Issued by The National Weather Service
Knoxville/Tri-Cities, TN
3:50 pm EST, Thu., Dec. 3, 2009
... LIGHT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY...
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ALONG THE CAROLINA COAST ON SATURDAY... WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE HELPING TO PULL MOISTURE FROM IT WESTWARD ACROSS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. WITH AN UNSEASONABLY COLD AIR MASS OVER THE REGION... SNOW WILL LIKELY DEVELOP SATURDAY MORNING ACROSS MOST OF THE REGION. BY THE AFTERNOON... TEMPERATURES IN THE VALLEY AREAS WILL LIKELY RISE INTO THE UPPER 30S TO NEAR 40 CAUSING THE SNOW TO CHANGE OVER TO RAIN.
THE EXACT PATH OF THIS COASTAL LOW WILL ULTIMATELY DETERMINE THE POSSIBLE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ACROSS THE REGION. HOWEVER... WITH THE SNOWFALL DEVELOPING DURING THE MO RING HOURS... SOME LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE BEFORE ULTIMATELY MELTING IN THE AFTERNOON. RIGHT NOW... IT APPEARS THAT UP TO AN INCH OF SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST AND CENTRAL EAST TENNESSEE... ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU. ONE TO TWO INCHES OF SNOW APPEARS TO BE POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTHEAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA... ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.
Over the last few days, various members of our household have been told by locals " snow 's a'comin' ". Well, you know what that s-word does to the Cherubs. So, they have been racing around cleaning up sticks and leaves, scouted out a few good sledding spots, gassed up the mower (to mow the spots really extra short so that snow sticks better in those areas) .... and I heard rumor that the Snow Bucket (a rubbermaid crate full of snowpants, ski gloves, etc) is to be brought in this morning. Just in case ....
Today is a school day, which means that the Cherubs will have trouble concentrating. Snow Dream Disease. Their dreamy eyes can often be found staring out the window, toward the sky.
'Tis snow time ... or at least snow forecasting time.
UPDATE: Saturday 8:17am
It's SNOWING !!!!
It's just a dusting so far ... but it's beautiful white snow, none the less.
We are heading outside shortly to play. Yippeeeeeeeeee !!
"I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."
* Psalm 9:1-2 *
Family: Ursidae, Bears
Description: In the East, nearly black; in the West, black to cinnamon, with white blaze on chest. A "blue" phase occurs near Yakutat Bay, Alaska, and a nearly white population on Gribble Island, British Columbia, and the neighboring mainland. Snout tan or grizzled; in profile straight or slightly convex. 3 pairs of upper incisors equal in size. Male much larger than female. Ht 3–3' 5" (90–105 cm); L 4' 6"–6' 2"(137–188 cm); T 3–7" (7.7–17.7 cm); HF 9–14 5/8" (23–37 cm); Wt 203–587 lb (92–267 kg).
Endangered Status: The Louisiana Black Bear, a subspecies of the Black Bear, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as threatened in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Numbers of this bear apparently held steady until European settlement and its attendant population explosion and large-scale habitat alteration. Black Bears were heavily hunted and their woodland habitats were logged and converted to farmland. The Louisiana Black Bear today survives primarily along the Tensas and Atchafalaya River basins in Louisiana, although it wanders farther afield. A recent threat to the Black Bear has been illegal killing and the export of its gall bladders to Asia.
Similar Species: Grizzly Bear is usually larger, and has generally somewhat concave facial profile, muscular hump above shoulder region, longer foreclaws, and outer pair of upper incisors much larger than 2 inner pairs.
Breeding: Mates June–early July; litter of 1–5 (usually 2) young born January–early February; birth weight not much over 7 oz (200 g).
Habitat: In East, primarily forests and swamps; in West, forests and wooded mountains.
Range: Most of Alaska southeastward through Canada to n Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and Maritimes south through New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Appalachian Mountains to Florida; south on West Coast through n California; Rocky Mountain states to Mexico. Also in Arkansas and southeast Oklahoma.
Discussion: This uniquely North American bear may be seen at any time, day or night. It occupies a range usually of to 10 square miles (20–25 sq km), although sometimes up to 15 square miles (40 sq km). The home range of the male is about double the size of that of the female. The Black Bear typically walks with a shuffling gait, but in its bounding trot it attains surprising speed, with bursts up to 30 mph (50 km/h). A powerful swimmer, it also climbs trees, either for protection or food. Although this animal is in the order Carnivora, most of its diet consists of vegetation, including twigs, buds, leaves, nuts, roots, fruit, corn, berries, and newly sprouted plants. In spring, the bear peels off tree bark to get at the inner, or cambium, layer. It rips open bee trees to feast on honey, honeycombs, bees, and larvae, and will tear apart rotting logs for grubs, beetles, crickets, and ants. A good fisher, the Black Bear often wades in streams or lakes, snagging fish with its jaws or pinning them with a paw. It rounds out its diet with small to medium-size mammals (including the young of deer, Elk, and Moose) or other vertebrates.
In the fall, the bear puts on a good supply of fat, then holes up for the winter in a sheltered place, such as a cave, crevice, hollow tree or log, under the roots of a fallen tree, or in a den that the bear excavates. In the Hudson Bay area, Black Bears will sometimes den in a snowbank. Excrement is never found in the Black Bear's wintering den. The bear stops eating a few days before retiring, but then consumes roughage, such as leaves, pine needles, and bits of its own hair. These pass through the digestive system and form an anal plug, up to 1 foot (30 cm) long, which is voided when the bear emerges in the spring.
Sows mate during their third year, with most producing one tiny cub the first winter, two or three on subsequent breedings. While the mother sleeps in the den, the almost naked newborns nestle into her fur. The mother often lies on her back or side to nurse, but sometimes sits on her haunches, with cubs perched on her lap, much like human infants; they may nurse for about a year. The female Black Bear is not receptive to males while nursing.
This bear is mainly solitary, except briefly during the mating season and when congregating to feed at streams, on large carcasses, and at dumps. Bears are often a problem around open dumps, becoming dangerous as they become habituated to human foods; occasionally people have been killed by them. Hunting Black Bears is a popular sport in some areas, both for the flesh (which must be well cooked because of trichinosis) and the hides, used for rugs. The helmets of Great Britain’s Buckingham Palace guards are made of the Black Bear’s fur.
Happy Anniversary
Red wildflower blooms.
Here we wondered
One of several gorgeous waterfalls.
Promise of tomorrow.
The countless towering rocks helped
Hemlocks lined the way on one ridge.
An American Holly (female).
We have a champion in our midst !
Cherub 6 and DadToCherubs sanded the boat,
Then DadToCherubs and Cherub 6
A grand time was had by all of the boys.
