Chiberian Express

 

 

 

 The  lightness of the solstice,  the end of the solar year,  and the beginning of new things. 

For holiday travelers this year, there was a major winter storm and extreme cold, with subzero wind chills!  It was  a return to Chiberia---do you remember? 

Back in 1983--we didn't call it the polar vortex then. Chiberia didn't even have a name. It was Chicago, and wind chills of -40 and the Lake was steaming.

I first heard the term polar vortex in 2014, when it got so very cold, the switches froze on the Blue Line trains. The Lake was frozen.  Chicago was a frozen city. They called it Chiberia.

Now, it's 2022, how many storms of the century have we seen since then? This latest one is really extreme, even for Buffalo, where they are used to alot of snow.  Veteran meteorologists say they have never seen anything like this before.  

There were trucks stranded on the Ohio Turnpike, total white-out conditions.  There were power outages and burst pipes in subzero cold. Under such extremes, it really is like living on another planet. Metal acts differently. Frostbite can occur in a matter of minutes. 

If you were trying to shovel the snow in Chicago, it was a real challenge with the temperatures and the winds. Fortunately, there was not too much snow, and it was light and easy to shovel.Thank you! 

Today, December 29, there are already 2 minutes and 10 seconds more daylight than the winter solstice.
All the snow is almost gone in 50 degree temperatures. People are out in jackets and hoodies!  It's like Chiberia never happened, but it did. And we remember.