April Snow

This is not an unusual event.  Utah gets snow in April.  And in May.  And even sometimes in June.  But like this storm, it is always just a temporary setback to Spring.  We'd been enjoying temperatures in the 60s and 70s this month.  Tuesday, when the storm hit, the temperature had been in the low 70s in the morning, but dropped a drastic 40 degrees in the afternoon.  The storm wreaked some havoc around the state.  It was preceded by high winds that toppled semis and caused many accidents, tree up-rootings and power outages.  I noticed a house in my son's neighborhood had lost a chunk of siding.  I got upwards of 9 inches of snow at my house which has made things look very January-ish.  The upside is some precious water was delivered to our thirsty yards so we can refrain from watering for a little while longer.  The downside is the damage that was caused and the possible loss of summer fruit due to the freezing.  Also, water managers tell us it didn't really add enough to the snowpack in the mountains to make a dent in the drought.

I don't usually love snowstorms, but this one made me happy for the water delivered.  That, and the fact I didn't need to drive more than the roundtrip six miles to my son's house and back.  The storm lasted longer and dropped more snow than expected.  But today, the sun is shining and the clouds are scurrying away.  Here are a few shots from my yard.

By 6 p.m. Tuesday, the snow was falling hard and accumulating on the ground.  It was a wet, heavy snow weighing down the tree limbs.

 By Wednesday morning at 9 a.m., I had 6 or 7 inches at my house.  It continued to snow all day and into the morning hours today.

 The snow didn't stick to the road here, but slushy conditions and black ice elsewhere caused a lot of accidents.  Well, perhaps I should say drivers who were surprised by the driving conditions caused accidents.

 My poor lilac bush is bent entirely to the ground.  Its leaves and blossoms hold the wet snow which becomes too heavy for the branches.

 Same issue with my young crabapple. I used a broom to knock the snow off of the branches to remove the weight in hopes that the branches would not break and would spring back with the warming temps.