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Let it snow

"Winter Weather Advisory".
"Winter Storm Warning".
It's winter. It's Michigan. Snow is going to fly. Wind is going to blow. Temps are going to dive.

 Yet, the weather-forecasters want to keep us hyper-vigilant to the fact that the snow is flying, the wind is blowing and the temps are diving. 

 We along the shores of the Great Lakes are especially aware of winter's weather, "lake effect snow" just means winter weather on steroids. We have the Ziggy cloud (for those of you unfamiliar with this reference, the cartoon character Ziggy was often depicted with him being followed by a dark cloud - I tried a Google search but came up empty, so my explanation I hope draws picture enough!) from December to March. My mom will sometimes call from sunny Phoenix referring to the cloud over Saugatuck. One winter we had 20 snow days in a row following Christmas break (that might be a slight exaggeration, but it felt like 20!).

 It's winter. It's Michigan. Snow is going to fly. Wind is going to blow. Temps are going to dive.

 Driving is challenging. I think some of the best drivers in the world are from Michigan because we have learned to drive on icy roads, or through white-outs, or along snow-covered or drifted-over roads. We could be cruising along at posted speeds and suddenly encounter any or all of the above and immediately a switch is turned and we are in survival mode slowing our speed (not slamming on the brakes), possibly turning on our emergency flashers (so others behind us can see us better) and checking the lanes. Admittedly, I'd rather not have or have to use this skill set, but it's in my tool box!

And it's only 88 days until spring! And the happiest people in the world are Michiganders of the first sunny days of spring - once the temp rises above 50 we take off our snow pants and put on shorts!


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