Snowstorm Izzy (I love The Weather Channel names for these storms) arrived in Western New York at 9 P.M. last night and snowed all night long. We have 18 inches of snow on the ground and more on its way: the weather guessers predict another 6 inches of snow before this storm moves away.
I’ve been starting Big Orange every day last week in preparation for this snow event so it was no surprise when my trusty snowblower fired right up! I snowblowed the driveway, sidewalks, my neighbor’s sidewalks, and I even snowblowed the widow’s driveway across the street.
Did Snowstorm Izzy affect you? Hundreds of thousands of people in North Carolina and Virginia don’t have power because of the icy conditions and downed trees and power lines.
We got a little snow, near Philadelphia, but mostly saw a lot of rain…after several days in a row with temperatures in the F teens, this has been more a break than a crisis. Even the winds here haven’t been too bad.
Our dishwasher drain froze up, our briefly worrisome crisis-lite (the family that lived in the house before Alice bought it spent the better part of a century in it without a thought of insulation…even in and after the ’70s, even given that the current kitchen and laundry room were added to the house in the last twenty years. Insane. Alice’s first work on the house was having insulation blown into the older walls).
Todd, we know several people who bought houses and found out to their chagrin that their new homes lacked insulation. Hard to believe in a place like Western NY builders could get away with building homes with no insulation! And having an entire house insulated isn’t cheap.
While I sympathize with anyone without power I have to say there are few simple yet great joys in life like a huge snow fall. It makes everything a little magical and forces people to stop or at least slow down for a few days. I love a long walk in fresh snow followed by a quiet evening with a glass of wine and a good book or movie. You were smart to be prepared, George. It never ceases to amaze me when people are “caught off guard” by significant weather events that were predicted days or a week in advance. Sadly, no snow around Detroit. Fingers crossed…
Byron, North Tonawanda is under a Travel Ban as the streets are full of snow and the snowplows struggle to keep up with the falling snow. We still have another 6 inches of snow scheduled to fall between now and 7 P.M. on top of the 18 inches on the ground. Hope this storm misses Detroit!
Honestly, George, I’d personally welcome it but I know it would be hard on the folks in Detroit as well as the rural communities. Being on the east side of the state we don’t get hit with much lake effect snow and the storms from the south typically just skirt our southeast border. When I was a kid we used to regularly get heavy snow. Now it’s typically a few inches at best with a heavy snow every few years. Good luck with the next round and hang in there. At least it should be conducive to lots of reading.
Byron, we do get Lake Effect snow, too, but that’s at the whim of the winds. Some places get a foot of snow, other places get nothing.
You are truly one of Nature’s noblest, George. I’m sure Diane has nothing to worry about the widow across the way because you are always a gentleman. Happy snow, my friend!
**locates handy soapbox**
And Happy MLK Day, George. With so many jamooks polluting the ideological terrain, it has become even more important to keep our eyes on the prize.
**stepping down from soapbox**
Jerry, most schools and colleges in Western NY are closed for MLK Day so that helps the traffic situation. School buses would have had a tough time navigating the snow clogged streets. And, it’s still snowing!
Our biggest snowfall so far has been five inches. After a rainy spring, summer and fall I am glad to have had a dry December and January.
Patti, same here. November and December were snow-free here in Western NY. But, January is a completely different story. We woke up to 18 inches and it continued to snow all day. I snowblowed this morning and now I’m about ready to snowblow again.
Big Orange rules! Now that is better exercise than going swimming IMHO. Nice job. I’ve been watching Izzy on TWC too. But I was disappointed not to see my man Jim Cantore.
My cousins are driving down from New York. THey left from Long Island early Sunday morning when it was mostly rain, had a little snow around Richmond, and made it to North Carolina. They should be down here by tomorrow. Jackie tried to get them to leave a day earlier, but they never listen.
Jeff, plenty of people lost power in Storm Izzy. I went out and cleared the vents on our GENERAC natural gas generator just in case we have a power outage. The snow was above my knees!
I grew up in Ababama (Birmingham) and have lived the rest of my life in California (Santa Barbara) so not much snow in my life. I remember once in my childhood we had 10 inches of snow and it was a big event.
Eighteen inches of snow looks like a lot!
Tracy, 18 inches of snow mounts up fast! Moving the snow presents a problem especially if the high winds are blowing the snow around! I laugh when I see these HALLMARK movies with adults (and sometimes kids) making Snow Angels in the snow. I’d love to see them try that in 18 inches of snow! They’d sink and someone would have to dig them out!
No snow here, some sun, rain last week and again tomorrow. I see you have a basketball hoop, play much?
Rick, I had the basketball hoop installed when Katie was playing basketball in High School. Since then, guests have practiced lay ups and shot “threes” while I provided beverages.
You’re a good neighbor, George! I’m sure you and Big Orange are much appreciated.
Nothing like what you’re getting, but here on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain we’re having some roller-coaster temperatures. On Wednesday, we’re going up to the low-seventies. But two days later, our high will be in the mid-forties with a low of around 30. If we dip below 28, the advisory here is to keep water running all night through your inside and outside pipes—so I’m keeping an eye on those anticipated lows. I’d rather have an above-average water bill than have to pay for repairs for frozen/burst pipes.
Deb, frozen pipes are a constant problem during Wintertime here. Diane will leave a trickle of water overnight when arctic temperatures hit to help the pipes. We’ve had friends who’ve experienced frozen–or worse, burst pipes–and the result was Not Pretty.
You call that snow? Why, when I was a boy the house was buried up to the eaves and we had to dig for three days just to reach the outhouse! Don’t talk to me about snow!
Bob, we also had snow up to the eaves of our house fifty years ago. But, Global Warming and Climate Change has shortened our Winters…and lessened our snowfall totals.
I don’t envy you! The snow is beautiful, but I’m glad I can enjoy it in photos rather than in person.
Angela, Katie and her Boston condo-mates couldn’t get their snowblower to start, so they had to shovel two feet of snow. It took them two hours to clear the sidewalks and the long driveway. Katie was exhausted after all that exercise!