Scrat and I…

2008-11-23 21:30:43.000 – Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist

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One of my favorite movies of all time is “Ice Age.” It is an animated movie that is about a bunch of prehistoric animals that are trying to return a lost baby to it parents. I know it is not realistic but it is funny every time I watch it. My favorite character is Scrat, which is a saber tooth squirrel like creature that is always getting into trouble as he seeks out his favorite food, acorns. So why do I mention all this? Because, working on the summit, I can relate to the situations Scrat finds himself in.

Although I can relate my work to pretty much every movie trailer Scrat has been in, last night, I really related to the very first Ice Age trailer that was released back in 2000. But before I walk through the parallels of the trailer, I will mention my parallels with the character. Both of us are small and semi-scraggly. We both have a kind of cute-but-weird-looking quality to ourselves. And neither of us talk (I talk but when everyone is sleeping, there isn’t much talking going on).

So, to the trailer parallelisms, it opens to a snow and ice covered plateau with snow falling with Scrat hopping in and observing the snow conditions to find a place to burry his acorn. Similarly, the summit is currently covered in snow and ice with me going outside and observing the snow and other weather conditions but instead of burying anything, I am going out to switch the precipitation can in the middle of the summit. He finds a location to place the acorn and in placing it, starts to crack the ice, setting off an avalanche. For me, it is successfully switching the precipitation can and hearing winds of 90+ mph starting to kick up again from the northwest. He sits there momentarily with a look of shock while a giant pillar of snow rolls towards him. I sit there momentarily with a look of shock while listening and feeling winds rolling towards me. He runs forgetting his nut. I run forgetting the precipitation can. He runs back and gets his nut. I run back and get my can. He starts running dodging falling ice. I start walking quickly (I can’t run as the precipitation can cannot be shaken or tilted) while carefully avoiding rime and ice that is flying in from the northwest. He runs into another pillar approaching in front of him boxing him in. I approach the part of the summit that accelerates the winds as it is funneled between the building and the summit itself. He gets squeezed in between the two columns while I get lower and lower to the ground trying to lower my center of gravity. He gets smacked around as he rolls down a hill finally making it to the bottom. I get blown about and slide as I try to make it to the front door. In the end, he gets his acorn and he is happy. In the end I make it back to the door and I am happy. All in a days work for him to get food and me to get our precipitation can on the summit.

Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist