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!
We had thundersnow here in Western Mass last winter (maybe 2 years ago)
And I also saw some in Yellowstone, 20-odd years ago.
You should live in Richmond. Home of the Meteorologist Blizzard Condition Wannabes. I have never lived in a place where weather conditions are measured with a ruler in a puddle and filmed for all to see. It's humiliating, I tell ya'!
Snowstorm with lightning? *odd look* Never seen that before (is from Louisville KY, now in Brunswick ME) Where does something that freaky happen?
I have seen them happen in CT. Sometimes they cause what is know as a "blue out"
Last year I was shoveling during a storm...Lightning flashed and the thunder rolled. Freaked me out. It's been snowing here in North Haven, CT since 1:00, we've got about 1". Steady, small flakes.
You gotta learn to pick your battles...
You are right, when it breaks 80 degrees all my outside work stops and I go into the A/C house. Luckily we don't have many days where the temp goes above 80.
I've seen them in both North Carolina & New York.
We've only been here a few months (husband is a US Navy P-3 mechanic at NAS Brunswick). Even this storm isn't much of a scare for us, the worst storm we'd seen in KY dumped 22 in of snow overnight. They're forecasting 6-12 in here, we're stocked well in food and the car has a full tank of gas. We're set. :)
22 inches in KY??? wow, and they move snow, when they have to, with tractors and such, or drive around a drift, into the fields LOL My Mom lives down there.
Brunswick, what state?
Prepare to clean up the mess!
That 22 in was a bitch though. KY don't know how to handle snow quite like Maine does, that's for sure. In Louisville the snowstorm of January '94, 17 in of snow, I was out of school for TWO WEEKS. And Louisville was a mess for a good week afterwards.
An image of the Virgin Mary? Yeah...that's the ticket. Let's see...you found it, Petronski addressed it to me...I say we post this post on eBay, divide the proceeds between the three of us and we can all take a cruise and get away from the snow!!!
Maine; just wait a while! :)
What township do you live in? I am on Good Hope Road in Landenberg. I hate snow!
Thanks for the information, SamAdams76. Much appreciated! I'll look into it today.
$50 for a clip of the first person in an on-air capacity that uses the phrases "more frigid than a NOW convention" on air.
PAMom
What? You are asking me to compromise my religous beliefs for mere tokens? How about cutting Petronski out of the loop and you have a deal.
I must tell you that my wife insisted we get one many years ago but, frankly, we haven't really used it very much (YET). Makes you feel good to have one, though.
KY don't know how to handle snow quite like Maine does, that's for sure. In Louisville the snowstorm of January '94, 17 in of snow, I was out of school for TWO WEEKS. And Louisville was a mess for a good week afterwards.
I hear ya! We were down there once visiting, they got 2 inches and school was cancelled! But they don't have the removal equipment we do up here. I guess they feel they seldom use it.
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