A story to send a shiver down your spine

VERSION FRANCAISE ICI

My name is Bill. I’m a weatherman. I work for the television as a matter of fact. Maybe you’ve seen me, maybe not. It doesn’t really matter because I’ve got something much more important to tell you. Something strange that happened to me. It is a story to send a shiver down your spine.

Last night, I gave the weather as usual. But the forecast was far from ordinary for the time of year : After today’s glorious sunshine and record-breaking temperatures, the National Weather Centre announces extreme cold for tomorrow with heavy snowfalls all over the country. I gave all the details of temperatures, expected snowfalls, possible disruptions and so on. I advised everyone to keep safe and to stay warm and said goodnight.

Forecast done, I was already thinking about getting home before the snow. But then people started coming into the studio. They didn’t normally do that. Some applauded, some laughed. But others were very unhappy.

Snow in the middle of summer, Bill? That’s impossible, they said.

Well, I answered, that’s the forecast. We’ll just have to see, won’t we?

And during the night, it gradually got colder and colder. The sky began to cloud over. Soon there was not a star to be seen. A freezing wind came in from nowhere, and snow began to fall. Slowly at first. Then thicker and thicker. It snowed all night.

In the morning, all the people woke up and opened their curtains expecting to see the summer sun. But what did they see? Snowflakes falling gently from the sky.

A few just smiled, posted a video on social networks and tried to carry on as normal. But nobody could go out. There was too much snow. It was everywhere you looked. Roads were blocked and transport wasn’t working.  For the first time on record, it had snowed widely and thickly in the middle of summer.

Children loved it, of course. They couldn’t just sit inside and look at it, and they went out to play. Adults joined them for snowball fights and races downhill on anything that would slide. Even when all they had to wear were shorts and t-shirts.

Families on holiday at the seaside built snowcastles on the beach. They waited for the waves to come and wash over everything they’d built. But the waves were frozen like everything else. They tried to make up for their disappointment with an ice-cream – something you do on your way home from the beach – but there was only ice, plain ice, with no other flavour available. Ice and snow, of course. There was plenty of snow.

It got dark early for some reason. Nobody seemed surprised and fell asleep, as if by enchantment, dreaming of snow falling endlessly on a country populated by snowmen and snow women and snowchildren living in snowtowns.

That evening, I did the forecast as usual. People need to know what to expect and it’s our duty to inform the public, especially when there is an extreme weather alert. I finished by saying : There’s no sign of a thaw for the moment so, while the snow lasts, keep warm, and keep an eye on your family and your neighbours. There was a QR Code for more information and a helpline number for emergencies. Then I said goodnight.

Light sleepers woke up during the night. They all looked outside to see if the snow was still there. It was, but its presence made them wonder and they couldn’t get back to sleep. What could they do? Stare at their screens and watch snowy pictures relayed by surveillance cameras which were no longer needed for security purposes because everyone was stuck inside. Others got up, made themselves a warm drink, and then sipped it gazing out at the strange white snowland.

This uncanny, newly frozen landscape seemed to have fallen under the spell of a magician dressed in white who couldn’t care less that it was supposed to be summer.

Then, suddenly, a familiar voice said : Bill, you’re on the air in five minutes.

I’d fallen asleep in front of the air conditioner. I shivered as I shook myself back to my senses and looked at the script for the real weather forecast. No freezing wind or so much as a snowflake in sight. In fact, it was hottest summer on record and there was a red weather alert in operation.

Daytime and night-time temperatures were tropical, with hardly any rain except for the torrents which came down with summer thunderstorms. This long dry spell was taking us nearer by the day to a national drought with the risk of fires breaking out all over the place. 

No drop in temperature expected for the moment, the script read, so please stay home at the hottest times of the day, remember to drink water regularly, and keep an eye on your family and your neighbours. There would be a QR Code for more information and a helpline number for emergencies.

Suddenly, the real forecast looked stranger than the one in my dream. But there was no use rubbing your eyes in disbelief at yet another heatwave, because it wasn’t going to go away. In fact, it was just beginning to make itself the new normal for summer weather.

People used to love heatwaves in the summer, but the temperatures were bearable then. Not anymore. Something has gone terribly wrong and we don’t seem ready to correct some time soon.

Next time summer seems too hot or winter too cold, be careful of the weather you wish for. Think before you speak about how you would like it to change. Because, quite frankly, the result could send a shiver down your spine.