We’re all gonna die!
As Acidman used to say.
Expecting nine inches of snow tonight. Big whoop.
Around here, those of us who don’t forget from year to year, we can handle snow. And it’s actually kind of nice. When you have an idea a big storm is coming, anywhere in the plains states, you can sense it in a couple ways, all of which are cool, and a little spooky.
First of all, there’s a smell. Not like a rain smell, but more like a dirt smell, like the snow visited iowa and brought some sod along. Then the sound, or rather, the lack of it. As the front comes toward you, the snow, being an effective sound deadening blanket, is eerily quiet. Once, on I-80 near Ames, I saw the snow approaching from nearly twenty miles away- I got out of the car and watched it come in. As it got closer, the sounds of the cars headed into it and emerging from it became more and more muted. As the front passed overhead, the tiny white noise of billions of billions of snowflakes hitting the ground and each other masked all other noise, and then I was in it, almost no sound but my breathing and the snow. Cars passing by less than a stones throw away were all but silent. Easy to understand how people get lost in whiteouts.
Then, if you hold out your hand a bit, you can get a good little fistful of flakes, lick them off your palm, taste the sunshine far above. Midwesterners will understand, I don’t imagine anyone else will.
Amen. I love snow.
I like the fresh, crisp air as well. It’s like drinking in a very icy drink of well water. I’m not wild about lots of wind with my snow, and I’m getting pretty tired of dealing with the aftereffects, but snow doesn’t really bother me a whole bunch.
Of course, my perception is colored by the fact that I’m sequestered in a motel room, waiting for conditions to improve so I can move the oversize load I’m hauling. We’re supposed to go to Logansport – I’m assuming that’s south of ya, Og.
Spent the first 23 yrs of my life in Ohio… you nailed it! Beautifully done.
Being from Iowa it smells like snow here a lot.
You’ve captured here some of the most subtle beauties of the Big Snowstorm, including that strange hush that makes all noises sound distant and faint.
We don’t see a lot of snow down here in Jawjuh, but as a kid growing up in the Northeast, I remember dealing with plenty of snow. And then later, as an adult in New Jersey and Connecticut.
It can be a pain in the ass, but I purely do miss it.
WOW! Did you nail it!!
I love snow too. To me there is nothing like being deep in the woods when it is snowing heavy. The silence is deafening.
Hey — I grew up in So Cal, but in the San Bernardino Mountains at +/- 5,000 ft. I could ALWAYS smell snow coming — absolutely distinctive, and my nose was never wrong. Hate driving in it, hate chains, have shoveled enough for a lifetime, but, man, there is just nothing like being out in the forest while it’s coming down! Thanks for reminding me — I do miss it!!
In the South, the snow has a more metallic smell than here in the Midwest. I’m from SC and I still get excited like a little kid when it starts to snow. This past snow (14″ in my backyard) has been my biggest snow ever. It was so beautiful, but it scares me to death to drive in it (typical Southerner). Where I’m from, it doesn’t stay around long either because it’s rare for temps to be below freezing, even in the winter. So all this snow stacked up and the dirty gray sludge on the sides of the road are totally new for me! It’s a lot of fun. I guess we never stop learning, huh?
That being said, I think that you Midwesterners should take a page out of our Southern book and learn when to stay home with a good book, a comfy pair of PJ’s and a cup of hot cocoa when it snows!
I’m a northern girl, so your post makes good sense to me. Don’t forget to catch some snowflakes on your tongue!