Blizzard October 2013

October begins.... 

Friday evening - front door view

All week the news channels/weather men were forecasting snow for Friday and Saturday -- first 6 inches -- and by the time we got home Thursday night from school the forecast had risen to 12+ inches.  I had been visiting with various friends and neighbors about school plans and appointments, and our ladies Bible study at church -- many of whom doubted the predictions would be as bad as forecasted.  It did start raining much later than predicted… so some thought the storm was "blown out of proportion" by the weather teams.  Dirk told me to call him Friday morning to see how much snow we had gotten through the night and he would decide if he would try to make it home for the weekend or not.  We went to bed Thursday to the sounds of rain pouring down on our roof and the gutters running full!  

Friday morning the rain had indeed turned to snow -- and schools were all canceled.  "Hurray!!" was heard from the Morrison clan -- even Mom was ready for a Day OFF!!  even if it meant missing the morning Bible study with my mommy friends.  (I had cancelled the Bible study the night before).  Thankful I had also gone grocery shopping on our way home from school -- we were well stocked and ready to snuggle in.  

Saturday morning - door won't open!?

Dirk and I chatted by phone around 8 am.   At that point we had 5-6 inches of wet heavy now on our driveway -- Dirk was thinking about issues "outside" since he couldn't be there to help out -- and gave Thor and I a small "to do list."  We moved our bunny hutch, Thumper and Bandit to the south side of the house (instead of the north) -- actually moved them to the overhang of the camper where they were protected on 3 sides from any blowing and snow.  Anika made sure they were snug with extra hay, feed and HOT water.  (hoping it wouldn't freeze too much).  We cleared the snow from the front door and driveway as best we could by hand… but it was really heavy snow with about 2 inches of slush at the bottom.  For all the GREAT things our family had done to get ready for winter -- the one thing we didn't do was put the snowplow ONTO the ATV (4-wheeler).  It's sort of complicated -- requiring a 4 point harness on the underside for stability and connecting the  blow to a winch on the front end to allow me to "push an button" to make the plow go up and down… So that wasn't going to happen until Dirk got home….  Dirk kept asking "should I come home, or not?"  We didn't have too much snow yet -- but the weather forecast was for lots more snow and high winds  --  the "bad" blizzard conditions were supposed to hit our area around 11 a.m.  The last thing I said was "as much as I would love to see you this weekend, I really don't want you out on the roads today."

looking out the garage

The kids and I got busy doing our daily chores -- cleaning rooms - laundry, etc.  In the process I came across 2 tubs of "old"  (from 2005-2007) family pictures of our kids… These were meant to be put into scrapbooks  -- all pictures from before Liv was born when I was still scrapbooking the "old fashioned way" (glueing pictures into albums).  Once Liv was born I found myself just a bit busier than before  -- if I remember right, this was the point when I also started working "for pay" at our church in the Kids Ministry area.  Well, anyway -- there was a tub FULL of pictures that had not made it into the "old style" albums… and were all taken with our "old" regular camera (not digital -- so no copies on the computers)… and I had no idea if I had negatives for them or not…  So I didn't want to loose them if these were the only copies I had.  With the prediction of a blizzard upon us - I thought -- what a great project to tackle??  So I began sorting through my supplies.   I had more than enough of everything to finish the album and was motivated to get 2+ tubs of supplies used UP and open the storage space for other stuff!!!  (to finish this part of the story -- I did complete the album over the course of the next 24 hours -- I will still have to go back and write in "captions" for various photos -- but the hard works is done!!  I can now declare that the Dirk and Nancy Morrison Family photos are completely finished in scrapbooks!!! YEAH!!)

Saturday morning... 31 inches?  YEP!! 

So -- back to the snow storm -- Around noon on Friday Dirk called again -- He and another guy named Jude had left the job site in Montana and were heading for Rapid City.  At noon they were 2 1/2 hours into the 5 hour drive home… no storm up north … so they had made really good time so far.  He said the roads were just wet.  He said he would keep calling to let us know where he was.  

the "mound" is the blue truck

The now kept coming and the 45-70 miles hour winds kept blowing.  The kids got great joy from going to the door and opening it to see how high the snow was … and the crazy shapes of the drifts on the south side of our house (out the front door).  We could not see anything out of any window in the house -- they were packed with snow about 1/2 inch thick from top to bottom because of the crazy winds.  So even though there was a lot of light coming through -- we couldn't "see" the blizzard blowing outside at all.  

Dirk called around 3 p.m. and they were finally near Spearfish/Deadwood area.  The interstate was closed at that point -- so if he was going to try to make it home he would have to drive the long way around.  The power had been flickering on and off  so I told Dirk to call my cell phone instead … our house phones are all 'cordless"  -- not like the ones we always had on the farm -- most of the time they would work even without electric power to the house.  At least we had the cell phones to cover us.  Lots of our friends in the area had lost power already -- and about 4:00 ours went out too.  Thankfully we have a "gas" stove and water heater -- so I was able to continue making supper with very little interruptions.  Thor and Anika gathered candles… and we had a cozy supper by candlelight.  

trees down across the street

Sometime after supper Dirk called again -- he was near Sturgis (only 15 miles away) and was going to head to Rapid City (past our house -- but on the only road open at that point).  The kids and I were playing Yatzee and had our stash of board games up at the kitchen table.  Liv wasn't crazy about not having lights -- it was almost completely dark by this time -- so we put a few candles in the bathrooms and bedrooms so she could move around the house without it feeling too gloomy.  

We were very fortunate -- sometime in the next hour our power came on -- and stayed on for the most part.  There were stretches of time where the electricity would flicker on and off 10 times in a couple of minutes -- so we kept the candles on through that stretch of time also.  But the heat was running -- and the house was kept perfectly warm.  Reports I heard later were that 40,000 homes in the Black HIlls area (Spearfish to Wall) were without power for at least 24 hours.  (I'm writing this Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. and there are still some neighbors without power).   

snow creeping off the roof

Sometime around 6 p.m. Dirk called and was near Black Hawk -- about 4-5 miles from our house.  He was in a line-up of cars as far as he could see ahead of himself and behind (couldn't see too far at that point) -- and was a little bit frustrated.  With his pickup he was able to make it through the 10-12 inches of snow on the road -- but not with all the cars blocking the road.  There were cars in the ditch, and all over the road.  He couldn't go any further until/unless some of the other vehicles got moving too.  He heard from a few other drivers that the lineup of cars was LONG -- and that there was a semi with a cattle trailer jack-knifed along the road -- that no one could get through.  Dirk wanted me to check the weather forecast  at that point they were saying the "blizzard conditions were supposed to last through 2:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.   

snow pack just from the wind

We talked again a few more times that evening -- but it was pretty obvious he was going to be there for the night.  Walking was not an option -- the area he was stuck was not "neighborhoods"  but open fields on both side… and the wind and blowing snow … plus the darkness…. So he stayed in the truck and tried to get "comfy" for the night.  

I woke up about 5 a.m. Saturday morning -- and the snow and wind were just has hard as they had been the night before.  Around 7 a.m.  Dirk and I chatted by phone -- obviously the blizzard was not over yet -- He  wanted me to check the weather forecast  again.  2 of the 4 local TV stations were not even on -- just a black screen.  The other 2 stations were not sending out local news -- just national.  We tried to listen to the radio -- but didn't get much signal… so Facebook was again my best "connection" to the outside world.  My cell phone couldn't get signal at this point at all -- so we had to switch back to the house phone.   Dirk was hoping to see/hear snow plows coming through at any minute so he could drive home ASAP.  He said the night in the truck had been "not too bad."  He turned the truck on occasionally to warm it up -- and had a few snacks, water, and a little Pepsi…. mostly just "alone with his thoughts" for the night.  

clearning the back deck

Around 10 a.m. the Emergency Broadcast System alerted through the TV -- and Thor had me come to listen.  They announced the blizzard was still in effect (pretty obvious from our perspective) -- and that NO snow removal would begin until the blizzard conditions had passed -- predicted for 2:00 p.m. at this point.  So we called Dirk to let him know there wouldn't be any snowplowing done for quite a few hours.  He had already started to contemplate walking… but the snow/wind were just still pretty nasty.  He said about 10:00 pm the night before a "snowcat" machine (like a van  -- but instead of wheels -- it had snow tracks like a snowmobile) had driven by, picking up various passengers from the cars along the road where he was… but at that point he didn't really want to go.   Now, on Saturday, he was ready to consider leaving the truck -- but not sure how far he could make it.  My niece Holli's house was  2-3 miles -- and our house was 4-5 miles.  I suggested trying to make it to Holli's so he could get someplace warm, etc.    He said he would let us know when he got somewhere.  

anika standing next to the 6 ft fence 

Thor, Anika and Liv decided to walk about the house and play in the snow.  We had 6-8 foot drifts all around the house… and 3-4 foot drifts the full length of the driveway.  Thor dug us out so we could at least open the front door and back deck door -- and cleared some of our windows so we could see out. :)  The temps were pretty nice really -- 35 degrees with pretty good sunshine… so the kids were having a ton of fun sliding down the big drifts.  Anika's friend Hannah from across the street came over to play too.  Good thing we moved the bunnies -- there was an 8-10 ft drift where their hutch had been yesterday.  

can't even see the fence in the back... 6ft tall!

About 1:00 p.m. he called to say he was in the shop of a neighbor about a mile up the road from where he had been.  They saw him walking by and offered their shop building as shelter for him to at least warm up.   They brought him some water and offered food and drinks… As they talked, he found out it was the brother of a guy he worked with at Butler.  They guy said some local snowmobilers were out helping the Sheriff's deputy's  -- making emergency errands for locals -- and evacuating all the cars stuck on the road where Dirk had been.  We were all pretty relieved to hear he was inside and warm  -- hoping he could get to our house eventually!!

2:00 p.m. Dirk walked in the door!  :) YEAH!!  

happy to be home :)

2:05 p.m. Dirk got us all outside shoveling the driveway.  Yep - he hardly took a moment to rest -- and started to "crack the whip!"  Sounds like an ornery Norske to me!!  :)  Around 2:00 the skies cleared and  the sun came out -- the temps were rising nicely -- about 45 degrees now.  The snow was WAY too wet and heavy -- wasn't going to get moved by the snow plow OR a blower (if we'd had one)… so we started carving out a path big enough for the Suburban.  We had two shovels -- so Dirk, Thor and I all took turns.  We were all ready for "break time" when our turn came.   We shoveled on and off for the rest of the day -- taking some snack breaks… All 4 of the kids came out to play a little too.  And we walked over to check on my parents.  They had made it through the storm just fine -- just a little problem with their cordless phone -- it probably got "fried" with all the power on/off switches over the past day. 

cracking the whip!

We were all very happy to have Dirk home - safe and sound -- and spent the evening cuddling in the TV room -- watching "Top Gear" and "Duck Dynasty" reruns.  :)  We caught the news just before going to bed -- everything in our area was still closed and cancellations were rolling for Sunday morning -- church, etc.  Snowfall totals were 31 inches for Rapid City (43 inches for Lead & Deadwood).   This was definitely the most snow Dirk and I had every experienced in one storm in our lives -- not to mention since living here in RC.  We got about 6 inches early Friday morning -- but the bulk of the 31 inches dropped from noon on Friday until noon on Saturday -- 25 inches in 12 hours.  Plus being such and early fall snow -- most of the deciduous trees were still green and in full-leaf…. so the tree destruction was like looking at a war zone.  We don't have many mature trees in our neighborhood -- and even here I did not see a single tree without some limb loss -- I would guess a majority of the trees actually had much more damage -- even to the point of total loss.   They showed pictures of trees that had been pulled up by the roots -- landing on cars -- across roads -- and even worse, into people's houses.  

The snow removal was going to be seriously impaired by the number of trees down everywhere.  Not to mention -- loss of electricity and snapped wires all over the place.  The Rural Electric coop said they alone had 1800 poles down…. Even early on Sunday, the Raid City community was begging people to stay off the roads -- stating that there would not be snow removal for quite some time -- that they would focus on sending the plowing crews to where the power lines are down -- and other emergency situations.  We walked over to my parents and spent the morning shoveling their driveway then had lunch at their house.  It was fun to get out and see different scenery even if it was just across the street. :) 

We did get our neighborhood plowed out around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday night.  Dirk drove over and was able to get the work truck home at our house -- it was still sitting in the spot where he left it.  :)  Dirk wondered if he would be able to leave for work Monday morning or not -- the interstate was not open yet… 

Sunday - clearing snow while suntanning

the melting snow is a mess!

Monday morning -- people started moving around a bit (driving) in our neighborhoods -- we don't have many trees out here -- so other than a 'path" between 5-6 foot walls of snow -- our area was sort of "back to normal."  The temps were warming up -- 60-70 degrees… The police and sheriffs office were begging people to stay out of Rapid City so the trees and now could be cleared.  The city was officially "closed."   Dirk spent the morning at Butler -- the work truck needed some repairs  -- so he has a different truck for the next week or so.  He talked with the customer up in Montana and arranged to get there Tuesday.  We spent the rest of Monday cleaning up inside and out.  

looking over to Mom and Dad's place...

Apparently they were not able to clear as much as they hoped yesterday -- all public schools and public building are still closed today.  Thor and Anika's schools are open, but the principals gave ample room for parents to keep kids at home if our neighborhoods were not cleared yet.  When I drove Thor to school it did look like a tornado had ripped up trees everywhere!! 

So that was our adventure!!  smiles Nancy and gang