The Blizzard of November 2010

Well this week we had a first. The weatherman began on Sunday predicting a huge storm to hit on Wednesday. This was to be the third storm to come in during the week so we already had a couple of inches of snow but mostly just on the grasses and such as the sidewalks and roads were still warm enough to melt it. On Monday they moved the storm arrival up to Tuesday afternoon and started talking about how bad it was going to be. I guess people started paying attention because the school districts decided to send kids home from school early. All the universities shut down in the early afternoon and many public events planned for the evening were postponed. The public library closed at 2:00 "due to the storm." I just don't ever remember such things happening.

I went out in the morning to get the last of the Thanksgiving groceries and it was surprisingly crowded. Afterward, Jessica and I went to do some shopping. At noon, there was a stiff south wind and it was 47 degrees. We went in to grab some lunch, and came out 40 minutes later and the temperature had dropped 10 degrees. I dropped Jess off at the mall while I went to my doctor's appointment and while I was sitting in the exam room, I heard excited voices in the hall saying that it had hit. Sure enough, when I left the clinic, the wind was blowing the wet snow almost horizontally and it was COLD! I got in my van and at 3:00 it was now 24 degrees and the temperature was still falling rapidly. I picked up Jessica and headed home. The drive was slow and cautious since visability was very limited. By then you couldn't see the lines on the road so everything was pretty much down to one lane in each direction.

We were so happy to be home. KSL was warning of power outages and suggesting way to make your home warmer and safer. We have a couple of doors that really need replacing and let a lot of cold air in so Jessica and I hung blankets up over them. Then we curled up with a cup of hot chocolate and a book and waited for the power to go off. Eventually, Alyna got home and Dennis got most of the Wescor employees on their way before he came home.

The storm raged for most of the evening. We never lost power and were able to carry on with our activities. Every once in a while, we'd look out to see how things were doing. The snow really piled up at the doorways and through our breeze way and made getting in and out a little more challenging. By about 9:00 the storm was over. Dennis went out and cleared the driveway and sidewalks. He thought we probably had 8 inches of snow.

This morning it is cold but beautiful. The ground always looks better dressed in white once the leaves are gone. The birds have been busy at the bird feeder this morning. All is well this morning and we lived through the blizzard of November 2010.It's nice to have weathermen who can warn us of upcoming storms and help us be prepared. It maybe wasn't quite as bad as they had warned us it could be but as storms go, it was a pretty good one.

the morning after