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 eighteen inches is blown up against my car. I managed to shovel a little path to the street before getting overwhelmed with exhaustion :O)
Sheesh!
:0)
When.....I....lived....in.....that....cooooooooold we had an outside dog with a heated dog house. But when it got that cooooooold even she came inside. Not because she needed to but because I did not want to go out to replace the ice in her water bowl with water.
Donner party cookbook.
Ewwww! :)
Donner party cookbook.
Ewwww! :)
Just heard on a wrapup that Chatham had 32 inches and Sagamore Beach got 34 inches. So the weathermen were spot on.
Livingston County...between Fenton and Hartland.
I took my truck for a little spin on the back roads late Saturday night, and blasted through the 2-3' snow drifts.
Fun stuff!
Roast Turkey sounds good. There is a turkey farm on the Holliston, Hopkinton Line, that has great Turkey to either cook yourself or buy ready roasted. They also make great Pies, and muffins.
No Snow here in Georgia, no driveways to dig out of. It is a blessing and it is a curse. Two days ago, I was driving along a major highway in the early morning, at 70 mph, and a deer charged out of no where and hit the side of my car over the back passenger door. His head broke the window, and my car exploded with broken glass and deer hair. Fortunately I was alright, except covered in deer hair and broken glass and the deer was not able to come inside my car. The back door will have to be replaced.
So the moral of this story is Sam Adams, at least you are safe inside your snow covered house with your cars in the garage and roasted Turkey on the table :-)
Residents dig out as a blizzard dumps some two feet of snow in the area, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005, in Boston. Whiteout conditions grounded airplanes and sent fleets of plow and salt trucks trundling through snow-clogged roadways before the storm began to ebb at midday.(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Philip Roberts, of Boston, covers up against the wind-driven snow while walking in Boston, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005. Whiteout conditions grounded airplanes and sent fleets of plow and salt trucks trundling through snow-clogged roadways before the storm began to ebb at midday.(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Chicken Little! Chicken Little! The sky is falling!.
It all depends on how you prepared your house is.
My neighbors house was built on top of the ground with plumbing under the surface of the structure. His pipes would freeze 3-4 times each winter.It would have helped if he had wrapped them better.
My house was built for cold weather,with pipes buried in the ground so the pipes don't freeze as long as we use water occasionally...ie: shower and flush in the am, give the dogs fresh water, make dinner etc.
Our septic system did freeze one year because we had been away for 2 days, and the boys had been snowmobiling over the pipe that led from the house to the weeping bed. I can laugh now, but we had a work crew here for 16 hours, and about $2000.00 later we could flush the toilet with out flooding the back yard. LOL , this was in -40 degree weather, + wind chill.
Ummm....wouldn't the snow outside help???
Unless you leave it out too long, and it freezes.
Then all 'Beer' breaks out!! Sprays everywhere.
After the ice storm of '98, the beer companies offered to do a strait exchange for anyone who's beer had been frozen. :-)
You are right about that.
At the house here, I think that we may have gotten 5-6" on the level. Too much wind to have much level though.
it must be a nightmare there, I can't even imagine it, that's twice as much as we got on long island.
It went down to 35 here in Naples Florida, Had to turn the heat on. Had to bring some of the plants out by the pool inside. Put a sweater on this morning going to work. It's been rough but I'll get over it.
Neat photos; SamAdams. Thanks!
Brought back a memory; the home we moved from. Top photo, only. Add a deck to the second floor, remove shutters and basketball hoop, change the garage doors a little bit - and it sure looks familiar to me!
We have a great aerial photo of that home. Some guy in a small plane went around and snapped pics. There were acres of treas, and a lake in the pic. Later, he knocked on doors and asked if folks wanted to buy the photo of their home. We did. It was great. Kudos to him for a neat idea.
Thanks again, SamAdams76, for a fond memory.
Hope you all survived well in that nasty blizzard!
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