Snow Day!

[angus]

No school today!

Actually, my wife and I are off for two more weeks, but the boy doesn't have school today.  We got about 4 inches of snow overnight.  We just got a new snowboard for Christmas and we're going to try it out after breakfast. 

Let it Snow.

[angus]

Ah, the driveway is done.  Took about two hours.  It's wicked cold today.  9°F when I went out.  Up to 12°F now.  This was a regular occurrence when I lived in Iowa, but now I've been coddled by the mild Southeastern Pennsylvania winters that I'm not used to it any more.

The snow was so thick on the little hill behind the house that the snowboard just tumbled in after a few feet.  Eventually, we had to take the toboggan and go down several times in that to pack it before we could get the snowboard to glide down. 

[angus]

Anyways, if this forum has proven anything, it's that anyone from the southern states or foreigners from warm countries are pretty wimpy. Kind of makes me sad for the human race.

Wimps.

Well, it works both ways.  Next time you're at Chichén Itzá, watch the local tour guides bounding up and down the steep stairs of the pyramids, not bothered by the denim jeans they're wearing in the humid, tropical climate.  Then take a look at the Minnesotans of Norwegian descent applying gobs of white lotion on their pink faces under broad-brimmed hats, as they struggle up the stairs in sweatstained floral vacation shirts.

So far we have had about 18 inches of snow this winter.  Last year, there was 13 inches the entire winter.  This is shaping up to be a particularly snowy winter for this area I think.

[angus]

My son got the day off school  again today.  I guess it was a "wind chill advisory" day or something like that.  We're wimps here, no doubt about it.  Still, I envy him his day off.  Not snowy or rainy, just extremely cold and extremely windy.  I had to go to the office today to attend a function.  I arose early, about 7:00.  I turned on the Weather Channel and saw that it was -2°F.  I think it was the first negative temperature since I've moved here.  Probably broke some records.  Also, the wind was howling.  I didn't notice the wind speed on TV, but my guess is that it was at least 20mph sustained, with stronger gusts.  In the three block walk from my office to the library, my fingers became painfully cold and my nose felt like it was about to break off.  I think public school cancellation was the right call.

[angus]

Finally it warmed up.  We got about an inch of snow today, but it's around 40ish and melting.  I don't think it will re-freeze tonight.  From the ten-day forecast, it appears that the worst of it is over. 

[angus]

All three of us got a snow day today!

[angus]

Yes, another snow day for MT.  I'm at work today, though.  Lots and lots of shoveling yesterday and today.  Wicked cold this morning.  Currently 3°F.  Breezy too.  Glad I'm not working outside.

[angus]

a high of -24F

That is truly impressive.

Cold here today, but nothing like that.  Low single digits in the morning warming to 20ish.  Warming trend predicted tomorrow, apparently, reaching mid-40s by Saturday.  I think my son has had five days off so far this school year.  We're up to June 13 now.  Spain will have to wait. 

[angus]

Hells yes. I'd vote option 2, but the OP foolishly listed "Easterners" rather than "Southerners".

Not foolish to stick with convention.  The convention is foolish of course.  Ohio is clearly in the northeastern quadrant when looking upon a map, but it is still part of the Midwest.  Don't blame me.  I didn't invent it.  I'm just propagating it. 

And yes, Easterners are apparently wimps, although given Reaganfan's observations, Midwesterners are becoming pretty wimpy as well. 

[angus]

What option is there for someplace where it hasn't snowed for decades?

The greater Los Angeles area and the U.S.S. Enterprise both fit that bill.  Pick whichever of those two options suits your general outlook.

[angus]

Everybody has a snow day today!  My son's school is closed, as is my university and my wife's college.  Looks nasty outside.  A few inches of snow on top of a thin layer of ice.  We'll stay in and watch movies and play ping pong till it slacks off, then I'll go out and dig.  Maybe we'll walk to the gym and do some swimming in the pool, if they're open today.

[angus]

No school again today.  I think this makes six for my son.  If I've done the math right, he'll now be in school till Thursday June 12. 

[angus]

They did.  Puts a little monkey wrench in my plans, which is frustrating, but I get paid the same either way, and we don't have to have make-up days, so I'm not complaining too much.

We went to the gym for a couple of hours when the electricity was out.  Also, we had lunch at the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet not far from here.  I'm stuffed.  When we returned the power had been restored so I had to reset lots of clocks. 

Lots of trees down.  This storm was mostly ice, not snow.  Probably the snow day was actually merited this time.  Not much you can do with no electricity, and the driving was a bit dicey.

[angus]

Two-hour delay today for the elementary schools.  Seems unnecessary. 

[angus]

We got another inch or two of powdery snow last night, but no delays or cancellations here.  I did notice that the garbage and recycling bin weren't picked up when I went out.  They're usually doing that long before I awaken.  Maybe the refuse company got a snow day.

[angus]

Which would likely melt quickly in the following days afterward.  

Probably.  Not terribly cold, but snowy.  Here's the weather.com forecast for 17601:

[angus]

I live approximately where the letter A is in the word accumulations.  The second letter A, not the first.  Here, they're calling for 10 to 14 inches.  I think 10 to 14 is probably a bit far-fetched, but we'll see.  Still, even if we get only half that, I suppose that all the local schools will cancel for the day.  The local public radio station announced that garbage pickup will not occur tomorrow.  Also, many business have already posted on their websites that the will not open tomorrow.

[angus]

Snow day for all. 

The snow started sometime last night and right now there's about half a foot of new snow with big flakes still falling.  At some point I'll have to get my act together and shovel the drive.  Garbage day is cancelled.  The gym near our house is closed.  So far the street has seen no plow.  It should come by eventually.  Till then there's really no point in doing the driveway.  I suppose that there will still be U.S. mail service.  Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

[angus]

Exercise since you can't get to the gym.  Also, while there is likely no point in doing the end, doing the rest would make it easier to do it for real once the snow stops.

Yes, exercise.  I'm exhausted.  My arms, legs, and lower back especially.  I was out from about 12:20 till maybe 2:00 shoveling.  I was completely drenched with sweat by the time I was finished and had to take a shower.  It was shoveling, too, not pushing.  Heavy wet snow about eight inches thick.  But the driveway is clean.  That last two meters or so was a bear, because the snow plow had made a couple of passes. 

The snow seems to have stopped.  The radar shows showers for a couple hours this evening, but it will likely just be a pushing endeavor to clean that little bit. 

[angus]

That's precisely why you should have done a bit at a time if possible rather than all at once, angus. (Or even done some while it was falling.)

I do appreciate the advice, and have given it much thought, and more than a little empiricism. 

When I lived in Iowa, that was my MO.  Pushing was always preferable to digging, so I'd go out three times for a 9-inch snow, pushing each time, rather than waiting till it was over and dealing with it, because that would invariably involve digging rather than just pushing.  But there the snow was big, flaky, dry Midwestern snow.  Much colder than here, but I never did mind getting snowed upon in that type of snow.  Here in this part of PA it is usually a heavy, wet, Eastern snow, and it's not the most pleasant thing to be standing in while pushing.  I've played both ways.  Here, I generally just wait till it's over and resign myself to the digging.  Also, it's not so damned cold here.  Positive 20s instead of negative 20s, so it's not terrible having to be out in it for an hour and a half.  Also, the snow here is good for snowmen and snowballs.  Never really could get a decent snowman out of the Midwestern snow.  Either because the snow was too dry or because my fingers were numbed even with thick gloves on, or both.

Anyway, on this particular day the call wasn't mine to make.  The snow started sometime in the middle of the night.  By the time I awoke it was so thick and heavy that we were far beyond the point of pushing, even if I'd gone out at 7AM.  It seemed right to just wait till it stopped, around noon.

Especially since we all had the day off. 

[angus]

Wretched.  We got another three inches or sow of heavy, wet snow overnight.  No cancellations though.  My son's school was off anyway for Valentine's Day.  

[angus]

We're getting rain today.  Actual liquid water is falling from the sky.  Haven't seen that in about a couple of months.  It is cleaning my car and the streets, but there's some concern about flooding.  From my office window, I can see snow removal vehicles down on the streets furiously clearing the areas around the drains. 

In some neighboring counties school was cancelled due to freezing rain, but here it's all rain.  No delays or cancellations.  Just wet socks.

[angus]

Two-hour delay here.  This one really didn't seem necessary, but it's nice not to be rushed in the morning.

[angus]

Winter wasn't over, yet. We got 1.3 inches of snow yesterday. Fortunately it cleared up so I can see the lunar eclipse now.

Cloudy here.  No red moon.

I think winter's really over, so I can report that the 2013-14 season total here was 61.9 inches, or approximately three times the average from 1926 till now, but not a record.  Apparently that happened in 2009-10, when it snowed 72.5 inches.  (data from Millersville University Department of Meteorology)

[angus]

I spoke too soon.  I think muon and gramps sent me some of their lovely weather.  On the way home tonight it was sleeting, and the expected low temp tonight is 25.  WTF?  It was in the 70s and sunny on Sunday and Monday. 

I wouldn't mind just one more snow day, though.