winter weather

Big Winter Storm, Mississippi Style

/ Gerry Wilson / 16 Comments

This morning, we woke up to a stillness like no other.

Meteorologists predicted snow yesterday, even issued a Winter Storm Warning, but I didn’t believe them. Often, when we get that kind of hype over an approaching storm system with the possibility of snowfall, they turn out to be wrong.

This time, they were not.

I had trouble going to sleep last night. Our bedroom has skylights, and when we turned out the light, as soon as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized it didn’t seem dark at all. The light outside seemed more like a full-moon glow, only slightly rosy. Around one AM, I got up and walked through the house, looking out every window, and sure enough, a little snow was falling. Not much. That would be it, I thought, but still, I couldn’t sleep. I lay there anticipating, like a child.

So we woke up to about three inches of snow, and now it’s nine-thirty, and the sun is out, and it’s beautiful, but melting fast. I went out to take these few shots an hour ago, and I could already hear the dripping, dripping.

But here you are, a memento of a Southern storm. No ice. Just that beautiful silence and a white topping over everything.

Three inches deep
No hummingbirds here!
A little weight of snow
Deck
Rosemary and empty pot
Bare trumpet vine
Holly
Nandina

My small stones are faltering, but maybe this post will count.

Small Stones: # 5, Deep-south Winter

/ Gerry Wilson / 2 Comments

Our weather maps light up with dark greens, yellows, reds, a vivid contrast to the shades of gray outside.  A day of heavy rain and storms. Again. Too many days and more to come. Our streets flood, our old trees are in danger of letting go their fragile hold on the earth.

The worst of it is north of us. From the Delta to Memphis to Nashville, the map colors have gone to pinks and rose. Half an inch of ice tonight on trees and bridges. Devastating. Far worse than our sodden ground.

Frozen Forest by Evgeni Dinev, courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net
Frozen Forest by Evgeni Dinev, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

This is winter in central Mississippi.

We look for a little ice tonight, a little sleet, a little snow. A rare thing. If we’re lucky, in the morning we’ll wake up to a fine glaze over everything, and sunlight. I will tell you about it. It won’t last long.