I thought about putting the kayak on the lawn for a photo. Nah!
Thus far “weathermageddon” has missed us. There’s a little snow cover, a few nights have gotten into the negative single digits, a few days have been windy with definite bite to them. But by and large, not too bad.
Its 20 deg now, still, and cloudy. There’s a halo of light around the moon, but some of its features are still visible. I live in a forested area and the silence of the woods tonight is deep. There’s an owl that speaks up now and then. I love nights like this.
Down by the river my usual landing looks like this:
There’s a poem from John Bate’s book “River Life” that comes to mind.
Ask Me
Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.
I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says that is what I say.
William Stafford from “The Way is Is: New and selected Poems” Greywolf Press.
PS: When I put up the preceding I hadn’t seen the news or weather report. Geez -this looks bad, and in areas not used to dealing with storms like this.
A thought: I don’t know if this is something that’s often considered in the SE, but if you have to drive in this mess, its not a bad idea to toss a sleeping bag in a dry sack in the car. If you get into a slide off situation and have to wait to get towed out or something, you’ll want something that can keep you warm without running the engine constantly (carbon monoxide can be a risk). There are a bunch of campers here and you probably have the stuff at hand but I doubt its standard winter practice in that part of the country to carry it in the car. Something to drink (Schnaps is the preference around here - just kidding) like a water bottle isn’t a bad idea either. Good luck to you all. Be safe. Don’t drive and hunker down at home if you can.
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Go for it… as I did last winter: 
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I read the poem and look at the river, comfortable in a chait. Outside, our snow turned to a strong, cold driving rain. Makes me feel for anyone who has to be out there and bear it, and for the animals, too.
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We made it without losing power! Didn’t need no steenkin’ generator.
Hardly any snow… Lots of heavy heavy SLEET.
I shoveled some of the heavy heavy sleet from the driveway… so the ambulance would have a place to park… if they had to come get me… if I have a heart attack… from shoveling the driveway.
It’s a joke! Heart is healthy… from exercise… like shoveling.
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So you didn’t have to shovel it anyway.
Had a new roof put on a few years ago. The guy asked if I wanted 30 or 50 yr shingles. I said 30, with any luck I won’t need a roof after that.
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8 inches so far… Dry snow so far but that b Mother Nature is going to make a mess of it later with rain coming. Then the temp plummets and everything freezes solid… Temp remaining below freezing until Feb.
We’ll have low 30s all day dropping into the teens after 6pm. Power is steady and hopefully will stay that way.
Lots of accidents being reported in SW Michigan. 28 degrees plus light rain means instant ice that’s catching people off guard.
We aren’t even trying to go out. There are accidents reported all over town. Sunny and 40 now. At sundown the roads will go from bad to unusable without studs or chains , neither of which are found here except on emergency vehicles.
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Southern Maine reporting in…
5-6" of snow, followed by hours of rain, leaving 3-4" of heavy slush…which is now frozen. Roads are clear. my driveway looks like an arctic landscape.
This within 300 yards of each other. Makes me wonder how many other boats broke loose on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
No snow, though.
Probably a bunch. Every good wind storm takes out another set of derelict or near derelict boats here. Unfortunately they seem to regrow quickly.
Low in the teens last night. Lower furnace stopped working. Have an electric blower heater and an oil filled. Spot heating.
Major roads are clear and dry. Neighborhood roads clearing with ice in many spots. 46° and sunny. Light freeze tonight.
Gone tomorrow. Why we live here among many other reasons.
skates a good idea. 10 inches snow followed by something very wet and then a hard freeze. Skate anywhere you want. The roads seem to be ok as the slush froze in bumps( but the roads are bumpy with those new features)… so most places are not a sheet of smooth ice. No going above freezing for a while. Hour north of Portland. There are some good pix of the storm at Portland Head Light… some of the spray went to the top of the light it looks.
Oh hail. They’re predicting another batch of snow and ice here in central NC (aka piedmont). Maybe I should buy a portable generator.
They’re even saying we’re going to get some here in the Sandhills.