So, it was my birthday Monday, and it wasn't that good of a day. As I have mentioned before, most of my birthdays have been somewhat bad. When I was a kid, I rarely could have a party, as school was usually called off due to snow and/or flu outbreaks. As a sort of a compromise, my mom would frequently take me on s shopping trip on a Saturday near my birthday where I could get a lot of gifts, within reason. As I got older, the trips would be longer and farther away, and sometimes in the middle of the week when I was unemployed in the 90s. I still have a birthday trip, although the time has been moved to a Saturday in mid to late February. This way, the odds for snow are lower, the temperatures are a little higher, winter clearance sales are in force, and the first of the Easter candy is out. The main downside is that most of the clothing would already be picked over in my size, but since I rarely got clothes during these trips, it isn't too big of a deal. I hate having to take off heavy coats just to try stuff on in an under heated dressing room.
This year, I wasn't planning anything special on my actual birthday, which was very fortunate. A little over a week before this Monday, the forecasts changed from a light morning snow to a major weekend snowstorm. Over the course of the week, I remained on edge worrying about the possibility of two to three feet of snow and up to an inch or more of ice. By Friday, the models settled on four to six inches of snow and a quarter to a half inch of ice. Just enough to keep me nervous. I made plans to get enough supplies to last the weekend, and maybe Monday as well. I was going to be spending the weekend catching up on my reading (particularly Twelve Months, the latest "Dresden Files" novel by Jim Butcher), work some puzzles, and play online games as long as the power held out.
On Saturday, the forecast was for the snow to start in the afternoon. It held off until two, long enough to get some mail and a few more supplies. I could have even opened up the store for part of the day so a customer could pick up a book he had ordered, but staying near home was safer. By evening, the snow barely picked up, with barely more than an inch accumulating. Maybe two in a stretch. By ten that night, I heard the first of the sleet, or maybe graupel. It was never that steady. When I went to bed later that night, it may have started to freezing rain, but I can't be sure. I woke up at about 3:30 to the sound of dripping from the roof in a steady flow. The rain had started, but I didn't look out to see.
When I woke up that morning, it was still freezing rain. While there were some quarter inch icicles on the smaller, thinner wires, there was nothing on the larger ones. I couldn't tell if any were on the trees on the hill across the street. By mid-morning, it was all rain. The forecast had wavered from between an inch and two, to a little less than an inch. I'm not sure how much actually fell, but it was running down the street most of the day, and the sunken sidewalk to the porch stoop was flooded. I should have gone out to clear of my car that afternoon, but it was still raining too much. By evening, the rain was patchy and had started to switch back over to all snow rather quickly. Early forecasts had it ending by midnight, although others had it continuing through early morning.
Turns out, there were snow showers for much of Monday. Just enough to convince me to stay at home. At two, during a break in the snow, I went out to clear off the porch, sidewalk, and car. My car had about a quarter to half inch of snow on top of about an inch of ice made from the compacted, melted snow from Saturday and the rain from Sunday, frozen together. Definitely should've gone out Sunday. Even with help from heating the car, it still took most of an hour to clear the worst of it off, while taking an occasional break to warm up. I even shoveled the very thing level of snow and ice from around my car to I could drive out easier. To add insult to this injury, there were a few more snow showers and squalls, covering my car with more snow, after I had cleared it. At least it was warmer Monday than it was going to be Tuesday morning. I still had to clear the remaining snow and ice, but it took much less time. I still couldn't get the thing layer of ice to completely scrape off the passenger side windows. That was mostly going to melt.
Fortunately, I was planning most of my birthday treats for Tuesday anyway, partnering it with taking my mom to a doctor's appointment. That had to be rescheduled, as even with pushing it to later in the day, there might not be a full staff. Didn't matter much, as some of the places I would be going weren't open anyway. I still opened the store an hour late, although having to replace the battery in my key fob caused some problems. I was able to have one of my favorite dinners Tuesday, that I had to scarf down because I was running late and had to finish in time to catch the window for one of my online game bonuses. I even had cake, although a bit or two was almost stale and the icing was beginning to break. It wouldn't be a proper birthday without some disappointment.
Now, the forecast has a chance for another snowstorm to cause problems this upcoming weekend. Or maybe just a few light snow showers this Saturday morning. The models aren't aligning yet, about the same as the last time. I don't know why the forecasts have been so erratic this winter, but I have a few ideas. I just hope that the correct model is the one where I don't face another storm so soon.
