Moving From Florida to the Pacific Northwest
My whole life I had warm, white sand beneath my feet on the gorgeous beaches of Florida, and in the span of a five-day road trip, I found myself moving to a little western town in the Pacific Northwest. I enjoyed the thrill of moving across the country, but I became increasingly apprehensive about dealing with the snow for the first time. I’ve been trying to explain my excitement to my new friends, and I’m mostly met with grumbles and a general distaste for winter.
Preparing for Winter
I went through an ordeal to snowproof my Florida car (what the heck is antifreeze?) and spent the months of fall enjoying the colorful trees and biding my time for the first snowfall. There are a lot of “firsts” I’m experiencing this year, including driving down hills and over mountains, which get a whole lot worse when it’s snowing and icy. I’m hoping the cars behind me will give me a pass due to my Florida license plate.
Learning the Different Types of Snow
It’s currently mid-January, and I’m in the thick of winter. Snow is falling every day now, and I’m learning there are different kinds of snowfall. As a Floridian, I had only seen snow in Christmas movies and never given it much thought. So even though every northerner is probably rolling their eyes, I’ve got to share my experience of my first winter for my fellow Floridians.
The first snow this year was on December 1st, and I could’ve sworn it was raining outside. I caught a few raindrops in my hand, and they seemed like they were transitioning from rain to snow. Each droplet had a little white center, but the second it hit the ground, it would be water. This kind of snow drifted down lighter than a real raindrop, but it did not accumulate even though it lasted about a week.
As soon as the temperature dropped, this snow became icy mush on the ground, and one wrong step would cover you in thick, cold mud. The snow that occurred next also did not gather on the ground; instead, it was carried in the sky with the wind. It almost came down in whisked sheets. This snow was the hardest to drive in because it made one’s visibility poor (buy the purple windshield wiper fluid, trust me).
A Winter Wonderland in the Northwest
The next week, the temperature dropped into the negatives, and we saw the next type of snowfall. Apparently, the area I’m living in is quite dry, so the snow is called powdery snow and looks picturesque when it’s covering the whole town. I’ve also heard it elegantly called champagne snow, which has to be my favorite description.
This snow is so fluffy it’s hard to keep my hands off it, at least until I can’t feel my fingers anymore. The powdery snow falls in dusty little pieces, and it stacks neatly on the ground. However, when I caught some in my hands, I was surprised that there were no individual snowflakes. I had always grown up hearing stories about how each snowflake is unique and how together they form snow. Evidently, snowflake snow has to be wet snow, which does not occur very often in super dry areas (like the wheat farm town I’m living in).
Appreciating the Beauty of Winter
I’m hoping for higher humidity in the next few weeks, but even so, I’m still happy with my champagne snow. Of course, I’m the only one out here with a smile on my face while I’m scraping snow off my car. I love that I was given the opportunity to appreciate a true winter with all of its pros and cons.
A few of my favorite things in the winter season are all the scarves, sweaters, and snow boots, the hot drinks that have never tasted so good, the crisp air first thing in the morning, and the fact that I never miss the sunset because it happens in the middle of the day. But, I think my favorite thing about my new winter home is the footsteps I leave behind in the snow that remind me of the footsteps in the sand of the sunny place I come from.
