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!
the coastal low is starting to pivot right now, I think NYC is going to escape the worst of it, eastern long island, coastal conn and rhode island, coastal mass and the cape - its going to hook right up there.
"Would you guys like me to get my husband to post a picture of the '79 blizzard?"
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Tee, hee! I'd like to see it, LOL!
nopardons, I'm just joshing you. Have you ever heard of, or do you remember, what was called the 'halloween blizzard' that hit MN about 15 years ago? We had more than 40 inches in 2 days.
Here's a photo from the 1940 deadly Armistice day archive. Now that's some snow. Worse than what's in MY memory.
http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/top5/numbertwo.htm
I surely don't mean to negate folks who are experiencing snow problems, one bit. But, some folks deal with it more often.
Stay warm and safe, everyone!
I drove from Goshen, CT to Queens, NY this afternoon. (I went via RT4 to RT 8, then 84/684 to I 95)
The roads stunk, but were drivable if you used your brains and took you time.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of folks that need to park their buggy when the bad weather hits--a lot of accidents- espcially on I-95.
Ping to a cold weather, bad driving thread.
LOL!
We get channel 7 here---in CT and In NYC (obviously!)
I love it when they bring you a LATE BREAKING BULLETIN from the EYEWITNESS NEWS STORM CENTER.
Sounds like they are in Mission Control, for gosh sakes.
Did you ever hear the story of the Texan that was asked by a reporter what the Tornado that levelled his house sounded like? Instead of the usual "thousand of freight trains" and "hordes of bees" the Texan told her it sounded "Like a Tornado"
*GRIN*
Us too, I'm pretty prepared though.
Wood stove is in action, gas stove ready.
The only problem here is water. Well doesn't work without power.
Freep mail me if your in a fix, if you don't mind dealing with my 2 yr old daughter, my 7 year old son and of course my wife.
I have an extra bedroom.
We already had ours here, last night.
Right now, it's about 7 degrees and a slight wind; tolerable for this time of the year in Nebraska.
The wind and snow they're getting east of Nebraska, though, must be from somewhere else, because we had no snow (no clouds, even), and our win came from directly north, headed down to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
But of course I am no meteorologist, Madam.
(I had to sneak that salutation in somewhere.)
Soon off to work, and then four days of civilized life (regular day time hours).
The snow stopped. I guess it's over.
(I had to sneak that salutation in somewhere.)
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I saw that...
Recruit Training Center GREAT MISTAKES!
I remember that place only too well!
;-)
Wraparound is starting to form now - hooks from the Poconos down through Allentown and Reading.
My husband's taking the picture. No, we didn't really have anything in the glasses. But we did have hot buttered rum afterward.
You haven't lived till you've walked throught 8" of snow, barefoot, in 13° weather.
WOW...that's some picture,but it isn't nearly as bad as the blizzard that hit New York City in 1888 and my great grandmother lived through that one.The drifts were 15 feet high.
Not to be too picky,but a few years ago Conn. got close to 200 inches that winter.Some of us have to deal with far more snow,on a regular basis,than you seem to know.Forty inches in 2 days? We're supposed to get 30+ in TWENTY FOUR HOURS. :-p
LOL! that's a real pic!
Drank some beer.
Pulled my cross-country skis out of storage.
Cross-country skiied about a half-mile up the road.
Remembered why I prefer downhill skiing to cross-country skiing.
Skiied back home.
Had more beer.
I have my down coat that I made from a North Face kit, back in the 70s...I sewed it all myself and loaded the down into it from plastic bags. It's still in one piece!!! There weren't any down coats back then...you had to make them...and I'm not that old (she says...in the 40s).
no, its not totally over, but avoiding the effect of the coastal system can mean a very big difference in snow totals.
Just doesn't seem very blizzard like to me... if I lived waaaaaay out east I'm sure it would be different *lol*
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