SPECIAL UPDATE FOR HOUSTON - ARCTIC BLAST

The National Weather Service has issued a Hard Freeze Warning from 9 pm Thursday to 9 pm Sunday morning. The warning means that temperatures are expected to drop to 25 or below for at least 2 hours for area (except right at the coast). Arctic front arrives Thursday morning with freezing temperatures overnight Thursday, Friday and Saturday (into Sunday morning).

Saturday morning should be the coldest morning with temperatures dropping into the upper teens for many locations (especially outside of Houston) and away from the coast.

Also, note that there is a wind advisory for at least part of the area as it will be quite windy Thursday afternoon through Friday morning. Even for those areas not in the wind advisory, windy conditions will make actual temperatures feel like the single digits at times. Make sure to bundle up (including covering your head where a large portion of heat loss occurs). Wear protective mittens. Layer clothing for best warmth.

If you live in a heated home, you do not need to drip the water in your faucets or open your cabinets. But you should make sure that all exposed and outdoor pipes are protected. Turn off sprinkler systems and wrap exposed valves. The following list is from the National Weather Service and gives excellent advice on protecting the 4 P's (people, pets, plants, pipes).

PROTECT PEOPLE
• Keep warm, stay inside if possible.
• If you need to go out, dress in layers and wear hats, gloves and an appropriate coat.
• Avoid overexertion, as cold weather puts added strain on your body.
• Observe heater safety:
o Never place a space heater on top of furniture or near water.
o Keep heat sources at least 3 feet away from furniture and drapes.
o Never leave children unattended near a space heater.

PROTECT PETS
• Bring pets inside, and move other animals or livestock to sheltered areas.
• Keep adequate food and water available.

PROTECT PIPES
• Disconnect outdoor hoses, drain and store in protected area.
• Wrap exposed faucets and pipes - including those outside the house or in unheated crawl spaces, attics, garages and other areas.

PROTECT PLANTS
• Bring potted plants inside or store in garage near interior wall to provide extra warmth and protection from wind.
• For cold-sensitive outdoor plants, put down extra mulch and consider covering with a cloth fabric of some kind to shield the plants from wind and frost.

Protect yourself from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning by installing a battery-operated CO detector and never using generators, grills, camp stoves, or similar devices indoors.

It is also recommended that you prepare your car for winter. Have your car serviced and add antifreeze as needed.

Stay warm everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Hard Freeze Watch for Houston/Drought Update

WEATHER
Wednesday will be very cold in the northern plains and western Great Lakes states will have highs in the single digits. Look for some snow from the norther Rockies through the central plains snd into the Midwest. Warmest weather will be in along the southern tier of states with highs in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

The National Weather Service has issued a Hard Freeze Watch effective from Thursday evening into Sunday morning. The watch means that there could be at least 2 consecutive hours of 25 or below temperatures. So, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, pets, plants, people and exposed pipes need to be protected. The only exception to the watch area is along the coast.

Houston, if you are thinking about snow...chances are very slim...with upper levels too warm when there will be precipitation. Once the Arctic air arrives, the air will dry rapidly.


SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do it's very cold or hace mucho frío, pronounced AH-say MOO-cho FREE-oh. On Thursday into Sunday morning, we are going to be saying hace mucho frío.

Okay...we're back in the groove and now it's time to get going on those plans to get your little ones interested in other languages. My DVD series, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco is a perfect way to get started. And, you'll feel good about purchasing it, knowing that it has won awards from Dr. Toy and homeschool.com as a best educational product. You can find Volumes 1 or 2 at http://www.frankandpaco.com
, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
I updated the drought and drought outlook figures at right. In Texas, the situation is vastly improved over what it was last summer and more improvement is expected. There are only a few places in Texas still dealing with severe drought.

Stay warm everybody!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Arctic Air Coming!/New Year's Wedding/Get me out of trouble!

WEATHER
The big story for the eastern 2/3rds of the country this week will be the arctic air that is plunging southward. On Monday, highs will be in the single digits and teens over the Midwest, northern Plains and Great Lakes states. Warm spots will be coastal California with highs in the 50s and 60s, southern Arizona with highs in the 60s, south Texas with highs in the 50s and southern Florida with highs in the 60s. Elsewhere expect 20s to 40s. There will be some snow showers over the northern Rockies and Great Lakes.

Houston, this is going to be a chilly week with freezing temperatures early Tuesday and an arctic air mass arriving Thursday. There could be some brief sleet changing to snow on Thursday but accumulation is unlikely. Will keep a close eye on that. The important thing is to be prepared for Friday morning when lows for most of the area will be in the mid-20s and possibly low 20s. Galveston will likely get down to about 30. So, we will be protecting pets, plants and people Thursday night into Friday morning. Also, check your sprinkler system valves...frozen water can bust those items. There will also be freezing temperatures for much of the area early Saturday...but not as cold as Friday morning.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do wedding or boda, pronounced BOW-dah. I went to a fabulous boda yesterday. To find out all about it, go the AND MORE section.

Start the New Year off on a positive note...introduce your to the fun and benefits of early language learning. Our DVD series, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco is a perfect way to get started. And, you'll feel good about purchasing it, knowing that it has won awards from Dr. Toy and homeschool.com as a best educational product. You can find Volumes 1 or 2 at http://www.frankandpaco.com
, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
Okay...I am in trouble. I am on the board of the John C. Freeman Weather Museum and I was supposed to sign up two new members by the end of the year (being the year 2009, not 2010). First of all, how cool is this place--the only weather museum in the United States!!! For students, young professionals and senior citizens, membership is only $25 per year. You get unlimited visits to the museum and a free subscription to the newsletter. You also get a discount on museum merchandise. Family memberships are only $50 and you get discounts on weather camps! These camps are really great by the way. Kids from all over the country attend. So, please get me off the hotseat and join. Here is the link:

http://wxresearch.org/

Just got back from a whirlwind trip to San Antonio over the weekend. My cousin Sue-Anne Hill was married to Ian Benoist (on Jan. 2nd) at the Sacred Heart Conventual Chapel on the campus of our Lady of the Lake. This "chapel" was more like a cathedral if you ask me. It was built in the 20s and is attached to the convent there---the one my Dad used to tease me he was taking me to once I graduated high school. He would laugh and tell me they added another foot to the brick wall surrounding it so that the novitiates couldn't escape. By the way, there is NO brick wall. Anyway, inside the church, there are individual seats for each person as well as closeable pockets for songbooks and mass books. Sarah had fun playing with those during the vows...Yikes! The beautiful music was performed by my Mom and stepdad of Cherish the Music. Janie, Esther and Dorothy, three sisters and cousins of mine, sang the Our Father in harmony--it was a feast for the ears. The bride and groom were so happy and we enjoyed seeing family. Gordy took the photo of Sarah, me and Megan (at right) out front. One of the neat things I saw at the reception that I have never seen before was a photo booth. Each family or group was encouraged to get into the photo booth and take 4 photos. Then a printer produced 2 copies of the 4 photos, one for your to keep and one to paste with good wishes in a special scrapbook. They even had dressup items if desired. This was one of those photobooths you see in the mall etc. It was really fun and the scrapbook looked so neat. The bride had ordered all the flowers in bulk from Costco and the bridal party made their bouquets as well as the centerpieces for the reception. Everything was just beautiful! Congratulations Sue-Anne and Ian!

By the way, the officiating priest was the same one who officiated at Sue-Anne's parents' wedding (Leona and Jerry) almost 40 years ago. I was at that wedding...just a little girl...but I do remember it! Sue-Anne was the last of their 4 children to marry. Wow! Time really does fly! Wanting to take advantage of seeing so many family members, my sister Julie and daughter Sophia flew in from Spain on New Year's Day just to attend. They had spent Christmas with Julie's husband Alex and friends overseas. I know both were jet lagged but they were worked very hard to enjoy. We had a great time!

My poll on new year's resolutions is closed. More than one answer was allowed. The number one resolution was to eat better at 75%. Tied for second was lose weight and clear clutter at 66%. Next came pray more and do regular exercise at 50%. 41% said make more money but 0% said work more. 16% actually resolved to work less. 33% said finish more home projects or spend more time on kids. 25% said spend more time with spouse or spend more time with friends. 16% said other. 8% said go to church regularly or get a better job and 0% said no resolutions. Thanks to all who participated.

My new poll is about the month of January. I was inspired to do this poll as I looked around my barren house--I put all the decorations away on New Year's Day and felt relieved and sad at the same time. More than one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for participating.

More to come on arctic cold snap.
Have a great week back at work and school everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Top 10 Weather Events Last Decade/Weekend Forecast/Why 2010 will save you time

WEATHER
Winter Storm Watches or Warnings are in event for portions of the Ohio Valley, northeast, and northwest. On Friday (New Year's Day), highs in the northern plains and western Great Lakes states will only be in the negative single digits and single digits. There will be some snow from St. Louis into the Great Lakes and the Intermountain Region and northern Rockies. There could be some severe storms in Florida. Highs will be in the teens and 20s from the northern Rockies into the central plains and into the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes.

Houston will be sunny on New Year's Day and Saturday. Highs will be in the 50s to low 60s. Lows will be in the 40s Friday and 30s on Saturday. Sunday, clouds and some showers will return. Around Wednesday or Thursday of the first week, an arctic air mass will bring some very chilly air...stay tuned.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do Happy New Year or feliz año nuevo, pronounced feh-LEEZ AN-yo new-EH-voh. Feliz año nuevo everyone!

Don't forget to answer my New Year's poll at right. And here's another resolution you should make...expose the young ones in your world to the joys and benefits of early language learning. Our DVD series, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco is a perfect way to get started. And, you'll feel good about purchasing it, knowing that it has won awards from Dr. Toy and homeschool.com as a best educational product. You can find Volumes 1 or 2 at http://www.frankandpaco.com
, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
Cecilia's End of Year Science Experiment:
Well, this is great news!!! We are going to save 8.7 minutes in 2010 (as compared to 2009). How you ask? Well, I did an experiment. I looked at the number 2009 and the number 2010 and noticed that if you consider the last 2 digits, there is one less stroke when you write 2010. So, I made a hypothesis that writing 2010 all year instead of 2009 will save time (or writing 10 instead of 09). My scientific method was to set a timer for 1 minute and write 09 as many times as possible and then do the same writing 10 as many times as possible. I wrote 09 60 times in one minute. I wrote 10 84 times in one minute. So it takes about 1 second to write 09 and .714 seconds to write 10. Assuming an average of writing these numbers 5 times per day, 365 days in a year...this results in a savings of 8.7 minutes for writing 10 in the year 2010.

So, what will you do with that extra 8.7 minutes? I already used some of the time to do this experiment. Oh well, maybe you can reap the reward of my effort. This is my gift to you!!!

Sarah and I headed to Sugar Land Town Center this evening to celebrate New Year's Eve. On the hour between 5 and 8, they did a countdown (for whatever place in the world was bringing in the New Year). They had a DJ with singing and dancing. There was an interesting and unusual lady made up like a statue with classical music while water streamed out of her fingers. There were men in dinosaur body puppet figures walking on stilts through the crowds. Sugar Land was also celebrating the 50th anniversary of getting its city charter.

The National Weather Service has taken a look back at 2009 and the last decade of weather. The following are some of the big highlights of 2009. (NOTE I DECODED A
COUPLE THINGS SO YOU COULD READ THIS MORE EASILY). Thanks National Weather Service for putting this together for everyone.

AVERAGE TEMP FOR BUSH AIRPORT DECEMBER JUST MISSED THE TOP TEN COOLEST AT 50.2
DEGREES. HOUSTON HOBBY HAD ITS SIXTH COOLEST DEC AND COLLEGE STATION HAD ITS
NINTH COOLEST DECEMBER. TEMPS WERE ABOUT 4 TO 5 DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL. DESPITE A FOUR MONTH DROUGHT FROM MAY 1ST THROUGH SEPT
1ST...THE ANNUAL RAINFALL CAME PRETTY CLOSE TO NORMAL. BOTH COLLEGE STATION AND
BUSH AIRPORT WERE WITHIN AN INCH OF THE ANNUAL AVERAGE. GALVESTON WAS STILL ABOUT
6 INCHES BELOW THEIR ANNUAL AVERAGE RAINFALL.

The discussion for the decade is long but fascinating. So, I am putting the link here. Just so you know, Hurricane Ike made #1, Tropical Storm Allison of 2001 made #2 and the Christmas Snow of 2004 made #3. To see more, check out the full report:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/productview.php?pil=HGXPNSHGX

Here's hoping for an interesting but safe weather in 2010!

Happy New Year everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Winter Storm Threat/Rain for Houston/Definition of Severe Changing

WEATHER
Travel could be dangerous from New Mexico to eastern Oklahoma on Tuesday as a storm system drops snow. Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Storm Watches have been issued by the National Weather Service. (See figure at right and remember it is dated: effective Mon. Evening 12/28). So, if you are planning to travel in NM, north TX or most of Oklahoma on Tuesday, you might want to see if you can delay your travel until Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Florida will be the warm spot with highs in the 60s and 70s. Southern California and Arizone will have highs in the 60s. Cold spot will be western Great Lakes states and the Great Lakes area with highs in the teens and 20s. There will be snow from New Mexico through north Texas (including Dallas) and Oklahoma. There will also be some snow showers in the New England and the Intermountain Region (including Salt Lake City).

On Tuesday, Houston will be cold with highs in the 40s and rain during the afternoon. Rain is more likely on Wednesday and highs will be in the 50s. Thursday (New Year's Eve), sunshine returns with temperatures warming to the mid-60s. If you are out that evening, temperatures will drop rapidly (into the 40s). New Year's Day and Saturday should be beautiful with lows in the 30s and highs in the 50s. A shower is possible on Sunday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do hail or granizo, pronounced grah-KNEE-zoh. The size of granizo will soon have to be larger if the storm is to be classified as severe. See the AND MORE section to learn more.

Don't forget to answer my New Year's poll at right. And here's another resolution you should make...expose the young ones in your world to the joys and benefits of early language learning. Our DVD series, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco is a perfect way to get started. And, you'll feel good about purchasing it, knowing that it has won awards from Dr. Toy and homeschool.com as a best educational product. You can find Volumes 1 or 2 at http://www.frankandpaco.com
, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
Spoke to one of my sisters-in-law about the snowstorm in Iowa over Christmas. She says it is being called the worst since one in the 40s. Conditions were so dangerous on Christmas that many people stayed home and only today celebrated Christmas with family and friends.

The National Weather Service is changing its definition of a severe thunderstorm effective Jan. 5, 2010. The change has to do with how large hail has to be in order to get the storm designated as severe. It used to be that a nickel size hail stone (3/4") was the cutoff. As of Jan. 5th, it will have to be at least a quarter size (1" diameter). The other criteria are winds of at least 58 mph or tornadoes. The reason for the change is that research shows significant damage is not done until the hailstones are at least an inch in diameter. For more on this change, go to:

http://www.weather.gov/oneinchhail/

Safe travels and Happy New Year everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Blizzard Experience/New Poll/When rain returns to Houston

WEATHER
The figure at right (3rd item down) shows this mornings winter weather adviories (blue) and blizzard warnings (red) across the northern plains. Remember, this is a dated product--dated Saturday morning 12/26.

Chilly across most of the nation on Sunday with highs in the teens and 20s for the northern plains into the Great Lakes states. Highs will be in the 30s from the Pacific Northwest, the Intermountain Region, the central plains, the Midwest, Ohio Valley and northern New England. Highs will be in the 40s, 50s and 60s along the west coast, the southern tier of states and the southeast (southern Florida will have highs in the 70s). There will be some snow from St. Louis, Missouri to Chicago to northern New England and also, there will be some snow in the northern plains.

Houston will get some sunshine and slightly warmer weather (during the afternoons) Sunday and Monday. Next cold front and storm system approach Tuesday and there will be rain late Tuesday into early Wednesday. Through the week, morning lows will be in the 30s and 40s with highs in the upper 50s to upper 40s mid-week. It will stay coolish through the upcoming New Year's weekend. There will be some freezing temperatures Sunday morning.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do blizzard or ventisca, pronounced vehn-TEESE-cah. Have you heard about the ventisca in the northern central US? See the AND MORE section for a personal story.

What better resolution to make than exposing the young ones in your world to the joys and benefits of early language learning. Our DVD series, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco is a perfect way to get started. And, you'll feel good about purchasing it, knowing that it has won awards from Dr. Toy and homeschool.com as a best educational product. You can find Volumes 1 or 2 at http://www.frankandpaco.com
, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
From the department of guess what Sarah did now?
Christmas morning 3 am, I awakened by "I'm sorry I already opened up my presents?" I jump up and run to the living room to find that Sarah has opened all of her presents (which Santa had only delivered about an hour earlier). I will give her this...she did not open Megan's presents. I sighed and said well, "have fun playing" and then went back to bed. Then, a few minutes later, Sarah comes in and says, "Mommy, I can't stop bleeding". That of course had me bolting upright immediately. Sarah had cut her finger (later I determined it was on large pencil sharpener which went with a large pencil Santa had put in her stocking. Sarah had decided to test it out on her finger). Well, eventually we got the bleeding to stop...she had cut it deeply. For a few minutes, I was actually considering taking her to a 24 hour clinic, but stitches were not required. Bless her heart, she had tried to take care of it herself...I could tell by all the blood and the bloody napkins she had left by the kitchen sink. Don't worry, she's okay.

And if you are wondering about the puppy question. Well, Sarah changed her mind and decided she wanted a stuffed puppy instead. I think the change of heart came after we went to a surprise 30th birthday party for our friend Kim (Happy Birthday Kim!). They have the most adorable Maltese and I spent a fair amount of time loving on it. Well, you have to know that Sarah does not like anyone or anything taking my attention. And the puppy accidentally scratched her. She was quite put off by that. So, overnight, Sarah began asking for a stuffed puppy. So, bottom line, we talked it over with Santa and decided that maybe she is not quite ready for a puppy. And I will tell you that stuffed puppies don't make any messes, don't have medical bills and don't have to be fed. (But the little girl in me was just a tiny bit disappointed...don't worry, I'll deal).

Checked in with the in-laws in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Christmas Day. They had had so much snow and it was so windy that they were dealing with blizzard conditions (officially the National Weather Service had 10 inches for their area for the 48 hours ending 6 am Christmas Day). The wind was so bad Christmas evening, that when I called them, the signal was very poor and we were disconnected 4 times. Gordy's folks and 4 siblings (with their kids) had all managed to get together at one place as some of them have 4 wheel drives. So, they were all together on Christmas despite the bad weather. Well, we checked in with them this morning. Late last night, my mom and dad-in-law were getting a ride home with one of the sons in his 4 wheel drive when they ran off the road into a ditch. They weren't able to get oyut without help. Fortunately, they were rescued but not without some serious effort. I'm so glad they are all okay.

My poll on holiday spending is closed. 37% said they spent between $100 and $500 this season. 50% spent between $500 and $1000. 12% spent nothing. 0% spent more than $1000, had no idea or spent less than $100. Thanks to all who participated.

My new poll is about New Year's Resolutions. Which ones on the list I provided are you planning to make? More than one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for participating.

Wherever you are this holiday season, I wish you safe travels and the joy and love of family and friends.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

US Travel Weather/Catch Santa in the Act/Track Santa

WEATHER
Happy 1st full day of Winter -- Winter began yesterday, December 21st at 11:47 am central. In general, the earth's axis (from pole to pole) is tilted at 23.5 degrees relative to a line perpendicular to the line connecting to the sun. On the Winter Solstice, that 23.5 degree angle has the North Pole tilted away from the sun at an angle of 23.5 degrees. The sun makes its lowest path across the sky and thus, this is considered the day of the year with the shortest amount of daylight. Please note that the length of days just before and after this point are nearly equal. But technically, from this point on, the days will slowly start to get longer. The speed with which the length of day increases will increase as we get closer to the vernal equinox (the start of spring).

The northern Rockies, northern and central plains and upper Midwest as well as western Great Lakes states are, right on time, threatened with winter weather. On Wednesday, there will be some snow from Salt Lake City to Chicago. Look for airport delays, especially as some major hubs will be affected. Meanwhile from east Texas to Louisiana, there could be some severe storms. Highs will be in the 20s and 30s for the northern tier of states (some single digits in Montana and 40s for coastal northwest). Highs will be in the 50s for the southeast and Texas. Albuquerque should reach about 40 while L.A. will be in the low 60s.

On Thursday, Christmas Eve, some of the travel trouble spots for snow will be the same as the storm system makes limited progress lifting to the northeast. That means another day and probably the worst day for snow around Chicago. Finally on Christmas Day, some cold rain for New York and snow for Boston and then deteriorating even more in the northeast on Monday.

Houston will be mild, muggy and wet on Wednesday with highs in the low 70s. There is a slight risk for severe weather into Thursday morning. Rain tapers off on Thursday, Christmas Eve with a cold front arriving in the morning. Highs will be in the 50s. Clearing and chilly on Christmas Day with lows in the 30s and highs in the 50s. Enjoy!

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do saint or santo, pronounced SAHN-toe. What famous Christmas character is named after a santo. Why Santa Claus (remember he is also known as Saint Nick).

As you start making New Year's resolutions, don't forget about your intention to bring the world of language to your children. Order our award winning series, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volumes 1 or 2 from http://www.frankandpaco.com
, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
I was sad to hear about Brittany Murphy's passing. I thought she was a very funny actress and really enjoyed her in Just Married with Ashton Kutcher.

On a happier note, with Christmas almost upon us, I have a fun idea if you would like to "catch" Santa in your own home. A friend gave me a free photo pass, but you can get one for $9.99. Just take a picture of a scene where you would like to "catch" Santa. Then, go to the web site and upload that image and pick one of the Santa poses. I picked the one where Santa is bending over his sack but looking at the camera with a smile on his face. Then, follow the instructions. I downloaded the photo and printed it right away, so I can have it at the ready come Christmas morning. They also do other scenes for other holidays.
http://www.icaughtsanta.com/

And of course, we're eagerly awaiting Santa's arrival. You can get geared up to do some Norad tracking by going to the following site.
http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html
Even though the official tracking has yet to begin, there are some activities which your kids might enjoy right away...so get started! One that I checked out had a map with places all over the world with cities named after holiday and winter themes. It's fun!

Don't forget to vote in the poll about how much you are spending on the holidays. The poll will close in just a few hours. So far, the range $500 to $1000 is in the lead.

Happy Holidays and safe travel everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman