Want To Feel Less Stress? Sneak Outside
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all” wrote Dale Carnegie. If Dale was trying to influence me – he succeeded.
I’ve never been happier in my life to be tracking a well-timed warm front. At least we won’t have to stress
about weather this week. A jolt of Pacific air lures the mercury into the 60s today, in fact afternoon temperatures should bask in the 60s for 6 days in a row, before going off a cliff next Monday.
That’s fairly impressive, considering parts of the metro picked up more than 10 inches of snow just two weeks ago. Amazing, considering we’ve lost 5 1/2 hours of daylight since late June.
After approaching 70F on Friday clouds (and winds) increase Saturday, with a spirited round of showers and thunderstorms Sunday, marking the approach of classic November chill. Back to the 30s and wind
chill.
If I may be so bold: vote – then disconnect where possible – and soak up a glorious November day!
Second or Third Warmest Election Day on Record for MSP. There’s a pretty good chance the official high will reach 68F, the second warmest November 3 on record in the Twin Cities. Graphic: Twin Cities National Weather Service.
Well Above Average. A little over 2 weeks ago 6-10″ of snow fell. Today temperatures will be as much as 20F above normal. Makes perfect sense to me.
Super Typhoon Goni Slams into Philippines as Strongest Landfalling Tropical Cyclone on Record. Dr. Jeff Masters has eye-opening statistics about the mega-hurricane that just hit the Philippines at Yale Climate Connections: “…Goni was the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone in world recorded history, using one-minute average wind speeds from the National Hurricane Center for the Atlantic/northeast Pacific and one-minute average winds from JTWC for the rest of the planet’s ocean basins. The previous record was jointly held by Super Typhoon Meranti, which made landfall on September 16, 2016, on Itbayat Island, Philippines, and Super Typhoon Haiyan, which made landfall on November 8, 2013, on Leyte Island, Philippines. Both had maximum winds of 195 mph at their peak intensity, but made landfall with 190 mph winds, according to JWTC. There are no official world records for strongest landfalling storms, since the JTWC does not routinely assign landfall intensities in their post-season summaries (though they did make an exception for Super Typhoon Haiyan)…”
Image credit: “Super Typhoon Goni as seen by the light of the Halloween full moon on October 31, 2020, by the VIIRS instrument. The lights of Manila are visible at left.” (Image credit: NASA Worldview).
How African Dust Storms Create Caribbean Beaches. Mental Floss has a fascinating post; here’s the intro: “The fertile red soils of Bermuda and the rich coral reefs of the Bahamas are a geological mystery. Both are made up of a specific combination of alien minerals and nutrients not found anywhere on the islands or in the ocean that surrounds them. Scientifically speaking, they should not exist. But over the last decade, geologists have come up with an explanation for these ecological anomalies: They originated 5000 miles away in Africa. For more than a million years, dust from the Sahara Desert has hitched a ride on westward-traveling winds to the Caribbean. Bermuda and the Bahamas are, quite literally, an extension of the world’s largest desert…”
Image credit: “On June 18, 2020, NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite captured this visible image of the large light brown plume of Saharan dust over the North Atlantic Ocean.” NASA Worldview // Public Domain.
KFC’s Fried Chicken-Scented Firelogs Available at Walmart. It’s 2020 – you can’t make this stuff up. Mental Floss explains: “The famous 11 herbs and spices recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) remains a closely guarded secret. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take home a firelog that will crackle with the aroma of a fresh bucket of fried chicken this holiday season. The KFC 11 Herbs and Spices Firelog ($16) has been a popular novelty purchase for the past two years, and this year, it’s available exclusively at Walmart. Made in partnership with Enviro-Log, the flammable product releases a scent reminiscent of KFC’s distinctive seasoning combination, which the company promises will last around two and a half hours while burning…”
Couple Gets Married at Dunkin Donuts Drive-Thru, Where They Met. Because why not. CNN.com has the story: “A couple who met at a Dunkin’ drive-thru three years ago got married at the same window where they first met, surrounded by friends, family and many, many donuts. As the general manager of a Dunkin’ in Oklahoma City, Sugar Good is used to seeing hundreds of new faces a day. But there was one face in particular she just couldn’t get out of her head. His name was John Thompson, and she memorized the time he would visit every morning, the details of his order — a large hot coffee with cream and sugar and a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich. But most of all, she memorized his smile...”
Each State’s Favorite Donut, Mapped. Yeah, we have a theme going on. Glazed donuts are a coping skill, OK? No guilt here, not in 2020. Mental Floss has a timely expose: “Earlier this month, Dunkin’ unveiled the Spicy Ghost Pepper Donut, a picante pastry that piqued the interest of culinary daredevils across the nation. But for every brave soul eager to try it out, there were plenty of other Dunkin’ customers whose eyes never strayed from the basket of sweet, reliable glazed doughnuts. It’s hard to overstate the popularity of the glazed doughnut. Data crunchers at The Waycroft, a luxury apartment complex in Arlington, Virginia, analyzed Google Trends searches from the last 12 months and found that it’s the apparent doughnut of choice in a staggering 15 states...”
Map credit: “This map would make for quite an eclectic box of assorted doughnuts.” The Waycroft.
58 F. high in the Twin Cities on Monday.
49 F. average high on November 2 at MSP.
35 F. high on November 2, 2019.
November 3, 1991: The Great Halloween blizzard ends with a total of 28.4 inches of snow at the Twin Cities.
November 3, 1956: Parts of central Minnesota experience record high low temperatures in the upper forties to the mid-fifties. Minneapolis, Farmington, Chaska, and Gaylord all had high temperatures of 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
November 3, 1915: One person is killed by lightning during a strong thunderstorm in Chatfield, MN.
ELECTION DAY: Sunny and mild. Winds: SW 10-15. High: 66
WEDNESDAY: Sunny, touch of late September. Winds: SW 7-12. Wake-up: 41. High: 65
THURSDAY: Blue sky, still close to perfect. Winds: S 5-10. Wake-up: 45. High: 63
FRIDAY: Partly sunny, 70F high possible. Winds: S 10-20. Wake-up: 51. High: 68
SATURDAY: Partly sunny, windy and mild. Winds: S 15-30. Wake-up: 54. High: 66
SUNDAY: PM showers, possible thunder. Winds: S 15-25. Wake-up: 57. High: 64
MONDAY: Wet/slushy start, then clearing and colder. Winds: NW 15-35. Wake-up: 32. High: 39