the flats
from
Mount Washington

…

Last night here on Mount Washington, there were winds, snow, rain and thunder. Looking out the back windows I could see sheets of wet snow being whipped around lamp-post, being snapped through naked trees. This morning, everything was covered. (The featured image is of the South Hills and the West Hills under a blanked of white powder.) However, when I drove down the mountain to the flats there was no snow and no evidence of wind-damage. It was as if I was traveling between realities.

When I was visiting friends in San Francisco, the term micro-climate was ubiquitous in everyday conversation. Here in Pittsburgh there is less talk about micro-climates; we all know weather in the hollers is different; we all know the East-end gets different weather patters – they can afford it. I believe, we avoid the term because it seems pretentious; it’s the weather not a geopolitical talking-point. But, after living on Mount Washington for 3 months and given last night’s winter storm and the fact that the flats were spared, I’m convince I live in a micro-climate and I’ve been repeating it all day.

There seems to be one other variable that impacts living here in wild weather and that is the position of the building. All 5 towers faces the Point and every unit has a view of the confluence of the Monongahela, the Allegheny and the Ohio Rivers. But, no wind hits the front of the building, instead the winds batter and beat the back walls, the back windows. Last night, the noise could easily have accompanied the zombie apocalypse.