Something Blue – Photo A Day (#fmsphotoaday)
Photo 1 – A Blue Norther rolling across the plains.
Photo 2 – The sun tries to break through the clouds as the Blue Norther takes over.
Yes, the sky was this dark blue — almost black. We were driving down highway 287; so we had the perfect opportunity
to see the clouds rolling in.
Blue Northers are part of life in the Texas Panhandle. My grandfather would say, “A Blue Norther’s coming.” And sure enough the temperature would drop and clouds would take over the sky within a few hours. I never knew how he’d know before the weather started changing. Are you wondering just what a Blue Norther is or what causes it? I found this information on weather.com.
A Blue Norther is a fast-moving cold front that causes temperatures to drop dramatically
and quickly. Common characteristics are a dark blue-black sky, strong winds, and
temperatures than can drop 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit in a few minutes.
While Blue Northers can occur in other parts of the country, the phenomenon is commonly
associated with the Texas panhandle. According to the Texas State Historical Association,
the term “Blue Norther” has at least three colorful attributions:
“The term refers, some say, to a norther that sweeps ‘out of the Panhandle under a
blue-black sky’—that is, to a cold front named for the appearance of its leading edge. Another
account states that the term refers to the appearance of the sky after the front has blown through,
as the mid-nineteenth-century variant blew-tailed norther illustrates. Yet another derives the term
from the fact that one supposedly turns blue from the cold brought by the front.
Does the area where you live have weather similar to Blue Northers? Does your area have weather that other parts of the world doesn’t experience?
Rainy Day Reflections 
I once saw a small tornado when staying with my cousin who lives South West of Chicago. What was most amazing was that it dumped a load of hail stones nearly three inches deep in a swathe of about a block wide and nothing on either side! Amazing!
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I bet that was something to see. Living in Texas, I’ve seen my share of Tornados and been too close to a few too many. I don’t even like to think about the hail storms. Thank goodness for insurance.
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It was! We just don’t get tornados in the UK, so it really was an event for me. Cousin Peter didn’t share my sense of adventure though, as a native Chicagoan he’s seen it all before and normally from his basement!!!!!
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A basement is the best spot to be when a tornado is close by. LOL We’re going to have a “safe room” in our new house. I hope I won’t ever have to use it. 🙂
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We don’t get Blue Northers, but we do get “The Brown Willy Effect,” honestly we do!
So named after the highest hill in Cornwall, England, which is called Brown Willy.
When certain types of weather front roll in East off the Atlantic they can be split by the hill, which is the first high ground since New York! The weather to the north gets pushed up the Bristol Channel and to the south towards Dartmoor, another lump of high ground that causes the clouds to dump their rain.
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Wow! — The Brown Willy effect sounds like it should be in a song. LOL I think it’s interesting to learn about other places. 🙂 We also get tornados in the summer time. I probably won’t ever get a picture of a tornado though. I’m not crazy enough to stand around and watch one.
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