HunterByrd

Global Warming takes a Breather

Bing’s dream a reality

I recall DC shutting down because of a blizzard. In fact, heavy snowfall is not at all unusual in many parts of the country. Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota, and Colorado come to mind. However, these parts of America take this type of weather in stride. Granted, it is a large stride, but tolerable. Not so in these parts.

Where I come from, bitter cold, high winds, and copious amounts of stinging ice and drifting snow are relatively rare in combination. We have just experienced an intense storm which has left hundreds of stranded motorists along a forty-mile stretch of Interstate 24 (from mile 25 in Marshall Co, Kentucky to mile 65 in Trigg Co, KY). Several counties have been declared to be disaster areas! ‘Civil emergency’ is the catch-phrase of the day. Carlisle Co has called for backhoe operators to clear roads. SUV and tow-truck operators have been asked to search for stranded motorists along highways and byways. People are running out of gas and growing cold. State Police have issued a plea to all moving motorists to seek out and rescue any stranded drivers they come across. And the folks from Duluth are knowingly smiling.

At my place, I’m seeing things not seen since childhood. Two and three foot drifts on flat terrain. Three inches of snow atop hay stacked inside my old dirt barn. The barn has no batten boards, so for that amount of snow to uniformly cover a surface through ½ inch cracks takes some driving wind. The wind chill was ferocious.

My son decided not to make his way home from university on Tuesday. Like many skeptical west Kentuckians, he did not heed the weather warnings. We always hear this sort of thing, and the worst of it seems to blow by. Now he’s stuck in his apartment, a mere 36 miles away. It might as well be 360.

At times like this, we rural dwellers always turn our thoughts to the power lines. Loss of electricity could be devastating. Kerosene’s value far exceeds its 2.29/gal price. Bathtubs become receptacles for flush water.

Anyway, I won’t be playing my favorite, secular Christmas tune today. Stay warm.