Snow Day: 2013

Wipeout!

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

I'll be quite honest with you.  I hate winter.  I hate snow.  I hate ice.  I hate sleet.  I guess hate is a strong  word.  I hate having to drive in the winter weather.  It's nerve racking to me.  December 5 and 6 a huge portion of the country was hit by Old Man Winter, weeks before the season officially starts.

Things started off in southern Illinois with sleet.  After nearly 70 degree temperatures for several days earlier in the week, the mercury quickly plummeted and the sleet turned to freezing rain before finally becoming snow.  Since I have to be at work at 2 a.m., I had seriously debated sleeping at the station.  I've done it in the past and it's not as bad as you might think.  Like I said, I hate driving in the ice, but I took my chances.  I set the alarm for 12:45 to give myself extra time.  It turns out the roads weren't terrible, so I used the extra time at work to prepare for the expanded coverage of the storm (we went on the air at 4:30, instead of 5).

Snowy roads

The show went well as many reporters and photographers came in early to be a part of the action.  It was a true team effort and I'm pleased with how it all came together.  After scraping the ice and snow from my van, I headed home.  The main road I take was slick and snow covered, so I took my time.  The road to my house was as well, but I drove it at 25 miles per hour.  It's a 30 mph zone, but I guess that was too slow for some dude tailgating behind me and he quickly passed me.  I can't imagine what his hurry was, but apparently he had to be somewhere and fast.

Then I get into my subdivision and slid a bit.  I got stuck literally three feet away from my driveway.  After some cursing and shoveling and salting, I finally made it into my garage.  After having some lunch and a quick nap, my daughter and I did some sledding.  The bitter cold winds prevented us from staying out too long.  She did some snowboarding, I took some pictures.  It was a good day.  The snow is a powdery one, which prevented snowman building or snowball fights.

Snow Day Selfies

The snow is still falling as I write this, and some parts of our region could get up to 14 or 16 inches of the white stuff.  It sucks because my parents were supposed to come down for the weekend and my mom and daughter were going to bake Christmas cookies.  It looks like that plan is going to have to change.  I hope you're able to get out and enjoy this, and despite my earlier statements about hating the winter, I did have fun with my daughter.  But I think hanging out on a beach, sipping adult beverages, and playing in the water would be more enjoyable.