MATT KIRCHNER: We're Here for You

 

The Blizzard of the Decade … or so you would have believed based on the television and radio news hype. I was living in downtown Milwaukee, Wisc., at the time and the blizzard was just getting itself going. I sat on the couch watching the weatherman analyze the radar and share his total snowfall predictions for the first big storm of the season. Living just blocks from Lake Michigan, we were being blessed with what is commonly referred to as ‘Lake Effect Snow,’ a phenomenon that occurs when cold air moves across a warm body of water, picking up vapor, gaining energy and then dumping huge amounts of snow on the leeward side of the lake.

 

According to the weather reports my neighborhood was at ground zero. School and business closings were predicted and residents were urged to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel. So my wife and I did what any rational couple would do: we went out to dinner.