After the Storm

The snow on the ground is melting as the sun shines on this cold mid-December day. Tuesday was nice compared to the cold, snowy weekend we just had. Pittsburgh received seven inches of snow from Saturday’s storm. After the snow ended, we dealt with two days of bitter cold temperatures. It wasn’t even worth going outside for. Monday night’s Steelers vs. Dolphins game was played in frigid conditions. It was up there with other games that were played in harsh conditions. Christmas Eve 2022 was the most recent time, with a kickoff temperature of 11 degrees. That was the night the Steelers hosted the Raiders and honored Franco Harris. 

I’ll return to talking about the weather after these messages

Christmas Viewing

Over the last week, I’ve watched my share of Christmas movies and holiday specials. It’s always fun to discover the rare specials not seen on TV anymore. The Night Before Christmas came out in 1974 and used to air on CBS. Most times it was on after Frosty the Snowman. Now you have to go to another channel to watch it and not everyone has cable or wants to pay extra for streaming.

Thursday night, we watched the Polar Express and Monday night, I watched Elf. It’s likely that I’m not going to see every movie that I want to see. But, I can’t get through Christmas without seeing at the very least, Christmas Vacation or Home Alone. I need my fix of Kevin booby trapping the house and Cousin Eddie’s antics. We’ll watch those films in the days leading up to Christmas. 

What are your favorite all-time Christmas movies or specials?

Will it be a Wet Christmas?

Finally, as the snow from this storm melts, I ask myself “Am I really dreaming of a White Christmas?” We aren’t going to be trending as cold next week and instead of snow, we may see rain. The last few December 25’s have brought their share of crazy weather. Here is a look at Christmases past, weatherwise.

• 2020 was cold and one of the snowiest Christmases with over five inches. It was also a difficult one because of the events from the past year.
• 2021- A flip of the script with mild temperatures and soaking rain. We were still dealing with COVID (the Omicron variant was infecting a lot of people). I was at a new place of employment, and I set myself up for disappointment as I couldn’t spend Christmas with friends. Likely this was due to COVID. 
• 2022-We went back to bitter cold, the worst since 1983. But I was feeling better about things, even though we were now in the Children’s Hospital Era. I got my laptop that Christmas. It was a gift from my cousin and her little family. 
• 2023 went back to being mild, but it was a sad one as we just lost a loving member of our family. I did get to spend that Christmas Day with friends though. But for the first time that holiday, I had to work. 
• 2024 was just a close to average Dec. 25 in the weather department. I’m not a fan of midweek Christmases though, just my opinion.

Do you like a White Christmas?