Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Wednesday-8am

Terrible weather! Last night within one hour--besides the unrelenting wind gusts--we had rain, sleet that quickly turned into little beads (like miniature hail), thunder, lightning, then snow, with a little more thunder and lightning. They closed Interstate 94 from Fargo to Bismarck and advised no travel. You know it is really bad when they pull the plows off the roads. I took some pictures.
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This was about 20 minutes after the sleet had turned hard...
...and already there was a white covering over everything that had been dry (parking lot and sidewalks, etc).
We got a thick layer of the sleet/hail that turned into snow. All night (yes my hours are flipped again) the wind was consistently violent and occasionally loud enough to startle the both of us.
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Note: I also discovered during the night that my Preppy pens cannot be used as eyedropper pens without the adaptations. Bummer! They started leaking where you screw them together. :( So I will order the parts I need in April to adapt those two pens. Live and learn, right? They do sell actual converters for them, too, but I am hooked! Eyedropper pens are new to me--but I love them!! You can get so much more ink in them that way compared to using a converter. I'll remember that when ordering more Preppy pens. :)
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You can see the evidence of Karma's very quick excursion onto the porch in the dark last night. She was quite shocked at the arbitrary return of cold and snow...
...and came racing in. But she still had her wits about her enough to realize the snow was sticky enough for a quick turn around to eat her footprints off the carpet. ;)
Looked a little different out there this morning. You can see the snow drifts halfway up the garage doors.
It's not that we got all that much snow (about 8 inches)...
...other areas had a LOT more than we got here in Fargo--(some places up to 12-17 inches, so this is nothing)...
...but when you have that ferocious wind...
...you get drifting.
Some look pretty cool...all peaked and white.
I tried to get a picture of how this giant drift formed down the length of the yard. I hope you can see it? You can always click on the picture to "embiggen" it, as I read on a blog somewhere--giggle!
That long drift has to be at least four feet high, I'd guess. Maybe higher? It looks taller than the cars in the parking lot, but it's hard to tell from up here--perspective and all that. It is sure awesome cool, tho! The wind was cruising along the building all night and doing some crazy stuff. Sometimes it sounded like it was trying to force the roof right off sometimes! So the drift didn't push up against the building and sits several feet away with such a nice crisp long edge to it. How did the wind manage something that uniform when it sounded so erratic? It's as much a mystery to me as Miss Karma's mind. LOL!
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Anyways, the worst part of all this is that thick layer of ice under the snow. People were having a very hard time getting wheels to move last night. I imagine the plows will be back out on the roads this morning and they'll plow and sand and all that, so it will be better soon. The snow hasn't actually stopped yet, but it seems to be letting up and taper off by this afternoon. It's just a general mess up here. Other areas were getting winter storms, too. I hope everyone is warm and safe. Just wanted to pop in and say hi. :)
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You can't really sail in a snowstorm, but... LOL!
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"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship."
Louisa May Alcott

14 comments:

Toriz said...

Sounds like a really nasty storm! Hope it blows over quickly and doesn't do any damage!

I bet poor Karma is wondering what happened. She's probably thinking something like, "what's that stuff doing back? I thought I was going to get some nice outdoor weather!" LOL!

AliceKay said...

Looks like you had a wicked storm out your way. The weather channel was showing it yesterday. Aren't you glad you don't have to go out driving in that stuff? Stay inside where it's safe and warm.

We woke to 9 inches of a very wet, heavy snow this morning. It's been snowing on and off and has rained on and off. We're to get more snow tonight. I think a lot of people are getting rather snow-weary. I know I'm one of them.

Thanks for sharing your pics.

Serena Lewis said...

WOW...wicked storm indeed! To read about the winds instantly put me back to living in South West Wyoming where the winds were constant and ferocious! The howling....oh the howling! It too would sound like it was going to rip the roof off. I guess it's understandable at 7000 ft above sea level but I was always amazed, especially during the long winter when the snow and snow drifts were added to it.

Weather like that sure makes you appreciate the roof over your head and being warm and cosy inside, doesn't it?

Unknown said...

Your storm was on the news here too. Glad you did not have to jump out into the morning commute (crawl).

Deanna said...

Is this kind of storm this late in the season normal for you? That is truly amazing. It is definitely weather to stay inside and work on your cards and lessons and snuggle with Karma.

I'm hoping we don't get the one more they are promising for us on Monday. We don't usually get more than a few inches of snow each year (with this year being a huge exception), so looking at what you have just makes my eyes pop.

Stay safe!

Intense Guy said...

That is nasty winter weather - and durn.. your hours are flipped again.. :(

Can you send me a link to the pens you really want? the Noodler's pens?

Donna @ The House on the Corner said...

It's so pretty though!! I need to check on my MIL - she's north of you near Grand Forks. My husband keeps threatening me that we're going to go visit his parents in the winter - he does that just to see my eyes get big!

Stay warm!

Rita said...

Tori--Yah, it was a pretty nasty spring storm. Just takes some patience, caution, and a lot of sand and everything's basically all up and running in a day or so. ;)

AliceKay--Yes! I am SOOO grateful to be a near recluse in weather like this! I saw your pictures and videos. We got about the same amount of snow--even tho you are clear across the country. Stay warm! :)

Serena--Yes! The howling! I didn't know what howling, pounding wind was till I moved up here to Fargo. Brought it all back to you, eh? Probably makes you glad you live in Aussieland--hehe! ;)

Barb--Dagan and Leah worked on their laptops from home that next day. A lot of people couldn't even get out to do the commute crawl because they pulled the plows. But by today (Th) roadways are pretty much open and sanded again, I hear. Very cold! Give Nina a good ear scratchin' from me! :)

Deanna--Yes, we have periods of thawing and snow all spring. The mini-hail type sleet isn't always a part of it, but sleet is common because in the spring the temps are on that see-saw of above and below freezing. The thunder and lightning--don't usually have that, so it was kinda cool! Other areas got a lot more snow than we did. It's just the layer of ice underneath that is annoying.

I hope you've been out making snowballs and snowmen! :)

Iggy--I'll email you. You might really like them. :)
The weather comes and goes. My odd sleep hours come and go. This too shall pass. :):)

Donna--It is pretty! Even as much as people generally complain about the weather (so many do--hehe!), there's nothing like a clean, fresh layer of snow! Ahh! Nice to cover up that dirty old yucky snow--hehe! :)

Tell your hubby to be sure and pack his winter emergency car kit if you do and bring lots of warm clothes. ;)

Cowgirl Red said...

Stay warm and safe Rita. Did I tell you before that I lived in North Dakota for 5 years back in the 80's? Williston to be exact. The winters were fierce and the summers were short. We drank alot.

xoxo Terah

Rita said...

Terah--I can't remember if you did, but you sure have it right--fierce winters and short summers. ;)

Anonymous said...

OMG what a ugly storm and wow at all the snow you got when it was done. I know you will be glad when it is gone.

Rita said...

Lynn--I am lucky. It's not so bad when you are indoors all the time--hehe! ;)

Cheri said...

Hi Neighbor, I use to live in Fargo and I remember March storms, now I lime in Minneapolis, ha ha and again we have snow storms in March, glad I have things to do inside!
Cheri
CED 2011

Rita said...

Cheri--Greetings! I am from Minneapolis. Grew up in Fridley. Yes, Minnesota weather isn't much different from North Dakota weather. The only thing that's different up here to me is that there is almost always wind--all year round. The rare calm days it almost feels like something is wrong--hehe! You must remember that! LOL! :)