Winter Storm 2014 (oh, and an earthquake)

I decided I should take a moment and post about this amazing ice storm that we've just experienced in the South. I have friends who have grown up here and have never seen anything like it. (Two storms were apparently similar, but not as bad.)

We had a lot of snow a few weeks ago, but the difference this time was that the snow was actually ice pellets. It was wet, hard and actually hurt when it hit you - kind of like hail stones only wetter. The weather service used terms like, "historic" and "catastrophic." Eli Jacks, a meteorologist with National Weather Service, said "Sometimes we want to tell them, 'Hey, listen, this warning is different. This is really extremely dangerous, and it doesn't happen very often.'" Or as my friend, Claire said, "Not a good sign if Jim Cantore (from the Weather Channel) shows up!".

Baylie's school let out early. This is what it looked like when I went to get her.

Much as I make fun of the fact that everything closes for a little snow, I understand why they do and I'm grateful. All you have to do is look at the problems in Atlanta and Raleigh to appreciate the wisdom of shutting down for these storms. And in reality, this one deserved the hype.

Here is a picture of our front yard after the first storm that was actually snow.

Here is a picture my neighbor Emily took of our cul de sac. You can see that this storm is pure ice.

It snowed pretty heavily for two days. The snow was so wet and heavy, it pulled down power lines and hundreds of thousands of people were without power. We were fortunate and never lost ours. We were also fortunate to have emergency food storage so we don't have to run to the grocery store and stock up when things like this happen. There's great comfort in realizing that we're prepared for emergencies.

The missionaries were told to stay inside and given permission to watch Church movies. Since they live close by us, they came by to borrow a movie. They chose to watch "Ephraim's Rescue,." a movie about the Martin Handcart Company. (Coincidentally, I am a direct descendant of the title character.) However, when they saw the pioneers struggling through the snow with bleeding feet, they started to feel guilty and decided to go out and work in the icy snow. When I found out, I pointed out that many members of the Martin Handcart Company actually died and perhaps trudging through wet snow wasn't the best way to follow their example.

The snow built up so high on our porch that we had trouble opening the door. Never thought I'd miss owning a snow shovel.

David and I were smart and brought our nice ice scraper from Utah when we came back at Christmas. Then we were dumb and left it where Jalen could get to it. It ended up buried under seven inches of snow somewhere in our backyard. We tried pouring hot water on the windshield, but it just froze there.

Normally, multiple sets of missionaries aren't allowed to eat at the same home the same night, but because of the storm and the fact that the other missionaries couldn't get to their meal appointment, they let them all eat with us. What great young men. We love having them over.

We are finally starting to thaw out. The snow is so heavy, it is making the trampoline sag.

If you look closely, you can see the tramp mat sagging.

We affectionately call this Lake Batchelor. It is becoming more and more soggy and more and more muddy. I don't know when the kids will be able to play in the backyard again. We've been doing things like running stairs and having dance-a-thons to try and burn energy.

Then to top it all off, apparently last night at about 10:30, there was an earthquake! I am a notorious night owl and the one night I go to bed early, something exciting happens. (Last time I experienced an earthquake, it was a 6.6 in Los Angeles and I was three years old. I slept through that one too.)

One of the things I have loved about living in South Carolina is the moderate weather. So much for that!