Today is Friday, January 28, 2022. As of now, which is around 10:42 p.m., our area is bracing for a lollapalooza of a winter storm forming off the coast of the Carolinas sometime today. Meteorologists are calling this potential storm a nor’easter that could bring with it heavy snow and vicious winds, a dangerous combination that could knock out power for many people caught in the eye of the storm. The storm could also flood coastal areas and create perilous travel conditions. This weather-related story was reported on my CNN smartphone app in an article written by Aya Elamroussi.

Blizzard warnings today were expanded to cover 10 million people across 10 states in coastal counties from New England to Virginia. The zone includes Portland, Maine; Boston and Cape Cod, Massachusetts; the eastern half of New York’s Long Island; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Ocean City, Maryland.

Some areas could see snowfalls of up to two feet of snow. Parts of coastal New England, where blizzard conditions are forecast, may see between 1 to 2 feet of snow with locally higher amounts possible, specifically over coastal Massachusetts.

Here in New York City, the area could get anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of snow with 45 mph gusts, while 14 inches could fall elsewhere in New York State and in Connecticut, with wind gusts as strong as 55 mph.

Here is a word for you: bombogenesis. This refers to a phenomenon or process in which there is rapid and sustained falling of barometric pressure in the center of a low-pressure system, indicative of its strengthening into a powerful storm. This term refers to a midlatitude cyclone that rapidly intensifies. The phenomenon happens when a storm drops a certain amount of atmospheric pressure over 24 hours, as with this rapidly intensifying storm. So this could be a historic storm for large swaths of New England.

That is why New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency beginning at 8 p.m. tonight for Long Island, New York City, and the Lower Hudson Valley. The governor is urging residents to “avoid unnecessary travel.”

Therefore, Elliot and I are prepared to stay home tomorrow. I hope to bake another of my cake creations during the day. We might either play Scrabble in the afternoon or I might start another 1,000-piece puzzle, this one a scene emanating from the macabre imagination of writer/illustrator Edward Gorey.

So I urge everyone to stay indoors tomorrow, especially if winds reach such strong gusts.

Today Elliot and I played host to our good friend “Mark” at 5:30, where Mark was treated to Elliot’s hearty chicken soup and beef stew. As for appetizers, we served homemade egg salad, Wasa multigrain crisp bread, and butter cookies. Mark presented us with a lovely box of Swiss chocolates that we opened later with coffee.

The three of us also watched a film on Netflix called The God Committee starring Kelsey Grammer and Julia Stiles as two competing doctors at a New York hospital who serve on a committee that decides who will receive life-affirming organs. This is a medical drama that delves into the significant issue of organ donation. The story is told in parallel story lines seven years apart, beginning in 2014 and ending in 2021. The plot involves the two doctors, who are at first romantically entwined, who comprise a “Heart Committee,” a board that debates which patient will be the beneficiary of a new human heart. Complications ensue when the board is faced with the prospect of giving that one heart to a most underserving patient, the scion of a very prominent donor to the hospital, played by Dan Hedaya.

As for watching the entire movie, Elliot excused himself before the film ended. I watched the drama to its rueful end with Mark. Then I walked Mark to the elevator around 10 p.m. and said good night.

What can I say about this weekend but stay safe and be well.