Here near Chicago, we’ve had a recent spate of mid-Feb temps in the 50s-low 60s. Long range forecast has it above 50 most days into early March. I’m betting that I will not need to blow snow again this winter. Too bad I filled the blower the sole big snow. The snow petered out shortly ater I filled the tank!)
And I’d wager that even if I DO shovel, it will be almost for something to do, rather than a necessity. I bet we do not get a huge accumulation and any snow will quickly melt.
How about you? And how bad has your winter been? I think we only had one sorta significant snowfall, and one couple of week stretch of really cold weather. Winters sure seem milder than I recall as a kid in the 60s-80s.
I realize your question if for those in more northern climes, but I’m facing analogous questions down here (Texas). I need to do some work on the RV’s plumbing, and wondering if I can go ahead and start. I’ve been waiting until spring because it requires “unwinterizing” the pipes and water heater.
Same question with the hot tub. It’s been 80 here the last few days and I have no interest in soaking. I empty and drain it every spring and I’m considering that now. I’m just feeding it electricity and chemicals for no reason at this point.
I’m beginning to think I can just go ahead now. I suspect there won’t be any more freezing weather this year.
I don’t expect another significant amount of snow after 2 storms this year where I used the snow blower. We’re due to hit 61° next Wednesday.
But I also remember April 1 snow storm back around 1992 that was nearly a foot and cancelled a lot of weekend plans. Things happen and I don’t run the blower dry until late April or even May. I also never fill my blower any more as we just don’t get a lot of snow the last many years.
I live just down the block from you, relative to USA distances, and I have never owned a snow blower. I live on a corner lot, so any decent amount of snow does provide a serious workout, but I don’t have a place to store it (shed is not good because the shed would be inaccessible).
Then came the “broken shoulder incident of 2021” and two of my neighbors kindly ran their snow blower over my sidewalks while I healed…and they haven’t stopped clearing my snow! Shoulder is fine but neighbors still do the work.
(we have returned the favor in other ways; it’s good to have nice neighbors)
ETA: There’s a reason why I don’t live in Michigan anymore!
There’s plenty of capability in March for significant snow and even sub-zero cold in the Ohio Valley region.
I haven’t needed to shovel snow at all so far this winter (we’ve had about 5 1/2 inches total so far here in Kentucky, a few inches below normal). The heaviest storm accumulation in the past three winters has been 5 inches or so. We have been mostly out of the path of snowstorms boosted by Great Lakes, Gulf or Atlantic moisture.
Saying that probably means a whopper is on the horizon…
We got a blower about 12 years ago when I was stationed 90 miles away Mon-Fri. We got hit with a major snow, and my wife had a heck of a time clearing even a path for the dog to go out. In the following decade, I’ve passed from my mid 50s to early 60s. Several winters I have not needed the blower once. But when there comes one of those heavy, day-long snows, doing that with a shovel would really kick my aging ass.
(If you would, please, give a hint as to where you are at. And definitely, expectations/experiences re: freezes and winterizing in Texas and parts south are welcome!)
I think I’ve only actually shoveled twice this winter here in Cleveland, and arguably I could have skipped one of those times and been fine getting in and out of the driveway. I do live very close to the lake, so most the lake effect snow that we did get generally passes over us before dumping the load south and east of us. I’m not seeing March changing that much, in fact I’m making plans to start on my seasonal boat work earlier than usual.
I (Chicago) bought myself a brand new shovel early in the season and only ‘got’ to use it once. I used to need to buy one every 2 or 3 years, I like the lightweight plastic ones that grind down every swipe, but this one is barely even touched.
But I won’t be putting anything into storage until well into April, if not May.
When we do get those late season snowstorms, they tend start in the GA or the Carolinas & track up the coast; tons of moisture from the ocean & they are the big dumpers. Of course, the sun angle means they melt faster but it’s fun to play in for a day or two.
I expect to have to plow and shovel next week (Montana). If we don’t have strong March and April snow accumulations this summer will be a grim fire season. I haven’t bothered to put the blower on the tractor–last year it was mandatory.
We had hardly any snow to speak of this winter, probably in large part due to El Nino. We’re just about into the period of seasonal warming anyway so I don’t expect that to change. The current 7-day forecast is for temps to hit highs of around 55F with some periods of rain. Winter is (probably) over!
SE Michigan here. I recall that last fall they were forecasting a mild winter, and that’s certainly what we’ve had so far. There was a pretty big snowfall in January and a couple of smaller ones, and a week with single-digit nighttime lows, but everything else has been very mild. 60F here a couple of days ago, low 50s yesterday. More of the same forecasted for early next week.
I think I probably will not have to shovel the driveway again this season. That said, I’m not taking the snow tires off of my car just yet.
We’ve had a very mild winter with minimal snow, other than the time we were in the Caribbean on vacation.
That said, we live in the country. We do not shovel/blow snow. If we did, the logical shoveling path would be between the house and the barn, but that’s about 150 yards. Instead we wear snow boots and create a path by walking back and forth to care for the horses and chickens…
Our lane is a private road, so the town doesn’t plow it. When it snows, we (and our two neighbors) drive back and forth a few times as it is snowing so we can see where the road is. This works except for huge snowfalls that occur overnight.
I’m just north of you in Milwaukee. I’ve long since joked that as soon as all the snow melts, we get one more big snow storm and then it’s done. I suspect that big snow storm was the one we got a week or two ago. I assume I’m done at this point, but I typically don’t end up summerizing the snowblower until it’s just about time to start cutting the grass.
Central NY. I think we’ve had 6" total instead of the usual 6’ of snow. We used to hire a plow service that sometimes came by twice a day a few years ago. Last year, they came once during the whole season. This year, I dunno, I sold the house!
