The Dreadful Arctic Comes South

Update and Bump:
That was it? Lame. It occurs to me that this is the type of statement that will get one karmically kicked in the teeth, so I retract it. Good show, Mother Nature.

Original Post:
The AP reports: "Fierce Arctic Storm Lashes California". (The headline may change; it already has twice, and its current incarnation seems to go against current weather-reporting policy.) I don't know if the storm is really going to be that bad, but people are treating it that way.

The breathless reporting is probably adding to that:

Homeowners rushed to stack sandbags around houses lying below fire- ravaged hillsides in Southern California, while Northern California residents—like those along the Gulf Coast before a hurricane—scurried to stock up on last-minute provisions. Forecasters warned the high wind and other extreme weather would last through the weekend.

In the eastern Sierra ski town of Mammoth Lakes, resident Barbara Sholle went to the supermarket after receiving a call from the town's reverse-911 system. She waited an hour to pay for her groceries amid a crush of residents.

"People were waiting in line for shopping carts," she said.

The storm system began dumping rain and snow Thursday in parts of Northern California. Power outages, damaged electrical lines and downed trees were reported by nightfall.

Around here, the news programs have been bleating about it since yesterday and I've received three emails (one from work, two from school) to be wary of mudslides and check road conditions before I go anywhere.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 12:54 PM

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