It's Snowing in North Texas

Bird · May 10, 2007

Well . . . not really . . . but it sure looks like it lately. Of course, it's just that big old cottonwood tree next door and it's amazing the amount of white stuff it sheds.

One of those brief, but severe, thunderstorms finally hit us last night. It hit about 5 minutes before 9 p.m., the electricity went off about 9:10 p.m. (it was still on across the street, but not on our side of the street or the street behind us), the wind was just whipping the trees. By 9:15 p.m., the rain was over and I had just over one inch in my rain gauge. One pretty big limb was all that blew off that cottonwood next door, and I don't think we had any damage. The power came back on after about an hour and a half, and I noticed lots of limbs down in yards and the edge of the street in the neighborhood today. I thought maybe the wind and rain would stop the cotton from flying from the cottonwood tree, but no such luck. It still looked like it was snowing this afternoon.

I guess only an idiot would try to mow a swamp, but I did it today anyway. The yard really needed mowing a day or two ago and I just didn't have time, so I mowed right on through the puddles this afternoon.

deere755 · May 10, 2007

We used to have a cottonwood tree at our old place. It seemed lighting love to hit it all the time until it finally destroyed it. MY grandfather told me that cottonwoods attract lighting. I don't know if that is true or an old wise tale but it seemed true at my house anyway. I don't miss it and I don't think I would ever plant one in my present yard.

txdon · May 10, 2007

Air conditioners love to suck up the "snow". You might want to check/clean you condenser unit after the snow stops flying and before the real heat sets in.

Bird · May 10, 2007

txdon said:
Air conditioners love to suck up the "snow". You might want to check/clean you condenser unit after the snow stops flying and before the real heat sets in.

Yep, Don, RV service men get a lot of RV air conditioners with that problem. So I do clean the condensor unit on my home air-conditioner. And this big old tree even puts out enough that I have to clean the "snow" out of my rain gutters.

As for attracting lightning, I figure that's a possibility, if for no other reason than the fact that it's the tallest thing in the neighborhood. I fully expect it to fall someday and when it does . . . well, it depends on which direction it falls but it could easily destroy the neighbors' home or if it came this direction, it could do considerable damage to our home, or the other direction could seriously damage the house on the other side of them.

MossRoad · May 10, 2007

The cottonwoods haven't started their "snowing" up here yet, however, we drove through a cloud this morning on the way to work. Dropped the kids off at school, drove two blocks away and visibility dropped to about a hundred yards.... FOG! Two blocks later and it was clear again. Very odd weather.

Bird · May 11, 2007

I was surprised to look out the window when I got up this morning and see fog here; not dense enough to be a visibility problem, but it looked more like what we're accustomed to seeing in the morning when we go through Tennessee to West Virginia. But cold? Nope, 65 degrees.

Bird · May 18, 2007

Sure wish I'd called the Guiness Book of Records folks early this year. I'm confident that this cottonwood tree next door would have set a new record for snow or cotton from one tree.

If we leave the garage door open, we have to vacuum the garage; you can't sweep the stuff out because it just swirls in the air and will settle back where it was. We have to vaccum the entryway outside the front door. I use the lawnmower with grass catcher to collect it from the yard. And I spent over half an hour cleaning it out of our air-conditioner yesterday afternoon, and the stuff still hasn't stopped falling.

It's a nice young couple living next door and I sure wouldn't want to wish them any bad luck, but a good strong wind and maybe a lightning strike . . . ..