A winter storm coming can be compared to a pending childbirth or maybe Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. And you’re never certain when it will arrive, but you know it’s coming. You might not know the day, but you know the season.

The fact of Thursday night’s winter storm Avery was not so much a surprise to Butler County as it was the wallop it delivered. Freezing rain and wet snow snapped tree trunks and limbs; pulled down power lines and interrupted electric and cable service for tens of thousands of customers from Cranberry to Bruin. Some remain without electricity, cable and heat three days later.

More than one caller asked the Butler Eagle: how could the utility companies be caught so off-guard? How could they not predict this storm more accurately and prepare us for it?

Well, let’s be fair.

To begin with, This storm, Avery, took some unexpected twists and turns. Add the fact that 2018 was one of the region’s wettest summers ever recorded. With the ground saturated, the trees and roots saturated, ice forming on and possibly even inside the trees made them especially brittle as the temperature hovered around the freezing mark for hour upon hour Thursday night and Friday morning. Persistent autumn leaves still clinging to branches only gave the ice more surface to cling to.

A Middlesex Township resident living near a wooded area reported hearing dozens of trees collapsing Thursday night under the weight of ice and snow.

East of here, Avery dumped significant amounts of snow more than predicted. Weather analysts said the temperatures were slightly colder than they’d expected, meaning the rain they had forecast arrived as snow.

But the forecasters got the storm right. And they got it right here in Western Pennsylvania. Even so, the number of downed trees and power outages was an eye-opener. There was not much in the advisories about falling trees and power lines, just freezing rain, ice and snow. That’s a fairly specific way of saying there’s a storm coming.

It’s not coincidence that Nov. 11 through 17 is National Winter Weather Awareness Week. The meteorologists who track and forecast the weather have a pretty good knack for knowing the seasonal climate, just as expectant parents know when they should have the nursery ready and a bag packed for the hospital, even if they don’t know the exact delivery date.

In observance of Winter Weather Awareness Week, the Weather Service issues the usual advice: bundle up against cold weather; dress in layers; protect bare skin and extremities from wind chill; know the symptoms of hypothermia; wear a hat; mittens are better than gloves; gloves are better than pockets.

Add to all this some localized advice: Electric outages mean many homes have no heat. Warming shelters have popped up across Butler County. If you are in a home without heat, please take advantage of a warming shelter. This is especially important for young and old people and those with chronic medical conditions.

Power outages mean many homes also have no cable or wi-fi, meaning some neighbors might not have heard about the warming shelters. It might be a kind gesture to check in on a neighbor to make sure they’ve been informed.

Neighbors are extending a helping hand. If you need help, allow yourself the grace to accept it. This is the essence of community spirit.