Christmas Eve Snowfall

What it looked like three hours after it began to snow.
It is always a nice surprise when you wake up to snow that was not expected. That was precisely the situation on Christmas Eve here in Omaha.

Almost as bizarre? A strange flash of light that occurred about six hours before the first flakes began falling.

By 9 a.m., there was already an inch. And up to six more were still to come.

Bone-Chilling Start

I don't know about the wind chill. This is cold enough.

Brrrrrrr

There's a bit of a blanket of snow in the courtyard from Monday.

Though it's not shown on the temperature/weather graphic below, the wind chill this morning is -22.

What The Heck Is Happening?

We saw this forming in the east sky while visiting Aunt Jean.

Stormy Sunday

Not exactly bike riding weather. And the blue precipitation is snow.

First Snowfall: 2014

I take these photos every year. Here's the initial evidence of our first snowfall this fall.

More Rain Today

Check out this radar shot. No wonder there is so much lightning.

What Is With This Weather?

It's looking – and feeling – more like February, than April.

Finally, A Ride Outside

My view (looking north) along the trail in Council Bluffs.

Before Thursday, the last time I had ridden my BMC outside was Feb. 9. In other words, a long time ago. So getting outside to ride in 50-degree weather was quite a treat yesterday. And then, again today, in 60-degree temperatures.

It was a nice feeling, riding around and not having to haul about 25 extra pounds. And all that riding on the trainer this winter has gotten me in pretty good shape. In fact, on today's ride, I came across a bunch of teens who were riding casually along. There were about five or six in front, with another girl trailing about 50 meters behind them – and struggling.

I rode up on her and asked if she was with them. She said, "yes." I told her it was awful they left her behind and told her to stop pedaling. I grabbed her seat and started pushing her toward them. A few of them looked back and saw her coming as I pushed her straight through their group and into the lead. I'm guessing she felt like a million bucks and the star of the show. It was all quite fun.

Current Temperatures

So I'm not looking forward to my return to Omaha so much.

The Numbers Can Be Deceiving

View from the pool deck this morning in Denia, Spain.

The numbers for Omaha are in Fahrenheit. Denia is in Celsius.

Weather Check

We'll see what pans out. I'm in Denia on Saturday.

Snow In Belgium?

Sleet turned to snow at midday.

I've made a habit of boasting about the nice Belgian weather I've come to enjoy when I have made trips to the land of Philippe Gilbert and the BMC Racing Team's European service course. Well, I guess I can stop now. There was hardly any sun when I arrived this morning. Sleet changed to snow in the afternoon. And it's probably below 30 degrees as I type this.

But it's all good. That's because I am only going to be here for a few days. Saturday morning, I fly to Spain. So by 9 o'clock that day, I should be soaking up the sun with temperatures in the mid 60s. But I'm going to get a full blown taste of winter before that. At least that's what the European weather guessers say. We're supposed to get at least 10 centimeters (3.5 inches) of snow, beginning late Thursday night and continuing through the day Friday. I'm already making plans to switch hotels to one at the airport (since my flight is at 6:35 a.m. Saturday). In the meantime, I'm enjoying my return to the Sandton Hotel Broel in Kortrijk. I was here in March (according to FourSquare), though I barely remember it. And I couldn't tell you what race I was staffing. Yikes.

All that stuff on the desk (save for my phone and the key) were there when I came in.

The beds are super comfortable and there's great lighting.

Gotta love the wood floors – and the robe.

This stone look in the bathroom permeates the hotel lobby, too.

European hair dryers (hanging on the wall) crack me up.

A bit out of focus, but you know what you're looking at anyway.

I do not know if I want to know what these were at breakfast.

Last Nice Day ... Until When?

We reached a record high temperature today: 74 degrees.

This might be it on the string of unseasonably nice weather days. We broke a record today but tomorrow is supposed to be about 15 degrees cooler. And Friday? The forecast high is only 37. Yikes. So my routine of sitting outside in the sun from 9:30 to noon or so is about to be interrupted.

We've Been Lucky

Pit stop at the recently re-opened Haworth Park in Bellevue.

The weather has been unseasonably warm this November. And that's been nice. Particularly since I'm home this entire month. What would normally be mid 30-degree days temperature-wise have been mid 50s and even low 60s.

View of the Missouri River.

I have it down on what to wear when it's above 50: Hincapie Sportswear arm warmers beneath a long-sleeved jersey, shorts, a Hincapie Sportswear e-vest and a cap beneath my Bell helmet. Gloves are either thin long-sleeve or conventional short ones and aero shoe covers are good unless it's warmer than 60. I haven't been out when it's much below 50. But if I did, it would be with tights since it's not good to have your knees exposed at that temperature.

Some long afternoon shadows.

Getting out on rides has been a regular afternoon ritual. I try to leave by 12:30 p.m. or 1 and ride at least two to three hours. With a south wind blowing, I'll ride the Keystone Trail to Bellevue's Haworth Park, then double back on surface streets. The climb up from Old Towne Bellevue to Bellevue Boulevard is rated as a Category 5 by mapmyride. No other climbs are long enough or steep enough to be rated. But there's still a fair bit of climbing here and there - including the one up L Street from the Veteran's Memorial Bridge.

Possibly darker than August.

I also like to pass the time on these rides listening to my portable transistor radio (using just one ear piece, not two). At that time of day, the "Jim Rome Show" is on, followed by "Unsportsmanlike Conduct." It really helps take your mind off things, listening to sports talk radio.

All this riding has led to an usual November tan, particularly on my legs. Well, really only on my legs since everything else is pretty well covered. But who knew you could get such a deep, dark tan in the middle of November? We'll see how long it lasts.

Belgian TV

It's always fun to watch foreign weather forecasters.

It's Going To Be A Wet Week

The forecast for Switzerland and Tour de Suisse. Yikes.

This Doesn't Look Good

Looks worse for me than the folks back home.

Looking Ahead...

I'll soon be trading the temperature below for the one above

Snowy Drive Through The Streets

The driving in Omaha tonight isn't bad – yet.