snow days in kc

Having lived in Wisconsin for eight years and having watched icicles form on Eddie’s moustache as we tromped to class, I usually don't get too excited about the wintry weather here in Kansas City.

The TV weather forecasters were simply beside themselves yesterday as the region experienced – and they were thrilled to utter the word – a blizzard. (Phrases like “Blizzard of Oz” and “Snowpocalypse” made their jobs even more fun.) It really did turn out to be quite a storm. Fourteen inches of the white stuff found their way to my backyard. And today it’s just downright cold.

Schools, businesses and many government offices are closed. Trash collection has been suspended. The airport and major highways were shut down for a while.

Here are some pictures taken by Kansas City Star photographers.














It really has been quite a winter. Just two weeks ago we were hit with several inches. On that snowy day I ventured out into the elements with my Flip video camera to make a movie for the kids in Uganda. They were able to watch it thanks to Melissa, our CTT/SMK liaison.





Melissa described the kids' reactions in an email:

“THEY LOVED IT!! I sat outside the P7 classroom on the ledge and played the video over and over again on my laptop. Some kids literally watched it a half dozen times or more. One of the highlights for the kids was definitely the sledding... the boys especially were fascinated by the speed of the sleds in the snow. There was lots of marvel in their eyes at such an experience. Another highlight was the huge icicles that had formed on the building. The huge chunks of ice were mesmerizing to the kids. And then my personal favorite was the finale of you falling forward in the snow. There never failed to be peals of laughter (from myself included and I have watched it at least 2 dozen times).

Personal side-story… of course we have watched the video at my house. And between Francis’ and Issy's incredible thirst for information, I have literally exhausted all of my facts about snow and precipitation. We went to the beach a couple of weekends ago right after receiving your video. The snow angel really interested Issy, so she attempted to make her own sand angel. Who knew... snow angels in Kansas City, sand angels in Kajjansi!!”