Hard Luck Weather

On this Friday the 13th, the first of three for this year, I am once again deathly worried about the weather, only this time it's not snow or ice that concerns me but wind.  After a light snowfall (well, as of this writing, it's supposed to be light) on Saturday evening, the wind should ramp up to sustained speeds of about thirty miles an hour for Sunday, making the daytime temperatures in the teens (all temperatures referred to here are Fahrenheit) feel even colder for anyone foolish enough to go outside.  Those wind speeds don't sound too terrible . . . until you realize that gusts could reach fifty miles an hour.

These sorts of gusts, of course could - not necessarily will, but could - cause the prolonged blackout I have been dreading all winter long.  And because the low temperature Sunday night is expected to be either side of zero degrees, missing "Saturday Night Live'"s fortieth anniversary special that evening (the actual anniversary is in October, but let that pass) would be the least of my problems in the event of a power outage.  My house would be without heat, my mother and I wouldn't be able to cook much or keep warm, and some of the pipes might freeze.  But hey, we can handle all that, no?  We can handle all that no is right!      

So I'm going to get to see if my electric company can back up its claims that its wires can withstand winds like the sort I just described.  And it's unlikely to get better out there after this weekend, no matter what happens with our power.  It's going to remain colder than normal for the rest of the week, while a big mid-week storm cannot be ruled out.  I'm hoping that, should the power go off Sunday, it comes back on quickly and doesn't go off in the next round of winter weather (especially if there's ice).   And to add insult to injury, not only are there no indications that it will warm up sufficiently in the last week of February, but AccuWeather has been hinting that temperatures will be below normal all the way through March.  With bouts of freezing rain.

On Feburary 4, I wrote that February would seem shorter than usual this year because its 28 days are neatly compacted into four calendar weeks rather than spread out over five.  But, despite the first half of the month about to come to a close, it seems a whole lot longer now. :-(