33 states affected, 10,000 flights cancelled - we're in for a whopper!

[limewave]

So much snow!

[PamNY]

Limewave, what beautiful pictures. Reminds me of how exciting snow is for children.

We aren't so badly off this time, with mostly sleet. In fact, we don't suffer too much in Manhattan because the sidewalks are cleared and the subways are running.

Much as I enjoy snow (and the parks have been beautiful) I'm really getting cabin fever. With ice today, I'm not even going for a walk.

Everyone in the hard-hit areas, please stay safe. I hope you are all stocked up with food and your power stays on.

[channlluv]

I just can't even imagine cold that deep. It reminds me of that movie, The Day After Tomorrow, where global warming has created freakish weather, including extreme cold.

How does your community keep going? I mean, can you go to the grocery store? Are the clerks there to check you out? And is an $18/hour job really worth risking life and limb to get to? I'm sure emergency personnel have to be where they have to be, but the less critical jobs -- I have to think the malls, libraries, non-critical medical centers/doctors' offices, movie theaters, restaurants, and so on, are all shut down for the duration, aren't they?

And really, what is this weather going to do to the traditionally huge bump in TV sales in advance of the Super Bowl? Priorities, people.

I wish I could have you all come visit me here. (itwas80degreesinthesunonmyfrontporchyesterdayandIwentona12-mileridearoundFiestaIslandandactuallygotalittlesunburned)

Roxy

[limewave]

I just can't even imagine cold that deep. It reminds me of that movie, The Day After Tomorrow, where global warming has created freakish weather, including extreme cold.

How does your community keep going? I mean, can you go to the grocery store? Are the clerks there to check you out? And is an $18/hour job really worth risking life and limb to get to? I'm sure emergency personnel have to be where they have to be, but the less critical jobs -- I have to think the malls, libraries, non-critical medical centers/doctors' offices, movie theaters, restaurants, and so on, are all shut down for the duration, aren't they?

And really, what is this weather going to do to the traditionally huge bump in TV sales in advance of the Super Bowl? Priorities, people.

I wish I could have you all come visit me here. (itwas80degreesinthesunonmyfrontporchyesterdayandIwentona12-mileridearoundFiestaIslandandactuallygotalittlesunburned)

Roxy

Hopefully everyone went to the grocery store before the storm. Pretty much everything is closed. On the news they said they were sending out trucks to pick up doctors/nurses/etc. that were stranded and to help relieve staff that had been working all night. Mail is not being delivered today either.

[zoom-zoom]

My husband is a moron and insisted upon going to work, this AM (he's a mechanical engineer...so not a "crucial" service provider). He had to spend nearly an hour shoveling to get my car (the one with snow tires) out of the driveway. His drive is 30 minutes on GOOD roads. Took him 40 or so, this AM...he said the highway was actually good, so once he got the 3-4 miles from our house to the hwy things were good.

[SheFly]

Crankin' - sorry to hear about the roof woes. I just saw on NECN that a number of roofs in the area are collapsing under the weight of the snow, and now the added weight of rain and ice on top.

We just came in from clearing (again). We have ice here now, and it is HEAVY to move. Lifting onto the already too high banks is taking a toll on both us, and the snowblower.

And to think just mid-month I was complaining because I was in sunny Florida and it was ONLY 55 degrees ...

SheFly

[WindingRoad]

This snow is super heavy! It's a major workout just digging your car out! I'm in Philly, not as bad as Mass but I'm still soooooo over this friggin' snow! Would LOVE to ride my bike somewhere besides the living room.

Crankin' - sorry to hear about the roof woes. I just saw on NECN that a number of roofs in the area are collapsing under the weight of the snow, and now the added weight of rain and ice on top.

We just came in from clearing (again). We have ice here now, and it is HEAVY to move. Lifting onto the already too high banks is taking a toll on both us, and the snowblower.

And to think just mid-month I was complaining because I was in sunny Florida and it was ONLY 55 degrees ...

SheFly

[Catrin]

I wish I could have you all come visit me here. (itwas80degreesinthesunonmyfrontporchyesterdayandIwentona12-mileridearoundFiestaIslandandactuallygotalittlesunburned)

Braggart Sounds delightful though and I wish we were there too!

This is what I get for buying an unusual house. We are going to have vents and soffits put in, before going to the last resort tactic of a commercial grade ice dam prevention system.

Yikes on the roof problem and I hope you don't have to go the commercial grade route - that sounds quite expensive. I bet it is a beautiful house though!

Yesterday I spent 45 minutes cleaning enough ice off my car to change parking spots closer to my apt door. Considering the amount of ice, and ice mountains, that I had to walk over this morning to even get to my car it was a good thing.

This morning I spend 75 minutes cleaning enough ice off my car to drive to work....wild day. I am the office ice weenie, so if we are having an ice storm or threat of one, I stay home. The day after, once they have time to treat the roads, I come in and most everyone else stays home. Interesting how that works.

[beccaB]

I had to drive to a nearby town today, and it's a good thing I know every bump and bend in that road, because I couldn't see where the road WAS!

[Tri Girl]

I didn't want to drive, so I walked 3 miles round trip to the grocery store today. I needed a few things for dinner, but would much rather walk than drive with all the loony drivers out.
It was 8 degrees with a wind chill of -12F. It was chilly, but I dressed warmly and actually was a little too warm. 4 layers on my head, 4 on top, 2 on bottom and 3 pairs of socks (most all layers were wool).
It was actually fun! I kinda felt like a pioneer woman- walking in snow to get my food.

The second pics are from yesterday when it snowed all day. We got 12 inches with drifts up to 4 feet.

[ASammy1]

Everything is shut down today. We finally dug out our cars after 2 hours of shoveling with the help of our neighbors. It's supposed to get below 0 tonight, so we had to make sure the cars got dug out while the sun was still shining.

Overall, we got 22 inches total with 9 ft drifts in some places. I'm gonna be sore...

[nscrbug]

My DH & I (with the help from a VERY kind neighbor with a bad@ss Toro snowblower) finally got our driveway cleared. Hubby is still out there shoveling a bit. The snow was waist deep outside of our side door (which we could not open without a really hard shove) and in our driveway. It took us over 2 hours to carve a narrow pathway down to the pavement. Had to do it in "layers"...shovel a layer off, then the next layer, and so on until you reach pavement. It was simply overwhelming and I truly thought we would not be able to get it done. When suddenly, our neighbor across the street comes over with his snowblower and starts chipping away at our driveway. Even with his help, it was a major effort to clear our 80 foot driveway. DH was so grateful for the help, that he gave him $50 for his troubles. The streets in my area are actually in good shape, so getting around the immediate area shouldn't be a problem. My gym was closed today (not that I could get there anyways), but I'm sure everything will be up and running by tomorrow.

[Crankin]

The snow/sleet has stopped. I just saw on TV that it's close to 50 degrees on the Cape. But here, it's 19.4 degrees. For the first time, I didn't help DH with the final clean up... used studying neuroanatomy as my excuse.
Catrin, yea, my house is great, but there have been way more surprises than we expected, since we moved in here, in 2005. We will pay for whatever fix is necessary, because by the time you go through the "sort of" fixes, it seems like you've spent even more money. And, sometimes, even with lots of research and experience, you are not sure who to trust.
I have no idea if we had mail delivery today, since I have not done the 700 foot walk down the hill; most of the time they surprise me that it does come. I think since I've lived back in MA I can count 5 or less times that it hasn't been delivered. I wouldn't blame the mailman, though. Even SheFly calls my street Aneurysm Hill Rd.
Grocery stores and such are open, but lots of the smaller shops are not. Restaurants have taken a beating in this weather, too.

[Jolt]

I just can't even imagine cold that deep. It reminds me of that movie, The Day After Tomorrow, where global warming has created freakish weather, including extreme cold.

How does your community keep going? I mean, can you go to the grocery store? Are the clerks there to check you out? And is an $18/hour job really worth risking life and limb to get to? I'm sure emergency personnel have to be where they have to be, but the less critical jobs -- I have to think the malls, libraries, non-critical medical centers/doctors' offices, movie theaters, restaurants, and so on, are all shut down for the duration, aren't they?
Roxy

Here things pretty much stay open (other than the schools, of course) during our usual snow storms...now if we get three feet at once, it's a little different. The YMCA where I work part-time almost never closes due to weather, which means I've been getting to drive in there in the snow at 5am (or home later in the morning, with all the morons on the road and pedestrians who walk in the street because the sidewalks aren't cleared, and walk on the wrong side) quite often this year. I enjoy the snow in general, but digging out cars and getting stuck at the bottom of the driveway is getting annoying.

[nancielle]

It was snowing again when I took Chloe out for her walk. We can expect about an inch more tonight before things quiet down until Saturday (woo hoo! More snow forecasted!)

Chloe's a little flummoxed over the loss of her yard to the heaping mounds of snow.




The icy view from one of my windows.