The Cold, Long Drive Northward

As I drove north out of Omaha today, it was evident, the closer I got to SD, just how much snow had fallen from the Christmas blizzard in the area. Underneath all the overpasses, the snow during the blizzard, had drifted all the way across the interstate. You could visualize just how deep the drifts had been across the roads. It was piled up quite high next to the large concrete pillars that supported the roads above each overpass.
Before I left Omaha, I had to shovel my own driveway once again. During the night another 2-3 inches had fallen. It was the very fluffy snow. The kind that almost looks like the snow you would see on a TV show that doesn't look quite real. A slight breeze would have caused a small blizzard. And the forecast for the Omaha area was for more snow during the middle of the week during my absence. My next door neighbor was kind enough to agree to cleaning it off if said snow did actually occur. One of my friends would be coming by to care for my cats and I wanted to make sure she didn't have problems getting in and out.

I was able to use my video camera while traveling along the interstate. Sorry if it's a little bumpy or makes you dizzy. That's what happens when I can't constantly look at the screen to make sure it's steady! But it shows how full all the ditches are from the snow..........and that was what I was striving for.





From what I was told the brunt of the storm dumped the majority of the snow on Minot, ND. Roughly 2 feet from one storm! It was 9:30 PM when I drove through Minot but just a glance around the city showed signs that some major plowing had taken place. The piles and mounds of snow in parking lots and some of the ditches was unbelievable! I wish I had turned around and drove through the Wal Mart parking lot. Those piles were huge! But even as I continued on, I saw others that were just as impressive. Right along Highway 2 traveling west past some car dealerships, they had piles larger than life as well.



It's been many years since I remember having this much snow in one season. I believe I was but a youngster and one storm filled in the driveway on the farm. It was as high as the over hang from the garage. We couldn't even get out of the garage without climbing over the massive drift! I may have been in grade school at that time. So you know it's been a while! But even since I've moved to Omaha, this has been a record year for snowfall. The cold weather has been worse than normal as well for Nebraska. While I was on vacation, I had been told that some of our flights were even cancelled a couple of days in a row due to the cold! Really??? I've been in this business for over 21 years and that's the first time I'd heard of that being the reason. However, we always have 5 airplanes stay overnight and our heaters may have had a hard time keeping up with the cold. (doubt it, they heat better than some furnaces!) Who knows!

As I drove northward, the temperatures were slightly warming as I got closer to Tioga, my destination. It was above zero when I got to Dad and Beverly's. And it was below zero in Omaha. Strange! But I was in for some cold during my stay. And I was prepared. Bring it on!