And now we break for... the weather

So... this winter in MN was, well, awful. Officially and everything it was the 9th worst winter here since 1872 with an average temp of 9.7 degrees Fahrenheit and the third worst in the last 100 yrs. So I don't feel so bad at complaining so much. (list here)

Apparently the average winter has 23 days at or below 0 before factoring in windchill. This year? 53 so far, tying us in 5th place with 1973, the other four are in the 1870s and 1880s. (list here)

The MNDNR (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) apparently puts together a "Winter Misery Index", which is kind of funny/sad. It assigns points according to the temperature and snow and whatnot. As of today we sit at 198 points, or what's considered in the "severe winter" category. The lowest score ever was 2 years ago with 16, the worst the year of 1916-1917 with 305.

It's actually lovely out today, temperature-wise, in the mid 40s, but actual needing to get out and about wise it's dreadful. A lot of the snow is melting and revealing the hard-packed ice below it and because all that melted snow can't get to the sewers since most of them are still blocked by the ice and snow there's just rivers of water and slush everywhere and lots of standing water and the majority of the sidewalks have a lovely layer of ice and then several inches (or more) of standing water on top making walking messy and slippery.

In a word... Yuck.

If the nice weather continues, it'll be okay, but if it doesn't have a chance to evaporate/drain away or it snows again things are going to be very interesting.

The Shone Light

Title: The Shone Light
Fandom/Warning/Rating: Supernatural, no warnings, rated G
Word Count: 1097 words

Summary:
 Every once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right. Or, Sam learns something he never expected.
Author's Note: Title and summary borrowed from the Grateful Dead song, "Scarlet Begonias." Written for fan_flashworks's "Question" challenge.

The Shone Light