Yesterday our phones began blaring in unison with the message that a band of squalls was minutes away from our home. I had been reading a new history of the Middle Ages and I had trouble differentiating a band of squalls from a band of Huns, a band of Vandals, or a band of Goths. After a minute I realized that it was warning of upcoming blinding snow arriving without much warning(save the insistent phone alert.)
Realizing that I was sitting in my chair, reading a book, with no intention of going anywhere, I determined that they were not as drastic a threat as my pounding heart produced by the alert would indicate. It wasn’t going to be a big bad wolf threatening to “blow the house down.” I settled down and wondered what would actually happen.
As the image above explains, they did come on a fierce gust of wind with a myriad of flakes blowing virtually horizontally, quickly covering the ground. Cars seemed to be driving by with no trouble, however. No power interruptions. No objects flying through the air. Really just a blast of snow leaving nearly as fast as it came.
I intend to silence my phone again. I suffered more from the alert than from the squall!
Saved By Words 
The alert sound is too much…but I guess it makes you take note. Take care. Catherine in New Zealand where snow never falls in the northern part of my island.
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Oh, goodness
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A band of squalls with noisy alarm doesn’t sound good! Glad it didn’t live up to the hype! Especially since you were all tucked in, inside.
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It was quite lovely out the window!
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Does this band of squalls write their own music?
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A kind of off tune bagpipe dirge.
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😹
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I got the same alert, however, I was driving at the time, right into it, and couldn’t check my phone! Luckily, once I picked up my granddaughter, it had passed.
I think I like calling it a band of vandals!
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I would be really startled if I had been driving. Glad you were fine. I like your title too.
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I laughed that you suffered from the alert, not the weather.
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Very true.
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We have a similar Alert here in Australia for Bush Fires Elizabeth. It sends a chill down your spine but at least it makes us fully aware that danger is a foot 😉
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Good point. I am not quite sure what they expect us to do with the information except go down in the basement. Which we do when a tornado is threatened.
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The Amber Alerts here are frighteningly loud. You defiantly pay attention to them.
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Your post made me think of our house alarm. One night it went off in the middle of the night (mechanical malfunction), and I think I aged about five years. Now we only set it when we’re gone.
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Our phone rang at 12:20 am the other night and scared me like that. It was a scammer.
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We were warned of a third storm, which they named ‘Franklin’. Just as well they warned us, as it was the worst of the three to hit Beetley over four days. Trees down everywhere, power out for some residents, and the main road out of the village completely blocked yesterday. Like you, I stayed inside.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Poor Benjamin. I can’t imagine he appreciated the storm name. I have been through just such storms, though without any warning.
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We had a sudden squall here yesterday afternoon amid the day’s wind and rain. The window was white with rain, satellite TV was lost, bins went over, and our neighbour lost a panel off his garage roof. Maybe that’s why our doorbell rang soon after when there was nobody there… bit late for a warning though.
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Ha! I love the idea of a weather warning door bell.
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As Beetlypete says, we’re on our 3rd storm in 4 days. No snow but plenty of things flying in the air. Stick with your book and silence the phone 😉
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Excellent advice.
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It was startling to get that alert on my phone. The squall was fast and furious. I could not see my neighbor’s house at all!
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It was quite dramatic to see.
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I can imagine the storm warning gave you a fright. I suppose they are very useful to people who need to travel about and could get caught on the road in a storm.
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I suppose so. Of course if you are already on the road I am not sure what help they are.
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We live ‘tucked in’. Tucked in between several larger towns. We get weather alerts for all of them but seldom for our little spot in the woods. They are always alarming.
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Unless a tornado is headed right for me, I don’t really need an alert.
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Sadly, some places do. We aren’t one of them thankfully.
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I have wondered why I am checking our weather reports and stressing about the dire warnings so much – especially now that I rarely have to go anywhere. Before I had internet and my cell phone and computer, I just went where I had to go when I had to go. I drove through it all! Blizzards with my first newborn, freezing rain with my infant daughter, FOG so thick I felt like my three tots and I were the only life left on the planet. Now I check the weather before going out to get our mail. 🙄
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I do the same. I also never gave it a thought and I certainly never got alerts. I remember coming our of a movie with my young daughters to a sheet of ice everywhere. I drove slowly home.
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Without seatbelts 😳
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For sure.
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🙂
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Here with us when a storm comes with dangerous lightning no one notices us. They only warn about abundant and dangerous rains. Yet people died with lightning. With the rain many fewer died. Floods are bad ok, but I hate lightning, they are worse. Greetings from Italy 🤗🤗🤗 🌸🌼🌺🌹
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