Speculative fiction takes a lot of inspiration from what-ifs. What if aliens landed in the middle of the Super Bowl? What if a giant serpent really lived in the ocean? What if robots rose up against the human race?
Those what-ifs stretch the imagination, but there are every day things that spark ideas and generate new worlds. One of those things is the weather. That ever-changing, difficult to predict, mighty force. What makes it more ominous is that there is little we can do about it.
We've had no snow this winter where I live. It's been so warm, previous records have been broken on a weekly basis. What if this continues? Or accelerates? We now have rattlesnakes in the area and brown recluse spiders. People have died from bites. If the warming trend continues, we'll have even more poisonous critters moving up.
With the bouncing temperatures not being too cold or summer hot, it's the perfect environment for viruses. So many folks have been sick and hospitalized recently. What if a virus gains strength in these temperatures? What if it mutates?
I have friends in the southern hemisphere experiencing a brutally hot summer. Crops have dried up, and there's been several power outages. What if the temperature continues to rise? How hot will it have to be before people won't go outside anymore? How will we adapt then?
Some days I dream about winters like I had when I was a child. So much wonderful snow. I've never experienced a storm that kept us inside longer than a day, but the cold can be just as vicious as the heat. What if we were thrown into another ice age? What would our lives be like then?
What are some of your favorites stories that played off the what-ifs from the weather?
Have you ever wondered about the origins of Groundhog Day? How could a rodent make us believe it can predict the weather, inspire grand celebrations, and bring us one of the best Bill Murray movies of all time?
Going back centuries, we find part of its beginnings in European weather lore. Except they believed a hibernating bear was the creature to look to for a prediction. Now imagine what it would be like if America had adopted a bear instead of a groundhog as their meteorologist. Bear Day? Bill Murray certainly wouldn't be driving around in a truck with one.
Groundhog Day also bears similarities to the ancient Pagan celebration of Imbolc. It is a time for feasting and celebrating the lengthening of days. They looked to badgers and serpents for their weather predictions. Badger Day or Serpent Day? Nope, honey badger doesn't want anything to do with that.
While the U.S. adopted Groundhog Day in 1887, Alaska celebrates Marmot Day because they have very few groundhogs in the state. Yes, those ground squirrels are cute, but Marmot Day doesn't have quite the same ring as Groundhog Day.
In a time of satellites and radar, many people still look to animals to predict our weather. No matter how far we've come technologically, we're still a superstitious lot. Even when the groundhog is right less than half the time, especially in recent years.
Don't go making plans based on how the half-awake animals behave. Instead, spend today watching Groundhog Day over and over and over and over again. It will be a better use of your time.
Snow is coming! It's inevitable. For some of us, it's already been here, in droves. Whether you hate it or love it, there's always a powerful memory surrounding it.
What's your snow memory? Your feeling about the great powdery white?
River Fairchild ~
Snow days…rather in short supply where I grew up in sunny
San Diego, California. Still, snow in the nearby Cuyamaca Mountains fulfilled
my childhood wish for a white Christmas. My family would hop in the car and
make the drive up the mountainside to Julian, stopping at the tree farm and
picking out the perfect tree. I’m sure my parents were glad to get back to more
hospitable climes but I reveled in the chance to play in the snow – all one or
two inches of it. Drinking hot apple cider at the quaint little farm store was
a treat too.
I had no concept of the gritty realities of living in snow
full-time, the slushy muck and endless plowing in order to function as a
community. To me, it was a winter wonderland that one enjoyed for a couple of
hours, then left behind, leaving the fresh scent of pine and trading it for the
oak of the valley floor.
*****
Catherine Stine ~
Growing up in Philadelphia, we had plenty of snow. But there's one snowstorm I'll never forget. It was Christmas eve. My brother, John and I were the only ones left at home with my mom. We had a pretty tree up and presents under it.
John and I wanted to go out for a walk since the snow was coming down heavily and we knew we'd be stuck inside after it was done. We told our mom we'd be back in half and hour. After walking to the bottom of our hill, we came upon a guy whose car was snowbound. He asked us if we'd help bring the presents from his car to his family. We said sure, not realizing it involved a hefty hike.
Long story short, we got back to our house two hours later. My mom was really freaked out! Until we relayed our saga. She was proud of us, and we felt great. It struck me that was the true nature of the holiday. To reach a hand out to someone in need. Since then, I've done Toys for Tots and given food to the neighborhood shelter around this time. Always reminds me of that beautiful night.
*****
Christine Rains ~
I loved the winter. I could play out in the snow for hours. My friends now joke it's because I'm Canadian or that I have a bit of Frost Giant in my blood. I grew up in a tiny town just south of Toronto, Ontario. There was a lot of snow when I was a child. Huge drifts, taller than the cars. I haven't seen it snow like that again in decades.
One of my favorite snow memories is the Christmas of 2007. It was my husband's first holiday in Canada. It snowed two and a half feet over night. Was anyone worried? Only my husband. All the neighbors that shared the parking came out with their shovels and dug it out. (The lot contained 20 cars.) Across the street, people dug out their lot. Everyone making their way to the street, clearing a section to get out before even the snowplow came. No one grumped or threw down their shovel and quit. Everyone was in a good mood. My husband was shocked by the happy comradery and unplanned teamwork. That was what it was like to live in the neighborhood I grew up in.
These days, the cold gets to me quicker than it once did, but my son is a great fan of snow. I think he has a bit of Frost Giant in his blood too.
*****
M. Pax ~
Recently my hometown made the news for one of its most infamous bits of weather, the blizzard. Ooo, scary! Sometimes it is. West Seneca, NY, is in the snowbelt, which is located just south of Buffalo and is usually hit by lake effect snow. Whereas the south towns could get feet of snow, north Buffalo might only get inches or a dusting. Four feet in a weekend is not uncommon in the snowbelt.
In January 1977, no area of the city was immune. Both my parents were stuck at work. All us kids made it home from school. It was grocery shopping day, though, so there wasn't much food, not with four growing kids in the house. I was in junior high at the time.
My older brother and I tried to walk to the corner store. Well, we never made it past the corner of the house. The winds were impossible to walk against and the snow was up to our chests. We made due with Cornflakes.
The power went out and the wind and snow were raging. Even by Buffalo standards, it was a rough one. We were resourceful and put the food in the garage to keep cold. Only the garage was too cold and stuff froze.
The next day, we discovered a drift over the top of our two story house, the side on which all the doors were. My older brother climbed out a back window and I tossed him a shovel. He made his way to the sliding glass door so we could let the dog out.
Anyway it was quite an adventure and there are things I don't remember. But I do remember the vast amounts of snow all over the city and that every time a flake dropped after that school was canceled. For Buffalo kids, that was quite a treat. We rarely had snow days. If the snowplows made it out, then we had school. And those cursed snowplows almost always had all the streets cleared by 6:30 a.m., side streets included.
*****
Angela Brown ~
A white Christmas happened more often during my childhood than it did in the last couple of decades. Wow, typing that just made me think about my age.
Hmmm...
LOL! Anywho, one of my favorite things to do when we had a snow day was stumble outside with my sister and brother, all of us bundled in winter coats and mittens. After spending some time with my siblings outside, making lopsided snowmen, I'd sneak back into the house a little early. You see, I shared a room with my younger sister and didn't get a chance to spend my nights reading as often as I would have liked. So after I'd go back inside, Mom would help me make some hot cocoa. Even though I wasn't supposed to, I'd take my cocoa in my room, curl up on the bed and read one of the books I checked out from the library. While my sister, brother and their friends would laugh and play, throwing snowballs at each other, I'd escape to Tolkein's Middle Earth.
Good times.
Very nerd-a-licious
But such good times.
*****
Gwen Gardner ~
Like River Fairchild, I grew up in California, partly in the Los
Angeles area, the other part in San Diego. I remember as a small child getting
the news that we were going to the snow.REAL
SNOW!Not just the
kind on television. I can't tell you how excited I was. Driving to the local
mountains in L.A., my first sight of snow was thrilling. The snowballs and
snowmen...then there was the sledding. My first experience of snow was also my
first experience of getting the wind knocked out of me as I flow off the sled
and landed on my back, unable to get my breath. A very scary experience for a
four year old.
It didn't stop my love of snow, though. It's gorgeous when mixed with pines,
and bundling up to take a walk is glorious. The photo above was taken from
my writing loft in Colorado. A little piece of heaven!
*****
Ellie Garratt ~
Living in the south of England, snow is something we rarely see. I can count on one hand how many times I've seen snow that has not melted within a few hours.
So when I woke up on December 17th 2009 to the UK's version of a snow blizzard, the child in me was happy. It was a lot of fun to start with. Snowballs were made and thrown. Children took to the streets to make snowmen. My partner and I took the car to one of the highest points in our town and ran around in the snowdrift like children.
Of course, the novelty soon wore off when the snow didn't disappear after a few days. Getting anywhere by car was extremely difficult. Public transport ground to a halt. We Brits are not prepared for snow! I remember walking a mile in snow that was compacted to ice to deliver presents on Christmas day. I don't know how we got there without breaking any bones. But despite all of the inconvenience - the only way you could reach my house was by letting the car slide down the road - I remember that winter vividly. Happy memories.
