It was quite exciting yesterday due to the arrival of the much-hyped snowstorm and extreme cold temperatures. The rain started Monday evening and it turned to snow in the early morning hours. It continued to snow all day long, finally stopping around 5:00 PM on Tuesday. I measured in my front yard 16.5 centimeters, which is almost 7 inches of snow. That is a lot for Tashkent and the city does not have the plows and quantities of salt or sand to clear most of the roads. We had school and the students had a great time playing in the snow. The one negative was the possibility of large branches falling because of the heavy, wet snow. We safety-taped off areas under the trees to avoid any possible accidents. Two large branches fell during the day with no one being injured. This is the most snow I’ve experienced in my 3 and 1/2 years of living here.
This morning it was -17C which is a bit warmer than the predictions of -21. The weather app on my iPhone is showing lows below -20 all week through Sunday. A concern for officials is the natural gas shortages. I hope our neighborhood and part of the city can maintain electricity service through the many cold days. We canceled school today due to icy roads and we are evaluating how the city is clearing roads and what the traffic patterns are like. Many high school students wanted the snow day, my kids included.
Whenever we get snow, it reminds me of my childhood and growing up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I love the white snow and ice-covered roads, the thick snow in the trees and the quiet blanket the snow gives to everything. I loved walking my dog last night and watching people pulling sleighs. Snow brings out the kid in everyone!
Bill's Blog 