It’s 1AM and I can’t sleep. The blizzard has been barreling down since 4PM with constant gales force winds 40-50 mph, even more so at the lake where I am. It sounds like a freight train running through here. It’s total whiteout from my windows. The heat is up and I’m wrapped in blanket, but these new buildings aren’t airtight by design. My pomeranian Patty is freaked out and hiding behind the toilet. She’s confined to the bathroom because she refused to do anything just outside the service door. Hopefully she will use the newspapers. The firefighters are still rescuing bus passengers and motorists on Lake Shore Drive because it was closed at 8:ooPM. The airport is closed. All but essential businesses will be closed. All federal offices will be closed, a first in the 22 years working in one. State employees are being told to stay home. Actually everybody is being told to stay home. Concern is not centered so much on the snow. We are acquainted with blizzards, we can handle snow. It’s the WIND.I stupidly left work a bit late thinking it didn’t look so bad. Appearances were deceiving because once I left the buffer of the tall office buildings, moving on foot was daunting. I walked right into the teeth of the gale. We pedestrians had to cling to fences, posts, trees, anything handy and crossed intersections that were nothing but wind tunnels. That was memorable and positively scary. Just discovered some bruises from actually getting knocked over. I’ve seen windy and very windy but nothing like this. Forecasters are predicting 3-4 inches per hour through tomorrow morning. This affair is giving the Blizzard of ’67 serious competition.
Confessions of A Watcher
Or How I Learn to Stop Thinking and Start Writing
Winds are rattling windows here, too; four inches of the white stuff expected. The two-ton cat and 2 pound cat are not happy. The late 80 pound dog used to hibernate in the bath tub during stormy weather.Nina and Nino are clearly enjoying themselves this year. Like bored Mt. Olympians they’ve been amusing themselves at the expense of mortals everywhere.As long as there’s no repeat of the Great Ice Storm of ’98….Stay indoors, Judiang.
Of course you know the first thing I did was go outside this morning. :DThis seems to be a blizzard with several Acts with very short interludes. Act III is starting now. Sigh.You be safe!
It’s 40 below here w/o wind chill. Nuff said,
WOW. Yeah, I know I sound like a babe whinging compared to your neck of the woods. How on earth do you stay warm and move about outside?
Oh, no! Whinge away! I would be doing the same.I was in a hurry earlier, so posted pretty quickly. Glad nothing worse happened to you. I’ve been where you are and seen people picked up and carried by the wind. My SO’s family is from your neck of the woods; been there many, many times for family, business, and sometimes pleasure. It’s usually colder where you are. The humidity is much higher, and the wind off that lake?!!! Just thinking about that sends a chill up my back.40 below is actually not the usual around here. It might happen once a winter if it does at all. Incredibly, there were some places here that were registering almost 60+ below, and these are w/o wind chill. The last time schools were closed here was 33 years ago until today.
Ah. I see where you are now. Yeah, I think you qualify as being in the midst of one of those lifechanging storms. Hang in there — hope your electricity stays on.
The upside of living in a mid-rise is that the generator will kick in if the electricity goes, though restricted to very essential services like the elevators and hazard lights.I’ve never been in a gale and will never chance anything like that again. So I guess a life lesson was learned in that respect.
At 3am, the wind picked up so much so that it started blowing ice off of the tree in front of the house and onto the house. I at first thought it was the kitties fighting and body slamming each other onto the floor, until I realized they weren’t in the bedroom but were, instead, sitting quietly in the living room. This morning, there are a lot of ice shards on my front porch & front yard.Last night after chatting with you on Skype, my Internet went down. Thankfully, it’s back up again. And yay, I still have power!
Power to the people! I’m hearing chunks of the city are without power, especially the parts that don’t have underground cable like here. We’ve gotten 20 inches in places and MORE is due. There’s a slew of abandoned cars on Lake Shore Drive which is an amazing sight. Drivers are still stranded at tollway oases. Even the MALLS are closed.Okay, we’ve been officially called paralyzed which hasn’t happened since ’79. But that debacle partly due to city mishandling. The Streets & San is trying like hell but there is really nothing they can do.
trinalin, really glad you have power! The mid-west storms put this, the coldest capital with Moscow, and apart from Reykovik, in shame at whingeing. Thw thing I fear is freezing rain, and ice storms, but also wind power line-destruction of – well, power.Take all care, everyone. Please.(How did our ancestors manage to get through, and manage to at least, produce enough of us to exist today? I couldn’t. )
We’ve evolved into spoiled creatures, haven’t we?
One way that they dealt with storms was by engaging in activity that led to the production of us. It was a way to keep warm 🙂
Hahaha! Was that called “bundling”. No emoticon added, you notice. Not that I’ll stay off them for long!Thanks to bloggers and commenters for (diverging) from blog intent, to help us get through Nino/Nina today.