Since our arrival here in Alaska, we've continually heard "this is not normal (fill in the blank) for this season". We moved here in an unusually rainy summer. Last winter was crazy cold and snow-filled with a record-breaking snowfall total of 11 feet. This summer has been much cooler than normal. Now, we're well into fall and already seeing early evidence of winter on its way with snow plowing over the mountains.Normal for December, the Anchorage area gets hit with Chinook winds that bring strong storms, lots of wind, warm temps, and lots of rain. Yeah, I know, it sounds weird, but trust me, we experienced it last December.
Remember how I said, we seem to continually hear "this is not normal..."? Well, again, we heard that this week and saw complete evidence of such. One of those storms that typically hits in December hit us in early September instead. Because we have yet to reach freezing temps, the ground isn't frozen yet. What does that have to do with anything? I'll share with you some things I learned the other day.
Because of the ground freezing and staying frozen for so much of the year here, the root structure of the trees doesn't go down very deep. Most of the time, not so big of a deal. But, add wet soil from another wet summer, unfrozen ground, and tree roots close to the surface to winds between 80-100mph, it equals the capability to knock down a lot of trees. The capability became a reality on Tuesday night. A large portion of Anchorage and surrounding areas lost power as hundreds of trees knocked down power lines.
So why am I "thankful and grateful"? About 10pm, the flickering lights finally gave way to darkness and we decided to head to bed. We heard a thump which really put the dogs on edge, but figured it was windy and there was bound to be some noise outside. It wasn't until the next morning when I got up to a house still without power that I discovered our neighbor's tree had fallen in our yard. This tree could not have chosen a better place to fall--totally smack in the middle of our yard. It missed our house, it missed our neighbor's house, and it missed the neighbor's RV in their driveway (which all would've been easy targets). Really, the odds were not in either of our favors.
The tree cleanup ended up being beneficial to some fellow friends from the squadron who have a wood burning fireplace. They came by with their chainsaw and truck and had that tree cleaned up and out of our yard within 20 minutes (with the neighbor's approval, of course). Win for us, win for neighbors, and win for our friends.
We regained power after just shy of 12 hours, which was the longest I think either my husband and I have experienced without power. Truly gave us an appreciation for electricity and empathy for those who go days without power because of massive storms.
Another perk to the storm was the unexpected family day we gained. Kiddo didn't have pre-school, which she had just started the day prior, AND my love didn't have to go to work since the base was without power as well. It totally felt like everyone was playing hookey, especially since there wasn't any snow on the ground. :) But it gave us some needed extra time to get SweetPea's mattresses found and purchased for her big girl furniture that is FINALLY being delivered tomorrow. I'll have to share that little story some other time.
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