Winter Armageddon!!
So, we are apparently getting ready for winter armageddon here...last week they were saying 30% chance of light snow, not much to think about...but all weekend they've been changing it, and it has turned into... 1/2 - 3/4 inch of ice, followed by 6-12 inches of snow, maybe more. What?? I think most of you know I'm from Missouri, near St. Louis, and we do have 4 distinct seasons; it's one of the things I like about living here. So we do get snow, at least a handful of inches, not necessarily all at once, almost every winter. Occasionally we get a lot of snow, but it's rarer. We had a good 8-9 inch snowfall when Allie was a baby, I remember putting her in her snowsuit when she was about 9 months old and taking her picture in the snow. :) Sometimes we get ice here, too, and ice stinks, to use a polite term.
If you are from St. Louis, or have ever talked to someone from St. Louis about snow and winter, you probably know about, or have heard about, the big "blizzard" of 1982. I put quotes around "blizzard" because technically, it was not a blizzard...but it is almost universally referred to as "the blizzard of '82" by St. Louisans. There are a few things that make that snowstorm noteworthy. First of all, it was a LOT of snow! Some areas had nearly 24 inches of it by the time those 2 days at the end of January were over. We lived in the same house my parents still live in now, and we were in the area that got somewhere in the range of 20-24 inches. Another thing that made that snow storm memorable to most people, was how badly the weather forecasters missed the mark. I was 11 years old that winter, so I don't recall that part of the event, but according to most people, including the NWS, *no one* predicted anything near what happened. Everyone was saying, light snow showers, and maybe a couple inches of snow. People were snowed in for days, and the National Guard was called in to help out.
I don't remember any of that. I remember snowdrifts as tall as our car in the driveway, and making paths through the nearly 2 feet of snow with a snow shovel, and flopping into the snow to make a snow angel and just sinking down with walls of snow around me (and not being able to move my arms to make the wings!) And I remember things being quiet. And not having school for a week. :)
So back to today. Local forecasters are calling this an historic winter storm, and some are comparing it to that "blizzard" of '82...but combining it with the ice storm of 2006. Greeeeaaaaat! ::sigh:: We lost power for a few days in 2006. I'm hoping very much that won't be the case with this storm. 22 inches of snow when you are 11 years old makes for the most amazing winter *ever* and lots of fun memories to share...but winter armageddon when you're a mom with 6 kids to keep warm and safe and fed is another story altogether. And honestly, I wouldn't mind the snow at all. It's the ice that worries me.
So...what are your favorite winter storm memories? And as a side question...what kinds of things (food, entertainment, or other) do you like to have in the house when you know winter weather is on the way?
If you are from St. Louis, or have ever talked to someone from St. Louis about snow and winter, you probably know about, or have heard about, the big "blizzard" of 1982. I put quotes around "blizzard" because technically, it was not a blizzard...but it is almost universally referred to as "the blizzard of '82" by St. Louisans. There are a few things that make that snowstorm noteworthy. First of all, it was a LOT of snow! Some areas had nearly 24 inches of it by the time those 2 days at the end of January were over. We lived in the same house my parents still live in now, and we were in the area that got somewhere in the range of 20-24 inches. Another thing that made that snow storm memorable to most people, was how badly the weather forecasters missed the mark. I was 11 years old that winter, so I don't recall that part of the event, but according to most people, including the NWS, *no one* predicted anything near what happened. Everyone was saying, light snow showers, and maybe a couple inches of snow. People were snowed in for days, and the National Guard was called in to help out.
I don't remember any of that. I remember snowdrifts as tall as our car in the driveway, and making paths through the nearly 2 feet of snow with a snow shovel, and flopping into the snow to make a snow angel and just sinking down with walls of snow around me (and not being able to move my arms to make the wings!) And I remember things being quiet. And not having school for a week. :)
So back to today. Local forecasters are calling this an historic winter storm, and some are comparing it to that "blizzard" of '82...but combining it with the ice storm of 2006. Greeeeaaaaat! ::sigh:: We lost power for a few days in 2006. I'm hoping very much that won't be the case with this storm. 22 inches of snow when you are 11 years old makes for the most amazing winter *ever* and lots of fun memories to share...but winter armageddon when you're a mom with 6 kids to keep warm and safe and fed is another story altogether. And honestly, I wouldn't mind the snow at all. It's the ice that worries me.
So...what are your favorite winter storm memories? And as a side question...what kinds of things (food, entertainment, or other) do you like to have in the house when you know winter weather is on the way?