We are at -1 right now. We are in KY north of Nashville TN. High winds all night. Now have some sun shine. Everything is closed for the day due to the cold. Not much snow here.
Here in southeastern PA near the corner of MD and DE, It was 52 degrees F when I got up at 7 this morning. Now at 9:45 it is 42 degrees. It is supposed to go to 1 or 2 degrees overnight. The 7 inches of snow we got on Friday is gone except where it got piled by the plow or shoveling. Still raining for the 2nd day.
Up here in "the great white north" we had snow yesterday followed by rain/freezing rain overnight. This morning the temperatures are plummeting with high winds and we should be below zero F by late evening. The snowplow went by at 4 AM and dropped large heavy clumps of snow at the end of the drive. I was up early to clear the clumps before they froze to the ground - if I had left them I would have needed a jack hammer to clear them! Oh, how I love winter!
You'll Never Walk Alone R. Rogers/O. Hammerstein II
When you walk through a storm Hold your head up high And don't be afraid of the dark At the end of the storm Is a golden sky And the sweet silver song of the lark Walk on through the wind Walk on through the rain Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on walk on with hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone
Many versions My favorite http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w4bHvrFUgI
Joan, that sounds wonderful. I can dream, can't I? It's -14. That's right 14 below 0 right now near sunny Chicago. Schools are closed. My whole family was told not to come to work today. The wind chill is -35 to -50. Snow in my area yesterday totaled 12 inches, on top of the 4 inches we already had from the day before. It is nice, though, to look outside and see the snow blowing like crazy and know I have plenty of food, a warm house, and don't have to go anywhere.
It's 29° at 3PM in north Texas. This morning at 7:30, it was 14° with a wind chill of 2°!! This is supposed to be the "sunny (and warm) south"!!! Joan, I'll take your 79° anytime!
The four major limbs that came down in the ice storm two weeks ago are still there in my and my neighbor's backyard. The company is coming tomorrow finally to take a look. On top of that there is now a foot of snow and more is on the way. We missed a second ice storm narrowly yesterday which moved up east of Toronto.
Here is my weather forecast:
"Snow squalls tonight and Tuesday. Bitterly cold westerly winds ... Snowfall amounts of 10 to 15 cm are forecast over a large area tonight with an additional 5 to 10 cm Tuesday. Very low to nil visibilities are likely."
Thats 4-7 inches tonight and another 2-4 tomorrow and we have it good compared to anywhere east of me up here right out to Newfoundland. (10cm = 4.4 inches)
We spent a year in St Johns, newfoundland in 1973-74. That's east coast, subject to the gulf stream. On Jan 5 the temp dropped to 5 degrees F and stayed there night and day for 5 weeks. I'm not joking. Didn't have to worry about freezing rain.
Wolf Brrr! In New York , it will be coldest day in twenty years!! Today was near 50degrees F. Now 25 F and by am will feel like - 13F. Airports shutting flights, some schools closed !
By the way, my family is from Newfoundland. I had the privilege of visiting there this past July with my brother. Soo beautiful , peaceful and the most friendly ,kind people. I even went yo an Alz support group in St. John's.
Just checked thermometer, -11F with strong winds. eastern MI thumb. Lots of snow, drifted all around our house, 2-4 feet deep. They said we had about 12 inches Sunday thru Monday. No school Mon & Tues, roads drifted and not plowed yet, most businesses closed, drs., schools, they should have announced the ones open, list would have been smaller. Having my usual waking up hour or so after going to bed. Quite noisy outdoors, maybe branches that the ice storm damaged are breaking off now with the wind and some banging on eavestroughs. Cocoa gone so will try to go back to sleep.
Someone better tell Al Gore about the weather! Oh wait - those scientist that went to the Antarctic to study because the ice was suppose to be the thinnest on record had to be rescued by fossil fuel burning helicopters!
having a normal winter here after the exceptionally cold Nov/Dec. Highs in the 30s lows in lower 20s.
I tried plowing with the blade on the big tractor when we first got over a foot of very heavy snow. I found out that there is a learning curve to plowing and finally gave up. So now I am drifted in until the temps moderate (it is currently -11F) and my nephew can come plow. It seems like the more I learn to do on my own, the more challenges that are thrown this way. When the diagnosis was first made and I was staring in the abyss, my wise friend said, "You eat the monster one forkful at a time." I wrote that on a white board and read it multiple times a day. I tried to look ahead in practical matters, and only deal with the emotions of the moment. It is amazing what activities one can cut out of life when getting down to the business of survival. I may be snowed in for most of the week and decided that I would not call the ALF to see how DH is doing. If things are not good, what could I do, except worry, and worry some more. My heart goes out to all of you with spouses still at home during this weather.
I'm hoping we don't get any more snow for a little while - until the sun can melt some of it off the roof of the house. The freezing rain on the weekend has added a significant amount of weight to the snow (this I know because I was out shoveling yesterday). Our neighbors lost a barn on the weekend - the weight of the snow was just too much for the 100 year old structure, and it collapsed.
Lorrie, my mother was born in Newfoundland. Emigrated to Canada in 1941! I've been to "The Rock" several times. In fact my DH and I had our last real vacation there.
Coldest day in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT) in 20 years and it feels like it! 2 F here with wind chill to -14. Sun is shining brightly but absolutely no warmth possible in this cold. DH in sweats and dog in a puffer vest. Hunkering down until it warms up in a few days. Hopefully DH won't get cabin fever.
Here 50 miles north of Huntsville, Alabama --- one degree this a.m. but thankfully by Friday in the 50's. No power shortage yippee!! We visited St. Johns many years ago such a beautiful place.
Marche, when I read the comment about you snow plowing and the "learning curve" I thought about that old movie,"dirty Old Men" when the snow was so high and Sophia Loren came out and climbed on that snow mobile and rode all around the neighborhood like it was nothing!!!!!!! Maybe that is a good movie to look up to watch during this storm. Sorry, just had to share the humorous thought. Hope everyone thaws out soon.
Will do, SHELLSEEKER50. Are you a Rosamunde Pilcher fan?
It was -17 here in the upper midwest with wind chills in the -40s. I thought about what it must have been like to live in a cabin with a fireplace, use an outhouse, have a baby in diapers, and need to get fresh water and food to the live stock in weather like this. It sure puts things into perspective.
Hey! I live in a cabin with a wood stove that I have to bring firewood in for heat. (wish we had smiley faces)
I have about 2 feet of snow and normal winter temperature between -10 to -20C or 0 to 18F and can drop down to -40C. I have an outhouse that I use when the power is out, and will melt snow for water on the stove and cook food on it when no power, and food for about 3+ months stocked away for winter. Also I can go out on the lake and go ice fishing as a last resort....I don't like seafood.
But I would not like to be going through what you guys are dealing with.
We live in Minnesota and my DH loved going camping in the Boundary Waters area during the summer and Fall. However, just the mention of outhouses - or in the case of the Boundary Waters, open-air 'thrones', turns me off. I was a good sport for about 10 years. Then, once he'd corralled my brother into going with him, I regretfully backed out. I'm with you Vickie. I'd much rather be at the Hyatt. I never would have survived the good old pioneer days. I blame it on my asthma, but in all honesty, I'm an unapologetic wimp!
OK for the rest of the story. I only revert to that life when the power is out. Indoor plumbing with washer, dryer, dishwasher, electric heat if I want, satellite TV, hot tub and other amenities and toys. Though I only have slow speed dial up and almost no cell service. I really like the country lifestyle.... I'm a country girl here.
Amber, you're a pioneer woman! My mother was raised in the backwoods of Maine in the early 1900' s(1917) and cooked on a wood stove, plowed snow with the work horses, went to school in a horse and buggy (with heated bricks to warm their feet), split wood and yes, used outhouses in the freezing cold. She became a nurse and married a doctor and lived the "refined" suburban life in CT. But let me tell you, whenever we had a power outage or weather event that crippled our neighbors, she was in her glory! Could cook a 3/4 course meal on a charcoal fire in the fireplace, melt snow for water when the well/plumbing didn't work and flush toilets with a bucket of water. Our house became the refuge of choice during hurricanes and long power outages because everyone could survive because of her "backwoods" upbringing. Treasure your resiligency and training...so few of us today can survive the elements!
Wolf, I am in North York. I tried to go for my walk this morning. Despite my extraordinary stubbornness, I had to admit that walking on sidewalks coated with ice was not a good idea. Damn, I hate winter. I can tolerate the cold but hate mincing along on ice.
New York a lot better now. My maternal grandparents both from A small town in NL called North River about an hour from St. John's . We still have cousins there. Eager to visit again and also see other parts of Canada. But not in winter!!
Lorrie Weather has improved here as well - I enjoyed all the sunshine we had yesterday, and the temps are warmer, although freezing rain/rain forecast for tomorrow. My mother was raised in the village of Heart's Content, NL - famous as the terminus of the Trans Atlantic cable. Its a beautiful spot, but I agree, unless you are going to a winter festival of some kind, its better to see Canada, and especially NL in the summertime!