When severe weather threatens, I usually visit our local National Weather Service website and open up the discussion page. This is where the forecasters exchange information: where they talk about how the computer models are converging (or not), the range of possibilities, and how – and why – they come up with an overall forecast. Lots of little details that don’t make it into the forecast you hear on TV, using lots of jargon. But this afternoon, the discussion begins very simply: “Probable top ten snowstorm/blizzard for portions of sne is at hand and whereever you are this evening around 7 PM we recommend you be prepared to stay there through at least noon tomorrow”. “sne” is Southern New England, and we’re talking about a storm that will be among the 10 biggest on record for this area. 20 to 30 inches of snow and blizzard conditions, from late this afternoon through into Sunday. Cape Cod may get in excess of 30 inches.
How should one cope with such a situation? It seems very simple. I’m about to cook up a big pot of stew – beef, root vegetables, mushrooms, celery, red wine, onions, garlic, and herbs. Comfort food for a wild and wintry night. Now, where did I put the potato peeler…?