Ion

Last week, the U.S. experienced two winter storms. The first storm laid 6 inches of snow locally. Three days later, there was another storm-a behemoth storm, unlike any other. Its name was Ion. “A thirty year storm” they called it. The storm was said to have been reminiscent of a blizzard that happened in 1978. I remember that blizzard. I remember sitting in our living room; our windows, which went from the floor to ceiling, were entirely covered with snow. Winter storm Ion brought almost 12 inches of snow, which was, ironically, more snow than we received in the blizzard of 1978.

The Polar Vortex was the second part of the storm, the deadliest part of the storm. An area of cold air normally located at the North Pole and South Poles, the Polar Vortex visited half of the United States. It was colder in parts of the U.S. than at either of the poles. The temperature in the wind reached -50 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit) in my town. News reports said a person could be dead within minutes without the proper attire. The whole of the United States did not have the proper attire for those temperatures.

The winter storm was deadly. More than 20 people across the United States died. People outside shoveling the snow collapsed from having a heart attack, from the strain it caused to their heart. People and animals that were caught outside perished from exposure to the cold. Trees laden with ice and snow fell to the ground, often taking nearby power lines down with them. Thousands were stuck in their homes without heat or electrical power. Buildings collapsed from the buildup of ice and snow. Those that were blessed with power consumed more energy in those four days than most communities use in an entire year. During the storm, and for days after, motorists were met with compacted snow that turned into sheets of ice that were inches thick. Cars became hockey pucks on the snow and ice, being tossed and bumped in every direction.

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My interaction with Ion was thankfully limited. I was stuck in my home for four days, during the snowstorm and in its aftermath. My friends and family were safe at home, out of the winter chill. My car was parked outside on the day of the storm. In the days after the storm, I had to dig my car out from an igloo of snow; it took me four hours over the course of two days.

When I ventured out of my neighborhood, the streets were not safe for travel. To say the roads were hazardous would be an understatement. Thankfully I made it to my workplace, and back home that night, safe and sound. I prayed to every deity to get me-and my car-home in one piece.

A week later, the winds have changed. The Polar Vortex has gone back to the poles, taking its dangerous conditions with it. The temperatures are above the freezing mark. Mother Nature cleared the streets before the city could. Roads are driveable again. So far this season, my state has received more snow than we see in an entire year. The 18 inches of snow is beginning to melt. The precipitation now falls as rain. The dangerous weather is over, for now.

The day the storm raged I took photographs of the snowfall in the trees.....

Nature can be dangerously beautiful.

 

Goodbye winter storm Ion. Goodbye Polar Vortex. I hope it takes another thirty years to have a similar thirty year snowstorm. If you were to ask me, “How do you feel now that the Polar Vortex and winter storm Ion have gone away?” My answer to that question is a one word answer. Happy.