At 10pm last night, while we normally check the children, civilization stopped here as I saw one of the weirder sites in winter….THUNDER SNOW! Then a bit later, it went quiet….dead quiet. Imagine if you will, the strange feeling as the power went out and the feeling of an “eye” like feature similar to hurricanes. As I was digging, suddenly the snow nearly stopped. I could see 5 feet in front of me, it was nice.
Unfortunately this was all short lived. The Team USA win was nice indeed but eerie as the thunder rolled when they won and then there was thunder again just a half hour later with lightning that woke up the neighborhood. Now look this is not some crazed 4 foot snow event. We did not end up getting 105 inches over several days or something insane. However, in the span of about 16 hours give or take, we did get 32 inches of snow. Add in some 60-70 mph wind gusts and maybe higher in spots and there was the makings of a storm for the ages.
For perspective, the storm had the intensity of a Category 3 Hurricane. Like I said, seeing an eye wall was beyond odd. Think of what it is like to be outside in the middle of adverse weather and just stare at it. It is almost like the feeling of being at a Winter Classic which many of my good friends will get to see first hand on Saturday. I will not be attending this one but rest assured I will likely be there for the next one wherever it may be.
However, last night felt like a prelude to a turbulent time in the NHL. This is the kind of turbulence that is not necessarily bad. Maybe this Winter Classic will send a message to the powers that be with all the weather omens nearby and around it, that these events are at the mercy of “mother nature”. The weather forecast still tentatively calls for a chance of rain and mild conditions in Pittsburgh for Saturday. The potential for rain and heavy at that is what really scares people more than anything. Mild weather is one thing but sheets of rain is a different animal entirely.
If there is wind with the rain, that is a real double whammy for the league and it would be unfortunate. Fans can wear ponchos and rain gear and such but wind adds an element that just adds insult to injury. As a person who has endured all sorts of weather events in the last year at sporting events, what better of an expert to testify to these occurrences.
The key in all of this is just to be aware of the surroundings. Dress in layers that can come off in some cases if needed in case the unthinkable happens. Because if you think it cannot then it will. This winter just seems like one that will feature all sorts of craziness and bizarre weather happenings. Jokes will be made most assuredly but the makings are there.
Tomorrow we will take another twisted look at the Winter Classic. See what that one will bring and hopefully, yes hopefully, posting will return to some normalcy but with the howling winds and snow drifts, one never knows. Basically Chris 1 Mother Nature 0. If we can survive it, people at the Winter Classic can take on a little rain. Give us your thoughts!
