Icicles

Forecast: icicles.

Reality: icicles.

(Picture taken this morning. The icicles have only grown longer during the day. The temperature has not risen above 30°F today, and melting snow from the roof -- the roof is warmer than the air, thanks to the heat in the house -- has run down to the awnings and causes the icicles to grow.)

The weather guys and gals nailed this forecast. They said it would be cold. It's cold. They said it would be wet. It's wet. 

Cold + wet = ice.

How is your weather? Count your blessings if you never see icicles when you look out your window. I am trying to remember what a sunny day looks like.

The forecast looks the same every day into the future. Except, Sunday might be rainy. Then Sunday night resumes with the icicles.

At least, these are puny icicles. I've seen icicles three feet long hanging from eaves of roofs. Killer icicles. If one of those falls on you from a second story roof, you're dead. 

This forecast won't impress my friends in southwest Virginia. They've seen worse. Of course, I've seen worse, too. I'm thankful I don't need to go outside today. Ice can be treacherous. Oh, I could tell you stories—personal stories. But I will tell you a story that happened to a friend.

He was driving on US 460 east of Roanoke, headed to Roanoke. His car hit a patch of black ice on the road, and it lost traction. It spun around in a complete circle, and just as the black ice ended, his car was pointed in the direction he had been traveling. So he continued down the road as if nothing had happened. A mile or two later, a car that had been behind him pulled up and flashed its headlights. So my friend stopped his car. The other car's driver walked up to my friend's car window and handed my friend a hubcap he had lost in the spin. Very nice of that driver!

An incident that happened to me when I lived in North Carolina stands out in my memory. I was driving down my street, headed to work. At the end of the street there was an intersection and a stop sign on my street. I knew there would be ice, so I was driving very slowly. I guess I was going maybe three miles an hour—walking speed. As I neared the stop sign, I tapped the brakes. Nothing happened. I tapped the brakes again. And again. And again. Each time I tapped the brakes, my car seemed to go faster. I passed the stop sign at a leisurely walking speed and came to a stop in the middle of the intersection. Thankfully, no other cars were traveling on that road.

I'll tell you another story. I was walking across a black asphalt parking lot and I stepped on some black ice I didn't see. I went down on my left side. My left hip and shoulder hit the pavement hard, but I slapped the pavement hard with my gloved right hand to prevent my head from banging into the asphalt. I was successful, and got back to my feet, bruised but uninjured, and continued my journey. Black ice is treacherous because you don't know it's there until it's too late. Yesterday, in Fort Worth, Texas, there was a pileup of cars and trucks on an interstate highway that involved 100 vehicles. Six people were killed. Ice hits without warning. One moment you're driving normally, and the next moment your vehicle is out of control. 

Stay safe, folks. Stay warm and stay safe.