Winter weather is upon us

Winter weather can be scary. I'm hoping that isn't the case today and tomorrow with Winter Storm Cleon...

As I write at my desk next to a window, an icy rain is falling. It is noisier than the usual precipitation as frozen pellets bounce along the ground and bombard the remaining red oak leaves still attached to branches and twigs. There is a kerplunk every time ice chunks hit the metal surface of the heat pump just below my window. The poor thing is working hard to crank out enough heat to warm the house even as it gets pelted from the frozen rain falling from a near colorless sky. Work harder I say, since it is never quite warm enough in the winter for my liking.

This atmospheric onslaught is the first of what promises to be a long couple of days, according to the experts who meticulously study their computer models. I fear they may be right, as the coating of ice is covering most of the ground now and drops of liquid has frozen in place, defying gravity as it hangs from every surface. Parts of the trees are now frozen in place, stiffly moving as a unit when a breeze blows, rather than as individual leaves, branches, and twigs. The wind seems to be picking up a little too. That isn't good.

This is the kind of weather we in the Ozarks have been dreading.

Arkansas' 2009 ice storm was pretty devastating to trees and shrubs

No one wants a repeat of the dreaded ice storm a few years ago that left so many of us without power for days. My husband and I didn't have electricity for five days. The ice storm was one of the worst things I'd ever seen. The damage was widespread. We still have some damaged trees on our property. I hope it doesn't get this bad!

The latest word from the weather watchers is that the temperature is continuing its downward spiral. The result will be that the icing turns to snow. We could get a significant amount of it too.

Snow is OK with me, just as long as it doesn't become excessive. All things in moderation...

 I hope I can provide a weather update tomorrow or the next day. That would require electricity, which I hope we still have. For all the people in the way of Winter Storm Cleon, stay safe and warm.