Blizzard

[Phil_S]

We're in for quite a dumper the next day and a half or more. It's nearly beyond the flurry stage. Stores are all out of white stuff (bread, milk, eggs, toilet paper.) I'm just hoping the power stays on!

[cbass]

Be safe. It was just getting wound up when it went over us. Got about an inch of ice and a couple inches of snow.

[rp]

I saw a newspaper pict of emptied out MD supermarket. Every time it snows now it's the end of the world. I have no idea what's gotten into people, it's been snowing for millions of years, you'll and everyone else will be fine. Got a sled and a big hill nearby? I miss snow, the kind that comes to you not the kind you have to drive to

[LeeMo]

Man, I really feel for ya'll. They were saying that we would get smacked, then we were just on the edge of "iffy" then when it blew thru , it missed us by about twenty miles. It snowed but nothing stuck.
I hope all goes well and ya'll sail thru it with no problems.

LeeMo

I don't know if you can see this video but here goes:
https://www.facebook.com/phillip.disher ... 2/?fref=nf

[sliberty]

As compared with working (which I have so little patience for these days), I am almost looking forward to the shoveling.

Wait a minute. What did I just say?

No, I take that back. I am looking forward to the 20-something year old coming to my door in the afternoon tomorrow and asking for $100.

Everybody stay safe, and don't overdo the shoveling. Depending on your age and condition, it can literally kill you.

[Phil_S]

I was in disbelief yesterday when I got a robo-call from our Mayor about how to stay safe in a blizzard. One of the things she emphasized for snow shoveling was to take frequent breaks. No doubt, this is heart attack snow and there's going to 2' of it before it's over.

Here's my back yard just a few minutes ago. If you click twice to enlarge it, I think you can see the snow falling. If you look just to the right of the center line, you can see the neighbor's trees not so clearly. That is maybe 120' at most. I'd say visibility right now is no more than 250' and is getting worse. We're supposed to have near white out conditions later today. Meanwhile, we're keeping toasty inside, have plenty of food, wine, and beer.

Not to complain about city service...a plow came through and cut a 1-car wide path in the street. That's the good news. The bad news is that it is one of the private contractors the city engages at times like this. It's my experience that the private guys don't do a good job. That guy made one pass and that was it. When the city truck comes, the driver will take as many passes as needed to go curb to curb if nothing is in the way.

[Colossal]

I lived in Baldimoore (sic) County for five and a half years. The only snowfall worth mentioning was the president's day storm in 2003. Twenty eight inches of snow in two days. The local reaction to a few flakes in the air is to cancel school, empty the shelves of toilet paper and bread, and shift to DefCon 1. Pretty ridiculous. Plowing was always good where I lived and I enjoyed shoveling. Got a good workout and enjoyed having a beer with my neighbor, even at 9:30am after a good shovel. The woefully outdated and precarious power infrastructure made for frequent power outages in winter or summer.

[ToneMerc]

I saw a newspaper pict of emptied out MD supermarket. Every time it snows now it's the end of the world. I have no idea what's gotten into people, it's been snowing for millions of years, you'll and everyone else will be fine.

It's natural evolution; as the majority of folks in developing nations become less connected to the earth and more dependent on technology they also are less connected to the basic common sense instincts of preparation and survival and thus react to even the smallest of events in a state of panic.

Got a sled and a big hill nearby?

Too much liability, sue the city or county because little Billy broke his neck riding a trash can lid down the hill. The city is partly to blame because there wasn't any no trespassing signs posted or they allowed an inherent dangerous situation to exist unimpeded.

TM

[Structo]

Bundle up guys, it's snowing!

[Colossal]

I saw a newspaper pict of emptied out MD supermarket. Every time it snows now it's the end of the world. I have no idea what's gotten into people, it's been snowing for millions of years, you'll and everyone else will be fine.

It's natural evolution; as the majority of folks in developing nations become less connected to the earth and more dependent on technology they also are less connected to the basic common sense instincts of preparation and survival and thus react to even the smallest of events in a state of panic.

Got a sled and a big hill nearby?

Too much liability, sue the city or county because little Billy broke his neck riding a trash can lid down the hill. The city is partly to blame because there wasn't any no trespassing signs posted or they allowed an inherent dangerous situation to exist unimpeded.

TM

TM,

You are exactly right.

Back in the day, before we got rewarded for spilling hot coffee on yourself or watched unreal shows about someone else's reality instead of creating our own, when someone crashed on a sled, the tale of the epic nature of the mishap grew greater in the retelling and the unwitting victim who sacrificed all for the sake of fun was elevated to tragic hero status by the time the fire died low. Nobody got sued, nobody cried like a bitch, and the scars you got were a badge of courage the next time you hurled yourself down a snowy hill.

[ToneMerc]

Back in the day, before we got rewarded for spilling hot coffee on yourself or watched unreal shows about someone else's reality instead of creating our own, when someone crashed on a sled, the tale of the epic nature of the mishap grew greater in the retelling and the unwitting victim who sacrificed all for the sake of fun was elevated to tragic hero status by the time the fire died low. Nobody got sued, nobody cried like a bitch, and the scars you got were a badge of courage the next time you hurled yourself down a snowy hill.

Yeah Frosted Flakes are not longer gratuitously coated with sugar and Saturday morning cartoons are no more. However, Zombies gotta eat,so I figure there's at least a good three months supply of fodder for them when the apocalypse comes.....LOL

TM

[LeeMo]

I grew up in the Mississippi Delta where the only hills we had were the levee. We'd get "snow" only once every two or three years. It usually was basically sleet that kinda got melty and refroze to a thin slippery crust. When we got it we knew that it may not last past noon so we were in a mad rush to get to the levee.
Our school baseball field had a manual scoreboard that was supplied by Coca-Cola and had recently blown over in a storm. I had been eyeing that round bottomed Coke sign and waiting for the "snow" to arrive. As soon as I could get there with a cresent wrench and channel locks that sweetheart was MINE. It was about four feet in diameter and just right for four of us to face inward and lock hands. The levee is about 35 feet high and around 250 - 300 feet wide at the bottom. It is built on private land with right of way access. The land owners all graze cattle on the levee due to the Bermuda grass sod that holds everything in place. Barbwire fences run along the dry side about 50 to 100 feet from where the slope flattens out.
Under the right conditions we had to bail out to avoid the fence. There was always some bloodshed or loose teeth involved and never any lawyers.
Man I miss those times.

LeeMo

[Phil_S]

Just for the record, I grew up on Long Island, NY. While the climate is mild compared to upstate, we got our share of blizzards and it tends to stay cold <30F for a solid 8 weeks or so. I moved here in 1978. I have never adjusted to the idea that a few flakes can cause havoc and agree it is silly how they behave here.

The simple truth, though, is if you look at a place like Syracuse or Albany (Buffalo is in a whole other league), they have monster trucks and plows. The send them to LI when they are needed. The point is, they have the equipment to move the snow out of the way quickly. Here, they just don't have the equipment. It is then complicated by temperature. Next week, it will range from mid 40's to 20's. The melt-freeze cycle is very hard to deal with.

I was out to shovel the front walk and steps to the street even though it is still snowing. I put a yardstick in the snow where there was no drift. 16" so far. I think we're in for another 8-10". Cars are covered up to the windows and getting worse.

[LeeMo]

My oldest son lived in Syracuse for a couple of years. His first winter there pretty much convinced him to move to Alabama at the first chance.
He said that the city workers came thru just after Halloween and stuck six foot long rebar up in the yards next to the curb. he couldn't figure out why until it started snowing right after Thanksgiving and didn't stop for five days and four feet later. They used the rebar to know where to plow the street.

[jaysg]

Don't you think that governments (fed, state, local) are just covering their asses? Every time there's a relatively big whatever, there are always some yo-yo's who end up dead, because they were THAT stupid.