Who else is going to get the blizzard?

[Pea-n-Me]

So, a serious, HOPE YOU ARE ALL DOING WELL

Plus a question from someone on the WEST COAST.

Here in Western Oregon (Eugene -- GO University of Oregon Ducks), we seldom get snow. And when we do, maybe once or twice a winter 3 inches or so.

The snow we do get is always very wet, very heavy and horrible to drive in or to shovel. It almost always causes power outages.

Every three to five years, we get a foot to two feet of this wet muck in one heavy snowfall. That causes real power issues, etc.

This usually covers the entire major population corridor from Portland to Roseburg along Interstate 5. This never merits much of a blip on the national news and no horror stories in the national media. We just deal with it.

My question, I guess, is that I thought you folks on the Eastern Seaboard were used to lots of snow?

Am I mistaken? Or is it just sort of like our usual fall/winter/spring rain in the Pacific Northwest?

Here it rains constantly from September through May, but it is usually just light rain 24/7. So, is what you guys get "light snow" throughout the winter months, so the heavy stuff throws a wrench into things?

Besides what other have said...

Sometimes in blizzards snow is very heavy and accumulates on power lines and trees, buildings, etc. (Fortunately it wasn't the case this time around, i.e. the snow was relatively light and powdery, but there was lots of it, with many areas accumulating 2-3 feet in one day.) Heavy winds combined with lots of heavy snow spells downed trees and power lines, collapsed structures, etc. It becomes a real danger. Schools either don't open, or open late, if drive and walkways can't be cleared for safety, or there are downed lines in the area. (And budgets for massive snow removal can become quite thin by the end of a long winter with repeated storms.) Power companies have tremendous difficulty restoring power when lines are down, and, unfortunately, power is lost pretty frequently, which makes life very difficult for those affected. Coastal areas can suffer dreaded flooding and other catstrophic damage (as many have here in this storm.) Traffic in many areas around the Northeast is tight to start - add the insult of snow and snow plows, and it becomes hazardous. As someone who HAS to drive in whatever comes our way as an essential employee, I can say the best thing our governors have done in recent years is declaring traffic bans during these types of blizzards so that roads can be cleared safely and there's no pressure for people to go out. It's disruptive, sure, but it's better than the alternative of cars left stranded on roadways and accident-related casualties.

Hope this helps answer your question. A few inches of light snow, for us, is par for the course. Blizzards are a different story.

 

[MinnieForMe]

So, a serious, HOPE YOU ARE ALL DOING WELL

Plus a question from someone on the WEST COAST.

Here in Western Oregon (Eugene -- GO University of Oregon Ducks), we seldom get snow. And when we do, maybe once or twice a winter 3 inches or so.

The snow we do get is always very wet, very heavy and horrible to drive in or to shovel. It almost always causes power outages.

Every three to five years, we get a foot to two feet of this wet muck in one heavy snowfall. That causes real power issues, etc.

This usually covers the entire major population corridor from Portland to Roseburg along Interstate 5. This never merits much of a blip on the national news and no horror stories in the national media. We just deal with it.

My question, I guess, is that I thought you folks on the Eastern Seaboard were used to lots of snow?

Am I mistaken? Or is it just sort of like our usual fall/winter/spring rain in the Pacific Northwest?

Here it rains constantly from September through May, but it is usually just light rain 24/7. So, is what you guys get "light snow" throughout the winter months, so the heavy stuff throws a wrench into things?

Here in New Hampshire we are use to snow (some winters we get 120+ inches). However, our town received 36-40 inches over the last 24 hours. It's insane. We are so lucky that we didn't lose power which happens in most wet snow storms just like you but this snow was light and flufly. My husband would disagree somewhat as he's currently snowblowing 4+ foot drifts in our driveway.

Although the average person stays home during a blizzard, I can tell you that Walgreens, Family Dollar, BP and a pizza place in our town remained open. It's now 8 hours post storm and our roads are plowed, the kids are out of school today because they need to clear the busses and shovel the school roof but life after a storm resumes very quickly here.

This is a picture of my daughter 18 hours into the storm. We still received another foot from the time of this picture. She is next to her brother's compact car.

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This is my gas grill halfway into the storm.

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[figment3258]

Ugh we survived and thankfully never lost power so it could have been worse total of 30inches no where to put it though roads are still white staying put today again . Too cold

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We went out this morning and there are downed lines everywhere. DH says they are phone lines, but i wouldn't want to walk through them to find out.

 

[magsmum]

I have not been following the news, but at one point they were saying we are going to get another 5-6 inches on Friday and then more on Monday. We are going to start to run out of places to put all this snow!

 

[KayW]

I have not been following the news, but at one point they were saying we are going to get another 5-6 inches on Friday and then more on Monday. We are going to start to run out of places to put all this snow!

I heard something similar. If Monday is the end of it woo hoo!! I just want to be able to get out for our trip. Last year our flight to FL was cancelled and we didn't get out until 2 days later.