On the morning of Monday January 17, 2022 – I woke up to seeing Jefferson Park blanketed with the first big snowfall of the season.

 

We have had a few sprinklings of snow since winter officially started on December 22, 2021.

 

But this is our first big one of the season.

 

Forecasters had predicted anywhere from 4 to more than 18 inches of snow – depending upon the probability of occurrence as shown in the table below:

Amount of Predicted Snowfall Probability of Occurrence

Greater than 18 in. 1%

12-18 in. 2%

8-12 in. 60%

4-8 in. 36%

Less than 4 in. 1%

 

I measured the snowfall in our backyard in front of our garage with a yardstick and got readings from 9 to 13 inches – so I estimated that we got nearly 11 inches (average) of snow – falling in the 8-12 in. range with the maximum probability of 60%.

 

Our neighbor – with a nearly solid wooden fence along the driveway got up to 3-feet of snow drifts.

 

Our house faces Jefferson Park on the south side along Cooley Avenue with eight windows facing the park.

 

The lead photograph shows a view of the park as seen from a second floor window.

 

The second and third photographs are from the attic – one looking through a window with a screen and the other looking through a window with ice on the outside.

 

The fourth photograph shows a couple playing with their dog as seen from a window in our sunroom on the ground floor.

 

Our neighbor’s house and our house are only two houses among nearly 60-houses around the park with double lots -- vacant lots with trees and shrubs for our pets to play in – like their own private parks.

 

The fifth and sixth photographs show views of our double lots.

 

Winter officially arrived on December 21, 2021 – and arrival of spring is scheduled for March 20th.

 

Rain is predicted for today – and the 11 inches of snow should soon melt away.

 

On the first day of winter -- the sun rose at 7:49 a.m. and set at 5:00 p.m. -- giving us a nearly 9-hour day of sunlight.

 

Today, January 19th the sun will rise at 7:48 a.m. and set at 5:26 p.m. – giving us a day with 9-hours and 38 minutes of sunlight if it turns out to be a clear day.

 

The days are getting longer -- on the first day of spring -- about 2-months away -- we will have 12-hour long days -- and the start of the blossoming of flowers.

 

Enjoy the winter – stay healthy and cheerful!