The winter storm is now gone and it feels like I’m attending a funeral of sorts.
It appears some are in mourning.
Gone are the around-the-clock updates of temperatures and precipitation. Gone are the images of reporters playing in the falling snow. Gone are the images of empty shelves where bread and milk once were.
As a kid I lived for days like we recently experienced. With even the slightest bit of snow, school was out for most of the week. In the winter storm of 1983, there was snow to be played in. The ice was pretty — until it pulled down the power lines. I remember helping my dad fix the busted pipes.
Then there was the Blizzard of ’93; there may have even been two that year. I played in the snow in one, but in the other, I froze on the sidelines of an Auburn football game in Arkansas.
Then I got into my reporting days; the last decade or so has seen several stranded on the roads of north Alabama and Georgia. I was a reporter and photographer documenting the scenes for all to see — possibly adding to the rush at area stores around the bread and milk.
This time around, I definitely contributed to the madness, purchasing an extra loaf or two — and an extra gallon too.
But now, as the storm has passed, I can hear birds chirping outside my window as if they are providing the prelude for a funeral. Maybe like a preacher, they are speaking good words about the winter storm.
Left behind are countless cardboard boxes, many of which never saw a snow slope.
Left behind is sand on many of the bridges and some salt residue on my car.
Left behind are meteorologists, reporters and photographers like me remembering our friend the winter storm of 2025.
Like pallbearers, we are carrying it out the door one last time.
Based on Google analytics and social media, it seems the storm had some fair weather friends. They posted in the moment but now in fleeting moments, have left the storm lonely.
It seems as if everyone is looking forward.
I know I’m looking forward to the results of the lengthy cold weather. I’m hoping it will mean fewer bugs this spring and summer.
The cold, ice and snow will be missed, but I know it will return someday.
But as I now look at my kitchen counter and refrigerator I need help.
What can I do with extra milk and two loaves of bread?
Cliff Williams is the news editor of Tallapoosa Publishers Inc.’s Elmore County newspapers. He can be reached at cliff.williams@thewetumpkaherald.com.
