What’s another Blizzard.. or two.
The week before Christmas, on Wednesday 20 December 2007 we were hit with our second major storm of the season. The first one was in October and I did about an hour long podcast on it, complete with Amateur Radio in the background. We’re expecting more snow, probably starting tonight and going through Friday. I’ve been looking at the weather maps, predictions and doing a bit of my own predicting and figure the storm will hit sometime tonight around or after midnight. Up-slope conditions are in the picture — which means a low pressure system south of Colorado, driving the air up and over the mountains. With the right set up (cold air from the north, low pressure system to the SW and warm, moist air out of the west and southwest) we get massive snow drops over the mountains and along the front range.
I spend a lot of my time talking to people about "survival situations", in my daily conversations and for the most part people tend to ignore me completely or write me off as a "fringe lunatic survivalist" — which is actually kind of hilarious considering the job I do, my background and the place I work. Anyway, throughout the course of a month, I probably have between six and ten such conversations that extend over the month with various people. For the most part I’ve noted a very… almost extreme attitude regarding day-to-day survival. Such conditions that exist this very minute set people up for failure when they engage in such attitudes.
"It can’t happen to me" seem to be the most prevailent among most people. Then there are various degrees of… well, to put it bluntly, ignorance regarding a person’s own safety. For example people around here don’t bother to place survival equipment in their vehicles. Even though they may travel 20-30 miles (some travel to Denvery for jobs, 75 or more miles in some cases) and have stated, "Why worry? I won’t be in the car for long, and they won’t let me stay on the highway!"
My thoughts run in two directions on this. The first is bad. "Ok. Good for you that you have that amount of confidence in ‘they’, whomever THEY are." Because I know for a FACT that yes indeed there will be rescuers out there. Been there and done it myself. However, some times, they don’t make it to those that need the help the most.
My second thought is that people who think like this are idiots. They believe they are so immune to Mother Nature, and golly, society is so civilized they can’t possibly be affected by a disaster, they absolutely deserve what they get. In fact, I almost want to WISH something on them so they will learn a lesson, but honestly, I’m not that cruel. I hope people will take heed of the things I say, no matter how silly they might seem, or frantic, or fanatical, or even… crazy.
The truth is, even my children LISTEN to me, and don’t think I’m completely crazy. They sometimes think I over-exhaggerate things, but then they have also "been there and seen it", after I’ve said for them to examine or think something through, before it bites them… and they perhaps have been bitten a few times now. NOW my family takes my survival information seriously and we have some plans in place to meet up in disaster situations so that we might pool resources. They all understand the need to help others, and to show others how to survive before the survival situation kicks in to play.
Today, I’m writing for all the Coloradians out there who might be reading and haven’t been paying attention. Pay attention now. This is the third major storm this season, and it is looking wicked. It might, as sometimes they do, turn out to be nothing at all. But, for the sake of your families, go out today and buy that extra gallon of milk, or food you think you might need if snowed in for a few days. Don’t DO it when the blizzard hits. Then you’re out in the blizzard, you’re causing problems on the road, you’re in the way and others are out there not paying attention to you then. They are doing the same thing.
PREPARE for the worst, hope for the BEST.
Good luck with it, I am already planning on what to do sitting at home on Friday since I don’t think *I* will be coming to work. 
Hi Rick! Being here in Denver, I thought my comments maybe of some use to others. And to you for some feedback on the site.
First off, let me say that I am typing my comments blindly, for I cannot see what I am writing on the right side of this board. I don’t know how to make the right side move or something. So I hope this looks half-way understandable.
Okay, things about the blizzard we just had. And future things like this. I woke up in the morning on Wednesday and was to go to work. The schools had not been announced as being closed yet, but I listened to the report on the expected weather, I watched the way the wind was blowing w/ no particular direction, and the amount that was falling. I made a decision that I would wait to see if it was going to be one of those rare Denver snow days off of work for me, off of school for my children. And as I waited, I made a second decision that if we had to brave the weather, I was going to make my kids stay put for an hour until I could get to them. About an hour after that I’d made my 3rd decision. No way was I going to go because although it wasn’t bad yet, it would be getting to be terrible about the time school should be getting out and I figured if the DPS wanted to be stupid,it didn’t mean that I had to be that way. So the point is to take things into consideration and figure out what the future looks like and be smart about it, regardless of who else does what, or what association or company does what.
Then, the Denver Public Schools did make the decision to close the schools, afterall. I could tell that the conditions for driving were still doable early on in the morning, so I took the opportunity to go to the store and get a few things. Then it was back home with intentions of doing nothing but staying off the road. I really don’t appreciate people being out making problems for others, so I wouldn’t be one of them. Some people and some vehicles can handle a blizzard situation, and many others cannot. My vehicle cannot handle that, so why cause grief for others? I am an excellent driver, and snow is no problem for me, but my vehicle doesn’t have great tires on it and that had to be taken into consideration. Sure, it would have been an experience to relay to others for years to come about how we were rescued by the National Guard, and that this or that happened. How selfish and self-centered can people get!
I want to note that unlike the situation that was far worse in Louisiana, our governor called a state of emergency. By the way, I haven’t heard one person say one thing to blame Bush for the blizzard. lol
I have a soft top on my vehicle, and to make matters worse, I was given a sunroof compliments of the neighborhood, and the back plastic window is nonexistent, so on Tuesday night, I taped plastic on my top on on the back open area to keep my car from getting full of snow. And as the snow fell, I went out every couple of hours to sweep it off of my vehicle to keep it from getting too heavy and possibly caving in my car. I shoveled the walk several times and placed a large board up to keep excessive amounts of snow from piling up in front of my door so that we never got “snowed in”. Shoveling often rather than all at once is easier on the body. I also helped push a couple of other vehicles out and shovel and dig them out. Team building in the neighborhood that I live in is a smart thing to do. It could come back to me in a positive way if somebody tries to do something more to my vehicle. Anyway, it wasn’t just out of the kindness of my heart, it was also for the selfish purpose of having eyes looking out for me and mine in the housing project, and that is prudent anywhere, but especially where I live at the present time.
Now after the blizzard, what people who aren’t familiar with Colorado may be thinking is that this snow is going to be piled up all over for months. It sure would be in Michigan. But no, Colorado is a state with a lot of sunshine, so guess what? The flooding has begun. Just in the past couple of days with temperatures above freezing during the day, the snow has been melting from 4 and 5 foot drifts to two and three feet or thereabouts. So I admit that I must have looked pretty darn ridiculous to most of the people around me, but I was doing something extremely important. I searched for the sewer drains around my area and dig through ice and shoveled ice and flood water up onto the snow-covered grass areas in order for the water to go somewhere and not pile up all along the parking areas on the street with some of it icing back up over night. So we also have parking available at my place. As for the other streets, well, I’m not going to be driving or parking on those streets, so those people might want to go locate the drains and do some work, too. lol
Comment by Aplomb — Wed, 27 December 2006 / 1157 @ Wed, 27 Dec 2006 11:57:34 +0000