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Snowmageddon 2013 - Page 2 — Parallax Forums

Snowmageddon 2013

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  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2013-02-09 07:04
    I was out shoveling last night at 10:00 hoping to get ahead of it, but at 11:00 it picked up the pace and I gave up. The blizzard is almost over and we really got dumped on. I cleared a path for the dog this morning, but the driveway is a lost cause. We called a plow service and they're not available until this afternoon.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2013-02-09 07:12
    Martin_H wrote: »
    I was out shoveling last night at 10:00 hoping to get ahead of it, but at 11:00 it picked up the pace and I gave up. The blizzard is almost over and we really got dumped on. I cleared a path for the dog this morning, but the driveway is a lost cause. We called a plow service and they're not available until this afternoon.

    Well, it sounds like you've still got electricity and, dare I presume, internet service. Can't say that for about half a million peeps right now. I'm feeling lucky it missed us (this time).
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2013-02-09 08:30
    Well, it sounds like you've still got electricity and, dare I presume, internet service. Can't say that for about half a million peeps right now. I'm feeling lucky it missed us (this time).

    Yes we have power and Internet, so this is mostly an inconvenience for us. About 650,000 people are without power which can get pretty grim if your pipes freeze.
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2013-02-09 08:57
    There's this other storm due to arrive in Minnesota late tonight. It's not as bad as Snowmageddon 2013, but there are estimates of maybe 2 feet of snow and blizzard conditions in northern Minnesota. The fringe is expected to pass through Minneapolis so the northern suburbs will get some snow and we'll probably get a mix of freezing rain and snow, maybe a few inches.
  • ctwardellctwardell Posts: 1,716
    edited 2013-02-09 09:10
    User Name wrote: »
    Another great picture, EAye. It truly was worth 1000 words.

    Something Tor said resonated with me. A couple weeks ago I was outside quite late, burying a cat. (After 18 years, Fatima passed away.) A low dense cloud bank was overhead. The ground, trees, and houses were covered with yet another soft deep blanket of snow. With albedos near unity both above and beneath, what light there was was being reflected over and over. The end effect was a night brighter than any I'd ever seen before. I think we could have staged a softball game in the back yard without flipping a switch.

    User Name.

    Sorry to hear about Fatima.

    C.W.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2013-02-09 13:58
    Mike Green wrote: »
    There's this other storm due to arrive in Minnesota late tonight. It's not as bad as Snowmageddon 2013, but there are estimates of maybe 2 feet of snow and blizzard conditions in northern Minnesota. The fringe is expected to pass through Minneapolis so the northern suburbs will get some snow and we'll probably get a mix of freezing rain and snow, maybe a few inches.

    Good luck with it. Feel free to use the snowmageddon thread for updates.

    Our road still hasn't been plowed, so we haven't been out to see what the rest of the town looks like.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-02-09 21:42
    Well, the good news is that zombies just freeze solid under such conditions and the the vampires try to sleep though it all as it certainly isn't good flying weather. But the bad news is that since today is the first day of Chinese New Years, you have to hang onto your garbage for 6 more days or risk bad luck for the whole year.

    Life goes on.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2013-02-10 07:41
    Well, the good news is that zombies just freeze solid under such conditions....

    That's not true. I already tried that with my mother-in-law but found out the hard way that formaldehyde doesn't stiffen up until about -90 C. Despite the deep freeze, she just kept on coming...

    legion+-+grandma.jpg
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2013-02-12 03:40
    A quick tip to those who only occasionally get snow is to take lessons in driving on snow and ice.

    http://youtu.be/QnzvsRZE8CQ
    (This course is mandatory here in Norway)
    Also, invest in snow-chains, or if the local regulations doesn't allow them, get a set of 'Auto socks'
    http://www.autosock.com/

    Me?
    I got snow chains, 'snow ladders', glowes, shovel, kapok-filles sleeping bag(ancient, military surplus. Kapok retains a lot of the insulating properties even when wet), chem-lights, hand warmers and a whole lot of other goodies in my car for winter driving. (Or the occasional stop at a mountain pass)

    A tip about shovels is to rub the blade with paraffin-wax so that the snow won't stick.
    A cheap 'tea candle' is just fine for this.
    (I buy them in bags of 100 to keep my teapot warm... )
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-02-12 08:15
    For years I told classrooms full of Taiwanese English students how they should handle driving on snow if they encountered it while travelling abroad ... Don't, just call a taxi. And tell people you will be late. If the taxi won't come, nobody is driving.

    One can die quite suddenly from a slip and fall on an icy sidewalk. Black ice is out there to fool the naive. And even the experienced have their slip ups.

    I used to be an avid snow skier and would drive all night to get to a slope and then do the same on the return trip after a day or two of skiing. But I began to realize the most dangerous part of skiing was driving to and from the slopes.
  • lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
    edited 2013-02-12 11:23
    The good thing about winter is that it helps to keep bugs under control. I doubt that 'killer bees' would become a problem in north eastern USA.
  • ZetsuZetsu Posts: 186
    edited 2013-02-12 13:44
    lardom wrote: »
    The good thing about winter is that it helps to keep bugs under control. I doubt that 'killer bees' would become a problem in north eastern USA.

    You mean like theez
    http://www.almightydad.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/killer_bees.jpg ;p
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-02-12 19:13
    Minnesota is rather famous for its vampire mosquitoes that can suck a small child or a dog dry in a matter of minutes. Swarms have been reported to carry away cattle to fed on.

    I guess mosquitoes go dormant in the winter rather than die off. Some bugs just dry up and remain dormant for 10 years or more regardless of freeze to be awakened by a sudden downpour. Locust are quite famous for doing this.
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