Sconda

Nor'easter DiRocco Predicting 6-12" Storm

Can it be that Chester County and the Delaware Valley will be hit with the 4th major storm of this white winter?  Gregg "Nor'easter" DiRocco says  "Yes", but this one is tricky.

"A blocking high from the north will put the brakes on this storm and cause it to move northwest and do a loop de loop before it heads out to sea," DiRocco said.  "I believe that northeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey will ge the brunt of this storm, but we will still get 6" to a foot of snow."

The snow should begin around 10 p.m. this evening and continue all the way through Friday morning.

The folks in Scondaland are sick of digging out our cars, but it looks like we'll be back at it again for the next couple days.

Scott Honda will remain open tomorrow, but depending on the weather we could close our doors before our scheduled 9 p.m. closing time.  Check our website for updates.

Nor'easter DiRocco Says 18"+ More Coming

The Sconda Weather Center has been buzzing all day with activity and Gregg "Nor'easter" DiRocco predicts another 18-24 inches will pound the already white landscape this evening and into tomorrow night.

"For Chester County the snow should start tonight around 6 p.m. and continue into Wednesday night," DiRocco says.  "The heaviest snow will fall tomorrow from 7 a.m. through the rest of the day when the secondary low takes over."

This snow will make the 2009-10 winter the snowiest in Philadelphia history. The current snow total is 56.3 inches, putting it only 8.2 inches away from the previous record of 65.5 inches set in 1995-96.

This winter's massive snow totals have created unprecedented situations for Scott Honda to manage.

"This is the first time I can ever remember closing the dealership due to snow," said Vice President Duke Scott. "But the safety of our employees and customers is paramount, so we'll clean our lot Wednesday and be back open for business Thursday."

Please remember to drive safe and don't leave your house unless you absolutely need to.

The #1 Dealership Weatherman on the Web

Sconda Blog is proud to welcome our brand new weatherman, the go-to guy for all things meteorological at Scott Honda, a man who digs deep into the weather models and doesn't just take Glenn "The Hurricane" Schwartz's word for it, introducing our very own Gregg "Nor'easter" DiRocco.

Using the in-depth analysis of arctic air masses, barometric pressure and the gut instincts you need to make it in this industry, DiRocco's predicting 18-24 inches to fall in the West Chester area. He believes the snow to begin around 5 p.m., with the heaviest amounts occurring from 10 p.m. through Saturday morning, with as much as 2 inches falling an hour.  The storm should finally wind itself down around 3 p.m. tomorrow.

The best news for all you kids out there is that this snow will be great for building a snowman or having a good old fashioned snowball fight.

"Unlike the big snow storm we got in December, this snow has a lot of moisture in it, making it wet and heavy, perfect for some snow-packing fun tomorrow.  However it will make the shoveling a bit harder on the back," DiRocco told Sconda Blog.

Since he began working at Scott Honda 2-years-ago, the newly anointed Sconda Weatherman has been a Mecca of weather information for the entire dealership, fielding question after question about the weather, but he never tires of it, he has loved the weather ever since he can remember.

"Meteorology has fascinated me since I was young," DiRocco recalls.  "As a little kid I would always get up in the middle of the night to see if it was snowing and usually I would catch that first snowflake coming down."

DiRocco also has a good friend who is a Meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NOAA) in Tulsa, Okla. where he was lucky enough to receive a tour of the weather center.  "I was like a kid in the candy shop," he said.  "Tornado sirens were going off, satellite screens were everywhere, it was an awesome experience!"

Sconda Blog hopes this is the first of many forecasts from our very own weatherman Gregg "Nor'easter" DiRocco.

Please remember to drive safe in this storm and avoid going out tonight at all if possible.

Hooked on Fishing, 14 Years & Counting

It all began in 1995 when General Sales Manager, Dave Greaves thought it would be a lot of fun for Scott Honda to sponsor a dealership-wide fishing trip.  That was all sales manager and weekend angler Joe Collins needed to hear to start the first of what is now become a 14 year fishing tradition.

"Fishing is something I love and it's a great way to bring together folks from all different departments," Collins says.  "It's also a great trip for a little father and son bonding!"

This years trip to Point Pleasant, New Jersey was initially postponed due to Hurricane Bill, but the weather last Sunday was perfect and we have the pictures to prove it.

"The water was great, the sun was out and the fish we biting" says fellow Sales Manager, Marius "Little Buddy" Krawiec. "It was a nice getaway after those wild cash for clunkers days."

During their 7 hour tour on the Voyager, the 23 Sconda fisherman caught over 100 fish, most of them Flounder and Sea bass.

Scott Honda's trips have been up and down the Jersey Coast, like Cape May, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Brielle, and  Fortesque to name a few.  And the fish of the day has varied just as much.  They've caught Flounder, Sea bass, Tog, Croakers, Bluefish and Weakfish as well.

But the winner of the annual biggest fish pool this year went to Franco Alvisi who caught a healthy Sea bass weighing in at over 3 pounds.

Nothing to do with Cars: Meet "Dolphin 56"

I love a good human (or animal) interest story and the fact that this blog is Scott Honda-centered doesn't mean every post has to be on or about cars...so without further adieu I present our first post on something that I find interesting and think that you might as well.

    On my way in to work today a story on The Michael Smerconish Morning Show caught my ear.  It was the tale of a fisherman out with his buddies one day off the coast of New Jersey.  The big fish weren't biting so they worked their way back to about 500 yards off the shore, when he noticed something odd.  A dolphin was racing straight towards his boat in a most peculiar fashion.
    "He swam out of the water at a 45-degree angle," Angler, Rod Houck, of Yardville, N.J. told The Star Ledger. "He literally came up to the side of the boat -- like Flipper."
    Houck went on to tell Smerconsih that the dolphin seemed like something out of Sea World and while it was "performing" for food he noticed the dorsal fin on this Flipper wannabe had been branded with the number "56".
    Upon returning home Houck did what any of us would do, he Googled "Dolphin 56".  Imagine his surprise when page after page and sighting after sighting appeared on his computer screen.
    According to SeaWorld.com, Dolphin 56's known history began on August 28, 1979 when he was captured along with five other dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon in Florida and was branded for a field study.  That study ended in the Spring of 1982, but the Dolphin 56 sightings were only just beginning.     
    Although we are reminded it is illegal to feed wild dolphins, people fed Dolphin 56 anyway and he learned how easy we humans are to impress in order to get some food. He has even been known to put his snout right on the edge of a boat, which has really surprised boaters like Houck.
    Dolphin 56, now an estimated 42-years-old, has been sighted hundreds of times, from Florida to South Carolina to most recently the bay in Avalon, N.J.  So while you're out on the water this summer, keep an eye out for the number 56 poking out of the water.  And you better believe there will be a major motion picture out in about 3 years about the most famous dolphin since Flipper.