Slip Sliding to Work

The weather has been the number one story for the past few days here on the Coastal Bend of Texas. It's been cold, below freezing much of the time... the coldest spell for longer than most can remember... at least 25 years. Cold is one thing, freezing rain quite another.

Starting yesterday afternoon, liquid precipitation, rain and drizzle, fell all night. We woke to 26f degrees, more drizzle, and a thick layer of ice on everything -- 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Of course, the way these things always seem to work out, Dar was scheduled to work today. NOT going to work because of a little ice was out of the question, of course... she has a deep sense of duty and knows that especially on a day like today the hospital will need as much staff as they can get.

So as she got ready for work, I slipped outside to check what she'd be faced with. While there was a layer of ice on everything above ground -- wires, plants, trees, campers, cars -- ground surfaces like sidewalks and roads were only slightly icy, apparently warmed enough by the earth below to keep the precipitation from freezing completely.

I started the car and got it warming while she finished getting ready and eating a quick breakfast. By the time she was ready to go the car was warm enough so the ice sheet could be separated from the windows with a little effort. We'd plotted the safest route I could think of for her 15 mile drive... avoiding all bridges and overpasses, which were, for the most part, proactively closed by the police anyway. It turns out all Interstate Highways and major roads (anything with bridges or overpasses) are closed throughout the Coastal Bend, including Corpus Christi and the surrounding area.

This is a rare event down here, so highway crews have very little equipment or materials to deal with it. Most people just stay put and wait for it all to melt... and that's a good thing as it made for an easy, albeit slow, trek to work for Dar. We were in communication during most of her drive and were both relieved when she was parked and safely inside the hospital.

Looking for my ice skates...
T