People always act like weather is the most boring topic of conversation, a subject you should only turn to in the direst of conversational circumstances, when there is absolutely nothing else to say. I disagree completely. Weather is interesting — it’s always changing, so there’s always something new to say, and because the planet’s melting, it’s usually changing for the worst, so there’s always something to complain about, which, in my experience, is the best way to bond with people. Which brings me to my observation about today’s weather in New York City: It is too windy.
I noticed it this morning when I walked my dog, and halfway down the block she sat down in protest. This is what she does when it is too windy, a move that is annoying, but that I also respect. For one city block I dragged her, an invisible gale ripping open my jacket and whipping my hair and scarf wildly around my face so I couldn’t really see where I was going. That was the first time I thought to myself, “It is too windy.”
At the office, my suspicions were confirmed. “High Winds Leave Thousands Without Power Along the East Coast” wrote Time.com. “Alert: Powerful winds today,” warned NY1’s Twitter.
The extreme winds are the result of Winter Storm Quiana. According to Weather.com, the gusts have knocked down power lines across the northeast and upper midwest, leaving hundreds of thousands of customers across the region without electricity, and causing airlines to cancel 1,200 flights on Monday.
On Twitter, people shared images of what the wind had wrought, including pictures of downed tress, broken traffic lights, flying doors, and an “ice tsunami” in Niagra.
In conclusion, it is too windy.