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!
Yikes!!! Good day for you to snow bound at the casino!! LOL
Unusual at that shore, usually you don't get big snowfall, more ice.
Reporting from southern Ontario.
It's snowing. A lot.
Major crisis looming...my daughter is going to have to miss her date with her boyfriend who lives 30 miles away by Lake Erie.
Be prepared to stay where you are for the rest of the weekend. This is now forecasted to be one of the 10 biggest snow/blizzard events IN HISTORY for Southern New England. If you need to get somewhere, get there by 7PM because after that, the roads are expected to become almost impassable until late tomorrow.
Thanks, both my brother and sister live between Valley Forge Park and Audobon. My mother-in-law is out across from the Montgomery County Community College.
Hot Tabasco! Very smart of you to go yesterday as the roads are nasty here today. (we live about 10 minutes from Cabelas)
Did you go across the street to the Russell Stover candy store in Dundee? It's MUCH better than Cabelas. ;) Then again chocolate beats out handguns any day.
I heard that Massachusetts imposes a surtax on snowfalls over twelve inches.
WHAT?? what's this about, I just moved here last spring.
I'm not much of a gambler but I actually live in Ledyard (Home of the World's largest casino). I guarantee you the place will be packed. They have called their outside maintanance people to report in at 3PM and expect to stay over tonight at one of the hotels.
I am supposed to go into work tomorrow morning at 7am. I wonder if I should even bother to attempt the trip.
We're sitting tight but my husband is worried about our boat ,which is wrapped up for the winter, but in a boatyard within spitting distance of the ocean, in Scituate.
Lots of comparisons here to the NE Blizzard of 78 here but that storm was in a class all on its' own! I was 9 years old. The storm lasted for 3 days, 2/6 - 2/8. Winds reached 90+ mph in SE Mass. Our hometown received 61" of snow.... not a misprint ! This storm followed a "normal" blizzard 10 days earlier that had dropped 21". Nearly 8 feet of snow was on the ground at the end of the storm with drifts approaching 50 ft in extreme cases and 20 ft the norm. All non-medical, non-emergency service travel was forbidden for a week. Schools were closed for 3 weeks. I experienced other great blizzards on the east coast for the next 22 years and while hyped at the time, not a one was close to the same category as the "Blizzard of 78".
Missed '78 we were living in Southern New Jersey. We've seen the pictures and have many friends ,here on the South Shore, who tell us horrific stories.
I've got friends in West Chester. I'm up there about 4/5 times a year. You guys have a great flea market.
LOL I used to live in NW CT, those hills are famous for getting snow. Many times volunteers are petitioned to get people to and from work with their 4 wheel drives. And I have had neighbors with snowblowers come and assist me and my son in shoveling.
Where I am now, we just bought a new snowblower. Glad we did!!!!
Cohasset, Scituate, Marshfield and Plymouth are going to be hit hard if the forecast holds.
I know what tonight is going to be like. It will sound like a jet aircraft running its engines in my backyard.
My siamese cat will be under the covers snuggled up to me. He doesn't like the roaring wind. My wife will be asking me at regular intervals "What was that crash? "Did you hear that noise?"
Stay safe, and have a good trip. - Tom
This thread has really shown me the number of freepers in my area! Howdy to yet another neighbor LOL
As far as where you live...you might not be able to go to work by tomorrow morning. Most of NY and northern NJ--including just about every big city from New York into New England is in the 12"+ range.
No flakes yet in SW Massachusetts (91/90 intersection area)
I'm in South Jersey.
I only wish we had left LAST WEEK. My daughter-in-law ,in So. CA ,reports sunny and in the 70's as of 11 AM !
I guess that if you are in Redding, it identifies which "Cross Highway" your FR name refers to (there is another one in Weston/Westport, and maybe a couple of 'em in Greenwich also)...
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