A Rhyme Regarding Rime

2011-12-17 17:31:18.000 – Mike Carmon, Weather Observer/Meteorologist

If you allot me some time,
please allow me to rhyme.

And if I progress to rime,
then all has proceeded just fine.
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.
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Some cold fronts swung through,
not just one but two.

Ahead of the fronts it was quite warm,
with thirty-degree temps observed all morn’.

The nine inches of snow on the ground was no match,
as the warm temps and thick fog took it down the hatch.

Rain fell on and off through the early session of night,
and it did not take long for much of the snow to take flight.

The snowpack was reduced by four inches that day,
and once more we wondered if winter would stay.

But no sooner than this did the thermometers commence to fall,
and the night observer with glee towards the tower did crawl.

A clear coat of glaze ice began to form on the wind vane,
and on the pitot, and if he had been out, on Marty’s black mane.

Just then the west winds began to whistle and howl,
with a pitch and a volume much like that of a growl.

The cold fronts approached with a tempestuous fury,
and the skies opened up, releasing much more than a flurry.

Irregular snow pellets reigned down heavily from the sky,
with an intensity offering warm air a goodbye.

During the midst of the snowstorm the temperatures continued to recede,
and a few additional warm layers the observers did need.

Just then the ice began to change its shiny complexion,
from a clear glazy hue to a milky white projection.

The white feathers accumulated at an increasingly rapid pace,
clinging to all surfaces, including the day observer’s and intern’s face.

From this point de-icing was not an occasion but a regular chore,
as without this oft’ clearing, the instruments were done for.

Then mid-morning came and the winds hastened further,
and threatened to tucker out even the heartiest observer.

A peak gust of a century plus a sweet sixteen was recorded,
two mph more and the top gust of the season we would have been rewarded.

With all of this wind and moisture swirling about the crisp air,
the pale feathery structures continued to accumulate with flare.

This in fact is the tale of how we commenced in fall’s prime,
but then succumbed to winter as all summit turned to rime.

Mike Carmon, Weather Observer/Meteorologist