Well, it looks like the ‘boring’ weather will continue through this week, folks. As you can see from the 5-day outlook, all is quiet in our neck of the woods for the next week. The quiet weather looks to continue right on through the weekend as well. I may have to change that “isolated” wording on Thursday to scattered if moisture levels can increase more than I’m expecting them to by then. The Gulf looks completely cut off, though, and I just don’t see enough moisture getting up here to give us any great chance of rain. Still, there will be some showers around, but nothing heavy.
Next week is looking much more interesting, as a storm system takes shape across the Plains. The models show this storm getting very intense, so we could be looking at a variety of weather starting the middle of next week. I’ll keep you posted!
Today is a bittersweet anniversary for us in Tennessee. Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the Gatlinburg fires. Thanksgiving was the anniversary of the Chimney Tops fire being started by the two teen boys, as they threw lit matches on the trail leading to the Chimney Tops. Park officials decided to let the fire burn, not anticipating the weather that would fan those blames into one of the worst disasters our state has ever seen. All charges were dropped on the boys, since there wasn’t evidence beyond reasonable doubt that their fire was the one that caused the deaths and the bulk of the destruction. It was also determined that they couldn’t have known what would become of the fires they started. I’ll have much more on this tomorrow!
For those of you who are perhaps struggling this Monday morning, especially after a holiday break, I thought I’d share with you a story I shared on weatherTAP’s social media over the weekend. Many of you have probably heard the tale of Juliane Koepcke. On Christmas Eve 1971 she was on board a flight with her mother that was taking them over the Peruvian rainforest. Juliane was only 17. The plane encountered a storm and the plane was struck by lightning. Planes are often struck by lightning but this one struck the plane in such a way that it was catastrophic to the aircraft. The turbulence was horrendous too, and that likely also played a role in the plane’s demise. As luggage bounced up and down the aisles, along with Christmas gifts and baked goods, Juliane’s mother looked at her and said, “That is the end, it’s all over.” At that point the plane broke apart. Juliane, still strapped to her seat, pummeled two miles to the ground.
When she awoke she was in the Peruvian jungle, still strapped to her seat. She was the lone survivor of the 92 passenger plane. She was injured but not unable to walk. Her glasses had broken, so she had to use one of her shoes to feel her way around the jungle. For days she wondered along a stream, at one point even stumbling upon a seat from the plane with three deceased individuals strapped in. It was the first time she had seen a dead body. Her father had taught her to always find a stream because streams always lead to civilization. She finally stumbled upon a boat that had docked on the river. She used gasoline she found at the boat to wash her wounds, forcing the removal of about 30 maggots (another survival tip she remember from her father). She walked up to the boater’s campsite and they thought she was a goddess from mythology, especially since she had fair skin and blonde hair. However, they finally got her to civilization where she was reunited with her father.
She later married and earned her PhD in biology at the same university her parents attended.
So, if you think your Monday is rough, just remember Juliane. If she can make it through all of that, we can make it through any Monday! 🙂
Juliane is pictured below at her school graduation ball the night before the crash.
