I've been out of the office for a few days. You see, as is typical here in NC, it snowed a little followed by a tremendous amount of sleet. Fortunately, it stayed cold enough during the precipitation this time that it didn't melt and collect on tree branches, power lines, etc. and bring them down.

But it got a little over freezing the next day and the sleet melted some. So basically, there's now some snow on the ground covered by a three inch sheet of ice. The main roads are clear, but the hundred yards from my parking space to one of those streets took about ten minutes of driving slow enough that when my car started to slide, it wouldn't get very far. Thank God I don't live on a hill.

On the way to work, there were some expanses of unmarred frozen precipitation that had also melted and refrozen. It looks like the landscape has been shrink wrapped in thick white plastic.

On another note, I think this is all why people can't drive on the snow in the South. Because it's not snow for very long. It too quickly melts and refreezes into ice. Up North, it must stay cold long enough to keep it from becoming a monolithic sheet of zero friction material. That and we have no studded tires or experience. Correct me if I'm wrong.