When I was growing up in Ponca City in the 1950's and 1960's, it was unusual to have snow on the ground for more than a day or two a year. Most of the time a light flurry would fall and melt off as it hit or a few hours later. Some years we didn't have snow at all.
When I went away to school in Brockport, a few miles south of Lake Erie, I learned what real cold weather was. The weatherman said the year I arrived - 1969 - was the coldest winter in upstate New York in 31 years - after I heard that I didn't feel so cold then. The snow started falling in November and it stayed on the ground through April - we didn't see the sun for six months.
Living in Baltimore for twenty years my wife and I saw some hard winters there too. About four years ago, we had a blizzard that covered the ground with several feet of snow. I remember looking out our front window and not being able to see any cars parked on the street - they were completely covered in six foot drifts.
I have always liked heavy snow days - it means a chance to stay at home from work and sit by the fireplace drinking hot chocolate with the dogs lying at my feet.
Imagine my surprise to find that since I left 40 years ago, Ponca City has started to have snowy winters too. We had an ice storm come through town three days ago that shut down the city for a couple of days. It isn't much snow compared to what we are used to - but it's a lot compared to what Ponca City is used to.
The biggest difference between Ponca and colder climes is that while a city like Baltimore can invest millions of dollars in snow moving equipment and salt trucks for something they know is going to happen every year, it wouldn't make sense for Ponca City to purchase that kind of equipment for an occurence that may happen a day or two every few years. It was fun to watch road graders being used to clear the snow and frontal loaders lifting up piles of ice from Grand and filling dump trucks to haul it away.
Anyway it was lovely. It's nice to live in a place where you have real seasons.
Take a look at some of my my slideshow of photos of Ponca City after the blizzard of 2007.
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