Humidity: Friend or Foe

Ok. This may seem like an obvious one but before you make up your mind for good, hear me out. If you've ever lived both east and west of the Rockie Mountains, I think you will agree with me. Humidity is both our friend and our enemy.

Foe:
1. When you step out of the shower on a humid day, you're clean for about 5 minutes before you start sweating again. You feel like you immediately need to get another shower. Only it won't do you again good because you're just going to get sweaty when you get out the next time. It's a vicious cycle.
2. Forget about wearing anything that shows pit stains when its humid. You're going to sweat and its going to show. If you wear white, the pits turn yellow. If you wear black, they turn even darker. And even though you wash the shirt that night, the pits are still slightly off color. The only sure way to avoid this one... go sleeveless.
3. Humidity is the reason the heat index was born. It makes the temperture feel about a zillion degrees higher. If it's already blazing hot, it feels Hades hot because of the humidity.
4. Everything feels sticky...including you. You don't want to touch anything especially other people because it'll make you hotter than you already are. Plus it just feels gross.

After reading that list, you'd think it was a no brainer right? Well, slow down a bit. After living in the land of no humidity for the last 4 months, I've started to rethink this humidity-is-from-the-devil thing.

Friend:
1. Exhibit A:

Once upon a time, I used to have curly hair. Look at how pretty it is! Now, not so much. I've tried several different hair products to help curl my hair but alas, it just ends up looking like a mess...and not is a chic way. It seems the only thing that helps my poor hair is humidity. So until I go east of the divide again, it looks like straight's the way for me.
2. Exhibit B:

Its something many of us east coasters take for grant in the summertime, baby smooth skin. Yes, that's a picture of my ankle and believe it or not, I moistured last night. I am at a point where I slather on lotion every night after I get out of the shower. And my skin still hates me. It is disgusting and dry and it makes me not want to wear shorts or skirts. I have seriously considered how to rig the shower head so that lotion comes out so I can bathe in it. I have never had such miserable skin in my life and its all thanks to a lack of humidity.
3. When I went on family vacation last summer to Breckenridge, Colorado, my nose bled for the entire week we were there. Now it wasn't gushing out of my face but it was there. I have to say though, I've not experienced that here yet. But Breckenridge is a much higher elevation and I haven't been through a winter here yet.

So you see, there are two sides to this battle. I believe the perfect solution lies somewhere between Missoula's lack of humidity and Columbia's excess of humidity. If anyone knows where that place is, let me know cause it may be my next move.

Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season

Due to my profession I get excited by most all weather phenomena. Obviously. It's part of my genetic make-up. Nonetheless this next statement may seem a bit out there. One of my favorite days of the year is June 1st, the start of hurricane season. I think I'll be in TV for a while but if I had to specialize in an area of meteorology it would be tropical cyclones. I find them facinating. A wave of energy moves off the African coast, picks up speed and steam from the warm Atlantic waters and feeds off of not too strong and not too light but just right winds and builds until it hits land and then turns back into a regular old storm system. Or at least that's the basics of it. The things are massive with so much energy rolled up into them. It really is impressive when you think about it. Mother Nature outdid herself with them. I think the other thing I like about them is that they're somewhat predictable. Can we tell you the exact minute and latitude that a hurricane will make landfall? No. But we have a pretty solid idea of where it'll impact and when it'll get there. Unlike tornadoes, which we pretty much know they're happening when they're on the ground.

But enough with the science. I woke up this morning all stoked that everyone would be talking about hurricanes today. I know that I now live in Montana and that they're not really a threat here but people here have to be interested in them nonetheless right? Wrong! My bubble was deflated when I got into work and no one else but me seemed to care. COME ON! Hurricanes are so cool and who wouldn't want to hear all about them. I mean people here have relatives on the East Coast right? Maybe, but unless there's actually one happening no one seems to care. And it makes me sad.

I realized when I picked up and moved across the country that things were going to be different, but I forgot that one of my favorite parts of weather would no longer be relavant. People here in Montana aren't effected directly by hurricanes so their level of care is about a 1. Now, don't get me wrong, they have issues with flooding and wildfires here which will be different and new for me. I'm excited to tackle new challenges. But the fact that there's not even the potential for a tropical cyclone to strike the coast of Washington kinda sucks for me (the waters in the Pacific are much too cold this far north plus the puppies in the Pacific tend to go toward Asia).

Now, just because I won't be tracking hurricanes for work doesn't mean I won't still be on top of things like a hobo on a ham sandwich. Trust me, my summer would not be nearly as much fun if I suddenly decided not to care. Yes, my South Carolinians, you can still count on me to keep you informed on the latest tropical forecasts. And who knows, if one starts heading towards the Low Country or the Pee Dee, I may make an "emergency" trip to Charleston. And to my new Montana friends, you're just going to have to deal with my obsession. Sorry...it's in my DNA.

Snow in May? Where am I?

"We have a Winter Storm Warning in effect until 6 pm tomorrow. Up to 16 inches of heavy, wet snow possible." These words came out of my mouth during my forecast last night, May 8th. Mother's Day. Springtime. And the entire time I just kept thinking to myself...where am I? Really? Snow in May? Now, I should explain that I was talking about elevations above 6000 feet (the highest mountain in the Appalachians is 6600, just to put it into perspective). So we're talking way up the mountains but nonetheless, the "s" word still came out of my mouth.

Snow low on the Mountains on April 28

Let's go back a week to April 29. The day of my birth. It's supposed to be a happy day. A day for celebration. Well it was thanks to my Montana new friends (Thanks Erin, Andrea, Matt, Shane and Wayne!!! Yay shotski!). However, the day started on a sour note due to the fact that it was SNOWING! Really??? The only thing I want to do on my birthday is lay on a beach somewhere with a fruity little drink that has an umbrella. But instead, I had to toss out my cute dress I had picked out for my special day and bundle up in jeans, boots and a warm coat. Not my idea of fun (or cute).

There is a reason I move away from Ohio. No, it was not to escape my crazy family or some deep dark secret past. I moved south to get away from the cold. I wanted to be somewhere warm, where I could get a tan 10 months out of the year and didn't need to own anything more than a cute pea coat. I spent the last 7 years being able to pick up, most of the year, and head off to the beach for the day. I got used to paying a ton of money on my electric bill in the summer and hardly anything in the winter. I have way more cute summer clothes then I have sweaters. In fact, at last count I have a total of 5 sweaters. I only have a handful of shirts that even have full length sleeves! Most of my closet is geared toward warm weather and sunshine. I am not properly attired for this kind of weather! 

And now, despite my best efforts, I've ended up in a place that snows more than where I spent the first 18 years of my life. I'm living in a place where it snows in May and the worst part about it, people don't really seem to be that surprised about it. People here take reports of snow in a spring month in stride, like it's to be expected. They say, "well it sucks but it's Montana." Well, I don't think no matter how long I live here that I will ever get used to it. And I know that I'll never like it.

Now, I'm sure come wintertime, I'll be bragging about all my fun ski adventures. I'll be loving the snow because everyone here seems to know how to make it fun. But I think the snows needs to stay where it belongs. In the wintertime. Not in May. Thank goodness for the 70s in the forecast later this week.

A Little Background

Okay, Okay. I know I'm not really a "Southern Belle" by birth, but I think most of my friends would agree, I've taken to the South like a fish to water.  I consider South Carolina to be my home. It's where I went to college, where I really grew up, where I made a ton of memories and where I made an even bigger amount of mistakes. It's a huge part of who I am and when people ask where I'm from I say "South Carolina." I have an entire drawer full of t-shirts that say things like "If you're a Carolina girl, raise your glass. If you're not, raise your standards," not too mention all my Gamecock gear (yeah, I own a camo hat that says "Cocks" on it...in pink). I say "y'all" all the time, I feel most at home at the beach, I can't go a day without a glass of sweet tea, I can't live without my Rainbows, I love boiled peanuts and Cheerwine and my favorite fast food is Chick-fil-a.

In March of 2011, after looking for a forecasting job for a year, I got a call from a news director in Missoula, Montana. My first thought was "Where is Missoula? I've never heard of it." Turns out, it's actually the 2nd largest city in the state and the home to the University of Montana (Go Grizz!). It's nestled right in the Northern Rockies and is an absolutely breath-taking place. I know that I am meant to be a TV meteorologist (I'm cute and I'm a nerd so it's really the only option). And the job was just what I was looking for. It was forecasting on the weekend, reporting during the week and the news director seemed so supportive and kept telling me how much potential he saw in me (which is way more than I can say for my last boss). So I packed up what could fit in my parents SUV and my Civic and drove 4 days to the opposite end of the country. And here I am. Living in a place that couldn't be any more different from where I spent the last 7 years (and happen to love very much). The ocean is a day's drive. There are mountains in everywhere you look. It snows in April. People think the 60s is warm. Sweet tea is iced tea with sugar packets mixed in. They don't have a single Chick-fil-a in the state!

So this is where the adventure begins. And rested assured...there will be plenty.