# I think this storm is bad enough to warrant closure...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [December 23, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340 "2004-12-23T16:34:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340/21 "2004-12-24T00:39:19Z")

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> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#):
>
> …we’ve been hit with a brutal snowstorm.
> 
> Bastards :mad:

Sorry to hear that. But on the bright side, it might just ground my mom’s plane in Louisville so she won’t come visit us after all. 😛

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**Author:** ![PinkMarabou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PinkMarabou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PinkMarabou)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340/22 "2004-12-24T01:00:20Z")

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I kinda WISH we had more snow from this storm. The hubby and I spent half the night awake in bed listening to the neighborhood trees crack in half and fall to the ground - or on top of garden furniture and grills. We even spotted the massive log that fell from a tree onto our phone line!

My sister wasn’t so lucky, they lost all their electricity and had to pack up their 3-month-old and 2-year-old boys and stay with some friends (while driving on ice to get there). ☹

Luckily for me and Mr. Marabou, our vacations started today. No one expected us anywhere. We didn’t have the hot chocolate, but we do have a fire, full bellies, and laying on the couch in our PJ’s watching football.

I hope everyone stays safe tonight and this weekend. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340/23 "2004-12-24T01:08:03Z")

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We didn’t get any snow, just rain ☹

I’m jealous.

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**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340/24 "2004-12-24T01:30:53Z")

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Well, I’m back. It wasn’t too bad with the old winter boots on. It rained all day and now the temperature has dropped down to -10C(14F) and dropping. Nutty winds too. Mmm, sounds like exotic Alaska eh, **Chefguy**? 🙂

How the hell did people settle here without central heating? Without salt trucks?

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**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340/25 "2004-12-24T01:34:33Z")

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> [@Abbie Carmichael](#):
>
> We didn’t get any snow, just rain ☹

Yeah, that’s all we got, too. And it was something like 50º frigging degrees here today. Yuck, who needs that two days before Christmas?  
Oh, well, we’re heading for the mountains on Sunday to play in the snow!  
And I know they have snow where we’re going. Yay!

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**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340/26 "2004-12-24T02:05:36Z")

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We just got the the teeniest dusting of snow. Lucky for us, the weather gods didn’t forget about us totally, though - it is so fucking cold that…damn, I can’t even come up with anything, my brain is half frozen. It’s just really fucking cold. It’s 12F (with wind chill of -5F)/-11C (wind chill of -21C).

I try not to be a weather wimp, but the predicted high in my hometown tomorrow is 57F. This is only my third winter. I’m still working on getting used to this.

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**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340/27 "2004-12-24T04:00:47Z")

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> [@Phelan](#):
>
> We didn’t need to call them in; they were still here from when we called them in to deal with the falling leaf crisis. 🙂

Cool ! Do they also pick up your garbage ? 😃

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**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340/28 "2004-12-24T04:30:44Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> **ava** wrote:  
> Over a foot fell with here with ice, but since this is Cincinnati where everyone freaks over snow, we are on a level 3 emergency which means I am stuck in the house. \>\<

My sister in Cinti e-mailed that you got socked with snow down there. From what I remember about ice and snow on all those hills, being housebound is probably a great relief to the emergency crews. My extended family around Hillsboro got even more snow, and have lost all power. They’re relying on the fire place, kerosene heaters and candles.

> [@](#):
>
> **Kyla** wrote: We just got the the teeniest dusting of snow. Lucky for us, the weather gods didn’t forget about us totally, though - it is so fucking cold that…damn, I can’t even come up with anything, my brain is half frozen. It’s just really fucking cold. It’s 12F (with wind chill of -5F)/-11C (wind chill of -21C).
> 
> I try not to be a weather wimp, but the predicted high in my hometown tomorrow is 57F. This is only my third winter. I’m still working on getting used to this.

Fun, isn’t it? It’s what the term ‘bitter cold’ was created to describe. The one thing I can say about brutual winters is that spring is absolutely _miraculous_ when it finally back around. Right now it’s hard to believe anything growing could survive this cold.

I’m gonna go soak in my clawfoot tub and pretend it’s a tropical lagoon somewhere.

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**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-this-storm-is-bad-enough-to-warrant-closure/281340/29 "2004-12-24T07:26:09Z")

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> [@ava](#):
>
> Over a foot fell with here with ice, but since this is Cincinnati where everyone freaks over snow, we are on a level 3 emergency which means I am stuck in the house. \>\<

And my mother and sister and sister’s boyfriend are stuck in a hotel room in Norwood until I-71 and Route 35 are clear enough for them to drive home to Chillicothe, where my dad has been holed up with no heat or electricity, because the ice weighed down tree branches which snapped and hit power lines. Big mess all around.

Dad called a few hours ago to tell me all this, even though I’m 2600 miles away and can’t do anything to help. He was sitting in the dark, in many layers of clothing with hat and gloves, occasionally lighting the gas stove to make tea, eyes too weak to read by candlelight, unshaved and unshowered and feeling old (he’s 68) and bored out of his mind. The whole scene sounded very sad.

He did, however, take the opportunity to renew his complaint about the American habit of putting the electrical wires above ground, strung from poles, and weak enough to be torn down by falling branches. (Apparently this shoddy practice is not done in Germany, where he’s from.) “It saves money at the beginning, but is just more expensive later,” he told me. “Why do they do that?” I pointed out that he has been asking me that question for over 30 years and I still don’t know the answer, but he wasn’t amused.

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