The New Normal

Despite the relative cold of the past two months, we haven't had any measurable snow this winter.  I awakened to a dusting of snow on Tuesday and Wednesday, enough to require sweeping the front walk, but not enough to grab the shovel.  Those mornings, I eyeballed the forecast for today's storm and concluded it would be a problem for folks north and east of us.

Yesterday, the forecast models began to look menacing for a larger swath of the northeast and now New Jersey is forecast to get anywhere from 4 inches to a foot of snow.  The bulk of the snow was forecast to start this afternoon, making for an unpleasant Friday afternoon commute.   Early Thursday evening, the headmaster at my school called a snow day for today.  So I went to the grocery store to stock up.  There was moderate panic at the local market, with the bread and milk supplies looking slim.

When I got up this morning, a light snow had just started to fall.  The National Weather service is warning of a blizzard when the Nor'easter comes together this afternoon.  When I turned on NPR this morning, I learned that the state of New Jersey has already opened it's weather emergency office for the weekend.  For most of the late morning and early afternoon, we've been getting sleet that is accumulating to an unpleasant icy sheen.

Understandably, we're all a little gun shy about weather these days.  I've got my supplies at the ready in the event that we lose power.  Usually, snow days are cause for sleeping in and then enjoyment of a relaxed day under the blankets.  To be sure, there has been plenty of that.  But it's also clear that none of us are yet ready to take normal for granted.