Given how hot it has been as of late here in east Tennessee, it is little wonder that the following headline on www.Newser.com by Kate Seamons caught my attention: “On a Steamy Sunday, Philly Logged Record Snowfall”.
Wait? What?! Record snowfall in the midst of July anywhere outside the tops of mountains in the U.S.A. How is that possible? And then I read the sub-title: “It Was Hail, and That Counts”.
I felt like I had been suckered! But I read on. And here are the facts according to the article…
It's been steamy in Philadelphia this week, where temps hit 94 degrees on Sunday - which was also a record-setting day when it comes to snow, reports NBC Philadelphia. The National Weather Service on Monday reported that thunderstorms passed over the Philadelphia region on Sunday afternoon and generated a “trace” amount of hail.
“Since hail is frozen precipitation, this counts as a ‘trace’ of snow in our climate reports,” the NWS wrote on X. And a “trace” is more than the original record of 0.0 inches set when record-keeping ostensibly began in 1870.
Fox29 reports the NWS offered an expanded take on Facebook, where it noted that summer snow is rare but not unprecedented. It listed 13 prior dates between 1911 and 2011 when trace amounts of snow have been recorded in Philadelphia in June, July, or August.
Now, to be truthful, snow (even when classified as hail) is still infrequent enough, even in the summer, to be noteworthy when it falls. And yet, we all know that it does happen on occasion.
In fact, based on this new information above, I can attest that I have experienced snow many times in the midst of summer. I say this because I cannot count the number of hailstorms I have experienced over the years in the midst of fierce summer storms as they unfolded in the intense southeastern heat of June, July, and August.
As I have reflected on this, I have been reminded that sudden cooling in the midst of warmth happens not only in weather, but in other ways as well.
Think about it. None of us exist in a vacuum. We all have fundamental relationships with others which we treasure as warm and vibrant. But even the midst of such relationships, circumstances can and do unfold in which there is an unexpected and often inexplicable temperature change. We find that, for whatever reason, we are being inundated with cold shoulders at best and cold, hard stares at worst!
In such times, wisdom dictates that it is best to let matters lie. Be the accumulations snow or hail, they are destined not to lie on the ground long whenever they fall in the warmth of summer. Knowing this, it is best just to let the detritus of the sudden cooling alone. In short order, it will resolve itself.
Likewise, when we find that an otherwise warm relationship has been impacted by a sudden intense moment of cooling, perhaps it is best not to let the matter become a bigger issue than it is.
Surely this is what the writer of the Old Testament Book of Proverbs had in mind when he penned Proverbs 15:1: As the amplified bible puts it: “A soft and gentle and thoughtful answer turns away wrath, But harsh and painful and careless words stir up anger.” These thoughts are further stressed in verse 8 of the same chapter, when he states: “A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.”
In other words, whenever circumstances cool in a given relationship, don’t exacerbate things by choosing to turn up the heat. In the process of time, the Good Lord will usually bring the warmth back to the forefront and overcome the coldness. Applying excessive heat is therefore usually neither needful nor helpful.
Think about these things the next time you find that the temperature has suddenly and inextricably plummeted around you. You’ll likely be glad you did.
SOURCE:
https://www.newser.com/story/353081/philadelphia-logged-record-snowfall-on-sunday.html#google_vignette.
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/proverbs/15-1.htm;
https://biblehub.com/proverbs/15-18.htm.
Wait? What?! Record snowfall in the midst of July anywhere outside the tops of mountains in the U.S.A. How is that possible? And then I read the sub-title: “It Was Hail, and That Counts”.
I felt like I had been suckered! But I read on. And here are the facts according to the article…
It's been steamy in Philadelphia this week, where temps hit 94 degrees on Sunday - which was also a record-setting day when it comes to snow, reports NBC Philadelphia. The National Weather Service on Monday reported that thunderstorms passed over the Philadelphia region on Sunday afternoon and generated a “trace” amount of hail.
“Since hail is frozen precipitation, this counts as a ‘trace’ of snow in our climate reports,” the NWS wrote on X. And a “trace” is more than the original record of 0.0 inches set when record-keeping ostensibly began in 1870.
Fox29 reports the NWS offered an expanded take on Facebook, where it noted that summer snow is rare but not unprecedented. It listed 13 prior dates between 1911 and 2011 when trace amounts of snow have been recorded in Philadelphia in June, July, or August.
Now, to be truthful, snow (even when classified as hail) is still infrequent enough, even in the summer, to be noteworthy when it falls. And yet, we all know that it does happen on occasion.
In fact, based on this new information above, I can attest that I have experienced snow many times in the midst of summer. I say this because I cannot count the number of hailstorms I have experienced over the years in the midst of fierce summer storms as they unfolded in the intense southeastern heat of June, July, and August.
As I have reflected on this, I have been reminded that sudden cooling in the midst of warmth happens not only in weather, but in other ways as well.
Think about it. None of us exist in a vacuum. We all have fundamental relationships with others which we treasure as warm and vibrant. But even the midst of such relationships, circumstances can and do unfold in which there is an unexpected and often inexplicable temperature change. We find that, for whatever reason, we are being inundated with cold shoulders at best and cold, hard stares at worst!
In such times, wisdom dictates that it is best to let matters lie. Be the accumulations snow or hail, they are destined not to lie on the ground long whenever they fall in the warmth of summer. Knowing this, it is best just to let the detritus of the sudden cooling alone. In short order, it will resolve itself.
Likewise, when we find that an otherwise warm relationship has been impacted by a sudden intense moment of cooling, perhaps it is best not to let the matter become a bigger issue than it is.
Surely this is what the writer of the Old Testament Book of Proverbs had in mind when he penned Proverbs 15:1: As the amplified bible puts it: “A soft and gentle and thoughtful answer turns away wrath, But harsh and painful and careless words stir up anger.” These thoughts are further stressed in verse 8 of the same chapter, when he states: “A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.”
In other words, whenever circumstances cool in a given relationship, don’t exacerbate things by choosing to turn up the heat. In the process of time, the Good Lord will usually bring the warmth back to the forefront and overcome the coldness. Applying excessive heat is therefore usually neither needful nor helpful.
Think about these things the next time you find that the temperature has suddenly and inextricably plummeted around you. You’ll likely be glad you did.
SOURCE:
https://www.newser.com/story/353081/philadelphia-logged-record-snowfall-on-sunday.html#google_vignette.
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/proverbs/15-1.htm;
https://biblehub.com/proverbs/15-18.htm.