Midwest Socked by Snowstorm
After digging out, snow can be a lot of fun!
Just a week before Christmas, my community was hammered by a major snowstorm. We got about two feet of snow—24 inches! Unless you’ve gotten that much snow at once, you have NO idea what that’s like.
Add high winds to a snowstorm and you end up with chaos. There were drifts upwards of four feet high, and once the snow plows go through shoving all the snow off the streets, it’s not uncommon to see five foot high snow piles here and there. There’s a huge—and I mean HUGE—pile of snow in the corner of the parking lot at my school. It’s at least 10 to 12 feet tall.
As if snow and wind weren’t enough, we had sub-zero temps too! It was so cold that just to walk to the mailbox and back, my Mom would make me wear snow pants and a scarf.
When Dad came back in from snow blowing the driveway, he had ice in his moustache. I had to go out to help him, and when I came in I had a bit of frostbite on my cheek. Not Good!
The temperature was minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit without the wind chill factored in. Super Brrrrr! With the wind chill, it was about minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit. I would literally start shivering if I stood inside by a window too long.
Once the snow stops coming, we Midwesterners have plenty of fun, though. Between building snowmen and sledding, show shoeing and snowmobiling, it’s hard to decide what to do first.
There are lots of places to go to enjoy winter, too. I like snow shoeing, but this year, I want to learn how to drive a snowmobile. Needless to say, once the snow is off the roads, it’s time to crank it up and have fun!
PHOTO: Winter in Wisconsin. (Photo Courtesy Amanda O'Toole)
