Weather

This winter has been exceedingly mild, with only one day of icy conditions and very few days when temperatures reached freezing. It's not yet the middle of February, but I can see signs that winter is coming to an end. The trees I planted on the north side of my house last year are beginning to bud and some of the plants that died back after the one-day of ice are starting to come back.

This morning, as I was preparing to go to the office, I looked out the windows at the back of the house and noticed that it was dark, much darker than usual for 6:45 am. It was almost impossible to make out the shrubs and trees in the back yard. I could barely see that the flagstones were wet, though, so it was obvious that there must be a heavy cloud-cover.

A few minutes later, as I took the trash trolley out to the alley behind the house, I felt the humidity in my bones and felt the tiny, tiny droplets of mist cling to a few strands of my hair. The temperature was in the mid-50s, but it felt much warmer. Standing in the driveway, I could see the very, very low, dark clouds rushing by just above me, the kind of clouds that signal some sort of weather event. They were moving too fast; there was only a light breeze blowing, but the clouds were sliding by much faster.

On the way to the office, the 'weather event' happened. Bursts of very, very heavy rain--almost blinding in the darkness with so many headlights and tail lights all around--fell, filling the road with water that cars ahead of me kicked up with their tires, spraying my windshield with dark, dirty water.

The radio weather report forecast falling temperatures and rain. This is weather. It's funny that clear skies, gentle breezes, and moderate temperatures do not feel like weather. But this, this weather.