Major winter storm of 2011

Some pics of Snowmagedon 2011.

Pretty impressive!! Good day to have some fun in the snow, kick back and read a good book (with the beverage of choice). Do you have a fireplace and wood to top off the atmosphere?

Gary
 
OK, another rolling blackout at office; learned that the UPS for the phone service is good for about six minutes. UPS for server is good for (at least) 20 minutes, but based upon it's little "fuel gauge," its batteries are due for replacement. UPS at my desk is good for about six minutes. Bad to day to have forgotten my laptop.
 
-39f at my house this morning. I am going to fly up to Cody, Wy with someone this afternoon to pick up one of our club planes that got left there on Monday due to Wx. DensAlt is pretty low!!!!!!!

It's a heat wave in Cody, only -4F now and calm. Be careful! Hope it's inside or you're bringing pre-heat capability.
 
No golf in the desrt today. High in the 50's and winds 20-30 gusting higher. Going to Gen Patton museum instead.
 
Pretty impressive!! Good day to have some fun in the snow, kick back and read a good book (with the beverage of choice). Do you have a fireplace and wood to top off the atmosphere?

Gary
No fireplace in this house. I had one in the old place but really do not miss it. I am cooking some matzoball soup for lunch and then planning on relaxing. Clearing the drive took a lot less time than I thought. When I first walked out there I figured it was going to be a multishift all day affair. But it took about 2.5 hours. Not bad really.
 
No fireplace in this house.[\quote]

Bummer, but they are a bit messy, still nice to have on a cold snowy day.

Clearing the drive took a lot less time than I thought. When I first walked out there I figured it was going to be a multishift all day affair. But it took about 2.5 hours. Not bad really.

By hand, with a shovel??? If so, you're a better man than me. Gotta love power equipment.

Gary
 
By hand, with a shovel??? If so, you're a better man than me. Gotta love power equipment.

Gary
Shovel and blower. The drifts were too high to take on with just the blower. So my SO used the shovel to beat them down a bit and then I would use the blower to get the debris out of the way. It really went fast and easy. It could have been a lot worse. The texture of the snow made all the difference.
 
Shovel and blower. The drifts were too high to take on with just the blower. So my SO used the shovel to beat them down a bit and then I would use the blower to get the debris out of the way. It really went fast and easy. It could have been a lot worse. The texture of the snow made all the difference.


Ahhh... help is always a good thing. More power to ya!! Enjoy the day.

Gary
 
Emergency supplies have been staged...

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Post of the Thread.

Some pics of Snowmagedon 2011.

Nice drifts. Looks like the Chicago Snowmageddon was however greatly over exagerated. Pretty much a bust. I saw Chicago got 20" which is only about 3 more than we got last week. The geographic area that the storm covered was indeed impressive. The press cracked me up. Over 100 million people will be affected. Whats that mean someone in New Jersey will have a snow flake fall on their head?

Really looks like MO got it worse. Now the winds you guys got that was like a Snowacaine. That seemed very intense. We had that last year here outside Philly and we ended up with 4'+ drifts. Thats a pain but it is funny because other spots the snow is blow almost clear.

Here in SEPA we got a shizzle of ice lost power but melting fast as the temps are soaring into the low 40s.
 
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It's amazing! I could actually drive out now. They plowed out the street and the minions dug out the car.

I figured it would be a few days before the front loaders got here. The frontage road across the way it still untouched 4-5 feet solid snow...Nope! The plow is working on digging them out, too. Wow.
 
It's up to 1F and I am heading the the airport shortly to try out some below sea level DA performance!


Dang-it. I was pre-empted to go, by wife's emergency root canal. Priorities shift...
 
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Some of the thundersnow we had last night got caught on the WX channel clip


It was pretty neat when we got about 3 or 4 bolts of it around 9pm last night.
 
Well, it was -4*F this morning and is now up to 5 .. the pond is forzen so the ducks are missing.. where do ducks go when their pond is frozen? We have a fire in the fireplace still - had one all day yesterday too and... We have no water. The lines in the pump house are frozen... lovely.
Kevin is down at the bus thawing that out so we can hopefully get water from it's tank. That's OK we have other beverages to drink but the dogs might mind....
 
The aftermath in Missouri. My driveway is usually 2 1/2 wide.
 

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We wore out a snow plow. I saw one of the Illinois DOT plows being towed back to the lot.
 
Aftermath - a little snow play with Guinness before commencing snow blowing operation:
 

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Here is a picture of what Lake Shore Drive near downtown Chicago looked like this morning. At about 5pm last night there were a couple of accidents on the LSD and traffic stopped. About 200 cars were trapped there overnight and crews are still working to clear the road.

Out where Mike and I live dozens were just rescued near the town of Antioch. Further west of me there are still cars stuck on Rt 47 and several major roads are still closed.

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How much did you guys get up there?

I'm sure we got less snow than Chicago. Officially Milwaukee got 19.8" over the 3-day period (taken at MKE which is about a mile inland from Lake Michigan, which means some of that is lake effect snow.) I live 30 miles west of there, so I think we saw less, though I don't know the official count.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/115135104.html

That's one hell of a picture from LSD. Wow. Can you imagine if you really had to pee?
 
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The lines in the pump house are frozen.

haw, haw - I completely reinsulated my p.h. in November....feeling pretty darned full of myself right now!
(but, not tempting fate I'm leaving water running all night and day)
 
That's a 50 gal. drum on my deck, a protected feeding station for feral kitties that come to visit. There's usually a path at the left, coming from the lower deck. I've had to clear the path countless times in the last several days; but yesterday and today were just too much with the snow just continuing to come.

#2 I took from my garage door prior to firing up the trusty Gravely which gave me 3.5 hours of great service for my driveway and the neighbor lady further up the hill.

Oh! #3? Nothing to do with the storm; I just needed to think about something else. It was taken at Reid State Park which is 5 miles below my house. (I don't know who she is but I think she knew my 300mm lens was onto her)


Friday shall come -- to Sunday River Ski Resort.

HR

Feb. 03 observation: Photo #3 has been viewed twice as many times as #1 and #2. Apparently, others are tired of thinking about the weather doldrums.
 

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Well, it was the third greatest snowfall accumulation in a single storm in the past 126 years in Chicago. They still haven't plowed our street, and with 18" at the foot of the driveway and the SUV in the shop, there's no way we're getting out of here. Work is closed for over 2 days. Snowfalls between 18" and 22", with the official total at ORD of 20.2".
 
No golf in the desert today.

No hamburgers on the grill today. ;)

A photo of our driveway. Tom managed to get the old white truck (I'll never call it bad names again!) up and down the driveway a few times, so at least we know we can get to the road. Makes it easier to walk to the mailbox...although they haven't delivered mail since Monday and probably won't today either.

The local farmers have been using their tractors to plow paths up and down the county roads.

Took a shot of our thermometer this morning. It got down to -21° here.
 

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Having been through this sort of thing, I really do feel for you guys. We got really lucky this time.
 
Well, it was the third greatest snowfall accumulation in a single storm in the past 126 years in Chicago. They still haven't plowed our street, and with 18" at the foot of the driveway and the SUV in the shop, there's no way we're getting out of here. Work is closed for over 2 days. Snowfalls between 18" and 22", with the official total at ORD of 20.2".
I live a few doors down from the Township Highway Supervisor. Our street was clear yesterday by 9am. Even though my driveway is clear it is all a bit deceptive. I left for work this morning and upon hitting the city streets was surprised by about an inch of snow that is now ice. Almost rammed a car at the stop light onto Rt14. Which, BTW is not yet clear either. The back up of cars started by Cary Metra station which is very unusual. I turned around and am working from home today. Why put myself through what was starting to look like a multi hour commute when I can just as easily work from home.
 
http://alaskadispatch.com/voices/me...e-our-governor-now-our-snow-and-yet-you-whine

Frankly, the whining we hear echoing north is a little embarrassing. As we like to say here in the North, weather happens.

Get over it!

A couple of feet of snow in Valdez is an average winter day. Nobody gets excited until they get four feet or more in 24 hours. Have you ever seen four feet of snow? You can't let your kids go outside. You'll lose them.

And 40 degrees below zero in Fairbanks is a normal winter day. Nobody gets excited until the temperature drops past 60 below. Have you ever seen 60 degrees below zero? If you spit, the spittle only goes one inch out of your mouth before it turns to a lump of ice. Diesel fuel turns to Jello. You can cut it and burn it like bricks, except to get a fire started you need two matches. You light both and then rub the frozen flames together to generate enough heat to start the fire.

Now, that's cold.

So quit your whining. Or hop a flight north to join in on the fun. When it goes above freezing in Anchorage in February, we get out the lawn chairs and start sunbathing.

You betcha!
 
That is how I feel about the New Yorkers. They got 19.5" of snow in January and are still whining about it. We got over 20" in a night and we are almost all back to normal and work. I still hear NYers complaining about their garbage pick ups from a few weeks ago. I figure that NYers not only do not know about pizza and hot dogs, they know nothing about snow removal either. :D
 
That is how I feel about the New Yorkers. They got 19.5" of snow in January and are still whining about it. We got over 20" in a night and we are almost all back to normal and work. I still hear NYers complaining about their garbage pick ups from a few weeks ago. I figure that NYers not only do not know about pizza and hot dogs, they know nothing about snow removal either. :D

:cornut:
 
So has the snowmageddon "all clear" sounded in the Midwest now? ;)

Glad to hear everyone fared pretty well, with only one pump house freeze for "damages" so far.

It's lightly snowing in Denver again right at the moment (very lightly), so we're sending another wave your way soon! :D
 
By the way, good snowstorms always remind me of the "Diary of a Mad Snow Shoveler"... which is a classic...

-----

December 8 - 6:00 PM. It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!

December 9 - We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the Whole World? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had. Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life.

December 12 - The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment. My neighbor tells me not to worry, we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. l don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man, I'm glad he's our neighbor.

December 14 – Snow, lovely snow! 8 inches last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish l wouldn't huff and puff so.

December 15 - 20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.

December 16 - Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17 - Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. God I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20 - Electricity's back on, but had another 14 inches of the damn stuff last night. More shoveling. Took all day. ******n snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.

December 22 - Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white **** fell today, and it's so cold it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to ****. By the time I got undressed, ****ed and dressed again. I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter; but he says he's too busy. I think the ******* is lying.

December 23 - Only 2" of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she nuts!!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's lying.

December 24 - Snow packed so hard by snowplow, l broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a ***** who drives that snow plow I'll drag him through the snow by his balls and beat him to death with my broken shovel. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was too busy watching for the damn snowplow.

December 25 - Merry f---ing Christmas! 20 more inches of the damn slop tonight. Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's a fricking idiot. If I have to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to stuff her into the microwave.

December 26 - Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves.

December 27 - Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze, plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him, he only charged me $1,400 to replace the pipe.

December 28 - Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. THE ***** is driving me crazy!!!

December 29 - 10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?

December 30 - Roof caved in. I beat up the snow plow driver; he is now suing me for a million dollars, not only for the beating I gave him, but also for trying to shove the broken snow shovel up his ass. The wife went home to her mother. 9 inches predicted.

December 31 - I set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling.

January 8 - Feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?
 
So has the snowmageddon "all clear" sounded in the Midwest now? ;)

Mostly. University had classes today - I didn't go 'cuz I'm sick :cryin: but the Milwaukee K-12 schools were closed again. (I think they're trying for a 5-day weekend.)
 
Everything is relative, and it is far worse in Alaska. Then again, I think you have to be half off your rocker to live there to begin with.
 
Just got an email from my airport, 10C. Still not open but they hope to be tomorrow. One access road is closed until the thaw because that is where they put all the snow. Taxiway is still being worked on and the recommendation is to back taxi on the runway. Some hangars still will need to be dug out. I am glad my plane was in the maintenance hangar for its annual. It got a nice warm, heated place to stay for a while.

The SO's place of work was open only for the staff. They had hoped to be open to the public but upon arrival found several emergency exits that were blocked as well as one main entrance. Snow removal was really snow movement and there were only about half of the normal parking spots. The city had to be called to work on trucking away the snow.

My work was open but I chose to work from home due to the roads being really slippery and there not being a good reason to go into the office.
 
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Everything is relative, and it is far worse in Alaska. Then again, I think you have to be half off your rocker to live there to begin with.

Two kinds of people live here in the winter (outside the cities):

Those who live for the summers which are absolute bliss;

And those who enjoy smelling dog farts while cruising along at -40.
 
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