Last Tuesday, it was casually mentioned that there was snow forecasted for the week ahead. Now, had I been sitting in London, I would have rolled my eyes and spent the next five minutes casually complaining about how the city can’t take a single flurry without going into meltdown, whereas us Americans are ready for anything the crazy weather patterns can throw at us. Alas, I’m in South Carolina and I’ve never, in my lifetime, seen snow here before. It’s been heard of. People have told me tales of moments when flurries have fallen and children have looked at the sky with great confusion. But, I have never seen such a moment with my own eyes.
As the morning approached, when the big snow day was set to arrive, it seemed the entire South Carolina system had shut down. Never again will I have a word to say about London and stopping traffic at a the drop of a flurry. Shutdowns happened before a single flurry hit the ground. This was in anticipation of a storm like nothing South Carolina had ever seen or prepared for. And it was as if the authorities had a direct dial to the big guy in the sky. By noon we were overwhelmed with freezing rain and sleet, which more or less made it impossible to drive. All surrounding bridges were closed, so we were officially stuck on the island with nowhere to go… heaven! Then, around 1pm, the large chunks of snow started to fall. I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes. I sat in the window of my house and watched as a winter wonderland formed around us. On either side of me sat two golden retrievers that had never seen anything like it before. To them this must have been like giant flakes of snow cone falling from the sky that left a most unusual playground behind for them to play in.
Once a few inches had fallen, we bundled up warm and headed out to explore. The dogs chased around in the snow like wild beasts, slipping around here and there, but more or less making their way to and fro with great ease. They rolled, wrestled and nearly walked straight into the water due to a rather muddled snowy shoreline. After I was quite sure I was getting frostbite in my rear-end, from spending time on the ground with them, we came inside to regroup. Mom had made her famous chili, which was greatly appreciated after I could find feeling in my fingertips once again, and Dad had come in from defrosting our heating unit (again… we live in the south and our units are outdoors and not equipped for such weather). We were all pretty shocked by the day that had unfolded, but were equally excited that I was home to experience it with them.
To see a tropical island, covered in palm trees and decorated with spanish moss, instantly blanketed in white snow, is truly a special and unexpected gift to start the new year. Naturally, I went out with my camera and snapped away. In fact, the day’s total came to 509 pictures taken. I know you don’t want to scroll through all of those. After all, I’m not your grandmother making you sit down for a slideshow of my latest cruise around the world. So, I’ve put together a dramatic edit to show the highlights of a snowstorm in South Carolina. “A snowstorm in South Carolina.…” words I thought I’d never ever say.
