The region I live in is known for its mild climate, although we do have bouts of severe weather throughout the year. You may remember my accounts of wicked weather early in the fall, but now it looks like winter has arrived… suddenly!
It’s been in the high 60’s and low 70’s all week, even last night. I was driving home around midnight after taking my husband to work, and the time and temp readings at the local banks were all hovering in the mid sixties. This morning at around 6:00, it was in the fifties but it has steadily dropped all day. We’re expecting the highs to be in the teens tonight!
Add to that the flash flood warnings and the constant rain for the past two days, and an ice storm topped with snow seems imminent. If you have never experienced this, it’s quite an event. One year, my kids missed almost an entire month of school because of a winter storm. We have freezing rain, which turned to ice then a hard freeze. It snowed on top of it and the temperature dropped even further and stayed at record lows. They were out from December 8th until after Christmas vacation and New Year’s.
I don’t think this one will be too bad since it’s been warm and the ground should be pretty warm, but it might make for an interesting few days. When I first heard the reports, I really didn’t think we’d get much of anything. That is until I stopped at Wal-Mart last night, and all the bread and milk was gone.
This is a common sight in smaller grocery stores, but not too common in supercenters in the area. There might have been a loaf of cinnamon bread or pumpernickel, but not a single loaf of any brand of white or wheat. People even bought all the hamburger and hot dog buns. The milk was nearly gone except for some buttermilk and eggnog. That’s when I got a little nervous.
Today, I had to go in the opposite direction and I was able to score some bread and milk. I’ve got water dripping to avoid frozen pipes, but it looks like we won’t be going anywhere. So, for anyone else that’s experiencing winter weather advisories, I hope you’re ready for it!
Related: Home Safety: Stay Safe While Staying Warm