Weekend Ice Storm Threat Building

UPDATED POST:  Thursday, January 12, 2017, 3:49 p.m.

Details on the potential late weekend ice storm are still coming together.  The specifics will likely change some more as we head into the weekend.

A “Winter Storm Watch” has been issued for late Saturday night into late Sunday night for many of the counties just to the south of the Quad Cities.

Right now that includes Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Lee, Louisa, and Washington counties in Iowa and Henderson, Knox, Mercer, Stark, and Warren counties in Illinois.

By the time we get to the weekend, I’m thinking that this “Winter Storm Watch” will be upgraded to an “Ice Storm Warning”.  Those warnings are already in place for parts of downstate Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma for the weekend.

Also, I think the Quad Cities will be included in future updates.

I still think parts of the area will see some light snow or a wintry mix Friday night, but the big event — possible significant icing — arrives late Saturday night into early Monday morning.

Be sure to join me Friday from 5-7 a.m. on “Local 4 News This Morning” for the latest information.

And, while I’m not working this weekend, you know I’ll have updates on my blog and on my Facebook page!

Anthony

ORIGINAL POST:  Thursday, January 12, 2017, 5:50 a.m.

It’s been an interesting overnight and early Thursday morning with thunder and lightning, sleet, and freezing rain for hometowns south and east of the Quad Cities.

Several flashes of lightning moved through Knox County around 2-3 a.m. Thursday.

This brought a glaze of ice that coated roadways, sidewalks, and cars making for a messy morning commute.

This will move out quickly this morning and we could see some sun break through the clouds Thursday afternoon.

Our next disturbance arrives Friday night into early Saturday.  This one will bring light snow and light freezing drizzle.

For the past week or so, I’ve been telling you about a bigger storm coming late in the weekend.  That’s still on the way, but our computer models are still not agreeing on the path or timing of the storm.

With that being said, I still expect a wintry mix Sunday and Sunday night that could bring a dangerous accumulation of snow and ice.

By Monday, temperatures warm to around 42° and I’m forecasting the wintry mix early that morning to change to all rain during the day into the evening.

It’ll end as a light wintry mix Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

Since there are still many variables with this late weekend storm this far out, plan on hazardous conditions later this weekend and keep up on the latest forecast.

Temperatures next week will be rather mild for January.  Highs will warm into the low-to-mid-40s.

Anthony

Listen Up! This Might Be About You!

Opinions, social media, professionalism, and tolerance are at the forefront of my thoughts today and I just have to vent.

We all have opinions and we express them to our friends and to people we might not even know through social media.  Facebook, I’m looking at you.

I have two Facebook pages — one personal and one professional.  On my personal page, I share my thoughts, my travels, my family, and so on.  On my work page, I only share weather updates and weather-related stories.

Clearly, some of the 3,550 “friends” I have on my personal page are linked to the wrong page.  It’s taken this divisive election and its aftermath for some to see that.

You clearly need to “like” my professional page if you want my accurate forecasts and updates without my personal opinions!

Let me share some personal things about me:  I love my family, my job, my real friends (in person and online), wine, champagne, vodka, desserts, buffets, and the f-word.

The bottom line is that I’m human and I’m not perfect.  As we all know, I’m not alone.

Because of my profession, I’ve developed a thick skin over the years, but people can still occasionally get under it.  Trust me, that f-word comes to mind and it does come out. But, because of work and that I’m a “southern gentleman”, I publicly suppress it.

Two days ago, a woman told me I was just as bad as Donald Trump.  Seriously, that makes me want to LOL.  Never in my life have I uttered or even thought, “grab her by the p—y”!!!

For the record, there are very few things that Donald Trump and I have in common:  I’m sure we’re anatomically similar and, in 1993, I used sun-in on my brown hair and instead of getting the desired ginger-color I was going for, my hair turned a shade of orange!  The horror!  The horror!

I guess where we’re most similar is that we both hold grudges — I forgive, but I don’t forget!

Sorry, I got sidetracked there.

And, then yesterday, I had my own Meryl Streep/post-Golden Globe moment.

A Facebook “friend” posted on my page:  “I think it’s about time that you quit whining also I’ve heard enough of crap I’ve heard enough from you he will be our president like it or not accept it for what it is your complaining is not going to change a thing spend a little more time doing your weather instead of complaining give the man a chance”

Trust me, I didn’t change the incoherent thought process, the run-on sentences, and the lack of punctuation in the post!  (I did highlight for you where he gave me work advice.)

So, let’s clear up some things.  March will mark my seventh year on Facebook.  I only had a personal page then and not a professional page.

If you’re one of those people that sent a friend request because you know me as a television meteorologist, but you don’t want me to have opinions and share them, you have two options: (1) like my professional page where you’ll only find weather and unfriend me on my personal page, or (2) just unfriend me on my personal page.

I don’t send Facebook “friend request” to people.  In the seven years on the site, I can count on two hands the number of people I’ve sent a “friend request” to and they’re “celebrities”.

I look at Facebook as my online “home”.  Since I’m not a bobble head or a “bubble headed bleached blonde [who] comes on at five”, I’ll continue to share my opinions with people that visit.

If you don’t like what I have to say or you disagree, I allow you to express that diplomatically.  But, when you hijack my page with a long string of comments or are rude to me or my other guests, I definitely don’t want to be your “friend” and I’m more than happy for you to go away!

With that being said, I want the country to survive the next four years.

However, that doesn’t mean I should keep my thoughts about him or his presidency to myself.  I know you’ve heard the all the things said about President Obama over the past eight years and about Hillary Clinton for the past thirty years!

You can’t have it both ways!

Recently, someone I trust dearly said to me, “For someone who talks tolerance, that wasn’t very tolerant”.

It got me to thinking and I’ll quickly expand on that.  When I talk “tolerance”, it’s not a wide umbrella that encompasses everything.

For me, it’s human rights and equality.  No one person — regardless of race, sexual orientation, sex, religion or lack of religion, age, financial status, and the list goes on and on — is better than another person.

There are people that recite passages from that good book about being made in his image and then there’s the document that this country was built on that mentions “all men are created equal”.

Those things may be true, but it doesn’t matter if we don’t extend courtesy to our fellow man.  Basic human rights are what I’m talking about when I speak of “tolerance”. However, I draw the line with ignorance.  That’s not under my umbrella of “tolerance”!

If you’ve made it this far, when you visit my blog or my social media “home”, show that your mother raised a decent child and be diplomatic.

Just as I can’t wrap my head around the fact that you may have voted for Trump, you’re probably thinking the same thing about me and my love for Hillary Clinton.

I’m a “Hillary flunky” (Trump-ism there) and if that’s too much for you to handle, then grow a pair and just unfriend me.  Or, if I post something you don’t like about #45, then scroll on by the comment and carry on with your day.

Anthony

Three Chances This Week for Rain, Snow, & Ice

UPDATED POST:  Tuesday, January 10, 2017, 6:00 a.m.

The first of three weather systems is bringing a mild start to your Tuesday.

Highs today will top out in the 40s to near 50° in the Quad Cities and for southern hometowns.

Light rain is likely through early afternoon.  It’ll start changing over to a wintry mix to the northwest of the Quad Cities and spread eastward as temperatures crash into the 30s and then the 20s this evening.

The wintry mix will end as light snow early tonight.

Winds this afternoon will reach 30-40 miles-per-hour with gusts to 50 mph.

The second weather system will bring a wintry mix to the area Wednesday afternoon into early Thursday.

And, finally, we could see a one-two punch this weekend with the strongest of the disturbances.

Light snow or a wintry mix is likely Friday night into early Saturday.

After a lull in the activity Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, the strongest of the low pressure systems brings a moderate accumulation of snow, ice, or a cold rain for Sunday and Monday.

Some models have the storm to the northwest of us, which would warm us and give us mostly rain with some ice.

Other models have the storm closer to us with colder air and more snow and ice.

At this point in the game, expect a potent storm with the potential to cause hazardous conditions for Iowa and Illinois this weekend.

Watch for updates as we go through the week.

Anthony

ORIGINAL POST:  Monday, January 9, 2017, 5:45 a.m.

The quiet weather pattern that’s dominated for the past couple of weeks will be coming to an end as three different storm systems bring a potpourri of weather this week.

 

The first of those weather systems will bring above average temperatures into the 30s today and 40s tomorrow and early Wednesday.

Drizzle and fog develops across eastern Iowa and northern Illinois tonight and with temperatures below or near freezing from Interstate 80 northward, there could be some freezing drizzle.

This icing threat will be short-lived as temperatures warm quickly above freezing early Tuesday with light rain and highs in the 40s.  By the time the rain ends Tuesday night, it could briefly change back to light snow.

Another weather system arrives Wednesday night into early Thursday.  This one looks to be mostly a light snow event.

As I told you last week, I was watching a storm system for next weekend.  This one still looks the most promising for those of you wanting an accumulating snow.

While there are many pieces of the weather puzzle that have to come together, the storm system this weekend may arrive in two waves — Friday night and Saturday and then Saturday night and Sunday.

This will have to be watched closely because it could bring a sticking snow, but it could also bring ice to the area.

Stay tuned on the latest weather developments this week.

Meteorologist Anthony Peoples

Pretty Cold, But Where’s The Snow?

While winter’s chill is settling in across the Mississippi and Illinois Valleys, we’re still not seeing much in the way of accumulating snow.

That little cartoon isn’t the case right now, but a quick-moving disturbance did bring some flurries and light snow overnight and early Thursday morning.

We’re officially at 13.8″ of snow for the winter of 2016-2017 in the Quad Cities (that’s from Quad City International Airport in Moline, Illinois.)  Davenport has picked up more snow (16.5″).

Last year, at this time, we were at 13.4″ in the Quad Cities.

Average at this point in the winter is 11.7″.

Since we’re at almost the same amount of snow in the Quad Cities this winter compared to last winter, it’ll be interesting to see how much snow we fall in the next few months.

We ended up with 24.1″ of snow for the winter of 2015-2016.  The average snowfall in the Quad Cities for a winter is 31.6″.

Anthony

20 Favorites for Patty Loveless’ Birthday

Patty Lee Ramey is one of my all-time favorite singers and she’s also from Kentucky, my home state.  I’m from the western part of the state and she’s from the eastern part.

She released her first album about thirty years ago and in 1988, she scored her first hit, the #10 country song, “If My Heart Had Windows”.

Today, Patty Loveless turns 60.

I was fortunate enough to see her in concert in Columbus, Ohio, back in 2001, for my birthday.  I’d love to see her again!

Patty’s 1994 release “When Fallen Angels Fly” is my favorite of her albums, but my favorite Patty song is not from that album.

In honor of her birthday, I’m sharing my twenty favorite Patty Loveless songs.  Some topped the charts, while others were just outstanding album tracks.

“THE GRANDPA THAT I KNOW”

“WHEN I REACH THE PLACE I’M GOING”

“BIG CHANCE”

“ON DOWN THE LINE”

“BLUEGRASS WHITE SNOW”

“ON YOUR WAY HOME”

“YOU WILL”

“TIMBER, I’M FALLING IN LOVE”

“YOU CAN FEEL BAD”

“I’M THAT KIND OF GIRL”

“HALFWAY DOWN”

 

“THAT’S THE KIND OF MOOD I’M IN”

“PRETTY LITTLE MISS”

“I TRY TO THINK ABOUT ELVIS”

“HERE I AM”

“OVER MY SHOULDER”

“CHAINS”

“YOU DON’T SEEM TO MISS ME”

x

“NOTHIN’ BUT THE WHEEL”

“BLAME IT ON YOUR HEART”

Happy Birthday Patty!

Anthony

 

2016 Was A Very Warm Year

Happy New Year!

2017 is off to a warmer than average start in the Quad Cities after the first couple of days, but that won’t last as much colder air blasts into the area Tuesday afternoon.

Now that 2016 is behind us, it’s time for a quick look back.

Eleven of the twelve months of the year experienced above average temperatures officially in the Quad Cities. Only April 2016 was below average (-0.3°).

It was a very warm fall with well above temperatures in September, October, and November.

Those three months were among the six most above average months of the year.

As for precipitation in 2016, we picked up 36.46″ in the Quad Cities, which was 1.50″ below average.

This is in sharp contrast to 2015 when precipitation for the year was 6,58″ above average.

Anthony

2017, Don’t Let Me Down

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a great time saying goodbye to 2016.  While I worked Saturday night, I was home in time to ring in the new year with my husband, Ray, enjoying some champagne and shrimp cocktail.

Our 15-year-old daughter, Gretel, is growing up and growing out of her parents — she welcomed in 2017 with her friends.

I’m always pontificating about life (the past, the current, and the future).  It’s like being visited by the three ghosts (spirits) at Christmas, but I do it year around.

While reflecting on where I’ve been, the mistakes I’ve made, and what I’d change if given the chance to do it all over again, I still look forward.  I’m always counting down to something.

I remember so many times, as a kid, saying that I wished a certain event or date would arrive and my grandmother, Helen, telling me, “you are wishin’ your life away.”

As I became more prospective as a teenager and being 51 years younger than my grandmother, I foolishly thought that she meant I was wishing her life away.  After all, I was young and I was looking forward to the rest of my life.

Now that I’m 52 and approaching those golden years like my grandmother, I realize two things:  I’m still always planning and counting down to something, but I’m also very aware that I’m no longer a youngster.

It doesn’t help knowing that my mother died at the age of 47 and my father died at 55.  With each passing year and each celebration of the new year, it makes me think even more.

The bottom line is that I’m blessed in life.

I have a wonderful family, my health, and a job that I love for the most part.  While I’d love to make more money (who doesn’t?), I’m in a position to travel and see places that many may never visit.

Last year, I got to visit China, see New York City, Las Vegas and Cleveland, Ohio, again, and I checked out Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, for the first time.

I already have a few things planned for 2017.  As I often joke, I work just so I can travel.  Honestly, I do it to pay the bills, too!

Speaking of work, I can’t believe I’ve now worked in the Quad Cities television market as a meteorologist for more than 11 years.  I love what I do, but I also love to write.  There are times when I think about changing careers.  Will that be in 2017?

We all know that life is full of changes and uncertainty and I’m not shy about my feelings of dread for the next four years.

Almost two months after the shocking presidential election, I’m still devastated with the results.

While three million more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton to be the 45th president of the United States, the electoral college was obligated to vote otherwise.

Since I live in the real world, I know some of you voted for someone other than Hillary and you got your wish!  I hope I never hear you express regret over that decision.  You won’t find a bit of sympathy coming from me.

With that being said, I sincerely hope for the best for America (and the world).

As someone put it after the stunning election — wishing for the new president to fail is like boarding a plane and hoping it crashes.

If we look at the next four years as a flight, I sure wish that Sully was in the cockpit.  Hell, I’d be happy if it was Tom Hanks playing Sully in the cockpit!

“Oh, but I need some time off/From that emotion/Time to pick my heart up off the floor.”

As the late George Michael expressed to us, we got to have “faith”!

With all this in mind, I wish you and yours the very best in the year ahead.

If you had a great 2016, I hope 2017 is even better.  If 2016 was less than stellar, I hope the new year treats you better.

As Mariah Carey laughs off in my favorite version of “Auld Lang Syne”, “does anybody really know the words?”.  That sounds like life to me!

By the way, I get to see Mariah and Lionel Richie in Nashville, Tennessee, this spring!  See, that’s something I’m counting down to. 🙂

If life gets you down or gives you lemons, make lemonade.  If there’s no sugar to sweeten the lemonade, just smile, say “f*ck” it, and add a shot of vodka!

Happy New Year!

Anthony

Goodbye 2016 and Hello New Year

Happy Holidays!

For me, there’s so much peace and tranquility that comes along with the sounds of Christmas music, the bright and cheery decorations and twinkling lights, and the great culinary treats, especially the cookies and desserts.

While this is my favorite time of the year, I know it also brings sadness to those missing loved ones or going through hard times.  For those friends, I’ll say a special prayer this holiday season.

We’re all doing well.  I’m still the morning meteorologist for the CBS affiliate in the Quad Cities, Ray is the Economic Development and Planning Director for the city of Moline, and Gretel is now a sophomore and just finished “Mary Poppins” at school.  Also, my sister, Tammy, is still in Moline.  Her family lives locally, too.

We travel as much as work (and our budget) allows.

Since my last update, we kicked off our adventures with Tammy in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, last December.

For Christmas last year, we gave Gretel a “Spring Break” trip to New York City in March.

While in the “Big Apple”, we saw the amazing Carly Rae Jepsen in concert.

We also saw the off-Broadway show, “Disaster”, which was very funny.  We also went to the Empire State Building, Madame Tussauds, and cruised around the Statue of Liberty.

In April, Ray and I took a two-week trip to China.  We arrived in Beijing and departed from Shanghai (stunning harbor).

While there, we walked the Great Wall of China, visited Tiananmen Square, the Terra Cotta Soldiers Excavation Site, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Three Gorges Dam, and took a cruise on the Yangtze River.  This was just part of all that we did. While we don’t plan on returning to China, we’d highly recommend this trip of a lifetime!

We made our annual jaunt out to Las Vegas in July, one of the hottest month of the year in the desert!  What were we thinking?

We ate at the Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas again and it was amazing, just as we remembered.  This time, we experienced the incredible Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace, too.

In early September, I went with Ray to a work conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  We went down a few days early and checked out Charleston and Hilton Head, South Carolina (during Hurricane Hermine) and Savannah, Georgia.

Savannah was amazing and I could see us living there.  We ate some amazing food including down-home southern cooking at Paula Deen’s restaurant.

In Atlanta, while Ray was at his conference, I went to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Together, we visited the Atlanta Zoo and “Chihuly in the Park” at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Ray also had a conference in Cleveland, Ohio, in late September and I got to spend a few days with Betty (“Mom”), who lives nearby.

This year, we saw four other concerts. Ellie Goulding and Years & Years in Rosemont, Duran Duran and Chic in Las Vegas, the Dixie Chicks in Moline, and the Pet Shop Boys in Chicago.

Let me share these memories from our shows.

The highlight of the year, if I had to choose only one, came in January.

I’ll never forgot the cold winter day in Davenport, Iowa, when I met Hillary Clinton. I wished her good luck and she placed her hand on my shoulder during the selfie.

Sadly, we all know how that turned out in November!  Regardless of how you voted, I was very dismayed.  But, I hope for the best for the U.S. and the world over the next four years.

That was our 2016 and I can’t wait to see where the road of life takes us in 2017!

May hope and faith conquer fear and hate!

Anthony

Christmas Travel Concerns

ORIGINAL POST:  Friday, December 23, 2016, 6:12 a.m.

Two days before Christmas and we have two weather systems that’ll create some travel problems for Iowa and Illinois.

The first system arrives today.  With highs of 32°-37°, we’ll see a combination of rain and snow.  Northern hometowns will see almost all snow.  Along Interstate 80 and to the south, this wintry mix may change over to mostly rain this afternoon.

A “Winter Weather Advisory” goes into effect this morning through 9 p.m. Friday.  This includes Jo Daviess and Jackson counties.  Snow accumulations there could be 1-3″.  For the Quad Cities and along I-80, an inch may accumulate, but only a dusting is expected south.

If you’re traveling across northern Iowa today, 3-6″ of snow will fall there.

We get a break Saturday, but the next system starts moving in late Saturday night and early Christmas morning.  With dense fog and drizzle developing and temperatures near freezing, it could become rather slick early Christmas morning, especially north.

As the main system moves in Christmas afternoon and evening, it’ll be all rain because temperatures will warm into the upper-40s and 50s.

We could even hear a few rumbles of thunder Sunday evening.

The front will pass through Sunday night and bring rather blustery conditions with winds approaching 40 miles-per-hour or higher Monday with temperatures crashing throughout the day.

Happy holidays and be safe out there today and this weekend.

Anthony

Best Songs of 2016

This week I’ve counted down my 20 favorites moves I saw this year and my 16 favorite albums of 2016.

You can find those here and both will open in a new window.

Movies:  https://anthonypeoples.wordpress.com/2016/12/20/best-movies-of-2016/

Albums:  https://anthonypeoples.wordpress.com/2016/12/21/best-albums-of-2016/

Before we begin this year’s countdown, I want to share my #1 songs from the past three years.  Last year, it was “Want To Want Me” by Jason Derulo.  In 2014, it was “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift and in 2013, Hailey Rowe’s “My Boyfriend Is Gay” was my favorite.

Now, it’s time for me to count down my 20 favorite songs of 2016.

My list started out with 43 and it was difficult narrowing them down.  Sorry, The Weeknd! “Starboy” came in at #21, so we’ll have a drink for you and feature it anyway!

#21  “STARBOY” — THE WEEKND FT. DAFT PUNK

“BLUE AIN’T YOUR COLOR” — KEITH URBAN

“FOUR YEARS OF CHANCES” — MARGO PRICE

“ON MY WAY” — CARDIKNOX

“ROSES” — THE CHAINSMOKERS FT. ROZES

“THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR” — CALVIN HARRIS FT. RIHANNA

FLASHBACK BONUS!

That was my #16 favorite song this year and this was my 16th favorite song from last year!

“YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE”  — DAVE AUDE FT. OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN & CHLOE LATTANZI

Now, back to my favorites of 2016!

“IN THE NIGHT” — THE WEEKND

“THINK OF ME” — CHRIS YOUNG & CASSADEE POPE

BONUS! BONUS! BONUS!

If you’re not an established country artist, it takes forever for songs to move up the chart.  This amazing song was released in March 2015, but it’s still the 36th most played country song of 2016!!!  We’re talking 21 months.  Crazy!

It’s still one of my favorites and the video is very inclusive!

“STAY A LITTLE LONGER” — THE BROTHERS OSBORNE

“LET ME LOVE YOU — DJ SNAKE FT. JUSTIN BIEBER

“WORK FROM HOME” — FIFTH HARMONY & TY DOLLA $IGN

This is one video where you could mute the sound and just watch, but then you’d miss out on an incredible song!

Bye Camila!  I know that Ally, Normani, Dinah, and Lauren will be just fine and I can’t wait for the new music!

“SLUMBER PARTY” — BRITNEY SPEARS FT. TINASHE

“CRASH” — USHER

“SOMEDAY” — MICHAEL BUBLE FT. MEGHAN TRAINOR

“DON’T LET ME DOWN” — THE CHAINSMOKERS FT. DAYA

“LOVE YOURSELF” — JUSTIN BIEBER

“SOMETHING IN THE WAY YOU MOVE” — ELLIE GOULDING

“PILLOWTALK” — ZAYN

FLASHBACK BONUS!

Before we get to this year’s #4, here was my #4 song from 2014.

“ANACONDA” — NICKI MINAJ

“ME TOO” — MEGHAN TRAINOR

“SIT STILL LOOK PRETTY” — DAYA

 

“YOUTH” — TROYE SIVAN

This was a tough call because I love this song and it was a virtual tie for my favorite song of the year.

“FADED” — ALAN WALKER FT. ISELIN SOLHEIM

19-year-old Norwegian record producer and DJ Alan Walker was only 17 when he produced a version of this song called “Fade” without vocals.

The new version, “Faded”, featuring Norwegian singer Iselin Solheim hit #1 in 17 countries and reached the Top Ten in, at least, ten more countries (add another one if you count the Billboard Dance Club Songs in the U.S., where it went to #4.)

So, here it is — my favorite song of 2016.  “Faded” has been viewed almost 828 million times on YouTube!

Now, it’s time to share my least favorite songs of 2016.

#4 “Broccoli” (Big Baby D.R.A.M)

#3 “Black Beatles” (Rae Sremmurd)

#2  “For Free” (DJ Khaled & Drake)

Normally, I wouldn’t show the video for my least favorite song of the year.  But, it’s so bad and hideous and the video is just so… indescribable.  Here it is!

#1  “M.I.L.F. $” (Fergie)

I seriously can’t leave you on that note.  That would be cruel. 🙂

I jumped on “Cake By The Ocean” by DNCE late last year.  It was my #6 song of 2015. Meanwhile, it really took off on Top 40 radio this year in the U.S.  It’s the 12th most played song of the year.

So, I’m featuring my #6 song of 2015 again.  To get us through these cold winter months, let’s just think of “Cake By The Ocean”.

By the way, the DNCE album is my 6th favorite album of 2016.

Anthony