Christmas Storm Chronicles, Part 1

Greetings from Dayton, Ohio USA!

I just found out that we’ve had record-breaking snowfall within the last 24 hours. At about 2 AM at the Dayton International Airport, authorities measured 13.6 inches (34.544 cm) of snow. This surpasses the amount that fell during the blizzard in 1978. And more is still coming down, although not as fast.

Last night, Keisha, Jake, and I were outside, digging the car out. She had a broom, I had a shovel, and Jake, our dog, ran around like the maniac he is when it comes to snow.

It was coming down at a rate of 1-2 inches (2.54 – 5.08 cm) per hour, which meant that, as soon as we had the car brushed off, we’d have to brush it off again.

I resolved to get the snow around our vehicle dug out as much as I could, to provide a clear path for Jennie to back out. Then we came inside to warm up. Keisha enjoyed a nice bath and fell asleep about an hour later.

At 10 PM last night, as Jennie woke up to get ready for work, I went back outside to dig the car out again. It almost looked like I hadn’t been there at all. After I finished, I put the shovel and broom in the back seat so that Jennie could have them with her as she drove.

She left at 10:30 PM for her 11-7 shift. She called me an hour later to let me know she arrived. Apparently the maintenance man was going around the nursing home, offering rides home to those staff that couldn’t get out. Some of the staff decided to spend the night in some of the Assisted Living units.

So many of the flights at the Dayton International Airport have been delayed and/or cancelled.

I’ve got the local CBS affiliate on TV right now, muted with the captions, so that I can listen to the radio show of the local country music station. The TV lists announcements on the bottom of the screen.

On the radio I just heard that people are calling in to find out when the malls will be open. The Fairfield Commons Mall will open at Noon; no word on the Dayton Mall yet.

Snow emergencies have been declared in surrounding counties. In some of the rural, outlying areas, people will be cited by police if they are found. Montgomery County, the most urban and where the city of Dayton is located, does not have such a system. The sheriff has stated that he’s confident in the residents here to have common sense. (lol)