Buresh Blog: Holiday Travel... White Christmas... Dec. Skies... Giving Tree... Dec. Tornado Outbreak

Jacksonville, FL — The “Buresh Blog” next update will be the week of Dec. 27. I’ll literally be home for Christmas :) - Wishing Everyone the Very Best of the Season!

‘Tis the season for travel. Click * here * for air travel info.... * here * for highway info.

And if you’re dreaming of a White Christmas... the NOAA map below shows your best shot based on climatology:

December/early Jan. night skies courtesy Sky & Telescope:

Dec. 21: Winter begins at the solstice at 10:59 a.m. EST (7:59 a.m. PST). Longest night of the year in N. Hemisphere.

Dec. 28 (dawn): The waning crescent Moon is 4½° from Spica, in Virgo, in the south-southeast in brightening twilight.

Dec. 29 (dusk): Look above the southwestern horizon 45 minutes after sunset to spot tiny Mercury and blazing Venus.

Dec. 30 (dusk): Mercury is positioned 5° directly to the left of Venus low in the southwest.

Dec. 31 (dawn): Get up early on this last morning of the year to catch the delightful sight of the slender lunar crescent, Mars, and smoldering Antares arranged in an equilateral triangle in the southeast.

Jan. 1 (dusk): Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, and Venus are arranged in a line above the southwestern horizon. If you want to see all four planets, you’ll have to be quick to catch the sight before Venus and Mercury set.

Jan. 3 (dusk): Look very low in the southwest to espy the thinnest sliver of a Moon hanging some 4° below Mercury.

Jan. 3–4 (all night): The short-lived Quadrantid meteor shower peaks for North America at 3:40 p.m. EST. The Moon is one day past new and won’t interfere for more favorably placed viewers in Asia and Eastern Europe.

Jan. 4: Earth passes through perihelion, its closest point to the Sun for 2022 (just 3% nearer than at aphelion in July).

Moon Phases

New Moon – December 4, 2:43 a.m. EST

First Quarter – December 10, 8:36 p.m. EST

Full Moon – December 18, 11:35 p.m. EST

(Full Cold Moon)

Last Quarter – December 26, 9:24 p.m. EST

Action News Jax CBS47/Fox 30 & CMG radio stations delivered gifts to a family (”Giving Tree”). For nearly 20 years, Action News Jax has adopted at least one family through our local Salvation Army. Tina is an Army veteran struggling to make ends meet while battling health problems (surgery in late Dec.) & taking care of two 13-year olds. Tina’s bed was damaged due to a plumbing problem in her house, so we provided a new bed & all the trimmings. She had been sleeping on an inflatable mattress on the floor. This year’s story:

Action News Jax brings gifts to local family

A deadly & historic tornado outbreak ravaged parts of 6 states Fri.-Sat., Dec. 10-11th. Storm surveys are ongoing for some of the most severe tornadoes. If an EF-5 tornado is identified, it will be the first such occurrence since Dec. 18th, 1957 in Illinois. In any case, there were a number of strong to violent tornadoes from Arkansas to Illinois centered on the area from St. Louis south through parts of Kentucky & Tennessee. Before & after pics from NPR * here *. While Dec. outbreaks are not uncommon, an outbreak as severe as this one in Dec. will be historical & will likely be the most deadly Dec. tornado outbreak on record & may include one of the longest continuous tornado tracks ever measured in the Lower 48. N.W.S. offices conducting storm surveys (clickable):

* Paducah, Ky (includes severe long track tornado)

* Louisville, Ky.

* St. Louis, Mo. (includes Amazon warehouse EF-3)

* Nashville, Tn.

* Memphis, Tn.

* Little Rock, Ar.

* Lincoln, Il.

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Kentucky tornadoes A resident surveys the damage from a tornado that hit downtown Mayfield, Kentucky, on Friday night. (Mark Humphrey/Associated Press )

The map below from the Paducah N.W.S. shows when tornado warnings were in effect (top of each box) & when tornadoes hit (bottom of the box).

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