Friday the 13th Weather

It started snowing last night and snowed throughout the night. We awoke this morning to probably 6 inches or more of snow but it was 31 degrees most of the night so it's not too icy or anything. The streets are plowed. But it was a very wet snow and so we lost power in the night, probably due to fallen lines or trees falling on power lines due to the weight of the snow. We lost power at some point, but I slept through it. I had to reset the microwave clock before I could cook my oatmeal. Other than that, I wasn't affected too much. Walking to school was interesting, though, because there was falling snow everywhere. I walked home in a beautiful white snowstorm last night, but this falling snow was big blobs of snow falling off the trees that shade the sidewalk in summer but provide diving boards for snow clumps on days like this. It was like getting hit by lots of tiny snowballs being dropped instead of thrown. I should've used my Mr. Tumnus umbrella.

Most schools were let out early yesterday in anticipation of the storm and some had late arrival this morning. UMF canceled all classes after 5pm (I wonder if the classes that start at 4:30 but last until 6 were canceled or only met for 30 minutes or what they did). But we had no delay this morning. So I didn't have to try to pretend that Friday the 13th was a holiday to keep up with my "it always snows big on holidays" theory. There's a big storm in the west heading this way that is scheduled to hit here Monday with lots of snow. And Monday is Patriot's Day! It's a New England Holiday. So the storms hit Texas Independence Day and Patriot's Day. How appropriate is that??

But we're not the only ones with wacko weather. I just got this email on my UNT email:

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From: OfficialNotice@pres.admin.unt.edu
Subject: Be aware of evacuation and shelter plans in the event of severe weather today
Date: April 13, 2007 10:25:47 AM EDT
To: OfficialNotice@pres.admin.unt.edu

Weather forecast for today includes the possibility of significant severe weather -- including damaging winds (up to 60-80 MPH), hail, tornadoes and localized flooding -- all campus building representatives are asked to make sure the faculty, staff and students in their buildings are reminded of the building's shelter and evacuation plans.

Currently, the forecasts include projections for rain or possible thunderstorms from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. However, the greatest potential for severe weather is predicted from around 2 p.m. throughout the evening.

In the event a severe thunderstorm warning is issued for Denton, and damaging hail or high winds appear imminent and especially in the event of a tornado warning, people will need to take immediate shelter.

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Definitely Friday the 13th weather. And I'm glad I'm not leaving until Saturday morning for spring break in Texas. I can survive being in either kind of wacky weather but am not too excited about trying to fly through it.