Samhain Thanksgiving Moon
The roads are clear. Less than 24 hours after 16″ of snow. We have great snow removal. It’s a genuine and deserved source of pride. Even yesterday, when the weather folks said no traveling except for emergencies, you would have been amazed at the apparent number of them. So many folks on the road. Weather does not keep Minnesotans at home, especially cold or snowy weather.
In the heart of the snow yesterday I saw several cars with trees tied to their tops, headed home for the start of Christmas decoration. Not having a tree was, at least for some, emergency enough to justify a long trip to the tree farm.
This is a heavy snow that sits upon branches in curvilinear shapes formed by some combination of sticky flakes, branch shapes and wind. It gives every view that Christmas post-card look. It won’t last. This kind of snow is early season snow. Later on, the snow will become lighter, fluffy, what the skiers call powder. It’s possible, if this winter follows the norm, which is a big if these days, that this snow will still be on the ground late into February.
We don’t have a lot of snow here, but what we do have often sticks around for the season because what we do have is cold. The snow reinforces the cold since it has a high albedo, reflecting the sun’s warmth right back into the atmosphere.
