Ah, Nebraska. Nothing like a bracing fall wind to get the blood flowing. We had a beautiful weekend. Saturday, it hit 59 degrees. People were walking around without jackets. The kids across the street were out playing in shorts. Sunday, it was still 51 degrees at 3:54 AM. Over the next few hours, though, things changed rapidly. At 8:54 AM, it was 12 degrees with a 38 MPH wind from the northwest. By 11:54 PM, it was 1 degree, and the wind had dropped to 32 MPH, for a wind chill of -25. A 50 degree drop in the same day is pretty impressive, even by our local standards. That cooled the week off. It's up to a balmy 5 degrees right now, after yesterday's low of -4.
The good news is that bad weather has a chilling effect on crime, as I noted here in the Chief's Corner a year ago. As I publish this post, we've had 27 incidents dispatched since midnight. On another Tuesday, August 12, we had 47 incidents dispatched prior to 5:30 AM. When the bottom drops out of the thermometer, the same thing happens with crime. This is especially true of crimes that require a bit of outdoor work--things like burglaries and thefts from automobiles. I remind myself of that good side to bad weather every time I'm scooping snow.
With the Christmas-shopping season here, it would be prime-time for LFA, as people go from store to store, and there are so many trunkless vehicles SUVs, hatchbacks) out there these days. They'll steal your stuff before you even get it home! I'm a sedan-type curmudgeon, precisely because of the reduced LFA risk when parking unattended with cargo.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Christmas-season larceny, what's your take on the recent rush of weekday larcenies of UPS/FedEx packages from porches? That's one rub to being single (or dual-income) - no one there to receive freight, unless you take a vacation day, or have at-home, watchful, and trustworthy neighbors. They ship so many thing "no signature required", and it's hard to get some shippers to do otherwise, even if you're willing to pay for a sig requirement.
Chief, its hard to climb in windows,when your wearing a hooded parka and snow boots.Keep up the good work, and comments.
ReplyDeleteThis time of year I like to build a 'snowman' then have a nice hot cup of hot chocolate.
ReplyDeleteYou'd think they'd figure it out to steal some warm clothes.
ReplyDeleteIf you're worried about shipped items getting stolen from your residence, have them shipped to your work.
I think we need a coat "buy back" program. Get those coats outta the hands of criminal's hands for cash and watch that crime rate plummet!
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