Monday, December 27, 2010

Winter Storm!

New England is having a blizzard, but Cape Cod, so far, has gotten sleet and rain. Only one inch of wet snow covers the ground. Sven and I went to the ocean before the storm began. The bottom ten feet of the ramp at Cahoon Hollow had been eaten away by the sea. No doubt there will be much erosion at the various beaches. We did not explore further because it was cold, and windy. The weatherman predicts gusts up to 60 miles per hour this afternoon. We are heating up the house and cottage in case high wind brings down power lines. Outside, the wind is already howling. At such times, I feel grateful to have a hearth and home, a warm bed to snuggle up in, a good book or two to read if the power goes out. I always worry about pipes freezing in such situations. Hopefully that will not happen this time.

Thanks go out to Patrick Burns, who emailed, "Hello. I'm one of the lifeguards at Cape Cod National Seashore, usually stationed at Marconi. I enjoy reading your blog. I found it last spring when you linked to the 'Coastal Geology' photos I took showing the dune erosion along the lower Cape. Here are a few I took yesterday. The lighting and weather made photography tricky so the photos are a bit grainy and blurry, but I did get some that show the Markle house in Ballston, the Murphy house on Nellie Road in Wellfleet, and the end of the parking lot at Lecount Hollow." Patrick included a link to his most recent photos of beach erosion, caused by the storm, which was the most powerful in 50 years.

Do you like wild weather? If so, what do you like about storms and blizzards? Do you think the recent tendency to wild weather is due to climate change?