Springtime? Really?

Yesterday, it was almost 60 degrees and sunny. It didn’t start out that way, but as the morning progressed, it turned into an awesome day. I only got to enjoy it on the way home.

So, of course, it’s raining today. And now that the grass is turning green and the trees and flowers are blooming, it’s going to snow. Yep. I said s-n-o-w. (A four-letter word with good reason.)

The rain will mix with snow later today and then change to all snow overnight. They’re saying 2-4 now, but that it could be 4-6, and if the “thundersnow” happens, well … we don’t even want to talk about it.

The last time I heard a forecast for 2-4 inches of snow and we were hit with thundersnow … it was January 1982. We ended up getting more than a foot and it shut St. Louis down for days.

The mother and I are preparing to head out in a bit and grab some stuff so that going anywhere tomorrow isn’t necessary. I imagine we’ll have lots of company in our travels.

I feel real bad for my young colleague that we had the bridal shower for earlier this month. She’s getting married this afternoon. Maybe it will hold off long enough for folks to get through dinner at her reception. I hope that everyone stays safe and that it all goes well.

That’s the thing about life in this part of the country. No matter what time of year you plan something, there is always that change for some kind of weather anomaly.

So, off we go. But the best part is that when we come back, we’ll have Chinese food!

The Antithesis of a Snow Day

My feet are soaking wet from standing calf-high in snow. It’s still flurrying a little, but the snow itself stopped a few hours ago. I’m guessing that we got somewhere between 6-7 inches, maybe a little more, including the sleet from Monday night and yesterday. If it was still snowing, I would be firmly planted in the livingroom. But it’s not, and the buses are running, and pretty close to on time! That doesn’t leave me much in the way of an excuse to stay inside.

Even so, getting across and then down the street was a bee-otch to say the least. I nearly fell twice but with the mother watching from the window, I knew I’d never hear the end of it if I did.

Unlike yesterday morning when most of the main arteries were clear or a little slushy, today they are totally snow-packed. The road crews were at it all night but it didn’t do them much good. The snow was coming down hard, starting right around the evening rush hour.

The trip home was treacherous, but our brave driver Linda kept her head. She got us through a few miles where I know it was pretty hard to see. And, on roadways where it looked like after the morning rush, everyone had just gone home and let Mother Nature have her way with them until evening.

I’m not sure what my most excellent friend the Monkeygirl’s plans are for today, but I think she is onto something here. Maybe if enough of us get on board, we can push this through.

Clearly, with my love of snow, I’m all for it!

It Looks Pretty

Yeah, it looks pretty, but I still hate it. Snow belongs on Christmas cards and at ski resorts.

I am a sole passenger on the bus so far. Looks like some of my fellow commuters either got an earlier start or just stayed home.

Most of the local school districts cancelled classes today. It’s not really that bad. We ended up getting about a half-inch of sleet followed by an inch or two of snow. Just enough to make the roads sloppy and slick and not enough to scare people into slowing down. Sounds like a fairly lethal combo to me as the temperature is in the teens and we aren't getting above 20 today.

What’s impressive is that my roadway, and so far, most of the ones through town, are quite clear. That's a view from my door. You can actually see the roadway.

I saw on the news earlier, many of the highways and thoroughfares both south of here and on the other side of the river remain snow-packed. Kudos to our street department guys, even though the snow plow kept me awake off and on through the night.

The snow isn’t done yet, though. They’re saying it’s going to start up again pretty soon and won’t taper off until this evening. Luckily, I made it from the office to the bus stop before the sleet kicked in last night. The roads were icing up along the way, but since I get let off out front, I only had to navigate from sidewalk to front door so it wasn’t too bad.



I don’t think I’ll be so lucky tonight. I think there will be plenty of snow to slog through by then. I just wish it was sand.

More Schizophrenic Weather

With the temperature at a balmy 52 degrees, it’s hard to imagine the slip-n-slide that was my driveway this morning. It’s long been said that if you don’t like St. Louis weather, hang around an hour or two – it’s bound to change. This is definitely a place where you can see all four seasons within the same day!

Luckily, the closer we got to St. Louis this morning, the better the road conditions got. This was due in part to the salt trucks that were out on the major roadways. In fact, as we crossed the bridge, I noticed the water beginning to puddle. That’s always a good sign. My walk to the office was a whole lot different than my penguin march from home to the bus stop!

There’s supposed to be more rain tonight, but luckily, warmer temperatures through tomorrow. So no ice. Maybe.

At least not until tomorrow night – when it may snow.