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Pete Bouchard worries if we've gotten too soft
By adamg on Wed, 02/06/2013 - 7:20am
Blizzard of '78 aftermath in Revere. Photo by Jessica O'Brien. Posted under this CC license.
On the 11 o'clock news last night, Bouchard seemed worried that, after two years of little snow, we wouldn't know how to deal with the foot of snow the National Weather Service now says we could get, starting as early as Thursday night.
Does he have a point? Should the French Toast Alert Level be raised to Orange? Or will the genes from our collective history (35 years ago today, folks) kick in?
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Comments
Snow Is Not Permanent
We live in a temperate zone. Sooner or later, it melts. Whatever else happens, if we keep that in mind, we'll be OK. Chill, so to speak.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Even if I'm too soft
I'm alomost as big as Pete! (shifty eyes)
I have to say I have enjoyed
I have to say I have enjoyed the little bit of snow we have received in the last two years, but it is true that people can't seem to handle even little bits now. It is also so funny to me that my 3 year old is so baffled by snow, because in her short life we haven't really had much. I say, bring it on, lets shovel! And ps it's going to be 45 degrees by next week with rain so it will all wash away!
Everyone I know
who grew up here is itching for a big one.
I have to admit I am hoping
I have to admit I am hoping Friday does turn out to be huge. I miss the snow we used to get. As a kid, we always seemed to have snow. Most pictures I have of us as kids during Christmas, there's always snow on the ground and not just a dusting.
What good is a cold winter without snow? Sledding, skiing, and just playing in the snow is a kids delight.
When were you a kid?
You sound like my kids, actually ;-)
And they aren't even old enough to remember those winters in the mid-90s where we broke snow totals for the season again and again.
Winters like those after Pinitubo blew off (1992 through 1996); not to mention that wee little dusting we got just after Easter in '97.
I think my boys are thinking more about that clobbering we got in December of 2003 - a meter of cement snow with good structural qualities. And again in early 2005 when it drifted halfway up the back door and cancelled a couple of birthday parties.
As always, we are simply at the mercy of the North Atlantic Oscillation it seems - some years we get zilch, others we get buried.
People who didn't grow up here...
... Are itching for a big one, too. If I had wanted warm, dry winters, I could have stayed in the Rio Grande Valley.
People who like shoveling snow
I grew up here (including during the Blizzard of 78) and I honestly don't see this romantic thing people have about snow. It's a major hassle. I can agree that a little dusting looks pretty, but beyond that I want it to stay away. It also amazes me that there is this certain breed of person that actually LIKES shoveling snow. I see them in my neighborhood, practically standing with shovel pointed skywards waiting for the first flake. They also continue to shovel long after they have cleared the snow away, so they are basically scraping concrete and shoveling air. I'm not complaining, I just find it amusing that they actually like doing such a pain-in-the-butt task. More power to them. Its certainly better than people who don't bother shoveling at all.
I'm of that breed. I love shovelling snow.
I'm that guy who, after shoveling the sidewalk (to full width) and my own driveway and porch, shovels out the fire hydrant down the street and the nearest catch basins on both sides of the road.
The only time that I grouse about it is when a lot of snow has to be moved in the morning before I have to leave for work. At all other times I celebrate the opportunity to get the best workout around - it beats the hell out of a gym workout. You might say that I celebrate mother nature's entire catalogue (excepting heat and humidity - if wanted that crap, I'd live in the southeast).
And no, I can't come and shovel at your house, not because I wouldn't, but because there is simply not enough time for me to do so. Sorry.
I like just enough snow to make it look pretty, but not too much
Shovelling snow has never, ever been something that I enjoyed doing, which is one reason why I live in an apartment here in the city, rather than out in the 'burbs or the 'boonies.
Having a car with good traction with good tires helps a great deal. Driving can be a nightmare when the snow's coming down thick and fast, but when it's all plowed after the storm has left, it doesn't have to be a nightmare to drive in it. Being extra cautious and driving more slowly, and being on the look out for the other guy/gal (if one gets the drift!) is the key, however.
As far as a physical work-out goes, I go for a walk when it's not extremely cold/windy, and I have my exercycle, which I try to use for a half-hour a day.
I'm also near enough to public transportation so that if I need or want to get somewhere, the MBTA (as unpredictable as it can be, at times!), is pretty much right at my fingertips (a ten-minute walk to the MBTA station.).
God Bless You!
God Bless You!
Count me in that group. I
Count me in that group. I love the fresh cold air. Nothing like shoveling when all is quiet and beautiful and it seems I've got the street to myself. It's only February and I am sick and tired of sitting in the house each night so yes, if we get "hammered" on Friday I will gladly go out, grab my shovel for if anything, a reason to be out and enjoy the weather.
**disclaimer: sure, I've got a guy who plows my driveway so I'm not exactly breaking my back. Just doing walkways, front and back stoops is enough.
On the other hand
Shovelling snow in my neighborhood tends to become a community event. We start on our own, but if there are more than a couple people about we will team up to dig everybody out in turn. Then we bust out the sleds and wave off the plow crews until somebody needs the road. Finally, hot chocolate time!
It can be one of the best things about living on a hilly dead end street.
Well thanks for sharing...
......but do they think about getting a snowstorm?
damn.
...beat me to it.
(the wise-ass comment, not "the big one.")
Hell No, No More Snow
I grew up here and really don't care if I ever see snow again.
I wouldn't mind too much
I wouldn't mind too much for a big storm despite its problems. There's a charm in fresh white snow and being without snow for two years have a novelty sense. Except this storm is looking to be one of the worst timed for me. I am making plans to go out of town on Friday by car and I have no desire to deal with a snow storm while I drive.
As a side note - up to this point, we been dealing with more than last years with a bunch of little storms. How much does that affect the snow budget. Are we ahead like last year? Or does little storms cost about as much as big ones
Raise it to Red!
The latest European model suggests we're going to get close to 2 feet... seriously.
Snoquarantine
I have to wonder if it would be good for the health of the general public if we had enough of a nasty storm to lock us all in for a couple of days to quell the circulating plagues.
Give me a chance to finish Little Inferno, too ;-)
According to
my Sainted Mother, the Dr.'s in her day said that a nice, big snowstorm was always good for disabling whatever bug/flu/circulating plagues were afflicting the population.
Boston DPW workers got special certificates
Copy.
!!!!
That's the coolest thing I've seen all week!!
NOOOOO
It is now full on Red-Alert. Almost no chance of another weak storm. Of all the days in the past 2 years, its this Friday. It's going to be a nightmare to drive now.
Shouldn't be that much of a problem
with all that salt they've put on the roads already, and the fact we've had little, if any, measurable rain to wash it all away.
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