I am now witnessing my first Minnesota storm. In the past 24 hours over a foot of snow has fallen and the wind has been terribly assertive in making its presence felt. While not yet utterly cold, that will be tonight when the temperature is set to fall to -24 C, I can now make a few observations about the weather and how it is dealt with.
The snow is nothing new to me. It snows in Germany, it snows in eastern California. The wind is notable but I have seen a number of gales in my life, nothing unusual in that. What is striking is how poorly the weather is handled. One would think that Minnesotans, infamous for living through some of the worst weather in the developed world, would have some sense in ploughing streets and pavement. None. None at all. The roads are covered with snow and the ploughs simply drive around doing nothing. In California that has never been the case, is not the case. The ploughs operate at all times during a snow storm keeping the roads clear and well-sanded.
My observations have been based on my walk to grocer’s and back, a total of just over two miles. A pleasant stroll in pleasant weather, a journey of slips and falls with a dozen eggs to think of as it is today. Naturally I have concluded that I will remain for the rest of the day in my warm flat drinking tea, looking at the snow fall through my windows, and being somewhat less than enthusiastic. A bit of good news is that I will be on a flight next week to Sacramento for Christmas before heading off to Germany and the UK.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Tea?
As you say, Christopher, you would expect Minnesota to know how to deal with snow.
So still quite clement there at -24. They are probably waiting until it is worth plowing, say 18 to 24 inches. One trusts they do better at the airport??
Bravo: 玉露玄米茶 to be specific. I’ve found a farm near Ise in Mie Prefecture, Japan, that sells world-wide at a fair price.
Sheona: it’s all frightfully disappointing. It’s poorly organised, poorly planned, poorly done. Most people also have a harder time handling the cold than me.
LW: In any event, it’s disturbing. I’ve concluded that the only state worth living in in the US is California. In California one knows what to expect, the rest is third-rate mendacity and mediocrity. Supposedly the Minneapolis-St Paul Airport is well-prepared for the snow and experiences few delays save for the most severe storms.
Well if it is any consolation, the weather here in Harare is not perfect either. 25 deg C, partly cloudy with scattered thunder showers.
I always found that in Chicago they did a pretty amazing job of clearing up the snow, whereas in Atlanta, where snow was a rarity, they were even worse than the UK in dealing with it. The city would grind to a halt after just a smattering. I was living in Atlanta when the East Coast suffered the 1993 ‘storm of the century’. It was pretty impressive especially for this little African boy. I recall waking up on a Saturday morning, taking a shower and going outside for a walk to marvel at it all. My wet hair turned to ice within minutes and I thought my ears would freeze and snap off. I realised I was completely under dressed and that it was much colder than anything I had ever experienced. (minus 24 was the lowest temp recorded though I doubt that was in Atlanta) I actually got concerned that I would not be able to make it back to my apartment.. A lot of lives were lost that weekend.
Ja. vell… In Minnesohta that’s just an average winter dontchaknow.
O’Hare ploughs frequently, they’re accustomed to the snow. They know
what to expect. Minnesota as well. In Minneapolis they have snow ploughs
keeping the runways clear at all times, five lines up. O’Hare has a lot of delays
because of the wind and ice, though. Minneapolis not as much even if it gets colder.
Like LW I wonder if they wait for it to get to a certain depth or stop snowing?
Sounds pretty bloody grim though and suitably boring if by oneself!
Christopher: “Ja. vell… In Minnesohta that’s just an average winter dontchaknow.” This discussion is assuming pythonesque proportions: That’s nothing, when I were a lad……etc. 🙂
CO: they did finally get about to ploughing it away. At 2 AM. Scrape, scrape, scrape. Bang, bang, bang.
I was less than amused.
Janus: Monty Python would find a lot to work with in the Midwest. Oh, the stories I could tell…
Minnesota story.
Ole was arrested one night while walking bare naked down the streets of the little town of Waseca, Minnesota. The policeman, who was a good friend of Ole’s said, ‘Ole… what in the world are you doing? Where are your clothes? You’re naked.’ ‘Yah, I know,’ said Ole. ‘You see, I vas over to dat ‘playboy’ Swen’s for his birthday party. Dere vas about 28 of us. Der vas boys and girls.’ ‘Is that right?’, his policeman friend asked. ‘Yah, Yah, anyvay, dat Swen, he says, ‘Everybody get into the bedroom!’ So vee all go into the bedroom….where den he yells, ‘Everybody git naked!’ ‘Vel, vee all got undressed. Den he yells, ‘Everybody go to town!’
I guess I’m the first one here.