The snow weighed down power lines and caused electrical outages all over the city, but I thought I'd get home.
The wind caused near-blizzard conditions and whiteout in some areas, but I thought if I drove really carefully, I'd get home.
Then one of our fire trucks got stuck in a snowdrift as the crew left someone's house. Uh-oh. I began to worry a little at that point. I mean, if a 44,000-pound vehicle with chains on its tires gets stuck in a snowdrift, what hope is there for me and my little Kia Soul?
When daylight came, I looked out of the bay doors and saw this:
That's ugly. (Well, okay, I admit the trees are actually pretty, but what's on the ground is not.)
Then my captain came tromping back into the station--the same captain on the truck that was stuck in a snowdrift and who had to wait for a snowplow to dig him out--and before I could say anything, he snapped, "You are NOT driving home!" Then his driver came in and told me that the secondary roads were all but impassable and that the interstate was closed 4 miles east of the station because of a wreck. Until I heard that, I'd been planning to head eastbound on the interstate to go home.
So I made a little bed on the floor of the Boardroom at the station and slept fitfully for a few hours. Never before in my 13-year career as a dispatcher have I not been able to go home from work.
When I woke up, I had texts from home:
My son said that the alley behind my house (where everybody parks) was completely drifted over at both ends and he was barely able to drive through it in his big 4WD truck. After he pulled up outside my house, he realized that he doesn't have a spare key to it, so he had no way to check on the furbabies. I hope they're okay. (I did give them extra kibble and water Monday night.)
Reed, who lives directly behind me on the next street over, said he's been without power all day long and KCP&L told him they have no idea when the electricity will be back on. He doesn't know how widespread the power outage is in town, and of course he doesn't know if there's power at my house.
My mom said she heard we got 16 inches of snow, but that she's not venturing outside to measure it. We'd already gotten almost a foot of snow last week, so now I'm worried about all that snow on the flat roof over the back of my house. You know, the same roof that was leaking last summer...
And then I got on Facebook and saw this:
The canopy over the parking spaces at Maid-Rite Drive-In fell over. Maid-Rite is a Lexington icon. It's been in business since the late 1940s. Remember Joey the Floor Guy, who gave me advice on refinishing my floors? His brother Eddie owns the Maid-Rite. I feel really bad for Eddie, because that looks like an expensive fix. I sure hope insurance helps out a lot.
We're still under a Winter Weather Advisory until 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, and the last time I looked outside it was snowing again. I am determined to drive home in the morning. Determined, I tell you. I am more than a little worried about the drive home and what I'll find when I get there. Update to follow as soon as I possibly can.