The Rotunda

Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: News

Look outside and what do you see? A blanket of white, that's what. Well, at least that is what I'm seeing out of my window as I write this column. Mother Nature's white blanket is such a peaceful scene. However wonderful this may seem, it leave me wondering about something...or more like someone. That someone is a man that we are all too familiar with. A man who is
emotional in his claims. A man who is looked up to as the all-knowing political asset. No, I'm not talking about Glenn Beck. I'm speaking, of course, of Al Gore, the climate guru of our time.

Seeing all this snow concerns me. It leaves me thinking, is Mr. Gore okay? I mean, he sees snow as a four-letter word since in his world, it is always warm and we are always polluting the skies, dirtying the water, and killing the seals. This white stuff must be a shock for the gentleman who speaks about global warming more often that Mr. Obama mutters the word change. Now, that is truly something to brag about.

Before we get into what I see as the absence of global warming, I want to touch on the recent snowfall our glorious Commonwealth has received.

If you may be so kind to recall, Virginia endured her first winter pounding in mid-December, a little more than a month ago. The Commonwealth received anywhere from a dusting to 23 inches from the pre-winter storm. Some areas, like Rockbridge County in the west-central part of the state, got punched with 31 inches of powder. I live not too far from Rockbridge; however we only picked up a mere 21 inches on the back porch. While the amount of snow with that
storm was impressive, the fact that the stuff stuck around for as long as it did baffled me.

The day I returned back to Longwood, there was still about 5 inches around. It was hard to believe that some three weeks later; there was still a good amount of snow sticking around. Why? Take the constant refreezing at night and below freezing temperatures during the day as
the main reason. However, I believe it was just laying around waiting for the next storm. That next storm, the one I'm watching right now, hit sooner than many thought it would.

I returned home this past weekend for another round of winter's fury. After picking up the 21 inches last year, I was hoping that the forecasted 3-6 inches would be all I would have to see.
Waking up at 9 a.m., I already noticed that forecast was a bit off. The snow, which started just after midnight, had accumulated to around 8 inches - with more flakes throwing themselves against their friends on the ground. While this storm may not be as impressive as the December blast, snow is still snow.

Continued...

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