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 am envious,,I miss a good snowstorm. But I best get out now and pick my flowers and kumquats before it is time for julips on the porch with the fan on ,,,then some gumbo.
Know the area well. In fact I was just there today. My son has tutoring down at the Learning Center there near the Bickford's (Rte 2A). I also go there every now and then for my walks. I like hiking in the woods and ponds around there.
I remember pulling my small daughter on a sled,a block and 1/2 to buy milk (let me tell you,the wind off Lake Michigan made it almost impossible to walk and even a mink didn't stop the bone numbing cold!),since the milk man (yes,we got milk delivered back then,and eggs too)couldn't get through. Even the private schools (she went to Latin)closed;which was unheard of.
The media is actually making a big deal out of nothing. This same storm whipped through NE Montana two days ago. Montana is in "fly over country" and so even if I had to shovel ten feet of snow, you wouldn't hear about it, because the MSM don't give a damn about us in the red states.
We're supposed to get 30...count yourself lucky.
There's a place to go horseback riding up that rode. Actually not too bad.
Never shovel snow DURING the storm. :)
It's really cold here--I was just outside, 66 degrees. I had to bundle up to brave the cold. Brrrrrrrrr...
I lived on the South Side and had to go to work at U.S. Steel. Took the bus and it took me hours to get to work when normally it was a thirty minute ride. We stayed at the mill for 24 hours working. One guy was there for 40 hours straight.
Oh, how I miss good gumbo. It would be the perfect thing to put your body around after coming in on a blustery winter night.
You sound like my mom! LOL
Great, and I bet you're just happy to send it up the Turnpike. lol
"He referred to it as a snow hurricane..."
YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!!
Not a snow tsunami???
LOL. Just saving you some grief. ;)
Guess everyone remembers the blizzard of Feb 1996 when we got 3 feet of snow here in the Philly area.
So we're stuck in the hotel room all weekend. I'm from Chicago, and things were better there this weekend.
NYC is going to get socked!!
Stay warm and safe, Chick.
I shoveled out the front door and a little walkway so Sophie could go out to pee. For some reason she hates rain but loves snow. That's all the shoveling I am doing today. My efforts at laying down across my bed and watching as much garbage on MTV and BET continues.
It's caused by a phenomenon called "Global Freezing Your A$$ Off" ;D
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