About a week ago the meteorologists who occupy our various news stations, began the “Get ready its coming”—hype. Every day the drumroll for the possibility of something very normal happening inflates every news broadcast. I have a suspicion that what raises their ratings, is raising our anxiety over “when will it come, how much will it be”? I do appreciate a bit of a heads up, as I make whatever plans occupy my underutilized ‘weekly dance card’. Then… let it snow… or not.
I have been doing a lot of what I remember my own parents doing… remembering events from the past that are triggered by events of the present. So here is a quick rundown of some snow events of my life:
*** The blizzard of 1957– Two feet of snow fell in Pueblo and the next day Constitution Hill was turned into the most amazing sledding scene ever.
***The Labor Day 1966 snow—the only other “snow day” I remember in my growing up.
***The 1971 Mega Blizzard in Enid, Oklahoma ( 25 inches of slush). I spent four days marooned at the Enid Ambulance Service. I even delivered a little girl in a living room—TRUE.
***The Blizzard of 1982– Ask anyone who was in Colorado then and they will tell you their stories.
***Monday Night Football 1984–The famous Greenbay game where 3” were predicted and 27” fell. I got stranded on I-25 in Colorado Springs. I even got on the Five PM News.
***Winter of 1991– We got two feet of snow on the San Luis Valley floor on Halloween. It set up a cold vacuum that did not allow it to get above 0’ day or night, until February. Our house only got down to minus 43.
***Winter of 2006– In December of that year the head climatologist from CSU had an article in the Denver Post predicting a mild winter. Three days later it was followed by the snowiest winter since 1913.
I suspect you might have your own list of “Frozen Fun”.
This current November’s snow event is the largest in three decades. Ironically, Trinidad, which is not on the list of ski towns, got the most snow of any community. This event was caused by an Albuquerque Low—a low pressure in New Mexico that brings Gulf moisture on an upslope trajectory. When moisture laden systems are pushed up against the front range, which wrings out the water as it is pushed up. See—I do pay attention to meteorologists.
Onward and Upward,
Mark
Lyfting Me Up 