Snowpocalypse 2011!

[RetroVertigo]

Here in the St. Louis area they are calling for around 10 inches of snow. The bad part is the inch of ice before the snow hits. Last time we had ice like this I was without power for 3 days, and im not looking forward to it. It was bad enough with just me and my wife, but now we have a nine month old deal with.

It's a good thing I don't live in Buffalo, cause I'm a wintry mix pussy.

[Duke]

It's a good thing I don't live in Buffalo, cause I'm a wintry mix pussy.

Actually, we haven't had an ice storm like the one you describe since I moved to this area in 2002.

And also come to think of it we haven't had a really bad snow storm like the one planned to hit here on Tuesday/Wednesday in almost two years. In fact, the kids have not had a snow day all year, and only one last year. NYC had more snow last Thursday than we've had all season*. I'd say it's been a strange winter in Buffalo, but this is almost starting to become the norm now.

*ETA: Apparently at the airport they've had 60 inches of snow this year. I've got a hard time believing that. Where I live it's probably been less than 20, and we've only got about 3 inches on the ground right now.

[sparky!]

The snowbanks here (southern New Hampshire) are taller than my car, making city driving pretty nerve wracking (can't see down cross streets).

They're predicting 2"-4" more tomorrow and perhaps 20" on Wednesday!

[Machine Elf]

Here in SE Michigan they're forecasting somewhere between 12 and 18 inches, with the heavy stuff expected during morning rush hour on Wednesday. If I'm lucky my employer will authorize a late start (or no start at all).

[Cell Guy]

The local news is making this out to be the "Blizzard of DOOOOOOOOOM!" I just wish they had held off until today to announce it. The grocery store was hell yesterday as everyone stocked up.

But really, 12-20" is nothing more but a few flurries to us tried and true Midwest Winter Warriors.

[Cat Whisperer]

We got a dump of snow this weekend, but it was after a few days of chinook, so most of the old snow had melted. I have to go out and shovel the sidewalk again today, and the roads are really bad, though - so friggin' icy! Oh yeah, I forgot about the -33ºC temps (-25ºF to the metrically challenged) - they gloss up the roads real nice.

I think I had a point; snow and ice and cold BAD!

[Skammer]

At least this big monster storm of the decade is staying up north, where it belongs. We've had about 8 snow days this month here in Nashville - it just ain't natural. Predicted hi temp tomorrow: 62 degrees. :cool:

[shiftless]

We just got a warning here in DC about this storm. The weather warning map shows a bright red path that leads from St. Lous to the east coast. My suggestion that we go ahead and nuke St. Louis before they can carry out their attack has gone unheeded.

[Scubaqueen]

The NWS is calling it 'Potentially catastrophic' for Indiana. :eek:

Us Hoosier folk are expecting at least an inch or more of ice, followed by snow.

Yippee. :rolleyes:

At least I don't live in northern Indiana, which is expecting 20 to 24 inches of snow between now and Thursday morning. Those folk I don't envy.

The work 'top goes home with me this evening and I very much doubt I'll be back in the office before Thursday if all this comes together like they're claiming.

For once, 'Chicken Little tv' - my name for WISH-TV (Channel 8, our central Indiana CBS affiliate) - isn't the only one screaming gloom and doom. They're all hollering it today.

Yippee again. :rolleyes:

The biggest concern is losing power. Gonna get damn cold at Casa Scubaqueen if that happens.

[Sunspace]

The bulk of it will be south of me. Bancroft should see maybe 15 cm total over Tuesday and Wednesday.

That said, Toronto is expecting double that, and I am delaying my travel until Thursday.

[nonacetone]

I'm in west central Indiana, and we're getting the freezing rain now. I just put down some salt on our front and back outside steps, so we can get the dogs in and out to potty. They're both old, and slippery steps don't help them much! Our local weather-guesser has said we're expecting up to 2" of ice, and then winds anywhere from 35 to 40mph on Wednesday. That won't be good. I imagine we'll lose our power before it's all said and done.
I'm so ready for spring to get here. Of course, then we'll have the severe storms/tornadoes to deal with. You just can't win around here.

[gravitycrash]

Latest forcast for St. Louis: 1in. of ice followed by 3-4 inches of sleet followed by 8-10 inches of snow.

Oh goodie.

[caveman]

There's a slight chance of flurries here later this week. DOOOM!

[Moonlitherial]

The bulk of it will be south of me. Bancroft should see maybe 15 cm total over Tuesday and Wednesday.

That said, Toronto is expecting double that, and I am delaying my travel until Thursday.

My contingency plans include taking my laptop home tonight and stocking up on diet coke. Getting snowed in is starting to sound darn attractive actually.

[AshenLady]

They say we'ses in New Jersey (south) are just going to get some wintry mix and maybe ice. Doesn't sound so hellacious. Snow is melting here somewhat.

[Little Nemo]

I'm supposed to be flying from Buffalo to Houston with a stopover in Chicago on Wednesday.

I anticipate problems.

[Pai325]

Here in central Illinois we are expecting an inch of ice and then a deep snow cover. I can handle the snow, but I hate being without power. I'm hoping we don't lose it, but I'm not optimistic. It's just started and already the power is out in a town about 20 miles away.

[Lute Skywatcher]

I'm able to take unscheduled telework if the weather is bad enough. Didn't go anywhere Thursday with all the snow & ice we got that night but we lost power with just over two hours left in my workday. It wasn't downed lines but a blown transformer up the street; took Dominion ~24 hours to restore power due to all the other outages earlier!

About three hours ago, we got approval for unscheduled telework tomorrow. I had already informed my boss that I'm staying here (today is one of my scheduled telework days) if the expected ice keeps me from getting to the bus stop, assuming the buses continue operation on our hill.

[RetroVertigo]

Just got home from work, and the Maple tree out front is already droopy from the ice. Which is a horrible sign as I live in a older neighborhood with lots of big trees.

[orderfire]

The news hype is incredibly annoying but...I'll tolerate it and hope that all of my preparations are for naught. I love being snowed in when it's fluffy and decorative, while everything is working and I can watch the birdfeeder and read and bake all day, but no power/heat/H2O for more than 24 hours sucks dogs. We already have 2' plus on the ground here in CT, totally not average.

I had to do "disaster" prep at two houses after work tonight before even arriving at home to do my own: my 89-year-old dad & his Ghanian caretaker who has no experience with this white stuff, then my learning disabled sister. H2O reserves for the flush? Flashlights? Batteries? Candles? Matches? Phone charged? Blankies? My own discomfort is an annoyance, but the gnawing concern about how the less-capable are faring is draining.
Seems like forever ago we had to bucket-flush or ration for tooth brushing, but we definitely lived like cavemen for a full 3 days back in '78. Not looking forward to this and hoping it's all hype. Snowmageddon!! UGH.

I totally hope it turns out to be nothing and we just dump out all the water on Wednesday, but I'm sure not leaving it to chance.

Oh and when I look out my bedroom window at the Tree of Death, which is 10 times the size of my house and is guaranteed to erase me from existence in one fell swoop, I start to feel a little concerned about tons of ice coverage. :(

[Ponch8]

I'm hoping that my company declares a snow day Wednesday, but it doesn't seem likely. They haven't had a snow day since 1967.

[interface2x]

I'm hoping that my company declares a snow day Wednesday, but it doesn't seem likely. They haven't had a snow day since 1967.I think you're in luck - one coworker today was telling me how they're forecasting "the biggest storm since 1967." I think this one might be your lucky storm!

[Pai325]

Seems like forever ago we had to bucket-flush or ration for tooth brushing, but we definitely lived like cavemen for a full 3 days back in '78.

Oh and when I look out my bedroom window at the Tree of Death, which is 10 times the size of my house and is guaranteed to erase me from existence in one fell swoop, I start to feel a little concerned about tons of ice coverage. :(

Guess I should fill the tub. And I have my own trees of death outside my bedroom, and I've been thinking about that all night.

[orderfire]

I have my own trees of death outside my bedroom, and I've been thinking about that all night.

Yeah...real relaxin', ain't it?

[Autolycus]

I currently live in Aomori, Japan. We get the highest snowfall for any city with a population over 300K, and this has been a bad year (like everywhere it seem.) The snowbanks are higher than the cars by far.

It's not so bad though. People are used to it, so everything is usually accessible and I haven't had any service outages. Also luckily, my apartment hires a snow-cleaning service and I don't have a car to worry about, so yeah. Other than the busses being up to 30 minutes late, it's just a minor annoyance to me. Better this than the scorching heat!

[Kolak of Twilo]

Here in Chicago I've heard them predict from 10-12 inches of snow. I never know what we will get in the city since the television forecast seems to apply to such a large area.

Anyway, I live right on Lake Michigan in one of the high-rises on Sheridan Road; any closer to the lake and we'd be in it. This morning the lake had very little ice and was slightly choppy. I just looked and it is already iced over with a good covering of snow pretty far out from the shore. I'm sure the wind off the lake will be delightful tomorrow.

[Declan]

My contingency plans include taking my laptop home tonight and stocking up on diet coke. Getting snowed in is starting to sound darn attractive actually.

LOL just in case Hiz Honor is even thinking about it, I'm not even sure that we have a brigade available in Petawawa, if ya have to be dug out.

Declan

[Hokkaido Brit]

We have had 30 cm (11 inches) so far since about 7 this morning (it's 4 pm now) here in Hokkaido. I cancelled my classes today because I was out most of the time shovelling and though the main roads are clear, the smaller residential roads like mine are a mess. I was just getting worried about my ten year old walking home from school, and was thinking about walking out to look for him when he came through the door - a mini snowman!

[USCDiver]

How come "Snowpocalypse" is so popular but no one seems to use the infinitely more clever "Apocalypse Snow"?

[EvilTOJ]

I'm rather partial to Wintergeddon, myself.

[Rachellelogram]

I'm in the Chicago burbs and they're calling for us to get 2'+. I'm a little scared but mostly pumped.

Kinda funny, my boss was trying to get people to come in for early tomorrow because they know they're going to be sending us home early (I normally work 230-11pm). But WHO in their right mind would agree to work and get paid for 8 early hours when we could instead work for 2 hours and get paid for 8? Not I, said the fly. It doesn't even come out of our PTO bank; it's considered an emergency office closure and doesn't affect me negatively in the least. Bring it, mother nature! I'm excited at the prospect of a snow day! I should be sleeping now but I'm too excited. Also, I just watched Before The Devil Knows You're Dead and I'm kinda scared to go to sleep...

[Rachellelogram]

oops today, Tuesday. not tomorrow. I just haven't slept yet so it still feels like yesterday.

[Jman]

Well, plenty of ice in Columbus this morning, but I still get to go to work! Hopefully I don't crash on the way in. Lots of accidents already this morning.

[RetroVertigo]

They have included St. Louis in the blizzard warning, and are now expecting 10"'20"+ (depending on how far north you go).

[Lightnin']

Bleah. Baltimore is now supposed to get a bit of freezing rain/ice... which will then transition over to rain today. Lots and lots of rain.

I'd much rather get snow. Snow I can deal with. It doesn't even interfere with my walk to work. Rain just bites, especially when it's cold.

[Tanaqui]

The weather forecast in Pittsburgh was talking about "ice pellets," whatever that means, and lots of ice on the roads. It seems to have fizzled out rather--just rain and the cars are zipping along outside. I haven't ventured outside yet, but no inclement weather days for us, it seems. Maybe tonight.

[Labtrash]

I have a conference to attend in Baltimore this week (staying at my sisters in Frederick, MD). We're right on the Southern edge of this thing, but it looks like we'll just get rain/sleet. Luckily when we go home, we go South!

[Lightray]

It's now sleeting here. When I woke up, it was still freezing rain. Snow (2" to 20", apparently) is immanent. As well as thunder, lightning, and up to 50mph winds, apparently.

This is absurd. The itty-bitty sleet ice pellets are falling on to a sheet of ice... this is like like throwing ball bearings out onto your oil slick to slip up Wile E Coyote.

[Cat Whisperer]

We're going to start getting a westerly flow today, so our weather will be changing to sunny and warm. Of course, it is
-33ºC with the windchill out right now. :)

[Happy Lendervedder]

BLIZZARDPALLOOZA has begun! Snow Patrol is headlining.

[lieu]

We're too far south to get snow but I'm going to have to check my trees when I get home to see if they're still straight. Winds were 70 mph this am. Driving in to work we were getting pelted by flying branches, debris, etc.

In like a lion.

[pudytat72]

19 degrees (wind chill of 1 degree) in north Dallas with a sleet slick sheet of ice everywhere.

I've rescheduled my appointments and am going to start a nice beef stew. The house seemed a bit too quiet, so I started a CD of bird song with accompanying babbling brook.

[Kolga]

Not a ton of snow, but it's currently -10 with a wind chill of -20, and all of the area schools are closed...

except my CC.

Fuckers.

[Jman]

Well the ice this morning was not a big deal. Untreated surfaces (my driveway) are a solid sheet of ce, but the roads were fine. Salt trucks were busy overnight.

[Duke]

How come "Snowpocalypse" is so popular but no one seems to use the infinitely more clever "Apocalypse Snow"?

I love the smell of salt trucks in the morning...

[Kricket]

Calling for a little over a foot here in the Quad Cities, Iowa. No ice thankfully.

Be safe and carefull out there. We've already had a bad accident here with two semi's and a car with one death reported.

[rocking chair]

Here in Chicago I've heard them predict from 10-12 inches of snow. I never know what we will get in the city since the television forecast seems to apply to such a large area.

Anyway, I live right on Lake Michigan in one of the high-rises on Sheridan Road; any closer to the lake and we'd be in it. This morning the lake had very little ice and was slightly choppy. I just looked and it is already iced over with a good covering of snow pretty far out from the shore. I'm sure the wind off the lake will be delightful tomorrow.

the lake will be dancing today. they expect big huge high waves, the weather channel thinks that lakeshore will be hit hard by the waves. y'all should get 2 feet of snow. that will be lovely.

the good news is... most of the groundhogs should not see thier shadows tomorrow.

[SkipMagic]

"Snowpocalypse" my hiney. Here in KC we call it the Blizzard of Oz. :D

[Rasa]

Here in Providence, RI, where lots of the streets (like Boston) were built before cars, it's a nightmare. There's nowhere to put the snow, and streets have narrowed to the point that they're no longer two-way. We're used to snow here, but we haven't gotten hit after hit like this in a long time. My Saturn is a nightmare in the snow. I was stuck in my driveway for 3 days because the snow/ice had built up behind my tires and I couldn't get any traction to back over the very very small incline the snow made. Took 2 men to push it. We're supposed to get a copule inches today, and then wintry mix of snow/sleet/rain until sometime tomorrow.

Luckily I can work from home!

[Spud]

Icepocalypse here in central Indiana. We have a bit over 1/2 inch of ice on everything here, and the big wave comes this afternoon.

What is the deal with people buying water? If the power goes out the water doesn't stop flowing. Sure the pipes could freeze if it gets cold enough without power, but the first thing I would do when the power goes out is start filling up pots, pans, and whatever else I could find rather than buying it at the store.

[Rasa]

Spud: They likely have well water. When the power goes out, the well pump stops pumping, ergo, no water.

[Lightray]

If the power goes out in the middle of winter, you're better off draining the water lines in your house, so the pipes don't freeze. Or, leave a tap running or something.

[sparky!]

We're having the same issue with road width up here in NH. It's to the point now that some roads become near impassible if a car is parked on each side of the street.

[Daerlyn]

My boss just came around and informed us that everyone who doesn't have to be here to ship equipment tomorrow is to work from home. Toronto's expecting 30 cm of snow, I think, and god knows what the 'lake effect' will do.

[gonzomax]

The 6 oclock news led with a short story about a dangerous storm that will result in people getting pinned in their homes for days. Then did no follow up until 20 minutes later. They had time to repeatedly advertise the news show we were actually watching. They informed us how they were the most trusted and loved news staff on TV. Every station says the same thing. I wanted to know about the weather.
We are supposed to get a foot or more. This morning was to drop 4 inches. It was one.
They are not too accurate anyway. Last week I had to shovel 4 inches of "partly cloudy".

[loshan]

We have NO degrees farenheit this morning with 2 feet of what used to be slushy snow, and is now solid ice on the ground. At least now you can walk on top instead of slogging through. ;)

[Ferret Herder]

Huh. One of the clinics I work in cancelled their patients for tomorrow and will be closed; the other is still having conference calls on the subject. I've worked here for years and never had that happen before. (Whether I'll be expected to be in or not is another story.)

[Sattua]

WHERE'S THE SNOW? As recently as 8 this morning all weather reports said it would begin at 9 or 10. Now it's just past noon, and the start time keeps getting pushed back farther and farther... looks like it'll barely get to us by 4 now. My husband stayed home from work; he's embarassed and livid about it.

[Lute Skywatcher]

I'm home and working (currently on my lunch hour); any overnight ice has melted but more is expected tonight and I'm not taking any chances. Tomorrow is my other scheduled telework day.

[Frank]

WHERE'S THE SNOW? As recently as 8 this morning all weather reports said it would begin at 9 or 10. Now it's just past noon, and the start time keeps getting pushed back farther and farther... looks like it'll barely get to us by 4 now. My husband stayed home from work; he's embarassed and livid about it.
They keep pushing the start time for snow here too. 'Course we've already had a bunch of freezing rain yesterday and overnight and about four or five hours of sleet, which was enough to shut down my office. Eventually it's supposed to get windy and change to snow. We'll see.

The more sleet, the less snow. I guess that's good, but there's still that ice layer underneath everything.

[Kolak of Twilo]

WHERE'S THE SNOW? As recently as 8 this morning all weather reports said it would begin at 9 or 10. Now it's just past noon, and the start time keeps getting pushed back farther and farther... looks like it'll barely get to us by 4 now. My husband stayed home from work; he's embarassed and livid about it.

If I were to place a bet on which way this ends up going I would say we are in for a good sized storm.

BUT, always keep in mind, weather forecasting is the only business where you can be wrong 90% of the time and still have a job the next day. And the news shows thrive on whipping things into a frenzy of panic in these situations.

[Bookkeeper]

The snowbanks here (southern New Hampshire) are taller than my car, making city driving pretty nerve wracking (can't see down cross streets).

They're predicting 2"-4" more tomorrow and perhaps 20" on Wednesday!

Here, the city clears away the snowbanks whenever they get large enough to impede vision or future snowclearing. Happens 1-2 times each winter (depending on snow accumulation) for the main feeder streets in our area, more often for major roads or downtown streets with less roadside space for piling snow. (Unlike the cool warning-siren-equipped truck shown in a recent post on snow clearing in Montreal, all we get are little signs stuck in the snowbanks (http://www.city.ottawa.on.ca/residents/parking/regulations/winter_parking/index_en.html#P30_2654). :( )

[lieu]

Is anyone familiar with Wundermap? It's pretty good for zooming down to see what's going on right at your house or office w/ radar, winds, temp. and animation. Paints a pretty good picture (http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap?lat=29.77550&lon=-95.41520&zoom=10&type=hyb&units=english&rad=1&rad.num=1&rad.spd=25&rad.opa=70&rad.stm=0&rad.type=N0R&rad.type2=&rad.smo=1&rad.mrg=0&wxsn=1&wxsn.mode=tw&svr=0&cams=0&sat=0&riv=0&mm=0&hur=0&fire=0&tor=0&ndfd=0&pix=0&dir=0&ads=0&ib=1) of the storm right now. Type in your address and zoom in. The detail is impressive.

[Voyager]

I want to thank you all on behalf of my wife, who is having a wonderful time watch the disaster on The Weather Channel safe and sound in the Bay Area (70 degrees and sunny) where we have climate, not weather.

We enjoyed being in the 30 inch NJ blizzard of 1996, so we're not snow newbies.

[Ferret Herder]

I want to thank you all on behalf of my wife, who is having a wonderful time watch the disaster on The Weather Channel safe and sound in the Bay Area (70 degrees and sunny) where we have climate, not weather.

We enjoyed being in the 30 inch NJ blizzard of 1996, so we're not snow newbies.
Your winters are still too cold; I've gone to SF in February twice, and been miserable. (This from a Chicagoan watching snow pile up outside.)

[robardin]

I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be gray, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life.

(ETA: Dang, one day too early)

[anya marie]

I have snowdrifts and have shoveled the driveway twice. Also today I scared a squirrel who pried the lid off the bird-feeder to shovel seeds in its face.

It hasn't stopped snowing and every so often i can see piles of snow falling off the kitchen roof when i watch the birds at the feeder.

[wolfman]

Here in Detroit area Radar shows the fringes of the storm hitting, but i don't see nothin yet. I couldn't care less about 12 inches of snow, it takes 30+ to get my attention except..... I live in an old neighborhood where a good sneeze can take down the power line. And no power no furnace fan, no heat. So my place is about 85 right now as a buffer in case I lose it for a while.

But I got a nice Crock-pot chili bubbling away, and work made arrangements for flex time for those of us who don't live close tomorrow, so I guess I'm ready for it. :)

[Scubaqueen]

Central Indiana is getting hammered by ice. This isn't a lot of fun. There are businesses and government entities closing that haven't closed since the Blizzard of '78.

On the plus side, everybody and his uncle is busy posting on FB.

We don't have anything else to do tonite I guess.

[Jenaroph]

It's started snowing here (Detroit area) right on schedule. We were going to head to Hamtramck for a music performance tonight, but the timing turned out to be...bad. Getting down there woulda been fine, it was getting back around 10 that would be problematic. Gonna pop open a bottle of 3 buck Chuck I think.

[elfkin477]

The snowbanks here (southern New Hampshire) are taller than my car, making city driving pretty nerve wracking (can't see down cross streets).

They're predicting 2"-4" more tomorrow and perhaps 20" on Wednesday!
Winter started off so well, we only got 8" of snow all of December, at least according to the stats for Concord which reflect my part of the state pretty well too. But then...then January happened. 38" of snow in 31 days (for those playing the home game, NH's average snowfall is 60" from November to April, so that's well over half in just one month). What did we get today? 3"? And tomorrow, who knows, they keep reguessing how much we'll get.

[Rachellelogram]

Woo morning update! The Natl Weather Service update now includes this (and a wind chill warning) as of 4am today:

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORT THAT NEARLY EVERY ROADWAY IS IMPASSABLE AND IN MANY CASES CLOSED. A STATE OF EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ARE PLEADING FOR PEOPLE TO STAY HOME AND OFF ROADWAYS. THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS REPORTS OF CARS OFF ROADWAYS AND PEOPLE STRANDED AND THE EXTREME CONDITIONS ARE MAKING IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR RESCUE PERSONAL TO REACH THE STRANDED. VISIBILITIES ARE SO POOR IN OPEN AREAS THAT MOTORISTS COULD BECOME DISORIENTED AND UNABLE TO EVEN SEE BEYOND THE HOOD OF THEIR CARS. BEFORE CONSIDERING GETTING ON THE ROADS THIS MORNING... ASK YOURSELF IF GETTING TO YOUR DESTINATION IS WORTH RISKING YOUR LIFE.
_________________________________
I just took a look outside and we have snow drifted up so bad against the front door that I'm afraid to open it (door opens inwards so it will open, but it might not shut again). My roommate who said "she didn't have a choice" about going in to work at 4am is still here--she's the gen manager of a gas station and so they're surely not open right now. My other roommate+his gf came in at 9pm last night from their retail jobs, I couldn't believe they let them drive. But they made it okay fortunately. His gf said there were 2 cars in the ditch when they were traveling, and that's just the ones they were able to see because visibility was literally zero with all the wind. Visibility is good NOW since it isn't snowing at the moment, but last night gusts were 50+mph. Scary. I should take some pictures before the plows go out to show to my grandkids someday XD

It's drifted up to 2.5feet at least against our back sliding glass door. It's not snowing right now, though I doubt the storm is over. The plows have not even attempted to run on our street yet, it's very pretty like one big winter playland. No tire tracks at all. Which means nobody on my street is at work or school, yet, which is good. Our driveway has 3 feet of blown drifts on it, my other roommate's car looks like someone dropped it into a snowbank. Mine is in front of his so it has less snow around it, but to get out of the driveway I'd have to back through all of that, so it's going to take an herculean amount of shoveling (we don't have a snowblower)

There's no way anything but a snowmobile could travel on my street in its current condition and I ain't stupid enough to try!

[Justin Credible]

Wow, looks like my area got really lucky this time. About an hour south of Columbus, and it's just been raining a little. Luckily, the temp has stayed around 35-40. Really windy though.

[Frank]

The snow never did start here. A bit northwest got a lot of snow, and a bit southeast got a lot of freezing rain, all we got was a lot of sleet.

All day they kept pushing back when it would change to snow and lowering the accumulation prediction. When I went to bed, they were still calling for 2-4 inches overnight, but even that didn't happen.

[lieu]

rachelellogram, that's a pretty intense NWS warning. Where are you?

[Ferret Herder]

rachelellogram, that's a pretty intense NWS warning. Where are you?
She's in the burbs of Chicago, same as me.

Five of the thirteen commuter rail (not the L, the ones that run on regular railroad tracks) lines are shut down and the others are running on extremely restricted schedules. I've lived here since the early '90s and never seen more than one of the rail lines shut down at a time, that I can recall.

Chicago has almost reached the 6th highest recorded snowfall for the area and we're still going to get snow for hours. There's drifting easily up to 3-4 feet in some areas, I'm sure it's worse out in the open areas around farms and such in the farther suburbs. The winds along the lakeshore hit 60-70 mph last night, causing multiple traffic accidents on Lake Shore Drive, leading to pileups that left some people stranded until 5:30 am (due to terrible visibility and extremely dangerous conditions), with crews working all night to search cars, evacuate people, and tow vehicles off the road.

At least four of the counties around Chicago shut down all roads except to emergency vehicles and plows, and car searches are still going on to find trapped people.

The postmaster for the office my husband works at gave a "no excuses" lecture yesterday about how they're going to be in today. Considering surely some of the workers live in the roads shut down, under civil emergency counties, I'm wondering how many of his coworkers will even be able to get there.

rachel, if you have something to scoop with, I'd consider shoveling out around at least one of your doors to clear it. There's still more snow coming, and you want a clear path in case of trouble, or at least to make it easier on you once this stops.

[pudytat72]

Not making enough electricity here in Texas, so they have started "rolling blackouts". I lost my power for 5 minutes at 7:30am. WAKE UP MORE HAMSTERS AND GET THEM RUNNING, ONCOR!

[Rysto]

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
Ice is winning.

[lieu]

She's in the burbs of Chicago, same as me.I was watching the Weather Channel's coverage last night and at that time the storm was shaped like a large number "9", positioned just below Chicago and headed that way. It was obvious y'all were going to get creamed. Jim Cantore had a live feed that happened to catch some snow thunder which, despite the danger, was pretty awesome to witness.

If someone was on vacation with no urgent schedule and staying at the Swissotel or someplace comfortable downtown in the middle of things, this storm would be really interesting to watch develop. If though you're trying to get places, operate normally and be productive it's gotta be a royal pain in the keister.

[enipla]

We aren't really getting any big snow out of this particular storm (though we have plenty), but it was -31 F at my house this morning. Wheather Channel says -47 F with wind chill. My car was a bit grouchy about it.

[Ferret Herder]

I was watching the Weather Channel's coverage last night and at that time the storm was shaped like a large number "9", positioned just below Chicago and headed that way. It was obvious y'all were going to get creamed. Jim Cantore had a live feed that happened to catch some snow thunder which, despite the danger, was pretty awesome to witness.
Yeah, my suburb is in the middle of another big front right now. I was just outside and shoveled off my front steps and front walk all the way to the street; the blowing and snowfall was still going on in a big way. The snow on the walk was nearly 3 feet high in spots due to drifting on top of the accumulation. I know the local USPS is still expected to carry mail (my husband was told that he was expected to be at work today), so if some unfortunate letter carrier is trying to deliver today, I wanted to give him a path to our house.

[Kolak of Twilo]

The winds along the lakeshore hit 60-70 mph last night, causing multiple traffic accidents on Lake Shore Drive, leading to pileups that left some people stranded until 5:30 am (due to terrible visibility and extremely dangerous conditions), with crews working all night to search cars, evacuate people, and tow vehicles off the road.

I live on the lake front and can tell you those winds were nasty. I got home last night around 11pm and had to cross to the east side of Sheridan Road near Granville to get to my building. The wind was so strong I had to use street signs and a mailbox to support myself. I'm 6'2" and 250 pounds and was worried about getting knocked down.

The one good thing is it looks like the predictions of giant waves on the lake flooding Lake Shore Drive didn't come true. I was able to see the lake from my apartment and I couldn't see anything like that happening.

[Ferret Herder]

Jim Cantore had a live feed that happened to catch some snow thunder which, despite the danger, was pretty awesome to witness.
I just saw some footage taken of Cantore last night by a local NBC producer who was out there, with him trying to windsurf down the road, using the wind's force against his body to push him along. Yeah, I can easily believe it was that bad. I wasn't out in winds like that - nor do I expect they got quite that bad this far inland - but you can see what happened just by looking at the drift patterns around my house.

Sounds like my husband will be home before noon - lots of his coworkers aren't allowed to drive in their counties due to the state of emergency, and the mail-hauling trucks from the distribution centers weren't able to get to his office yet.

[wolfman]

Yawn.

About 8 inches total here Detroit area. I woke up about 4AM to check it out, and the skies were clear and the roads pretty much empty of traffic, So I went to work early.

[Jaded_Goddess]

18 inches at my house here in the Ozarks. Parts of the Interstate still closed.

[longPath]

It started a couple of hours ago in Nova Scotia. The forecast is for up to 40 cm/ 16 inches and high winds.

brrrr.

[Ferret Herder]

Photo of Lake Shore Drive in Chicago - caption should say "Wednesday morning," of course: Link (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-snow2lsd20110202071217,0,2905048.photo)

[lieu]

Holy cow, that looks post-Armageddon. Shouldn't you guys be in Tahiti or something?

[salinqmind]

We here in Upstate NY have already received 112 inches of snow (or more). Today we were supposed to get one more solid foot. Instead, at 4 a.m. I woke to hear the 'ticky-tick-ticky-tick' of sleet, one of the most dreaded sounds in the universe. It stopped and started on and off, then snowed lightly until about 10 a.m., another burst of sleet - and then it was quiet. Now it's starting to snow again. So far, about 4" instead of a foot of snow. I had to go out and break through the ice crust and try to shovel enough of the driveway for Mr. Sali to get his car in off the road, and it was a miserable experience. VERY heavy snow under the ice. He's out there now with the snowthrower, bless his heart...I myself didn't have to drive today, but my daughter was out (in MY car) and she's one of those fearless new drivers...

[Sunspace]

Wow. I'm glad I'm well north of the storm! We just had about 15 cm of light, fluffy, pretty snow.

On the other hand, my friends and their family are all coming back from the Dominican Republic tomorrow. I hope. Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
Ice is winning.Not in Australia.

[faithfool]

19 degrees (wind chill of 1 degree) in north Dallas with a sleet slick sheet of ice everywhere.

Still about the same tempature and the roads are still icy. My business (Meals on Wheels) has cancelled through tomorrow and more than likely Friday. However, the husband works at a hospital and they are treating it like the end of the world. Who knew a little ice is all that it would take?

Not making enough electricity here in Texas, so they have started "rolling blackouts". I lost my power for 5 minutes at 7:30am. WAKE UP MORE HAMSTERS AND GET THEM RUNNING, ONCOR!

Yep, I've been hearing about them all day. But as of yet, I haven't experienced any in The Colony. Sending more hamsters your way pudytat.

[Pai325]

Got the ice, not the snow. Tree of Death did not fall on me, but a limb fell off another tree and missed the house and fence, thank goodness. Another tree is trying to stay upright against the weight of the ice. It's strange to walk in the yard and feel tall because I don't sink in the snow cover at all now that it's got the layer of ice over it. Once it warms up a little, or the sun comes out, and I have an inch or so of icewith water on the top - it won't be fun trying to get in the garage. Or maybe I should say it will be a lot of fun for the neighbors to watch me, but it won't be fun for me. My daughter got a foot and a half but the plows haven't been by yet and I don't know how she and her little car will get to work tomorrow.

[aruvqan]

Woo morning update! The Natl Weather Service update now includes this (and a wind chill warning) as of 4am today:

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORT THAT NEARLY EVERY ROADWAY IS IMPASSABLE AND IN MANY CASES CLOSED. A STATE OF EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ARE PLEADING FOR PEOPLE TO STAY HOME AND OFF ROADWAYS. THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS REPORTS OF CARS OFF ROADWAYS AND PEOPLE STRANDED AND THE EXTREME CONDITIONS ARE MAKING IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR RESCUE PERSONAL TO REACH THE STRANDED. VISIBILITIES ARE SO POOR IN OPEN AREAS THAT MOTORISTS COULD BECOME DISORIENTED AND UNABLE TO EVEN SEE BEYOND THE HOOD OF THEIR CARS. BEFORE CONSIDERING GETTING ON THE ROADS THIS MORNING... ASK YOURSELF IF GETTING TO YOUR DESTINATION IS WORTH RISKING YOUR LIFE.
_________________________________
I just took a look outside and we have snow drifted up so bad against the front door that I'm afraid to open it (door opens inwards so it will open, but it might not shut again). My roommate who said "she didn't have a choice" about going in to work at 4am is still here--she's the gen manager of a gas station and so they're surely not open right now. My other roommate+his gf came in at 9pm last night from their retail jobs, I couldn't believe they let them drive. But they made it okay fortunately. His gf said there were 2 cars in the ditch when they were traveling, and that's just the ones they were able to see because visibility was literally zero with all the wind. Visibility is good NOW since it isn't snowing at the moment, but last night gusts were 50+mph. Scary. I should take some pictures before the plows go out to show to my grandkids someday XD

It's drifted up to 2.5feet at least against our back sliding glass door. It's not snowing right now, though I doubt the storm is over. The plows have not even attempted to run on our street yet, it's very pretty like one big winter playland. No tire tracks at all. Which means nobody on my street is at work or school, yet, which is good. Our driveway has 3 feet of blown drifts on it, my other roommate's car looks like someone dropped it into a snowbank. Mine is in front of his so it has less snow around it, but to get out of the driveway I'd have to back through all of that, so it's going to take an herculean amount of shoveling (we don't have a snowblower)

There's no way anything but a snowmobile could travel on my street in its current condition and I ain't stupid enough to try!

View out my front door last tuesday (http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy176/aruvqan/Miscellaneous/166848_162729493774544_100001124828422_304059_6197487_n.jpg).

Just now, sent mrAru to the front door to get a new picture (http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy176/aruvqan/Miscellaneous/IMG_20110202_191033.jpg). He says we got about half an inch of ice, but no real amount of snow, though it did sleet a fair amount yesterday.

[aruvqan]

We here in Upstate NY have already received 112 inches of snow (or more). Today we were supposed to get one more solid foot. Instead, at 4 a.m. I woke to hear the 'ticky-tick-ticky-tick' of sleet, one of the most dreaded sounds in the universe. It stopped and started on and off, then snowed lightly until about 10 a.m., another burst of sleet - and then it was quiet. Now it's starting to snow again. So far, about 4" instead of a foot of snow. I had to go out and break through the ice crust and try to shovel enough of the driveway for Mr. Sali to get his car in off the road, and it was a miserable experience. VERY heavy snow under the ice. He's out there now with the snowthrower, bless his heart...I myself didn't have to drive today, but my daughter was out (in MY car) and she's one of those fearless new drivers...

We skipped out of my Mom's in Caledonia at 7 am Sunday, had a decent drive, mainly occasionally light fluffy flurries. mrAru telecommuted Monday and today, we did get the sleet yesterday, and ice yesterday and today. No trees down, no loss of power, or at least so far!

[Tangent]

Still about the same tempature and the roads are still icy. My business (Meals on Wheels) has cancelled through tomorrow and more than likely Friday. However, the husband works at a hospital and they are treating it like the end of the world. Who knew a little ice is all that it would take?

Yep, I've been hearing about them all day. But as of yet, I haven't experienced any in The Colony. Sending more hamsters your way pudytat.

I live and teach in the North Texas area, and tomorrow will be our 3rd day off from school due to the icy roads. Only a couple inches of snow, but the rain and sleet that preceded it is still frozen hard into solid sheets on many roads. We don't usually stay below freezing (and this far below freezing!) this many days in a row. I'm guessing school may be closed Friday, too, as it looks like we won't get above freezing until Saturday.

My power was out only briefly this morning from the rolling blackouts. I was worried because during our record snowstorm last year, my power was out for a couple of days and that was no fun!

[Sparky812]

LOL Snowpocalypse? The Beast? Here in Ottawa we just call it Winter!
They did cancel school buses but everything is still open.
We just shovelled off the rink in the backyard and kept a big fire going.
Hopefully everyone makes out OK out there.

[El_Kabong]

Just mentioning that the Houston(!) area is forecast to receive 1-3 inches of snow Thursday night through Friday.

Yep, folks up north will surely cackle at such a paltry amount, but if the forecast holds we'll probably shut down the office simply because that amount is pretty much guaranteed to paralyze road travel.

[Siam Sam]

On the plus side, I see Punxatawney Phil managed to dig himself out to not see his shadow, so spring is just around the corner.

[kushiel]

This winter is just the WTFpocalypse, I swear. In the course of a week we've gone from -35C to 1C and going back to -35C.

[Sunspace]

It is now brilliantly sunny here in East-Central Ontario. Another light dusting ontop of the 15 cm yesterday, and all is well.

[Rachellelogram]

Yeah I'm in Aurora, IL. :) I saw that pic of Lake Shore Drive yesterday, trippy. Sucks to be them! My street didn't get plowed until the late afternoon yesterday. I managed to make it out just to take a look around and Wendy's was actually open. yay! So I had a nice baked potato and drove around a bit around 8pm. It was pretty ghostly-towny.

We didn't have to worry about getting snowed in, our front door opens inward :P