Christmas blizzard

We knew it was coming. Meteorologists in Sioux Falls said this could be the worst blizzard to hit South Dakota in 40 years, which is saying something. Local churches canceled holiday services. The folks at KINI told listeners Christmas Eve to make one last trip to the grocery store and stockpile wood to prepare for the approaching storm.

My main concern was losing power. We had freezing fog for three days earlier in the week. The heavy frost was beautiful, but it caused outages Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. In fact, some of the outlying communities were still without electricity and water on Thursday.

When the power goes out, so does my heat. Most of the winter storms are accompanied by northwest winds. Well, guess whose bedroom is in the northwest corner of the building. And it's not like this old place is well-insulated either.

My other concern was the pipes. We had frozen pipes a number of times last winter. Some even ruptured last December when the wind chill dipped to 45 below. Not fun.

The storm must have rolled in fast. When I went to bed Christmas Eve, the skies were clear and the moon was visible outside my west-facing window. Christmas morning, the wind was howling and the snow was blowing horizontally. And it didn't let up all day.

It's hard to say how much snow we received because of the wind. My front door is in the lee of the building. Portions of the sidewalk and my car are clear of snow. But the snow had an unobstructed path between the building and the church. A gigantic drift has formed in a northwest/southeast line:

A tree and a picnic table caused a slight saddle in the drift. The hump to the left is about eight feet tall; the one to the right is slightly smaller.

The road to town looks passable, but my car is surrounded by drifts. Good thing I don't have anywhere urgent to go. As I write this, watch my appendix burst or some other emergency befall. In fact, I feel some pain in the lower-right portion of my abdomen...

I think the snow has stopped falling, but the wind makes it hard to tell. It's still gusting to 40 miles per hour out there, blowing the snow all around. It should calm down by Monday, which is also when the sun is supposed to reappear. I'm anxious to see what the rest of town looks like.

Until then, the building is holding up well; I haven't lost power or water. And I have enough food to last me until early next week. I do get a bit stir crazy, though, if I'm cooped up indoors for long. So, I may chance a run once the wind dies down.

Winter in South Dakota!