Sorry To Be Gone For Two Days; Was Weatherman At Sister's Wedding

My husband, Jeff, hunkered down against the rain, tries gamely to sweep
water away from the spot in Shrewsbury where my sister, Laurie, would
marry Bennie shortly after. The heavy rain stopped just before
the ceremony. I had assured Laurie the worst of the rain would be
over by 4 p.m. and it was. Photo by David Jenne. 

Those of you who regularly read this blog thingy might have noticed I've been offline for the past two or three days.

I was down in Shrewsbury, Vermont, for my sister Laurie's wedding. Which was held outdoors.

This being Vermont, weather complicated the situation.  Because I am such a weather geek, I quickly became the de facto wedding weather crisis consultant.

It rained Saturday in Vermont. We knew it was coming, but forecasts called for showers. We were prepared to dodge the showers, and work the wedding ceremony in between any periods of rain.

The National Weather Service and other forecasters said the rain would be off and on. And they said the better atmospheric forcing would go by to our south, so any rain that fell would be quite light. We'd be OK.

Gawd, did it ever pour in Shrewsbury Saturday afternoon! The better atmospheric forcing seemed to go right overhead. I'd estimate an inch of rain fell in just three hours or so. The nearby Rutland Airport received 0.70 inches of rain in two hours during Saturday afternoon.

Plus, the temperatures plummeted during the rain. It went from 65 to 53 at Rutland as the rain moved in. Shrewsbury is at a higher elevation, so I wouldn't be surprised if the temperature dipped below 50 up there. In the middle of the afternoon in June.

The rain stopped just in time, which allowed Laurie and Bennie to say their vows

The wedding was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. or so. It was still pouring. All eyes turned to me, the weather geek.

What to do?  I kept studying National Weather Service radar. There seemed to be some hope at the end of this rainy tunnel.

It looked like the heaviest rain was moving toward the northeast awfully fast. An area of no rain, or just drizzle lurked down near Albany, New York. This relatively rain-free area was coming our way. Would it arrive in time?  

I asked the bride, Laurie, if the wedding could be postponed until 4 p.m. or so. She said yes. (It was the first of two big yesses she would say that day.) The heaviest rain bands should have moved by to our northeast by then. There might be some lingering drizzle at 4 p.m., I said, but the heavy rain would be gone.

I just prayed that I would be right.  Thank goodness I was! The downpour abruptly turned into sprinkles and drizzle right before 4 p.m. Patches of fog formed pretty lacy patterns on the scenic mountains behind us. The wedding was on!

Almost. First, we had to do something about the river that formed right where the vows would take place. My husband Jeff went out and started breaking up sod that blocked the flowing water and sweeping the water away.

A wedding guest spied Jeff, with a battered broom, hunkered down under a gray sweatshirt, forlornly sweeping the water.

"Why are you doing this?," the guest asked, confused.

My husband replied, "What, give up show business?"

Jeff got most of the water out of there, but Laurie said her vows barefoot so she wouldn't get her nice shoes soaked.   It was absolutely beautiful. The weather was no match for the love between Bennie and Laurie and the family members all gathered on that beautiful Shrewsbury hilltop for the wedding.

Sometimes, weather problems can be defeated pretty easily.