Cold And Windy Weather Ruffles Some Feathers

Thanks this morning to Jack Leather who sent these beautiful close ups this morning of some of his feathered friends. I don't spend enough time birdwatching. I have spent some very pleasant mornings in the woods around sunrise watching the birds searching for anything edible, playing, preening and even fighting amongst themselves or an invading bird or squirrel. To me woodpeckers are the most fun to watch, especially pileated woodpeckers. If you see one there's usually another somewhere nearby. You may not see both of them but listen carefully and you'll hear them calling back and forth as they search the trees for some tasty bugs. These large birds can also scare the daylights out of you. One morning around sunrise I had picked out a comfy tree to lean against and enjoy the sunrise coming up over a distant ridge. I was lulled almost asleep by the soft sounds of of the wilderness waking up. Then the quiet was shattered by a pileated woodpecker hammering the tree I was leaning up against, a mere two feet above my head. I jumped out of my skin! I'm not sure who was frightened more, me or the woodpecker by my coming unglued. It's easy to miss the small things around us. But hang a bird feeder out and enjoy the show for a few minutes a day and I'm sure you'll agree there are often large rewards in the smaller things in life.
This weather is for the birds today. When I came into work this morning it was actually comfortable outside. At midnight the temperature at Lovell Field was 53. Now it's 24 here at Channel 3 and feels like the teens. Snow showers are actually covering some of the roads a bit in Red Bank and across the Plateau. This activity popped up rapidly this morning which is a testament to how efficient cold air can be a squeezing out moisture. So this weekend clipper has to be watched. I think there's potential for 2" to 3" on the mountains, and 1" to 2" in the valleys. But we still have a few days to eyeball the situation. Or in keeping with today's bird theme.......watch it like a hawk.

Today: Mostly cloudy, cold and windy. North 15-25 and gusty. Temps remaining in the 30s today.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, cold and breezy. North 10 Low: 25

Thursday: Partly cloudy, cold and breezy. North 10 High: 39

Thursday night: Fair and cold. Low: 19

Friday: Mostly sunny, but chilly. High: 41 Low: 28

Saturday: 30% chance for snow showers. High: 40 Low: 28

Sunday: 20% chance for snow showers. Windy. High: 40 Low: 24