WHITEOUT

Today is the first official day of winter and what a way to welcome the season, what with Mother Nature bombarding us early this morning with a foot of snow and temperature running in the teens plus the dreaded wind gusts hovering between 0 to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit and will remain that way into Christmas Day.

Of course, a White Christmas is not that bad for the casual Michiganders; a positive thing to cheer about if you look at it one way, a welcome respite for people hit hard by the present economic turmoil.

Michigan is a winter wonderland right now but not too many people are happy about it. I don’t mind the snow and the cold really except for some inconvenience in driving around the area where the salt trucks are very slow to react to the changing weather conditions coupled with several drivers who still drive like maniacs even in blizzard conditions.

Anyway, a few of them ended up in the emergency rooms, while others found themselves flying into the ditches and a few went straight to the pearly gates. So much for their ill- conceived bravado in these unforgiving times, if you ask me.

Last night, I looked out of my window at 3:45 AM and smiled thinking that the weather forecasters have once again screwed up since they have proclaimed that a winter storm will hit the state between the times of 1 to 4 in the morning.

So, I went back to bed and woke up at 7, went out and was greeted by the vista of a whiteout landscape and the howling wind. So, what can I say, be careful of what you wish for, huh?!

Still, I took the car out of the garage and drove off to the other side of town, sleet, snow and ice notwithstanding...


Here are some clips that I took while on the road this morning…



This is along Allen Road in Allen Park on my way to the Southfield Freeway-








And this is on my way back from the Southfield Freeway, near Interstate 94-





At the Allen and Goddard Intersection a few blocks away from my flat-






Photo credit: The Detroit News