Kill Devil Chills

For a very brief period today, there was a beautiful blanket of snow in Kill Devil Hills. It's a rare event in this area and a shoreline of snow is something you simply don't see every day. I walked on the beach to witness Mother Nature's magnificent oddity as my hair became dotted with pieces of ice and snow. I was unable to stay out long because the chill coming off the ocean was practically unbearable. I wish the frosty snow could have stayed around just a bit longer, but rain washed it into a soggy mess before completely making it disappear in less than an hour after the snow stopped falling.

As I sat in the warmth and comfort of the local bar to thaw out after taking the above picture, I looked up too see that Knoxville was featured on the Weather Channel. Apparently snow and ice have been teaming up to cause serious chaos for drivers in the town I left only two weeks ago. Schools have been out for days and many of my friends have (happily, I assume) missed work. I doubt Kill Devil Hills gets many snow closures and I am willing to bet that they don't have big salt trucks or a snow removal protocol. They do, however, get something Tennesseans have never witnessed. Outer Banks schools get closed for wind! When it gets extremely gusty, it's a danger for buses crossing the long bridges between islands. Never would of thought of this being a problem, having lived my life in a valley.

I am still excited to winter here in the Outer Banks, despite the stories I am hearing from locals about how bitter, frigid and windy the weather here can become. Most businesses close in January and February because the weather is so miserable and the few people who are here don't want to get out and about. With the winter decline in business, even my local bar and comfort spot is about to close for six weeks. So, what will I do? I guess brace for the cold, stock up on Kahlua for coffee drinks and get a lot of reading done. Thankfully, I am the proud owner of a Kill Devil Hills library card and some very cozy flannel pajamas because it looks like it might be a long, cold winter.