Since last Thursday many in the Midwest have been dumped on my snowstorm Hercules. Life for many has ground to a screeching halt. Today it’s just gotten worse.
The girls and I with their Happy Snowman 1/5/14. Snowstorm Hercules dropped just the perfect kind of snow to make a snowman. Hubs took the girls outside and helped them build a snowman and memories on this first memorable snowfall of their young lives.
The steady wet snowfall from yesterday left between 6 and 18 inches of snow across the region. Honestly, it was a lot of fun to go play in to make snow balls, build snow men and just plain play until we were too wet to take it anymore. Later in the day the winds picked up Hercules’ snow and started blowing it around and dropping the temperatures to below zero Fahrenheit. Though the sun is currently shining brightly across the newly whitened landscape the winds are howling and building up the already tall snow drifts around homes and along roadways.
Most of Northwest Ohio is under a Level 3 snow emergency. No one but emergency personnel should be out on the roads unless it is a personal emergency. Anyone caught driving on the officially closed roadways can be subject to traffic tickets, fines, and depending on what the situation may be even arrest with a fine or jail time is even an option. Needless to say there haven’t been any cars seen on the roads around here.
Even though outside it is snow covered and bitterly, dangerously cold something about the snow made me happy. I asked my husband yesterday if he thought I was weird to say that. To my surprise he said no! Then he reminded me of something we had talked about in winters past. He said if it’s going to be cold he’d rather there be snow than have it be grey and solemn looking outside. Then it all made sense. The bright white covered the sad looking dead grass, empty fields, and leafless trees. It may not be beautiful warm and cheerful greens, reds and yellows of spring, but it’s a brightness nonetheless.
Despite it’s beauty the cold and snow are nothing to take lightly. We take for granted when we go from our warm house to our warm cars that it’s just a few miles from here to wherever we may be going. We tend to disregard the fact that time and unforeseen occurrence befall us all. No matter how good a driver we are we cannot control the elements or other drivers. No matter where we go or how long we think it should take us we should always prepare for the worst. If you have to go outside – even if it’s just to a barn or outbuilding or a neighbor’s house – dress warmly and in layers. You never know how much the wind is going to pick up or if conditions are going to be friendly enough for you to make it back inside safely. If you absolutely have to leave the house in your car make sure you have blankets, a flashlight, flares, food and water. If for some reason you end up stuck in the ditch you don’t know how many hours you’ll be stuck there before someone can come to dig you out. You don’t want to be stuck there hungry and thirsty. Not to mention the cold can be physically damaging (hypothermia or frostbite) if not deadly with bitterly cold wind chills.
All of you out there slammed by Hercules stay warm and stay safe!
What do you and your family do when you are snowed in?
Firstly, I’m a mom and wife. Professionally, IT consulting is my job and blogging is the outlet for my passions. I write about things that affect the everyday life of a stay-at-home parent or any parent for that matter such as parenting, relationships, discipline, the media, product reviews, giveaways, social media, food, cooking, gardening and anything else that might come my way.
9 comments for “Snowstorm Hercules Buries the Midwest | Now For A Deep Freeze”