LOL it's my weekly snow question because...well...the kids are home from school AGAIN (5th snow day in 2 weeks) because we are in the midst of another storm. Is started snowing Friday night and won't stop until early tomorrow morning. It will have snowed for 85 hours here (literally) by the time this one is done. My guess is that the kids will be home tomorrow too. And? More snow later in the week, and perhaps another good storm on Sunday. Woo hoo!
So what's the most snow you can recall having on the ground? The issue with these storms, in addition to the fact that we've had 3 large storms and 1 smaller one in 15 days, is that it's so cold that none if it is melting so there's nowhere to put the snow. We are of course used to snow but it's usually spread over a few months. My kids went sledding yesterday on the snow piles in the school parking lot, which were one story tall. I'm going to measure outside in a while when I go out to shovel, but the snow has now covered the top of my patio tables so I'm guessing there's 36 inches on the ground right now.
I know this is a regular thing in Syracuse, Buffalo and other parts of the country but it's pretty much crippling eastern Massachusetts at this point. At least it's pretty!
Oh Christine...no! It's not mellowing out here at all. We are getting an arctic cold front this weekend where we are predicted to not break single digits for a few days and will most likely set some records for cold next week. Seriously, make sure you have boots, a warm coat, a hat, gloves and something to protect your face. Even if you basically just go from the airport to a cab to a hotel, it's miserable here.
@Diane B. I was not quite 3 during the blizzard of '78 but as you can imagine, it's the storm against which all other storms have been measured for my whole life. I think it's the origin of the "French Toast" (milk, bread, eggs) survival instinct. My poor parents...my older sister was 4, I was 2, my younger brother was 14 months old and my youngest brother was 5 days old when the storm hit. My mother checked herself out the hospital early (she had had a c-section) to get home because my dad was a weather fan and took it seriously. So with 4 kids under 5 in the house and my mom recovering from a surgical birth...my dad blew out his knee shoveling snow and couldn't walk. He couldn't even get it treated because everything was closed and neither of them could drive anyway. The corner store was rationing bread and milk and luckily, many of our kind neighbors shared their supplies, walked to the store for us, and came over to help. My parents will never forget that!
Must. Move. South. (Maniacal laughter while beating head against a shovel)
Seriously, we have brutal winters here all the time. The difference this year is this is the second one in a row with a short lame summer in between.
At this point, we just laugh and laugh. And drink.
:)
Can't remember, I think I was 13 at the time and I am nowhere near 13 now. We never get snow on top of snow on top of snow like the northern states do.
Well seeing that I grew up in Hawaii...I only saw snow in pictures....
In 2003 we got 38 inches here in DC in 24 hours. We're due for another good one!!
We've had MAYBE - and I mean MAYBE - 4" total this winter!! I'd love to have SOME of what New England is getting!
My freshman year in college was the winter of 1976 in upstate NY. Had no clue (coming from VA to attend there) that it was an unusual winter - (record breaking).
The paths that were carved out between buildings were taller that me (5'8"), and snow was trucked to the shores of lake Ontario and dumped.
It was unbelievably cold and windy (and snowy).
I LOVED it! Of course, as a freshman, I had no car, there was heat and food (albeit cafeteria food). I was glad my room was on the 7th floor that year. I am sure many floors below me were drifted/snow blown over.
I wish you a good snow blower, LOTS of hot chocolate and a good sense of humor!
Best!
3 feet here some years ago. We called it Snowmageddon. The drifts were amazing...covering cars completely. There was a drift in front of our garage that went all the way to the top of the door.
I'd love some snow. We've had about an inch this year. It was 71'F on Saturday. I think March will surprise us. This is Missouri, after all.
I was in college during the famous New England blizzard of 78, just north of Boston. I was in a dorm, on the third floor of a 3 story dorm. The snow was past the 2nd floor dorm windows, so we jumped out of the third story and all met up at a campus apartment where my and several of my friends' boyfriends lived. The college announced that food would be rationed, and so we decided to look elsewhere.
For a solid week, we would walk straight down the middle of Rte. 128 (usually a very busy major highway) to a little pizza place about 2 miles away that managed to stay open. Their menu was drastically reduced, but they had plenty of stuff for dough, and lots of cheese and tomato sauce, so a hot plain pizza was our supper every night. They fed the emergency responders and police for free, and it was a pretty fun nightly get-together. Then we'd walk back. It was so strange to walk on a silent highway, past exits that we knew well, in what would have normally been the fastest lane, without a soul around - no cars, no noises, no buses. And it was weird to realize how high up we were. We were literally walking on many, many feet of piled and packed snow, and in several places we could just reach up and touch the bridge that passed over the highway, when usually a tall truck could easily pass under that bridge.
We jumped off the highway bridges into soft drifts, and walked even further to a Denny's that was staying open, and pretty much wandered around a deserted buried city for days. Some of our friends were stuck in the Boston Garden. where they had gone to see a Celtics game, for most of the week, in pretty bleak conditions.
My parents had attended a function at the college but left early when we all realized the storm was coming. They made the 2 hour drive just in time, but another parent who delayed leaving spent 4 days trapped in his car on the highway. Finally food was dropped to him. He had a horrible experience.
I realize we were lucky. None of us had jobs or cars to worry about, and of course everything was cancelled. Our only focus that whole week was going on a silent, pretty hike to seek dinner, and marveling at the sight of a buried city.
I sympathize. I've seen Boston on TV. Good lord! My in-laws live in Worcester, so they are getting pounded as well. We got up to 5ft of snow now after this storm. That's still coming down mind you. Luckily we don't live in a city, and we have about an acre apart from our neighbors so we can dump the snow pretty much anywhere. Our street is more narrow, so it makes for a fun time for drivers, and the school buses. Being from Florida, I have a low toleration for the white stuff. My husband thinks it's no big deal, and that's what we get for living in New England. My son also adores all things snow, as does our German Shepherd.
I'm with Theresa N. All we can do now is laugh, or snort in my case. As well as drink. Cheers!
Depends on where you live. I have had over 8 fight, but we were stationed in Quebec back in the 70s. When I was little about 4 feet in New Jersey in the 50s.
It's been a while since I have seen that much snow at one time. I still do remember how to drive in it though. We also stayed well stocked up on food in the winter more than the summer as we did not know when we would get out. Oh yeah, we all helped with the shoveling of the snow so that we could get the car out for dad to go to work. School buses ran unless it was really bad and the snow drifts were all the way across the road. There was a house in a nearby village that had a snow drift along one side of the house that was three stories tall each winter. I do miss the snowball fights on July 4.
Hope you figure out how to enjoy the winter weather with your crew.
the other S.
PS There was a big hill in town and all the kids would take their sleds and go down the hill many times a day. When the day was done so were they.
Yesterday it was 77. I have never seen "real snow" it is more like sleet with a few flakes. I recall a Christmas day were there was sleet in the morning, then a bit of snow flurries, by the adternoon it was hot and we were wearing shorts..
We have to keep all of our clothing ready, just in case the weather is completely different hour to hour.
Zero!! Southern California girl here and it's almost 80 degrees out today. I hope it mellows out for New England as I'm working in Boston all next week!
** Fortunately, I have the clothing for the area. My company thinks it's so funny to send me to Minneapolis or Boston in the winter. I can almost handle the temperature, it's the horizontal snow and ice on the roads that scares the bejesus out of me. I'm allowing a lot of extra time to get in and out. I have been stuck way too often.
I grew up in northern Illinois, so the one I remember most is the winter of 1979. I can't recall how many feet fell, but there was so much snow piled up we couldn't even get out of the house ,and the snow plows couldn't get out initially.
Once the snow stopped and the plows got working for the next several days, it was still slow going. At first, people were only getting around on snowmobiles. It seemed like forever that we had 6 feet piles of snow on either side of our driveway. I was in high school and recall being mad at my parents for not allowing me to "walk" to a friend's house for a party that was supposed to be happening. Well, no one else could go either, but it still seemed like a good idea at the time to fuss at my parents! ; )
I also lived in Louisville when the entire city and surrounding areas where shut down because of massive snowfall and ice. I think it was early 1994. The interstates were literally closed down by order of the governor. Only emergency personnel were permitted to be out. I was able to let my beautiful Husky run wild in the neighborhood without the danger of traffic. She was sure in her element! Whenever I look at those pictures or even just remember that time, it brings me joy.
Now, all these years later, after moving further south and then west, I've gone soft. It's a little embarrassing, being a midwestern girl at heart, but when we go back home during winter, I don't deal with the cold, snow, and ice very well.
I could not see dealing with snow for extended periods of time, scraping car windows, shoveling paths, driving in snow and ice, having events cancelled, etc. BUT, as I mentioned last week, I would LOVE to have just ONE snow day. It would bring back memories, and maybe I'd sit on the couch and read or clean out a closet or two.
It's going to be 78 here today, so I've no excuse not to get out and get my list of things done.
Really, though, I'd love to trade you some of our heat and sun for a JUST A LITTLE of your snow for a day!
Stay warm and safe; order some new books on your tablet, and enjoy try to enjoy this imposed lockdown.
J. F.
As a child in MN, circa 1980, we had a blizzard that left us with snow drifts 8 ft high.
in spring of 2012 we got about 3.5 feet of snow. It was awesome. I don't think we left the house for a few days and just had a 24 marathon. this was when my husband and I were living together before marriage. It was a grand ol time. My car was pretty much covered, shoveling that out kind of sucked. But all in all it was awesome! Now here we are in feb and broke record temps this weekend at 74 degrees. I'm pretty sure we will get a really big spring storm this year.
Back in '79, we had tons of snow-88 inches! I remember building a tunnel in our front yard and sledding off our neighbor's roof. That was great fun! We could climb onto the roof from the front of the house, and then we sled off the back. There was that much snow.
I was thinking about you and Diane B and the other NE-based Mamapedia folks this morning... Even though I spent my first 37 years in MA and WI (both snow places), I have no great tales of snow to share.
Wishing you and all the snowed-in folks LOTS of patience, extra boosts of humor, a renewed interest in board games, drawing, etc.
Maybe 1/8 of an inch of snow here near Sacramento? And we were all very excited to see it! Very, very rarely happens here.
Blizzard of 77 - Southtowns of Buffalo NY - we had 22 FOOT drifts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard_of_1977
The snowdrift in my mothers backyard was taller than her single story house.
I'm not far from you (I'm in central MA) so I'm as inundated as you are. It's the 5th snow day for our district as well. It's hard to measure this because the drifting was so outrageous in one of the storms, and the current storm is still going on as I write this Monday evening. And as Rae A. said, it's worse in Worcester MA - now with the destination of "snowiest city in the US" so far this winter.
The worst I experienced was in the Massachusetts blizzard of '78 as mentioned below by Elena. It was really 2 blizzards in rapid succession (similar to what we have now, except it quit after 2, unlike now!). Then, as now, there was no place to put the snow after it was plowed up - just no room anywhere. Every snow pile was a visibility hazard to traffic. A friend living on the Massachusetts Bay had no power for a week. They used buckets of snow to flush the toilets.
There was a state of emergency declared, with National Guard deployed and no driving for a week unless you were considered essential. And that wasn't something you could decide yourself - you had to have a pass or a letter from a recognized authority. I was working in a health care facility so I had one, and I was absolutely stopped by the National Guard at many a major intersection. My husband was working in Providence and it took him 14 hours to make a 1 hour drive to Worcester. He considered himself lucky to get home. Miles and miles of cars were stuck on the highways, as Elena mentioned - Route 128 (the Boston "beltway") was shut down. It was miserable for emergency vehicles.
On the plus side, everyone helped everyone else with shoveling and supplies (no one could get groceries unless they could walk, and stores cleaned out quickly). We XC skied down the streets to visit friends, and families rediscovered board games and making hot chocolate. Oh yeah, and the birth rate went WAY up 9-10 months later.
There was a short-lived state of emergency about 23 years ago in central MA - driving ban for 2 days, every street was a virtual tunnel with snow piles on both sides of the road.
And is it selfish of me to say that I half hope my back deck will collapse so that insurance will pay for a new one??? Yeah, I guess so.
A few years ago, my daughter in Baltimore ended up with 4 major snow storms that year... I think their snowfall total for the winter was 88 inches! Their normal snowfall is about 25" or so.......
and.... a friend of mine from here in central Texas just MOVED to Boston... not sure where they are living, but I don't know that they know what to do with that much snow!
Most snow where I currently reside? Zero!
If it snows in central Florida I will assume the world as I know it is ending.
When I was a kid in the 70's we got three feet of snow in one storm, I think it was 1978 and I lived in NJ.
Most snow in O. day? 2+ feet!
(About 1 ft, 11-1/2 inches too much!)
Aw, I'm enjoying these snow stories since it is a nice comfy low 70 here in my part of So Cal. It is fun to imagine. Glad I don't have to experience it though. Hang in there guys!
We did get snow in a our neighborhood a few years ago, it was a huge deal. We maybe get a brief hailstorm once a year but never snow. The whole neighborhood went outside and took pictures of the powdery dusting covering everything. My poor kids didn't realize that was truly the only time that will probably ever happen in our neighborhood, for like 30 years. We all found out later it was "grapple" not snow, which took some of the excitement out of it. But I still have the pictures to prove it happened!
