Snowpril Anxiety

The Weather Channel is already calling the winter storm in progress in Western NY "Snowpril".  Not only were we blessed by an early spring (unbelievably early, with so much leafed out now that normally wouldn't have leafed out until May), but winter decided to send snow now, instead of during its regularly scheduled time in November, December, January, February and March.

Better late than never?  No.

We are lucky here in the Susquehanna River valley near Johnson City, NY.  The snow part of the storm decided to stay just to the west and south.  There was sleet in the "cracks" of the car (i.e. the windshield where the wipers are) this morning.  But it was pure rain coming down.  We got some very heavy rainfall overnight - fortunately we've dried out quite a bit since our September floods.  Before I went to sleep I heard it mixing with sleet.

Ugh.

The anxiety remains every time we get heavy rain.  In talking to a neighbor this morning, I realized it wasn't just me.  "I'd rather that it was snowing", she told me, "because snow won't flood us."

Somewhere, it was snowing, and it wasn't that far away.  I saw a couple of SUVs with snow on their roof and fronts driving down Main Street.  A number of school districts to our west and north closed for the day.  A lot of people were without power in those areas, too.

We had just taken our snow tires off last week.  Oops.

The crabapples were coming out in our neighborhood and the rain and sleet knocked a lot of the blossoms off.  I hope our apple crop up in the hills wasn't affected.  Anxious time for farmers, too, and anyone who decided to jump the normal season with their gardens. (we didn't take that gamble, and are very happy for it.)

The rain is supposed to mix with snow overnight, but the temperature is expected to remain above freezing.

It's not nice to fool Mother Nature, and it's especially not nice when Mother Nature fools you.

Winter's last hurrah on April 23.

I hope.

Were you affected by the "Snowpril" storm?