Snow Woe!

[annie]

Not as bad here as the northeast TE'ers had to deal with, but the snow is falling fast and heavy right now! We've been having thunder snow! Lightening and thunder with the snow. Pretty awesome, actually. The winds are supposed to pick up and give us blizzard/near-blizzard conditions this afternoon. Can't wait for that. Definitely no bike-commuting today. I may choose to walk rather than venture out with the car. Roads are pretty awful right now. I think it's all headed east....... watch out Wis. and Ill., ladies. You'll probably get hit next.

So back to the x-country skiing for a bit. And on the trainer indoors when I want to pedal.

Thinking spring, spring, spring!!

annie

[DeniseGoldberg]

Hey - do you think there's any way you can keep that white stuff out your way? Don't send it east!

The bad news here is that yesterday & today were in the 50s and I don't have enough daylight hours to ride! Oh well, walking outside in the evening is still better than exercising indoors. Oh, and there's supposed to be a front going through tomorrow that will drop the temperatures from the 50s into the 20s for the weekend. My bikes keep telling me that we are going to ride though.

Enjoy the snow Annie!

--- Denise

[janetsplanet]

Both you women are my heros to even think about riding these days up north.
Not only am I recupping on a hysterectomy(okay no more periods mean long rides this summer) but this snow has really got me down. I cant even use the bikes in the the gym yet....The treadmill is the only thing I can do and the only good this winter has brought is I am just about jogging now...as I have increased my speed every week on the treadmill. My goal was to have that smaller butt to fit on the seat better and have nothing to hang over.
Well since there is no gym today with the snow just a blowing..I guess I will have another apple and shop on the internet for those shorts...
By the way all who are still riding in cold weather-you are my heros and I will be joining you all in April when that stomach heals.
This weekend the weather here is 13 below without wind chill....
Stay warm

[Surlygirl]

Janetsplanet, keep up the good work. I'm a wimpy New Englander, not one of those brave souls like Denise. Its in the 50's today but just to much sand, salt, water, potholes and snow on the roads for me. I've been on the trainer all winter and you just have to think how sweet that first ride in the spring is going to be. Last year on my first ride I pulled off the road, called my hubby and yelled WAHOO.
Back to the chill for us tomorrow too.

[Duck on Wheels]

Yeah, we had thundersnow this morning here in Madison WI too. And the wind is picking up. The snow isn't coming down all that hard, but it's steady, powdery and drifting. So I walked to the mall where I had a package to pick up -- wading through snow sometimes knee deep along the sidewalks -- and lo and behold, the mall is closed on account of snow! If this were California, I could believe it, but this is Wisconsin. It's supposed to snow here! And it's not really snowing all that bad. But apparently people don't know how to drive in it safely, so they have to close the schools and stores. Worst was that on my way, one other pedestrian had given up the sidewalk and was using the edge of a road -- not the main road, but a small side road. Along comes a driver in a monster SUV and bawls the guy out for walking in the road, calls him an idiot. Nasty and stupid. Prob'ly such a wimp inside his monster car that he can't handle the wheel, let alone wade through the drifts on the sidewalk like us pedestrians.

[yellow]

Thundersnow! Wow! That sounds very cool (no pun intended) and entertaining. Is it a warmish storm that cools down just a tad (so that it snows)? How does that work? Is there a meteorologist in the house?

Here on the shores of the Great Salt Lake (well, actually, we're up on a hill above and pretty far from the shore of the lake, but it's figurative), my independent and multiple samples indicate that we got 8" in about 20 hours. Now that's alot for us here in the Salt Lake Valley (mountains got quite a bit more, though surprisingly not a lot more). I think there were something like 450 accidents yesterday because of the snow, so snow-ineptitude is not limited to California (I can say this as I am a native Californian and have experienced it first hand). I don't think that the malls closed here, though! It got sunny today so it's melting, slowly (still pretty cold). Those hard core cyclists will be out tomorrow I bet. But they'll wait until it warms up to 35 or so. I'm with you Annie....I'm going XC skiing.

[Duck on Wheels]

Thundersnow! Wow! That sounds very cool (no pun intended) and entertaining. Is it a warmish storm that cools down just a tad (so that it snows)? How does that work? Is there a meteorologist in the house?

Well, I'm not a meteorologist, but got some basic theory in my second major (Geography) a third of a century ago. And there was something in the local paper two days back, but I can't seem to find it now. Lessee if I remember this ... A warm front pushes cold air back like a retreating wedge, but a cold front rolls in like a big wall. So if the cold front wall is really tall, and the warm air it meets is moist, then you've got warm wet air being pushed up high and fast, and that can lead to thunderclouds with condensation falling as hail and snow. I think. Anybody out there who can confirm or correct this?

Anyway, whatever the explanation, it's pretty exciting to watch. And hear. I'm right near some big antennas here, so the thunder was BIG and came right after each flash, which reflected off white snow. What a show!

[annie]

Crazy weather here, just crazy. Tuesday, 2/14, we have a record high temp of 58F. Saturday, 2/18, we have a record LOW temp of -18F. In between, we get hit with the snowstorm. Today was a high of 12F. Not too bad, compared to the below 0 stuff! I x-skied. Too cold to bike. Tomorrow, I'll hit the trainer. Still, Feb is almost over so spring is around the corner. I hope!! My bikes, too, are calling me, Denise. I am not listening.......

janetsplanet - best wishes on your healing! This is a better time of the year to be healing than is the warm weather, if that's any consolation to you.

annie