Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Snow, Cold, Snow, Cold, Snow, Cold
3-4 inches of snow predicted overnight tonight. Temps then go waaaay below zero on Friday morning before warming up quite nicely on Saturday. I suppose this is what winter is all about. I've really only been paying attention to whole seasons these last two years since I've been biking. Last year I remember it was a mild December, mild January, cold beginning to February and then lots of snow at the end of February. Other than last year, the only winter season that really sticks out in my mind was in '86 or '87 when there was hardly any snow and it was unusually warm. I really couldn't tell you what a typical winter is all about because frankly I don't think about them in general terms. I can tell you about specific events like the Halloween blizzard of '91, a 12 inch snowfall we got in '85 or a bitter cold snap in '94 but those are all connected to specific memories - digging out ('91), driving a friend up to Brooklyn Park in deep snow ('85) or having to take the battery in from the car to our apartment every night to keep it warm('94). Same thing goes for summer. The only one that really stands out was in '88 when we had a severe drought. We had 10 or so days over 100 degrees and scores of days above 90. I lived in a dump with no air conditioning that summer. So if you ever catch me saying things like, "Back when I was a kid (insert season) was a lot more (insert weather phenomenon)," just tell me to shut up because I don't know what I'm talking about.
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6 comments:
I loooove to share my stories about Minnesota winters with Southerners. I'm particularly fond of describing the January '88 cold snap, when the high for several days in a row (or longer, maybe?) was somewhere around 15 below zero. I walked to my classes at the U bundled up in three layers of long johns under my jeans, three scarves, and a knee-length down coat, and the skin on my legs was still red from the cold when I got back to my apartment. That's when I lived on 612 6th Ave SE, just a few blocks over from the dump you mention in your post (I thought you had dubbed it the Palace).
My fondest weather memories are mostly from high school - namely, getting snowed in multiple times over a winter season. It was one of the GREAT benefits of living out in the country. The thrill of an impending snow day is no less now that I'm an adult, although those snow days are unfortunately few and far between now.
I remember one blizzard that happened right before Thanksgiving - Homer managed to drive through the drifts in that weenie car of his before the roads became impassable, and he had brought videos to get us through the next several days. I think it was that same weekend that another blizzard started Sunday night, so we not only had the Thanksgiving break, but a few extra days tacked on in the next week as well. I was particularly relieved because it gave me a reprieve on a major project I hadn't started for school. But instead of starting my project, I spent most of our time off snowmobiling...
I also quite fondly remember the warm weather we had in February during at least one of my college years. M & D were in Hawaii, and I think the temperature here, on at least a few days, was only about 10 degrees cooler than what they spent thousands of dollars to enjoy. Those of us who had our warm weather clothes on hand were walking around in shorts and t-shirts.
Hey it's 32 in Atlanta with a "feels like" temperature of 20. Does that count for something?
No. Sorry. That would be considered tropical in Minnsota.
Jen-
That's funny you should mention January '88. I have absolutely no recollection of that cold snap. I guess there was nothing specific that happened to me during that time which would make it stick in my mind. Wait a minute..... maybe that was the time that the boiler at The Palace (or The Taste of Appalachia as Ned, yes that Ned, called it) ran low on water and the temp got down to about 40 inside.
Tracy-
My kids are always pining for snow days but they'll never get them. As poor as city plowing is, it's going to take at least a foot of snow to shut city schools down. Sadly, my children will never know the pleasure of listening to Roger Erickson on 'CCO read through the list of school closings, waiting in eager expectation for their district to be named. I swear every kid of our era loved to hear the voice of Rog Erickson on snowy days.
Francis-
Did the city go into a panic over BLACK ICE when the temp dropped to freezing? And yeah, quit whining about a feels like temp of 20. When it gets to 90 up here and I start whining (because I will), go ahead and laugh at me.
Everyone-
How very Minnesooooootan of you to participate in a weather discussion.
Oh I will. And I'll scoff at your idea of humidity!
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