LEON

Baton Rouge, LA: How often does a winter storm get a name? Hurricanes get names and they should. There was Camille in ’69 and Andrew in ’92. In ’04, Charlie, Francis and Ivan ripped through Florida, one after the other on a four week rampage. Then Katrina swamped New Orleans in ’05. Yeah, we remember them by name. But winter storms tend to drag everything down to a crawl or even a halt, then it clears up, warms up, you dig out and move on. Power outages from ice create problems but I can’t remember a winter storm that earned a name. 

I remember the “Blizzard of ’77.” My kids were little, I was teaching school, West Michigan, living a mile outside of town. We dismissed early on Friday, the 3rd week of January. Final exams were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday of the next week. Over the weekend it dumped over 2 ft. of snow and the wind kicked up out of the west, a steady 25-30 mph. That Sunday night the temp. dropped to -20. No matter how often the snow plows ran, the north-south roads drifted in within a few hours and the only way from here to there was either bucking 6 to 8 ft. drifts or a good snowmobile. 

We missed ten consecutive school days. Over those two weeks the wind blew, average temp hovered near zero and we accumulated an additional 2 ft. of snow. Cabin fever was out of control by the middle of the first week and any excuse to bundle up and venture out was a welcomed diversion. But that’s in the snow belt, the Great Lakes. You know you’re going to get it sooner or later. When it comes, it comes. You have wood cut, candles, batteries and food in the pantry. 

The Gulf Coast is a far cry from snow country and cold weather here is not the norm. Freeze and snow here, even over night, even just a dusting sends responsible citizens into a panic. Traffic is mysteriously vectored into ditches and into each other, even before the wet streets freeze. I saw photos on line this morning of semi trucks on the interstate, gridlocked in both directions over a thin coat of sleet and snow. It’s easy to point fingers and be judgmental and I try seriously, not to go there. It’s not snow country and Midwesterners wouldn’t cope very well with deluge, tidal surges and 120 mph. sustained winds. 

This winter storm had a name this morning. LEON will cost tons of money in highway care, law enforcement and lost income. I’m hunkered down here in Baton Rouge and I’m not going out. It’s not like back in ’77, no reason to be out in it. But I wonder if, say in ten years, if people will remember LEON. When you allude to weather and frame it with a name, it’s assumed you have a hurricane in mind. LEON the frosty freeze, will generate some ice damage and certainly lots of discomfort, inconvenience and expense. I heard one explanation that makes sense. On the coast, insurance policies are loaded with language to discriminate between damage that is covered and damage that is not. Damage caused by wind, water; if by water, was it wind driven (tidal surge) or common flooding. In any case, people usually have to argue, after the fact, with their insurance company over their coverage. With tropical storms as the main threat, that language is biased in that direction. It seems, if a storm is named, being of greater intensity, the home/business owner is more likely to get a better settlement. That would be way-cool, if someone in the bureaucracy gave this cold blast a name, with policy holders in mind rather than the insurance company. I don’t know if that’s why LEON got his name but I’d like to believe.