#winter storm.

[noahxstjames]

+ DJ  HIGH SCHOOL

There’s too many people in the gym and Noah can’t find his sister. He doesn’t mind the crowd, not really, but it’s kinda crazy to him that they’re all stuck there like sardines in a tin. Honestly, he doesn’t mind sardines either but fuck is that Lily? He thought she’d be hanging out with Hazel which is why he ditched his sister’s company. And though it’s not really in character for Noah to avoid conflict, he’d rather not run into her after that fucking awkward ski lift incident. He’d given a curt not before zipping away and rethinking his part time job. So when he spots her now, Noah tuns on the spot, headed in the opposite direction when he collides with another, knocking something out of their hands on accident. “Ah, sorry ––” his apology drops off when he sees who it is and Noah can’t help the smirk as he glances way down at the familiar face. “’Sup, Franklin?” It’s the nickname he’d given his normie high school opponent on the ice rink and off it, an homage to the Saturday morning cartoon he thinks he looked like then (still does, to be honest), and it had caught on. “Should watch where you’re going man.” @dougie-anderson​

[evelynxmendez]

+ JACOB HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY

Evie tried to get to work. She really did. But the roads had been bad to the point that even she, a fearless city driver (see: menace) didn’t want to risk it. It’s how she ended up at the high school and why she’s avoiding people until her shift would’ve started at the hospital. She knows that the moment someone catches sight of her scrubs, they’ll ask her to kiss their paper cut or give them tums. She isn’t a school nurse. Not that there’s anything wrong with being one, she simply hadn’t slaved away for years to be recognized as anything other than doctor. So she’s hiding away in the library. Her Prada ski suit (warmest thing she had) is unzipped to her waist with navy blue scrubs underneath as she sits atop a giant beanbag. Tucked away in some lounge area, Evie reads some YA vampire book to pass the time. It’s not bad, or at least, it’s good enough to distract her from hearing the sound of someone else entering the library. She only realizes too late when she hears barking and looks up just in time to be ambushed by two dogs, squealing in surprise as her hands go up to cover her face. “Off! Down! Sientate!” @jacob-ryu​

[elisexrueng]

+ BUNNY HIGH SCHOOL GYM

“Hey, what was that for?” Elise gives Bunny a confused look, not even registering what her sister’s thrown at her.  Their dad is fast asleep in his chair, newly acquired warmers held in gloved hands as Elise reads beside him. Only to be interrupted by the sudden impact of something meeting her face. Finally, she glances down at the...toy? Pillow? In her lap. “Uh...?” She leaves the question hanging because it’s not like Bunny to give her anything, much less a gift so she waits for the rest of the story. Surely there must be one. @bunny-rueng​

[noraxjones]

+ ETHAN HIGH SCHOOL

Shit. Shit, shit shit. Fuck. Nora doesn’t really know what’s happening. All she can feel is the trickle of blood down her face, a window bursting from wind pressure in the classroom she’d holed up in. She’d fallen asleep curled beside Elijah and had awoken in a daze to the sound of people shouting and a cold burst of air. Nora doesn’t see her twin anywhere and she uses the last ten percent of her phone battery to try calling him. But it doesn’t ring and she remembers his phone died. Shit. She scrambles to her feet, wiping at the blood and cut at her temple, grimacing slightly as she hears more shouting coming from the hallway. Curious (and ignoring her dad’s voice in her head), she slings her backpack over her shoulder and tucks her blanket beneath her arm. She doesn’t really understand what’s going on when, the moment she walks into the hallway, the sound of chaos meeting her the moment the door opens. She barely has a moment to blink or gain her bearings in the dark space (had the lights always been off?) when someone shoves into her, practically knocking her off balance and suddenly someone els is trying to yank her backpack and blanket from her. “Hey!” she shouts, kicking at them and holding onto the bag, “what in Jesus name is wrong with you!!!” And confused as she is, the Jones gene in her kicks in, refusing to give up something as mundane as bag on principle. It’s hers, after all. “Get off me!”  @ethanjxnes​

[farahxkhan]

+ CASEY WINTER STORM

"See, I knew I had an extra one in the trunk,” Farah says triumphantly, holding the extra blanket aloft. “What have I said, Case? Always keep some blankets and bottled water in your car. And some snacks. You never know what you’ll need them for.” She tosses the extra water bottle, a bag of honey wheat pretzels and a box of cheez-its to her daughter before sitting beside her. She huddles close as she peels open the wool blanket and tosses it across both of them. “I’m just glad your siblings aren’t here.” They were safely at school which Farah never thought she’d be as grateful for as she is now.  @caseycallahan​

[mftulin]

Sideway Snow | Mark Tulin – Whispers and Echoes

Many thanks to Whispers and Echoes for first publishing Sideway Snow. The site features short poems. Photo by Zac Durant at Unsplash.   Sideway Snow | Mark TulinMy soul buried deep in the jaws of a blizzardMy heart yearns for a fiery hearth,flannel-lined pants to lessen the chill,insulated boots to keep the frostbite at bay,and a furry hat to protect my chaffed pate I keep trudging, or I’ll lose…

[happyheidi]

𝖦𝗅𝖾𝗇 𝖢𝗈𝖾, 𝖡𝗅𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝖱𝗈𝖼𝗄 𝖢𝗈𝗍𝗍𝖺𝗀𝖾, 𝖲𝖼𝗈𝗍𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖽

𝖡𝗒 𝖦𝖺𝗋𝗒 𝖧𝗈𝗈𝗄

[maureen2musings]

sariheikkin

[aqua-regia009]

A flock of sheep in a snowstorm, 1912 - oil on canvas — Joseph Farquharson (Scottish, 1846-1935)

[creelarke]

Gonna tell my kids these are their great grandparents during World War II

[noahxstjames]

Noah: Hey, are you home? Building just lost power.

[theygender]

Tips for dealing with below 0°F temperatures, for anyone who's not used to it and is now having to deal with it in this winter storm:

Tuck your shirt into your pants to prevent the cold from sneaking in

Put on a sweater or a hoodie over that, and then also wear a coat over that

Put on a beanie and then pull your hood up over that (BOTH hoods if you're wearing a hoodie instead of a sweater)

Wear a scarf underneath your coat hood. You want it to be kept as close to you as possible, and hopefully high enough that you can tuck your nose into it while walking outside

Wear solid pants like jeans, and put on tights, leggings, or (if you actually have any) long underwear underneath

Wear two pairs of socks—at least one of which is long socks—and tuck your leggings into those

Wear boots or some other thick shoe with good traction if you have any

GLOVES. Wear two pairs if you need to. I only have one pair and now my hands are my only weak point 😭

Try not to stay outside for too long if you can help it, frostbite and hypothermia are painful and very dangerous. When you're inside, make sure you're eating plenty of food and drinking plenty of water. Your body needs energy and hydration to fight off the cold. Stay safe out there everyone

[elisexrueng]

+ DJ HIGH SCHOOL NURSE’S OFFICE

Elise swears as she tries the door again. She’s crouched down by the nurse’s office, trying to pick the lock to no avail. If Bunny was here, she’d probably be able to do it in a minute flat, she thinks ruefully. Of course, her younger sister barely spared a curt glance in her direction when she arrived at the school but, Elise thinks, at least she greeted their dad while she set up a little area for them. She’d brought one of those old folding camping chairs from home and had laid two blankets over Sunan’s legs. Despite the fact he also had a coat and hat, she could still see him shiver and realized that in her rush to get all his medicine into a bag, she’d forgotten the hand warmers she’d kept in the medicine cabinet. Shit.

It’s why she was trying to get into the nurse’s office, thinking that if anywhere would have some it’d be here. And since it’s for her dad, she feels marginally less bad about picking the lock (or attempting to). She’s deep in concentration when someone clears their throat and Elise jumps with a yelp, knocking herself off balance from her crouched position by the door. “Holy shit,” she breathes and then blinks up at her company.  “I…uh…it’s not what it looks like?” She’s not sure what it looks like, all she’s certain of is that she feels painfully unlucky looking up at DJ. @dougie-anderson​

[ragingcitrustree]

There’s a nasty winter storm that’s going to hit most of the central regions of the US tomorrow (21 December 2022), especially tomorrow night. Please check your local forecasts if you live anywhere east of the rocky mountains, even down as far south as Texas. In some areas of the Plains region, windchill is likely to be -50F to -70F. That is so cold that you will develop frostbite in minutes. You will lose extremities without protection if you are exposed to windchill that cold. -70F is “surface of Mars” cold.

My part of the US is going to be below freezing all next week. This is normal for some. Not so normal for others.

If your area is likely to be impacted by the storm, please prepare now. The most important thing is staying warm and staying inside until things warm up outside. Specific tips I can offer, as somebody who regularly deals with cold winters are:

Put blankets over windows and doors. This will help your house retain heat.

Stay well-fed. Buy food now. You will get hungry faster because your body will burn calories to stay warm.

Stay hydrated. If your lips are chapped you’re probably dehydrated.

Stay dry. Remove wet clothing as soon as possible. It is better to be naked than wet when it is cold.

If it is going to get below freezing for more than an hour or two, run your water at a trickle or drip to prevent your pipes from bursting. The colder it gets the faster your pipes will freeze.

Here’s the weather forecast for this storm:

[israxavci]

isra: hey, are you alright?

isra: i tried to find you but i'm one of the science class rooms turned nurse's office. i guess the real one flooded

[mayxvaisman]

+ ONYX HIGH SCHOOL GYM

“Okay, okay,” May wheezes, eyes watering, “that one was definitely the most sour,” she says, reaching for her water with one hand and pointing to the discarded blue raspberry warhead extreme wrapper in the middle of the pile of candy between her and Onyx. Camped out in the high school makes her feel like she’s at some giant sleepover she’d have called her mom to pick her up from back in the day. But it also brings back memories of time spent in her best friend’s company, something she’d missed a great deal while in Denver. “But I haven’t tried the lemon,” she gulps down some water, looking over at them as she coughs, “Jesus, that was horrible. Why do we do this again?” For years, they’d been on the hunt for the most sour candy and it seems like each time they thought they found it, they discovered the next worst one. @onyxpoe​