Holiday cosmic travel experience

I saw it coming 48 hours in advance. The models predicted it. Mother Nature delivered it. I experienced it.

By late afternoon on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 1992, snow was forecast to begin in central Wisconsin. Delaying our departure time from the Twin Cities until school was dismissed at 2pm would put us in Eau Claire about 4pm.

We regrouped just south of Eau Claire shortly before dusk. Clouds were swelling with snow flakes. Within the next two hours we would find ourselves immersed in a cosmic experience.

At Black River Falls the first flakes burst forth. In less than ten miles the grass was snow covered and the icy spots were developing on the interstate. Travel abruptly slowed.

Darkness coincided with the onset of heavy snow. Holiday travelers on I-94 were forced to caravan in a single lane. Snow, falling at the rate of about two inches per hour, was three inches deep ten miles south of Tomah. Maintaining a steady controlled speed, it would take ninety minutes to reach the Dells. Large snowflakes, highlighted by the car headlights, hurled towards the windshield like asteroids. You had to be there!

We blindly passed the Dells. You couldn’t see the exit signs. By Portage the snow was six inches deep. If we could keep moving and avoid an incident snow would mix with rain around Madison. The highway temperature would be just above freezing. Knowing the meteorology, we trudged on. A cold rain was falling as we approached the Wisconsin/Illinois State line.

The trip to Chicago took three hours longer than usual. When it comes to holiday travel, you may control your departure time but nature can play a major role in your arrival time.

Cosmic meteorology

CE