Thursday 31 January 2019

Good Old Fashioned Winter

Yes, I know I post too frequently about weather, but this must be written about. We had snow squalls and blowing snow yesterday, which meant white-outs (for those of you who do not experience winter, that means the snow is blowing across the road so much that you lose visibility and you just creep along (because you dare not stop on the road in case someone is behind you) and wait until the wind dies down enough so that you can see the road again and figure out if you are on the correct side or not). Schools were open, as they always are, and teachers take turns supervising the 50 or so children who get brought in by their parents because buses are cancelled.

As the day proceeded, a lot of nervous staff members were watching the weather out the windows, looking at their phones, checking for road closures... which did happen. When school let out at 3:10 and parents came to retrieve their children, some teachers drove home and some teachers went to other teacher's homes. I managed to get home, and we had our daughter's boyfriend come to our house because the road that he lives on had been closed. He spent the night (she's in the city at university, he's now done and employed in a town relatively close to us). The storm raged on through the night.

When I woke at 6:00 a.m. and started checking emails and the Board website, it said buses were cancelled but school was open. However, within moments, I received an email put out by our principal that the school was now closed. This NEVER happens. It was because the road the school is on was declared closed.

We live on the boarder between two counties. The county to the east of us has declared all roads closed. The county to the west of us has closed most main roads. Now at 9:30, the sun is shining and it looks beautiful. If you travel 30 minutes to the west, there are whiteouts and the same mess as yesterday. When you get a guilt free day like today, where you don't feel obligated to try to get to work, it is a gift!

Here are some pictures of what it looks like right now.


This is a spider web on my back porch.


My forsythia shrub!!  The branches look like big fat pipe cleaners.


Snow drifted up against a back door.


My footprints (wearing hubby's big boots) slogging my way back to the chicken coop. It was thigh deep.


Everything is coated. It makes me think of spray foam insulation.


Beautiful drifts in the chicken run. They will not be going outside anytime soon!

The plough just went past our house. I wonder if roads will be opening up? We have a visitation to go to for a dear woman in our little village. I need to check if it will even happen today or be postponed. Otherwise, it's a good day to curl up and read.

46 comments:

  1. WOW, you folks are really getting hammered! The school buses have frequently been cancelled here in Renfrew County, but I haven't seen any school closures yet. LOTS of accidents though they haven't closed any roads. The highways are brutal when the snow blows.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've only had our school closed once before in all the years I've worked there. At the moment, there is no snow falling at all. It's just all about the wind, and the insane windchill factor, too.

      Delete
  2. It does look beautiful but stay safe and warm. X

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! What was your snow total in inches? Yep, it's the wind and drifting that creates the most havoc. Our schools are closed for the third day in a row because of the wind chills. We had -25F actual temperature for a low overnight, but our weather is supposed to start warming up (warming up may be a relative term) after noon today. During this last frigid snap of ours, we haven't had any snow. Guess it's too cold to snow.

    Your scenery is just lovely. Especially with the sun on it. We see sun peeking through now which will make it feel warmer, no matter what.

    Enjoy your day "off!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've had those wind chills and been under cold weather advisories, but the schools stay open, even if busses are cancelled. We're tough up here. (Ha, like Midwesterners aren't!)

      Delete
  4. Well better, glad you got a day off.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I grew up on the southern shore of Lake Erie - so lots of lake effect snow. I don't think they ever closed the schools except for really huge snow events. Here? A half inch of snow and it's closed. The threat of snow and it's closed. I always enjoy a surprise day off, even if it involves snow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure why the threat of snow would mean cancellation. Is there no snow removal equipment?

      Delete
    2. I have no idea. They put out the cancellation notice the night before the 'non-event', where there was a 'chance' of snow. I don't think they can change their minds after the process has been set in motion. Heaven knows the schools have a hard enough time getting these local kids educated, without losing so many days. For me, if they cancel school, it means my road drops to the bottom of the to-plow list.

      Delete
  6. We have the ice and frozen cobwebs but not the snow. Enjoy your day at home in the warm.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm hoping that the freezing weather in Chicago etc and your heavy snowfalls Never make their way across the the UK!
    Enjoy your snow day and keep warm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you get much snow there, Sue? Or any snow? I know southern UK really doesn't get any, but I'm thinking some areas must.

      Delete
  8. Cancelling buses but leaving schools open makes no sense. As if they are disconnected. Let the little tots get home; they can take turns breaking through chest deep snow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Students who live in town still come to school. Not all are bussed in. Parents also bring their kids in because they have to go to work (or not, there are parents who don't work and still take their kids to the schools).

      Delete
  9. I remember a time when we didn't have cell phones or TV forecast and would wake up in the morning and look out the window to see what the weather was.
    the Ol'Buzzard

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True, but even when I was a kid, the radio was on in the morning, listening to the weather reports. However, I also grew up with farmers who read the weather pretty accurately by simply being aware of the sky and how things felt.

      Delete
  10. You definitely got more than us, we got about a foot! I can't believe they don't close the schools on days like those usually, that's crazy! Stay warm, my friend!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They still want the teachers working, ready to be there for kids who get dropped off by their parents.

      Delete
  11. I love to see virgin snow that has been blown into drifts by the wind.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Looks like the winters I remember from my childhood....beautiful.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember walking through really deep snow as a kid (uphill, both ways...)

      Delete
  13. Oh wow, that's a lot of snow! We haven't (knock on wood!) had snow like that for a couple of years. I'm glad you had a guilt free day off!

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's other worldly. Wow -- we're just cold as all get out. Some snow, maybe 6-8" but you are INTENSE!!! I'm glad you made it home safely and extra glad you got a 'free day' to snug in and be cozy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have the cold as well - with the wind chill it was -26 degrees Celsius. Yes, I was glad to not get caught in a bad white out on the way home, but I don't have as far to travel as some.

      Delete
  15. Beautiful frosty cobwebs in my garden this morning but we have no snow at the moment.
    I would love....just for a short time.....to experience snow like yours.
    Hugs-x-

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suppose if you've never experienced it, it would be pretty spectacular. I'm still amazed at it when it's like this.

      Delete
  16. You have us beat for sure! Wow! Our schools had a 2 hour delay today to wait until it warmed up a little for the poor kiddos who had to stand out for the bus. Being retired doesn't take all the thrill out of snow days - I still watch the names of the schools scroll down at the bottom of the TV screen waiting for Stillwater to close!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do wonder how I will feel when I retire (two more years) and it's a day like that!

      Delete
  17. Replies
    1. Thanks, I wasn't sure how the spider web one would turn out. It still didn't quite capture what it was really like, but not bad.

      Delete
  18. How beautiful! But hazardous, I know. I'm glad you could stay put today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We did stay put. Daughter's boyfriend is still with us because most roads are still closed (or at least all the ones he has to travel on to get home)!

      Delete
  19. I heard that we have had 17 bitterly cold warnings issued in January. The sun when it appeared today was lovely but oh that wind was nasty. The white outs scare me the most. Glad to hear that your principal made a good call to stay home & stay safe ...Mary-Lou =^..^=

    ReplyDelete
  20. We had a few days of school bus cancellations not too long ago because of slippery roads and too much snow. I think the schools remained open (or most of them) but I have a feeling not many kids showed up. Anyhow, it was a bad January but now it's gone. We are closer to spring!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am grateful we haven't had that much snow, at least not yet. It's beautiful! but a lot of work.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I hate the snow squalls...we went through that too and it was bitterly cold and miserable. Luckily though we don't have to leave the house, just wait it out then do the dreaded shoveling. Stay warm and safe!!!

    ReplyDelete