Posted on 01/22/2005 4:04:20 AM PST by SamAdams76
Well all the stops have officially been pulled out by the weather prognosticators. They are on a "war footing." The Northeast is getting a true BLIZZARD this weekend. Not a "nor'easter". Not just your basic snowstorm dumping 6-10 inches in Boston and New York with a mix and changeover to rain along the coast. No! We are talking 20-30 inches of windblown powdery snow in many locations with no chance of a mix with or change to rain whatsoever.
The temperatures are currently running zero or below zero across most of the Northeast this morning so the cold air is in place and fully entrenched. With the high winds expected with this storm, This will be a true BLIZZARD.
So as I sit in the epicenter of it all (my area is expecting over two feet of snow), I thought I'd start this thead so that Freepers can give us reports of how conditions are in there area. And you don't have to be in the Northeast to participate as this storm is currently affecting Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia as it heads to the East Coast where it is expected to undergo what the weather nuts call "bombogenesis" and literally explode into a superstorm as energy is transferred over the comparatively milder Atlantic Ocean.
So there you have it. Even in areas where plenty of snow falls this time of year, you have people running to the supermarket early this morning to "stock up", as if somehow a few feet of snow is going to stop all commerce and transportation for the forseeable future (the reality is that we should be all shoveled and plowed out by Monday morning no matter how bad things get).
The local TV stations around here have gone absolutely bonkers, as they are wont to do. It's even more extreme this year because TV "broadcast" stations are struggling to maintain their relevancy in a high world of internet, satellite radio and many other distractions that consumers have these days.
Weekday "anchors" are being rolled out of bed early this Saturday morning as they throw on their hairpieces and head to the studios for all-day "wall-to-wall" coverage of this blizzard. Seasoned reporters are being sent to Home Depots where people are already nervously buying shovels (even though they likely have 7 or 8 shovels in their garage already) and supermarkets where silly old ladies are buying gallons of milk (that they normally never drink) and loaves of bread (that they will never eat and end up throwing to the birds). Other reporters will be sent into the streets to do interviews with snow-plow drivers and "public safety" officials. More junior reporters are being sent to the sides of highways for liveshots where absolutely nothing is going on presently. But they will stand there nevertheless, filming the traffic going by and commenting on "how dangerous" this highway will be in just a few more hours. Then when the storm hits, these same reporters will retreat to rest areas where they will continue their liveshots as their cameramen instruct them to "sway in the wind" and "hold on to their hats" to help convince the viewers at home that the storm is severe indeed.
Yes, it's going to be a fun weekend in New England and the Northeast in general. But the beauty of this is that is is on a weekend. If we are going to get a true blizzard, the timing just couldn't be much better. We are able to get our normal errands done on Saturday morning and then in the afternoon, we can retreat to our homes and stoke up the fireplace as the snow moves in. Then tomorrow (Sunday), we can sleep late and take our time shoveling out. Then we have a perfect excuse to sit around the warm house all afternoon watching football as THREE out of the four teams still playing are all in the snow-bound Northeast. The ratings ought to be phenomenal, provided the power doesn't go out.
So post conditions in your area here.
Outside my home (approx 30 miles northwest of Boston near the NH border), it is -11 degrees! It is daybreak and the skies are mostly clear with some high clouds. It is COLD out there, almost too cold for snow. But it's coming, at least that's what they tell me!
Just moved from Long Island to Lehigh County Pennsylvania.
It started snowing here around 9:00 a.m. this morning. We've got plenty of supplies and my neighbor has a new tractor with a snow plow that he loves to come over and do our driveway with.
My husbands with NYC Sanitation, the "Greatest Snow Removers" on the east coast. He's home recovering from a heart attack and groaning about all the overtime he's missing LOL.
Finally awakened you, huh? Yes, I should have constructed that sentence more carefully. And no, it isn't snowing here, it is lightly raining. It should change over to snow showers later today.
Had frozen pipes last night. What I do is turn on all faucets hot & cold, whether they run or not, and leave them on. It may take a while so you must be around, but eventually the water comes back. Don't ask me why, my cousin the plumber says: impossible. My boyfriend says: impossible, but it's worked for me in two different houses.
If you do get the water back, you must let the water run continuously at "a pencil lead" thickness to keep them from re-freezing.
Hope it works, good luck!
It just started snowing down here in Norwalk. Do you know the "Indian" saying "Small flakes, Big storm"? We've got small flakes.
Is that a real temperature or wind chill?
that's gotta be real temp.
I missed "78" because I was overseas. When I did return to the region I was surprised to see just how much people respond to the forecasted snowstorms.
I do not recall things being so bad before 1978 where people would automatically go into a panic mode. I figure that the supermarket companies encourage the television stations to hype these things up. Supermarkets tend to advertise a lot and so they wield considerable local clout!
This snow season is however shaping up as a big one.
Actually, there are a lot of chemical additives that you can add to rock salt to bring down it's operating temperatures.
Here in Indy, we're using liquid Calcium Chloride as a pre-wetting agent, which drops the effective temperature down to -5 or so.
Doesn't anyone consider going to church on Sunday mornings out there?
I really should invest in a blow torch. Or have a plumber relocate my kitchen sink so it doesn't call for pipes to come clear across the uninsulated garage ceiling. That's where they freeze.
You are right they often thaw out by themselves. Maybe plumbers don't want this generally known, eh? ;)
By the way I am in PA a little to the east of Pittsburgh and we have around four inches of snow here. Actually doesn't look too bad, snowing lightly. I will never get over the snow we had a few years back, three feet deep. After that nothing seems too bad.
like slightly fluffy hail. Think little chunks of the old frost from your freezer, that hasn't quite turned clear.
You have to get them shielded from the cold air. Insulation works. I had problems for years with frozen pipes in my old home. Finally I opened up my attic and discovered that the insulation had simply fallen away (skimpy contractors back in the 1960s), and the fix took me all of a minute.
Probably not, actually. This storm is tracking farther south. In the Portland area, forecast is for a foot, maybe. If we get a foot and half it'll be a surprize. Biggest single storm accumulations I recall around here were pushing two feet, and that was not cold, fluffy stuff either, like this one will be.
I'll never forget one 4th of July back in the late 70's. The weathermen hyped good weather for the weekend, when it was obvious it was going to rain the entire time. I'm sure the charcoal and hot dog bun industry put them up to it. Since then, I've always been suspicious of the profit motive in weather reporting.
The low will deepen rapidly over the gulf stream, they are now predicting hurricane force winds for Cape Cod. Also some slowing means a couple more hours of snow (another 1/2 foot so 24-36 is looking likely).
You had water pipes in your attic? Cool...... :)
I'm here in da Bronx, we have small flakes falling at a good clip, 16 degrees, and the streets are now coated.
The water in Long Island Sound/Eastchester Bay looked like it was on fire, smoke everywhere. It was really neat to cross over the bridge and see the "smoke" creep over the roadway, like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Jus' started here North of Syracuse. 3rd Saturday in a row we've gotten dumped on. This time tho' the winds are wicked and its WAY colder than we are used to having associated with a snowstorm.
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