Tuesday, November 8, 2011

A PLAGUE OF SNOW


A little over a week ago on October 29th, parts of the east coast and New England were hit with a freak snowstorm. Some towns received as much as 19” of snow. The trees here in my neck of New Jersey hadn’t lost their leaves yet. That’s how uncommon snow is in October for us. The result was trees and branches and power lines, laden with heavy, wet snow. A recipe for disaster that turned into disaster as those trees and branches began to snap from all that weight, taking power lines with them. You couldn’t get from here to there because either here, there, or both were blocked and inaccessible.

A branch came down at the end of our block. It hit a power line, sending sparks that ignited the phone, Internet, and cable lines to our street. Another branch dangled precariously over a power line, threatening to fall at any moment and take out our power. One report I heard said that a million people in New Jersey were without power. That's over 10% of the state's population. Two days later, 600,000 still had no power.

Some parts of the country are used to snow before Halloween. Not us. Half the time kids go trick or treating around here without coats covering up their costumes. This year there were few trick or treaters. Too many branches still dangled and threatened to fall on little goblins and ghosts as they tramped from one house to the next.

In the last few months we’ve been hit by an earthquake, another rarity in New Jersey, and massive flooding. Now a freak snowstorm. I’m wondering what’s next, a plague of locusts? Perhaps we need to sacrifice a lamb and mark our doorposts with its blood.

Lois Winston writes the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series. The first book, Assault With A Deadly Glue Gun, was a January 2011 release and received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Death by Killer Mop Doll will be a January 2012 release. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com and Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, http://anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.

11 comments:

Sebastian Stuart said...

Lois -- so sorry for your travails. Welcome to the new normal, called global climate change. I see blockbuster flicks and page-turning thrillers on the topic. As you know well, it IS scary as hell.

Lois Winston said...

Makes me really leery of what's in store for us over the next few months, Seb. I heard one forecast that predicted a mild winter. I think they're lying to us.

Beth Groundwater said...

Yes, global warming is bringing not only overall higher temperatures, but more variability and instability in the weather. As for me, even though we're used to snow in Colorado, I'm crossing my fingers that we won't get a big storm next week while I'm touring the state with Ann Parker to promote both of our new releases set in the state.

Lois Winston said...

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, too, Beth. Good luck with the tour.

Robin Allen said...

Move to south Texas, Lois. I don't even need a whole hand to count the number of times I've seen snow. Sure, we have droughts and unbearable summer temperatures, but they don't stop us from cooking, emailing, and talking on the phone.

Lois Winston said...

Thanks but no thanks, Robin. I'll take my chances here in NJ. I'm too much a Yankee to survive in Texas. ;-)

Darrell James said...

Lousy weather was one of the really big reasons Diana and I first moved from the midwest to the southwest. Yep, it gets hotter than blazes sometimes, but, as Robin said, it doesn't keep us from our lives. (Just another vote for sunshine.)

Vicki Doudera said...

Come downeast, Lois! Here on the coast of Maine only 2 inches fell during the Halloween storm. And today it is 65 degrees, sunny and gorgeous!

Lois Winston said...

Actually, we've got you beat today, Vicki. It's a balmy 70 degrees and sunny at the moment.

Alan Orloff said...

That's what I'm hoping for Lois, a plague of 70 degree-and-sunny days. Oh, the horrors!

Kathleen Ernst said...

And here in WI we're having an unusually warm autumn. Global warming is here.