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!
I know how you feel after winding up on my hip in our driveway, yesterday. The positive was I realized my bones must still be pretty firm since all I have are a few aches.
Boy it sure was a nice day at the gun range shooting off my .38, in a tee-shirt.
hehe..........yeah I know that was mean.
};o)
Well you've a clear view across the reach to the south where you are. Lowering cloud cover over here to the westard of you.
I thought you were in Cohasset. -Tom
Actually it's not too bad here. Sweatshirt weather here today. :) T-shirt weather tomorrow. :)
No, I sure didn't. The pistol was a co-2 pellet meant for pest control.
In one of my earlier posts I bragged about having enough food, wine, gin, etc. I was wrong. I'm out of wine and I have no lunchmeat for lunch tomorrow. Truth be known, I think I'm snowed in. I have a small Honda Del Sol and the sub hasn't been plowed so I'm not going anywhere for a while.
I'm thinking about dressing up real warm and hiking the mile to the ATM, then the grocery store then the video store..........
Still thinking.......LOL!
I too am in Scituate.Ever spend any time at Wompatuck State Park?
I've got some great pics of weird mushrooms from that park - I think I'll take the new digital camera there next May/June (As much as this whiteout denies it, lush green and warm zephyrs will be here before ya know it!)
Moved from the big house to a condo last year.
It's 12 F now and we expect 18 to 24 in of snow in Carteret, NJ. Were in that band that's really pounding right now.
I vividly remember the Blizzard of '78 because I was in the middle of it - it was sheer hell for a lot of people.
I just sent you a freepmail - Tom
I live right off Torrington Road, in Goshen. You probably know the exact location: It's where Torrington and Goshen meet.
I'll be out at first light tomorrow, if possible, to get more pictures. I'll definately have to check out the fairgrounds, I have heard stories from the past...
Yup. There were a few times when it felt good to be the only one in the neighborhood with light, TV, heat and a running fridge.
Would you guys recommend a good generator? I know it's too late now but for future reference. Thanks.
Yu haven't lived there long then. My sister lives right near you, on Lovers Lane. The home I owned was on Allen Rd., not far from you either.
I can sort of guess which house yes. Not precisely though. Somewhere around where Klug Hill comes out onto rt 4
alot of people post about the "fun" of snow - but this is serious storm, there will be many deaths and injuries attributed to this.
I lived on the North side of Chicago during that blizzard and the streets looked exactly like that: snow was compacted even HIGHER, and people were snowshoeing over the top of it, down them middle of sidestreets with their cameras, taking pictures like tourists in a foreign land.
The term "cabin fever" was bandied about for the first time in my memory. Nobody could very easily leave their houses or apartments. My wife and I took to sleeping late that week, and would get up feeling kind of spacey or high, and watch the newscasters in that frame of mind, and they all started to look like very comical characters indeed. But the blizzard started for real in Chicago on New Year's Eve, so we think of it as the blizzard of '79.
You will drive thru the drifts by the country club too, those can get higher than at the fair grounds
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