On this day in weather history…

April 11th, 2012 at 9:04 pm by under Weather

On this day back in April, 1965, the Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak occurred. This outbreak mostly affected Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio and produced 47 tornadoes that killed 271 people and injured 3,400 people in just a 12 hour span. Two F4 tornadoes that were a part of this Outbreak affected southeastern Michigan quite severely. These two tornadoes were responsible for 44 deaths, 612 injuries, and over $32 million in damage in Hillsdale, Branch, Lenawee, and Monroe counties.


Michigan Severe Weather Awareness Week

April 4th, 2012 at 8:10 pm by under Weather

The National Weather Service in Michigan has put together a website designed to get you and your family prepared for severe weather.  This website includes a recap of last year’s severe weather season. To access this site, click here…

Severe Weather Awareness week in Michigan is April 15th through April 21st.


Speaking to UT Students

April 3rd, 2012 at 6:42 pm by under Face of FOX Toledo, Uncategorized

Today, I went to UT to speak to David Strukel’s (my past professor) media performance communication classes.

I went in there just hoping to inspire and be real with them. I talked to them as if they were my friends, I mean we are pretty close in age.

I may be young but I have experience, knowledge, insight and advice about the TV industry.

I talked to them about my high school, college experiences including my NYC BET internship, and my latest achievement, being The Face of FOX Toledo.

It just made me happy to know they were interested but it makes me have faith in our future generations.

They asked many questions, gave me feedback. It was a great experience.

My goal was to inspire and them to be able to leave with something they could remember.


Getting busy in the kitchen

March 30th, 2012 at 7:00 pm by under Uncategorized

Last weekend I stumbled upon this blog called Divascancook.com.  Let me just say, it changed my world!  I love to cook and bake, and I’m always looking for new recipes.  But this blog got me excited to try some new things.  It has recipes and VIDEOS that show you how to make everything step by step.  So far I have tried 6 recipes.  They were all delicious.  Here are a few pictures of some of my creations.

 

This stuffed pepper was amazing. My bub wanted in on the action. LOL.My pup loves to hang out in the kitchen with me. I think he just likes to sit there so he can hang out and wait for food to fall on the floor. lol


I was wrong…

March 29th, 2012 at 3:54 pm by under News, Uncategorized

Ok, the whole “Knife accident” happened in February…. but, I still have the scar in March- so I will continue to include it in my “March happenings” post. We all make mistakes, right?? Haha


A March to remember… or forget.

March 29th, 2012 at 3:49 pm by under News, Uncategorized

As the end of March quickly approaches, I figured now is a good time to reflect on what this wacky month is brought us. Where do I start? Oh, how about my accident in the kitchen? As some of you may remember, a knife fell off the counter and landed in, yes, IN my foot. 4 stitches and bruised pride. Fast forward about a week or two later, I’m out 2 days with a nasty stomach bug and a fever. 2 weeks after that and most recently…. My bathroom tried to kill me. I was getting ready for work, washing my face, my bathroom mirror fell off the wall, smacked me in the back of the head causing me to hit my forehead on the faucet. I had a cut on my forehead (no stitches) BUT…. I was diagnosed with a mild concussion! Really? How does this stuff happen to me?! I had to stay up for 18 hours and was completely miserable for about a day and a half.

It hasn’t all been bad though. This past weekend, I went to Buffalo to go to my first ever home Sabres game. They won, my favorite player scored and I had a blast!! Definitely something I will never forgot. Other highlights, Ohio State is on a rampage in the NCAA Tournament (Go Buckeyes!) The Sabres are well on their way to making the NHL playoffs. My BELOVED Buffalo Bills made a couple HUGE signings this off season to give every fan and player, just a little more hope, that things are changing.

Aside from the near the death experiences, well not “near-death” but you get the idea… March has been a great month. I can only hope it is a sign that April will be just as good for me : )


The Strong Tornadoes of March 15th, 2012 in Monroe County

March 28th, 2012 at 3:19 pm by under Weather

An amplified, upper level weather pattern allowed for an unseasonably warm and humid air mass to infiltrate the southern Great Lakes region.  Highly anomalous for the month of March, surface dew points climbed into the lower 60 degree range across much of Southeastern Michigan. This rich moisture combined with an upper level disturbance tracking northward through Lower Michigan to fuel a long duration severe thunderstorm event across Southeastern Michigan. The primary severe weather type observed with these storms was very large hail, along with a few tornadoes. Click here for more…


Frost/Freeze Information and Plant Protection

March 28th, 2012 at 3:17 pm by under Weather

We are going to have some cold overnights through the end of the week. Because of that, I wanted to make sure you had the information you need to keep your outdoor plants from frost and freeze.

Much of this information has been provided by Rosie Lerner, Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist and Master Gardener State Coordinator from Purdue University. Additional information on horticulture can be found at http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/conhort.html . This information is also relevant to areas of Northwest Ohio and Southern Lower Michigan where temperatures have been very similar to Northern Indiana.

Following a particularly mild winter but cold enough to easily satisfy the chilling requirements for flowering, our spring blooming plants have had a tremendously early and spectacular display this year. Blooms are about 4 -6 weeks ahead of “normal” this year and bud counts are high. Average temperatures across Indiana have been more like late April to early May than mid March.

Due to the recent stretch of record warmth, it’s a bit like the grand finale of a fireworks display. While the sequence of bloom appears to be staying in order, it’s as if the season is on fast forward bringing nearly everything into bloom all together. Our current cast of characters (March 22) in West Lafayette includes forsythia, daffodil, magnolia, redbud, flowering dogwood, ornamental pear, cherry, peach, plum, tulip, serviceberry, Korean spice viburnum, and crabapple to name a few. Similar blooms and flowering have been seen across northern parts of Indiana, Northwest Ohio and Lower Michigan as well.

Looking at growing degree days (GDD) with a base of 50ºF, as of March 22 in West Lafayette the total stands at 233.5 GDD compared to 45.0 this date last year. Lafayette hit 233 GDD on May 5 in 2011. In the South Bend area, GDD for 2012 were at 205 through March 22nd. Through the same time in 2011, GDD stood at just 9.0. GDD at Fort Wayne are a little lower but still quite high for this time of year. Through March 22nd, Fort Wayne has seen 176.5 GDD compared to just 9.0 last year. Lima OH has seen 183.5 GDD this year compared to 15.5 in 2011 and Benton Harbor MI has seen 173.5 GDD compared to just 11 last year. (GDD information courtesy of weather.com GDD calculator).

The likelihood of hard frost and freeze is still high in the coming weeks. According to the Indiana state Climate office <http://iclimate.org/narrative.asp >, the average date of the last freezing temperature in spring ranges from the second week of April in extreme southwest Indiana to the second week of May in the extreme northeast. Two-thirds of the time they occur within a 20- to 24-day period centered at the mean date. The trend of a later date toward the north is reversed in extreme northwestern Indiana, where the average date is about May 1 near Lake Michigan.

For plants whose primary ornamental feature is flowers, you’ve enjoyed the show thus far and barring any really unusual weather events, the plant itself will not be killed by frost/freeze. However, there certainly could be injury to foliage and young twigs, likewise for herbaceous perennials and hardy annuals. Except for conifers, plants that lose leaves or leaf buds will produce new ones. If buds are injured, but not killed, new leaves may be cupped, crinkled, twisted, curled, wilted or tattered. Though unsightly, most plants will eventually outgrow this type of injury. The Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory (PPDL) has some good articles showing freeze injury from previous years. www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/hot10/5-14.html and www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/weeklypics/Weekly_Picture6-25-01-1.html .

With regard to fruit crops, fruit set and development is susceptible to injury when temperatures drop to near or below freezing. The degree of susceptibility depends on several factors, most notably species, stage of development, and temperature (specific temp as well as duration of exposure.)

At petal fall and fruit set, apples, peach, and tart cherry can be expected to have 10% bud kill at 28ºF, but 90% bud kill at 25ºF. Pears are quite similar with 90% bud kill at 24ºF. Below is a page showing the critical temperatures and stages of flower/fruit development. More information on fruit bud hardiness can be found from Michigan State University at http://www.hrt.msu.edu/faculty/langg/Fruit_Bud_Hardiness.html .
Strawberries and grapes are even more sensitive; critical temperature is 30ºF for strawberries. Grapes are a bit more complicated but suffice it to say that once the leaves begin to expand, 28ºF is likely to cause significant reduction in fruit set. More information on Frost/Freeze and impacts on plants can be found at http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/ho/ho-203.html .

What can home growers do if frost is predicted? Small fruit plants can be covered to provide a few degrees of protection temporarily. Blankets, throws, and tarps can be used but provide stakes, wires, or other supports to keep the weight of the cover off of the plants. Straw would be useful for covering low growing plants such as strawberries and herbaceous perennials. Covers need to be removed as soon as possible after the threat is past to avoid over-heating and over-shading. It is impractical to do much for trees, large shrubs, and large garden areas.

It is important to monitor weather forecasts daily as conditions can change quickly. A temperature change of just a few degrees can have a large impact on whether we see a light frost or a hard freeze. Follow http://www.weather.gov/iwx for all your local weather information, forecasts, advisories and warnings.

 


Zumba Zumba Zumba!!!

March 28th, 2012 at 12:43 pm by under Face of FOX Toledo, Uncategorized

So I found a new workout that is working out GREAT!

Zumba is a latin inspired workout class. It is so easy to follow.

I take my classes at The Lutheran Home of Toledo and have 3 great instructors to follow during class.

In the first week of Zumba, I went 5 times, I lost 5 lbs, already!

If anyone would love to meet me there and try the class with me!…Send me an email at Face@foxtoledo.com

 

Hope to see you there!


My new LOVE!

March 23rd, 2012 at 11:23 am by under Face of FOX Toledo, Uncategorized

My new love!!!

His name is Baby…for now. I can’t think of a good name because every time I talk to him, I call him BABY. I don’t think it’s a manly enough name for a boy dog, so I must come up with a new name! HELP ME!!!