Snowstorms can be a peaceful interruption to modern life as long as you have power, remain healthy and do not feel the need to prove the worth of your seldom used four-wheel-drive vehicle. Most snow in North Carolina east of the mountains rarely stays on the ground more than a few days. Certainly here on the coast of North Carolina, snow is a minor worry compared to hurricanes. I would much rather be waiting for a snowstorm than a hurricane.
When we lived on a farm in Canada (one of our barns pictured), getting ready for a snowstorm was not a big deal unless it was the first snowstorm of the year. The first storm was a challenge because if you left something on the ground before that first storm, you might not see it again until the spring thaw. After our first storm, most storms usually just brought a yawn unless they were classed as blizzards. We lived in a land of real snow which means the plows did not even bother with snow unless it was more than six inches. Keeping a clean driveway was a virtue since no one wanted a permanent skating rink for a driveway.
After coming to live on the side of a mountain near Roanoke, Virginia, we learned it was still prudent to clean your driveway there because the snow and ice could last for up to a month. Snowstorms did force us into a routine. We always filled the cars with gas and made sure we had a little cash and some eggs with bacon in the fridge. Our mountain in Roanoke was steep enough that VDOT would sometimes appear to forget that we existed. Once back in 2009 we waited for there days before VDOT sent a road grader to clean our hill. For many years while living on the hill, we had a small SUV which I equipped with chains on all four wheels. I often ferried people up and down the hill while retrieving our important morning newspapers which whenever the road was snow-covered would end up dumped at the bottom of the hill.
It used to frustrate me to no end since during my farming days I had equipment that could have easily cleared our half-mile hill. There was little chance even in Canada of running into a snowstorm that my ring-chain equipped tractor with snow blower could not handle. The big tractor could cut through drifts over three feet and blow the snow over one hundred feet. Each storm and we had many of them, I cleared a mile long road back to our cattle so I could haul them a two thousand pound round bale of hay each day.
Living on our often-ignored by VDOT side of the mountain in Roanoke taught me patience that few of my neighbors in New Brunswick ever needed. I spoiled them. As soon as the cattle were fed, I cleaned a few driveways after each storm. I never took money for my efforts, it was just a neighborly thing to do. In Virginia, I learned that some people's first impulse upon getting a new SUV was to find the steepest possible snow-covered hill and try to get to the top of it. In our area of Roanoke that meant our hill which was a one-half mile up the side of a mountain with a couple of curves thrown in for fun. I should have posted a sign at the foot of the hill which read, "Getting up the hill is not the hard part, getting down is what separates the fools from the good drivers."
On really snowy days, I was fortunate in that I could work from my home and be entertained by the doctors who had to get to work no matter how bad the weather was. Since I could look out one of our windows and see some of the worst places, I was well entertained but unfortunately, I missed some of the best shows. One doctor pulled out of his driveway once only to have his Subaru spin around on him and head downhill backward. He was a very good driver and made it all the way down without hitting any of the guard rails. Others including more than a few snow plows were not so fortunate. Sometimes a vehicle would get stranded on the side of the road and it would appear they were frozen in a snowbank for the winter. Once the road was so slick that a neighbor left his car and walked up the hill but had to slide the final one hundred yards home on his rear. I learned long ago on the farm, that a four-wheel drive vehicle just lets you get stuck in a more inaccessible place.
So as this potentially historic storm approaches North Carolina and Virginia, my suggestions are simple.
Hunker down and stay off the roads. The thrill of going up a big hill is not nearly as big as the heartache of having your mangled SUV towed to a repair shop after you put it in a ditch. Neither North Carolina or Virginia are Canada where putting your car into a snow-packed ditch is often a good alternative to running into another car. I did it a couple of times myself without any damage, but all I had to do was walk home and get a tractor to extricate my truck.
Just enjoy the time in front of your fireplace and if you lose Internet connectivity or your smartphone will not work, you will survive. Read a book or go stand outside and catch a few snowflakes on your tongue and listen to the quiet. It will be good for your soul.
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