1997 - Johnstown, Pennsylvania Weather Vignettes
In which Teófilo shares some memories about his hometown.
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The year 1997 arrived without special fanfare. The previous year had been challenging, but the full effects hadn't yet shown up in our lives.
With our spiritual lives dislocated thanks to me, Johnstown became our other anchor. Yes, our town cushioned my falls by becoming, well, our town. Here are some vignettes that typified 1997 and every other year of our lives therein.
Thunderstorms
Thunder rolls were spectacular as they rebounded from the mountains surrounding our valley. Lightning also gave us quite the shows, and I saw many hit in various places. One day I saw lightning hit a radio tower perched on top of the city's northwest mount. One can get on top of that ridge by driving up William Penn Avenue. Another time I was driving off the Jiffy Lube on Scalp Avenue when I saw a lightning strike an utility pole. The transformer perched above exploded in a shower of sparks.
Driving off Johnstown on PA-56 heading towards Bedford under a thunderstorm is a big no-no. This route takes you to the top of the ridge overlooking Pleasantville. One must drive through two hairpin curves as one descends from the mountain. Storms of any kind intensify as they hit the ridge and the mountain shel forces the wind to rise. Driving on Rt. 56, early in the morning before dawn, amidst a thunderstorm, is a blinding experience.
Add to that the chance of a thunder-snow. You would be safe if absconded at home but if driving, it's another blinding experience. In fact, imagine you're driving inside a closed box lined with white paper. It's dark inside the box. Then make it snow inside the box. Suddenly, someone lights a giant, blue flash of light inside the box. The flash of light comes at you from every direction, further diffracted by the falling snow. Then follows a peal of thunder. For a fraction of a second you're blinded. The peal disorients you even more.
That's how it feels.
Ice
Denizens of Johnstown and the Laurel Heights are familiar with ice storms. These take place a few times during the winter season. Granules of ice fall from the sky and accumulates in sheets. Or, cold liquid water precipitates and freezes on contact with the colder surface. Or both at the same time. The result is an ice-covered surface, difficult to drive on. Or even to stand on.
As I've said before, we lived up the hill in the Roxbury section of town. To get home I had to drive up Harshberger road up the hill from Southmont Boulevard.
When the road was iced-over it was almost impossible to climb. The car would slide left to right without making contact with the pavement. I had to climb up other streets and then drive down Harshberger toward my driveway.
Now, driving down on an iced-over Harshberger Road was yet another adventure. I had to drive very slow, or I risked the car turning onto a side and then slid down the mountain. The car would stop - maybe - once it reached leveled terrain.
I saw many times cars driving out of control down Harshberger. Many were SUVs whose owners thought were indestructible under icy conditions. They found out very fast they weren't.
I remember one time as I was clearing my drive way, one such car came careening down the road. I wasn't aware of it until I heard the impact sound. When I looked, I saw the neighbor's mailbox following a perfect ballistic course. It landed on my driveway.
Another time I wanted to chip the snow and ice from my porch and front stairs. I reached a little landing separating the concrete steps from the wooden ones leading up to my house. I slid, fell on my butt, and then slid down the remaining four steps on my sitting position. I started laughing when I'd reached the sidewalk. Only my pride got hurt; I had to laugh at how ridiculous the situation was.
Ice is not fun, until it is.
Sultry Summer Nights
The cold of winter had its counterpart in the heat of summer. Often humidity and heat combined to produce very warm, humid nights. It was impossible for us to sleep - until we bought air conditioning units for each bedroom.
But before we solved the problem, Mercie and I would sit on our chairs in the front porch. We would play "I spy" with ice creams we bought from shops nearby. We would try to count the numberless lightning bugs alighting in our front yard. We dressed in single layers and prayed no one came to visit.
And then we passed the time, awaiting for the evening breeze to cool everything down.
The good thing about Johnstown weather is that one can wait five minutes, and the weather will change…