Weird weather

We are getting a LOT OF RAIN here in the Deep South. After seeing the projected snowfall amounts in DC, VA, and surrounding areas, I am grateful we only have the rain to deal with. My stepson says the DC area is preparing for 20 inches of snow and treating the event as if it was a category 5 hurricane. According to the weather pundits, the El Niño effect is causing all this rain and snow. Most of the southern states (LA, MS, AR, AL, GA, FL, SC, TN, NC, etc.) are ill equipped to deal with a lot of snow. Northern states have fleets of snowplows loaded with salt to handle volumes of the white stuff on all their major highways. The south has dump trucks loaded with sand to keep the bridges passable. So when the south gets more than a dusting of snow, we panic. We have dealt with category 1-5 hurricanes. Preparation for a hurricane is much different than preparing for 20 inches of snow. We get more hurricanes. So we put our emergency money where it will do the most good. Luckily, El Niño has kept our hurricane season quiet and for that we are grateful. I’m looking at the bright side of this wet weather. All the snow and rain will eventually end. Spring will bring warmer weather and all the trees and flowers, which are now benefiting from an abundance of moisture, will explode with color. DC’s cherry trees, GA’s peach trees, MS’s magnolias, all the dogwoods, azaleas, Bradford Pear trees, and other native and non-native plants will soon make us forget that we nearly froze our butts off, or felt like we were drowning just a few short weeks before. The weather pundits will file this season as the wettest, coldest, weirdest. I’m glad winter is short in the South and the rest of the year is pleasant. This is a really good reason for me to retire in the South. Only 2 years and 8 months to go...