Blizzard is coming

[warren]

Good luck to those of you in the possible path.
It does amaze me how a bit of ugly weather can cause so much hysteria amongst government officials. I suppose it has to do with budget and size of the population. I'm glad I live in a region with fewer people when I read the horror stories. Up here there, would be some warnings, people would check the survival gear in their vehicles, fill up with gas and get on with life. About the only time a major highway would be closed is an avalanche or when they are "shooting" avalanche areas with a howitzer. Then the road is only closed for a couple of hours at most.
I'm not casting aspersions, I just find it interesting how different parts of the country handle certain problems.

 

[woodsroad]

Well, there's the familiarity quotient. NYC just isn't used to this sort of thing. But I think that even more it's a nanny state issue and a news media that will be unrelenting in passing blame, should someone die doing something dumb, on to a third party (the mayor/governor/state legislature). The concept of individual responsibility is not well understood in eastern urban climes.

 

[condorlover1]

Well that was a damp squibb. Maybe a foot or so build up on the roof and less in the streets. Everyone seems to get all excited about these things when in reality I have seen far heavier snow fall in Finland over the years. I am just amused by everything but because of this damned snow I cannot post my check off to the pipe menders for the new/old meerschaums I picked up and had fixed. Lets see if it gets any worse today!

 

[ssjones]

No pix from the Northeast?

Here in Western MD, we have around 6" of light snow.

 

[khartman]

i was just about to ask if anyone had photos, I can still see the grass in Northern VA

 

[woodsroad]

We got another 2" or so over what the 4" that the clipper left us.

Not what we were expecting, but I suppose that's a problem with the expectations, not with the outcome.

 

[lestrout]

I could see when looking at the radar maps why the Philly meteorologists were so varied in their expectations. The handful of forecasting models were quite different from each other the further south and inland you were. Decided not to drive back from Boston to Philly area due to temps (black ice) and blowing drifting snow en route; then the CT and MA governors closed the roads to nonessential traffic. What snow Philly at home didn't get is busy coming down up here. At Bay Village, the cars parked on the street are completely mounded over and some local forecasting models say we have another foot or more coming this afternoon. I need to call Peretti's and see if they have decided to open. I figure I can walk the two blocks there down the middle of the street with no fear of getting run over.
hp

les

 

[puffdoggie]

8-12 predicted for our area, I generously estimate maybe 3-4 rec'd. I want a second career as a weather forecaster. I can eat alphabet soup and crap out better farces than their "models" predict.

 

[hierophant]

We've got about 18" in the front yard now (Boston area) and it's still coming down pretty good. Light and fluffy, so moving it around isn't too hard, but there's a lot of it. And of course the high winds are just blowing it right back into the driveway, so...

 

[escioe]

At the risk of forfeiting my curmudgeon card, I'd rather see bold warnings that turn out to be unnecessary than the alternative. We had one of our biggest blizzards in history a few years ago in Chicago. The authorities were pretty clear that it was coming, it was going to be bad, and that you should get the hell off the roads, especially near the lake. However, they didn't actually shut anything down or enforce a travel ban. What happened? People ignored the warnings and hundreds of motorists got trapped on Lake Shore Drive. They all had to abandon their cars in the middle of LSD, tying up a ton of emergency personnel that evening, and a ton of plows and tow trucks the next day. No one died, but those city resources could have been much better utilized digging out the rest of the city instead of the knuckleheads who ignored the warnings.

I was living and working in Hyde Park, Chicago at the time. My coworker lived in Lincoln Park and left work early to try to make it home. Against the advice of everyone present, he took Lakeshore Drive and ended up being one of those idiots who got stuck.
Me, I walked a mile back to my apartment. Stopped at the liquor store on the way home and picked up some Bell's Third Coast Old Ale. I played video games and drank beer that night. The next day, I went for a walk out to Promontory Point with a bowl of Garfinkel's Ridgeway from the 80s. I helped a few people dig out their cars. I didn't go anywhere for a couple of days. It was a nice time.

 

[pipebaum81]

Having lived in Anchorage for eight years I was always impressed at the city's ability to live in snow conditions for 8-9 months of the year. Anchorage isn't the snow capital of the State but I have seen 36" in 18 hours. I saw the airport close only once and that was only due to 100 mile an hour winds. The city is just ready for it.
Of course it is a city of 250,000 which is a far cry from the metropolis that is the NE sector. Hang tight. I hope the whole thing has been “slightly” exaggerated to keep folks safely at home.

 

[huntertrw]

Last evening I spoke with my eldest brother who lives in Storrs, Connecticut, and learned that they had received 24-inches of snow (that total being somewhat shy of what was predicted). He stated that a travel ban had been implemented, but was cancelled shortly before my call.
For all who received "too much snow" please practice safe shoveling, stay warm, and make the best of the situation!

 

[hierophant]

@booker, it lived up to the hype. Another foot due next Monday supposedly.

 

[rickpal14]

Did I miss it?????? All I saw was a baby snow fall (8').................. they said we were going to get at least 18"... :rofl:

 

[rickpal14]

How ya'll doing up there? Has it lived up to the hype or is it just another New England forecast and slightly deflated?

^^^^This!!!