New York City, January 23, 2017

★★ Low, lumpy clouds in a solid mass slid quickly yet endlessly southward as the wind howled under the door. The windows were all closed, but a draft flowed over the floor regardless. Litter flew to spectacular heights. The boy who’d been well enough to go to school came home chilled and wind-blown, just before the rain came on. Walking two blocks and momentarily stepping inside again left the ears numb, as if the chill had been boxing them. The rain got heavier; fat drops took sharp and contradictory vectors as gusts tossed them through headlight beams. Against the parka hood it made the sound of popcorn popping.