Christmas Day snowstorm 2010

Atlanta Georgia and environs received measurable snow for the first time in 128 years. Our area, 90 miles NE from Atlanta, received several inches as well. It began on Christmas afternoon and continued overnight to noon today. It is still going a good bit even now at noon on the 26th. Here are some photos from my yard:

Christmas night snow

Hay! What's going on?

Where's Waldo?

This snow is for the birds!

Cold feet

This in Georgia...reminds me of...

THIS!!!!!!!! North Yarmouth Maine

FInally emerging out of the dark. Birds sing. Coffee is hot

Well. That's over!

Power outage for 12 hours Sunday into Monday morning, and out again later Monday morning till ... just now. We received 5-7 inches, some areas receiving the most snow since records began in 1880.

More here

Scenes from the Georgia snowstorm

This turned out to be a legitimate snowstorm. We got 5 inches! That is a lot by any standard, but down south where they don't plow, it's a LOT.

I had just returned from church at 12:30 and spent the next few hours inside from the sleety rain happily making apple crisp, butternut squash soup, rice with vegetables, brussels sprouts and green beans. About an hour after I got home it started to snow, and it came down fast to beat the band. I was in the middle of baking the crisp when the power went out. Bummer!

I did jump in my truck and scooted over to a couple of elderly ladies homes who live alone. I brought water with me since they were on a well, and made sure they had enough candles. I knew both had gas heat so at least they would be warm.

The power stayed out until 3:15 am, stayed on for a few minutes, and went off again until 4:30 am. Twelve hours without power. I am glad I have gas heat so I was warm, and had plenty of candles so I read for a good while.

Now it's the day after and it's pretty and all that but snow snow go away come again another...never.

Snow coming today

The big BIG story is that we are going to get snow today. Doom. Armageddon. 1-2 inches. Now, snow here is not unheard of. An elderly friend of mine says that back in the day they used to get a couple of good storms each winter, bringing two to three inches. However there have not been any storms, not even any snow making it to the ground, for the last few years.

This is the third winter I've been in North Georgia and once, in the first winter in 2007, I had to scrape ice off my windshield, using only my credit card to do it. That's about it for wintry precipitation.

So this winter weather system that is already dumping snow in ARK, TN and Miss now heading our way is freaking out the Georgians. The 11 o'clock news led with the ubiquitous news story about the weather, first showing the heavy machinery at the Atlanta airport. "Look!", the news guy said, pointing excitedly through the chain link fence, "these trucks that can be outfitted with sand and salt!" Next, showing radar maps with ominous looking swirls of fast moving clouds traveling over boxed off counties in the path of this coming destruction, the weather forecaster breathlessly described what happens when snow comes down; "Bridges freeze first, so watch out!" Then the news crew went to the grocery store, where people usually go to buy bread and milk and water, the news guy explained. Yes, he actually explained why so many people were at the store putting bread and milk into their carts. "Buggies", sorry, that is the correct terminology down here. And then he repeated the bread-milk-water survival list.

Incredibly he chose the one person in the store to interview who was doubting if not skeptical that anything would even make it to the ground. Rather than interview another person, they just put up a ticker at the bottom of the screen with her name, "Jane Smith" and below that, "Not preparing for storm."

I laughed so hard I almost dumped my laptop of my stomach. It just looked so funny ... "Not preparing for storm." LOL. She said she will believe it when she sees it.

I wonder if she was from Maine.

Today was 67 degrees and by the weekend it will be 70 so the likelihood of any white stuff hanging around is less than zero, but I know the locals get excited at the prospect, they love snow because it's so rare and always sort of a festive event.

Left, my previous domicile in Maine home of car-burying snow. Today, I'm not scared of driving in the wind-driven icy snow. I'm more scared of everybody else who will be out there, newbies to the asphalt realities of black ice.