At last, snow is on the way !

At last, snow is on the way.

You might not think that is a good thing, but it is.

As we said, Kodiak weather has been much colder and for longer periods this winter than on recent years: One week of temps continuously below the teens in Thanksgiving and then again on Christmas.

The first storm had snow with it. As you can see, this pic, (after the snow melted)in mid December, shows our grass was green despite those frigid temps.

The snow made a nice blanket to keep it warm!



Birds then loved coming to our yard and picking at that green stuff.
We had a few visits of groups of 6 ravens at a time.

But the Christmas frigid spell came without much snow.
Sure, my grass froze and died.

Worse than that, without snow to insulate the ground, it froze for 3 feet deep. People's house water pipes broke and water filled their houses. Water mains in downtown froze and then broke.....making city employees thaw the valves before being able to shut off the water spilling and eroding out the dirt under the road.

http://kodiakdailymirror.com/view/full_story/16979830/article-Cold-and-lack-of-snow-contributes-to-bursting-pipes-across-Kodiak-city?instance=do_not_publish_here

So when the weather report came of tonight's blizzard conditions, 5 to 10 inches of snow and 45 mph winds, no one seemed to mind.
And look at it this way.....it's not 80 mph winds!

Lucky us !

And, it'll let us take some winter pics!

KODIAK ISLAND-
INCLUDING THE CITY OF...KODIAK CITY
506 AM AKST FRI JAN 6 2012

...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM AKST
SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ANCHORAGE HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM AKST
SATURDAY. THE BLIZZARD WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* SNOW...SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES POSSIBLE.

* VISIBILITY...LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE IN BLOWING SNOW.

* WIND...20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH.

* TIMING...WINDS AND SNOW WILL INCREASE THIS EVENING WITH THE
STRONGEST WINDS EXPECTED BETWEEN 9 PM THIS EVENING AND 3 AM AKST
TONIGHT. WINDS AND SNOWFALL WILL DIMINISH LATE EARLY SATURDAY
MORNING.

* IMPACTS...DRIVING MAY BECOME VERY DIFFICULT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS
AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITE-OUT
CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL VERY DIFFICULT. ALL TRAVEL AND OUTDOOR
ACTIVITY IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED.