In previous blogs, I commented on the polar bear nature of this year's March. We raced for a new record snowfall for any given winter on record.
March has ended. The month was almost 10 degrees F colder than normal and 1.5 inches shy of record snowfall for a winter. March left like a lamb. The last two days of the month were sunny and in to the pleasant 50-70 F degree.
March ended wonderfully. Cleveland residents were quick to don shorts and T-shirts, they relaxed on their porch, couples held hands and walked about and the neighborhood was filled with the sound of children releasing a severe case of "cabin fever". The first two days, in what seemed like an ice age, which residents could dare venture outdoors with out a coat finally arrive. It seemed like winter was over. The air and the activity in "C-town" made it quit clear that the residents were ecstatic for the exit of winter.
March ends...
...April arrives, I too am ecstatic. I am anxious to do my part for April Fools Day. I have a little gag in mind for my web site. I was also amused by the fact that Geek had a similar plan.
March 31st. was pleasant enough with, last I heard, rain or thunderstorms in the forecast. I went in for my third shift expecting to get wet in the AM. I left work unhappy. I could tell by the sound of the wind, Cleveland' weather did what it does best.
I had fun with April Fools Day. Mother Nature was ready to have more. The morning was ominous of things to come. The temperature was plummeting, by nightfall raining with snow mixed in, and, as twilight arrived, wet clumps of snow pelted the city.
One of the more adverse side effects of all of this is "driving amnesia". I am told that this is not a unique phenomenon to the Cleveland area but I shall explain it nonetheless. Whenever Clevelanders experience more than 12 hours of sunshiny, pleasant weather, and temperatures over 50 F, a phenomenon very rare in this climate, the induced euphoria causes a release of yet to be discovered hormones. These hormones eradicate any knowledge of ever having driven in even a rainstorm, yet alone a blizzard.
Yes, that is correct an entire city forgets how to drive. Now there are those of us who are spared from this malady but I estimate us to be less than 20 % of the urbanites in question. It seem also to infect the suburbanite to a greater magnitude. Fortunately for those afflicted and in the majority, they remain clueless as they attempt to navigate. Unfortunately for those of us who have been cursed to immunity our anxiety levels escalate to about DEFCON 4 on the road rage scale.
The morning of April 2nd was 30 F and I hear this maniacal laughter mixed in with the howl of the thirty-mile an hour wind. On the frozen ground, lie about an inch and a half of snow cone consistency snow. Worse yet, I had to drive, my schedule being such that I could not escape into the deferred responsibility of public transit. I had much work to do and was simply elated to get the final commute home over with.
April 3rd made it official. With 105.3 inches of snow this winter, we have weathered the snowiest winter in the history of Cleveland. I think I will have a party. I am also pondering moving to a location where it never stops snowing for, hopefully, amnesia will never set in.
The weather for April 4th is supposed to be hitting the lower fifties, the rest of the week is forecasted to be pleasant and sunny. I am now sure that winter is over. I am also sure that Nicole Kidman is going to return my calls, Bill Gates is going to give me a million dollars and I have a long lost inheritance arriving this afternoon.
Comments (2)
Good luck. We haven't had snow since the weather flipped above the freezing point on a regular basis, but it's still pretty cold some days. Are we the only people where windchill still is used until May?
Posted by Geek | April 6, 2005 12:32 AM
Posted on April 6, 2005 00:32
Thanks for the correction Geek
Posted by Lumpy | April 6, 2005 2:01 AM
Posted on April 6, 2005 02:01