Snow in May? Where am I?

"We have a Winter Storm Warning in effect until 6 pm tomorrow. Up to 16 inches of heavy, wet snow possible." These words came out of my mouth during my forecast last night, May 8th. Mother's Day. Springtime. And the entire time I just kept thinking to myself...where am I? Really? Snow in May? Now, I should explain that I was talking about elevations above 6000 feet (the highest mountain in the Appalachians is 6600, just to put it into perspective). So we're talking way up the mountains but nonetheless, the "s" word still came out of my mouth.

Snow low on the Mountains on April 28

Let's go back a week to April 29. The day of my birth. It's supposed to be a happy day. A day for celebration. Well it was thanks to my Montana new friends (Thanks Erin, Andrea, Matt, Shane and Wayne!!! Yay shotski!). However, the day started on a sour note due to the fact that it was SNOWING! Really??? The only thing I want to do on my birthday is lay on a beach somewhere with a fruity little drink that has an umbrella. But instead, I had to toss out my cute dress I had picked out for my special day and bundle up in jeans, boots and a warm coat. Not my idea of fun (or cute).

There is a reason I move away from Ohio. No, it was not to escape my crazy family or some deep dark secret past. I moved south to get away from the cold. I wanted to be somewhere warm, where I could get a tan 10 months out of the year and didn't need to own anything more than a cute pea coat. I spent the last 7 years being able to pick up, most of the year, and head off to the beach for the day. I got used to paying a ton of money on my electric bill in the summer and hardly anything in the winter. I have way more cute summer clothes then I have sweaters. In fact, at last count I have a total of 5 sweaters. I only have a handful of shirts that even have full length sleeves! Most of my closet is geared toward warm weather and sunshine. I am not properly attired for this kind of weather! 

And now, despite my best efforts, I've ended up in a place that snows more than where I spent the first 18 years of my life. I'm living in a place where it snows in May and the worst part about it, people don't really seem to be that surprised about it. People here take reports of snow in a spring month in stride, like it's to be expected. They say, "well it sucks but it's Montana." Well, I don't think no matter how long I live here that I will ever get used to it. And I know that I'll never like it.

Now, I'm sure come wintertime, I'll be bragging about all my fun ski adventures. I'll be loving the snow because everyone here seems to know how to make it fun. But I think the snows needs to stay where it belongs. In the wintertime. Not in May. Thank goodness for the 70s in the forecast later this week.

A Little Background

Okay, Okay. I know I'm not really a "Southern Belle" by birth, but I think most of my friends would agree, I've taken to the South like a fish to water.  I consider South Carolina to be my home. It's where I went to college, where I really grew up, where I made a ton of memories and where I made an even bigger amount of mistakes. It's a huge part of who I am and when people ask where I'm from I say "South Carolina." I have an entire drawer full of t-shirts that say things like "If you're a Carolina girl, raise your glass. If you're not, raise your standards," not too mention all my Gamecock gear (yeah, I own a camo hat that says "Cocks" on it...in pink). I say "y'all" all the time, I feel most at home at the beach, I can't go a day without a glass of sweet tea, I can't live without my Rainbows, I love boiled peanuts and Cheerwine and my favorite fast food is Chick-fil-a.

In March of 2011, after looking for a forecasting job for a year, I got a call from a news director in Missoula, Montana. My first thought was "Where is Missoula? I've never heard of it." Turns out, it's actually the 2nd largest city in the state and the home to the University of Montana (Go Grizz!). It's nestled right in the Northern Rockies and is an absolutely breath-taking place. I know that I am meant to be a TV meteorologist (I'm cute and I'm a nerd so it's really the only option). And the job was just what I was looking for. It was forecasting on the weekend, reporting during the week and the news director seemed so supportive and kept telling me how much potential he saw in me (which is way more than I can say for my last boss). So I packed up what could fit in my parents SUV and my Civic and drove 4 days to the opposite end of the country. And here I am. Living in a place that couldn't be any more different from where I spent the last 7 years (and happen to love very much). The ocean is a day's drive. There are mountains in everywhere you look. It snows in April. People think the 60s is warm. Sweet tea is iced tea with sugar packets mixed in. They don't have a single Chick-fil-a in the state!

So this is where the adventure begins. And rested assured...there will be plenty.