When it snows, for a moment, everything is right.
Yes, you still have bills to pay, grades to post, lessons to plan, but at that moment, you just forget about all your worries.
It started at around 7:30 AM on January 22nd, 2015. Wet snow began falling which turned heavy and began accumulating rapidly. A few hours later, heavy snow changed to flurries and most of the snow on the ground melted. During the daytime, the temperature was steady between 33 and 34 degrees. As the sun was setting, temperatures slowly dropped, snow slowly turned heavy again and began accumulating again. If my finger calculation was right, we might've had 3 inches on the ground in the morning of the 23rd (without counting all the snow that melted before the sun set the night before).
Coming from Monterrey, I never witnessed such a heavy snowfall event before, even though I have seen more snow in the mountains of Mexico and New Mexico.
This is not the first winter storm that we've had since I moved a year and a half ago. Thanks to that, I've drawn some preliminary conclusions (yes, even though I teach math, I am still a scientist) based on my observations:
1. Snow or ice is unlikely to accumulate during the daytime when the temperature is in the upper 20s (-2˚C) or higher. This explains why snow rarely accumulates in Monterrey (on those once or twice a decade events). This might be becuase the sun's energy warms the ground above freezing unless the temperature is below the lower 20s (-6˚C) when it is cloudy. I still need to see if the melting of the ice and snow would be the same when it is sunny.
2. Cars passing by help melt the snow or the ice on the roads (at least at certain temperatures not too far from freezing).
3. When snow falls and the temperature is way below freezing, snow is actually as dry as powder. It won't stick or stain your windshield.
Many people have known what I discovered for centuries, but they did not help me figure it out. It feels nice to do this by yourself, and then confirm it with those who have documented it before you.
