Snow Day Today? Nope! Seriously???

The weather folks got it wrong this morning...telling us we would get a few flakes of snow that would turn into rain by 8am. The morning commute was not expected to be bad and consequently very few schools in our area closed their doors, sending buses and cars onto slippery roads as the accumulating snowfall went against the weatherman's predictions.

A few smart schools, realizing the roads were rapidly deteriorating, did make the decision to close their doors just in the nick of time, but my son's school was not one of them. Wanting to check out the road conditions myself, I strode out to the road in front of my house and took the picture above. What the picture does not show well, is the tree-lined steep hill that drops away from my house, covered in snow and very slippery. The road in front of my house is like many in this area...curvy and hilly, interesting to navigate on even the best of days.When I lived in the Chicago area, it wasn't a big deal to head out onto snow covered roads because every road was straight and flat. If you went off the road, about the only thing you'd run into was a 7-Eleven parking lot or up onto a sidewalk in a neighborhood. It felt safe to get out onto the roads in even the worst of conditions.

As I listen to the local road and weather reports, tales of huge traffic jams fill the newscast. Pictures of cars sitting on snow covered roads abound. With the snow still steadily falling outside my window and a major snowstorm predicted for tonight, I think I will keep my son home from school today. Make a nice breakfast and put on a kettle of tea. Enjoy your day!

*Update*

Just after I published this, my son's school put a message on their website stating that staff was having difficulties getting to school and that the road in front of the school was VERY bad. I am sure they wish they had made to decision to close. Hope everyone gets there safely.