Wind, Snow, and Icicles

We are in the midst of our first, real, winter storm. The high temperature between Friday afternoon, December 28th , and now, Monday at noon, December 31st, has been 22.3 degrees, with a low of -1.4 degrees. As a matter of fact, church was canceled yesterday because people in the outlaying areas couldn’t get to the meetings. On the back side of the house we just moved into is an icicle of biblical proportions. Literally, it is approaching 6 foot in length and has a diameter exceeding that of my arm. It has been formed from snow melting around vent pipes on the roof, flowing down the roof, under the existing snow, (thus it is insulated and stays warm enough to flow down the roof,) and then re-freezing as it runs over the eave of the house. If the temperature doesn’t jump up over freezing in the near future, this icicle should reach the ground fairly soon. It’s completely amazing how quickly these melt. One day at 35 degree or more and all the icicles are gone, even the big ones like this. We’ll keep you updated.

This picture is looking out our back door. Normally there is an incredible view of the Camas Prairie and on up the mountains to Iron Mountain, the highest mountain around us. We couldn’t see across the neighbor’s yard with the snow coming down and the wind blowing. Of course, the City roads are not plowed on Sundays, so getting around was very, very tough. The wind picked up the snow and drifted it across the roads so that they just disappeared from sight, and in places, they would be 18” to 24” deep in snow.