Winter of 71 I saw more then a 100 degree temperature change in less then 5 hours .
It was -20 and a SE wind howling . That the coldest wind for our part of the country , perhaps a close tie with a straight north wind and snow called an "Alberta Clipper".
We were about to sit down for our evening meal at 6 PM. , it was storming and blowing snow out of the SE, when a knock on the door interrupted us . It was my wife's cousin Jay all frosted up with Icicles hanging from his nose and eye brows.
I asked where his wife was , "She's in the pickup" , Well tell her to "come in" . "Well the pickup is out at the main road". Me ,"oh you walked 1.5 miles to get here ? " Him "Yes it was easier to walk with the wind on my back then into the wind to the other closest farm" . (the same distance up the main road)
"Can you pull me out ? I ran into the ditch following the grass along the road "
It just happened that the visibility was zero but from open window on drivers side to the front bumper where head light could pick up the grass on edge of road one could creep along. He was traveling about 5 MPH and drove off the other side of the approach trying to find the edge of road following the grass. Any of you who have ever traveled in a blizzard at night on a country know this trick.
Just so happened I had my 1951 Willys Jeep pickup in heated shop with a chunk of fence post pounded in place of a mortar mount that had tore loose. I was waiting for new motor mount to put in so had the old one out and the wood block to hold motor up so fan would not tear shroud .
We backed it up to the hay shed threw on a load of hay for traction and took off back in to the storm to rescue his rig. I could not see driving in to the quartering wind so he steered from the passenger side looking out his side window.
The snow was packed so hard one could drive over the top of the drifts and on occasion out into the road ditch side with out breaking through.
It took about 20 minutes to get out there creeping along in low range. Stopping occasionally to back up on to road from ditch
We tried pulling but it was just to deeply stuck and the snow was blowing in as fast as we could shovel it out .
He had a load of Sheet Rock in pickup bed and on top of that a frozen cut and wrapped steer for the freezer .
We called it quits and headed back to my farm , wife in his lap. With the wind on my quartering back side I could see to drive back home but slowly.
We all enjoyed a good meal and were planing to put them up for the night. It was about 9 PM when the wind switched directions to the SW . That is known as a "Chinook Wind " The temperature rose to +40 degrees with a howling west wind . They decided they had better try and get home as he didn't want beef thawing out all over his load of sheet rock.
Out we went, more chains and shovels , this time the snow was drifting the opposite direction . By the time we got out there the wind had gone to a dead calm . We shoveled it out in shirt sleeves , it seemed too hot to wear the heavy clothing . Got the rig back on the road and away they went . I got the Jeep back in Shop , easy to drive home the mile and 1/2 in the calm weather . I had just got all put away and the wind came back out of the SE and temperature dropped back to 0 .
They made it up the road towards home when again the Wind and Tempurature made them hole up at Ranch house 8 miles up the road and at another cousins house.
The next day was calm and beautiful and they made it home by early afternoon.
100 degrees of Tempurature change is not all that unusual here east of the great divide and along the Canadian border .
As I type this it is blowing snow -12 with a SE wind. Got to love this part of country . It keeps the tourists home.
