catsittingstill (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
catsittingstill) wrote2015-02-16 08:51 pm
catsittingstill) wrote2015-02-16 08:51 pm
Weather
So we're having weather tonight at my house (in the sense of "climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.") It was supposed to snow a few inches today, instead we got little tiny round globules of ice for a while, then freezing rain. It seemed to be melting this afternoon, but now we're getting real freezing rain again.
Since freezing rain seems to mean different things in different parts of the country, I will clarify that this is a Pacific Northwest type of freezing rain, also called a silver thaw. Supercooled water (should be frozen but it hasn't realized it yet) falls from the sky in droplets that freeze as they hit, building up to a layer of clear ice all over everything. It can be inexpressibly beautiful if the sun comes out, like living in the middle of a chandelier. It can also, especially when melting, which it tends to do fairly promptly, become so slippery that sometimes you can't even stand upright. In times of desperation, go for the lawns; you will tend to break through the ice crust there, and can get more traction. Also a lawn is softer to fall on.
A silver thaw increases the weight of every branch, every twig, every powerline. I have been hearing branches coming down, and am not sure our power will last the night. Not a big deal if it doesn't; we have camping equipment if necessary. But in that case I may be cut off from the internet for a few days.
Stay safe and warm, people.
Since freezing rain seems to mean different things in different parts of the country, I will clarify that this is a Pacific Northwest type of freezing rain, also called a silver thaw. Supercooled water (should be frozen but it hasn't realized it yet) falls from the sky in droplets that freeze as they hit, building up to a layer of clear ice all over everything. It can be inexpressibly beautiful if the sun comes out, like living in the middle of a chandelier. It can also, especially when melting, which it tends to do fairly promptly, become so slippery that sometimes you can't even stand upright. In times of desperation, go for the lawns; you will tend to break through the ice crust there, and can get more traction. Also a lawn is softer to fall on.
A silver thaw increases the weight of every branch, every twig, every powerline. I have been hearing branches coming down, and am not sure our power will last the night. Not a big deal if it doesn't; we have camping equipment if necessary. But in that case I may be cut off from the internet for a few days.
Stay safe and warm, people.