Winter Storm Watch 2011
I want winter to be over. SERIOUSLY. What the hell happened to my mild winter? What the hell changed between September to now that everyone who said we would have a mild winter is now saying this is going to be a record breaking winter? I feel like it's snowed more than last year--not that we've accumulated more snow, but that the frequency with which it's snowed it more. Every week it's like there's a new snow storm, and today we're preparing for SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011.
Here are the stats: from 3pm today to 3pm tomorrow, we are waiting for a blizzard promising to bring anywhere from a foot to two feet of snow. (At this point, all the weather people are trying to out-inch each other. Some asshole quoted 31 inches earlier this morning.) With the snow, we've been warned about 20 - 30 mph winds, which would cause a whiteout effect. For all those blessedly ignorant towards snow, a whiteout means you can't even see the tip of your nose--the wind is blowing the snow that hard. Everyone is being warned not to drive at all once this storm hits. My mother even packed a bag in case it's so bad she has to stay at work. (She works at a hospital...so there could be worse places to be stuck at.) Currently, we have a couple inches from last night and it's a bit windy. It's like the amuse-bouche before the main course...OF WINTERY HELL. At least there aren't any reports of an ice storm. I'd take snow over ice, let me tell you guys.
Remember the winter storm that freaked out everyone in the South a few weeks ago? That's how it is here. There is actually panic in the Chicago streets. My mom called yesterday in a panic, wanting to know if there was anything we needed from the store. (She didn't end up going because, hello, she went grocery shopping THE DAY BEFORE. Panicking, I say!) Even the weathermen from New York City have flocked across the Mississippi because they want to see a real storm. (One inch my ass, New York City.) Oh, you'd think we, being Midwesterners, would be prepared for a snowpocalypse. That we would shrug and say, "Eh, must be Tuesday." But two feet of snow is two feet of snow no matter where you are. That's a buttload of snow that needs to be shoveled off driveways and roads. And since most of it (18 inches they're saying) is supposed to come between 9pm tonight till 3pm tomorrow, there is no way in hell to keep up with it unless you stay up all night. Given that it's 7:30 am right now, I will not be staying up all night.
So, that's what we're waiting for here in Chicago. As long as the internet doesn't go out, I'll probably post updates, starting when SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011 hits. I'm going to hunker down with Jane Eyre. (Rhoda, you'll be happy to know it's taken me four days just to get 2/3 of the way through the book.)
1:00pm Update: Finished reading Jane Eyre, watched the trailer for the upcoming movie (mmmmm, Michael Fassbender), and we have flurries.
2:45pm: Howling wind? Check. Persistent snowfall? Check. Undrivable conditions? Check. SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011 is upon us!
8:45pm: So, Mom took her crazy pills and drove home...in 0% visibility. Apparently she passed quite a few cars in ditches/abandoned in the street. (I'm so glad I'm not working at the mall anymore. I'd probably be stuck there, fighting off zombified snowmen a la Dawn of the Dead.) Also, we're entering the worst part of the storm where it's going to snow continuously till 6am, dumping one-two inches of snow per hour. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!
10pm: Aaaaaand...now we have lightening to go along with our snow. Lightening!
Here are the stats: from 3pm today to 3pm tomorrow, we are waiting for a blizzard promising to bring anywhere from a foot to two feet of snow. (At this point, all the weather people are trying to out-inch each other. Some asshole quoted 31 inches earlier this morning.) With the snow, we've been warned about 20 - 30 mph winds, which would cause a whiteout effect. For all those blessedly ignorant towards snow, a whiteout means you can't even see the tip of your nose--the wind is blowing the snow that hard. Everyone is being warned not to drive at all once this storm hits. My mother even packed a bag in case it's so bad she has to stay at work. (She works at a hospital...so there could be worse places to be stuck at.) Currently, we have a couple inches from last night and it's a bit windy. It's like the amuse-bouche before the main course...OF WINTERY HELL. At least there aren't any reports of an ice storm. I'd take snow over ice, let me tell you guys.
Remember the winter storm that freaked out everyone in the South a few weeks ago? That's how it is here. There is actually panic in the Chicago streets. My mom called yesterday in a panic, wanting to know if there was anything we needed from the store. (She didn't end up going because, hello, she went grocery shopping THE DAY BEFORE. Panicking, I say!) Even the weathermen from New York City have flocked across the Mississippi because they want to see a real storm. (One inch my ass, New York City.) Oh, you'd think we, being Midwesterners, would be prepared for a snowpocalypse. That we would shrug and say, "Eh, must be Tuesday." But two feet of snow is two feet of snow no matter where you are. That's a buttload of snow that needs to be shoveled off driveways and roads. And since most of it (18 inches they're saying) is supposed to come between 9pm tonight till 3pm tomorrow, there is no way in hell to keep up with it unless you stay up all night. Given that it's 7:30 am right now, I will not be staying up all night.
So, that's what we're waiting for here in Chicago. As long as the internet doesn't go out, I'll probably post updates, starting when SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011 hits. I'm going to hunker down with Jane Eyre. (Rhoda, you'll be happy to know it's taken me four days just to get 2/3 of the way through the book.)
1:00pm Update: Finished reading Jane Eyre, watched the trailer for the upcoming movie (mmmmm, Michael Fassbender), and we have flurries.
2:45pm: Howling wind? Check. Persistent snowfall? Check. Undrivable conditions? Check. SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011 is upon us!
8:45pm: So, Mom took her crazy pills and drove home...in 0% visibility. Apparently she passed quite a few cars in ditches/abandoned in the street. (I'm so glad I'm not working at the mall anymore. I'd probably be stuck there, fighting off zombified snowmen a la Dawn of the Dead.) Also, we're entering the worst part of the storm where it's going to snow continuously till 6am, dumping one-two inches of snow per hour. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!
10pm: Aaaaaand...now we have lightening to go along with our snow. Lightening!