Perpetual Ruminations

Saturday

Sunday night, and it's getting down to the wire. I had a full day; worked this morning, took a nice nap this afternoon, did the next schedule and requested a day off after my nap, made dinner, and got in a Bible study. I also worked out a contingency plan for the next few days, depending on what the weather decides to do.

Normally, I would work tomorrow and Monday morning, then have Tuesday and Wednesday off. But, I decided to take Thursday off and have three days off with Rhonda. Of course, things are still kind of slow at work, but picking up, so I thought this was a good time to take a day off. Also, it's spring time here in South Dakota, so the weather is mild and pretty nice. Well, normally the weather would be mild and nice.

So far this year we have not seen mild and nice, just a repeat of the same weather patterns we seen all last fall and last winter. We get one or two nice days, but with very strong winds. Then, by the second nice day, things begin to deteriorate and soon the temperature is dropping and foul weather is upon us. We didn't get a large amount of snowfall, but enough to create blizzard conditions, and we have had a lot of them. When it's not a blizzard, it's freezing rain that turns over to snow, and severe winter weather advisories. Even those nice days I mentioned have often had wind chill advisories. Also, the temperature has been way below normal, often in the sub-zero range.

Then, here comes spring finally and some much needed relief. Only, there really isn't much relief. Sure the temperatures have warmed a lot, but the wind continues to create very cold wind chills for us. Not frost bite and hypothermia cold, but still very uncomfortable, especially since the humidity is higher now. These are the nice days, like today and tomorrow. We made it into the forties today and actually hit normal March temperatures -- well, for early March. We should be seeing upper fifties during the day now, and lower forties at night. Instead we are lucky to make it into the forties by day, and teens at night. Of course, we still get quite a few days that do not even break thawing, and single digits at night with a few nights dipping below zero yet.

But today was sunny and in the lower forties, but with a strong and cold wind that kept it feeling pretty chill. Tonight we are staying around freezing, and tomorrow we will be in the mid to upper fifties finally. Of course, the wind is going to be blowing pretty strong, but still, it will be a nice day. By tomorrow night, however, we will have clouds and even stronger winds moving in, and by midnight we are suppose to start getting rain. The rain will hold overnight and into Monday morning, but by noon the temperature will have dropped enough to start freezing everything and switch us over to freezing rain and sleet. By mid afternoon we will be seeing all snow, with winds in the thirty to forty mile an hour range with gusts as high as fifty miles per hour, possibly higher at times. The snow will continue to fall through the afternoon and evening, tapering off sometime Tuesday morning. Even then, we may see some light snow and lots of cold all day Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

So, starting tomorrow evening we will go into a winter weather advisory and by the early hours of Monday we will be under a blizzard advisory. Unless, something changes and the storm doesn't develop as strong as expected, or if it takes a different route. Anything is possible, and the last batch of winter nasties that moved through pretty well missed us. We seen the rain, the freezing rain, and even some snow. We had icy roads for two days and just enough snow that it needed shoveling, but not nearly as much ice and snow as they had just east of us. I'm talking ten miles east and it was double what we seen. So, there is hope that it does not hit this severe, but for now we just do not know.

So, an alternative plan just in case we get a late spring blizzard. I will take Monday morning off, and have Rhonda work for me. That way she will have to drive in while it's raining, work the slowest part of the day so she won't be out in it very much, then come home before it turns over to freezing rain and the roads get too icy. I will work her shift, going in as the weather is just starting to get bad, but before it's freezing ice on everything. Rhonda will be home by the time the worst hits us, I will be at work, and the next person lives close so should be able to get in on time. I will drive home in the heavy snowfall, on icy, snow covered roads, with heavy gusting winds blowing snow. Drifting and near zero visibility is what's expected. Then, Tuesday morning I will go back in if the roads are not cleared yet. The guard who is scheduled to work lives in a remote area and has to take all secondary roads in to work. He will not get out if the  snow continues all night until Tuesday morning.

I will have a slow and difficult drive, but if the snow lets up and the winds die down, it won't be real bad. I have four wheel drive and should be able to get through the drifts and make it in to work, it's just going to take longer. By the end of my shift, things should be a lot better, and even with light snow falling and some blowing yet, everyone should be able to make it in again. The afternoon guard lives right there in town, so no problems for him, and the evening guard also lives in town. Only Tuesday morning then that may need covered. So much for my three days off, but at least I will still get to enjoy two of them. Of course, the storm may miss us, or we may see it end earlier on Monday afternoon or evening and I won't have to fill in on Tuesday and can enjoy all three of my days off. Right now it's too soon to know, and the way the weather goes here in South Dakota, nothing is for sure until it's happening.