Jan

28

Winter in Oklahoma




We are iced in here. Not snowed in.  Because snowed in would be more fun than iced in. After the huge ice storm we had last year, people panic when they hear another storm is coming. This one won’t last as long, thankfully.

I try to avoid driving in any kind of bad weather. I’m a slow, cautious driver, extra careful, but I cannot control the other drivers so I just stay home. But Monday, I had things to get done. Things were planned that couldn’t be rescheduled. So I had to be out.

I had to take my son about 20 minutes south to meet my husband at his office.  Tanner and Mike had a concert to go to.  The tickets were a Christmas gift and it was probably a once in a lifetime experience for my son, so I knew that I wouldn’t be able to convince them to skip it because of the incoming storm. So off we went.

This is normally a 30-40 minute drive round trip. When we started out Monday afternoon it didn’t seem too bad. Of course there was road construction and cars were moving at a snails pace, but that’s fine with me.  The trip to my husbands office took about an hour.  By then, sleet was coming down much heavier, and I just wanted to get home.  Still slow going, but this time it was noticeably icy and slick. I noticed cars on an exit ramp sliding back down the ramp.  I saw cars overturned in ditches. That ride was spent white knuckled, with Nolan in the back seat nervously watching out the window for any car to start sliding.

Finally we made it to our exit, which is a 2 lane road about 6 miles from our house. That stretch of road took an hour.  I inched along, and everytime I had to tap the gas or the brakes I felt myself slide. I was barely moving, just like the line of cars in front of or behind me.  We saw 2 schoolbuses in the ditch, empty thankfully. Several cars slid off into the ditch, luckily moving slowly enough that there was no crash, just a slow slide off the road. I saw several guys in big trucks stop to help those who had trouble, which is the great thing about being in that situation with so many other people.  There will be help.

At one point we ended up behind a tiny pickup that was  having a horrible time sliding off towards the ditch everytime he moved. Then he would gun it to try to get unstuck. He did this several times, but then he seemed to be stuck and not able to move at all. Instead of just stopping, he continue to race his engine. My son and I were behind him, not too close but not too far either.  All of a sudden I saw flames under his truck! Not a spark, but flames.  All I could think of was  that I had to get away from his truck before it blew up. Thankfully he stopped the engine then. There were still flames underneath, but not as bad. A police car came by and stopped, and we were able to get past him. I can’t remember a time when I was so scared, and just wishing that Nolan was safe at home instead of stuck in that mess with  me.

We finally made it to our neighborhood and I was saying how well we did, to never once slide off the road or into anything. Of course since I had the nerve to say that, I wasn’t able to get into my driveway and slid into the curb instead. No damage though, and we were so relieved to be home we didn’t care.

Our 30 minute trip took 3 hours total. I was really worried about my husband and Tanner coming home later that night, but by the time they came home there was no other traffic, which makes a huge difference.  They didn’t have any problems.

Tuesday schools and several businesses were closed, so we were all home. Schools are closed again Wednesday. It’s kind of hard for the kids to enjoy a snow day when there’s not actually any snow, just icy roads.  They will have to suffer through games and TV and baking and indoor fun, because we won’t be going anywhere.  We’ll be at home, waiting for the ice to melt. If I never have to drive in it again, I will be happy.

Those of you who are having winter storms, stay safe and warm.

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    Filed Under Crazy true stories, Family, Me | 3 Comments 

    3 Responses to “Winter in Oklahoma”

      1
        Karen R on January 28th, 2009 10:50 pm

        I’m glad I didn’t have to go out on Tuesday, which was icy, or Wednesday, when we had 5 inches of snow on top of that layer of ice. Luckily, we have electricity. Thousands in our are, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, in the dark and cold. How many weeks until Spring?

      2
        Karen R on January 28th, 2009 10:58 pm

        Oh, I’m glad you made it home safely! Did Tanner and Mike enjoy the concert?

      3
        Sheri on January 29th, 2009 2:19 am

        Karen, wow 5 inches of snow! I enjoy snow a little more than ice, at least the kids can play and go sledding in that. With ice, we’re just stuck inside.

        They loved the concert, and were very glad they went. I’m just happy that we all made it home. What a night!