I did not understand the concept of an ice storm when I moved to the East Coast. When a major storm hit during my first D.C. winter I didn’t pay much attention until I got in my car the morning after and rolled down the windows to clear the fog. The windows rolled all the way down, and the “fog” remained. It was a sheet of ice that shattered when I poked it.
As I chiseled my way into my car yesterday morning—five years and many ice storms later—I wondered how I ever missed the concept of a car covered in a sheet of ice.
There hasn’t been such a dramatic winter here since that first one (which also brought two feet of snow), but there have been two substantial ice storms within the last two weeks. What does that mean?
It means that while driving back from Virginia Beach last week in what I thought was a rainstorm, I got stuck in gridlock because there were more accidents than traffic reporters could count.
It means that the front steps of my house look clear, aside from some odd white spots. The white spots are air pockets under a slowly melting sheet of ice, which indicate I should hold onto the rail for dear life.
It means area schools close for the whole day, even though there is no snow on the ground.
And it means that when I look out the window I see a fairy tale world of silver trees. As long as you’re safe inside, ice storms have a beautiful aftermath.
In Mass they often close the schools even if there are only a few inches of snow. It’s weird for me, because in Northern CA they would only close school for a foot or more of snow. The problem is, the roads here are terrible and the state doesn’t seem to be able to figure out how to clear the roads effectively! Not that I’m complaining… I teach two days a week in public school-related jobs, and I love snow days!