NBC News meteorologist Dylan Dreyer heads to a frigid Niagara Falls to check out the frozen-over falls.

Amazing pictures–watch it all.

Just a wobble away – that’s how close Tropical Storm Arthur will come Thursday to the Lowcountry.

Forecasters said the eye of the storm will pass 100 miles out to sea or closer. On Wednesday, the storm’s winds extended 90 miles from the eye.

The National Weather Service’s forecast Thursday night called for strong winds and rain squalls for Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties – harsher nearer the coast – but not tropical storm conditions.

Read it all.

Watch it all. The Wash. Post wrote up the background:

Sorry, if the pivotal episode of your favorite TV show is on and a tornado warning is issued, TV stations can, should, and will cut in and cut off programming to provide potentially life-saving storm coverage.

Typically, the shows are streamed online, either in real-time or after the fact for your viewing pleasure.

But that never stops some angry viewers from bombarding stations with nasty complaints over missing such indispensable shows as Grey’s Anatomy and Big Bang. They sometimes take the form of obscenity-laden tirades. Gawker reproduces some of these selfish missives, too profane to share here.

Monday morning, something beautiful happened. KSFY anchor Nancy Naeve ”“ out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota ”“ spoke her mind on this disgusting practice…

…[The] church has started an appeal to raise £160,000 for repairs following the winter storms.

St Phillip and St James in Leckhampton is 130 years old and grade-II listed but is no longer wind and watertight.

Read it all.

Nebraska is truly a flyover state for millions of snow geese, sandhill cranes and other migratory birds traveling north from south of the border during early spring. The area has become world famous for bird watchers who themselves migrate to the Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary along Nebraska’s Platte River to see and hear the birds up close.

Watch the whole thrilling video (under three minutes) and please enjoy this one also.

Surging prices for food staples from coffee to meat to vegetables are driving up the cost of groceries in the U.S., pinching consumers and companies that are still grappling with a sluggish economic recovery.

Federal forecasters estimate retail food prices will rise as much as 3.5% this year, the biggest annual increase in three years, as drought in parts of the U.S. and other producing regions drives up prices for many agricultural goods. The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday reported that food prices gained 0.4% in February from the previous month, the biggest increase since September 2011, as prices rose for meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs.

Globally, food inflation has been tame, but economists are watching for any signs of tighter supplies of key commodities such as wheat and rice that could push prices higher.

Read it all.

Please watch it all from Jimmy Kimmel–very funny.

This is simply stunning–take the 2 1/2 minutes to watch it all.

The power is finally back on for everyone in South Carolina after the ice storm 10 days ago.

The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina said Saturday morning that their members had finished all their repairs on the grid, getting electricity to the final 200 customers that had been without power since the winter storm on Feb. 12 and 13.

Officials say there still may be scattered outages from the storm with people who will have to repair the wiring going into their own homes.

Read it all.

Some stunning images of the Great Lakes have been captured this winter, as large portions of the massive bodies of water frozen were almost completely froze over for the first time in two decades.

The intense cold snap that gripped much of central Canada and the United States throughout the winter brought thick and widespread ice to the Great Lakes region.

Read it all and look at all the images.

Rob and Kelly Mitchell were prepared for their two sons to have a four-day weekend, but when nasty weather tacked on two additional days, they were caught off guard.

“We had a sitter set up for Friday and I’m off work Monday,” said Rob Mitchell, a government contractor and father of Ellis, 7, and Jeremy, 5. “Those days were covered, but we had to scramble to cover the ice days” Wednesday and Thursday.

Read it all from the local paper.

No internet, house and yard is a mess, feels like living in slow motion–KSH.

The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and schools closed, flights were grounded and thousands of people were without power Wednesday as the second ice storm in two weeks slammed the Charleston area.

It could be another tough day in the tri-county area. Light freezing rain and trace amounts of ice accumulation were expected overnight and into early morning.

“That will impact travel Thursday morning,” said Blair Holloway, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Charleston.

Read it all from the front page of the local paper.

Oregon replaced Washington, D.C., which had held the top spot for the previous five years as workers sought out government jobs. The nation’s capital fell to fourth place last year, tying with South Dakota.

Other top destinations for those seeking to relocate included South Carolina, with 60 percent of moves made for those coming into the state, North Carolina (58 percent), and Nevada (56 percent).

“Business incentives, industrial growth and relatively lower costs of living are attracting jobs and people to the Southeastern and Western states, such as South Dakota, Colorado and Texas,” said UCLA economist Michael Stoll.

Read it all.

Winter from Paul Klaver on Vimeo.

Watch it all–and enjoy the wonderfully soothing music also.

Watch it all.

In 36 years with three school districts, Bull counts his sick days on one hand — five — and tallies just as many in 13 years as a carrier, first as a substitute in 2000 and then as a full-timer in 2007. The temperatures he works in can swing 120 degrees Fahrenheit, from 115 (46 Celsius) in the summer to below zero in the winter’s wind.

Five years ago, the snow and ice were so deep on the road that his power steering gave out. He zigged and zagged and tore through an electric fence, leaving a hole for 50 head of cattle to roam free. He pushed on the gas, nudging the truck out of trouble and on to the nearest farm for help.

“You just never know what might happen,” Bull says over rib-eye and potato salad at his favorite steakhouse.

Read it all.

Some areas were hit by the deluge harder than others, but few were spared. This time last year the Greenville area had seen about 21 inches of rain. This year more than 47 inches have fallen so far at the airport, where it’s measured.

At the other end of the state, not far from Myrtle Beach, Darel Watts said it’s been a struggle at Sugarfoot Organic Farms in Conway.

“Planting was late, and then when we would have a window, it just rained after that and drowned seedlings,” he said. “And once we got things growing it was hard to cultivate, and then we got disease.”

“My mom has been on this property since she was 16, and she’s 71, and she said it’s the wettest she’s ever seen,” Watts said. “When there’s a drought, I can irrigate, but I can’t wring it dry.”

Read it all from the local paper (emphasis mine).

The start of hurricane season is 6 weeks away, and four independent forecast outlets unanimously agree it will be a busy one.

Colorado State’s Bill Gray and protege Philip Klotzbach, the pioneers of seasonal hurricane forecasting, predict a blockbuster hurricane season, with 18 named storms, 9 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes. (The 1981-2010 30-year averages are 12.1 named storms, 6.4 hurricanes, and 2.7 major hurricanes.)

“We anticipate an above-average Atlantic basin hurricane season due to the combination of an anomalously warm tropical Atlantic and a relatively low likelihood of El Niño,” Klotzbach and Gray write in their outlook, released last week.

Ugh–read it all.

A behemoth storm packing hurricane-force wind gusts and blizzard conditions swept through the Northeast overnight, where more than 650,000 homes and businesses in the densely populated region lost power, roads were impassable and New Englanders awoke Saturday to more than 2 feet of snow.

More than 38 inches of snow fell in Milford in central Connecticut, and an 82-mph wind gust was recorded in nearby Westport. Areas of southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire notched at least 2 feet ”” with more falling. Airlines scratched more than 5,300 flights through Saturday, and the three major airports serving New York City as well as Boston’s Logan Airport closed.

Read it all.

For anyone wanting to follow the Hurricane Sandy open thread, you’ll find it here.

Please post your experiences of Hurricane Sandy in the comments, including links to any interesting storm tracking sites, pictures, news stories, etc.

This storm has the potential to bring severe damage and disruption across much of the East Coast from Delaware to Maine in the coming days. Please be in prayer for all affected.

U.S. meteorologists expect a natural horror show of high wind, heavy rain, extreme tides and maybe snow to the west beginning early Sunday, peaking with the arrival of Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday and lingering past Halloween on Wednesday.

Experts predict at least $1 billion in damage in the United States.

“It’s looking like a very serious storm that could be historic,” said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather Underground. “Mother Nature is not saying, ‘Trick or treat.’ It’s just going to give tricks.”

Read it all.

The world is facing a new food crisis as the worst US drought in more than 50 years pushes agricultural commodity prices to record highs.

Corn and soyabean prices surged to record highs on Thursday, surpassing the peaks of the 2007-08 crisis that sparked food riots in more than 30 countries. Wheat prices are not yet at record levels but have rallied more than 50 per cent in five weeks, exceeding prices reached in the wake of Russia’s 2010 export ban.

The drought in the US, which supplies nearly half the world’s exports of corn and much of its soyabeans and wheat, will reverberate well beyond its borders, affecting consumers from Egypt to China.

Read it all (requires subscription).

Is the world on the brink of another food crisis?

It has become a distressingly familiar question. With the price of agricultural staples such as corn, soyabeans and wheat soaring for the third summer in five years, the prospect of another price shock is once again becoming a prominent concern for investors and politicians alike.

The debate marks a dramatic shift from just a few weeks ago, when traders were expecting bumper crops and policy makers were comforting themselves that ”“ if nothing else ”“ falling commodity prices would offer some relief to the troubled global economy.

Read it all (subscription required).

At Cappuccio’s Meats in the Italian Market, the cuts of beef are cutting into the profits.

“Every week when I talk to my suppliers, I’m amazed by how much it’s going up,” said owner Domenick Crimi.

Beef prices soared more than 10 percent last year according to the Department of Agriculture, and they will likely go up at least another 5 percent this year.

Read it all.

The crisis is deepening for some of the 13m East Africans worst-hit by one of the most devastating droughts in 60 years, aid agencies have warned.

World Food Day is being marked nearly three months since the UN declared a famine in parts of the Horn of Africa.

But people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and the newly-formed Republic of South Sudan remain in desperate need of food, water and emergency healthcare.

Read it all.

The Vatican is calling particular attention to the dire circumstances of the peoples of the Horn of Africa, in particular Somalia, who have been facing a severe drought and food crisis since July.

The press office published an informative noted on the “Efforts and Commitment of the Catholic Church in the Horn of Africa,” which is issued in conjunction with a press conference held today by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum on the plight of several East African countries.

Presented in a question-and-answer format, the note summarized the situation in countries such as Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia: “A severe drought, conflict and lack of governments have led to massive numbers of people going hungry.

Read it all.

Check them out.

One picture I really liked was this one (maybe because of the red House).

Due to a total loss of power and heavy flooding the area, the Cranford Police Department has been evacuated. Police Chief Eric Mason, who is serving as the emergency management coordinator, was unavaiable to talk to the media regarding the evacuation.

Read it all and check out those pictures.