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Gifts for all occasions in the Galleria! The "What is the Deal?" Deal-of-the-Week: Snow and Ski Getaways December 26, 2004 What is the Deal with Winter Weather? By Jan A. Larson  The big news this
past week, other than the legal wrangling over
Christmas displays, pageants and songs, was the weather. The
nation's meteorologists could barely contain their glee over the arctic
blast that dumped loads of snow throughout much of the mid-section of
the country. Victoria, Texas received over a foot of snow, the
first measurable snowfall in that community since one tenth of an inch
of snow fell in 1973.Where is global warming when you need it? Two things constantly amaze me whenever winter weather strikes somewhere in the country, particularly when it occurs in December or January. The first is that some people act like they've never seen a snowfall before. Unless one has lived in Hawaii for his or her entire life (or Victoria, Texas and is under the age of 30), snow - even a lot of snow - should not be that much of a surprise to anyone living north of Pensacola. Nevertheless, every time a large snowfall occurs, you can count on hundreds of people crashing their cars and ending up stranded as if the whole thing caught them by surprise. Second, weathercasters all over the country seemingly love snow. While weather reporters probably get tired of forecasting more or less the same weather day after day like they must do in some areas of the country during various times throughout the year, it seems that they take particular joy in reporting snow. Unlike covering weather phenomena such as hurricanes and tornadoes that pose a serious threat of loss of life, a forecast of snow seems to excite weather people in a different way. They love showing scenes of the white stuff cascading from the sky and hapless motorists struggling to dig their cars from under a mound of the frozen flakes or sliding them into other similarly hapless motorists. While taking a meteorology class in college, I could sense the excitement in the professor's voice when he was recounting tales from his days at the weather bureau after particularly heavy snowfalls and as he described the official snowfall-measuring device - the yardstick. I must admit that I too share a sense of excitement when heavy snows are imminent or already falling somewhere in the country. My wife and I each were reared in areas of the country that regularly received significant snowfall. Now, living in Texas (not Victoria), we rarely see snow other than on television. Do we miss it? Not a chance. We both had our fill of shoveling, scraping and slip sliding while driving in our younger days. I say give me sunshine and a clear view of the street when I drive. While not necessarily reveling in the plight of snow shovelers, I am always thankful it isn't me. I don't own an ice scraper or snow shovel. So sue me! As I look out my window right now, I see some of that sunshine and it looks good. Sure, it is a bit cold outside, but hey, it's winter after all! Bing Crosby dreamed of a white Christmas. So do I. Just not here. -- Send feedback to the author. The "What is the Deal?" column will appears weekly on the Pie of Knowledge website. Guest submissions are welcome and encouraged. To submit an article to "What is the Deal?" click here. To subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list and receive early notification when a new column is available, click here. The Pie of Knowledge will never, ever divulge email addresses to any third party for any reason unless so ordered by a court of law. Contributions to the Pie of Knowledge are greatly appreciated. 
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