Sunday, December 12, 2010

Blizzard of Dec 2010

What a "fun" weekend we've had here in the Midwest.

The fun began with pouring rain around 3pm Saturday afternoon, which washed away any salt that was on the roads before the snow started about 5pm. A blizzard warning was issued from Saturday evening until 6pm Sunday night. Which will be followed by a windchill advisory as temps dip below zero tonight, with windchills around 25 below. Those temps are to continue through Tuesday, when it will then warm back up into the teens--right before the next round of snow moves in. Yay us!

I have not seen the official snow totals for our area yet, but know it is more than six inches. Last I heard Dane County saw between 8-12 inches. Not as much as the Blizzard of December 2009, but wet and heavy enough that many major roads were closed, meetings and church services cancelled, and even Madison Metro called off bus service for the day. Parts of northern Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Dakotas saw up to two feet of snow. *Shudder*




Can you see the ice clinging to the leaves and fruit of the crabapple tree? Not one drop melted today, despite how bright the sun was shining. There were a few hearty souls who braved the brutal 25mph sustained winds (with 40mph gusts!) to build snowmen or do some sledding, but I was content to spend the day in my pajamas, curled up on the couch reading and watching holiday movies. What better way to spend a frigid day?




At least I don't have a car to dig out, or a dog that needs watering. Neighbors who are smarter than the rest (which, considering the people in my building, is saying a lot), or who have at least experienced a Wisconsin winter before, were out cleaning off their cars this afternoon. Digging them out in the morning, after temps drop below zero, will not be fun. Or easy.




The maintenance/grounds staff of our complex was kept busy throughout the day, keeping the main street cleared, shoveling walkways, and plowing out parking spaces as people moved their cars. Definitely not envious of them!



Too bad I can't spend the rest of the winter hibernating indoors!



8 comments:

Alice Audrey said...

I'm really glad to be here right now. It hit the mid 50s and several of our road melted back down to blacktop.

Heather said...

It's 50 degrees in Montana?! Dude, it's only 1 lousy degree here this morning, with a -14 windchill. I soooo did not want to get out of bed today. Still haven't seen any snow totals, either.

Jana said...

*shivers*

It's cold here (27degrees, currently)but not 1 degree cold. Although, we did have some excitement Sunday morning...actual snow flurries!!!! :-D

Heather said...

Jana: Okay, for you guys, that probably is cold, LOL.

I had a bit more than flurries Sunday morning. It did not stop snowing until early afternoon. Yesterday's high was 11. Today is to be about the same.

I finally found snow totals for this storm. We had 8.9 inches of snow over two days, for a seasonal total of 15.2--that's above the average for this time of year, but slightly below where we were at this point last December.

Alice Audrey said...

It's in the 30s now, and snowing. I really, really need snow tires. Priced them for the truck $400 for a set of four. When did everything get so expensive?

Heather said...

It was supposed to get up to 20 today, but fell a few degrees short. Supposed to have another 1-2 inches of snow tonight. $100 for one tire?! That's crazy! A dollar certainly doesn't go very far these days.

Julie said...

Oh, my gosh! I'm with you; this weather is NOT the type I go out in if I can help it; I'd rather look out at it through the window - book in hand and nice hot cup of coffee or cocoa on the table beside me!

Heather said...

As a kid, we lived for snow days. Now, I would rather enjoy it through a large picture window, safe and cozy warm inside. Looks like we're going to get whalloped again Mon-Tues this week. *whimper* At least we're assured a white Christmas!