Update on our Blizzard

It has been a tough one out there for most of Western Kansas and parts of Eastern Colorado, Northern Oklahoma, etc. For a couple of days, we were warned that a major storm was headed our way. Some people heeded this warning. Others chose not to. As for our family, Stan had to get to work. For the girls and I, we stayed at home where it was nice and dry. Not everyone was able to do that. People had to get to appointments across the state, etc.

Seaboard elected to cancel their night shift last night. It is a good thing that they did. Late yesterday afternoon, a truck ended up slamming into a 6 foot tall drift. Rescue efforts were established. Unfortunately, the weather was just too bad. The rescuer and the rescuee had no other choice but to sleep in their vehicles for the rest of the night. At this time, it is unknown as to when these men will be able to come back to town. (They are located in Kearney County which is straight south of us.)

I've heard reports of people being stranded in ditches all around us. One man called last night and told us that it took him an hour and 40 minutes to travel from Leoti to Scott City which is just a 24 mile trip. There are very possibly more people than anyone knows about who are still stuck somewhere out there.

Stan was able to get home safely last night. It took several minutes but he didn't have any sticking problems. This morning, he loaded up and headed for Seaboard Mill. He didn't even make it 1/4 of the way down our block before he was firmly stuck in a drift. A man from the mill came and picked him up and took him to work. So far, many drivers, etc are just waiting at the mill until roads are much clearer.

I received a weather alert a few minutes ago stating that we should have another 3-6 inches of snow this morning along with winds. Our blizzard warning has been dropped to a winter storm warning which is in effect to noon CST.

This is the deal, no one who does not have to be out there, needs to stay put. If you are at home, STAY THERE. If you are at work, STAY THERE. This has been classified as a very dangerous and deadly storm. You don't need to be one of the casualties. Since the storm began yesterday afternoon, I have heard no sounds of tractors, etc. I assume that we will be hearing tractors anytime now. Leoti has a good number of farmers who donate their own machinery and fuel to break through drifts so that our ability to get from one place to the next can be a reality. I just want to say "THANK YOU" to all of them. Of course, we also have a great City crew who will also be hard at work.

It was quite possible that people in the blizzard-struck areas would lose all electricity. In our case, I didn't take any chances. Though we did not have much laundry, I did it yesterday just to be on the safe side. If the power was lost, it could have been days before it could have been restored. Leoti never lost any power as far as I know. We also have a couple of bird feeders here. Yesterday morning, we filled them to the top and hung them back up outside. The wind was just too strong later in the day for the birds to sit on them. We took a margarine bowl and filled it up with bird seed and put it out on the back deck. A bunch of birds took advantage of our hospitality.

On a bright note, people are thinking that this blizzard just might be what we have been looking for to break the drought in so many places. South of Wichita County was still listed in the drought.

Be careful out there.

VLE-B