Here we go again. Yesterday at work the forecast was up in the air for the expected snow storm - off again, on again, off again. Conflicting weather reports; perhaps an inch or two; two to four...and on and on. Temps were to remain in the upper teens to low twenties, so whatever the event it would be powder. All reports agreed that the snow would begin overnight.
All of that, with the exception of the low temps was WRONG!
I awoke this morning prepared to see the white stuff blowing and covering everything. Didn't happen.
The 'event' began late morning - I was at work - and within an hour it was obvious to anyone with a brain that this was indeed a major event. We switched one of the big screens to TWC to check out the local forecast, then checked out the National Weather Service. Finally, everyone was in agreement; between 8" and 12" of snow, so this thing was big, moving slow and coughing up 25 mph wind gusts to add to the already dangerous situation in which we suddenly found ourselves.
The temperature never reached 20' F here. We were one of a few restaurants open and that meant a very busy day. Usually not a bad thing, but a few servers live 10 to 15 miles away and the boss was concerned for their safety on the unplowed roadways and sent them home. I worked my full shift and had a great time.
To clean off the car I stepped into snow that was calf deep (about 10") and it was still coming down hard. Driving back to the apartment it was nearly whiteout conditions on the highway and many vehicles had slid off the road, spunout, or hit another from behind, either by following too closely, or simply unable to bring their vehicle to a stop in time. Flashing lights were everywhere making the drive even more horrific because we had to attempt getting out of the way of the obstacles and continue to control our vehicles.
Almost didn't make it up a hill because of the many vehicles strewn about. That's the place that claimed most victims and I was almost one of them. Thank G*d for front wheel drive. I eventually managed to navigate through the chaos to arrive at my road to find that it was untouched. Neither tire tracks nor plow had touched it all day.
I had me some virgin snow and made my way that last half-mile slowly and neatly.
The snow is not due to end until 1 am tomorrow morning. If it continues to fall this heavily we could end up with much more than predicted.
Home and dry (it's so cold that my slacks, shoes and socks are totally dry) and the smells from the crockpot are welcoming. Now, where are those damned olives? I'll see about tomorrow, tomorrow.
And so it goes.
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I just e mailed this to Dan/Dave. It's to the point and very telling. Work today?
ReplyDeleteThank goodness you made it home without mishap. I was thinking about you back out on Rt. 1 with those crazy drivers when the horizontal snow was whipping about last night in the dark.
ReplyDeleteI don't have to tell you but please be very careful. Be patient with the crazies. It's not worth getting into an accident because of someone else's stupidity.
Yes, we're going out tonight to the Feathered One then the Camp Chorus. A little white stuff won't keep us back. Are you kidding? I may even have an Appletini.....or two. :)
I had been reading about that storm as it moved across the country. I even had a conversation with a blogger mid-country as they were enduring an ice storm version of it. Yet our forecast was calling for nothing! Then I saw that it was all going south of us ... and heading straight for you! We ended up getting nothing but clouds from the storm and we are not that far from you.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear that you made it home safely.