Snow Day!

It's a snow day for everyone here today! Coe is actually closed for only the 3rd time since we came back in 1989.

How much snow did we get?

Not the 18" predicted by some. More like 8" here. Not really THAT much snow (it fell over about a 24-hour period) but it has practically shut down our city!

I've always been amazed by the snowphobia here in Cedar Rapids. Schools will shut down when there's 2-3 inches of snowfall, or will dismiss early because it's snowing and a big snowstorm is predicted for the evening (this happened yesterday). Last year, the kids had to go an extra week into the summer to make up the snow days from that year!

When I tell people about this, they're amazed. "But you're in Iowa!" they'll say. Yeah, this isn't Cedar Rapids, Alabama, with no plows, no salt, and drivers that rarely see snow. We get snowfalls every year! We have very effective snow plows. But still, we get all hippy-canary (to quote my mother-in-law) when there's a decent snowfall.

I heard today that the Chicago Public Schools haven't cancelled school in 12 years--until today, when 18" of snow caused them to cancel. Now THAT's a snowmageddon!