Hunh. So that's what they meant by "Frozen North".

[flewellyn]

I had been somewhat concerned, over the past few months, at the unseasonable warmth and pleasantness (relatively speaking) of the weather around here. You see, normally in Fargo-Moorhead, the expectation is that first frost will be sometime in late September, and first snow will have come by Halloween at the latest. Yet this year, it never did snow once until Thanksgiving, and the temperatures rarely dipped below freezing even in late October and early November. Plus, it wasn't nearly as windy as we normally expect. This had me concerned.

You see, Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota are in the middle of the Red River Valley, a large, exceedingly flat basin that was once, during the last Ice Age, a vast lake known as Lake Aggasiz to geologists. (The locals here are just geeky enough to take pride in that; one of the local middle schools is Lake Aggasiz Junior High. But I digress.) This area is utterly devoid of any kind of vertical relief, such that wind is our most plentiful crop in the area. Wind turbines are everywhere, and windchill factor becomes a serious concern during the winter months, also known as "October to May".

This combination of flat topography, high speed Arctic winds, and no moderating body of water nearby causes the Red River Valley to be the ideal domain for the Snow Demons, K'thalashdt the Frozen Lord and Raghnathi the Howler on the Wind, whose fell powers are so mighty that, at the peak of their strength, they can freeze the Fargo-Moorhead area so solidly cold and miserable that the natives will actually speak up to say that it's "kinda cold, doncha know?" Not that they're complaining, of course; these are Minnesotans we're talking about.

But the lack of storming and freezing was concerning me, because if there's one rule to winter weather around here, it's that the longer it takes to get here, the worse it is when it arrives. Well, yeah...that has definitely proven true this weekend. Thanksgiving was our first snow, in which 6 inches were dumped overnight, and within the last 24 hours we have had not one, but TWO full-bore ice storms, leaving half-inch thick glazes of ice all over the roads, trees, power lines, houses, cars, and pretty much everything else.

So here I am, at work, on lunch break, watching the outside nervously because apparently, K'thalashdt and Raghnathi are having fun with us; they seem to have another ice storm in the offing, and I just finished scraping the car off. I'm thinking of trading up from my ice scraper to a jackhammer.

Comments

[sclerotic-rings.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one who's worrying. Dallas winter weather is nothing compared to that of Minnesota (for the Czarina, explaining that minus-40 weather is a gosh number has all of the vague abstract comprehension as my describing Dallas summers to my niece in Wisconsin), but we're about a full foot of rain short of where we should be at this time of the year. I have a very bad feeling that we're going to have a really rough winter this year: the last time we had an autumn this dry was in 1989, and that winter broke a 100-year record for lows. (Yes, you may laugh at us kvetching about one-degree F weather, but the soil isn't ready for it, the trees aren't ready for it, and the Kallikaks who don't seem to understand that antifreeze in their radiators is a necessity in weather like this aren't ready for it. You haven't seen fun until you see the number of manure-spreaders that catch fire while waiting at traffic lights because their owners figured "water's good enough".)

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Not to mention the most violent hurricane season on record, the northward migration of tropical flora and fauna, and all that. Suggest to anyone that this is because of global warming, though, and you get called "alarmist".

And yes, I can well imagine idiots trying to use water in the radiator during winter. I confess, once while driving through Texas I did have to refill my radiator with water, but this was in the summer and due to a boilover. So...that's kinda different.

[mrz80.livejournal.com]

I read that last bit as, "... and I just finished scraping the cat off..."

[evilwonderbra.livejournal.com]

Lovley description. You have no idea how happy I am to not live there. I am so susceptible to cold temperatures it's insane.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, the place has a lot of things to recommend it. The weather is not one of those things, is all.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

No, my cats do not go outside. The door to the balcony is closed. And they sure as hell wouldn't want to go out even if it was open. This is Wrath of Azathoth weather.

[limpingpigeon.livejournal.com]

The weather alone is a total dealbreaker for me, though. *shiver*

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Well, you can come visit in the summertime then! :-)

[coffeegrace.livejournal.com]

BRRR! It's about 75 in Saint Augustine, Florida today. :-P But don't be too jealous, it's been overcast and rainy all day today and yesterday.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

You live in Florida. That is NOT something to be envious of.

The weather may be nice there, but...you have Jeb Bush for a governor. And large numbers of those gratingly vapid women with skin tanned darker than their bleached-blonde hair. And the equivalent number of obnoxious surfer men. And cockroaches that can mate with Humvees. And crocodiles in your backyards. And you get hurricanes! FUCKING HURRICANES!

So I'm not jealous, no. :-)

[coffeegrace.livejournal.com]

LOL All true. Except we mostly have alligators (http://photobucket.com/albums/b90/Mewhatley/Ocklawaha%20River/?action=view&current=131.jpg) (that is one of the pictures I took on our canoe trip.

Man, one time I saw this woman, her hair was literally like brittle straw and her skin was like brown old leather!! She was the worst case of the overly tanned bleached blonde look this Floridian has ever seen. Oh, and to top it off she had one of those heavy smoker old lady voices.

[coffeegrace.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, you forgot rednecks. We have plenty of those here in North Florida.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Bleah. I find such people disgusting. It's wrong to judge someone based on their appearance, I know, but that particular case is all "lifestyle choice" maladies, and it makes my skin curdle and my blood crawl.

Now you, on the other hand, be damn fine. :-) Hope it's okay if I say that. :-)

[coffeegrace.livejournal.com]

and it makes my skin curdle and my blood crawl
Eeew! That sounds painful! :-P Yeah, I never understood why people obsess over being tan. If you are naturally tan it looks wonderful. And if you are naturally pale that looks wonderful too. I don't dare face the Florida sun without 45 sunblock, or else I burn in 15 minutes! So, even if I wanted to be tan it wouldn't be very easy.


Now you, on the other hand, be damn fine. :-) Hope it's okay if I say that. :-)
Aw, shucks. Sure it's ok if you want to make me blush! But, thankyou :-)

[minkrose]

i know you posted this ages ago but it's STILL concerning. we just had a couple of weeks of 60 degree weather and now i've got nearly 6 inches of snow outside. 'course it's supposed to snow more tonight.

I like it when the weather does what it's supposed to. I get irritable when it doesn't.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

The Snow Demons are mighty, and capricious. Their wrath is terrible to behold.