by Steve Sakiyama –
In the Peanuts cartoon, Snoopy would sit on his doghouse roof and start a novel with this phrase, written initially by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in the 1800s. Edward also authored the phrase: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Wise words, but I always thought this was stating the obvious, given that you could never seriously write with a sword. At best, it would be large, sloppy scratchings of letters while inflicting serious damage to your desk. On the other hand, maybe these words aren’t so wise. If I were a foot soldier for William Wallace getting ready for a Braveheart-type battle, I would rather wield a sword than a pen. But that’s just me.
In literature, the weather is an effective way to set the mood, so “dark and stormy night” is the perfect setting for something scary to happen – although it is hard to imagine Snoopy writing Stephen King novels with kite-eating trees and all.
If I tried to write a novel it would be a literary fiasco. My weather mind and lack of literarity (is that a word?) would lead to something that would start like this: “It was a dark and stormy night, and meteorologist Rayne Gale drove recklessly to the town of Wynd to warn them of the destructive, tropospheric-shearing turbulence they were about to endure; but the beers he drank clouded his judgment – he missed the turnoff, and unfortunately for the townsfolk, he passed Wynd. This is where our story begins.”
Speaking of storms, the winter storms that we experience here originate over the Pacific Ocean and move on to the coast. Energy for the storm occurs when relatively warm, moist ocean air interacts with cold air from over the cold land. The interaction creates a low-pressure area near the surface (a “Low”) with a spiral motion of air inwards toward the centre of the Low (like water spiralling down a drain except on a scale of a few thousand kilometres). When the air converges to the centre, it is forced upwards and the moist air cools, condenses and creates precipitation. Along with the energy from the warm and cold air interaction, high-altitude winds can enhance the upward motion by drawing more air up like a vacuum. In response, the inward spiral motion speeds up dramatically (i.e. storm “intensification”), resulting in more precipitation and powerful winds.
So how will the plot for February weather unfold? The temperature outlook indicates an above-normal month. For precipitation, the storyline is undecided.
When reading a novel, sometimes I skip ahead to the end to find out what happens, not realizing that I don’t give the story a chance to develop, unfold and unravel the mystery slowly with each turn of the page. Sometimes in the storms of our lives, we can jump too far out in front of where we are, thinking more about where each gust is pushing us and what lies ahead. But explore what the page each day reveals and follow where it takes you. By skipping ahead, we miss the wonder of our life’s story, the epic mystery full of unexpected twists and turns, and the character development that shapes our grand, compelling narrative here in this beautiful setting.
~ Weatherwit
