Crazy Weather

  Yesterday, I woke up to howling winds which pushed all the loose snow across the landscape from the mountains to the sea.  It was nasty.  It plastered snow to the windows and cut visibility to the basketball court.  It was not a day to be out.

At work, we had a late start because the pipe bringing water into the building froze solid so we had no running water.  School was cancelled for the kids but we still had to work.

I got quite a bit done but the wind caused the internet to go down as I was writing my column for this blog.  I finally went home to a frozen pipe at my apartment.  So things got snarky last night.  The wind continued howling but later that night, I got a text saying the water was working once again at work.

This morning, I woke up to more howling wind, more blown snow, and more cold wind chill when the wind whipped across my body.  My neighbor caught me before I got very far.  Work had been cancelled due to plumbing issues.  I promptly turned around, went home, and crawled back into bed for another couple of hours.

I just know wandered over to work to check out the internet.  Its up and running so I'm getting caught up with a few things including all the paperwork I need done before I head off on a business trip.  The plumbing is still down.  The maintenance guys are in the building discussing the problem.  I can report the wind is still howling but there is no snow being blown.  I think it moved all the loose snow already. 

The unfortunate thing about current events is since school was cancelled today, we have to have a make up day on Saturday.  I'm out of town but I'll leave easy work, for that day.  I had to pop over to district office to check on something for my trip.  On the way out, I spotted a snow machine plugged into an outlet.

I suspect the owner did this so they could start their machine when work was over.  I spoke with maintenance about the plumbing problem.  It turned out, one of the pipes had a leak they fixed so hopefully we will have school tomorrow.  Unfortunately, the plumbing issues seem to have extended to my neighborhood. 

We are having all these issues because the amount of snow is much less than it should be.  Snow is an effective insulator.  About two-thirds of the town has above ground pipes so if snow does not cover them properly, the liquid in them can freeze and block things.  The school is above ground and its pipes hug the underside so they are exposed to the cold blustery wind.

One year, the boiler quit two days in a row and the third day a major pipe burst flooding about 5 rooms including mine.  They spend the day cleaning up the mess but it was another few weeks before they cleaned the carpet with a fungicide.  Until they cleaned it properly, the room stunk like mold, making it impossible to use it.

Have a good day.