One of the advantages to living in the mid-Atlantic states is that really horrible weather is fairly rare, particularly in December. "Fairly rare," however, does not mean "nonexistent." The odds caught up to us this past weekend, when anywhere between 17 and 22 inches of snow fell over a 24-hour period. The temperatures will stay in the 30s during the day and the 20s at night, so this monster of a snowfall will be with us for quite some time.
In between the shoveling, I took some pictures:
There's an adage that goes something like "Many hands make for a light heart." That's a crock, I tell you. (Still, the neighbors were great.)
C'mon, sun!
My hero! The plow guy!
In 2003, Presidents' Day weekend gave us a stinker of a storm, as did January 1996. I propose that the next decade offer no more than a few inches of snow at a time. Please?
6 comments:
I have been watching the rest of the country with interest. Course I have 3 feet of snow on the lid of the hot tub right now...
Here we put studs on first of September and take them off the beginning of May.
Hope you soutern folks get some relief soon!
I've often thought it's hard to convey weather unhappiness to other parts of the globe. Last winter, President (or possibly President-Elect at the time) Obama gave DC what-for when the government closed, saying the city needed a "dose of Chicago flintiness." Or maybe a plow-and-salt system that gets many feet of snow per year. New Englanders who come to the area are also amazed at our wimpiness. Conversely, when Chicagoans were dropping like flies a few years back because summer temperatures reached 100 several days running, I'm sure the folks in Phoenix suggested a dose of Arizona flintiness. Et cetera.
I can only imagine what it's like to deal with an Alaskan (or similar) winter - and thank goodness I don't have to do more than imagine it!
(Studs...good grief, I don't even know if they're for sale around here!)
Thank you for your hopes of better weather. At this point, I'd like a (relatively) stress-free drive for Christmas.
You most likely have studs for sale there....just not our sort :)
And I think one reason people tolerate living in places with miserable extremes is for the bragging rights..."you call THAT snow, why up here..." "let me tell you about REAL rain...."
So folks in more reasonable climates just have more interesting things to discuss than weather :)
But honestly, you call that a MOUNTAIN? Let me tell you....
If it weren't for good folks like you, we'd have nothing to put on our Christmas cards but bushfires and marauding sharks, sunburned tourists and eternal television reruns. Pretending Christmas is cold and picturesque is one of the great summer survival behaviours of antipodeans. Accept your fate with grace and know that you are helping to fuel an invaluable illusion. Thank you.
We've only got an inch or so here but it's enough to bring us to our knees as road shut, airports close and trains stop dead. Jesus.
The un-Christmas-like visuals aren't confined to the antipodes, Mr. Magellan. I have relatives in the state of Florida, south of the frost line. People there decorate palm trees to simulate the season, but their hearts really aren't in it. I'll try to suck it up and do my part to spread joy to less fortunate parts of the world. :)
I can understand how that happens, HBA. Get a little snow at the wrong time in a congested area where the removal equipment isn't sufficient and you have yourself a fine mess. We can usually muddle through an inch or two, but the roads slow down to whatever gear is below "crawl."
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