Well, yesterday winter finally arrived with a vengence. All the local schools closed in anticipation. With about an inch of old, spotty, existing snow on the ground (we actually had mustered a white Christmas), the day began with temps falling into the mid-20's and freezing rain. As soon as the droplets hit the trees and ground, a glaze of ice formed on everything. White birches and white pines never do particularly well under these conditions. Soon everything was drooping, and one favorite front yard birch sagged onto my power lines out to the street. In the back yard, white pine branches that I normally walk under were literally touching the ground. Sigh...
Winter Berry in ice
Then in mid-afternoon, the rain/sleet mixture suddenly turned to snow. That, of course, added additional weight to the overladen branches. Fortunately, what began as a rain/snow event with elaborate weather advisories simply tapered off. By evening all was quiet, even though the on-going forecast promised more of the same during the night. All the public schools stayed closed again today.
Part two of our first winter storm held off until about 7 a.m. this morning. Then it began sleeting again. Our roof gutters rapidly clogged with a mixture of slush and newly formed ice. It wasn't long before they were overflowing. Then, like yesterday, the sleet changed over to snow again. This time heavier flakes were falling, at times approaching white-out conditions. Not long after, it began snowing very heavily. I could hear the tell tale signs of destruction in the forest behind the house. Large pine branches were cracking loudly like gunshots, then snapping-off and crashing to the ground along with a rising plume of snow and ice. I estimate that my chain saw will have two or three days of whining during the next thaw, and pickup may have to wait until spring. It's kind of discouraging.
View off the deck beyond the pool
In the meantime, gusting winds from 25-40 mph started wreaking more havoc. About 2 p.m., it was announced that nearly 14,000 National Grid customers in St. Lawrence County had lost all electrical power. In nearby Ogdensburg, there was only one gas station open. Reports of several road accidents began pouring in. SUNY Potsdam, my former employer, decided to cancel classes for the rest of the day. This usually happens about once every three years.
And to top it off, both Clarkson and St. Lawrence University postponed tonight's home games against Yale and Brown. This is as rare as it gets. Postponing hockey in the North Country?
So now the snow has tapered off again. "Lake enhanced" changed over to "lake effect" and now rapidly dropping temps have turned off the showers completely. By morning, the prediction is for a high of 4 degrees with a wind chill factor to minus 20. Sunday will be more of the same with a high of 0.
My wife and I are home and snug. The plan is to lie low. No hockey for us. Maybe a little Netflix streaming and, for me, some football. I refuse to turn on the golf tournament from Hawaii -- just too depressing. At any rate, the storm has come, and it will go -- and folks will wring their hands and talk about that nasty Friday, January 13 in 2012.
Paul in Potsdam
<http://www2.potsdam.edu.loucksap.com/>
<http://loucksap.smugmug.com/>
<http://madstop68.blogspot.com/>
No comments:
Post a Comment