Pat Shingleton: "The First Frost and A Snowstorm"
Monday morning the mercury slipped to 32 to post the coldest morning this season. Your weather team provided alerts with Freeze Watches and Warnings, issued for sections of the viewing area. We also identified the differences in frost scenarios and for future episodes we noted that a freeze is defined as a period of time when the surface temperature of a whole air mass remains below freezing. When tender plants aren't affected, it's an example of light frost. The most destructive frost to vegetation is a killing frost while black frost or hard frost hits northern areas in late autumn when temperatures are consistently below freezing. A hard frost will cause leaf edges and plant tips to turn black as if they were burnt. I also noticed that a major snowstorm bopped the northeast including Pennsylvania and sections of West Virginia. It reminded me of an incident that occurred in my younger years pf television. From 1979 through 1981, I commuted to Pittsburgh from Baton Rouge every week. This was due to our marriage and both participants desiring to pursue their careers. I "returned home" to showcase the weather on WPXI, the NBC affiliate. My wife Mabyn, remained at "home," here in Baton Rouge . This particular event included a traditional Monday morning landing in Pittsburgh with snow falling at a rapid rate. By the time I reached my car and began the customary trip from the airport to the Northside of town, snowfall increased at a rapid rate. The normal drive time of 25 minutes was compromised to two hours with the Parkway East, into the Fort Pitt tunnels or tubes, as we referenced them, was locked-up in traffic. In just a few hours the November 22nd snow event found a seven inch accumulation. My morning wardrobe when I left Baton Rouge included shorts and a golf shirt. With my car stuck in snow, I was greeted at the television station by the floor crew with laughter and some applause.