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Sorry, I’m not a fan of snow. I grew up in Northeast Ohio and saw my fair share, especially the blizzard of 1977 as a kid. My family lived on a hill. I’ve shoveled tons of the white stuff in my lifetime. I’m tired of it. Done. Finished. So I’m very delighted to only see an inch or two at a time that quickly melts.

Move to Florida or some other warmer climate, you say? Nah, I like Ohio and its people.

Our seasons may be a whole lot shorter compared to other regions, but, like many others, I want to stay close to family and friends. I’m a creature of routine, if you will. My early career took me out-of-state and if I can help it, I’m not going to leave again.

That’s not to say I won’t be the typical Ohioan and complain about the weather. Yes, we always know snow is going to happen, yet we whine and moan about it anyway. I guess it’s in our DNA.

But you won’t hear me complain about this winter to date. In fact, I’ve been able to get out and do some stuff on the weekends I probably wouldn’t do if I was shoveling instead. But I am worried about a possible repeat of what happened a few winters back, when we had a mild January. Old Man Winter buried us in late February and well into March. Spring seemed to take forever to finally arrive. Here’s hoping there’s no reprise this time.

Impacts for this event include:

Power Systems:  Weak power fluctuations can occur

Spacecraft Operations:  Minor impact on satellite operations

Other Systems:  Migratory animals are affected

Aurora will be commonly visible at higher latitudes.  Tips on viewing the Aurora are located here.  Share your pictures of the Aurora on the Space Weather Prediction Center’s Facebook.

For additional information monitor the Space Weather Prediction Center.

That was the case New Year’s Eve, when Nature’s Nursery celebrated the onset of 2012 by releasing a rescued and rehabbed eagle back into the wild.

The raptor rehabilitation center does not name its rescued wildlife, just the birds of prey it uses in its education programs.

So we’ll just call the juvenile female eagle Freedom for a number of reasons. First, the bald eagle is the symbol of American freedom. Second, and more important, volunteers nursed the eagle back to health over a four-month period and set it free.

Volunteers admitted there was no better feeling than to watch the eagle soar freely from its launching pad on top of the sledding hill at Maumee Bay State Park. The eagle seemingly gave back to its caretakers, soaring out over the bay, then back across the state park grounds before unsuccessfully attempting to land in a small tree. The flight and wobbly landing were entertaining to more than 60 people armed with camcorders, digital cameras, and binoculars.

The eagle was first found at Cullen Park in Point Place last August after a hailstorm. It could not fly, so volunteers could only guess it had been knocked out of a tree during the storm. It injured the equivalent of a human collarbone, forcing volunteers to put the bird of prey in a body wrap.

After a few weeks of treatment, the eagle was able to fly back and forth in an 80-foot long flight cage at Nature’s Nursery. On launch day, volunteers brought the bird of prey to the sledding hill in a big dog kennel, its top clamped to its bottom. Three people opened the kennel, two lifting off the top while the third removed the door.

The key to the eagle release was choosing the western Lake Erie basin, an area where it is familiar—so the bird can find a mate, make a nest, and keep the comeback of the bald eagle going. It was certainly an honor to watch, a great story to tell, and a pleasant experience.

You can see the story that aired here:

http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/wupw-injured-eagle-rehabbed-released-km?ref=scroller&categoryId=20000&status=true

Effective January, 3 2012, all new flood stages will take effect unless flooding is expected or ongoing.

At Old Portage, the flood stage will be raised from 9 feet to 10.5 feet. At this gage height, the rise in water surface level begins to impact property at the Akron Water Pollution Control Division Plant. At 13.0 feet impacts begin to increase in severity at the treatment plant; at the same time a few low lying businesses become inundated. This stage signifies the increase in severity from minor to moderate flooding. Major flooding denotes the stage at which extensive flooding occurs typically resulting in evacuations and or significant property loss. Given the steep banks of the Cuyahoga River near Old Portage, it would take a stage of around 18.0 feet before this type of non-localized damage would occur from the river.

On the Scioto River in Marion County both official forecast points of La Rue and Prospect have undergone changes in the watershed, necessitating changes in the flood stages. At La Rue, a bridge was added upstream of town and the river gage was moved to a new location. At Prospect the addition of a new bridge downtown resulted in a wider stream channel, allowing more water to flow through the town. As a result of these changes the new flood stages for La Rue are 13.0 feet for moderate, and 14.0 feet for major. For Prospect the new moderate flood stage is 13.5 feet and major flood stage is 15.0 feet. Minor flood stages will remain the same.

At the Blanchard River in Findlay the minor and moderate flood stages will remain the same. At the current major flood stage of 13.0 feet there is no significant increase in impacts or severity from moderate flood stage, though the flood waters are becoming more widespread. By 13.5 feet conditions become more critical as the Martin Luther King Parkway overpass becomes cut off by flood waters. At this point major thru ways in the town are cut off and homes and businesses become threatened by flood waters. Therefore the major flood stage at Findlay will be raised from 13.0 feet to 13.5 feet.

The river stage forecasts help us meet the National Weather Service mission of protecting life and property for the citizens in northern Ohio. The Cleveland forecast office and supporting Ohio River Forecast Center in Wilmington Ohio provides all river flood warning services for above mentioned sites.