We are just a little over a week out from winter storm Jonas’ special delivery of interstate gridlock, half a foot of powdery white snow (give or take depending on locale), and two glorious snow days –with ACTUAL snow. The above photo was taken below the Natchez Trace bridge in Franklin, TN.

And since then we’ve hit 70 degrees at least once, nearly twice. Wow, that’s crazy. A mild winter this year would be an understatement, even Punxsutawney Phil agreed yesterday when he saw no shadow, predicting an early spring.

All this to say it’s funny how native Nashvillians can’t quite get used to the weather swings here. Every year it is the same and every year we can’t believe it. We do budget for worst case scenarios, with at least 10 snow days built into every school year. I think maybe once in the last 15 years that I can remember we used them all. Usually the kids get to stay home and rest with even a slight threat of inclement weather. I had a client once tell me that “Nashville snow days are really great, but if someone had actually called these ‘snow days’ in Jersey, they would not have been taken seriously.”

My friend’s Westie rescues enjoyed the infamous Pedestrian Bridge in Downtown Nashville during last week’s snow. Baxter and Brody make the best snowdogs.

Luckily, our Brentwood backyard has a slight slope. There are tons of great sledding hills all around town.

What Nashvillians can all agree on is that we experience four seasons. Four glorious seasons, sometimes short, sometimes long, but we get ’em all: winter, spring, summer, fall. For that, I am thankful. I would miss one without the other.

So, when I’m showing relocating clients around, they often inquire about our weather. I do my best to explain the few things I do know:

• Don’t drive when it snows. We get icy, wet snow and black ice. Tough even with a 4-wheel drive. Remember… ‘Hills of Tennessee’
• Expect Kroger, Publix, Wal-Mart, et al. to be busy if any bad weather is predicted. Bottled water could be sold out. We like to be prepared.
• Tornadoes. Yep, I have heard that ‘Tornado Alley’ has shifted putting our area at greater risk. And I’ve been glued to the TV –ready to hop my family into our safe place –enough times to take this seriously. Our local media, however, does an excellent job tracking and keeping us informed.
• Floods: The 2010 Nashville flood was a 1,000-year epic event, which has a 0.1 percent likelihood of occurring (according to the National Weather Service). Not likely to happen again in this lifetime.
• Yes, our August is typically a hot, humid month. But not untolerable. It’s short lived. And worth tolerating for the other glorious seasons.

Interested to hear what ya’ll think about Nashville’s climate? How do you spend your snow days? And how do you like our dog that doesn’t bark– compliments of Jonas?