How Georgia Does Snow

We don't get much snow in Georgia. Right before we moved here in 2014 there was an unexpected cold front which iced over the roads and crippled the city for 48 hours. Commute times ballooned--it took my father-in-law EIGHT hours to get home that day--motorists were stranded, and many parents could not reach their children. Several daycares and schools had to remain open overnight to shelter unclaimed children. Basically, it was a nightmare of epic proportions which made the rest of the country mock Atlanta relentlessly. 

Ever since that disaster, any inclement weather is met with extreme caution and white-knuckled terror. And though I grew up in San Diego where the weather is always moderate and kind, I have spent at least 10 years of my adulthood living in areas where snow and ice and cold winters are a thing. So I just have to roll my eyes at the freaking out that commences anytime the temperature threatens to drop to 36 degrees F as it did this past weekend. 

All the meteorologists predicted possible flurries late Friday night and snow Saturday morning. But even though it wasn't supposed to start until well into the evening, the schools decided to close early on Friday. 

Sure. The storm could always blow in faster than expected and we wouldn't want people to get stuck again. It was somewhat annoying, but I at least understood their reasoning. 

The kids were beyond excited. Both Adelaide and Zara said several prayers begging for snow. By the time David and I went to bed on Friday, it was raining an icy mixture, but not really snow. And when we woke up on Saturday morning, this was about the extent of our "big" snow storm. 

 

The kids were still super excited and begged to go play outside. And Benjamin even let me put his hat on him (and kept it there) which he normally doesn't allow. 

Lack of snow notwithstanding, it was extremely icy. Some areas cancelled church on Sunday out of caution for the ice, but not us. It took us 20 minutes to free our cars from their icy enclosures. 

All our poor plants and bushes had long icicles and were weighed down by the frozen water. Our trash cans were completely sealed shut. 

The temperatures were still rather cold throughout Sunday but the sun was shining and most of the ice melted. But "out of extreme caution" the school district decided to cancel school on Monday because many of the roads in the northern part of the county were still quite icy. 

Fine. One snow day. But then they just announced that they've canceled school AGAIN. And now I have lost my patience because this is just bordering on ridiculous.  

Which makes this meme that much funnier because IT'S TRUE.

Also the expected temperature for Thursday is 70 degrees. 

Hahahaha. 

If they cancel school on Wednesday too, I'm going to riot. 

Snow Day! (x3)

We woke up Tuesday to a fine dusting of snow. Now I know this is a bit pathetic as far as snow goes, but the South doesn't get much snow and any appearance of the white stuff is met with shock, awe, and an impending sense of doom. (After last year's ice apocalypse, I kinda get their sense of fear.) School was cancelled for the day and so we bundled up and hit the backyard to romp in what little snow we had. 

Zara insisted on building a snowman (darn you Olaf!) and this was the best we were able to muster. The carrot refused to stay on his face and the whole thing collapsed pretty quickly.

Adelaide didn't know what to think of the snow. I think this is her first real experience with snow. She did not want to keep her gloves on either. 

Zara has had much more experience with snow and was super excited to run around and play in it. I wish we had gotten a little bit more. 

It looked like we'd get our wish on Wednesday. A big snowstorm was reportedly heading straight to Atlanta. School was cancelled in anticipation of the forthcoming snow and our other appointments (dance classes, dentist appointments, etc.) were all called off.  The governor declared a state of emergency starting at 2pm and David was sent home from work around 3pm. (He still had to work from home, but at least he got to eat dinner with us.)

And then no snow came. We got a few flurries, but nothing stuck. Northern Georgia got a lot more. Even towns just 15-20 minutes north of us got quite a bit of snow. But we got nothing. Life had been cancelled for nothing. And for good measure, they cancelled school on Thursday as well, for fear of ice.

So after three snow days for only one actual day of snow, Zara is back to school and we can resume our normal lives. Is it spring yet?

Snow Day!

This is what I woke up to this morning.

I went to bed around 11pm last night with no snow on the ground. At 3am, a huge crack of thunder woke me up and the snow was thick on the ground and still coming down. I took this photo at 8am.

It's a good thing I don't have anywhere to go today. I just drank a nice cup of hot chocolate and now Zara and I are going to cuddle close and watch some movies, read a book, and maybe even clean a little. And I might just bundle her up and take her outside to experience her first winter snow. Otherwise, I'm just going to stay warm inside and look at the beauty of the outside world from the inside. Sounds like a great snow day to me.