New England Blizzard Thread

[Earth_First]

Blizzard warnings have been posted up and down the Eastern United States throughout New England...

Newark, New York, Boston, Providence, Portland expecting 1-2 feet of snow combined with 40-50 mph winds.

www.noaa.gov

Post your snowfall/conditions reports here:

Be safe!

[OregonBlue]

1. My cousin is trying to fly from Paris to Baltimore. Anyone know if flights are cancelled?

[Earth_First]

2. Current delays or cancellations at BWI

http://www.bwiairport.com/en/flight/arrivals

Good luck!

[OregonBlue]

3. Thanks Earth First. I don't have high hopes of her getting here today or even tomorrow. Hope she has

enough money to hang out in Paris for a few more days (poor dear, it must be such a burden being stuck there).

[CTyankee]

8. Omigod, if she's delayed too long she may have to spend New Year's Eve there!

Can you imagine the City of LIghts on New Year's Eve? Stranded in the most beautiful city in the world?

[OregonBlue]

13. I know. She emailed me sorta whining (of course not too loudly) about how she might be

stranded. LOL. I emailed back how very sorry I felt for her :sarcasm: :sarcasm: The poor dear. Having to stroll the boulevards, sip cappuccino and hot chocolate at those sidewalk cafes, window shop on the Champs Elysee. I really feel for the dear. She plays for the national symphony and has to return to work. Oh boo hoo.

[CTyankee]

17. Was she performing in Paris?

[OregonBlue]

47. No, vacationing. Needs to get back to perform in D.C.

[notesdev]

4. The freak out in northern VA has started

but there's no snow yet

funny thing about snow in Virginia... the first flake to hit the ground can magically reduce the driving skills of the average resident by 99%

[eggplant]

5. Yep. Driving in VA in the snow is very dangerous.

Not becuase of the snow, mind you, but because of all the other drivers. The last time I was there, there was about a 1/4" of snow on the ground -- I probably couldn't have slid my car if I tried -- and yet there were people in the ditch all over. Crazy.

Up here in New England, apparently all of the bread is gone from the store shelves. Sigh. First storm of the year, and everyone goes nuts. We're only supposed to get about a foot of snow folks, and it's nearly New Year's. It's not the end of the world.

Stay warm and safe everyone.

[notesdev]

7. Here it comes

the flurries have just started... they're looking like they'll come in pretty fierce too, a lot of it is coming in horizontally due to wind.

[CTyankee]

11. I got to Stop and Shop about 10:15 and it was a madhouse.

And it only got worse, more crowded as it got later. By the time I went to check out every register was staffed. The shorter ones, with only about an 8 minute wait, were the self checkouts. I knew no mistakes in ringing up would be appreciated by those in line waiting so I rushed through, altho it took me a tiny bit longer to dope out where they put the new slot for the coupons. A couple of items were having trouble getting rung up...I put them aside and didn't bother to try to figure out what the problem was. The loading area was "full" so I had to stop ringing up groceries and start to bag, which I did inartfully. I forgot to ring up the 25 cent refund for using cloth bags...but at least I got out before too much snow had accummulated. Drove 15 mph home (I've learned the hard way how to drive in the slick, first snow to fall).

Getting home I made a dash to get the garbage and recycling bins to the curb for pickup tomorrow morning.

Next time a snow is forecast and I need to do a week's food shopping I'm getting to the supermarket at 7 am, when it opens...

[Autumn Colors]

12. Same here...

My bf went to S&S and did the grocery shopping EARLY this morning. I was supposed to have dentist appointment tomorrow AM (to get a permanent crown cemented in on one of my front teeth). Decided I could endure a few more days with the temporary crown in.

My bf is on vacation this week -- perfect timing for that! I work from home (medical transcription), so we're just going to stay in.

I think there may be about an inch out there now. Been getting periods of flurries and steady snowfall off and on since this morning. (Litchfield County, CT)

Stay safe, everyone!

[CTyankee]

15. Ah, Litchfield! My favorite area of CT!

I used to raise money for Planned Parenthood of CT (now SE New England) and had a couple of rich donors who lived in the town of Litchfield. It was the most wonderful house I ever saw! I have raised money in Greenwich and New Canaan and seen some huge mansions, but that house in Litchfield was more beautiful. The lovely, pastoral setting was gorgeous...I also loved the settings of Washington and Washington Depot, CT...

[madamesilverspurs]

9. Noticed that when I lived there

in the mid 1970s. Being a native of Colorado I was a bit surprised when everything shut down with just the smallest dusting of snow; then I watched the drivers who ventured out and I was more than content to stay inside.

-

[shireen]

6. this storm has been difficult for the forecasters

In Baltimore, we went from no snow expected to winter storm warning with as much as a foot of snow, then reduced to 6-8 inches, then reduced to a winter weather advisory of 2-4 inches. It was supposed to start early Sunday morning. It's now 2:48pm Sunday, and i've only seen occasional light flurries.

Meanwhile, across the Chesapeake Bay, just a 90 minute drive away, they're getting pounded with heavy snow.

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. MEMA says we could get up to 17 inches by tomorrow night, with 40-50mph gusts. We have stocked up on

food and I am making containers of water. Have flashlights and matches handy, and also bought more propane for our little emergency heater.

[sarge43]

14. Central NH

According to radar the big dump should be here in an hour or so.

Went shopping about 8am. No I didn't panic; had to go. Not too crowded, but I suspect by noon it was a mad house.

We have this down to a drill: Propane stove, generator if the power's off for any length of time, fill up the bath tub and a five gallon container of potable water, kerosene lamps.

And my sincerest appreciation and thanks to the NH Electric Coop's linemen - nasty duty when one of these dumps comes through.

Most hair raising sight in this great land of ours -- San Antonio TX with a half inch of snow on the roads. You can't believe cars could do that.

[northernlights]

16. midcoast Maine here. 1-2 feet with gusts up to 41.

I'm pretty well hunkered down. Will be putting the horses in for the night shortly and then filling extra water buckets, etc. Tons of food on hand and propane oven/stove so if we lose power cooking is not an issue. Extra supply of chocolate and wine, etc. Fun stuff to do tomorrow.

My biggest concern is my backup propane heater. Was playing ball with the dogs inside on a crappy day and we got a little too close. I discovered back in October that the wires that connect the thermostat to the heater got pulled loose. I've called the local repairguy -- only one in the area that I'm aware of -- at least a dozen times since late October. Not one call returned. I caught them once and they said they'd call back with day/time...and then didn't. Caught them a 2nd time and made an appointment for 10 days ago -- he was going to be in my neck of the woods already that morning, so it shouldn't have been a problem. No show.

So here I am in Maine with NO BACKUP HEAT other than my gas stove/oven. Frankly I'm a little scared about that. But I'm prepared to cook all day and all night if that's what it takes to stay warm, should we lose electricity.

[Vinca]

18. Southwestern New Hampshire near Massachusetts and Vermont.

I think we're supposed to get 12" to 18", but so far we haven't seen much of anything. I made an early morning trek to the grocery store for kitty food. Cannot run out of the favorite kitty food or there would be hell to pay. Whatever happens it won't be as bad as the last storm last winter when a giant pine tree branch smooshed my poor car. (Car with new roof now parked far, far away from the trees.)

[eShirl]

19. Kennebec County, Maine. Nothing yet; barometer has fallen almost 5 millibars since A.M.

forecast: blizzard

[orion007]

20. Snowing now in Southern Vermont

Right over the Mass. border, Windham County.

[eShirl]

22. Governor (Baldacci) declares State of Emergency

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- In anticipation of the storm that is expected to bring snow, high wind and blizzard conditions, Governor Baldacci has declared a State of Emergency.

"The National Weather Service is warning of extremely dangerous conditions," said Governor Baldacci. "The best advice is to avoid all unnecessary travel, to stay off the roads and allow road crews and emergency responders to do their work."

Sunday the Governor spoke with the staff of the Maine Emergency Management Agency which is coordinating the State's response to the severe weather.

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=142049&catid=2


local TV news live feed (but only when they're actually broadcasting on the air)
http://www.wcsh6.com/video/akamai/News_Center.aspx

[eShirl]

40. I woke up and it's snowing; pressure fallen another 20 millibars

flimsy-cheap barometer reading 29.1 inches

[Atman]

21. Between Hartford and Providence...it's just getting really nasty.

Just a weekend snow day so far...which means cocktails and video games. Looking to be pretty bad, though. Most businesses already closed tomorrow. As long as we have power, we're good. But w 50 mph winds that might not last long. That's why I hate these overnight storms; you go to bed with heat, you wake up in a 55 degree house with no way to make coffee.

[Sisaruus]

23. I'm brewing a thermos of coffee tonight in case of power outage.

I can't live without my morning coffee.

(I'm northwest of Hartford.)

[pipi_k]

24. Power outage...no problem...

Two generators here take care of almost the entire house.


--coming from the Hilltowns near the Berkshires of Western Mass.

[Paper Roses]

25. Seacoast north of Boston. Wind is howling and the snow is

starting to accumulate. Expected per NECN weathermen, 18" to 24". I hope they are wrong. I'll forgive them if we get only 6" or so.

I worry about loss of power just as much as amount of snow. It is very cold now. Limbs will break and bring down power lines. I have great respect for the power company crews and plow drivers in this weather.

Keep warm everyone.

[northernlights]

26. snowing now in midcoast Maine

I'm not sure when it started, but when I let the dogs out it was diagonal snow, but not too bad and nothing new laying on the steps.

About 2 minutes later, they were begging to come back in. Gust nearly ripped the storm door out of my hand. :eek:

Cranked the heat for the night, so if we lose power we'll be dropping from a warmer temp. Brewed half a cup of coffee. If no power in the morning, I'm filling it with milk and ovaltine, heating over the propane stove and starting the day with mocha.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

27. Vikings at Eagles has been postponed until Tuesday

Looking at the pre-game show on nbc and they already have alot of snow and gusty winds.

[Rockholm]

28. Gloucester, MA here... Lost power once....and just flickered!!

The wind is howling like mad. Snow is starting to pile up. Driveway not plowed yet. Major flooding expected. Yikes!

[Earth_First]

31. Be careful, Rockholm...

:grouphug:

[EstimatedProphet]

34. Glad I'm not going to work tomorrow...

[SteveG]

29. Southeast Corner of DE

has about 12 to 13 inches on the ground and it's still snowing. Bethany Beach, Fenwick and OC, MD. are feeling the brunt. So far the winds have been kind and we don't have a lot of drifting snow (yet).

[Earth_First]

30. JFK closed, Amtrack suspends Northeast service from Va, NJ state of emergency...

Just a few of the headlines this evening:

http://www.breakingnews.com/filter/noreaster

[EstimatedProphet]

32. North shore MA - Georgetown/Groveland/Haverhill

Plows are out constantly. From Weather Underground:
Tonight
Snow. Snow accumulation of 6 to 10 inches. Blustery with lows in the mid 20s. North winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 55 mph. Chance of snow near 100 percent.

Monday
Cloudy...snow...mainly in the morning. Total snow accumulation of 12 to 16 inches. Blustery and cold with highs in the upper 20s. Temperature falling into the lower 20s in the afternoon. Northwest winds 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 55 mph. Chance of snow 90 percent.
» ZIP Code Detail

[Renew Deal]

33. The snow is blowing sideways down the street.

I shoveled before. There was a half inch of snow behind me when I was done.

[adigal]

35. Upstate NY, and nothing here

This is horrible, we haven't gotten any snow last year, and this year it all seems to be going south too. Bummer.

[Sisaruus]

36. Hooray. Work cancelled for tomorrow.

I get to do the phone tree and all the internet closure postings tonight instead of 6 a.m. tomorrow. (Work sites are in New Haven, Fairfield and Waterbury, CT.)

[Arkana]

37. Fucking snow.

Seriously.

FUCKING SNOW.

My insane trainwreck of a grandmother is at my house for an extra day because of it.

Fuck snow and the horse it rode in on.

[tpsbmam]

38. ROFLMAO!! Sorry....can't help it. I'm laughing my ass off partly because you sound

so like me! I'm sitting in the mountains of NC with about 7 damn inches of the white crap all around me. Now, I grew up in NYC and I've lived all over the country in cold climates....Colorado, Wisconsin, Chicago, CT, MA....I got used to LOTS of snow. But I also got used to snowplows and shit.

Welcome to the South. Foot of snow? Better hope it melts soon cuz no one is coming along with their handy dandy snowplow to plow you the hell out! Arrrrggggghhhhhhhh!

I'm with you. Fucking snow. And I don't even have an insane grandmother! Yeah, fuck snow.

[Ellipsis]

39. Sorry man.

perhaps this will cheer you up a bit.


Could be worse could be a week.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

41. Upper Westchester Co., NY and there's a blizzard going on and a noisy one at that. :)

[Little Star]

42. Still snowing & blowing here in MA at 6am. Miserable!

[Crystal Clarity]

43. The worst of it is here now.... North Central Maine

Sustained winds of 20 to 30, Gusts of 40 to 50. I'm shocked that we still have power. It usually goes out for much less than this.

Not alot of snow yet probably about 6 inches, but it's coming down hard. White out conditions.

My poor SO is out working in this. He's a freight train switchman in a Paper Mill yard. Dangerous work under the best of conditions. I hate the thought of him hanging off the back of that train in this weather. One little slip of the foot... Or whatever. Yikes. I can't think about it.

[GreenPartyVoter]

46. Poor SO! I hope he will be ok and get to warm up every so often. We also still have power and

for that I am very glad!

[mainer]

44. Thought it was over -- now it's snowing again! Midcoast Maine.

Only had about 8 inches of snow on the ground at noon. But then I noticed a big green blotch on the radar, headed toward us, and the snow is falling again.

[GreenPartyVoter]

45. Same deal in my area. Power is still on, though. :^)