Weathering the weather

Sometimes I wonder of Austin media, particularly the weather folks, need to be reminded about the two fables, Chicken Little ("the sky is falling!") and The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Often, when there is one drop of rain, and temperatures in the 30s, you start hearing about the "huge" ice storm on its way. Of course, Austinites can't drive in the rain, so a bit of ice really is scary. Usually, however, it's nothing. This week, it is something, but it was a little later than expected.

Originally, it was supposed to start Sunday afternoon. Doug's uncle, who was in town with his wife visiting their step-grandchildren, decided to return to Los Angeles a day early in order to miss the weather. Seems several folks were also changing flights, so that the only available plane was early Sunday morning.

Monday was MLK Day, so nothing much was going on. Doug received calls that morning, postponing his dentist appointment and cancelling his stained glass class that night. Companies, like Dell and IBM, shut doors early because the storm. Thing was, storm hadn't started yet. The sky was falling and yet it was just cold, with a few drops of rain. There was some ice on the cars, but Doug, who got out that afternoon, said the streets were in great shape.

Monday night the storm started in force. Tuesday morning everything was covered in ice. We didn't bother trying to go out. It sleeted throughout the day, and we actually got snow, although there wasn't much of an accumulation. The temperatures have stayed below freezing, so the roads are still covered.

Doug and I are doing okay, although we are both getting a little stir-crazy. Actually Doug, who can't stay home more than 2 hours at a stretch, is going more than a little nuts. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets out for a little while, if only to get cat food and kitty litter for Dexter. My evening jewelry class was cancelled tonight -- they were afraid of icy roads after dark. School was supposed to start yesterday, but the university has been closed for the last two days. I'm curious if it will be open tomorrow, or at least open for morning classes. I'm supposed to teach at 8 & 9:30 tomorrow and I am a bit worried about the early morning commute. Mainly it's just been sitting and waiting for news and sunshine.