A Wind Event is in Progress!

The story for today is WIND. The basic conditions when I got up this morning:
At 5:36 a.m. it is 6ºF
Mostly cloudy with isolated snow showers. Local blowing snow. Very windy. Highs in the 20s to lower 30s. West winds 35 t0 60 mph with gusts as high as 90 mph. Chance of snow 10 percent.
I have some common sense, so I decided that I wouldn’t hike Green Mountain this morning – it really wasn’t a difficult decision! I did decide to go up to the high school track and take photos of the sunrise. I bundled up, including my trusty facemask with only my eyes exposed which wasn’t the most comfortable way to be but it was practical. I was painfully reminded by the wind-whipped snow about the one article of apparel I am missing: GOGGLES. I sunk to my knees in crusty drifted snow as I made my way up the steps to the field. The wind and snow were hurling down the stairs with such force that I had to grip the icy railing to pull myself up and keep from being blown over. When I made it to the top and into the open area, all I could do was wait for the wind gusts to die down with my body plastered against the chain-link fence.
It is amazing to feel the force of nature like this, knowing that I was so close to the safety of home and not in any real danger. I took lots of pictures, knowing that many would be blurred because it was virtually impossible to hold the camera still even with a tripod. I made my way across the soccer field and up the slope to the track. There was no way to stand up in that open area and entertain the possibility of taking photos, so I sat down on the hillside as the best possible way to brace myself against the wind. After a few minutes, I decided – enough was enough – and waited for a break in the wind to get myself home again without being blown down.
This is not bragging weather. Usually, I can brag about how easy it is to live in Colorado. But today, as exciting as it is, I would say it is not fit for man nor beast! As the news is reporting: a wind event is in progress….indeed!