Snow in Texas

It never snows in Texas. Never. Well, almost never. Over the last few days, we’ve had a winter storm that brought freezing rain, slush, sleet, ice and “snow” (if you can call it that). I grew up in Bend, Oregon, right at the base of the Cascade Mountains, and in a town where snow means *snow*. Growing up, we shoveled our driveways early in the morning, moving several feet of snow just to get to school on time (and then walked to school barefoot and uphill both ways). Snow days were few and far between and required more than three feet of snow in addition to black ice. A light dusting of snow or a thin layer of ice was child’s play to us snow veterans.

Well, in Texas, a light dusting of snow and a thin layer of ice means city-wide closures, empty roads, traffic accidents, and creative snow play. It’s almost comical for those of us who are used to winter weather. On Monday, our temperatures dropped below freezing around noon. Grocery stores closed. News reporters dramatically explained the treacherous conditions. People waited in hour-long lines to get firewood and bottled water. School was cancelled. People were warned to stay indoors and stay warm.

Now it’s Wednesday. Our weather is still below freezing and schools are still closed. Every freeway in Austin is closed in at least one spot where there is a bridge or flyover. The city is completely shut down. Grocery stores are dark. Gas stations are locked. Walmart (Walmart for gosh sakes!) closed at 3:00 pm yesterday and has yet to reopen. The kids across the street ran a hose down the hill in their front yard and used a boogie board to “sled” down their ice tube. The city of Austin is nearly out of its supply of salt and sand so most of the roads haven’t been sanded and are therefore closed. The kids down the street spent hours trying to create snowballs out of the tiny accumulation that we have.

Anyway, I thought that my friends and family in Oregon would get a kick out of our “treacherous” conditions and the extent of our “snow” accumulation. The newscaster just announced that our freeze may break late tomorrow morning and that schools may even be open tomorrow for a half day. Let’s hope so. We’re getting cabin fever here.