General

An Alabama Winter Storm

It was Autumn. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years came and went. Then Winter arrived with a vengeance!

Today’s featured image shows a small buildup of snow on an outdoor resin chair seat. That little bit of snow when the first flakes fell was a deceptive image of what was to come. Unlike my photograph that turned an old resin chair into a patterned abstract piece of art when the arms and back of the chair were cropped out, our beautiful snowfall turned into an icy headache and sometimes dangerous situation.

Here in Northwestern Alabama we experience mild winter snowstorms. We’ve lived here for several years and every year we get a little more snow with these storms.

This year, however, we were slammed with a wintry mix of sleet, freezing rain and snow. To make matters worse we also had an arctic blast of air that continued for days. There were at least four days and nights in a row that the outside temperature stayed below the freezing point.

The sleet and freezing rain laid a slippery layer of ice that was promptly covered with snow. More sleet beat down that layer of snow giving the appearance of a shallow snowfall. How deceptive was that appearance! That shallow looking snowfall was actually a mix of snow and ice particles.

That beautiful looking wintry mix was treacherous on the highways and sidewalks. Luckily most people stayed home and off of the roads.

Then came a gorgeous sunny day. How unusual to see snow and ice melting, liquid dripping from car hoods and fences, even though the temperature is still below freezing. How does that work?

The problem with that sunny day melting the snow and ice was the effects after sundown. That melting produced puddles of water that refroze after sunset. The roads turned into highways of ice.

The first two or three days of this winter weather was a quiet period on the four lane highway in front of our apartment complex. The next two days showed us a very different sight as we witnessed cars and semi-trucks sliding backwards while trying to navigate an icy incline on that section of the road.

Northwestern Alabama is no stranger to snow but it is not normal to have this arctic blast accompanied by sleet, freezing rain and snow all at the same time and lasting for more than a day or two.

As cold and miserable as it has been it’s been a time of reflection about the many blessings many of us have received during this white, winter weather. Our power has stayed on during this mess which provided us with heat and an indoor means of preparing and cooking food.

We will survive this storm of inconveniences just as we have survived the many other storms that we’ve encountered in life, many of which were much worse in the final consequences. After all, humans appear to be a very resilient species!

Please feel free to share in the comment section your experiences with the storms you have encountered and how you handled those storms.

Click here  to view a larger version of today’s featured image.