Day 5 - 5 -- Storm Passes

We survived the storm. The winds had diminished greatly by bedtime, so it was easier to get to sleep. In the middle of the night, they wrapped back around and made a lot of noise. There were very strong gusts in the afternoon and early evening, too. The kind of winds that blow you in a direction you hadn't chosen. The plus is that with warmer temperatures overnight with the major winds, the water pools disappeared from many areas. What was left had frozen as the temperatures have been dropping and will continue to do so -- a very cold weekend ahead. Storm surge was bad in many coastal areas and continued to be dangerous as the wind blew throughout the day.  Power outages occurred across the province. I was lucky this time, but others in the county did have several hours without power. Others will be off grid for a day or two. This isn't great when the weather will be as cold as predicted. I did a walk around the house and yard in the semi-sun this afternoon. a few small branches were down, but the new shingles seem to be intact. The building where my office is had a lot of shingles strewn around it. I hope it is an easy and quick fix there.

Major winter storms or hurricanes can be wild. Sleeping through loud winds leaves people tired. Packing 'go bags' for emergency evacuation becomes routine some years. I was glad to sleep well last night, but didn't want to be lackadaisical about it. I do recall that when living on the prairies I'd sleep through loud thunder storms and not know about them until talking with colleagues at coffee break the next day. Nor'easters last longer so that may explain why I don't sleep through these events. Though it may be that thunder means the danger is past and 100 km wind gusts are the danger. Who knows? <smile>. Being prepared helps lower anxiousness, so I pack the 'go bag,'  charge all electronics, organize work at home in case campus closes, and plan basic meals in case we lose power.

The title of a song seemed to fit my thoughts of winter storms (thought the grammar issue does bother me <grin>). It is a bit frenetic, which mirrors the feeling of being in the middle of the storm. Enjoy!

Riding the storm out -- REO Speedwagon