan went to Tyler and saw the midnight showing of New Moon (2nd installment in the Twilight Series). She has some good friends up there and they all headed to the theater at 9 pm (having purchased their tickets the day before). She said they were showing the movie in every theater in the place. I thought that was amazing until I talked to my nephew Taylor's girlfriend Heather. They both live in College Station. She said they had the same thing there (and she was one of the ones who went to a midnight showing), but then when they came out, there were throngs of people there to see a 3 am showing. Yes folks! This movie and series is very popular with the young people.

Have a great week everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Flash Flood Watch and Coastal Flood Warning

Hello everyone -
I am deviating from my usual format because of the weather concerns for southeast TX for the end of this week.

Low pressure off the Texas coast and an upper storm system moving in from the west are going to cause heavy rain to fall in southeast Texas on Friday, including in and around the Houston area. The found out about the following two advisories from the National Weather Service.

A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING is in effect because of strong onshore winds that cause tides to run up to 2 feet above normal. According to the National Weather Service, worst flooding should occur late Friday. Highway 87 and other coastal flood prone areas are at risk.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH is in effect Friday for southeast Texas. And average of 2 to 4 inches of rain could fall across the area with isolated totals of 5 to 7 inches.

Looking at the latest data, heavy rain could start by daybreak Friday and occur into late Friday evening. Please be extra cautious and remember the rule of thumb of "Turn Around Don't Drown" if you encounter a flooded roadway either in a vehicle or on foot.

I'll get back to my usual format in my next post.

Have a safe weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

More Wet Weather Coming/Drought Update/Favorite Thanksgiving Food

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
All is quiet in the tropical Atlantic and Pacific.

Upper low is lifting eastward from the central US to the Ohio Valley. This means that on Wednesday, there will be rain from the Ohio Valley to the east coast Carolinas. Also, look for some showers in the Pacific Northwest. Chilly for much of the country with highs only in the 40s for the northern Rockies and much of the midwest and northern New England. 70s across the southern states except 80s in Florida. Elsewhere highs will be in the 50s and 60s.

Houston is in line for another sunny, pleasant day. Tuesday morning was the chilliest so far this fall with lows of 39 in Sugar Land, Tomball, and Conroe...even colder in Angleton and Huntsville. There will be some more 30s early Wednesday with highs near 70. Slightly warmer and more humid on Thursday with rain Friday into Saturday. We'll have to keep an eye on the Trinity River...still has Flood Warnings and particularly troublesome are the problem areas near Liberty and Moss Bluff. This rain will be a combination of low pressure (not tropical) in the western Gulf and approaching upper trough. Could get 1 to 2 inches with some higher totals possible...especially coastal and southern counties. A cool and mostly cloudy Saturday with some sunshine Sunday. More rain returns on Tuesday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do food or comida, pronounced coh-MEE-dah. What is your favorite Thanksgiving comida? Voice your opinion in my new poll.

Food is a fascination for children and that is why in our award winning Volume 1 DVD of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, we made sure to include a chapter about eating and drinking. There are also terms for family and home and play. We also recently released Volume 2 and that covers a child's day, body, and feelings. Order these 2 DVDs for Christmas gifts...they'll be entertained and educated. You can get them from www.frankandpaco.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com (and in some Barnes and Noble stores), www.bestbuy.com and www.ebay.com.

AND MORE
My poll on favorite Sesame Street Characters is closed. Only one answer was allowed. Cookie Monster was the hands down favorite with 44% of the vote. Grover, Oscar, Big Bird, Snuffleupagus, and Ernie each came in with 11% of the vote. No one voted for Elmo, Bert, The Count or other. Only one vote was allowed. Thanks for participating.

By the way, I decided that Ernie is my favorite...love the way he gives Bert a hard time. But I give runner-up to Grover who was pushed aside when Elmo came along. Love that sophisticated humor with good ole Grover. And hey, does anyone remember Kermit being on Sesame Street? I do! What happened to poor Kermit?

Well, on to the next poll. This one is about your favorite Thanksgiving food...what is it? I hope I included your favorite on the list...if not, there are a couple options for other. Only one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for participating.

The latest Drought report is good for most of Texas. Notice that while the Coastal Bend still has exceptional drought, the Drought Outlook calls for improvement into January of the new year. So, we shall see. Houston has definitely gotten out of drought mode. Now, if we can just avoid swinging the pendulum too far the other way.

Well, in the interim, enjoy Wednesday's beautiful weather!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weather This Week/2012 The Movie/Food Drive/Global Warming Talk

HURRICANES AND WEATHER

Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.



Cutoff low spinning over central US is bringing wintry weather to the nation's mid-section. There are winter storm warnings and advisories in effect this evening for portions Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa.



On Monday, highs will be in the 30s and 40s for the northwest, central and northern plains, parts of the midwest and northeast. Ahead of the front, highs will be in the 50s to 70s. California will be in the 50s and 60s. There will be some storms from Texas to Mississippi. Look for some cold rain in the northwest and Missouri.



Houston, there will be some showers and thunderstorms in the morning. Then it will be dry and pleasant for a few days....lows in the 40s and highs in the low 70s. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings will be in the low 40s in spots...coolest so far this fall. Another round of showers and thunderstorms next Sunday.



SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Let's do cookie or galleta, pronounced gah-YEH-tah. The galleta is his favorite treat. Find out who in the AND MORE section.


Make your Christmas gift buying easy and take care of it from the comfort of your home by purchasing our affordable, award winning Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco DVDs. You can order Volumes 1 or 2 from our web site http://www.frankandpaco.com, or from www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, www.barnesandnoble.com.




AND MORE

Only one more day to answer my poll...who is your favorite Sesame Street character...right now Cookie Monster has a strong lead.



Megan and I went to see 2012. Even one of our priests, Fr. Reggie, said he wanted to see it...but he was careful to point out it was because he heard the special effects were so amazing. And, they were!!! It was a very intense and entertaining and at times a thought provoking movie...but for me it was not because of the Mayan prophecy. Plot was very similar to the apocolyptic movies along the order of Meteor, Day After Tomorrow etc. I loved that John Cusack was the lead. I have always liked him. The movie was entertaining and worth seeing for fun. Now here is Megan's review: awesome, loved the special effects, loved John Cusack's character in the movie--he was funny in some parts, loved who played the mom, very touching, loved the scientist/president's daughter's love interest and his moral speech, loved how it it concluded.



Hurricane Season in our part of the world officially ends November 30th. So, what should do with all of those unused items you stocked up on? Give them to a food drive...a special one that runs from November 21 through 30th at The John C. Freeman Weather Museum here in Houston at 5401 Caroline St. In exchange for each item donated, you get a free admission to the museum. So, when you are looking for something to do with the kids during the Thanksgiving break, you can head to the museum, have a cleaned out pantry and entertain/educate the kids for free!!! What a great deal! For more information, go to: http://www.wxresearch.org/.



Don't miss a special meeting of the Houston Chapter of the American Meteorological Society this Thursday, Nov. 19th, dinner at 6 pm, meeting at 7 pm at the Canyon Cafe at 5000 Westheimer, Suite 250. Dr. Gerald North of Texas A & M University will talk about "Global Warming, Lone Star Impacts". You do not have to be a member or a meteorologist to attend. Don't miss it! Should be quite a talk!!!



Have a great week everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair

Wonder Weather Woman

Coolest Fall Day Yet Coming Soon/It Flew On Board the Shuttle/Honest NTB

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.

Beautiful fall weather for much of the country. However, there are winter weather warnings and watches for the Rockies as I write this post this evening. Along the eastern seaboard, bands of what is left of Ida are hammering away, causing heavy rain and rough surf.

The good news is that on Friday, it will be quieter in the east. There could be some thunderstorms from Arizona to Nebraska. Chilliest area will be the northwest and Rockies with highs in the 40s (colder in the higher elevations). The northeast, midwest, Ohio Valley and Great Lakes will be in the 40s and 50s. The rest of the country will be in the 60s to 80s.

Houston, another beautiful fall day is on the way for Friday with highs in the 70s. More humid over the weekend and highs in the low 80s both Saturday and Sunday. A few showers are possible Sunday. Look for thunderstorms on Monday as cutoff low spins a cold front through the area by midday. Tuesday will be the coolest day so far this fall with lows in the 40s and highs only in the low 60s. More cool weather through the week with another week front and some showers toward the end of the week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do flag or bandera, pronounced bahn-DAIR-ah. The U.S. bandera is always special, but this one is extra special. Find out more in the AND MORE section.

Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco might be taking off...we got another big order from our distributor today. Woohoo!!! Don't miss out! Get your copy of Volumes 1 and/or 2 from our web site http://www.frankandpaco.com/ or at http://www.amazon.com/. You can also find these at www.barnesandnoble.com and www.bestbuy.com. Some Barnes and Noble stores also have it on their shelves. Volume 1 has three chapters about Home, Family, Eating/Drinking and Play. Volume 2 has three chapters (and about 50 words/phrases) My Day, My Body, My Feelings.

AND MORE
Very nice surprise from the folks at NTB (National Tire & Battery). I was hearing squeaking noises from what I thought were my rear brakes. It just so happens that I had purchased an NTB coupon card from HEB a few months ago. It cost $39.95 and had 4 coupons for free oil changes along with reduced prices for brake work etc., free inspection of belts and fluids, tire rotation and alignment. So that is a pretty good deal. So I thought, why not see what they have to say about the brakes. The attendant said she thought we would have to replace the rear "shoes" but then later she said that they had found a fistfull of dust in each one and there was still half the pad left. So, I didn't need to replace them yet. Well, I was thrilled!!! The cost--$0. They could have replaced them and I would never have known any better but they were honest. I might add that I had already taken the car in late August for an oil change and they had not come up with anything to fix...the cost $0. It's nice to know they are so honest.

The photo at right is another of my "prized" possessions. I'm not a big material thing kind of person, but this one really is special. In June of 2003, I gave a hurricane talk to several hundred NASA employees. At the end, six time shuttle commander Jim Weatherbee made a special presentation to me of one of 200 flags which had ridden aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor. They also gave me a Certificate of Authenticity to prove it is "real". It says:

This American Flas was flown aboard the United States Space Shuttle, ENDEAVOUR, which was launched at 7:49 pm., November 23, 2002, from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. For 6 days, 22 hours ENDEAVOUR remained docked with the International Space Station, ALPHA. At 2:37 pm, December 7, 2002, after 216 Earth orbits, ENDEAVOUR landed on runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility, Florida.

There also some notes as follows: Maximum Altitude 249 miles, Maximum Speed 17,085 mph, Distance 5,670,000 miles.

Notice that the flag is beautifully framed along with a certificate of presentation to Cecilia Sinclair for her presentation as well as some gorgeous shuttle photos.

Well, I have to tell you that I had no idea that they would give me such a thing--in fact I expected nothing. I asked the commander, are you sure you want to give me this...it's so very special. And, also, as you might recall, this was not long after the shuttle Columbia explosion of Feburary 1, 2003. No one knew if there would ever be another shuttle flight again.

So, that is my special story. Hope you enjoyed it!

Have a fantastic Friday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman