You know, in the summer, I'd never wake up thinking about my drive to work. Because I'd just get in my car and go.
The exception to this would be if I was having car trouble--the kind where something sounds funny, or makes the car shake, or (the worst) smoke--something that I'd keep trying to diagnose for several drives until 1) I figure it out so I can take it and get it fixed; 2) the symptom quits; 3) the car quits. Of course, this can happen any time of year.
But in the winter--especially this Indiana winter--getting to work can be an adventure. And not of an enjoyable kind.
I was just reading an article this morning on msnbc.com about the mild winter northern Europe is having--they are worrying about global warming--indeed, the article says they are "confounded" by their weather.
I want to write northern Europe a letter:
Dear Northern Europeans, QUIT WORRYING! I've found your winter. It's here in northern INDIANA. Frigid temps? Check. Snow every day? Check? Whipping winds? Check. Lingering into March? Doublecheck! Come visit your winter anytime, it's missing you. Better yet, we're going to ship it back to you asap. Your cold friend, Cathy.
So, yesterday, a particularly nasty batch of stuff: freezing rain, sleet, snow. Sometimes all at the same time. (And it all seems to be coming on Tuesdays--what's up with that?) It depressed me for several reasons--one, after LAST Tuesday's snow, it had all melted over the weekend. I never thought brown grass could look so good. Second, it's March--it's time for spring to start creeping in, not winter to come roaring back. Third, I went to bed dreading the drive to work, and woke up thinkin' about how bad it might be.
Here's the good news: I made it okay. The skies had cleared, the sun was out, and it was all of 19 degrees. The roads were terrible, with ice under the snow, and I couldn't see edge lines or center lines, and some people wanted to drive as if the roads were dry, but I made it. Once again.
This batch will melt, too, eventually--not real soon, according to the forecast, but I don't think we'll have it around when summer really comes.
How about you? How was your drive?
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
About when I was really cold, in 1978
Thirty years ago, I learned what cold really was.
All week, our local media has been helping us relive the Blizzard of '78. Or, if you are so young as to not have been alive -- or cognizant -- in 1978, you are being educated.
From Wikipedia:
"The Great Blizzard of 1978 struck across the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes on January 26, 1978, with a center in northwestern Ohio. A freak convergence of two atmospheric low pressure systems resulted in a "storm of unprecedented magnitude", according to the National Weather Service, who categorized it as a rare severe blizzard, the most menacing grade of winter storm. Particularly hard hit were the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and southeast Wisconsin where up to 40" of snow fell. Winds gusting up to 100 mph caused drifts that nearly covered some homes. Wind chill reached 60°F below across much of Ohio where 51 of the total 70 storm-related deaths occurred.[1]"
Often, nowadays, when extreme weather hits, we hear it called a "100-year storm." Hurricane Katrina comes to mind.
I didn't know it then, but we were living through a true "100-year storm." And here's the lesson I learned: Although you can manufacture some fun during a severe blizzard -- if you happen to be somewhere safe and warm -- there is no fun about them if you are out in them, whether by accident or on purpose.
There have been lots of stories in the papers about peoples' blizzard experiences, and some of them are the "we partied for five days" type. But one yesterday was a reminder of how life-threatening the conditions were--four people caught in a car, buried by snow, for two days on I69 trying to drive to Fort Wayne from Indianapolis.
We lived in a small, poorly insulated house on the southeast side of Fort Wayne back then. Sometime Wednesday late afternoon or early evening, the wind cranked up, and it didn't back down until sometime early Friday morning. I'll never forget the unceasing howling of the wind. It blew so long and so hard, it was frightening, and the cold (plus the wind chill) was unbelievable. When the wind finally calmed a little very early Friday morning, the silence woke me up.
And then, the whiteness. While the snow fell, the view out every window was a whiteout. And on Friday, after the snow stopped, the sun came out, and the brilliance of the white landscape against the blue sky was stunning, and beautiful, and deceptive, because it was so terribly cold.
We were snowed in from Wednesday until the next Monday. We passed the time by watching a new local TV station that played movie after movie, and listening to the radio (one bulletin after another), and watching the local news (the news staff was looking pretty ragged after a couple of days), and sleeping in, and our neighbors had a potluck dinner on Saturday that everyone trudged through the drifts to attend.
When we could finally get out of the house, the city was like a big, high-walled maze--there were snow walls along every street. But wow--was it good to get out!
Effects linger from the blizzard. Any kind of winter storm warning brings a rush on the groceries and the gas stations. And since none of the storms we've had since--even one last winter that was officially labeled a "blizzard"--have measured up to 1978.
But here's what I really connect to the '78 blizzard: I was pregnant with our daughter; she would be born in April, a spring baby, sunny and warm-hearted. No blizzard memories for her.
And...my baby will be 30 this April.
Now, how the heck did that happen? That's a 100-year (or, should I say, 30-year?) storm to me.
How about you? Have you survived a "storm of the century"?
All week, our local media has been helping us relive the Blizzard of '78. Or, if you are so young as to not have been alive -- or cognizant -- in 1978, you are being educated.
From Wikipedia:
"The Great Blizzard of 1978 struck across the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes on January 26, 1978, with a center in northwestern Ohio. A freak convergence of two atmospheric low pressure systems resulted in a "storm of unprecedented magnitude", according to the National Weather Service, who categorized it as a rare severe blizzard, the most menacing grade of winter storm. Particularly hard hit were the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and southeast Wisconsin where up to 40" of snow fell. Winds gusting up to 100 mph caused drifts that nearly covered some homes. Wind chill reached 60°F below across much of Ohio where 51 of the total 70 storm-related deaths occurred.[1]"
Often, nowadays, when extreme weather hits, we hear it called a "100-year storm." Hurricane Katrina comes to mind.
I didn't know it then, but we were living through a true "100-year storm." And here's the lesson I learned: Although you can manufacture some fun during a severe blizzard -- if you happen to be somewhere safe and warm -- there is no fun about them if you are out in them, whether by accident or on purpose.
There have been lots of stories in the papers about peoples' blizzard experiences, and some of them are the "we partied for five days" type. But one yesterday was a reminder of how life-threatening the conditions were--four people caught in a car, buried by snow, for two days on I69 trying to drive to Fort Wayne from Indianapolis.
We lived in a small, poorly insulated house on the southeast side of Fort Wayne back then. Sometime Wednesday late afternoon or early evening, the wind cranked up, and it didn't back down until sometime early Friday morning. I'll never forget the unceasing howling of the wind. It blew so long and so hard, it was frightening, and the cold (plus the wind chill) was unbelievable. When the wind finally calmed a little very early Friday morning, the silence woke me up.
And then, the whiteness. While the snow fell, the view out every window was a whiteout. And on Friday, after the snow stopped, the sun came out, and the brilliance of the white landscape against the blue sky was stunning, and beautiful, and deceptive, because it was so terribly cold.
We were snowed in from Wednesday until the next Monday. We passed the time by watching a new local TV station that played movie after movie, and listening to the radio (one bulletin after another), and watching the local news (the news staff was looking pretty ragged after a couple of days), and sleeping in, and our neighbors had a potluck dinner on Saturday that everyone trudged through the drifts to attend.
When we could finally get out of the house, the city was like a big, high-walled maze--there were snow walls along every street. But wow--was it good to get out!
Effects linger from the blizzard. Any kind of winter storm warning brings a rush on the groceries and the gas stations. And since none of the storms we've had since--even one last winter that was officially labeled a "blizzard"--have measured up to 1978.
But here's what I really connect to the '78 blizzard: I was pregnant with our daughter; she would be born in April, a spring baby, sunny and warm-hearted. No blizzard memories for her.
And...my baby will be 30 this April.
Now, how the heck did that happen? That's a 100-year (or, should I say, 30-year?) storm to me.
How about you? Have you survived a "storm of the century"?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
About keeping warm
Okay, if you are a warm-blooded type, just skip it. People who are always warm, no matter what, just don't understand.
If a slight breeze in July makes you wonder what the wind-chill is, this post is for you.
Because I am almost always cold. Even with what should be a well-insulating fat layer, or two.
Actually, I don't think fat has much to do with hot or cold. I think it's skin. Because my skin seems extraordinarily sensitive to stuff -- stuff like cold.
So weather like we've been having (as I type, it's 9 degrees) is anathema to me. And since I've been this way since I was a little kid, I've developed several strategies to combat the cold.
My favorite is one I've cultivated as a grownup, but is so extreme, and expensive, I can't practice it as often as I wish. This strategy is, well, leaving. The cold behind. And me, in a new location. A warm location. Like Ft. Myers, Florida. I know. Cheating.
So, the real strategies, like, wear two pairs of socks. Very helpful, if a multiplier of laundry.
Or, duh, wear pants. Because even the glimpse of a woman in a skirt and hose makes me have to go to the ER with sympathy frostbite. I mean, what are they thinking!? Don't you know you're freezing me!
The only time I wear anything resembling pantyhose in winter? (Oh, wait, I mean: ever.) When I wear nice, soft microfiber tights under my pants! Put socks on too, and some nice ankle boots, and you can walk to your car after work in a great state of denial.
And, wear sweaters. With blouses/t's underneath. Or a jacket. Or, and a jacket. And maybe a cami. With a vest.
You know, what they always tell you on TV: layer.
And: have a selection of coats. Shop the mark down sales here in the next month or so and you can do it for cheap! I got a parka good for -30 degrees on sales at L.L. Bean last winter, then snagged a sharp leather jacket (not good for frigid cold, but goodness it looks sharp in other weathers) at JC Penney's for about $35,then, in a final red-dot-sale paroxysm of coat shopping, picked up a black wool dress coat, three-quarter length, at Peebles, for less than $50. Wearing the black wool number is like wearing a blanket out and about.
Wear your hair over your ears or get some of those behind-the-neck ear muffs. Or, heck, make a statement with some fuzzy hot-pink things. You're so cold, who cares?
Write now, I'm on the sofa, fuzzy afghan over me, warm laptop on my lap, two pairs of socks, cup of tea, heating pad.
My feet are still freezing. HOW MANY SOCKS MUST I WEAR?
How 'bout you? How are you keepin' warm?
If a slight breeze in July makes you wonder what the wind-chill is, this post is for you.
Because I am almost always cold. Even with what should be a well-insulating fat layer, or two.
Actually, I don't think fat has much to do with hot or cold. I think it's skin. Because my skin seems extraordinarily sensitive to stuff -- stuff like cold.
So weather like we've been having (as I type, it's 9 degrees) is anathema to me. And since I've been this way since I was a little kid, I've developed several strategies to combat the cold.
My favorite is one I've cultivated as a grownup, but is so extreme, and expensive, I can't practice it as often as I wish. This strategy is, well, leaving. The cold behind. And me, in a new location. A warm location. Like Ft. Myers, Florida. I know. Cheating.
So, the real strategies, like, wear two pairs of socks. Very helpful, if a multiplier of laundry.
Or, duh, wear pants. Because even the glimpse of a woman in a skirt and hose makes me have to go to the ER with sympathy frostbite. I mean, what are they thinking!? Don't you know you're freezing me!
The only time I wear anything resembling pantyhose in winter? (Oh, wait, I mean: ever.) When I wear nice, soft microfiber tights under my pants! Put socks on too, and some nice ankle boots, and you can walk to your car after work in a great state of denial.
And, wear sweaters. With blouses/t's underneath. Or a jacket. Or, and a jacket. And maybe a cami. With a vest.
You know, what they always tell you on TV: layer.
And: have a selection of coats. Shop the mark down sales here in the next month or so and you can do it for cheap! I got a parka good for -30 degrees on sales at L.L. Bean last winter, then snagged a sharp leather jacket (not good for frigid cold, but goodness it looks sharp in other weathers) at JC Penney's for about $35,then, in a final red-dot-sale paroxysm of coat shopping, picked up a black wool dress coat, three-quarter length, at Peebles, for less than $50. Wearing the black wool number is like wearing a blanket out and about.
Wear your hair over your ears or get some of those behind-the-neck ear muffs. Or, heck, make a statement with some fuzzy hot-pink things. You're so cold, who cares?
Write now, I'm on the sofa, fuzzy afghan over me, warm laptop on my lap, two pairs of socks, cup of tea, heating pad.
My feet are still freezing. HOW MANY SOCKS MUST I WEAR?
How 'bout you? How are you keepin' warm?
Monday, December 10, 2007
About ice
Fire and Ice
(From Harper’s Magazine, December 1920.)
by Robert Frost
SOME say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Of winter weather, little is more dangerous than ice.
It hides--black ice, hard to see and easy to fall on or skid your car over.
It shines--so you know to try to slow down, but if you do it too quickly, you ssssllliiidddeeeeeee, probably somewhere you don't want to go, like into another car or a tree or a ditch.
It's heavy--it pulls on power lines and snaps them, it collects on tree branches and bends them 'til they break.
But even still, it's beautiful. This afternoon, the ice still clung to the trees around work, and the fog hung around and it was like being in a words of tree ghosts.
We have a winter storm watch for late tonight and tomorrow. But who knows what it will bring? The front hangs to our south, and we get more ice. A few miles north, and we get a cold terrible rain that chills you to your bones.
Makes me hold to those who favor fire.
How about you? Fire, or ice?
(From Harper’s Magazine, December 1920.)
by Robert Frost
SOME say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Of winter weather, little is more dangerous than ice.It hides--black ice, hard to see and easy to fall on or skid your car over.
It shines--so you know to try to slow down, but if you do it too quickly, you ssssllliiidddeeeeeee, probably somewhere you don't want to go, like into another car or a tree or a ditch.
It's heavy--it pulls on power lines and snaps them, it collects on tree branches and bends them 'til they break.
But even still, it's beautiful. This afternoon, the ice still clung to the trees around work, and the fog hung around and it was like being in a words of tree ghosts.
We have a winter storm watch for late tonight and tomorrow. But who knows what it will bring? The front hangs to our south, and we get more ice. A few miles north, and we get a cold terrible rain that chills you to your bones.
Makes me hold to those who favor fire.
How about you? Fire, or ice?
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