Freeze! This is post about the weather. Not usually my thing, but when it's as extreme as it has been, I think it's worth noting in the annals of my blog.
Most of you faithful readers are living this with me and nodding in agreement, a few are in more frozen climates and scoffing at me, but a some of you havent shared in this experience and should have just a taste.
Experiences like these always seems to bring out new terminology that the news media grabs on to. So using some of those new terms, I'll try to bring this winter to life for you.
Polar Vortex /Arctic Blast /Arctic Air Mass: Used interchangeably to keep things interesting. If one storm is a PV, the next is an AB, and so on. It describes the fact that a storm is coming and it's going to settle over us for a while. Thanks Canada.
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| Roads were bad, so I took a picture. |
Snow Booger: The snow build up behind your car tires. Delightful when you can kick them off in one huge chunk! Joy!
Warm Up: Anything over 20 degrees.
Heat Wave: Anything over 20 degrees with sun.
Bone Chilling: Anything below 5 degrees.
Wind Chill: What the temp feels like on your 'bare cheeks'.
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| This would definitely happen if we let them out. |
Upstate NY / The East Coast: The only people being affected if you ask the National News Media. Oh! and The South. Did you hear about their 3 inches?! Red Alert!
Anti Lock Brakes: What you must have in order to stop. Especially on glare ice.
Brake Pumping: What you must do if you dont have anti lock brakes.
Winning for losing: At this point, we're rooting for the snowiest winter of all time. Hey! why not???
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| This was taken fairly early, snow is to the window sill now. |
Record Breaking: Everything. Temps, snow, days without sun, school snow days (which are really keep-a-lot-of-people-off-the-road-since-treacherous-isnt-working days), etc.
Coats without sleeves: A vest. The choice apparel of the very hearty. Even these people would like a little extra on this season. These people are also cousins to Polar Bears.
Every night the local news is just bananas about the weather and the meteorologists are so sheepish when they give their reports. The poor reporters stand outside to display the cold (like we dont know!) We've had stories about the record ice coverage on the Great Lakes, and the subsequent emergency calls because people have walked out on it and gone through. Ice dams are on roofs everywhere, insurance claims are through the said roofs, and if you need a plummer for a non-emergency, forget about it.
I'm sure 'Spring, by Definition' will cover terms such as: pothole, flood, spring meltdown, water management, etc.
It's been something else, including one I forgot:
Beautiful: The other side of things. Frozen lakes and cold temps mean brilliantly clear days where the sun, the glorious sun! comes out and makes everything sparkle. Have you ever seen an entire stand of ice encased trees? I have. It's stunning. And pink evening skies that make the 'treacherous' ride home all worth it. Not to mention friends and neighbors banding together in ways we read about in books. Let's go Tim Allen, that was Pure Michigan right there!
So, it's not snow bad.
