Storm's a-Coming

It nears Thanksgiving, and as always the men on the TV screen begin their warnings: "Snow's coming." It's a endless sound from November through April, echoed only by the counter-melody of "Lake Effect".

Out the Studio Window, Nov. 26

Currently we have precious little snow on the ground in my part of the Greater Niagara Region. The weathermen claim it will be a region-wide snowfall, but I am quite bemused by their warnings. Often, it proves less then what it could be. "Dodge the bullet on that one," they say the next day.

Hmm. I don't quite know about that.

When we lived in Oxford, PA, we ended up changing the lyrics for the classic Christmas song, "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas"; the song continues with "just like the ones I always knew." Considering we rarely had snow in the Lancaster region, it became, "just like the ones I never knew."

Now that I have lived in Western NY for almost twenty years, I can safely say I am less inclined to fear the coming snow. For example: since snow rarely comes to Lancaster County area, when they do manage to have a heavy enough one (say, one to three inches) school's cancelled as much for safety as it is for the children to have a chance to play in the snow.

When the same one to three inches arrives in Western NY, we're warned to take it easy on the roads.

Imagine my disappointment on the lack of snow days I experienced in New York when I first moved.

The Niagara Region is expecting a snow storm; they say we can expect almost a foot in my area right around Thanksgiving. We'll see what happens.