Global warming aside, Thursday's pending storm brought back memories of winters past and how we deal with them.
Today's storms have much of the mystery taken out of them. We received a week's warning for this storm, and plenty of time to prepare. Weather forecasters have the latest in technology to determine almost to the hour when rain or snow will fall, and give or take, can tell us how much.
There is hardship, as we spend today and Saturday digging out, but such storms should not pose the same level of hardship as they once did in our parents' and grandparents' time. Our vehicles are better and withstand more, highway crews use better equipment and processes to pre-treat roads as well as quickly clear them, and we are armed with pre-warnings so there is no excuse for wandering out in a blizzard, not knowing.
On the other hand, there are arguments to be made about being too prepared. Schools seem to close early for no apparent reason, meetings canceled too quickly and employees sent home. In the "old days" we toughed such stuff out. It was the north woods way. A little snow or a little cold won't stop us from our routine. In some regards, we miss those days of battling the weather -- and winning.
But given the choice, such as the infamous Armistice Day blizzard of 1940 that came with no warning and claimed the lives of 49 Minnesotans, we'll take today's techno-society improvements and advance notice to stay home, warm and safe by the fire.
