Snowed In!

It's the first blizzard of the year folks and, as per usual, I didn't quite believe those forecasters. Seems to be a Colorado tradition really, this attitude of doubt about the abilities of our weatherpeople. Not that we think they aren't trying but--hey, admit it--it is hard as hell to predict the weather in a state where we are known for saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes."

Yep. Yesterday afternoon and evening were warm and beautiful with a powder blue sky. And this morning, visibility is so bad and the snow so thick in the air that you would think the sky ended only ten feet above your head--warning, low clearance. Plus, it is a heavy and wet snow, which means tree branches are breaking all over town. Poor little trees. And the big ones too.

We had a meeting at work yesterday about emergency procedure. Phone trees were handed out and essential versus non-essential staff designations applied to our foreheads. The roads were salted. Alarms clocks all over town were set early. This kind of preparation usually means to me that nothing will happen. If we prepare, naturally, it will all blow over. And this is the attitude you hear from most folks in these parts--the opposite of the weatherman is usually true. Colorado myth, Colorado urban legend. Yet here I am, working from home and advised by all city authorities to avoid travelling if at all possible. Bring on the cocoa!

I'm not the only one who is a bit surprised. This doubt, this mistrust is our heritage and a local tradition, as pervasive as the winter wind which we doubted would come. It’s a widely held yet unspoken superstition wherein we loudly doubt the experts but cross our fingers under the table. Deep down, we all know it’s just talk and we don't feel bad when the weatherpeople are proven right. Hey, good for them. They have to win one now and again. We know that it’s just talk we toss at the clouds, in retaliation for all they pelt at us.

After all, we have few options to deal with the weather other than words. Perhaps you can keep gloves in your car or download a Doppler radar for your computer’s desktop. Dress in layers, of course. And if you are like most of us, you can—and will—take the weather report with a grain of salt, not forgetting to spread it plentifully on the streets as well. Just in case.

Thanks to The Gazette for the beautiful pictures. You can see all the images from their great, staff photogs here.