The Great Winter Hurricane

By Steven P. Roberts

Weather forecasters are calling for a 6- to 10-foot dumping of snow in New England, inspiring the children of Boston’s mayor and the Massachusetts governor to run away from the comfort and safety of their fine homes to frolic in the frost of this deadly and devastating winter hurricane. While this is going on, the Highway Department is planning a sickout to coincide with the onset of the great storm, as the governor has not been completely forthcoming with these people. The storm strikes, the kids are nowhere to be found, and the governor is left to orchestrate a response with far fewer people than are necessary to do the job right.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven P. Roberts
• Release date: Mar 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310891069

Book preview

THE GREAT WINTER HURRICANE

A Novel Written in Modular Style

by

Steven P. Roberts

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2015 by Steven P. Roberts

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

What Is Modular Style?

About this Book

Acknowledgements

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE: TROUBLE ON THE CHARTS

Year 2035: The Weather Machine Fires a Warning Shot

A Bad Case of Mistaken Identity

Planning a Blue Flu for a White Friday

Mickey Incurs the Wrath of Give–’m–Hell Henry

Igniting the Spark of Inventive Inspiration

CHAPTER TWO: A FIGHT IN THE MAYOR’S HOUSE

Ask Me No Questions and I’ll Tell You No Lies

Two Tribes Trade War Stories

What’s the Difference Between a Blizzard and a Winter Hurricane, Anyway?

The Gale Center That Inspired a Blow–Out

The National Weather Service Gets a Chilling Forecast

Two Tribes Initiate Escape Plans

An Introduction to the Weathermen

The Weathermen Have a Great Brainstorm

Sam and Joe Work Out the Details of the Plot

The Fab Four Give Henry Hell Once More

Mellissa and Henry Have It Out in the Bar

CHAPTER THREE: HATCHING AN ESCAPE PLAN

Two Forecasters Speculate about the Storm to Come

The Six–Pack Finalizes Their Escape Plans

The Snowbot is Nearly Completed

Two Forecasters Speak Off the Record

Katie Green Interviews a Man in the Know

Gearing Up for Operation Snow Bomb

The Governor’s Great Big Snow Job

Will There Be a Blue Flu on White Friday?

How Bad Will It Be? How Much Will We See?

Packing Up to Get the Hell Out

John Joyce Rekindles an Old Flame

CHAPTER FOUR: THE CALL OF THE NORTH

Getting Ready for the Storm to Come

Barbara Walsh Gets a Surprise Visit

Henry Has a Moment with the Mother of His Child

Mike and Mark Have a Word with Their Wives

The Wives Have a Talk About the Strike

Raising a Glass to a Pain in the Ass

Two Forecasters Take in the Sights at Ground Zero

The Blast of an Epic Bomb

Running Under the Cover of Darkness

Getting Settled In at the Ski Lodge

The Snowbot Gets a Preliminary Test Run

CHAPTER FIVE: WHERE THE HELL ARE THE KIDS?

Henry’s Touching Goodbye to the Family

Jerry Tabor Touches Base with the Milne Brothers

A Weather Weenie Gets a Weather Warning

Explaining the Whys and Whats of Whiteouts

The Two Tribes Are Missing in Action

Getting Ready to Go to the Beach House

The Blue Flu Becomes a Rotten Reality

There Really Is a Snow Blitz in Progress

Precipitating Gridlock in the Great White

CHAPTER SIX: OVERTAKEN BY A WALL OF WHITE

The Six–Pack Gets Ready to Hit the Slopes

Bob Gets a Call from a Fellow Weather Enthusiast

Where the Hell Are the Road Crews?

Blind Man Succumbs to His Frozen Fog

Having a Blast at the Beach House

The Six–Pack Blazes a Competitive Trail

Watching Out for My Wayward Brother

The Six–Pack Gets Separated in a Whiteout

Nancy Calls Melissa About Henry

John Joyce Calls in an Ominous Weather Observation

The Six–Pack Reunites in the White

Stranded within Automotive Igloos

Two Men Lay Green on the Odds of a Blackout

CHAPTER SEVEN: A WIND–WHIPPED WHITEOUT

Safe and Sound in the Lodge at Last!

The Governor’s Big Storm Press Conference

Chinese Water Torture Within a Blizzard

The Ocean Rudely Crashes the Party

Melissa Gets More Bad News from the Storm Front

Gearing up for a Perilous Pizza Run

Having a Blast in an Epic Bomb

Who Really Turned Out the Lights?

Michael Drops a Dime and a Bomb

This Storm May Bring Us Baby Henry

Is It Snowing Ever Lovingly on the Lake, or What?

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE STORM STALLS

Waking up to a Winter Wonderland

Mike and Mark Get a Call from the Lost Party

Taking a Hell Ride through a Frozen Wasteland

Dropping off the Precious Cargo and a Bite to Eat

The Governor Gets an Update on Emergency Response

Many Kids Get Pinned Within a Pile of Frozen Rubble

Finding a New Way to Hit the Slopes

Wow, Is It Ever Snowing Out on That Lake!

The Storm Is Officially Declared the Great Winter Hurricane

A Man Falls into an Icy Drink

The Governor’s Big Storm Snow Job

CHAPTER NINE: A WINTER HURRICANE PARTY

A Snow Blitz Rescue for Two

Who or What is Making It Snow Up On the Lake?

The Six–Pack Gets Rowdy and Raunchy

The Sun and Snow Fall on My Family

A New Baby Storms into the World

The Last Emergency Response Update Is Issued

The Six–Pack Hits the Slopes in an Illuminated Whiteout

Melissa Reaches Out to the Next Generation

Two Six-Packs Become a Dirty Dozen

Mickey Joyce and Salina Walsh Have a Talk

John and Jen Baker Discuss the Richards’ Tiff

This Isn’t a Winter Hurricane; It’s a Snow Thunderstorm Complex!

CHAPTER TEN: THE COAST IS CLEAR

Visions of an Awful Aftermath

Jen and Lisa Have a Heart–to–Heart

The Governor Gets Two Monkeys Off His Back

Shadows of Our Meteorological Future

Snow Removal Yields an Awful Discovery

Sometimes Bad News Comes in Threes

The Governor Gets Mixed News

The Snowbot Gets Its Ultimate Test Run

John and Barbara Get an Interesting Surprise

Barbara Walsh Meets Katie Green

The Milne Family Takes a Flying Leap

Admiring the Splendid Skyscape

AFTERWORD

A Brain Storm and a Snowstorm

Could the Great Winter Hurricane Actually Happen?

About the Author

Editing and Publishing Assistance

What Is Modular Style?

Modular Style is a style in which a novel is made up of many small stories (mods) to advance the bigger story. Each mod commences with a heading and has a beginning, middle, and end. These stories are each individual but are more connected than an episodic plot. The Modular Style novel is constructed rather like a patchwork quilt.

The Modular Style enables readers to manage the reading experience. They can read one mod or many mods, depending on their time or inclination. Each heading leads the reader into its story. The Modular Style is ideal for the e–reader age.

Steven P. Roberts

About this Book

One day, as I was getting ready to do a Weather Wisdom Weekly program (a weekly weather radio program) on the Great Blizzard of ‘78, I had a talk with a person who contended that, with global warming, we would never see a tempest like that again.

I said that global warming causes weather extremes of all kinds, up to and including storms like the Great Blizzard of ‘78.

This person was surprised to hear such a thing and said, Really!

I then went on to say that if the conveyer belt were to shut down, as it did in the 2004 movie The Day after Tomorrow, storms like the Great Blizzard of ’78 would occur as a matter of course.

This person then asked, If storms like the Great Blizzard of ’78 were occurring as a matter of course, what would the ‘big one’ of that time be called?

I glibly replied, the Great Winter Hurricane. A group of three people who were in earshot of this conversation said at once, That sounds like a great novel title.

That conversation planted a seed that would not die. After doing my Weather Wisdom program, I went home to plot out the novel: Build a storm and make it the main character. The thought was to create a storm that only occurs once every 100 years in a climate altered by the shutdown of the conveyer belt. By the end of the day, I had written an outline of this novel and had conceived the idea for the next novel in the series.

Acknowledgements

To Michael Smith, who has been with me from the very beginning: Thank you very much, Michael. You are a paragon of literary greatness, in my opinion; you must finish your novel. I would also like to thank you for helping me with my first book, The Whys and Whats of Weather.

I would also like to thank Dorothy Donovan, who did the initial editing of this book and transcribed it. I also discussed the ideas for this novel with her. Dot, you are the wind beneath my wings!

To my father, Douglas Roberts, who wanted me to write novels instead of weather books. This novel is for you, Dad.

And a special thanks to my family for being there for me.

To Suzanne Wilson, who read the novel and gave me many suggestions as to how to improve the story. I thank you very much.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my eldest nephew, Adam Bower, who read the manuscript in its entirety and gave me lots of feedback on the story. His suggestions helped me to refine the story and make it what it is today. Adam gave me lots of encouragement that enabled me to continue the work on this novel.

Adam, you have always been there for me, as a writer and a person. This book is for you. Your undying belief in me and my abilities enabled me to proceed when I severely doubted my capacity to undertake this project.

CHAPTER ONE

TROUBLE ON THE CHARTS

Year 2035: The Weather Machine Fires a Warning Shot

The sky was clear, and the air was cold, but not unusually so. By day, a high temperature of 20 degrees would be reached, while falling to zero at night. There was a bank of glowering clouds in the northwest sky, a portent of things to come. These clouds were whistling along on the winds of change, change that would herald the return of bitterly cold air and set the stage for a tempest the likes of which New England had never known.

At the National Weather Service Office in Taunton, Massachusetts, lead forecaster Kim Kelleher and warning coordination meteorologist Mike Whitney were looking at a radar image of a squall line.

Mike, that squall is producing thunder, lightning, and three–inch–an–hour snow.

I know, Kim. Issue a thunder snow warning for Taunton and surrounding communities and broadcast it over NOAA Weather Radio. When you come out, we’ll watch the squall together.

Oh, Mike, that seems...

Kim, don’t fret the frivolity at all. I know very well how hard you work.

Kim went in to broadcast the warning, and Mike prepared two cups of coffee: light for her, black for himself. With the coffee in hand, both went to the weather window to take a look.

The squall line was fast approaching. One by one, objects in the distance began to vanish. A radio tower one mile away completely disappeared behind a curtain of careening flakes. A nearby church steeple was there one minute and gone the next. The first flakes began to fly outside their window.

Within a minute, there was a blinding whiteout. The winds roared, hurling the heavily falling snow through the air. The dark clouds gave the midday a hue like that of a cloudy dusk. It was high noon, and the street lights were on. There was a brilliant flash of lightning followed by a percussive clap of thunder.

Wow! Did you see that, Kim?

I sure did, Mike. It was awesome.

Finally, the snow began to let up, and the sun began to break through the departing cloud cover, giving the still falling flakes the appearance of descending glitter. A gust of wind sent the squall’s last flakes dancing playfully in the frosty air. The sun had returned to its pre–squall splendor, but it would do nothing to arrest the free–fall in temperatures that the squall had engendered.

Mike and Kim returned to work.

Well, Mike, said Kim, that might have been the dress rehearsal for the storm to come.

Yes, the weather machine just fired a warning shot.

Mike, do you think you’ll issue a Winter Hurricane Warning for this particular storm?

Without a doubt, Kim. All the models have this low at benchmark as a 942 millibar system on Saturday morning. That’s the level of pressure you could expect to see in a Category 4 hurricane.

The telephone rang, and Kim picked it up on the third ring. With the phone on speaker, she answered: NWS Taunton, Kim Kelleher speaking. How can I help you?

Hi, Kim. This is Dr. George Cullen, from the D.C. office. When the storm’s central pressure falls to 960 millibars, issue a Winter Hurricane Warning. I’d also like for you to issue a Winter Hurricane Watch prior to the warning issuance.

That will be done, Dr. Cullen, said Mike.

Good, Mike. I’ll get with you from time to time.

That sounds good to me. I’ll talk to you later on.

A Bad Case of Mistaken Identity

At Boston College High School, Mickey Joyce and Tom Walsh had just left their Earth Science class to go home. Mickey had russet brown hair and blue eyes. He stood six feet tall and weighed 160 lbs. Tom Walsh had deep blue eyes and dirty blond hair. He was also six feet tall, but weighed 200 lbs. The guys were great friends who both loved sports.

Mickey said, What do you think about the hockey game tonight? Do you think Boston College is going to pull off another upset like they did last year?

Are you out of your mind? Boston College will be killed by Boston University tonight!

Tom, you said the same thing last year, and look at what happened.

Mickey, different year, different team.

Brenda Joyce and Salina Walsh approached their brothers and said in concert, OK, boys, enough is enough. Salina was a tall doll at 5’ 10 and 135 lbs. She had flowing blond hair that reached to just below her waist. Brenda was only a little shorter and lighter: 5’ 8 and 125 lbs. She had brown hair down to the middle of her back and blue eyes. The four kids walked toward the exit of the school and saw their brothers, Ron Joyce and Ryan Walsh, talking to the Richards brothers. Ron Joyce, who had brown hair and hazel eyes, was six feet tall and weighed 180 lbs. Ryan Walsh was a hulk, standing 6’ 2" and weighing in at 240 lbs. He was a gentle giant who loved to occasionally give people a hard time.

Ron approached Bob and gave him a hard time about the latest Earth Science exam. Hey, Bob, did you have to ace the exam and deny us all a few points on the curve?

Ryan put in his two cents. Yeah, come on, Bob. If you get a 95 on the next exam, you would get the five points separating you from 100 and we’d all benefit from the curve. Come on, Bob, tank one for the team!

Bob laughed and said, Get the hell out of here, you guys. Come on, you have to kick my ass because I can kick ass?

Then Salina said, No, Bob, we won’t kick your ass, but we will bust your balls!

Jimmy, Timmy, and Bob Richards had just left the high school for the day. They all decided to stand outside and wait for the Baker sisters to pick them up. Bob saw a text message on his cell phone from the Gunstock Resort, confirming his reservation for that weekend. Bob called Cindy’s house phone to leave a message.

Cindy, Sandy, Candy—you’re all invited to ski with us this weekend. Call when you can. ’Bye.

Jimmy saw a van that looked similar to the one driven by the Baker sisters. The occupants looked similar as well. Bob, are those the Baker triplets or the Steen triplets?

Bob looked very carefully before answering. They’re the Steen triplets.

Wow! Those ladies could really throw you off if you weren’t careful.

Jimmy, the Steen triplets are not ladies. They’re Public Enemy Number One. True to form, the Steen girls rolled by and