Weather Breeder

Saturday’s balmy temperatures and clear, bright sky had a lot of folks thinking the weather forecast was crazy. Snow? NO WAY…It can’t SNOW! But, I was wondering if the weather would prove my Granny to be right. Despite the fact that she’s been gone for a very long time, I find myself remembering little tidbits from her vast repertoire from time to time.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother was a fount of wisdom. She knew all sorts of things, poetry, scripture, tall tales and family lore. She remembered all the things her parents had taught her about the natural world and a great number of rather odd and random facts. On a clear, warm winter day, she would insist it was a “weather breeder” and we had better look out for an upcoming storm. I don’t believe anyone else used the term, so she wasn’t given a whole lot of credence.

She was staying with us once and intoned this dire prediction. No one paid much attention to her as it was a warm and beautiful day that seemed as if Spring was around the corner. Imagine our surprise when school was cancelled the next day (and the next and the next…) due to a tremendous snowfall in the night. She didn’t say “I told you so”…as I recall, she didn’t say anything. She just sat with her coffee and played games with us and told stories as we were all stuck in the house.

For this weekend storm, the weather forecasters kept changing the forecast. 6 inches, 12 inches, 2 inches….rain, rain and snow, snow…lots of snow…maybe it would miss us entirely…Okay, that was wishful thinking on my part…

The snow was supposed to have started in the night, but then they changed the forecast. We awoke to a raw, grey day with the promise of snow later…and later…and later… It was about two when the flakes began falling heavily. More and more and more…suddenly, we couldn’t see the road, then the lane. We couldn’t see the end of the driveway. Chores were done in heavy snow.

The snow continues and now that it is dark, we can only wait until morning to see what happens overnight. My guess is that the original prediction of at least six inches is going to be right.

So, next time we have a gorgeous day in mid-winter…you better beware…it’s a WEATHER BREEDER…you mark my Granny’s words!