Snow in South Africa

Johannesburg got about an inch of snow last night, the first "major snowfall" since 1981. Snow may sound strange for South Africa, but Jo-burg sits at about 5,500 feet and it can go below freezing a few times during the winter. I remember snow falling a couple hundred miles north of the city when we were there in 1996. Schools actually let out early so kids could go play in it.

I was listening to talk radio this morning and had some good laughs hearing people talk about waking up their kids at 4:00 am to see it snow and make snowmen. People were also arguing about whether it was snow or not. One person would say it was "really tiny pellets of ice." Another would say it was fluffy. Like there's a big difference when it's sitting on your lawn.

The announcers were asking for driving tips and suggestions on how to clean off cars. One lady said that the snow doubled the weight of the car and caused it to use lots more petrol (gasoline). She also said they had to use cardboard to scrape off the snow. I was really tempted to call and ask her if she'd ever used a broom before.

Another guy called in to make sure people were using special oil in their cars because it was so cold. It was 28 degrees! Not exactly a Minnesota winter.

There's also snow in the mountains around Cape Town. It's pretty to see the white peaks in the distance. It probably won't last long because it doesn't stay as cold here. It's just a little reminder of home.