Well this February is officially breaking records. At least, the snow is breaking records. This month has officially been the snowiest February on record. This weather has got me thinking about winter weather growing up.
When I was little, I remember I couldn’t wait for the snow to come. My brother and I would spend as much time outside playing in the snow as possible. It’s kind of tradition growing up in a Midwestern state to play in the snow. My dad told me a story about my brother the other day — the first time my brother played in the snow.
Dad was working on the computer at home when he heard the front door open. My roughly seven-year-old brother was outside, in his bare feet, playing with the snow in the front yard, happy as could be, without a care in the world. He probably felt the exact opposite of how I felt driving home Saturday night.
Saturday afternoon I headed over to visit some friends in Austin. The forecast didn’t seem too bad, one to three inches of snow expected. Well, it didn’t turn out to be one to three inches. It started to snow and I felt my gut tell me it was time to go home, but my head told me, no, it isn’t going to be that bad.
When I finally did decide to leave for home, it was around 8. It took me over an hour to get home. It turned out to be the worst driving conditions I have ever experienced. When I left, it wasn’t that bad. I drove slow to be safe, but after a couple miles I was wishing I could turn around.
After it was all said and done, that drive probably ranks No. 1 on my list of worst driving conditions I have ever been a part of. The road went from okay to fully covered in snow drifts with zero visibility after just the first two miles of driving. By the time I reached Albert Lea, I-90 was in the process of being shut down. I was lucky to get home safe and I learned a valuable lesson many others learned the hard way this last weekend.
Thought for the week: If you don’t have to travel during conditions like this last weekend, don’t.