30-01-2025
Greg Jordan: The sun is shining but winter is far from over
Jan. 30—Today I actually walked outdoors without a hat when I stopped for coffee on my way to the newsroom. I didn't have to suit up like an astronaut and put on ice cleats just to walk to my car. When the sun came up Wednesday morning, I was seeing a blue sky. I actually saw blue skies when I started work Monday morning, too. For the first time in weeks, I didn't feel like I was in one of those National Geographic's specials about Alaska. Yes, there are still snow piles all over the place, but they're actually melting. A lot of roads are a dusty gray and white thanks to all the salt that had to be spread so they would stay open, but the salty dust testifies to all the hard work plow drivers put in for weeks when snow storms with a dash of arctic air hit the region. A lot of us would have been marooned for days at a time without all those road hours plow drivers spent clearing West Virginia and Virginia's highways and roadways. High winds played over the region earlier this week, but when I checked the Appalachian Power Outage Map, there were only a few customers without power. That's a far cry from the thousands of Virginians and West Virginians that dealt with no power and no heat during single-digit temperatures earlier this month. The idea of power line crews working out in the wind and cold to restore service reminded me of the conditions America's soldiers had to deal with back in 1944 when Germany launched a surprise attack that became the Battle of the Bulge. That surprise offense happened during one of the coldest winters Europe had seen in years. Line workers had to deal with similar conditions while they worked to replace broken power polls and fallen power lines. Then there are the officers of law enforcement, firefighters, 911 dispatchers and rescue squad crews who kept answering calls when winter conditions were keeping thousands of people at home. Emergencies didn't stop when the snow and cold arrived. Many of us have heard the saying that everything is great or small only by comparison. I still remember a story my dad told me years ago. He was an engineer at the West Virginia Department of Highways and occasionally he was visited by colleagues from other states and even other countries. These meetings were a chance to share ideas and compare experiences. Well, one day dad was expecting some engineers with the Alaska Department of Highways. It was early spring and the high temperature was around 72 degrees or so that day. When the guests from Alaska arrived, they were remarking about how "hot" it was that day and asked if he could turn on the air conditioner. Two weeks ago I was writing weather story after weather story. Every day I was seeing single-digit nighttime temperatures and daytime highs in the 20s, low 30s or even lower. Now the forecasts feature sunny skies and daytime highs in the mid-40s to mid-50s. Yes, rain is in the forecast tonight and Friday, but the expected high Friday is 54 degrees. That forecast is Myrtle Beach compared to what hit this region for a couple of weeks. Of course, winter isn't officially over until March 20, so there are still chances for getting more blasts of cold or snowstorms arriving just in time to ruin a weekend. We also have to remember that the world's weather system doesn't recognize the official start and stop dates for the seasons. People who have lived in Mercer County and the surrounding region all their lives have told me that some of the worst snowstorms they can remember happened in late March and even in April. Suddenly, we have to get out the winter coats and boots again and find the snow shovels again. This possibility means snowplow drivers and power line crews can't relax just yet and first responders know they need to be ready if the weather takes a dramatic turn and more snow storms arrive. Well, we need to stay alert, too. Yes, the sun is shining and the skies are blue, but winter is still here.
