FDR’s Greatest 10 Cent Legacy is Priceless Gift January 30, 2010

A Thin Dime: The Greatest Legacy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Legacy of FDR Lives On Today In the Lives of Millions Around the World

On this Date in History: The last case of wild or naturally occuring polio in the United States was reported in 1979.  For the most part, polio is considered to be eradicated from the Western Hemisphere and the effort continues to terminate the disease world wide.   When I was a kid, polio was just another of a handful of conditions that American kids were immunized against.  But, earlier in the 20th century, the very mention of polio brought fear to parents and children alike.  Seventy-five percent of those affected were children, but one prominent American got the disease as an adult and his fight against the disease and his perserverance left a legacy that arguably may eclipse all of his great accomplishments.

FDR Stood Tall As James Cox's Running Mate in 1920

In 1921, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was still a relatively young man at age 39.  By that time, he had a wife and family, had served in the New York State Senate, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and as Vice-Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 1920 election with Democratic Presidential Candidate James M. Cox which was won by Republican Warren G. Harding.  After suffering his defeat at the polls, Roosevelt faced a new opponent; he contracted polio.  At first it was thought he had a bad cold.  Then the diagnosis was a blood clot in his spine.  But when his fever skyrocketed and his legs became paralyzed, doctors faced the reality that the young man with a promising political career had polio.   A lesser man may have been depressed or considered it a setback at the least.  But, the ambitious Roosevelt refused to accept defeat.

Rare Photo of FDR in a wheelchair in 1941. His strength, determination and courage led to fuller, richer lives for millions of children

There was no cure for polio and it was often fatal.  But, FDR decided to rehablitiate himself.  He exercised his upper body to such an extent that he once bragged that his legs weren’t much “but look at those shoulders!”  His upper body became so developed that many people were unaware of the toll that the disease had taken on his legs.  He wore bulky leg braces and needed help from crutches to get around.  But, if something happened to the braces or crutches, he felt helpless.  The only real freedom he felt was when he swam.  He felt especially revitalized by the soothing mineral water of Warm Springs, Georgia.  Now, FDR was from a wealthy family and in 1926, he donated a large portion of his personal wealth to establish a foundation at Warm Springs so that others who suffered from the crippling disease to have the same opportunities that he had.

FDR at Warm Springs in 1923 or 1924

Of course,  FDR did not let polio get in his way as he went on to lead the United States through the Great Depression and World War II having been elected to four consecutive term as President of the United States.  But, the plans he had laid out for Warm Springs put the facility in debt, despite his huge contribution.  Fund raisers were held but the deficit was never erased.  Entertainer Eddie Cantor came up with the idea of asking everyone in the country to send a dime to the president at the White House for polio research.  The year was 1937 and the depression held the nation in its grips but Cantor thought that the catchy name he came up with, the March of Dimes, might inspire people to make a small sacrifice.

Dr. Jonas Salk Used Roosevelt Dimes to Find a Cure For Polio

Americans love to respond to the needs of others and the White House was overwhelmed with as many as 150,000 letters a day containing dimes.  That first campaign was so successful that funds not only went to help pay for treatment of polio victims, but also to fund research that might lead to the eradication of the disease.  Dr. Jonas Salk developed the vaccine for polio in 1955 and in 24 years, polio was absent from all of the Americas.  Franklin Roosevelt did not live to see the victory but he had become so related to the March of Dimes, after his death in 1945 Congress voted to honor Roosevelt with the lasting memorial of his depiction on the dime.  On this date in 1946, the first Roosevelt dimes were issued by the US mint and they have been issued ever since.  January 30 is also the anniversary birth of  the 32nd President of the United States and serves as the annual kick-off of March of Dimes fundraising efforts.   By the time Dr. Salk discovered the vaccine, millions of Roosevelt dimes had been contributed to the March of Dimes and it was on April 12, 1955, the tenth anniversary of FDR’s death, that Salk announced his discovery.

FDR: Honored in Stone, Immortalized in Dimes

There is now a relatively little known Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington DC and that certainly will last as long as the city is there.  And the history book is filled with the actions and accomplishments of FDR in his leadership of the United States.  He is a giant in the story of America in the 20th century.  But, perhaps his greatest and grandest legacy was his determination and courage to face down a personal enemy that had affected and taken so many lives.  Others might have led us through the Great Depression or World War II.  But, I think it would be hard to find another man who could have led the fight and eventual eradication of a such a terrible disease that adversely affected all of humanity.  I believe, that if you look at the face on that small,  thin dime,  you will see a legacy that touched and served more people than any executive order or political decision ever could.  It is a legacy that is little remembered but one that,on its own, should elevate Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the highest level of American honor.

00Z NAM Snow Total through Sunday Evening

Weather Bottom Line:  If TV weather was honest, this would be the exchange you would hear:

Anchor: Are we going to get snow?

Weather: Yes

Anchor: How Much?

Weather: I don’t know.

18Z Fri GFS Snow Total through Sunday Evening

When I moved here a dozen years ago, I knew just the basics about snow and snow forecasting.  I didn’t have much pragmatic experience.  See, in the real south, you don’t get snow much.  When I came here, I thought it was the first time I had lived in the North since I was a little kid in Connecticut.  Then people started telling me that this was the South, which I never figured out considering we’re 300 miles from Chicago, get down to zero or lower at least once every year and average about 16 inches of snow every year.  Anyway, one thing I was happy to learn quickly was that snow forecasting is extremely difficult.  The variables involved between a 1 inch snowfall and a 6 inch snowfall is pretty small and when you take into account those variables can be quite different over the entire viewing area, it is extremely difficult.  If we said it would rain about a half inch and we get a quarter inch,  everyone would say the forecast was right.  But, in snow terms,  the moisture that would produce a half inch of rain would produce 5 inches of snow and a quarter inch of rain only 2.5 inches.  So, if we called for a 5 inches of snow and you only got 2.5 inches, you’d say the forecast was wrong. 

18Z Fri NAM Snow total through Sunday...Not Quite as bullish as 00Z Run at top

In this case, we are on the edge of dry air.  All day on Friday,  the radar has claimed it was snowing.  But the air was so dry, with surface dewpoints in the low to mid single digits, that any precipitation that was falling evaporated.  By days end, the dewpoints were still about 8 in Louisville.  But, down in Bowling Green, the dewpoint was 19 with an air temperature of 25 and it was snowing.  The moist air is trying to push north and the big question is how far it gets and when it gets there.  The result will be a very tight gradient of snow totals with a differnce of say less than an inch to the northern extent and maybe as much as 10 inches down toward the Kentucky/Tennesse border.  So, that would be about equivalent to losing an inch every 10 miles you travel north. 

No one can forecast with exact certainty where the line of the northern extent will be. 

00Z NAM Sat 700 mb 2am Sat-saturated over Lou at 10K Feet

NAM 00Z Sat 850 mb 2am Sat-Not Quite Saturated over LOU at 5K Feet

Forecasting is really best learned through the old apprentice style of training.  You can’t learn it in a book.  Just about everything I know about snow forecasting I learned from Jay Cardosi and my own observations.  I was fortunate to be able to work with an Ace like Jay as learned all he could offer and what he had learned from some expert forecasters and his own personal education.  Now, I saw Jay do as good a job as possible in trying to responsibily explain the forecast with this particular storm.  I mean, lets face it, you can’t go on tv and say “It’s gonna snow, but we can’t say with certainty how much you will get in your backyard.”  But, what he did was show a graded map with 5-9 inchs of snow from around E-town south and 2-5 inches in the Louisville Metro and zero snow for up near Seymour.  He went even further to illustrate the difficulty with this situation though when he pointed out that he would not be surprised if we had about 2 inches near downtown Louisville at the Ohio River but five inches down at the Jefferson/Bullitt county line.   He didn’t emphatically say that would occur, but it is not out of the question for that scenario to unfold.

NAM 00Z Sat 850mb 8am-still not totally saturated over LOU at 5k Feet

GFS 00Z Sat 850 mb-8am not fully saturated over Louisville at 5K Feet

I’ll use some modeling data to support that notion.  The 18Z NAM forecast for Standiford Field called for just under 4 inches of snow.  That same 18Z NAM model showed just over 3 inches of snow for Bowman Field.  What is that…about 4 miles and almost an inch difference?  Then, on top of that, the model went and threw out an additional quarter inch of snow throughout the day on Sunday for Bowman and nothing at Standiford.  I would discount any appreciable snow on Sunday, though there could be some flurries or light snow showers.  Now, this data stands in sharp contrast with the previous NAM run at 00Z (18 hours before) that said about 1/10th of an inch.  The GFS at 00Z Friday had zero snow for Standiford and by 18Z it had gone back to what it had been saying before, which was about 2.5 inches.  Back and forth the models have gone over the past 36 hours. Snow, no snow. Snow, but more here than there. Now, if you look at the 00Z Sat NAM snow total map above, it looks like to me it has gotten even more bullish on snow totals with the southern half of Jefferson County at about 5-6 inches and the northern half 3-4 inches but it never fully saturates the air at all levels over Louisville.  24 hours before it said less than an inch.  Nor does the 00Z GFS ever saturate the entire column over Louisville.  Go figure.

RUC 00Z Sat 850 mb-8am Fully saturated over Louisville at 5K Feet. Bigger Snow from the RUC?

At 12Z Friday, the Japanese model called for about 2 inches of snow for Lou thru 8am Sat

Observing the satellite blob of snow to the west, it would appear that we will catch a good chunk of it.  The question is just how quickly the atmosphere moistens up.  The midday models all claimed it would happen shortly after midnight. But, as of 9pm EST, in Louisville the dewpoint was still just 8 and Fort Knox had only inched up to 11.  I think we’ll have to get to the mid to upper teens on the dewpoint to get snow.  So, I leave you with this.  Some of us will get next to nothing.  Some of us may push 6 inches.  If I had to guess I’d say I will get 2 inches or so at my house, depending on if there is an errant heavy snow burst or not. (I hope I’m wrong!) But, that’s just a guess and its the best I can do as, when its all said and done, it will do what its going to do where its going to do it regardless of what I say, the computers say or anyone on tv said.  All we can do is our best and on TV those guys have it really tough because they are required to go beyond the limits of human ability.  Someone will not be satisfied one way or another, but they should be.  Everyone from the boys at the NWS to the folks on TV have done about the best we can do.  I say let it snow.  My wishcast would be for a big pile of snow…but, I”ll probably have to wait till next time

Man Gets “Bionic Bottom”; America Gets the 1st Teddy Bear November 15, 2009

Did Steve Austin have more than just bionic limbs?

Bionic Limb Technology Is Here And Now We Have the "Bionic Bottom"

Do you remember Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man?   He was a test pilot that was maimed in a wreck and the government spent $6 million to give him nuclear powered limbs.  I think he also had a bionic eye.  Science fiction?  It was then, just like the communicators in Star Trek were in the late 60′s and now we have cell phones that look a whole lot like the gizmo that Captain Kirk used to say ”Scotty, beam me up.”  Since the time of the TV show starring Lee Majors, bionic limbs have become a reality.   Butt, you know that we’ve truly moved into the space age because in England, doctor’s gave a man a “bionic bottom.”   The poor guy had gotten in a car accident and suffered internal injuries.  Apparently, he suffered great muscle loss on his backside and that made it impossible to maintain control.  He had been fitted with a colostomy bag, which is a pain in the ass, to say the least.  Now, with his bionic backside, all he has to do is flip a switch, just like using a garage door opener.  Kinda funny but also amazing, if you think about it.

Original Teddy Bear With a Bow

On This Date in History: President Theodore Roosevelt was an avid outdoorsman. He lived and traveled in the west and also established the national park system when he designated five areas as national parks. He later signed the Antiquities Act of 1906 that allowed he and his successors to claim certain sites, landmarks, prehistoric structures and other items as federal monuments. While he was a great advocate of conservation, he also was an avid hunter. On this date in 1902, he was on a hunting expedition in the Mississippi Delta. Having lived in Greenville, MS for a time, I’m familiar with the area and have seen the historic marker that marks what happened. He was on a bear hunt I guess the locals wanted to make sure that the president bagged some game. Some poor bear got chased by a bunch of hounds. Roosevelt came to find the bear, knocked unconscious and tied to a tree. He was expected to shoot it. He refused.

Here is another version. He was in Mississippi to settle a border dispute and decided to do a little hunting. A bear had killed a hunting dog and it was chased down. The animal was wounded when Roosevelt came upon it and ordered it killed for mercy. Still another story says that a small bear cub was brought to Roosevelt and he refused to kill it. When I lived in Louisiana they claimed that the bear was in that state…that may harken back to the border dispute.

Michtom's Original Teddy Bear in Smithsonian

Whatever…the story made the rounds along with a drawing. I’ve never heard the one about him ordering the mercy killing…I’ve alway heard the one where he let the bear live and the drawing supports that version. Entrepreneurs decided to take advantage. Brooklyn store owners Rose and Morris Michtom asked Roosevelt for permission in using his name for their marketing of a stuffed cute bear. Roosevelt agreed and the Teddy Bear was born. Another version of the story is that Margarette Steiff in Germany made a cute bear that was an instant international hit.

Here’s the bottom line. The Teddy Bear was inspired by some story about the 26th President of the United States and a bear. Between 1903 and 1911, millions were sold and the classic tradition continues to this day.

7 AM Monday (I bet this changes)

Weather Bottom Line:  First off, the bottom line is that we should be fine on Sunday and Monday with highs still pleasant each afternoon toward 70.  Then come the question marks.  I’ve seen the official forecast and it calls for the best rain chances on Tuesday.  But, that seems at odds with the model runs as both the GFS and NAM look pretty similar.  A couple of days ago I talked about a big fat low getting cut off in the Southern Plains.  Well, that is still indicated by both models and both have this guy lurk around Missouri for a couple of days as another shortwave behind it comes along and keeps it from moving too much.  It then lifts almost due north and then the next guy comes through the Ohio Valley by the end of the week. The second feature looks more formidable as far as we are concerned given its track.  The NAM throws out about 2/3 of an inch of rain and the GFS something more like 1/5 of an inch; both advertise the rain though from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, which is at odd with the official forecast.  I kinda like that scenario.  It seems to me that the cut off guy will be held up and a slow poke in response to the next one behind it.  Either way, Sunday and Monday look very nice.

1st “Christmas Parade” casualty of the season; Amelia, Ohio mayor gives tradition tapeworm November 14, 2009

No Parade for Santa This Year in Amelia, Ohio

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet and we’ve already had our first Christmas Parade casualty. Not long ago, the village of Amelia, Ohio voted to remain classified as a village and not dissolve. For the past 28 years, the Amelia Business Association had sponsored the annual Christmas Parade but this year did not do so. The event was taken over by the village but the mayor was advised by attornies that the name should be changed to a “Holiday Parade.” The reason was a fear of lawsuits. Yet, no one is reported to have threatened to sue. The key word is “fear.” Unhappy citizens wanted a “Christmas Parade.” Church groups threatened a boycot and one church denied the use of its parking lot for the event. A group of citizens were working feverishly to fund the “Christmas Parade” going so far as to get insurance. But, lacking the wisdom of Solomon, the mayor of the village of Amelia cancelled the parade altogether. Read the first paragraph of the story carefully. It says that they were afraid of possible lawsuits from “religious groups.” However, nowhere in either story does it say anything about a religious group threatening a lawsuit. The threat from the lawsuit was apparently from no one except the minds of the lawyers and the mayor. Fear and possibility trumped reality…and as usual, the media got it wrong.  But, one thing I’ve always pondered.  These Christmas Parades typically are filled with more secular entries such as snowmen and Santa Claus.  If it is truly to be a “Christmas” parade, why haven’t there been calls for the elimination of the secular portions of the parade that have nothing to do with the real meaning of Christmas but instead secular tradition?

Fishing For Worms

A Nutty and somewhat disgusting This Date in History:

Figure 1

I guess in the 19th Century the tapeworm was a problem in the United States.   The tapeworm is relatively
common in the 21st century in Latin America, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. It comes about because of poor hygiene or undercooked meat. It’s really pretty nasty as it lives in one’s intestine and the only real clue that one has it is when it appears…use your imagination of how that happens. From what I have read, there really isn’t a symptom of weight loss. Anyway…so there may have been a problem of tapeworms in 19th Century America. Along comes American ingenuity, which isn’t always so great.

Dr. Alpheus Myers was a doctor in Logansport, Indiana and he came up with a “cure.” He called it a “tapeworm trap” and he received a patent(read details here) for it on this date in 1854. His invention was one that involved no surgical procedure or medicines. All a patient had to do was swallow a capsule of sorts that had bait inside it. Not sure what he used for “bait.” The patent said, “any nutritious substance.” Wonder if a Twinke would work?

figure 2

The capsule was attached to a string and the patient swallowed it “for a suitable duration to make the worm hungry.” What does that mean? An hour? A week? Someone was expected to walk around with a string hanging from his mouth waiting for the worm to get hungry. The worm was then expected to “seize the bait” at which time the trap catches its head in the trap. The string is then pulled out of the patients mouth and the head and entire length of the worm soon follows. I have no idea when one knows he’s caught a worm…does it tug on the line? Can you use a bobber?

If you try this at home, make sure that “in constructing the trap, care should be taken that the spring is only strong enough to hold the worm, and not strong enough to cause his head to be cut off.”

I’ll make a note of that.

Weather Bottom Line:  Enjoy the weekend.  Saturday some folks could kick up toward 70.  Sunday we’ll be in the upper 60′s as clouds increase but I really think that it will be dry for Sunday.  Cooler weather next week with a frontal boundary that will bring some rain.

Demerol, Michael Jackson & Dr. Conrad Murray-A Young Woman and Fatty Arbuckle June 29, 2009

The Killer?

Much of the speculation making the rounds regarding the death of Michael Jackson involve Demerol and Dr. Conrad Murray. Gossip pages are running amuck.  TMZ cites a Jackson family member as a source, saying that Jackson had a daily demerol shot and had one just prior to his death.  Even some mainstream press organizations are jumping on board.   However, the lawyer for Jackson physician/cardiologist Dr Conrad Murray says his client never gave prescriptions or injections of demerol or oxycontin.  It’s all speculation but there must be some reason that the Jackson family wants a second autopsy. 

I’ve had demerol before, after shoulder surgery.  I could have an injection every 3 hours.  I could set my watch by it.  From the time of the injection, I became very sleepy and quickly was snoozing.  Every time I awoke, it was exactly 3 hours and 1 minute from the time of the injection.  It’s powerful.  Now, I know of someone who suffered from migraine headaches.  Doctors prescribed demerol.  I’ve since found studies that say its not the proper solution due to the high risk of addiction and long term toxicity.  Death happened almost instantaneously.  The amount of demerol found in the system was theraputic but there was a huge toxic level in the liver.  The lab results took a long time.  If the cause of death of Michael Jackson is demorol, my limited experience would say that its from long term use, not a single lethal injection.  If a layman like me is aware of this risk, then one would think a physician would also be aware of such a risk.

On This Date in History:  When anything happens involving a big celebrity like Michael Jackson, the public can’t get enough.  This has been true for as long as there have been performing celebrities in America.  When things went well for actor/director Fatty Arbuckle, they still went bad.  He was a big star.  So, big that he signed a 3 year contract with Warner Brothers for a million dollars in 1921.  Really huge money in those days.  When he signed the deal, he had a party. At that party, a young starlet was found drunk and bleeding in Arbuckle’s room.  He was accused of rape and murder after the woman died of a punctured bladder 3 days later. It was Hollywood’s big scandals and William Randolph Hearst made it into a media circus.  Hearst didn’t care about the facts, he was in the business of selling papers and he made it into one of the first trials “of the century.”  He is quoted as saying that the scandal “sold more newspapers than any event since the sinking of the Lusitania.” 

Mugshot of Fatty

The judge found no evidence of rape but determined that Arbuckle could be tried for manslaughter.  In fact, the whole case isn’t nearly as cut and dried as I had been led to believe.  There are numerous instances of bribes by the prosecutor, false testimony and doctored evidence.  Twice juries were hung 10-2 in favor of Arbuckle with some interesting circumstances. The third trial ended in acquittal but, the prosecutor and newspapers tried Arbuckle in public with wild, unsubstantiated salacious charges and false accusations.  The main witness wasn’t allowed to testify because she was so unreliable.  During the 3rd trial she didn’t even show up as she had been found to be planning to extort money from Arbuckle from the night of the party and besides that, she was too busy on the lecture circuit spreading her tales.  They were inadmissible and unfounded in court but good enough for the stage. 

Women Couldn't keep their hands off Fatty

Though acquitted, Arbuckle’s movies were banned in the US for something that he may not have even done.  On this date in 1933 he was signed by Warner Brothers to make a feature length film.  Perhaps it was too much for the not-so-slender Fatty.  That night he had a heart attack and died. 

Maybe he would have been better off not signing contracts with the Warner Brothers.

Weather Bottom Line:  After a week of August-Like conditions we get a nice break.  We’ve also had a lot of rain.  June official numbers come in at 9.22″ which is less than an inch shy of the all-time June record of 10.11″ set back in 1960.  Wonder if there was a remnant of a tropical cyclone back then.  This year, that was not the case, just a hot and humid pattern that lent itself to storm activity.  That pattern has shifted with a big trof setting up in the east and a semi-staitionary low in the Great Lakes.  That will put us in a northwest flow which is tough to get much rain out of.  It also will drag down dry air.  Look for lows this week in the low 60′s with some folks in the upper 50′s on Tuesday morning after a reinforcing shot of dry air filters through following a cold front quietly sneaking through Monday evening.  The models want to toss out a few showers from time to time during the week but I find that a tough solution considering the relatively dry air.  High temperatures will only be in the low 80′s.  I suppose if we were to get some isolated activity popping up, the best chances wouldn’t get started until late in the week as we warm somewhat and a front to our south tries to move northward a bit.  That would be ahead of the next system that will get ejected eastward across the plains and increase storm chances on Sunday.  Right now, the 4th of July looks pretty good.  Invest 93L is dead in the tropics.

Medicine With a Magic Wand; Light Snow/Colder February 19, 2009

Nations First Quack Had 11 Mouths to Feed

 

 

Society Founded By Perkins Later Turned On Him

On This Date in History: 

In 1741, a well thought of physician and his wife introduced a new addition to Norwich, Connecticut.  Elisha Perkins entered the world and seemed to have the world as his oyster.  From his well to do roots, he too became a physician and built a pretty good practice.  He was so successful that he became one of the founders of the Connecticut Medical Society. 

But, Perkins was not only good at building a practice, he was also quite adept at building a family.  I don’t think that there were any fertility clinics in existance at the time so old Elisha must have done it the old fashioned way as he produced 10 children.  I’m sure his wife would suggest that she did most of the work.   Nevertheless, it was Elisha’s job to figure out how to support such an army of kids.  Around the time, a new theory having to do with “animal electricity” was going about.  It was a theory put forth by Luigi Glavani regarding electric generation within animals. I suppose it had something to do with magnetism and the doctor with the sterling reputation decided to cash in.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Galvani's Device Producing Electric Cell From Frog Fluid

On this date in 1796, Dr. Perkins received a patent for his miraculous Metallic Tractors!  Now, remember this is 1796….this guy got $25 for a pair of metal rods that  looked something like a couple of long hairpins.  All one had to do was to move the device across an affected part of the body for the relief of any pain or ill that one may be suffering.  His very own Connecticut Medical Society was non-plussed.  He was summarily expelled.  Nevertheless, he still kept a high profile client list including several congressmen, United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth and some say even George Washington may have used the magic wand. 

Undeterred by the Connecticut Medical Society, Perkins firmly believed in his device.  I mean, why not?  Twenty-Five dollars was a lot of money in the late 18th Century and with a list of customers like his, what’s not to believe?  In 1799, a yellow fever epidemic took hold of New York and Perkins went to the scene to save the day.  Not only did he bring his Metallic Tractor, but he also brought a touted “antiseptic”.  The term “antiseptic” is interesting because I do not believe that the notion of germs had come into the medical scene just yet.  Anyway, this magic potion was simply vinegar and sodium chloride.  Perkins ride into the history books came to an abrupt end when he entered New York, promptly developed yellow fever and died.

"Tractors" Case of Mind over Matter

But…his brilliant device did not die!  No, his son was smart enough to know a good deal when he saw it.  He continued to sell the metal rods at great profit.  The Danes fell for it when a scientific committee in Denmark called the Metallic Tractor highly effective.  In London, Perkins son decided to build on the potential promotional impact of the endorsement and he opened the Perkinean Institute!  Not sure what it did, but it is said to have “flourished.”  

Finally, the Metallic Tractors were left on the ash heep of history when somoene tested the device, finding that wooden bars instead of metal ones worked just as well.  But, it wasn’t a total loss because the test helped build the notion that the power of suggestion can be helpful when looking to recover from an ailment.

00Z Thur NAM still Bullish On Saturday Snow

18Z Wed GFS Has Best Snow East Saturday

Weather Bottom Line: 

I’m knuckling under a little.  I had said that we’d be above freezing maybe for a time on Friday.  Okay, that still holds.   But, much of the data now shows that the low swinging through the flow does so a little later.  As it approaches early Saturday, it would draw up warmer air so we push up into the low 40′s for a time on Saturday morning before we dip back below freezing.  What is more interesting than that is that the NAM is still insisting on a snow burst for the area.  The 00Z Thursday run has moved the blob of heavier snow from our north to our south and east.  It is calling for 3 inches in our area Saturday afternoon into Saturday night.  The GFS is similar but has the heaviest snow in Eastern Kentucky.  Since there is a warmer streak ahead of the precip with the NAM, then I would suppose that we would not have a 3 inch accumulation because the ground probably wouldn’t be freezing.  Then again, it dumps it so fast that maybe it would still accumulate to that level.  I’d expect 1-2 inches on Saturday.  The GFS is still calling for light snow on Thursday but, as I said in previous posts, even if the more bullish GFS comes to pass, I don’t think accumulation will be an issue except perhaps for creating a few driving problems, especially on elevated surfaces.  We stay cold through Monday and then moderate a bit on Tuesday.