Power outages meant the record-setting snow we got wasn’t much fun for some people in Marion County. I sympathize with them and am glad linemen got things back up and running as quickly as possible.
But if you were like my family and didn’t have to battle through without electricity for a couple of days, it was a blast.
Here are five reasons it was the greatest snow this son of the South, who has never lived through a rightful blizzard, has seen:
1. The quality of snow
Sometimes snow is dry, lifeless, unshapeable, tasting like something you scraped off an old hunk of meat that’s been in your freezer too long. But this snow was moist, compactable, perfect. You could roll it up right off the ground to make a snowman or efficiently shape it into a well-placed snowball.
2. The timing
The snow started around 3 a.m. Friday and so by the time people woke up a serene layer of snow covered everything. My 4-year-old daughter, who has been aching to see snow for months after reading so much about it in books, stared at it in astonishment for a good 10 seconds before saying anything.
Then big flakes kept falling and falling throughout the day. That allowed for a full day of play before the melting began.
3. The amount
I stuck a ruler in the snow at my house in a flat spot and came up with 5 inches. The National Weather Service estimated about 6. I’ve heard others say they had up to 7 at their houses.
That amount was ideal. It was enough where it truly covered the ground, rather than the dustings we typically get in Mississippi that don’t even conceal all the mud, but it wasn’t so much that it threw a wrench in everything. I was able to drive easily to work Friday morning without sliding or feeling uneasy at all. I realize it was a little different for people living out in the country, but even they were fine to drive within one day at the most.
And it didn’t linger for months in big piles like it does up North. We got it, had our fun and moved on.
4. The taste
Admittedly, I am a little odd when it comes to my appetite for snow. I love to scoop up a bucket full and sit in front of a heater inside eating it. It has something to do with the fact that I know it’s only going to be available for a very brief moment. Plus, there’s something about the consistency that no chef, scientist or ski slope operator can recreate, no matter how astute their expertise. “Though men may search they cannot find, for God alone doth understand,” as one hymn writer aptly said.
On top of just eating snow, my wife made multiple batches of snow cream at my behest. It easily tops regular ice cream, and although there is no official FDA data, I’m sure it’s healthier because it’s water-based rather than milk-based.
5. The unity
Nothing brings people together like a snowstorm. If you can’t go anywhere and maybe can’t use electricity, you’re forced to do what our pioneer ancestors did: Actually talk to one another. There’s nothing like it.
So, in summary, I can’t wait for Columbia’s next big snowstorm — although I’ll probably have to wait 112 years for it. n
Reach C-P Editor and Publisher Charlie Smith at csmith@columbianprogress.com.
