The Lube - Fargo

I recently visited the new Quaker Steak & Lube in Fargo. I am familiar with The Lube as I went there a few times when I lived in western Pennsylvania, with my last visit in December 2008. In my opinion, The Lube has the best wings I have ever had. I became a fan of the restaurant because the hometown of a good friend of mine is in Sharon, PA - home of the original Quaker Steak & Lube which opened in 1974. It was originally a "cook your own steak" restaurant with an automotive theme - with the idea of preserving the culture of old gas stations and high-powered muscle cars following the 1973 oil crisis. Along the way, they started selling chicken wings and have since developed over 20 different wing sauces/dusts to their menu - winning many awards along the way. Probably the most popular, and my favorite as well, is the 'Louisiana Lickers' sauce. If memory serves me correct, I have also had the Original BBQ, Arizona Ranch, Cajun, Buckeye BBQ, and Supercharged (formerly Suicide).  On my first visit to the Fargo location, I ordered Louisiana Lickers and Buckeye BBQ and an order of fries.

What a fantastic meal! Everything tasted as good as I remembered from four years ago. As is typical, the restaurant was all decked out with its usual decor. In the room I dined in was a Tony Stewart Home Depot NASCAR - upside down! Other rooms featured a brand new Harley Davidson and a 1974 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. There were also plenty of televisions everywhere so you wouldn't miss any of whatever game is on. With it being newly opened, the wait staff was still new as well - but I found our waitress to be extremely friendly, timely, and eager to make sure everything about my dining experience went well. My only minor complaint is that I went on a night I was expecting all-you-can-eat boneless wings for $12 or $13, but they are not doing that promotion until January. Otherwise everything was nearly perfect for my meal. As a side note, my girlfriend ordered a mixed drink called the "Crusin’ Coco Berry Colada" which came with an actual rose in the drink! Quite a decorative touch and it was fortunate for me that rose came with the drink, as it played a very important role later in the evening.

Overall, even without my prior bias, I would highly recommend anyone in the Red River Valley who likes wings, burgers and fries, or steak to visit 'The Lube'. There is truth in advertising when they say 'Best Wings USA'.

Overall Meal Rating: 9.5/10

 One more thought - any restaurant that a.) has a roll of paper towels on the table instead of napkins, and/or b.) gives you a wet nap after your meal (as was the case the The Lube's 'wet wag') - is a damn fine restaurant.

Coldest December Day of My Life

With a midnight high temperature of 8°F and an 11:59pm low temperature of -11°F, the average temperature for Sunday, 12/09/2012 was -1.5°F, which was 15°F below normal. This was the coldest December day of my life, breaking the previous coldest average temperature of 4°F set last December 5th. The temperature fell to zero sometime around 4:30am, continued dropping to -4°F at 8am, then rose slightly to an afternoon high of 1°F at 3pm before falling through evening to -11°F. Wind chills were fairly steady in the -20°F to -25°F range throughout the day. 

In my first winter here in Grand Forks last year, there were only five days colder than today. I suspect this winter won't be like last winter though and it will be much closer to normal, which means much colder. Then again, the meteorologist in me wants to experience all that my surroundings have to offer weather-wise. So I say bring it. Call up the 'Hounds of Winter' Grand Forks and let me experience a true Dakota winter. If that comes to fruition and come February I regret asking for this, I will look back on this day and remember there is usually a silver lining to these very cold days.

At least it was a sunny day, and that is worth being thankful for.

Winter Is Here

I enjoyed that high of 39 on Thursday the 6th - even more so because it was sunny for the third time in four days, which is a rarity here lately. Today we have had about a 1/2" of snow, with the majority falling this morning. Tonight into early morning, we will get brushed by a storm system that will primarily affect far southern North Dakota, northeastern South Dakota, and central Minnesota. We should probably get 1-2" of snow out of this, maybe 3" if we're lucky (we never are - why did I entertain that thought?). Then on Sunday, I am not sure we'll get any warmer than 5ºF with wind chills of -15ºF to -20ºF. Not quite a 'Hounds of Winter' air mass, but getting close. From then on, it looks like a pretty typical North Dakota December (highs 15º-20ºF, lows +/- 5ºF of zero) until the pattern changes. There is an outside chance we reach the freezing mark on Wednesday, but with a snow pack in place and the absence of a significant pattern change by mid-week, I'd put the chances somewhere between highly unlikely and nearly impossible. Ahhh....and so begins the next 4 months of my life.

2012-13 NCAA Basketball Rankings - Vol. I

November 2012 Climate Data

Notes:

• Temperature data from the airport (GFK) and precipitation from the University.
• ##^R denotes record high
• ##_R denotes record low

Grand Forks, ND (GFK)

Day	High	Low	Dep.	Precip.	Snow
1	34	27	7	0.00"	0.0"
2	33	29	10	0.20"	2.3"
3	35	30	-1	0.23"	2.0"
4	33	30	-12	0.00"	0.0"
5	41	28	-13	0.10"	Trace
6	44	35	-10	0.01"	0.0"
7	45	30	-3	Trace	0.0"
8	43	30	-3	Trace	0.0"
9	34	28	-9	0.01"	0.0"
10	33	27	-9	0.17"	0.3"
11	27	16	-12	0.03"	0.4"
12	22	13	-7	0.01"	0.3"
13	27	12	+3	0.00"	0.0"
14	33	12	-2	0.00"	0.0"
15	34	17	+5	0.00"	0.0"
16	38	20	+11	0.00"	0.0"
17	39	25	+8	Trace	0.0"
18	45	22	+4	Trace	0.0"
19	43	25	0	0.00"	0.0"
20	41	22	+5	0.00"	0.0"
21	46	29	+4	0.00"	0.0"
22	32	12	+1	0.05"	0.8"
23	17	9	+8	Trace	0.1"
24	29	1	+1	Trace	Trace
25	28	2	-3	0.01"	0.3"
26	25	0	-5	0.00"	0.0"
27	26	16	-10	Trace	Trace
28	33	14	-9	0.00"	0.0"
29	19	10	+4	0.00"	0.0"
30	34	19	+2	Trace	0.0"
Nov 2012	33.8°	19.7°	+0.7°	0.82"	6.5"

Average High: 33.8°F [Departure from Normal: -1.3°F]
Average Low: 19.7°F [Departure from Normal: +2.7°F]
Mean Temperature: 26.8°F [Departure From Normal: +0.7°F]
Total Precipitation: 0.82" [Departure from Normal: -0.08"; 91% of normal]
Total Snowfall: 6.5" [Departure from Normal: +0.4"; 107% of normal]
Seasonal Snowfall: 10.0" [Departure from Normal: -32.8"; 23% of normal]

October 2012 Climate Data

Notes:

• Temperature data from the airport (GFK) and precipitation from the University.
• ##^R denotes record high
• ##_R denotes record low

Grand Forks, ND (GFK)

Day	High	Low	Dep.	Precip.	Snow
1	71	43	7	0.00"	0.0"
2	80	39	10	0.00"	0.0"
3	54	41	-1	0.12"	0.0"
4	40	33	-12	0.57"	3.5"
5	38R	32	-13	0.05"	Trace
6	47	28	-10	0.00"	0.0"
7	56	31	-3	0.00"	0.0"
8	51	36	-3	0.02"	0.0"
9	42	31	-9	0.01"	Trace
10	45	28	-9	0.05"	0.0"
11	45	22	-12	0.00"	0.0"
12	52	24	-7	0.00"	0.0"
13	59	36	+3	0.00"	0.0"
14	53	31	-2	0.00"	0.0"
15	64	33	+5	0.00"	0.0"
16	69	39	+11	0.00"	0.0"
17	55	47	+8	0.82"	0.0"
18	50	41	+4	0.34"	0.0"
19	44	40	0	0.09"	0.0"
20	51	40	+5	0.00"	0.0"
21	51	38	+4	0.09"	0.0"
22	46	36	+1	0.04"	0.0"
23	51	44	+8	0.22"	0.0"
24	46	33	+1	0.00"	0.0"
25	40	32	-3	0.00"	0.0"
26	38	27	-5	Trace	0.0"
27	33	22	-10	0.00"	0.0"
28	38	17	-9	Trace	Trace
29	50	32	+4	Trace	Trace
30	45	31	+2	Trace	0.00"
31	49	34	+6	Trace	Trace
Oct 2012	50.1°	33.6°	-1.3°	2.42"	3.5"

Average High: 50.1°F [Departure from Normal: -4.2°F]
Average Low: 33.6°F [Departure from Normal: +1.7°F]
Mean Temperature: 41.8°F [Departure From Normal: +1.3°F]
Total Precipitation: 2.42" [Departure from Normal: +0.50"; 126% of normal]
Total Snowfall: 3.5" [Departure from Normal: +2.50"; 350% of normal]
Seasonal Snowfall: 3.5" [Departure from Normal: -39.3"; 8% of normal]

December Rain

Well it's about time I get back into blogging since it's December again. I see my last post was from my trip, in which I lamented over the amount of rain I had to drive through. Ironically, it's currently raining outside - in Grand Forks...in December...at 9am. The 7am temperature was 43°F which is the warmest it has been here since the day before Thanksgiving (11/21). Who knows when there was December rain in Grand Forks. A quick look over the past five years doesn't show any liquid precipitation.

Without a doubt the most prevalent and depressing weather condition since I returned from my trip is the amount of cloudy days we have had. Currently on a streak of 6 straight cloudy days, though that is not as bad as the miserable 15 consecutive cloudy days I experienced from the day I returned from my Western Adventure on 10/30, to 11/13. Based on daily climate data, since October 15th (50 days ago) we have had at least 60% cloud cover during 44 of the past 50 days. Incredibly 32 of those days have had either 90-100% cloud cover. So essentially, it has been overcast for 64% of the past 50 days, and mostly cloudy for an astounding 88% of the past 50 days. It has worn on me and made me think that this long absence of sunshine must be worse than any point last winter. Sure enough it is. The cloudiest 50-day stretch between October-April was from February 14th to April 3rd. During that period, 38/50 days featured at least 60% cloud cover, but only 15/50 days were 90-100% cloud cover.

I joke at work that it has gotten to the point where we should never be allowed to forecast anything other than overcast skies unless it is -20°F or the calendar flips to April. It has become predictable and comical seeing a few scenarios repeat. Southerly winds erode cloud cover over Fargo, and clearing advances northward, only to fall short of reaching Grand Forks because the effective surface warm front stops at the southern edge of the snow pack. A favorite (morbid sarcasm) of mine is after a weather system passes east of us, then watching the satellite through the day, thinking the clear skies that have developed in Devil's Lake during morning will surely reach Grand Forks by mid-afternoon - only to see moisture stubbornly remain over the red River Valley long enough for overcast skies to continue through the day. Probably the most common source of cloudiness has been as a result of northwest flow. Every 36 hours or so a weak disturbance moves through - too weak to amount to much more than very light precipitation - but enough moisture to reinforce cloud cover before clouds from the previous disturbance depart the area. Add to that there has been snow pack throughout northeast North Dakota for weeks now (only since Thanksgiving here, but off to the northwest there has been snow pack since early November I believe), and you have a nice recipe for plenty of moisture advecting into Grand Forks. It looks like on Wednesday we could see some rare sunshine as low-level winds become southerly, and with the snow pack pretty much gone now, we may clear out.

I'm not sure how this winter will turn out regarding temperature and snowfall - the law of averages since it has to be colder and snowier than last year - but one thing seems certain, it is definitely off to a much cloudier start.