Christmas Ice and Power Outages

I hope everyone was able to have a very Merry Christmas.  My home area awoke to ice covering everything and massive amounts of power outages.  Many trees are gone, many were in the roads and across the power lines.  Many people are still without power.  Thankfully I live in an area that had power up and running by 10:30 am.  Our Christmas morning may have been missing lights on the trees and Christmas music in the background, but we lit candles and the kids were able to make out their gifts.  They are calling for more snow tonight, luckily just a dusting to up to 2", but it may be a while before we are able to thaw out completely.  I know the rivers and streams are full so I can only hope the ground can absorb some of this mess because I'm not sure we can handle flooding on top of the snow and ice.  Whatever is on the way, we can overcome it. 

Pre-Christmas Frenzy

I think all the snow went to everyone's head this past weekend.  Many of us were stuck in our homes, unable to do much except play in the snow that was within walking distance.  So now that the sun is out and people can once again travel, everyone is trying to get caught up on their final shopping and to-do lists.  We all still need to remember safety rules of travel.  I have been nearly hit several times simply because the driver was too busy to look in both directions before pulling out onto the main roads.  I know we are all excited that Christmas is a few days away, there is snow on the ground, tourists are arriving and anxiously trying to get to the ski slopes or the grocery stores.....so let's all just take a deep breath and relax for a moment.  Accidents only ruin the fun.  And I promise the stores and ski slopes will still be open if you arrive 5 minutes later than planned.

Snow Days

Yesterday we saw a LOT of snow get dumped in our area.  Everywhere you look there are piles of snow.  So enjoy playing in it.  Whether you decide to build snowmen and igloos or go skiing and snowboarding, make sure to bundle up.  When you come inside, cozy up with a cup of hot chocolate.  More snow is on the way, so if you are adventurous and need to venture out for a drive to the store (or final Christmas shopping), take your time getting to your destination.  Happy Holidays!

Oh the Weather Outside is....

frightful.  Not exactly frightful, just a little confused.  We had snow on Thanksgiving Day!  And then we had snow a couple of weeks later.  But in between the snow there have been days of 50 degree weather.  This past weekend we saw a bitterly cold Saturday where they were calling for a wintry mix overnight.  We woke up Sunday morning to pouring down rain and temperatures in the 50's.  Then Monday morning, schools in Avery and Watuaga County were delayed due to ice, only to see the temperature get up to 60 degrees in Valle Crucis by the afternoon!  While those of us who live here are used to the ups and downs of the weather, it does make it difficult for the ski slopes to operate.  We tell people, "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change."  This also makes it difficult for us in the tourist industry to answer those yearly phone calls where people ask, "Will it be snowing on Christmas?  We are coming to ski and wanted to know if it would be snowing."  Uh...your guess is as good as mine!