You remember that snowstorm I’ve been waiting for, for a few months? The one that was supposed to hit by Christmas? And again in January? But somehow managed to do nothing except spread lovely rumors of winter white?
Guess what…
We got snow!
There had been much talk about inclement weather for days now, but nobody really believed anything would happen. Several times this winter, any forecast of snow came and went without so much as two flakes. So knowing what the “experts” were calling for didn’t really make it, well, real.
I checked Weather.com, Weatherbug.com, accuweather.com, noaa.gov, and the local news channels. Every one had a different story. Snow in the mountains. Local rains. Lots of wind. Maybe snow. Maybe no rains. Lots of wind.
So when they said “snow”, I really envisioned . . . nothing different.
But, as it turned out, not only do we have snow, but it started about six hours earlier than anyone predicted. Yesterday morning the prediction was for a “dusting”. Last night, the snow level forecast dropped and the prediction became “up to an inch” [Hey, it’s the desert, okay?! An inch of snow is pretty nifty out here!!]. By this morning, one of the forecasts predicted an even lower snow level, and one to three inches possible. But it wasn’t supposed to start until this evening.
At noon, we saw the clouds blow in. And when I say blow, I mean blow.
Like Winnie The Pooh and the Blustery Day blow.
Even in winter, it’s unusual for our skies to turn dark. But darken they did, and quickly. The winds came up rapidly and I made plans to run my errands sooner rather than later. After five friends’ Facebook statuses (say that five times fast, I dare you!), made mention of snow within three minutes of each other, I knew it was time to head out.
I called my mom to let her know I would be out and about, would she like me to run errands for her too? (Awww, I know. I’m a good kid.) We talked about the impending storm and as soon as we hung up, I noticed the first white flake. I called her back. “I’m leaving now,” I decided. It took me less than five minutes to change into a warm sweatshirt and pull on some wooly socks and my shoes. As soon as I backed the car out of the garage, I took the picture you first see up above. From dry ground to this in five minutes. Now that’s a speed record!
I ran errands, picked up Dot from school (no driving lessons today, sorry!), and we made it home. It was like driving through a Muppet’s pillow fight. Thick, large, wet, whiteness dropping from the sky at an alarming speed. Visibility was down to 1/8 mile or less.
So here it is a mere five hours later than when I started out. The downfall has temporarily ceased, but every forecast now is saying we’ll get anywhere from four to eight inches of snow tonight! Eight!! Now that’s a snowstorm!!!
By the time you read this, I could be buried under an avalanche. Or, more preferably, drinking a chocolate martini by the fire while working on Chapter Two of the first book.
But in order to get to Chapter Two, I need to finish Chapter One. Which is what I’m off to do now. So if you’ll excuse me, I have some other writings to tend to.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
