Today, we received our third major snow storm of the winter season. Now, relative to other places, the amount of snow we are receiving is not a lot but for this region, getting 4-6 inches of snow is a major deal. Getting it more than once a season is a major deal compared to winters in the past 10 years or so.
Each of these storms do have their own personality. The first storm on December 18th brought a lot of snow and sleet on a Friday afternoon but on the following day, it was a bright sunny day. Perfect sledding conditions and the roads were decent to travel on. Cold temperatures for days afterward meant that the snow lasted for quite awhile. Last week’s storm brought a fair bit of snow but the intense cold meant that any melt off froze on the roads creating treacherous driving conditions for the whole weekend.
This storm is a mix of snow, sleet, rain and freezing rain. It is still ongoing so who knows what the evening will bring but I can assume that if the temperatures go down well below freezing, the roads will be ice rinks in the morning. Could expect a power outage too if the ice buildup is over 1/4 inch on the power lines and trees.
So we are getting a real winter here in North Carolina. For the past 5 years, if we got one day with significant snow, that was it for the season. Now, I am actually using the snow shovel I bought a few years back.
So the snow brings mixed feelings. It is great to see snow on the ground, to pack it into a snowball or build a snowman out of it. The kids loved sledding in it. Makes the time of the year feel like winter rather than a dreary late autumn day. But you do have to deal with the side effects: slippery roads, the shoveling of sidewalks and driveways. It is something that I have to deal with but at least we do not live in the mountains or further north where today’s storm may bring 10-20 inches of snow to Virginia and Maryland.
It feels like being home.
News broke out around noon yesterday that the area was in for a 1-3 inches of snow fall. Normally, I would welcome the snow. Madeleine really enjoys the snow when she can get it and as for me, it is refreshing to see a carpet of white out on the lawn giving everything a clean look. But my concern was for my parents who had to catch an early morning flight to Detroit. Too much snow may mean a delay for their return to Canada.
I should not have worried given what I know of how calls for snow actually work here in the Triad
Around 5pm the snow started to come down. When I got into Winston Salem driving in from Greensboro, the flurries were coming in fast and furious and everything was starting to be well covered. I thought it was going to be a good snow day. Walking up to the door, Madeleine rushed out the door proclaiming it to be a snow day and that she could not wait to make a snowman. I said to her just be patient, tomorrow will see plenty of snow for you to play with.
She is going to be disappointed when she wakes up.
I had an inkling of what it was going to be like when I had to run to the store to get a few things. The flurries had stopped and what little snow had fallen had already melted due to the warm ground. The road was damp but nothing to be worried about as the temperature was still above freezing. Still, there was hope as the forecast called for more snow overnight. Even the school called and delivered a preemptive school closure for the day. So that meant that the storm was going to be for real, we would get our snow for the year delivered in a big dump.
Never happened.
Waking up early this morning, I took a peek outside. Everything dry including the road. The snow passed us by. Roads were clean and dry all the way to the airport. Flight left on time and a little girl will not be making snowmen in the front yard.
Note:
A sight we shall not see again this year as we bask in spring like weather. But for one glorious day, it truly was winter here in Winston-Salem.
Note
An unexpected snowfall hit the Winston-Salem area and with temperatures below freezing, the snow will actually linger a bit longer than a day. Madeleine is going to have to have fun today!
I had to go to Milwaukee for a business trip and before heading up I knew the situation was not going to be great. There was a storm on the way but as I had meetings to attend, it was a trip that had to be undertaken.
I was not the only one going on the trip. The company sent four of us up there. The trip going into Milwaukee was uneventful; it could have been worst as we connected through Memphis Tennessee but we arrived and departed before the onset of the storms that ravaged the area shortly thereafter. On arrival in Milwaukee, we rented a vehicle that supposed to be a SUV but instead we were given the option of renting a Hummer. It turned out to be a fortunate decision for us.
For the balance of the day, we were in meetings at the client sites around Milwaukee and by day’s end it started to snow as we left one of the client’s offices. We had a feeling that this rapidly approaching storm was going to be a big one as the employees there kept talking about the storm and the amount of snow it was supposed to bring; anywhere from 10-14 inches which was going to be a lot. People were already making arrangements for the next day.
As we drove downtown to pick up one of our guys, the snow began to intensify. As the flakes started to fall and rapidly accumulate, I silently watched in amazement. It has been years since I saw snow like that. When it had snowed in Winston-Salem since I moved there, it usually was comparably very mild and never last long nor was it very disruptive. There was more concern about ice accumulation on the road than the little bit of snow on the ground. This was the real deal, a honest to goodness blizzard. By the time we picked up our guy, there was already two inches on the ground with a good part of it already turned to slush. But it did not seem to bother too many people at that time; eating at a downtown Italian restaurant, we noticed that it was reasonably busy but people were still talking of what was to come. A winter warning was released that stated that it would be snowing until 6pm the next day. Things were not looking too good for us.
The second day
During the night, looking out my window, I noticed that the snow had abated with significant amount of snow on the ground. Perhaps the snow storm would pass us by much like as it does in Winston-Salem where the predicted storms never seem to materialise. Waking in the morning disassuage me of that notion. Snow was coming down again and I noticed too that the wind was starting to pick up. It looked bad but I was prepared. For my trip, I packed my hiking boots, winter gloves and a cap. I was reasonably well dressed for the conditions. The most important item was the boots as I had traction on the now slippery surfaces and my feet would be dry unlike if I was wearing plain shoes.
We still has meetings to attend to in the morning but our concerns now was whether we would get out of Milwaukee later that afternoon. Driving downtown, it seemed to get progressively worst. The client office was perhaps at only half filled as employees were calling in because of children to take care or bad driving conditions.
We had our meeting and then started on our way to the airport. I keep checking on our flight status which still said that our flight was on time. I was getting incredulous at this because as we drove down the highway to the airport our visibility was incredibly limited. I could not see planes taking off in this weather and seeing cars spinning around and going off the road into snow banks did not give me much confidence but we had the Hummer so these conditions should not affect our drive and they did not.
Checked the hummer at the airport and check the status on the boards at the airport. As I thought, nothing was getting out of Milwaukee that day. The whole airport was shut down. If the snowplows could not see the runways, well neither would the pilots. But Milwaukee is not Chicago or any other major hub airport; it is more of a destination/origination type of airport so the throngs of people stuck at the airport we see sometimes on television because of a major storm was not present. So we made arrangements to fly out the next day, made hotel reservations which were fairly easy to do and took a shuttle to the hotel.
By this time, the amount of snow was starting to taper but the wind was really picking up leading to major whiteouts on the road and driving was treacherous. We got to the hotel, went to a restaurant across the parking lot and had our first real meal of the day late in the afternoon. We were informed by the waitress that nearly everything was shutting down early. Even the restaurant was closing down in a few hours. After dinner, we went across the road to lay in some provisions for the evening, trying to avoid the deep snow banks around the road edges and called it a night. As we walked we could see plows everywhere trying to clear parking lots and roads for the next day.
Checking on the local news, this storm was no ordinary weather event. It was pretty major locally. It seemed that our timing was exquisite if our intention was to experience a major snow storm. Maybe in September, we should schedule meetings in Key West just in time for hurricane season.
Thoughts on the snow
I think the locals were not pleased with the storm. Apparently, they had quite a bit of snow already this season with more weeks of winter to come. For me though, it is a bit exhilirating to feel and see snow again. It feels like winter. Perhaps if I was less prepared, I may have felt differently if my shoes were soaked from the snow and slush and I was chilled to the bone but I felt fine. I love seeing the landscape even just for a few hours clothed with that white blanket of snow before turning grey and black from pollution. Everything seems so fresh and new. Nothing else quite matches it.
I really like it when it snows.
Photos from the storm
I did not have my camera with me on my trip but my mobile does have an elementary camera built in so I took a few shots to capture the moments of being stuck in Milwaukee because of a winter storm. Click on the photos for a larger image.
