I have always said that my school location has its own weather system. I will drive to work on fog free roads until I get one mile from the school and sure enough you look up ahead and there is a heavy fog enclosing the school cloaking it from view. Often it will be raining only at the school and this 'unusual weather zone' was once again proven yesterday morning.
I was going to meet some friends to car-pool at 7:30 Saturday morning, to carpool to a Christmas Market about 2 1/2 hours away. I needed to stop by the school to pick something up prior to meeting my friends at the base. I was almost 3 miles from the school and the gentle rain started turning into that rain/snow mixture. No problem.. the tiny amount of snow that was there- melts as soon as it hits my windshield and the temperature gauge indicates that the temperature is above freezing.
Well, in less than 2 minutes and only about a mile and half from the school, I drove into what could only be described as a suddenly forming blizzard. The roads become completely covered and all visual landmarks disappeared in the heavy snow. I can see nothing and it is 7am! I can't tell if I'm on the road or not- which is not a good thing.. because, there are no shoulders on the local roads here. I actually stopped my vehicle on the road and as I was wondered what I should do... all past news reports, movie and TV images, about motorists stranded in blinding blizzard conditions rush into my mind. I could just see the headlines: "School teacher becomes stranded in a blinding blizzard only one mile from the safety of the school."
I finally decided that even if I tried to turn around and go back the way that I had just driven... that in these conditions- I wouldn't be able to backtrack, much less find a road entrance to turn around in or on anyway... so, I keep slowly creeping along driving carefully- knowing that somewhere up ahead the school is only about 2 miles away. The snow was falling so fast- that it was piling up on my windshield along the windshield wiper edges.
I finally found the 'off ramp' exit, for the school, and took it... going as slow as possible since it is a very sharp turn and downhill during normal road conditions- I finally see the school and all the street lights that are standing guard along the family housing area that is next to the school. At this point, I decided that I no longer need to stop at the school and instead needed to get back to the base and lower ground to meet my friends.
I creep along in the blizzard for another 2 1/2 miles to the base and when I am one mile away... there is only rain falling gently on my windshield and no evidence of snow on the ground or road. The only evidence that I had just driven through a blizzard was the snow quickly melting along the sides of my car and on the car hood.
2 comments:
That must be a weird German thing. I remember my daughter telling me a strikingly similar story when she was living there and working on a base. Weird!
It was like a sudden squall in the ocean or a sudden downpour in a thunderstorm. My friend, drove through on the exact same road less than 10 minutes later.. and no snow was falling- but, the snow was still on the roads and SLICK... then, to the base... down the big hill that the school sits on and again.. only rain.
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