Snow

We were supposed to get up to three inches of snow last night and into today. What we got instead has been below freezing temps, high winds, and just a dusting of the white stuff. People are often surprised that we get snow here in northeast TN/southwest VA/western NC, especially people from the Midwest and northeast. To some of them everything below the Mason Dixon line is supposed to be sunny and hot all year round. The reason I know that is because I used to think that way before I moved down here.


Living in rural Howell, Michigan I was used to big snow falls and a winter that lasted until mid April/early May. I can clearly remember snow drifts that used to tower over my head, but now that I think about it most everything towers over your head when you're three feet tall. I liked the snow, especially playing in it, and I thought that when we moved south we'd never see it again.

Boy was I wrong. On Christmas day 1976 it began to snow and it snowed on and off for the rest of the holiday season and into January. Down here in the mountain south there are many roads that do not see the sun hit them for more than a hour a day and other roads are too curvy to drive a snow plow on so many counties in this area have to cancel school when it snows an inch or more and it sticks to the roads. During the winter of 1976/'77 school was closed the month of January due to the snow and ice. Some days it was fun because we'd go out and sled or I'd stay in and read and watch TV, but honestly for me it was hell because we lived so far out in the country that I did not get to see my friends or socialize with anyone outside of my cousins, my brother and sister, and my crazy aunt and her lecherous adulterous husband. Also back then I had not started smoking (cigarettes or pot) or drinking, so I could not self medicate my boredom away.

We finally got to go back to school in Feb. but then, wouldn't you know it, in March heavy rains came and all the rivers and creeks in the area flooded. We were out of school for another two weeks so everyone could deal with the aftermath of the floods.


Lately winter has been pretty calm and we get fewer and fewer snows around here but every now and again we'll get a doozy. Back in the early '90's before I moved to Knoxville, Sparky and I were in a play at a local dinner theatre. The snow had begun falling and I was shocked when the owner of the theatre called to tell us we were going to go ahead and do the show. We drove in through a blinding snowstorm and we did that night's performance for about 10 people. I was pretty steamed that greedy old woman who ran the theatre made us do that crap show for that small amount of people while a blizzard raged outside. We drove back to Sparky's place, I say "we" but I mean "she," drove through that storm like a champ. The roads were deserted and there was already half a foot of snow on the ground. By the time it was all over we got almost two feet of snow out of that storm.

The last big one though was about 7 or 8 years ago. I was still working for Myers Tire Supply and I was driving up into southwest VA to see some customers. It was early March and it was unseasonably cold. The snow started to fall at about 10 in the morning and the weather reports said not to worry that we would only get flurries. I noticed the snow was falling pretty fast and it was sticking to the road so I turned around and dove back to Johnson City. I decided to stop at the grocery store and load up on essentials (bread, milk, beer, beer, a bottle of red wine, beer) just in case. It was a good thing I did because we ended up getting about two and a half feet of snow in 12 hours. The whole area was shut down for about a week. Luckily for us we only lost our electricity for about three hours, others lost theirs for over three weeks.


I still like a one or two good snows a year, and by that I mean a snow of about 3 or 4 inches that hits after we've been to the grocery store and that hits on Sunday night so Sparky can take Monday off if she wants. This current snow, if it materializes at all, will melt by Friday and the temps next Monday are supposed to hit the low 60's. We might not get much out of this system, but I've got to be patient and remember that it's still early in the winter. Maybe by the end of the month or around the first few weeks of Feb. we'll get a good snow or two and then when the first of March hits the trees and flowers will start to come back.


I may like a good snow or two but I love an early spring even more.