Latest news with #springstorm
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Cocooning during this Kansas storm season, I try to avoid the cataclysm outside my window
The spring storm season has brought frequent rain and thoughts of self-preservation, writes opinion editor Clay Wirestone. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector) Each day now in Lawrence, where my family and I live, I watch the clouds roll in and the rains come. The spring storm season thunders and flashes and pours, and the lawns flourish and gutters overflow. I sit here in my home office through the evenings and watch as the lightning casts strange shadows. I hear the rain pelting the roof. Later on, when I take our dog out for a walk, the rains have usually slowed and the neighborhood smells earthy and damp, while the doused roads shine under streetlamps. During these days, my son hangs around the house. School has ended, and summer activities remain a few weeks distant. He plays video games and dotes on the pets. My husband's work has shifted into its busiest season, so some days I only see him toward the end of the day. I seem to live now, for a week or two at least, in a small protected bubble. The rains come and the world rumbles and my son and I stay indoors and wait for the storm to pass. Aren't many of us doing that right now, staying in those kind of bubbles, waiting for the skies to clear? We can create those bubbles in different ways. Some of us watch seasons of old situation comedies, following the adventures of Sam and Diane and Cliff and Norm on Cheers (rest in peace, George Wendt). Some of us watch horror movies (I enjoyed Nicholas Roeg's 'Don't Look Now' the other night). Some of us find escape through exercise or alcohol or other activities that change our brain and body chemistry. It is the season of survival. We endure the weather. It's different for all of us. Here in Kansas, the weather might be a private prison company pressing to reopen facilities to serve Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. It might be a law that denies critical yet misunderstood health care to teenagers. It might be your immigration status if you study at a university. It might be an uncertain economic climate that threatens small business in towns and cities. In uncertain times, we search for comparisons. We judge today's storm against the storms of the past. We survived those, we tell ourselves, so surely we must survive these ones. Those storms may have even been worse, we tell ourselves. We should expect spring rains, Discover Magazine explains, as humid summer air collides with dry winter air. The mixture forms clouds, yields precipitation. We still wait indoors, swaddled in decades-old quilts and drinking hot tea. The metaphor strains. My correspondents will write me email messages insisting that determined Kansans can weatherproof their homes. We can work together to find community and purpose during these dreary, overcast days. We need not — must not — hide from the work ahead of us. I understand these things, agree with them, have written them before. We can both endure and act. The stormy season will pass. These times will end. The clouds will clear and the sun will nudge itself above the horizon, and we will pick up the pieces. I will mow the lawn and pick up the random branches that fell from the giant tree in our front yard. Cleanup awaits, and it will take the whole subdivision pitching in. Yet while spring storm season continues, at least let me have these gloomy evenings. Let me embrace poetry and fiction and imagination leaps. Grant me the time to recharge, to dote on my family, to enjoy distractions for a handful of days. We all deserve time to center ourselves, to feel protected from the inevitable deluge. These moments of grace will steel us for a long, hot summer. Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
‘Prepare yourself for a soggy Wednesday:' More rain in Toronto's forecast
An early spring storm is bringing high winds and heavy rain to parts of Ontario as Environment Canada warns of significant snowfall in other parts of the province. A pedestrian walks on a rainy day in Toronto on Friday, June 18, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette Toronto could see sunny skies and a daytime high of 21 C on Tuesday but the recent run of mild weather is set to come to an abrupt end after today. Environment Canada is forecasting overcast skies to start the day on Wednesday but it says that showers will begin in the late afternoon hours and get heavier as the day goes on. The weather agency says that while Toronto will see a high of 16 C on Wednesday, the temperature will drop to 12 C later that day. That is a full 10 degrees lower than the usual daytime high at this time of year of 22 C. 'Monday's sunshine and seasonable temps were welcomed by many fatigued by the wet and cool character of May thus far. Today will be a near repeat of Monday with a bit more cloud invading by late day. Take full advantage because the rest of the week will be mostly cooler and unsettled starting tomorrow,' CP24 Metrologist Bill Coulter warns. 'Prepare yourself for a soggy and gusty Wednesday.' Coulter says that the rain that starts on Wednesday will continue into Thursday before clearing later in the day. He says that temperatures on Thursday will climb back up to a more seasonable 20 C. On Friday, there is likely to be a mix of sun and cloud with a 40 percent chance of showers. The weather will be better over the weekend with a mix of sun and cloud on both Saturday and Sunday with daytime highs of 19 C and 22 C, respectively.
CBS News
16-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Colorado spring storm brought welcome moisture, provided some temporary drought relief
According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly 70% of Colorado is experiencing some level of drought, with significant portions facing moderate to severe conditions. The recent spring storm brought much-needed moisture to southeastern Colorado, providing temporary relief. CBS However, the rest of the state, particularly the western region, received minimal precipitation and experienced unusually warm temperatures, exacerbating drought conditions. CBS The state's snowpack, a crucial water source, is significantly below average. The statewide snowpack stands at just 44% of the average, primarily due to early snowmelt.
