# we're hammered with snow!



## goldenrose (Feb 2, 2011)

Not a good sign when the snow drifts across your front & back doors are 3-4 feet deep! The 40-60 mph winds were the killer, we're slowly digging out. The town to the northeast of us are reporting 24".
So how did you fare?


----------



## Ray (Feb 2, 2011)

We got pasted with freezing rain here - about 30 miles north of Philadelphia, close to the Delaware River. I have a tree down on top of the house (fortunately no roof damage), a back yard littered with branches, and we lost power about 6:15. Let's hear it for a backup heater in the greenhouse!!! Got it back about 8:30.

There are still trees falling occasionally, and there's a small herd of deer (7) that keep running back and forth between our yard and the two adjacent ones, trying to avoid them.


----------



## Shiva (Feb 2, 2011)

It's here now. But we don't expect as much snow as you.


----------



## NYEric (Feb 2, 2011)

There was freezing rain this AM but it's changed to just rain. going up to 40F.


----------



## lindafrog (Feb 2, 2011)

I feel guilty as we look out on clear blue skies in northwestern lower Michigan. For once the rest of the country is getting weather we are used to . Except for the ice-- that is really scary. Hope everyone is okay. Its a good time to stay in and smell the orchids!


----------



## etex (Feb 2, 2011)

Hope everyone stays safe. This was a monster storm- even Dallas airport was closed for awhile yesterday. We had ice yesterday, and a little snow today-temp should go up to 30F,down to 15 tonight. It's a great day to stay home!


----------



## W. Beetus (Feb 2, 2011)

We didn't get the freezing rain here, but we did get a good accumulation of sleet. Probably about 10" of accumulation of snow and sleet.


----------



## Ernie (Feb 2, 2011)

My lips are sealed.


----------



## etex (Feb 2, 2011)

Ernie said:


> My lips are sealed.




I was wondering if you were going to post that you're thinking of going to the beach today


----------



## Shiva (Feb 2, 2011)

Ernie said:


> My lips are sealed.



Good thinking!oke:


----------



## gonewild (Feb 2, 2011)

Driving to the office today there was some frost on the wildflowers!


----------



## Heather (Feb 2, 2011)

I'm drinking iced espresso. Does that count?


----------



## toddybear (Feb 2, 2011)

It's 8:30 pm Newfoundland time and the first flakes are falling. They are forecasting up to 8" for us. Amazing how far this storm spread!


----------



## Yoyo_Jo (Feb 2, 2011)

Stay safe everyone. Just stay inside, drink hot chocolate & baileys, and play with your orchies. :wink:


----------



## SlipperFan (Feb 2, 2011)

We had about 12 inches, with lots of blowing and drifting. For the first time in many, many years, Michigan State University and Lansing Community College both cancelled all classes. Even the State Legislature shut down -- first time ever, I think. We finally finished digging out our driveway about 5:00 this afternoon, after the local farmer drove his tractor and plow down our road. Otherwise, the road was so drifted in, the only vehicles that could go down it were snowmobiles and big pick-up trucks.

I think Chicago got it worst, from all the news stations reports.

I spent the day lugging potting materials from the basement to the greenhouse, and doing some cleaning in the basement. Still much more to do before the move is complete


----------



## cnycharles (Feb 2, 2011)

they had originally predicted that we would get up to 15" of snow, then 10, then it was more like 6 or 7 and maybe a few inches tonight. had some sleet middle of the day for a while but nothing freezing on, thankfully!


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Feb 2, 2011)

I'm getting used to the permanent mountains of snow, unpassable street corners, and rare sporadic garbage pick-ups. But today was ice!!! I'll take any amount of snow over walking a mile to work on ice. Fortunately, I have these metal straps that attach to my boots, basically ice cleats. I walked to work without any problems, at a normal pace, watching everybody slowly crawl their way inch by inch.


----------



## paphreek (Feb 2, 2011)

We were just on the extreme northern edge of the storm and only got around three inches of snow. Our consolation prize was two days of sub zero temps, bottoming out at -20F. The plants have really enjoyed two straight days of sun, though.


----------



## ncart (Feb 2, 2011)

Ernie said:


> My lips are sealed.



Good one! LMAO.


----------



## Rick (Feb 2, 2011)

Tennessee lucked out on this one. Just some more cold, and not even as bad as Dallas and OK city. A few snow flurries this morning. West towards Memphis, they had some high winds that caused a fair amount of damage from falling trees, etc..

Actually I was supposed to be flying up for some work in Chicago/Gary today, but obviously no one is going anywhere fast right now. 

Pictures from Chicago from later today looked clear so maybe things will be adequately dug out by tomorrow (for when my flights are rescheduled)


----------



## jblanford (Feb 2, 2011)

My lips are also sealed, as in frozen shut, it's cold here.... Jim.


----------



## JeanLux (Feb 3, 2011)

No snow but icy rain here, traffic on high-ways perturbated. lots of accidents!!!

(Hope that all of this will be finished by tomorrow, because I intend to drive to the Aachen (in Germany, border with Belgium and Netherlands) orchid-show then  ) Jean


----------



## NYEric (Feb 3, 2011)

Visiting Popow?


----------



## JeanLux (Feb 3, 2011)

NYEric said:


> Visiting Popow?



Popow will not be there (unfortunately), but quite some others, ex. Fr. Glanz, Ecuagenera (nice catt. dowiana ) ...!!! Jean


----------



## toddybear (Feb 3, 2011)

Well its now 8:30 am and most of the storm has passed...our 8" ended up as 10"...only we didn't get any wind. However, the wind is picking up now so lots of drifting snow. The snow is well piled up around here now! 6 more weeks of winter...more like 12 in my neck of the woods.


----------



## goldenrose (Feb 3, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> ....I think Chicago got it worst, from all the news stations reports....


Doesn't Chicago like to be on top & inflate their big chest? I think they feel it the worst because there are less places to go with the snow. Yesterday morning near the Wisc. border, towns were already at 24", O'Hare was reporting 19.5", the snow stopped by 9-10am Wed & first thing I hear on the radio Thurs am- official snowfall 22" ...  WHAT? Go to McHenry County if they want to now count blowing/drifting snow, they have 8-10 foot drifts across some of the roads that will probably be closed for a couple more days. When it came to shoveling, it was a light weight snow, but with winds like that it's just plain miserable BUT freezing rain/ice sleet is worse.


----------



## NYEric (Feb 3, 2011)

The skies are clear and sunny here in NYC now! It'll probably be 80F in my apt this afternoon.


----------



## Shiva (Feb 3, 2011)

gonewild said:


> Driving to the office today there was some frost on the wildflowers!



Darn! oke:


----------



## SlipperFan (Feb 3, 2011)

goldenrose said:


> Doesn't Chicago like to be on top & inflate their big chest? I think they feel it the worst because there are less places to go with the snow. Yesterday morning near the Wisc. border, towns were already at 24", O'Hare was reporting 19.5", the snow stopped by 9-10am Wed & first thing I hear on the radio Thurs am- official snowfall 22" ...  WHAT? Go to McHenry County if they want to now count blowing/drifting snow, they have 8-10 foot drifts across some of the roads that will probably be closed for a couple more days. When it came to shoveling, it was a light weight snow, but with winds like that it's just plain miserable BUT freezing rain/ice sleet is worse.


The photos of Lake Shore drive with 1000+ cars buried in snow is a picture that will stay with me! I can't imagine what fear those folks must have felt.


----------



## Ernie (Feb 4, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> The photos of Lake Shore drive with 1000+ cars buried in snow is a picture that will stay with me! I can't imagine what fear those folks must have felt.



We watch WGN just to keep up with the old 'hood. Dot, I felt the same for the trapped folks for about ten seconds then thought... what were they thinking driving in that mess! Down here, everyone says 'no one should complain about a hurricane if they're unprepared'. They're just a fact of life AND you see them coming days in advance, so you prepare. If you're stuck with no batteries, gas, or granola bars at time zero, it's your own damn fault. Same sorta thing with this storm- Chicagoans saw it coming days before it got there. Tom Skilling is one of the best meterologists in the country (albeit longwinded). Crap, we knew, sitting in 75 degree weather in our shorts sipping mojitos hundreds of miles away this was gonna suck big time for them. For folks to blame the city of Chicago for getting them stuck, they're idiots. They knew when they left the office it was going to be a battle. I know this- we lived there nine years and nine VERY long winters. When the weather is THAT shitty, no amount of infrastructure can prevent folks from getting a bad LSD trip (ha, ha- that's Lake Shore Drive sillies) or make their cars magically appear sorted by make, model, and color at one central impound the day _after_ the storm. Even the tow trucks were getting stuck. Again, it's terrible they were stuck in their cars, but I reserve my sympathy for the folks whose roofs collapsed from the weight of the snow or who suffered damage or injury beyond their control, not some babies that expected the National Guard to go directly to THEIR car first. Driving in a blizzard, or as one is approaching, should not be part of your emergency plan. Sleeping on your office floor in your suit and tie with the day's report printouts as a pillow is much preferrable to waiting eight hours in sub-zero temps, 70 mph gusts, driving snow, and frozen lake Michigan's wake crashing over your car for the national guard to rescue you. I kept an inflatable bed, blankets, sweats, a change of clothes, HBAs, etc in my lab and they got frequent use in winter. I dunno, I just see a lot of people point fingers before they look in the mirror and consider what they could've done differently. Sorry for the rant!


----------



## paphreek (Feb 4, 2011)

Well said, Ernie!:clap:


----------



## Shiva (Feb 4, 2011)

Ernie! I don't even have sympathy for those whose roof collapsed. We have a tool here called a shovel and when we have a flat roof somewhere with too much snow on it, we climb up there and shovel the snow down the side of the building. Simple, efficient and a good exercice to boot. I know that some use snowblowers for larger roofs. OK some people are probably too old and ill to do this but for the others...


----------



## etex (Feb 4, 2011)

Another storm is coming. Got a couple inches of snow last night, and is still snowing. All the schools are closed. Authorities are warning Texans to conserve power to prevent any more brownouts like we've been having the past 2 days due to high usage.
Still better than how the North got hammered.
Used to live in Cleveland,Ohio, and the lake effect snows and blizzards were so dangerous. Have lots of sympathy for folks around Chicago,and elsewhere that really got hit hard. Everyone stay warm, and safe!


----------



## Ernie (Feb 4, 2011)

Wow. I expected to log in this morning and find a flame war against me.  

Shiva, I sorta agree, but getting in your car _during _a blizzard or when one is upon you is a decision one has much more control over compared to buying a house with a low pitch roof three decades ago. If you watched Chicago news, and even national news and the weather channel, it was loaded with interviews with people complaining because they couldn't find their car and Mayor Daley should be strung up for their lack of response. BS! They should be glad Daley didn't just push their car in Lake Michigan so the National Guard and other emergency responders could get through.


----------



## SlipperFan (Feb 4, 2011)

Ernie said:


> We watch WGN just to keep up with the old 'hood. Dot, I felt the same for the trapped folks for about ten seconds then thought... what were they thinking driving in that mess! Down here, everyone says 'no one should complain about a hurricane if they're unprepared'. They're just a fact of life AND you see them coming days in advance, so you prepare. If you're stuck with no batteries, gas, or granola bars at time zero, it's your own damn fault. Same sorta thing with this storm- Chicagoans saw it coming days before it got there. Tom Skilling is one of the best meterologists in the country (albeit longwinded). Crap, we knew, sitting in 75 degree weather in our shorts sipping mojitos hundreds of miles away this was gonna suck big time for them. For folks to blame the city of Chicago for getting them stuck, they're idiots. They knew when they left the office it was going to be a battle. I know this- we lived there nine years and nine VERY long winters. When the weather is THAT shitty, no amount of infrastructure can prevent folks from getting a bad LSD trip (ha, ha- that's Lake Shore Drive sillies) or make their cars magically appear sorted by make, model, and color at one central impound the day _after_ the storm. Even the tow trucks were getting stuck. Again, it's terrible they were stuck in their cars, but I reserve my sympathy for the folks whose roofs collapsed from the weight of the snow or who suffered damage or injury beyond their control, not some babies that expected the National Guard to go directly to THEIR car first. Driving in a blizzard, or as one is approaching, should not be part of your emergency plan. Sleeping on your office floor in your suit and tie with the day's report printouts as a pillow is much preferrable to waiting eight hours in sub-zero temps, 70 mph gusts, driving snow, and frozen lake Michigan's wake crashing over your car for the national guard to rescue you. I kept an inflatable bed, blankets, sweats, a change of clothes, HBAs, etc in my lab and they got frequent use in winter. I dunno, I just see a lot of people point fingers before they look in the mirror and consider what they could've done differently. Sorry for the rant!


That's why I stayed home!!!
But the folks who started down the road before it got so bad can't be blamed for coming upon a jack-knifed bus that blocked the road. Just sayin' ...


----------



## Ernie (Feb 4, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> That's why I stayed home!!!
> But the folks who started down the road before it got so bad can't be blamed for coming upon a jack-knifed bus that blocked the road. Just sayin' ...



They can't be blamed for getting stuck, I agree 100%, but they can no more rightfully blame the city of Chicago. 

For those people that got stuck down the road from the bus, they are foolish blaming Chicago. (there were at least three accidents in a short span of time that clogged up a previously 'moving' LSD in a matter of minutes) If Daley did close LSD, the same people would've been raising hell because it was closed. It's the attitude and lack of self-responsibility that irks me. A reasonable interviewee would say something like 'yeah, it sucks I was stuck in my car until 3 am, and thanks for the people that left their LSD high rise to distribute snacks and water, and for the ChiPD for eventually getting to me and storing my car until I can get a can of gas, but I probably should've just stayed home'. 

If/when a hurricane rips through Orlando, you'll never see me on TV blaming the state of Florida or my city. I'll prepare to the best of my ability and will suck it up and start recovery when it's all done.


----------



## Shiva (Feb 4, 2011)

I lived for years in Montreal and people always complain after a snowstorm: the sidewalks are icy; the streets are clogged; no place to park and on and on. We have gazillions of snowplowers, snowblowers, trucks to carry off the snow, trucks to throw abrasives on the roads and sidewalks; tow trucks to move parked vehicles in the way of snow removal equipment and still people complain. We have a great subway system to carry people to and from work. We have comuter trains and there are parkings around the city for the people coming from the suburbs where they can leave their car and hop onto the subway or a train line. But, nooooo matter! Most people love being in their car, bumper to bumper for miles and for hours to get to work. This is the car culture of North America, we'd rather stay in our precious car alone even when it's getting us nowhere. :crazy:


----------



## etex (Feb 4, 2011)

Lack of personal responsibility gets really annoying. It's not like the news doesn't give plenty of warning for storms/hurricanes so folks can prepare. Yet, some people don't want to do anything for themselves/take responsibility for their own decisions, and expect the government to take care of them. Stupid to blame Chicago for weather and accidents and getting stuck on the LSD without saying 'maybe i should have stayed home/at work.' I'm a nurse and when weather is bad or going to get bad, the hospital always offers beds,esp if you are expected in the next day. We have no public transportation way out where I live,so that's not an option.


----------



## goldenrose (Feb 4, 2011)

No flame throwin' from here Ernie. I agree, I didn't feel sorry for them at all. They had a 2-3 days heads up, the watch became a warning, schools started announcing early closing noon-1:30, the original prediction had Chicago as getting hit the hardest, it would start at 3pm, it started at 3:15 & at 5pm some of these dummies are now leaving the downtown area, they forgot to have their dose of common sense before they left that morning! I was scheduled to work 5-9pm at Jewel (grocery store), the dept. head called at noon & asked if I wanted to come in at 3 so I'd be done by 7, I jumped at that! I had a slow drive home but had no problems, those that stayed til 9 spent the night at the store!


----------



## gonewild (Feb 4, 2011)

Shiva said:


> Ernie! I don't even have sympathy for those whose roof collapsed. We have a tool here called a shovel and when we have a flat roof somewhere with too much snow on it, we climb up there and shovel the snow down the side of the building. Simple, efficient and a good exercice to boot. I know that some use snowblowers for larger roofs. OK some people are probably too old and ill to do this but for the others...



Isn't that pretty much a "shovel ready" job? With so many unemployed there is no excuse for snow collapsing a roof..... Put on parka and work.
Old people can hire young ones to shovel snow off the roof and if they can't afford to hire help then they probably don't own a roof in danger of collapse. School roofs collapsed?


----------



## gonewild (Feb 4, 2011)

Shiva said:


> Darn! oke:



Don't worry the frost went away and today there are more flowers.


----------



## NYEric (Feb 4, 2011)

Ernie said:


> Wow. I expected to log in this morning and find a flame war against me.



You're lucky. My boss was out and I was super busy! oke:


----------

