Snow started on Wednesday afternoon, January 4th, and didn't disappear until January 17th!
I was shocked at how fast the snow came down and started accumulating Wednesday night. It wasn't supposed to start until later in the evening but started at 4 pm. We went to walk around the neighborhood at 7 pm and in our loop of about eight blocks, about an inch and a half of snow accumulated on the ground. Here is a picture of the snow raging down halfway through our adventure:
Before we knew it, a blanket of thick snow was everywhere and on everything upon our return home...including us!
I started snapping pictures outside my dressing room to record how much snow was accumulating as the night went on...
This was at about 3 am in the morning, I think...
When we finally got up the next morning, it looked like this:
Obviously, school was cancelled for the next two days.
These next pictures I took on January 11th. I went out to shake the snow off the bamboo aka my sad giraffes, but marveled at how much snow was on the roof and how it swooped to the sides from the wind. BTW, it's wasn't snowing that day, it was just really windy and the snow was blowing off the roof.
Pretty thick layer of snow on the roof!
School still cancelled due to unsafe driving and walking conditions for students and staff.
These next photos were taken on January 14th of our house and the neighborhood in general. You get a sense of just how much snow came down, and because we had a long run of cold and dry weather afterwards, the snow lingered way longer than usual.
Our neighbors house across the street.
Looking down the street...
The side streets were pretty thick with snow for most of this cold weather. The busier streets were either literal ice rinks from the snow getting packed down from trucks and cars trying to get around or they were worn down in places which was awful to drive parallel to with my tired chained. (Not good to drive with your chains on exposed asphalt). Luckily we have chains for my car and I was able to get to the grocery store for supplies as well as take my mom to the grocery store for groceries two days later. When I'd gone grocery shopping, I was shocked at how bare the produce section was. I overheard one of the produce men telling a customer that they'd only just received their Wednesday truck delivery (it was Friday). Never occurred to me, really, just how much gets shipped in and what we rely on those trucks for.
The water reservoirs by my mom's house were each frozen solid and a sight to behold! I don't ever recall seeing it like this from when I was younger and we had extreme weather. But we were probably smart and stayed indoors back then. :) My mom said it was interesting to watch them start to freeze up as it got colder and colder, each day she and my brother took a walk.
School cancelled until January 17th...
