The weather in Columbus

I have seen quite a few cold winters now, and by cold, i mean COLD! There have been cold winters, snowy winters, icy winters, windy winters, winters with not much 'winter' in them, and also some hot winters! This winter has somehow been a total enigma and is not really classifiable as any of the aforementioned types. This is not so much a local phenomenon, here at Columbus as this has indeed been with large parts of America. Thus, it has spurned on lots of discussions about Global Warming and such.
The winter started off almost like it was spring here or like an indian winter. the weather was so good, it seemed bad that it was so good! But towards the end of January, the weather began to assume a different form.
OSU has closed only thrice in the past 25 years, on account of bad weather because the state government and the facilities at the University are well equipped to generally deal with excessive snow, which is quite the norm here in Ohio. For the first time, OSU closed for two days in succession - yesterday and today.
The overall nature of the weather here has been such that our definition of what constitutes clement weather has taken a dramatic turn. our expectations from the weather gods have dropped drastically. we have now been used to having sub-zero (celsius) temperatures throughout winters. over the past week or so, all we really asked for was: Let the temperature stay above -10 C, thats all!
in fact a couple days ago, we (myself and a couple other friends) went to visit a local lake, in a place called Antrim park which is one of the few really nice places to see in Columbus. this is a lake with a border walking/jogging trail of 1.2 miles, so you can imagine how big it is. the whole lake was frozen solid! we walked ON the lake, took a few pictures and even had an idea of walking across the lake. but better sense prevailed and we decided against doing so, since this lake is quite deep. just a few feet away we saw a warning sign that told the tale of an unfortunate dog that had gone frolicking on the lake; its body is yet to be fished out.
starting day before night, there was suddenly an increase in snow precipitation. i went out today, off my usual trajectory of apartment-dept and vice-versa, to visit the local grocery store for a few essentials. perhaps they could have waited, but there is no use in cribbing over that now. what's done is done.
The first thought that occurred to me as I looked out was, That's why they say, 'as white as snow'! It was so white, it was blindingly bright! the whole terrain seemed completely altered. It seemed like i was now in the middle of a new place, with no idea about which parts are treacherous and which ones are friendly.
As, i got out onto the street, I saw for the first time, frozen snow. What i mean is this: when you walk on overnight snow, it is akin to walking on sand; the feet sink in just that wee bit and you have to literally raise your feet to shake off the loose snow, so to speak, before you make your next step. that is one of the pleasures of walking on snow for the very first time.
now, as i stepped on snow, my feet remained steady and firm on the snow; it didn't give way! i was literally walking at least 4-5 inches above the ground. and suddenly, the icy snow cracked and my foot sank in around 4-5 inches, so that my socks were now completely in snow. as i made the next few steps, i created a huge fault line. it was as if i would be held responsible for some huge disaster, so i decided to step onto the road instead.
the problem now was that, i just wasn't sure, where the road began! only the middle of the road had the tyre marks but the peripherals were so blurred with thick layers of snow, i just couldn't tell. there were no cars in sight; most people here heed the local news warnings, which seems to me now, a rather sensible thing to do. i saw a few of them trying to warm up their cars and start them but it seemed such a difficult task! to move a car out of where it was parked (along the street side) appeared like such a huge task, i was glad i didn't own a car myself!
walking here was now literally an exerting exercise; you had to raise your foot at least a couple of inches to make your next step. as i came back home from the grocery store, i had the feeling that the morning exercise routine had been totally unnecessary; i had burnt more calories making this trip than i had purchased from the store now!
the winter storm warning has been recalled for now, meaning, they do not expect any more heavy snow over the next couple of days. But a wind chill cautionary has been issued which basically forecasts temperature dipping to as low as -25 F!
it is indeed ironic that my mom - a woman who has spent most of her 58 years in places like Vellore, Chennai, and Hyderabad - found this winter, a particularly enjoyable one!