White Out!


Driving earlier this evening, I found myself in the midst of a white out.

Usually, white-outs occur during heavy snowstorms, where the falling snow is so dense the volume of snowflakes obliterates the view in every direction.

My white out was slightly different, as for one, it wasn’t snowing, and  two, I only couldn’t see ahead. Unfortunately, as ahead was the direction I was travelling in.

What caused the unusual phenomena is easy to explain. It was sunny. It was also raining. And the clouds were white. Oh, and the roads were wet. I drove in the direction of the Sun – not literally, as I remained on the road – and the sunlight had been diffused by the clouds, making them appear whiter and brighter than usual. The raindrops were reflecting the sunlight and the bright ‘cloudlight’, so they were also falling as white shards… and everything was then reflected again by the wet road surface.

Everywhere ahead was white, bright and sparkly.

Which isn’t really a bad outlook, when you think about it. Every cloud has a silver lining.

Shortly after the white out, everything returned to normal. Wet and grey.

Here’s an artists impression of the whiteout:

10 responses to “White Out!”

  1. CMStewart avatar

    You’ve got a museum-quality piece of art there, no doubt worth a lot of money. It’s reminiscent of “Twin,” by Robert Ryman. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8330/8088597246_afb1e02521_b.jpg

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      Do you know, CM, I can spot the similarities there… that’s just uncanny!

      Like

  2. Elaine - I used to be indecisive avatar

    Your artist’s impression has captured the situation beautifully. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      Thanks, Elaine – I thought it had too… it was a commissioned piece!

      Like

  3. europasicewolf avatar

    Oh Tom! The Whiteout is just so…..wonderful! And….white! Truly awesomely beautiful!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      Yes, the whiteness of it stood out to me too, Icewolf… thank you! 🙂

      Like

  4. Visionkeeper avatar

    Oh you are in rare form TL…I absolutely cracked up when you mentioned driving into the sun….lol I had a sudden vision of you in a VW bug ascending into the sky en route to the sun. Kinda like that movie years ago called Herbie and the love bug…Does the mansion come with cars that fly by the way? Wonderful thought! Have a happy….VK

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      Well, the Mansion flies itself at times, VK… not noticed any cars doing the same just yet, but anything’s possible around here!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Diane Henders avatar

    LOL! Your artist’s impression captured it beautifully! Somewhere there’s a multi-million-dollar government arts grant with your name on it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      😀 Now that would be nice, Diane! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

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