Finally!
The snow has begun.
It is now almost eleven o'clock in the morning and this is the day the we have been hearing about for a few days now. A major snowstorm is on the way.
Thing is that it was supposed to arrive around seven this morning. It is now eleven and snow is finally starting to fall.
Of course, in advance of this arrival events were already being cancelled. Schools closed even before a flake had fallen. I had a physical therapy appointment and just called to cancel it. That appointment is for less than two hours from now and I was informed that I was already the fifteenth cancellation for today. And the snow has really just started in earnest about half hour ago.
We are about to be shut down.We are going into hibernation.
And we are expected to get between three and six inches of snow in this storm.
Three to six inches!
Well, maybe we may get a surprise and get a little more.
Or less!
But three to six!
In Michigan!
I am old enough to remember a February storm in 1965.
Try eleven inches!
And, of course, when those Michigan winds get hold of that snow, we get drifts and we got some good ones that year. We could not get ours cars out of the garage but that did not matter anyhow. No one was going anywhere, not on those roads back then.
Eleven inches was good for shutting down and canceling.
But three to six!
And then there was the storm of December 1 - 2, 1974 that dumped 19 inches on us.
That slowed down the Christmas shoppers.
Slowed down - but did not stop.
And that one did start out calling for about three inches of the white stuff, so, maybe, just maybe, this could be a repeat.
But don't count on it and it really doesn't matter anyhow.
Everything is probably already shut.
And while remembering classic Michigan snowstorms, there was one back in 1982 when the Super Bowl was held in the Pontiac Silverdome, the first time such an event was held in a northern venue.
The storm snarled traffic, the 49's had one of their bus's arrival delayed. Even then Vice-President George H.W. Bush got caught in traffic.
But was the event cancelled?
Are you kidding?
Anyhow, the snow is falling now.
In Michigan.
And Twenty-First Century residents are in awe.
And paralyzed!
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OH NO! It cannot be happening in Michigan!
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved from Michigan to St Louis, Missouri almost nine years ago, I marveled at how the locals worried when snow was predicted. My first experience was the predicted 1/2-inch snowfall that caused events to be cancelled and classes stopped - TWO DAYS BEFORE IT EVEN HAPPENED! Then, when they really did have measurable snowfall, the road crews did a fantastic job clearing the roads. Unfortunately, they concentrated on the surface streets first before the expressways so folks could get out and onto the highway and be stuck in the ditch for hours until the plows could make it through.
Could this be the new trend?
Ohhh.....how I love the way the TV stations like to sensationalize a coming winter storm. I may be living in CA now, but have not forgotten the hype of the new anchors and weather people in Detroit. They they make it sound like you should have enough supplies on hand for 6-8 days of the roads being impassible :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Fr Ron; 3-6"?
Is THAT all you've got Mother Nature?
When we were living outside Boston MA only a few short years ago, on New Years eve we got 22" overnight. We had tickets to see a live performance in downtown Boston on New Years Day. By 11:00 am that morning, I could see the plow crews had down a fantastic job on the roads - so I started shovel a path for our vehicle to get out of the snow drifts that were about 4' deep....and the performance on Boston went on as scheduled. Downtown Boston's streets were also cleared and in great shape.
3-6"
I also remember forecast such as this ended up heading more south and hammering Toledo. I always thought; Hey, better them than us! :-D
Take care everyone - and be safe on the roads