A severe snow storm hit yesterday, and came in with an absolute vengeance, with such fury snow was falling on my head while I sat inside the shed, yet I had no idea where it was blowing in. The sound of tree branches breaking and metal rattling made one very uneasy.
A 60 mph blizzard isn't paradise even at the best of times, this is really beyond hardship.
Trying to get ready for an impending storm isn't quite as easy when you are living in a shed instead of a home. It means making sure that all blankets and clothes are clean, because they will quickly get wet and dirty. It means sealing doors, getting additional blankets to put up on the walls and doors. It means taking preparation seriously.
Once snow starts I can't turn the washer and drier on in the house, or the heater on in the basement, because it will blow the fuses in the shed I am staying in..
So that is what I have spent days doing. Making sure my bosses medications are filled, my truck is weather proofed and plugged in, and the shed isn't going to flood, blow away or become a desolate island.
And sure enough the storm arrived and wasn't particularly shy in it's deliverance. All night long the metal and wood siding creaked and groaned under the force of the wind, wind blowing through the cracks bringing snow with it.
Looking at the 6+ inches of snow ontop of my truck didn't warm the cockles of my heart. And still.... it continued to snow, and blow. The Ski Apache lodge closed due to the severe weather, an almost unheard of event.
The blankets and towels I hung on the walls trying to decrease the amount of wind flapped around as though they were outside. The wind is finding the smallest crevice,and entering with an unbelievable force. Cold doesn't even meet this weather. These are arctic conditions.
I can't even start to imagine the type of damage done to the trailer. I dare not for it will send me into panic. I just can't see that trailer being able to weather this type of blizzard. This is mortifying.
Prayerfully within 48 hours it will have eased up and the weather will turn warm enough to start melting it all. 2010 seems to be going out with frozen determination, and a great deal of discomfort.
I am just too old to be trying to survive this kind of weather with so little protection.
The Big Chill
Blizzard brings damaging winds, snow, frigid temperatures
Blizzard conditions hit the Sacramento Mountains Thursday, blanketing the region in snow.
While a blizzard warning had been in place throughout the day, the National Weather Service said temperatures in Ruidoso during the morning and early afternoon hovered too close to 32 degrees to allow for much accumulation. But that changed later as colder winds pushed in from the west.
The dramatic turn to winter was due to a powerful storm that dove out of the Pacific Northwest. Cold air from the Canadian arctic combined with the Pacific moisture to create heavy snow and dangerous blizzard conditions. A major component of a blizzard - strong winds in excess of 35 miles per hour that can reduce visibility - was in place.
The winds that accompanied the storm Wednesday night knocked out power to a couple of thousand customers, said Clint Gardner, manager of member services for Otero County Electric Cooperative.
"It's the basic stuff that happens when you have 65 mile-per-hour winds come through," Gardner said. "It was basically from Biscuit Hill (just east of Ruidoso Downs) to Alto, and some around Bonito and
Nogal Canyon. The bulk of it was the Alto Lakes area."
The culprit for the largest outage was a tree that fell, taking out a power line.
"It was at a remote location, just one of those things. It takes a while to find it. Plus, when the snow is blowing sideways at you, it's hard to really see."
The widespread Alto outage lasted almost four hours.
The strong winds also interfered with skiers and snowboarders. Ski Apache closed Thursday because of what was described as "dangerously high winds." Init-ially, the ski mountain was shut down for the morning. A decision was made shortly after 11 a.m. to cancel the remainder of the day.
Tickets for Thursday will be honored today, Friday, according to the Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Road crews in Ruidoso and Lincoln County were salting pavements on Thu
rsday.
"They're doing pretty good," Albert Hernandez, the county's road superintendent said Thurs-day afternoon. Plows came out later.
But numerous accidents were reported. Swiss Chalet Hill was restricted late Thursday afternoon to 4-wheel drive vehicles.
The coldest temperatures of the season were to follow the snowstorm.
The weather service said Ruidoso would see a Friday high temperature of 29 degrees. By early Saturday the reading could slide to 11 degrees.
At Alto, the mercury was expected to dip to 8 degrees. It will be Sunday before Alto returns to above-freezing temperatures. National Weather Service meteorologist Ken Widelski said that, with ample snow on the ground, temperatures could even dip below forecasts.
New Mexico's Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management reminded those venturing out Friday and Saturday that extreme cold can be life-threatening.
"Watch for signs of frostbite, which includes white or pale appearance of finger and toes, earlobes and the tip of the nose," said the department's Beverly Allen. "Hypothermia can be deadly. Hypothermia is loss of the body's core temperature and warning signs include uncontrollable shivering, memory loss, disorientation, incoherence, slurred speech, drowsiness and exhaustion."
Allen said wearing a cap or scarf can prevent the loss of 50 percent of body temperature.
With the big chill, the Centers for Disease Control cautioned about carbon monoxide exposure. The agency said a charcoal grill, camp stove or other gasoline or charcoal-burning device should never be used inside a home, basement, garage, or near a window. And don't burn anything in a stove or fireplace that is not vented. A gas oven should not be used to warm up a house.
Ruidoso assistant fire chief Harlan Vincent recommended precautions in starting a fire; risk
s increase with cold temperatures.
"Everyone stokes up the heater," Vincent said of cold snaps. "They might load up the wood burning stoves and they might plug in electric heaters. Make sure there is plenty of distance from things that can burn. And don't leave a wall heater on when you're not at home."
The Ruidoso Fire Department has responded to three chimney fires this month. Vincent said make sure creosote has not built up in the flue or chimney.
"The winter comes: the frozen rut
Is bound with silver bars;
the white drift heaps against the hut;
and night is pierced with stars."
- Coventry Patmore
