Author's Note: In this piece I take a look at the pessimistic side of wintry weather here in Wisconsin. Try to imagine yourself sitting with me in the passenger's seat during my journey to Chicago.
The traffic on I-94 was moving at a snail’s pace for over an
hour and a half. I knew I was going to
be late for my meeting in Chicago, but there was nothing I could do. I already left for work an hour and a half
early, at 5:00 am, instead of the usual 6:30 am departure time. I had prepared
for the “big snow” the forecasters had predicted. John Milan said on his weather cast the night
before that, “Winds will be blustery, often reaching speeds of 15 to 25 miles
per hour; snow will fall at a pace of 2 to 2.5 inches per hour, with
temperatures hovering around 29 degrees.” I left early, my car was fully gassed-up
and I wasn’t going to let bad drivers upset me. Already we had five inches of
wet, sloppy snow on the roads which made them as glossy as a skating rink, and
this as just the morning rush hour! It was going to snow all day, or so they
said. This was nothing new for Wisconsinites.
We are supposed to be accustomed to this kind of weather, yet too many
treat snow-storms like they are newborns first tasting something tart. They get that sour-apple look on their faces
and then begin the commute process. Some
drive too fast, some drive way too slow, but most just drive like they have
never seen snow before in their life, and then panic at the sight of another
car or truck. I knew that this trip
would be slow, so I just sat back, turned up the radio and had another sip of
coffee, knowing that eventually I would get to work.
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