COLD

It has been very cold here, in South Dakota, for the past week. That wind chill factor is the killer. I think the high yesterday was somewhere around 8 degrees F, but the windchill was about -10. That makes if very hard to breath. Today is cold, but the sun is shining, and the wind is not blowing, so it seems warmer.

One cool feature in our fancy new car is that there is a little outdoor thermometer, so I can see the temperature as I am driving. This morning it registered at -1 degree F. Brrrrr.

Last week there was a big storm that hit Eastern and Northern SD, but it missed us completely. Since then, it has snowed a little off and on. We have had just enough snow to sled on, and because of the cold, the snow is still here.

On the news they have talked about blizzards, and that it doesn't even have to be snowing for us to have a blizzard. Dictionary.com says that a blizzard is: "A violent snowstorm with winds blowing at a minimum speed of 35 miles per hour and visibility of less than one-quarter mile for three hours. "

So if the wind is blowing hard enough and the snow is blowing around, then you can have a blizzard, even if there is not fresh snow coming down. I didn't really understand that until yesterday. The wind was howling, and old snow was whipping around. I was driving the girls to school when a big wall of white crossed in front of me and I couldn't see anything. It was like fog, only thicker and colder. I didn't know if I should try to pull over, or slow down, or keep going. I knew there was no one right behind me, but it made me really nervous. I made it home, though, and we stayed tucked inside for the rest of the day.

Hope you are keeping warm and cozy.