Forecasters are warning Californians that they are in for a rough weekend as arctic storms barrel into their state. There are wind, rain, avalanche, blizzard, mudslide, boating and a bunch of other warnings being announced. This is going to be a doozy. Best advice: stock up on supplies and stay home.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – People throughout California braced themselves as arctic storms moved ashore Friday, threatening to paralyze the mountains with deep snow and bring devastating rains to a coastal landscape already charred by wildfires.
Forecasters warned the fierce winds and other extreme weather would last through the weekend.
Homeowners rushed to stack sandbags around houses lying below fire-ravaged hillsides in Southern California, while Northern California residents — like those along the Gulf Coast before a hurricane — scurried to stock up on last-minute provisions.
In the eastern Sierra ski town of Mammoth Lakes, resident Barbara Sholle went to the supermarket after receiving a call from the town's reverse-911 system. She waited an hour to pay for her groceries amid a crush of residents.
"People were waiting in line for shopping carts," she said.
The storm system began dumping rain and snow Thursday in parts of Northern California. Power outages, damaged electrical lines and downed trees were reported in the Sacramento area by nightfall.
The U.S. Forest Service issued an avalanche warning for Mount Shasta, in the Cascade Range in far Northern California, while the National Weather Service issued a rare blizzard advisory for the Sierra Nevada.
The storm system brought high wind warnings along the coast. Ocean tides were expected to swell to 30 feet, leading the Coast Guard to caution boaters to remain in port.
"If you don't have to go out this weekend, it might be a nice weekend to stay at home after the holidays," said Frank McCarton, chief deputy director of the California Office of Emergency Services.
Meanwhile, there are completely different warnings going out in Florida. Rain warnings, of a sort. Specifically, beware of iguanas falling from the sky as temperatures fall. Plummeting temperatures lead to plummeting iguanas.
MIAMI — The bitter cold that swept across the region came like a giant Sominex pill for the tree-dwelling iguanas of South Florida.
The plummeting temperatures Wednesday night and early Thursday — which hit 39 degrees at Miami International Airport — caused the large green lizards to drop out of the trees and litter the ground.
The cold-blooded reptiles, exotics from Central and South America that can reach six feet in length, maintain a body temperature similar to the air around them. When the temperature falls into the low 40s, their bodies go into a deep sleep — with basically only the heart continuing to function and with little blood flow, experts said.
''The worst part of the cold comes in the evening, and they literally just shut off,'' said Ron Magill, communications director for Miami Metrozoo. “Their bodies shut off and they lose their grip on the tree, and they start falling.''
They aren't dead. At least, most aren't.
It is as if they are in suspended animation, said Robert Yero, park manager at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne, where it was raining iguanas Thursday morning. Two were underneath buttonwood trees; another lay beneath a sea grape. All were about 30 yards from the beach, in the coastal hammock.
Sleep-falling reptiles plummeting down on passersby is not what you expect in the Southernmost reaches of Florida. But it indicates just how cold it is down there, doesn't it. Our advice: buy an iguana-proof hardhat if you're planning on going for a stroll in the Miami area. Getting bonked on the head by a six-foot somnambulating (somnambu-falling?) iguana could ruin your whole day.
There is a plus side to our falling Iguana problem here in Florida – dodging the little devils keeps you active and generates warmth! A silver lining to every cloud!
Pre-frozen protein falling from the sky? It’s a chili/gumbo makers dream. The commercials write themselves.
“Hey, ma, what’s for dinner tonight?”
THUD
“Florida herpetological pre-frozen lizard enchiladas??!! Hoo-raaayy!!!”
Not to mention the pre-frozen-for-your-convenience protein! I wonder if they taste much like alligator?
Ah, left the browser tab open too long without refreshing while thinking about phraseology and got beaten to the punchline.
Uncle Pinky, that was truly inspired.
*Thud*
Good grief, people!
First, 39 degrees is not freesing.
Second, most sane persons in Miami don’t stroll when temps are in the 30s. They are inside knocking down Bourbons and asking each other how cold it is out there.
Third, it was only three iguanas falling that were reported. Not enough for even a small pot of Biscayne Bouillabaise.
Just calm down, stay inside and knock down Bourbons.
There is an interesting article over at American Thinker, Gaius. They are revising the building codes in California. One of the proposed new rules will require new home to have thermostats that can be controlled by the power companies. You can see what’s coming. If it gets too hot or too cold they will just reset your thermostat to use less power.
A footnote to an article about these storms in the kooky sfgate stated:
—-San Francisco residents may pick up as many as 10 free sandbags at the Department of Public Works’ yard at 2323 Cesar Chavez St., 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. For more information about the sandbag program, or to report street flooding, call 311.
What do you do with 10 sandbags? Perhaps tie them to your shoes?
Mockin’bird, I’m with you except I’ll take Scotch.