Thursday, March 20, 2008

Prelude to Spring *Updated*

Monday, March 17th extended weather forecast for Friday: Colder, possible snow flurries.

Tuesday, March 18th forecast for Friday: Colder, possible snow, accumulation up to one inch.

Wednesday, March 19th forecast for Friday: Colder, possible winter storm advisory, accumulations of three to six inches.

Thursday, March 20th; spring officially arrives about 5:58 a.m. Forecast for Friday: Colder, winter storm warning, snow accumulations of nine to fourteen inches likely.

Ah, Spring in Wisconsin - there's nothing else like it. Have I mentioned that I begin a weeks vacation tomorrow? Or that I have several errands to run as well? The good news (if, indeed, there is any, as we already have had the 4th snowiest winter on record - records going back into the later half of the nineteenth century) is that the heaviest snow will not begin to fall until after ten a.m. Drive-up banking opens at 7:30; Aldi opens at 9:00. I can go out for coffee, get gas (for the car, not from the coffee)(just wanted to clarify), get to the bank and Aldi and be home before the worst of it.

As we've enjoyed forty-degree days every other day this week, a good deal of the previous snowfalls have melted. I've just become reaccustomed to parking the car right up to the curb, instead of halfway out in the road due to snowbanks.

This is probably the time I wish I could forget that one of the latest significant snowfalls we've ever had (six inches, I believe) happened about twenty years ago ... on May 10th.

7 p.m. update: Officially, we had 13.3" in West Allis as of the 6 p.m. newscast, and the snow isn't supposed to stop until around 10 p.m. Since the car had to be moved anyway, I took an early morning trip to the grocery store...on the way back from the store, I followed a familiar-looking station wagon out of the parking lot. Sure enough, it was my neighbors - the ones who did the beer run the morning of the last huge snowfall. I didn't ask...

I'm snug for the evening - The Sound of Music is on, and the pizza is about to go in the oven. Rumor has it this snow could melt by Wednesday or Thursday next week; hopefully, this will be the last snowstorm of the year.

But I won't really breathe easily until after May 10th.

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