General

Winter Once Again

It’s definitely the winter season where I live. Not only by the date on the calendar but also by the present weather. 

During the holiday season we experienced temperatures in the mid to upper 70s (F).  It felt like spring and that was great!

Then Mother Nature laughed and decided to remind us that in January there is usually very cold weather,  sometimes even freezing or below, and sometimes snow and ice – even here in northwestern Alabama. 

Alabama is classified as a Southern State in the US.  The state includes land from the Gulf of Mexico to the south, to the Tennessee border in the north.  And from the middle of the state to the northern border, the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains bring a less temperate climate than the lower half of the state.  Freezing weather and snow and ice are not unusual in the northern areas of the state even if they are not a daily or weekly occurrence.   

Like many areas of The United States, wild swings of temperature from one day to the next can be expected in any given season.  Spring and autumn bring about the most numerous as well as the most severe changes in weather but those changes can happen during any time of year.

This past week the temperatures fell from the upper 70s (F) with clear skies to rain in the upper 30s with the rain eventually turning to snow.  We ended up with approximately two inches of snow where I live.

The forecast for tonight into tomorrow is for temperatures to fall below freezing and possibly stay there for 24 hours or more.  Precipitation is expected to start as rain, accompanied or followed by freezing rain, sleet and snow.  We are expecting icy and dangerous road conditions, falling trees weighed down with ice but less than one inch of snow occording to the weather forecasters.

Like many others, I seem to be less able to handle cold weather as I age.  Each winter for the past several years I have declared that year to be my last winter in cold weather country.  Yet, here I am once again facing snow and ice and freezing temperatures twice in less than a week.

Hopefully next winter I will be in the southern part of a southern state enjoying warm, sunny weather and ideally a beach location.

Been there, done that and ready to do it for the rest of my days!