Weatherman ----- Right On !!

Well, the weatherman had predicted a foot or so of snow for the Spokane area and he finally got it right.

Because of the cold temperatures we had last week we still had "leftover" snow from the last couple of storms. The weatherman predicted it would begin to snow shortly after noon on Saturday and he was right on. It was a terrible snowstorm, slideoffs everwhere, whiteout conditions, the freeway was a mess.

In just a few hours time there was 84 collisions with no serious injuries and 26 collisions with varying degrees of injuries. On top of that the storm also disrupted traffic at Spokane International Airport. Jay Leno's chartered plane was unable to fly in so he had to cancel his engagement in Spokane. Everyone was urged to stay inside. A glass of wine, a good book and a fire at my feet sounded pretty good to me.

Temperatures went down to freezing and by Sunday morning we had a good twelve inches of new snow, and the temperatures had warmed up. Then it began to rain. So it rained for a while, just to make everything slushy. The streets had not been cleared from the foot of snow we had just recieved. You can imagine what a slushy, sloppy mess that was. Not only did we have that to contend with but the weight of the snow snapped powerlines, caved in the roof of a shopping center in Northern Idaho, and snapped trees in half. The traffic was a nightmare. Everywhere there were people driving too fast for conditions as they plowed thru spewing slush everywhere.

By Sunday night there were reports an avalanche on the Montana side of Lookout Pass had closed Interstate 90 in both directions. That is the major freeway that connects Montana across Idaho to Washington. A Southwest Airlines flight slid off the runway at the airport temporarily closing the airport.

Today there has been no snow. The temperature is 19 degrees. The city is digging out. The skiers are loving it. I am hibernating with my blankey, "Two Buck Chuck and a 500 page book.

See 'ya in the spring or 52 days whichever comes first.

In the words of my father, "That's it for today".