A heat wave in Kentucky...highs in the 50s this week

The last time I didn't wear socks in the house was mid-November. Since Thanksgiving, we've had cold temperatures and snow on the ground each week. For more than two months, highs have generally been in the 30s and lows in the 20s or even colder. We've even had lows in the single digits near zero and wind chills below zero. It's 50 degrees outside as I write this post, a temperature we haven't felt in a while.

According to Lexington's LEX 18 chief meteorologist Bill Meck (read his weather blog at http://www.lex18.com/bills-weather-blog), Lexington has had 27.4 inches of snow, which is the 9th highest on record. This is almost three times as much snow as an average winter. The average high since December 1 has been 35 degrees, and there have been 53 days when the temperature did not rise about 40 degrees. We've had 32 days when we didn't get above freezing.

I started taking photos of the ice and snow in early December.

This amount of snow on our back deck was enough to get me excited. Little did I realize what winter had in store.

This first dusting happened while I was decorating for Christmas, which was nice. Within a few days, here is what the back deck looked like.

Remember the sunflower...how about snow flower.

We had a white Christmas. It started snowing Christmas Eve and continued through the morning.

Cash went outside in some of the first snow.

 During a period of melting, giant icicles hung from the roof.

I really like to see the snow fall at night. It makes everything so bright.

Spring is technically more than 30 days away, but we're having a warming trend for now. David and I agree this is as far north as we'd like to move at this point. Last Wednesday wasn't a fun driving day, but I still think I prefer this much cold and snow for a couple of months compared to many many months of Florida's heat and humidity.

There is a small amount of snow on the back porch now, but it will all be melted by tomorrow. Happy Valentine's Day!

Merry Christmas!

We have a white Christmas in Lexington this year. It started snowing around 10 p.m. Christmas Eve and continued through the early morning hours.

We woke up to several inches of the white fluffy stuff on the ground, and it's a gorgeous sight on Christmas Day. According to the weather folks, this is only the 12th white Christmas in Lexington since 1872.

In honor of the holiday, Sammie and Cash put on their Christmas hats.

Sammie was less than thrilled and told Cash he had to wear all of them.

Cash the elf

Cash Kringle

Santa Cash

How do you like my beard?

Merry Christmas!

Six more weeks of winter

Punxsutawney Phil emerged earlier this morning on Groundhog Day and saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter weather. Whether you believe in this tradition or not, Tennessee experienced a lot of winter weather this past weekend, and we were in the middle of it. (Most of the photos I took were from inside the car for obvious reasons.)

We traveled to Memphis Thursday for reasons I'll explain in a future post, and we knew the weather might not cooperate. We thought we'd be there until Saturday morning, but the reason for our trip ended early on Friday, so we decided to leave around noon and make it as far back to Knoxville as possible.



I can now say I have seen snow and ice from one end of Tennessee to the other, and it's not an experience I need to repeat. David is a great driver, and Heidi is a great car, but most of the other drivers weren't sure how to handle driving on the icy slushy mess we encountered.

It took us almost six hours to drive 172 miles to Dickson, Tenn. We stopped around mile marker 100 to eat lunch, and most places were closed, but Chilis was still open. They were waiting on a call from the corporate office about when they could close. We tried to make it to the Nashville area, which was around exit 200, but as it grew dark, conditions worsened, so we stopped and spent the night.

The restaurants in the area closed early, so we ate sandwiches from a gas station...not the greatest, but that was all part of the adventure. During our trip, we saw numerous cars in ditches, a firetruck that was turned completely over and several semi trucks that had overturned. There were a few close calls when Heidi lost traction, but we made it!

On Saturday, we started the 200-mile trip home, and the roads still weren't that clear near the Nashville area. David spent almost 30 minutes trying to get the ice off the car, but cloth gloves aren't best for that. We used the car's heater to dry them.

As we made our way to East Tennessee, the interstate was a million times better. It still took us about four and half hours to get home, and we were nervous about driving up the icy hill we live on, but it was clear.

There is still snow on the ground, but the "blizzard of 2010" could have been much worse for us. They had initially said Knoxville could see up to 15 inches of snow, but it was more like five inches or less. It's just good to be home and have ourselves and our car in one piece.

Thawing out

We had more than a week of freezing temperatures, and now we're warming up again. It snowed Thursday afternoon and into Friday, but the big problem was the ice. The roads in our neighborhood iced quickly since the ground was already so cold.

The snow started early Thursday afternoon, but by the time David drove home around 5 p.m., our hill was an icy sheet, and hardly any cars could drive up, so he parked in a lot next to the neighborhood pool and walked up.

Here are some of the frozen photos I've taken during the past week.

Our frozen driveway.

Cash still loves going outside when it snows. I think he would stay out there if I let him.

 

Snow shining through our lights on the back porch.

 

We also put up all our Christmas decorations last week. It's always more fun to decorate than to un-decorate.

We drove to Pellissippi State Community College to see the frozen fountain and pond.

 

My mom also celebrated her birthday last week, and we sent her some flowers. Thanks to my dad for taking this photo of them. Happy Birthday Mom!

Snow in the Smokies

My computer was at the Apple Store for the past week since it needed a repair, so it's been more than a week since I could post.

We traveled to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains last Monday (before Christmas) to see some of the snow that had fallen. The road from Gatlinburg to Cherokee was closed due to snow and ice, but we were able to see quite a bit of snow on other roads from the mountains to Townsend. There were "Watch for Ice" signs along the road.

A lot of the limbs had snow on them, but it was starting melt, so we heard a constant water drip sound. Enjoy these winter scenes!

 

 

 

Before we drove up into the mountains, we ate lunch at the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg and looked around.

Look at that green Christmas sweater and matching red skirt! 

 

As we drove home, we stopped and captured a shot of Gatlinburg from high above the city.

We haven't gotten any snow in Knoxville since the first snow of the season in early December, so it was nice to see the snow in the Smokies and really get into the Christmas spirit.