(envy) I have never, ever seen a foot of snow on the ground, all at the same time, except in pictures.
People almost never believe me, but they have canceled school here because it might snow the next day.
By Scott Moellmer (Goofy) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 11:24 am: Edit
==
Well, be happy that you have also never experienced the winter bicycling season, Jean.
By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 11:36 am: Edit
(eyes wide and innocent) Is that a sport? I mean, you must like doing it, because all the schools and businesses are closed, right?
At least they are around here! If the snow sticks to railings and bushes and such, then we know the roads will get slippery and we all go home. Except for some silly people who try to drive, sometimes sideways, down the road.
By ROBERT l cALLAWAY (Callaway) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 01:11 pm: Edit
Jeanie again this year the city of Omaha will attempt to mail you all the snow we are about to get. some 34 inches a great deal less then buffalo get but hay they life closer to canada then I do.
Be aware that chicgo, Des moines, Indy, and ohio and tennesse will be adding to or stealing from the shipments
your in freezing cold
callaway
By Tony L Thomas (Scoutdad) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 01:24 pm: Edit
Oh No we won't... Tennessee gets enough on it's own. Like Jean - this is the only school system I've ever seen close because snow is in the forecast.
By Steve Wagner (Waggs) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 02:50 pm: Edit
Jean,
We will also be glad to send any snow that falls here some 80 miles west of Omaha. Consider it "our" gift for all those wonderful brownies you leave on occassion.
BTW, the schools here will consider closing ONLY if, "there is a strong wind (>35 mph) along with at least 2+ inches an hour expected over an extended period of time." (i.e. "Blizzard conditions) These facts come from the Student handbooks given out at the beginning of each school year.
Oh and Gary, as I e-mailed my cousins in Weld County and over in Ft Collins, PLEASE just keep that stuff out your way.
By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 03:24 pm: Edit
Happy dance! Snow donations! The last snow I got was a snowball brought to me by a friend traveling from Philly. It lives in a baggie in my freezer (yes, still).
Please don't send snow by Gorn Express as they seem to lose the shipments or deliver them all melted.
By Fred J. Kreller (Kreller1) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 03:32 pm: Edit
Problem with Gorns is they think everything should be a huge glob of plasma. Snow doesn't translate well.
By Gary Plana (Garyplana) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 05:10 pm: Edit
I remember one winter in Chicago, which is where I grew up, there was a storm that dropped three full feet of lake-effect snow, and the drifts were 2-3 times that high. The entire city shut down for a week.
I almost made enough money shoveling sidewalks to go to college.
What I remember even more clearly is that I was at Camp Crete with my Boy Scout Troop later that year on the weekend that all that snow melted and turned everything to mud. I also remember that one of the adults out camping with us said that he not not seen such bad mud since he was at Guadalcanal during WWII; I learned three new cuss words that day.
Moral of the story: snow in large Quantities is not a good thing.
By Mike Curtis (Nashvillen) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 05:12 pm: Edit
I used to live in a location that got over 150 inches of snow a year (South of Rochester, NY)
I used to shovel through 2-3 feet at a time (Yes, up hill, both ways... ;) )
As a child it was a blast! But snow days were limited to those days that we received over 2 feet at one time. We more snow removal equipment in my little town of 2000 people than the City of Nashville has...
As for living where it snows seldom, Christiana, TN, I am content.
By ROBERT l cALLAWAY (Callaway) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 05:21 pm: Edit
Hey Steve where are you? some were north of york?
Rob
By Roger Rardain (Sky_Captain) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 05:35 pm: Edit
December 2004 - 18 inches of snow in western Ohio.
Lots of people complained that local municipalities did not have snow removal equipment for that amount of snow.
Why should they? The last time this area had that amount of snow was 25 years previously.
March 2008 - 12 inches of snow.
So much for the "once every 25 years" stuff.
What's to blame? Ohio weather.
Jean, you are welcome to anything we get over 4 inches accumulation. I find more than that to be tough to deal with.
By Jon Berry (Laz_Longsmith) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 07:12 pm: Edit
Wusses. Up here in Edmonton and Northern Alberta, we only cancel the busses if it's lower than -30C, with blowing snow. If you're in walking distance, you still show up for classes. Although, truth be told, on days like that, classes are pretty much 'fun time', rather than study time.
To close the schools? Well, that takes even worse weather.
By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 10:11 pm: Edit
I just want to see it once in my life -- a whole foot of snow. I think it would be so neat. (grin) And then it can go away and it doesn't have to do that again.
I think I want the snow sitting still, too. No blowing (or how can I tell how deep it is?).
I think the coldest it has ever been around here is -5F. And that was COLD!
By ROBERT l cALLAWAY (Callaway) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 10:21 pm: Edit
-5 ? WC-100 that cold.
-35 is cold and deceptive without a wind.
8ft snowdrifts look cool and cut whole blocks cut off for days powerlines down frozen pipes colpased roofs trees down and buried cars, burried house exposier deaths those of us who live in snow country will gladly sent you snow jeanie but rember your neighbors may not be as glad
By Loren Knight (Loren) on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 10:32 pm: Edit
I've been in snow up to my arm pits. It is important to realize that the cute little pine tree in the snow on that hill side might not in fact be little.
I lived in Loveland CO for a time. Snow, lakes, beautiful sunsets and pretty girls were all in ample supply.
By Steve Wagner (Waggs) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 12:55 am: Edit
Rob,
I am in Columbus.
By Stacy Brian Bartley (Bartley) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 01:12 am: Edit
Jean has foolish (albeit charmingly so) romantic notions about snow. She doesn't understand that up here in the northern clime of WEST VIRGINIA that if there's a foot of snow we DRIVE IN IT (Although I do concede with many there is an IQ drop of about 50 points). Myself I grew up in Central Indiana and Central Ohio where we'd get SNOW.
I remember one night when it was below zero and I walked to a Boy Scout meeting, my father was amazed ("Kid's got guts."). Snow makes an amazing crunching sound when walked upon at below zero temperatures. It's that sound that alerts you that your feet are touching ground as they had gone numb the first 20 minutes out.
regards
Stacy
By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 07:42 am: Edit
What? Snow comes, it stays for a day or so, it goes away. Right??? The debris it leaves behind is no worse than a tropical storm leaves usually.
And since nothing is open, there really is no need to drive. Well, the hospital is open, but volunteers with four-wheel-drive vehicles go out and get people. My brother, who's essential personnel for a retirement/assisted living/nursing home, stays there if they think it will snow.
Snow is good!
By ROBERT l cALLAWAY (Callaway) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 09:32 am: Edit
Jeanie may you never know the reality of snow as I type Sears is putting in a new furnice Snow is very scarey for those of us who live in snow country and understand just how deadly it is
By Russell J. Manning (Rjmanning) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 10:15 am: Edit
Jean,
A foot of snow stays around for much longer then a day or so. The fun part is the piles of snow the plows leave in parking lots that can last for months.
Snow would be cool if it was so danged cold. I am looking to retirement in the Islands.
By Gary Plana (Garyplana) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 10:16 am: Edit
I remember an event from the mid-80's which summarizes things nicely.
I was living and working in San Diego back then, my boss's Boss (a corporate VP bigwig) and I flew out here to Denver to visit Rocky Flats on a business trip, I was gonna be out here longer than he was, so I rented the car and drove it. My boss was Southern California born and raised, and didn't even own a winter-weight coat.
On the drive from Stapelton Airport to Golden (which is in the foothills), While on a 2-lane local road, we hit a patch of black ice and did a 360 degree HET at 25MPH forward speed, with traffic coming from the other direction. As I had grown up in Chicago, had ridden a motorcycle to high school for three years, plus learning to drive a car in adverse conditions.
I didn't even blink, Just cussed myself under my breath for not spotting the black ice patch, (living in SoCal had ruined my driving skills) Brought the car back under control as I slowed to 20MPH. My boss came very Very VERY close to wetting his pants, which was my first introduction to "warm-landers" reactions to snow and ice.
He was a good boss, and didn't try to grab the steering wheel or tell me what to do, he apparently didn't even know what Black Ice was or even WHY we had skidded.
On every subsequent business trip he and I went on after that, He always had me drive
even if I was just there for the day and he was there for a week. By Lee Hanna (Lee) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 10:47 am: Edit
When I went to school in NW Pennsylvania, the first snow fell the week of Hallowe'en-- 2+ inches. A kid in my freshman dorm was from Puerto Rico, he ran out in a jean jacket and shorts to play in it. Since it came down after dark, some people didn't realize it. Some freshman girl reportedly woke up her hall by screaming that the nuclear fallout had come!
That year, snow fell in DC, and we were amused to watch the drivers on CNN.
By Burt Quaid (Burt) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 02:17 pm: Edit
Here in Southeast Oklahoma we never get snow unless there is 1-2 inches of ice under or on top of it. I would love to see just snow. Mostly we just get cold rain.
burt
By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 03:05 pm: Edit
Russell, I have heard that snowplows, like unicorns, exist; I have never seen one. Snow that lasts months is in the same category. We had some snow once that lasted a week (maybe a week and a half in the shade), but that's the extent of it.
Black ice we have. Ice storms we have. (One of the prettiest sights I have ever seen was after an ice storm when I walked out the .1 mile driveway to see if anyone else had gotten power back. When I turned around, the full moon was shining through the pines which were all covered in ice, and everything turned silver.) dustings of snow we get (the grass pokes out through it). Once in a while, we get enough snow to cover up the grass. But I have never seen a whole foot of snow -- the one time I could have, I was in Philly and my folks in NC got 14 inches and Philly didn't get enough to cover the grass!
By Will McCammon (Djdood) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 04:31 pm: Edit
You'll need to go up to Central Montana someday Jean.
Go see real snow (4-7 foot drifts). Real "hurts to breath" cold (-20F, with a 20mph wind, on a "good" day).
Maybe see Glacier Park while you are at it.
Back there (home for me), school doesn't get canceled for any amount of snow. The only thing that cancels school is deadly low temperatures/winds and even then they usually keep going since the kids are mostly on buses outside of the few "big" towns.
By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 04:39 pm: Edit
Will, I have to take baby steps first! One foot of snow before drifts over my head!
Although I would love to see a glacier someday.
By Loren Knight (Loren) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 05:26 pm: Edit
Baby steps won't get you anywhere in the snow. You have to take big knee-high marching steps.
By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 05:54 pm: Edit
Jean,
If you're interested in seeing a whole foot of snow or more in comfort, why not take an alaska cruise? see the whales, Glaciers, and the northern lights from the comfort of which ever lounge offers the best view.
The toughest decision you'ld have to make is to decide asking the waiter to bring you a mug of hot cocoa or something alcoholic.
By Clell Flint (Clell) on Thursday, October 29, 2009 - 08:58 am: Edit
I second the recommendation to see Glacier National Park. Saw it many years ago and it is breathtaking.
By Reid Hupach (Gwbison) on Thursday, October 29, 2009 - 11:51 am: Edit
Love Glacier was there as a kid, had an interesting run in with a big 'ol' baer while I was there
By Patrick H. Dillman (Patrick) on Thursday, October 29, 2009 - 02:57 pm: Edit
I see glaciers everyday and I live in California.
By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Thursday, October 29, 2009 - 09:52 pm: Edit
I think that I would love to see a glacier. I'll have to add that to my "To Do" list for someday.
My folks did the Alaskan cruise thing for their 50th anniversary and loved it. I have hanging in my home office a picture of a piece off a glacier (my grandfather took it on his Alaskan trip years and years ago). The sades of blue in it are so rich.
Cruises are fun; my ever-so-elegant drink of choice is a virgin strawberry daiquiri.