Beyond Phil's Forecast
Beyond Phil's Forecast
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Some Good News For The Winter (Unless You Like It Cold And Snowy)
After our wet and chilly month of October, lots of folks were asking me if this meant anything for the upcoming winter.
Here is the answer. NO! November has started out with some nice, mild conditions and all indications are that this will be a warmer than normal winter.
The first image from the Climate Prediction Center shows the latest 90-day outlook for temperatures for November through January.
It shows a huge area of the country with above normal temperatures. Sure, there will be some chilly to downright bone-chilling days, but, the main theme will be warmer than average.
In addition, here is the 90-day outlook for December through February:
And let's look even further out into the future. Check out the 90-day outlook for January through March....
You can thank the "El Nino" phenomenon for what we think is to come. El Nino is the periodic abnormal warming of Pacific Ocean waters. When this happens, the jet stream tends to get pushed to the north during the winter, and that keeps the really cold stuff up in Canada and it looks like that will be the trend this time around!
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Snow Fences Are Going Up
Although there is snow in the forecast for western and central South Dakota as we head toward Thursday and Friday, we should have mainly rain in the Sioux Falls area.
However, I'm seeing more and more signs of the approaching winter season. For example, I saw my first snow fence of the season very close to my house. And although I've lived here for 21 years and know exactly what's in store in the fall and winter, it's still kind of a shock to see those go up for the first time.
But stay tuned.....this winter may not be that bad. I'm planning on blogging soon about how the next few months may be shaping up quite nicely for our area!
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Metrodome = Jason From Friday The 13th?
Back in May, I blogged about how I won't miss the HHH Metrodome. Although the stadium holds great memories for Twins fans, nobody I know can truthfully say that they like the place.
I ran across a blog today that was written by Joe Posnanski. He's a writer for the Kansas City Star who recently became the senior writer over at Sports Illustrated. I love the way Joe crafts a story and he put one together about the dome that wonderfully describes how the "Hump-A-Dump" experience is like a horror movie....especially if you play for the visiting team.
Read his story HERE and see if you don't agree!
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Men, Have You Had Your Prostate Exam Yet?
On October 22, I'll turn 49 years old. I've always heard that if you're a man and you're close to 50, you should get your prostate checked. If it's caught early, prostate cancer is one of the easiest cancers to cure.
And that's why I'm going to get my prostate checked on Wednesday by Dr. Koziak from Avera McKennan....live on KSFY Action News! No, it's not to be sensationalistic. It's not a ratings ploy. We are not in a ratings period until November. No, it's to show men that there's no reason to put off getting a prostate exam. It's fast, it's easy and it's not painful.. Sure, it's a little uncomfortable, but it could save your life.
I hope you can tune in Wednesday, September 16 at 6 p.m.!
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Saving On The Air Conditioning Bill
I'm the kind of guy who likes it chilly in the house (which is quite the opposite of how my wife likes it, so it can be a bone of contention). But I'll tell you this...I can't even remember the last time I turned on the air conditioner. The days have been very pleasant for the most part and the nights have been great for opening the windows and letting the fresh air flow on in.
I even like the sound of crickets at night! And when morning comes, the sounds of birds chirping and dogs barking in the distance are very soothing.
As a matter of fact, this meteorological summer (the months of June, July and August) in Sioux Falls came in tied for the seventh coolest ever. According to the Sioux Falls National Weather Service, the average summer temperature in Sioux Falls is 70.4 degrees. This year our average temperature was 67.5 degrees which ties us with the summer of 1951.
So, if you've been thinking that your utility bills have been lower this past summer, you're absolutely right. Let's just hope this cooler than normal stuff doesn't stick around into the winter!
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Cuddyer Better Than Killebrew?
It was a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri. The sun was out, there was a gentle breeze, and I was at one of my favorite places in the world....Kauffman Stadium. The Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals were were wrapping up their three game series.
The game was a very well played one through six innings. The score was tied 1-1 when the Twins came up to bat in the top of the seventh. Michael Cuddyer was the lead-off batter and he promptly deposited a pitch from the Royals' Brian Bannister into the left-field seats to put Minny up 2-1. But that was only the beginning. The Twins scored 5 more times that inning before Cuddyer came up again with a runner on. He hit another towering shot even further into left field that bounced off the Kauffman Stadium water spectacular.
I'm a Royals fan but even I had to applaud what he had done. Little did I know that Cuddyer's two home runs in one inning had never been done before in the long and storied history of the Minnesota Twins. So I was lucky enough to see history made in person.
One more thing I just found out....earlier this season Cuddyer had hit for the cycle, meaning he had a single, double, triple and home run all in the same game. That made him the only player in major league history to hit two home runs in one inning AND hit for the cycle all in the same season.
Talk about a big time big fly!
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I'll Sound A Little Funny For A While
If you've seen and heard me give the weather on KSFY Action News lately, you've probably noticed that my speech sounds a little different. You're right, it does!
It's kind of a long story, but here goes: About 6 years ago, I had my front left incisor knocked out by an accidental flying elbow on the basketball court. As a result, I had to have root canal to take every last bit of that tooth out of my head. I then had what's known (I believe) as a "post and core" inserted into that space. It was then covered by a crown and it looked like a normal tooth.
Unfortunately, because of a "root fracture" and resulting infection, I had to have all that taken out on August 3rd when I had oral surgery. I'm going to have a "dental implant" which basically means I've had a screw inserted into my upper jaw. I have to wait 4 to 6 months now for the bone in my jaw to grow around that screw. After that, I'll have a new crown installed.
In the meantime, I have a removable partial denture, or "flipper", in my mouth. It's called a "flipper" because I can take it out at night when I go to bed. It does make it look I have a real tooth in that space, but it also makes me slur from time to time as I attempt to talk.
With practice, I hope to get my speech back to normal. So, when you see my weathercasts for the next few months, please don't think that I've been drinking or doing anything illegal!
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My Newest Favorite Ride
My family and I just returned from a weekend trip to the Twin Cities area and I just found my new favorite rollercoaster ride.
It's at Mall Of America's Nickelodeon Universe and it's called the SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge. That's the coaster in the picture at the top of the page. Sure, it sounds like a kiddie ride, but it's definitely not!
You start by going straight up and you literally go straight down in a hair-raising drop. After that, it's about two minutes of frightening fun with lots of loops and rolls.
The next day we headed out to Valleyfair and had a great time on a beautiful day.
I think I'd have to rate the "Renegade" as my favorite ride there. That ride's first big drop is pictured below. Normally, wooden coasters leave me with a bad headache but I came away from this ride with nothing but a fast pulse and wish to get right back on!
The "Steel Venom" ride comes in at a very close second.
I'm planning of hitting Worlds Of Fun down in Kansas City in a few weeks and I'll make sure and let you know what ride(s) float my boat down there.
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A Sea Of Green
As I was driving back to Sioux Falls after visiting my folks in Iowa this past weekend, it all of a sudden hit me how everything looked so beautifully lush and green. Whether it was the trees, people's lawns or farm fields, there was no brown in sight.
There were times there was nothing but green as far as you could see in every direction.
Apparently, many of us in South Dakota and Iowa have had just the right amount of rainfall. Sure, there have been hail storms and heavy down pours here and there, but it seems that those instances have been few and far between.
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Never Been Stung
I've never been stung. Not by a bee, not by a wasp, not by anything with a stinger. I don't know how many of you can say that. I don't know if it's rare, but I certainly hope the streak continues.
Ever since I can remember, I've been deathly afraid of honeybees, bumblebees, hornets, yellow jackets, mud daubers....you get the picture. So, everytime I see anything resembling one of those creatures, I run away screaming like a little kid.
Sure, it sounds wimpy, but it's kept me from a nasty sting so far and I've been on this world for almost 49 years.
The reason I thought of this is that I was recently out at my brother-in-law's house which is in rural Chancellor. We had just finished a very manly project of laying cement in hot and humid weather. After completing the task, we sat down in his garage to relax and have a cold one. Sure enough. here comes a big nasty looking wasp flying right at me. Of course, Larry, my brother-in-law, tells me to relax and that it won't bother me if I don't bother it. But once that nasty thing got within two feet, I was up and running!
Did I get laughed at? You bet. But I'll take the sting of humiliation over a real sting any time, any day!
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KSFY Action Weather
Sioux Falls
53.0 °F
Fair
Wind
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Northwest at 4.6 MPH (4 KT)
Humidity
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38 %
Pressure
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1019.4 mb
Aberdeen
47.0 °F
Pierre
56.0 °F
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