Crazy Winter Weather

Much of the U.S. has been experiencing the wildest weather this winter. I've seen on Facebook many postings my my friends and family in Ohio about their kids not having school. One friend posted that her kids only had one day of school out of an entire week due to the weather. I also saw that Ohio's governor is saying how they need to add more school days for the schools this year.

It's been pretty crazy here in Florida too. This being our first winter here, we didn't really know what to expect. I was guessing that it would be colder than San Diego but warmer than New Bern, N.C. So far, we've been having a lot of "colder than average" days. The arctic blast that most of the country experienced affected us too. We had subfreezing temperatures and I'm pretty sure my poor hibiscus aren't going to survive the winter. I tried protecting them by putting them in the garage and then in the driveway, but they weren't getting enough sun in the front yard. That, combined with the cold-ass temps has really hurt them.

Today, we are getting ready for yet another dose of winter weather. Winter weather advisories were posted yesterday and now we have a winter weather watch. The weather "authorities" keep changing their minds about how much snow/sleet/freezing rain we're supposed to get, where, and when we're getting it. As a result, schools have been cancelled for both Tuesday and Wednesday. For an Ohio native as well as a person who has survived several harsh Vermont winters, that's pretty insane to me. Right now, it's a mild 63 degrees outside. Is that not craziness? I always chuckle when warm weather places panic over a little winter weather. I distinctly remember driving my girls to school in Vermont when we already had lots of inches on snow on the ground and it was snowing so hard on the way to school that I could barely see to get us there. If I hadn't had 4 wheel drive, they would've missed school that day. The only time I can remember them cancelling school in Vermont for weather was when it was due to cold temperatures and not because of snow. I also remember when New Bern got a dusting of snow. You could still see the grass and roads under the snow and it closed down the entire city. Schools, government offices, everything, lmao.

Pensacola Three Mile Bridge

However, even the jaded me is keeping a close eye on this storm. Why? Because if we get as much ice as they're forecasting, it's a pretty good bet we'll be losing power. Hardly any of the trees down here lose their leaves in the winter. The gigantic trees in my front and back yards are still very leafy. Add ice to leafy trees, and you have broken limbs and downed power lines. They're saying we could get as much as 3/4" of ice. I also worry about the Mister because he has to drive over four bridges between our house and his base. Bridges are especially dangerous in winter weather. One bridge is three miles long. I've been hearing on the interwebs that they might actually close this bridge so it might be a moot point.

On the up side, I'm hoping that the bad road conditions hold off long enough so that we can drive to the beach if and when it snows. I've always wanted to see snow at the beach. I know. How dumb. But I've always thought that it would be neat and unique. We've also laid in a supply of wood in case we do lose power and we just went to the commissary so we have a full pantry and lots of tp. From what I've been hearing on the interwebs, the stores are all out of milk, bread, and tp. And we have a cabinet full of liquor. There's more than one way to stay warm, heheh.

What's the weather been like in your neck of the woods this winter? Crazy, normal, mild?