The “White out” Storm
Cooling temperatures remind us that winter is around the corner. The upstate New York area has already had its first snow of the season. In Ella’s Trouble Stone, I have included a chapter about a “white out” snow storm. This type of storm suddenly comes off Lake Ontario and dumps a big amount of snow in a short amount of time. I have been caught in at least two of these storms when I lived in Ontario, New York.
Both times this storm happened, I was out walking about a mile from home. The temperature dropped fifty degrees in less than five minutes. The wind picked up, and the sun disappeared behind the clouds. I saw a bluish-black cloud moving in from the lake. A sudden gust of wind blew fallen leaves across the road. The curled up, brown leaves looked like a large group of mice racing across the path about a hundred feet in front of me. I stopped briefly to make sure they weren’t mice! Mice are tiny, but I had no desire to have a huge number of them crawling all over me! When I realized that they were really leaves, I continued on my way home. However, I didn’t get very far before I saw the first little flakes dancing in the air.
At first, the snowflakes swirled gently around me. Soon they came down with a mission in mind, as if they were aiming to attack me. The snow increased in intensity, and I finally gave up trying to keep the snow off my clothes. Ten minutes later, snow completely covered the ground and branches of shrubs and trees, too. I picked up my pace because my fingers were freezing, and my clothes didn’t stop the strong, cold wind. I turned my head away from the wind so that I could breathe better. Unfortunately, the wind kept changing directions and mixed the snow on the ground with the falling snow.
Visibility became near zero. I could not see my hand when it was only one foot in front of me! The way home was a straight path, but I had to make sure I didn’t veer off the road and end up in a field.
During the last few minutes before I reached my house, I had to shovel the snow with my shoes. Walking was difficult, and I was becoming stiff from the cold. I truly lived through the same experience that Ella and Martin had on their way to school!
My husband had even more trouble coming home from work. The sudden drop in temperatures caused condensation on the carburetors of most of the cars at work. Some cars would not start at all. Others, like my husband’s, stalled out on the way home. He parked his car way off the road to avoid getting hit by another motorist. Fortunately, a fellow worker drove by and gave him a lift home.
The storm continued for several hours, and four foot of snow covered the ground the next morning. We drove into town with my car and found that his car had been towed. We located the car and discovered that his car was the only one in the lot that had not been smashed. The man at the repair shop told us that the car had been completely covered with snow, except for a red ball my husband had put on the antenna! When the snow plow driver saw that red ball, he skirted around the car. We were very thankful the car had not been smashed, but we did have a surprise when we opened the hood. Snow had tightly packed into every crevice. We had to dig out all that compacted snow before we could get the car started!
During Ella’s time, people didn’t have to worry about carburetors. Cars didn’t exist. However, they might wait to travel until the sun had come out and melted the top layer of snow. After the temperature dropped again, a sleigh could glide easier on the frozen crust. Wagons and carriages could travel on the winter roads only after a horse-powered plow cleared the snow.
Today, modern plows quickly remove the snow, and so people in Ontario are not snowbound for long. As soon as the roads are plowed and salted, they can resume travel.
Although travel in the winter is easier today in our heated cars, we may still find ourselves caught in a sudden “white out” storm. If you are out walking when one of these storms blows in, you may have an experience that you will never forget. It may be similar to the one Ella and Martin had in the book.
Both times this storm happened, I was out walking about a mile from home. The temperature dropped fifty degrees in less than five minutes. The wind picked up, and the sun disappeared behind the clouds. I saw a bluish-black cloud moving in from the lake. A sudden gust of wind blew fallen leaves across the road. The curled up, brown leaves looked like a large group of mice racing across the path about a hundred feet in front of me. I stopped briefly to make sure they weren’t mice! Mice are tiny, but I had no desire to have a huge number of them crawling all over me! When I realized that they were really leaves, I continued on my way home. However, I didn’t get very far before I saw the first little flakes dancing in the air.
At first, the snowflakes swirled gently around me. Soon they came down with a mission in mind, as if they were aiming to attack me. The snow increased in intensity, and I finally gave up trying to keep the snow off my clothes. Ten minutes later, snow completely covered the ground and branches of shrubs and trees, too. I picked up my pace because my fingers were freezing, and my clothes didn’t stop the strong, cold wind. I turned my head away from the wind so that I could breathe better. Unfortunately, the wind kept changing directions and mixed the snow on the ground with the falling snow.
Visibility became near zero. I could not see my hand when it was only one foot in front of me! The way home was a straight path, but I had to make sure I didn’t veer off the road and end up in a field.
During the last few minutes before I reached my house, I had to shovel the snow with my shoes. Walking was difficult, and I was becoming stiff from the cold. I truly lived through the same experience that Ella and Martin had on their way to school!
My husband had even more trouble coming home from work. The sudden drop in temperatures caused condensation on the carburetors of most of the cars at work. Some cars would not start at all. Others, like my husband’s, stalled out on the way home. He parked his car way off the road to avoid getting hit by another motorist. Fortunately, a fellow worker drove by and gave him a lift home.
The storm continued for several hours, and four foot of snow covered the ground the next morning. We drove into town with my car and found that his car had been towed. We located the car and discovered that his car was the only one in the lot that had not been smashed. The man at the repair shop told us that the car had been completely covered with snow, except for a red ball my husband had put on the antenna! When the snow plow driver saw that red ball, he skirted around the car. We were very thankful the car had not been smashed, but we did have a surprise when we opened the hood. Snow had tightly packed into every crevice. We had to dig out all that compacted snow before we could get the car started!
During Ella’s time, people didn’t have to worry about carburetors. Cars didn’t exist. However, they might wait to travel until the sun had come out and melted the top layer of snow. After the temperature dropped again, a sleigh could glide easier on the frozen crust. Wagons and carriages could travel on the winter roads only after a horse-powered plow cleared the snow.
Today, modern plows quickly remove the snow, and so people in Ontario are not snowbound for long. As soon as the roads are plowed and salted, they can resume travel.
Although travel in the winter is easier today in our heated cars, we may still find ourselves caught in a sudden “white out” storm. If you are out walking when one of these storms blows in, you may have an experience that you will never forget. It may be similar to the one Ella and Martin had in the book.
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