This spring has been a challenging one here in Minnesota, between near-record cold weather in May and, of course, our on-going battle with the coronavirus. But a least we didn't have to deal with this.

While we were hunkering down during our Stay-At-Home order here in Minnesota, out in Victorville, California they were sheltering in place as well, and breaking out the pitchforks, rakes, and shovels to deal with something else: an invasion of... tumbleweeds!

And while there were a lot of tumbleweeds this year, it wasn't quite as bas as two years ago, though. In 2018, Victorville, which is located a little over an hour northeast of Los Angeles, was hit with winds of nearly 50 miles per hour which ended up blowing the tumbleweeds (dry brush and scrub which commonly grows in rural desert areas in that part of the country) directly into town... and right onto homeowners' properties.

This NPR story says there were SOOO many tumbleweeds, they created piles 7 feet thick in some areas. Sue Jones, public information officer for the City of Victorville, told NPR in the story "that about 100 homes in the neighborhood required help after having their entryways at least partially blocked."

It went on to say one homeowner spent "several hours with a pitchfork to move the tumbleweeds to the street for the city to pick up with a front loader," the story said.

So, imagine having to shovel tumbleweeds instead of snow this spring. At least the weather out in California was likely still way warmer than ours here in Minnesota. So they have that going for them. And, I'll bet those tumbleweeds aren't any near as heavy as some wet April Minnesota snow, either. It's still some weird to see, though, isn't it?

Listen to Curt St. John mornings from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and afternoons from 2 to 4 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc!

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