The new year had barely started before our local TV self-proclaimed weather gurus started all this "hype" about a huge winter storm coming our way. Over the years I have completely "tuned out" their forecasts. But this was getting ridiculous. By the 5th of the January all they could do was talk about the BIG ONE. Come on, give me a break.
But then Kirk Mellish spoke up. Kirk has been forecasting on WSB radio for a long time... maybe forever and he keeps up "Kirk's Blog" . Most importantly, he's not full of himself but just an old-school weatherman. When Kirk spoke up Susan and I starting paying attention, especially when he noted that all the computer models were predicting identical results. A major winter storm would hit middle and north Georgia with high winds. The only question was how much would be rain, how much would be freezing rain, and how much would be snow.
Like good "Southerners" we stocked up on all the essentials: bread (homemade), milk, beer, coffee. Since we had now "bought into" the concept that bad weather was due to hit us Sunday night, I actually started preparing on Friday. Knowing that if this storm brought four-tenths of an inch of freezing rain or more then we could easily be out of power for a few days. I remember the ice storm in 1993 when some of our Lilburn neighbors were out of power for over a week and overnight we heard countless ice-covered pine trees crash to the ground. Therefore we filled up the cars and truck with gas and topped of the gas cans for the portable generator. I brought in dry wood while Susan sorted through our conglomeration of candles, matches, flashlights, crank radio, and extra batteries. We even strategically placed one of the cars at the end of our sloping driveway so we could get out easily. I'm afraid after all this I have to admit I was behaving very little like a Yankee. But preparation brought peace of mind. All we had to do now was wait.
Sunday night, January 9th. Right on schedule. The storm started around Macon and slowly moved northward. The Atlanta airport shut down, in was snowing in the city and in the northern suburbs, cars and trucks were stranded on the expressways. But no snow here. Where was it? It came in quickly about 10 p.m. with what Yankees would call blizzard conditions.
Plenty of snowfall and wind but not freezing rain. It was fun to watch the TV channels showing people slipping and siding around on the highways and seeing the ticker fly by at the bottom of the screen with cancellations. After a few hours of snow-watching we went to bed, sleeping peacefully, knowing that if we didn't have power in the morning we were well prepared. As it was, we never lost power.
Overnight we received about 5-6 inches of snow. On Monday we had a bit of sleet and only a small amount of freezing rain. Tuesday the storm was history, but not the aftereffects. Unless one had a good 4-wheeler it was best to stay off the road. Over the next few days, as the cars beat the unplowed snow on the road into rutted ice, it became dangerous for any kind of vehicle to be out-and-about. The main road past our house was not touched until late on the day of the 14th, however by then we were venturing out, albeit past numerous cars in the ditch. Mostly we just walked around the neighborhood, enjoying the snow-scenes and watching the kids slide down the gentle slopes on whatever they could find to use - boogie boards, garbage can tops, inner tubes - whatever. Schools stayed closed all week. Susan worked at home through Wednesday and then made it to downtown Atlanta the rest of the week. Perhaps the worst result of the storm was the horrendous traffic jams on the I-285 loop around Atlanta. This is what truckers have to use since there is no through truck traffic allowed in Atlanta on I-75/85. There was no way the Georgia DOT was prepared, or could have afforded to be prepared, for this event.
Many of the birds are struggling to find food so I've keep them well supplied at the feeder. There has been plenty of different birds around the last few days: Cardinals, blue jays, Carolina wrens, house finches, tufted titmice, black-capped chickadees, goldfinches - all at the feeder. On the ground and struggling to find anything edible have been towhees and juncos. Even the squirrels can't find their hidden acorns.
But all is well. We have had days of sun and a couple of days where it got above freezing. Many roads are still ice covered and dangerous but most of the major roads are open. Lots of snow still covers the ground but most will be gone in another day or two. I even grilled out last night. It might even hit 50-degrees on Sunday or Monday. Maybe a bicycle ride is possible!
For now I think I'll just relax a bit more and maybe watch the Falcons-Packers football game - played in Atlanta - this evening. Welcome Green Bay fans to the sunny South.
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