Southeast Tennessee’s First Snowfall of 2011

VANCE DRIVE, CLEVELAND, TENNESSEE(Photo taken by Margarita Peak-Clewett)

In the mountain’s of Tennessee, snowfall is quite common in the winter time.  Where I live however, it is not very common at all.  When snow is predicted, there is such a demand on the grocery stores that bread and milk are considered precious items to have.  When the first snowflake falls, the panic begins.  Why all the hysteria over winter weather?  Simple,  We don’t get enough of the powdery white stuff to even worry about learning to drive in it.  So when we do have a good snowfall (less that two inches) we stay home. 

This year however, Old-Man-Winter gave us a good sampling of what we might be in for;  December 25, 2010 the magic of Christmas came in the form of a greeting card.  Eager little ones and all those that are children at heart, awoke to a blanket of white fluffy snow in the flat lands.  That gave us a taste of what was to come.  Today, January 10, 2011, the city of Cleveland, Tennessee and surrounding areas, was blanketed with a generous portion of sparkling snow.  Reported snowfall as of 5:30 p.m. was around seven inches in Cleveland and even more in other areas.   To those in higher elevations and the people that live closer to the northern equator, this may sound a bit trivial.  But to those of us that consider ourselves blessed to see an inch or two, this is a great snowfall.  Despite the enjoyment we get from the snowfall for a short season, the best part of it all would have to be the fact that by next week it will all be just a memory.