Last week, it was perfect autumn weather. A little chilly when it went to mid-fourties, but still warm enough to wear thin long sleeves and comfortable pants.
Fast forward to the night before today, the 6th of November. Storm and freezing rain pelted my window from around 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., and I was (unfortunately) awake for most of it. I love storms. I love the cold, the snow, storms, thunder, absolutely adore it. However, when I only get three hours of sleep, I'm strugging to keep my eyes open as I try to find Jack Frost's address on Google.
Schools here in No. Dak. don't close for just about anything. Some closed yesterday in anticipation of a snow storm. This morning, highways were closed, most of the rural schools were closed, mainly because they couldn't get out if they tried. They'd already gotten a foot of snow, with more on the way. My t.v. was fuzzy and gave me a mocking blue screen several times, but I had no question as to whether school was closed today or not.
Here in the capital city, as stated before, school is almost never closed. I recall a few years ago, give or take a few degrees, it was roughly -10 outside with a -40 windchill, several inches of snow--we got ten extra minutes to get to school. And some of us had to walk. Needless to say, I looked like a multi-colored puff of jackets and scarves and snowpants. 30 degrees is borderline three layers of clothes, -10 was pushing it while I had to talk to middle school.
Fast forward again, to around 2:35, the end of sixth period. My literary magazine class and I were practicing at our local theater for our production the following day, and we filled a girl's car to the limit and drove back to school, through sleet and heavy snow, with windows partially fogged. My classmates and I fall out of the car (literally), stumbling and slipping on the ice.
A minute later, I turn to follow a girl ino the building before we get blown over by the snow, and see her crumple partially beneath a car, her shoes flying nearly into the intersection three cars away. That was possibly the longest moment in my life, standing their frozen like an idiot. The five of us crowd around her, getting her off the snow and onto a backpack. No blood, no visibly broken bones, but one very shaken classmate.
I ran (a fast jog and skidding due to freezing snow on the ground turning to ice) inside to get help, and the ambulance followed nearly 20 minutes later (the roads were that bad, considering the hospital is only a few minutes away). We propped her up in the car that had hit her (unable to break because of the snow) and waited for help. I went inside after a time with another classmate who had given her coat to our friend, and had been out there in a thin long-sleeve and nothing else, and I wasn't much better.
She was loaded into the ambulance, still consious, but still in pain. I lingered in the classroom with our teacher and a few other students, the rest of the girls who were with me in the car going to their seventh period classes. While they were waiting for the vehicle to arrive, a car close by hit a pole, and another accident happened on the other side of the school. The ambulance went to the wrong scene, and had to be flagged down.
Even now as I'm writing this, every inch of residential area that I can see from my window is pure white, snow blowing every direction because of the two fronts battling to push the snow. Right now, its around 25 degrees with a windchill of a whopping 10 degrees. That itself we North Dakotans can handle, but the winds that gust from a continual 20 mph to around 50, it gets a lot harder to manuever outside.
I know I've covered a lot of topics that string off from one another, my final point remains the same. Always be ready. This morning, it was a light, albeit freezing, rain, and in a matter of hours it was dark and we had three inches of snow. I'll update on my friend who was hit as soon as I have word from her, so until then, drive safe, especially when conditions are anything less than perfect. Crazy things happen when you don't look when you cross the street or drive recklessly.
Wow, that sounds so dangerous. in louisiana we would never have that problem, but i don't understand why the schools didn't close
Mainly because of the 'hearty' (stubborn, more like) Germans who live up here. You know, the ones who "walked 6 miles to school everyday, up hill both ways!", and they head the school board. :P I believe it's supposed to build character, at least that's what they tell us.