The real problem is that this won't melt until June.
Blizzard of '66
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!
Here in Hyde Park, we just went through the super heavy band. I couldn't even see across the street it was snowing so hard. Hope everyone on the coast makes it through ok. My main concern is power. We have a little football game to watch at 6:30. Please Lord, keep the lights on!!!
I'm thinking if the Jets had won last week the AFC Championship at Gillette would have been postponed.
Thanks for the update. I have rebooked for Tuesday morning. I hope things get straightened out by then.
Weather Channel reporting Boston Public Schools closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Yeah, Madam, it gets me into trouble, being polite and all that, but dadgumit, one can't help but to be himself.
When I was an infant, because my parents had no idea what to expect of me, they made their number one goal that I grow up at least with good manners. Perhaps they overdid it.
Yes, it is her, along with Mario Hilario. She must be exhausted.
Dadgumit, I think I finally got the "tagline" right; dealing with a failed furnace at the moment (although Nebraska is not getting nearly what east of here is getting--all we had was 65 mph winds and zero temperatures Friday night, no snow).
Hmm, was out shoveling in Harvard, MA, a half hour ago, putting bird seed out, etc.. The guy next door was snowblowing, but gave up and went back in his house. I plan to drag my daughter outside in another hour or two and get serious about shoveling out the top of the driveway and the car. Saw some tunnels under the snow...squirrels and mice are going about their business under the two to three feet of fluffy white stuff, and thank the Good Lord it is light and fluffy. Governor Romney declared a state of emergency, so nobody's supposed to be riding around on the roads.
Milton, birthplace of Bush 41. (sign off Rt 128)
I was 16 in '78 and do remember the heavy snow, flooding
(a man in my seaside town was killed when the basement apartment he lived in got flooded), deaths (including the crew of a boat called the Can Do), cabin fever, etc. No wonder every time a few inches of snow are forecast,
the grocery and hardware stores get packed with people
fearing the worst. Even this storm--I was hearing "6 to 12 inches" not too long ago.As I type this, just over 2 feet in Beverly, MA; wind gusts of 75 at Nantucket (hope
Kerry's mansion there is OK) and 62 right next door in Salem...
There was supposed to be a party (in the luxury suites? or maybe the regular seats) at Gillette Stadium today in which the AFC Championship from Pittsburgh would be watched. No dice. Cancelled.
Remember that little boy here in MA...some suburb of Boston...who fell on his front step, hit his head on the railing, lost consciousness and was covered by snow during the blizzard of '78? He froze to death and the family had no idea what had happened to him until spring when the mailman saw his mitten sticking out of the melting snow. Keep your family and pets inside.
Not a good time for your furnace to fail, not good at all. Good luck and stay warm.
Taglines can always be changed later!
>>Remember that little boy here in MA
Yes, I do, and a few years ago when the Blizzard of '78 had an anniversary (maybe in '03, the 25th) the Herald
and Globe and memories of the storm. It was mentioned.
I grew up in Nahant, a town of 4,000 just across the
harbor from Boston and connected to Lynn by a causeway. The causeway is closed right now, as it has been by various storms over the years (rain/high wind storms too, like "the Perfect Storm"). We were definitely an island at that point. Just talked to my Dad (soon to turn 84) who's on Cape Cod and he recalled them having to use a helicopter to take someone off to a hospital as the
causeway was impassable.
UXBRIDGE - The Blizzard of '78 dumped 4 1/2 feet of snow on Greater Woonsocket. But around Mary Jane Avenue and Peter Street, the massive snows - with drifts up to 10 feet - were pockmarked with deep holes everywhere.
Whole lawns were even shoveled down to the grass, and Boy Scouts would load the snow onto highway trucks to be carted away, creating an unusual sight not seen elsewhere.
That's because the whole town, even people who came by bus and car from Worcester and beyond, was searching for a little 10-year-old boy: Peter Gosselin, a spirited and well-liked fourth-grader at Taft Elementary School.
While the blizzard continued to pile up on Feb. 7, 1978 - the day after it began - Peter had last been seen playing upon the snow banks that day about noon, having shoveled with his older brothers his grandparents' walkways on Peter Street, 100 yards from his own home.
The second of four sons of Paul H. and Mary (Podedworny) Gosselin, who still reside in the tidy, tight-knit neighborhood where people in those years would be in and out of each other's houses without knocking, Peter's tragic fate devastated this town and his family.
He would be found in the melting snow by his home three weeks later, on Feb. 27. On the night he was missing, neighbors and rescue workers had walked across the family's yard and others, arms interlocked, in a vain effort to find him.
The furnace guy was just here; the fan went out. The furnace is new, still under warranty, but no new fan until tomorrow (Monday).
No big deal for me; I am naturally cold-blooded, and what with temperatures expected to be in the 40s now, and even higher tomorrow, I can wait.
As long as the cats and kittens do not freeze.....
The sun just came out in NH Lakes Region, wnd has gone around to NNW at 15-20, and the barometer is rising off of its low of 28.67.
Have a good day Yankees...
<<this Yankee having an excellent day; wish everyone east of here were, but alas have no control over the weather.
Temperatures in Nebraska expected to be in 40s today, 50s tomorrow (Monday), clear skies, sun shining.
We did however have zero degrees and 65 mph winds (but no snow; not a cloud in the sky) Friday night into Saturday morning.
Holy cow. I'd be freaking out, as would most people. Stay warm.
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