Winter Storms 2016 Snowpocalypse et al

[samira_catlover]

@Dandruff: hope you've got plenty of books, just in case.

One of the worst weekends of my life was being blizzarded in with my husband, heading back to Iowa after Christmas. *shudder* Stuck in a (pre-cable-TV) Motel 6 for a couple days waiting on care repair, without a change of underwear or toothbrush handy, with a TV set that played only football games, and the only reading material handy was a Gideon Bible. (And me NOT on the pill!)

[Coconut Flan]

OK, folks, this is odd, but even though I'm in mid-60s SoCal, reading about this has me drinking hot tea.  Stay warm and safe everyone in the path.

[Dandruff]

6 minutes ago, samira_catlover said:

@Dandruff: hope you've got plenty of books, just in case.

Not a problem - I could probably open a small bookstore with what I've got.

[ShepherdontheRock]

Central Virginia (RVA). We're getting a blanket of snow, but I don't think it'll be anywhere as close to the amount that NOVA/DC will get (my parents are there and have gotten super prepared.) Snow day, and the grocery stores are all crowded, as well as the ABC stores. 

TBH, I don't necessarily anticipate power outages, and I think, since I am in a fairly urban area, it'll get cleaned up fairly quickly. You never know. I've got my milk and bread.

[Arete]

My part of NJ is forecast for 12-16 inches, which is nowhere near the worst snow totals that have fallen in this area.  We just got upped to a blizzard warning as of this morning, which is a snowstorm with sustained winds of over 35 miles an hour.  I laid in some extra groceries 2 days ago, and plan on making sausage and meatballs in tomato sauce and borscht.  As long as I'm going to be trapped in the house, I'm making slow cooking comfort food.  If I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll try one of the Smitten Kitchen's chocolate chip cookie recipes.  Either way, I'll be able to freeze about 10 days worth of meals.

We are being let out at 3 PM.  There are voluntary evacuations of certain towns along the Jersey shore do to the possibility of flooding that will cause the loss of access to county and state roads.  I'm sure if I went to my local grocery store that there are no eggs, milk, bread or bottled water to be had.

[47of74]

3 hours ago, samira_catlover said:

@Dandruff: hope you've got plenty of books, just in case.

One of the worst weekends of my life was being blizzarded in with my husband, heading back to Iowa after Christmas. *shudder* Stuck in a (pre-cable-TV) Motel 6 for a couple days waiting on care repair, without a change of underwear or toothbrush handy, with a TV set that played only football games, and the only reading material handy was a Gideon Bible. (And me NOT on the pill!)

Ouch.  During the Great 47of74 Road Trip last summer I stayed in a Motel 6 in Billings, Montana.  I still kick myself for not going for the $110 a night Comfort Inn closer to Yellowstone.  The room absolutely stank of cigarette smoke, no free wi-fi, and a rental car that started having problems earlier that day.  I pushed all the luggage up against the door that night cause I wasn't getting good vibes about the hotel.  And the smoke smell kept me from getting much sleep.

The next day after getting a different rental car I drove to Bismarck, ND and the Ramada there felt like a $1,000 a night five star luxury resort at I think about $84 a night.

 

[Dandruff]

During a road trip many years (decades) ago in So. Cal., I stopped for the night at a Motel 6.  Had never been to one before.  It was tiny, but seemed reasonably clean.  There was also a coin slot by the bed to make it vibrate.  I kid you not.

[SpoonfulOSugar]

I'm glad I live in a state with strong non-smoking clauses.  I remember a room in Texas eons ago that I thought I was going to die in, the smell of smoke was so bad.  Now, I would refuse to stay in a room with too strong a smell - whether smoke or the damn deodorizers they use.  Then, I tried to tough it out.  My sinuses swelled until I thought I was a chipmunk.

[CTRLZero]

6 hours ago, Screamapillar said:

6 hours ago, Screamapillar said:

 

Here in Nashville we have about 4 inches of snow already! Could get up to about 8 inches, which is an unheard of amount around here. Needless to say, the city is completely shut down

I have some photos dated March 2015 of a snowfall in Nashville.  We walked through midtown to the Musica (roundabout) statue and had a blast roaming the streets without any traffic.  Enjoy the snowfall; it's so rare.

 

[sparkles]

Long Island's been upped to a blizzard warning with predictions up to 18" so we're cancelling our museum trip to NYC, dammit. I'll be doing a lot of baking this weekend, and hanging around in my jammies with a bunch of books. No complaints! Well, except for having to let the dog out every five minutes, which means waking up several times during the night to make sure the deck is clear to the backyard. She loves the snow.

Be safe and warm, FJ peeps!

[19 cats and counting]

My part of NJ was initially not going to be hit hard, but now according to the severe weather alert on my phone, 14-20.  I can handle it (I LOVE snow and northern climates and have been wanting this.  Plus my new Instagram wants more snow pics).   We had 2 feet dumped on us the day after xmas 2010 and I enjoyed it.  

I have everything (milk, bread, coffee etc) as well as 3 books checked out from the library and a Netflix account.  I don't anticipate losing power, but I have enough scented candles to survive a zombie apocalypse so I'll be fine.  I'm currently charging all my portable phone chargers (the lipstick sized ones) just in case.

As of right now, there's a cop car with speakers on driving down the street telling everyone to move their vehicles off the street.  

[CTRLZero]

3 minutes ago, 19 cats and counting said:

As of right now, there's a cop car with speakers on driving down the street telling everyone to move their vehicles off the street.  

My daughter learned a hard lesson and did not move her car off the street last winter (she had no experience with heavy snow and snowplows).  It was buried for weeks.  Stay safe and warm!

[SpoonfulOSugar]

22 minutes ago, 19 cats and counting said:

As of right now, there's a cop car with speakers on driving down the street telling everyone to move their vehicles off the street.  

'Round these here parts, we have parking bans.  It's pretty well established that if you park on the street during a storm, you will be towed.  They announce it on social media - no need to drive around announcing it.

[19 cats and counting]

In my hometown there are overnight street parking bans for the entire winter (I think 12/1-4/1).  However, this is a town where half the houses/apartments have no driveway/parking space and you have no choice but to park on the street.

They're not eliminating all street parking, just telling everyone to move their cars to the north side of the street.

[notfundy]

Wow I can't believe the coverage on the evening news... I'm in the upper Midwest so very used to big snowstorms, although we've only had one relatively minor one this season.   The mayor of D.C. is talking about a "once every 80 years" type storm.  I can't help but think there's at least a little bit of hype going on.   Seems when the east coast, especially the D.C./ NYC corridor gets a storm there is SO much more coverage than when it happens in the Midwest.

I guess that makes sense... more people on the East Coast, storms aren't quite as frequent or severe as they are in the Midwest, and of course the telecommunication center (esp news) is in D.C./NYC.  

I kind of wish we were getting a blizzard here.  Of course I don't wish for anyone anywhere to be hurt or stuck on the roads, etc.  Just wouldn't mind skipping some stuff we have going on this weekend.  

[SpoonfulOSugar]

Weather Channel updating:

Quote

 

More than 67 million Americans in 19 states are under blizzard warnings or winter storm warnings as Winter Storm Jonas cranks up over the South and marches toward the East Coast, generating an expanding swath of snow and ice across both regions. Another 21 million people are under National Weather Service watches and advisories for winter weather in anticipation of Jonas' impacts.

Jonas had already dumped as much as 18 inches of snow in western North Carolina and up to 16 inches in eastern Kentucky as of late Friday afternoon. Up to a foot of snow has fallen in southwest Virginia, and a half foot or more of snow has blanketed parts of Tennessee, upstate South Carolina, northeast Georgia, western Virginia, West Virginia and Arkansas.

Thundersnow was reported in the Nashville area Friday morning with snowfall rates of an inch per hour. Even heavier snowfall rates of 2 inches per hour were observed in Jackson, Kentucky, and Roanoke, Virginia, Friday morning.

 

http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-jonas-forecast-blizzard-warning-january-22

[refugee]

Someone we had a meeting with today was talking about calling home to NC and talking to her mom, who said they'd had four feet of snow (this was in the inland "mountain" part of NC, not the lowlands). Don't know how accurate that report was, but we've been watching the weather here on the other Coast.

I feel about snow the way W.C. Fields* said he felt about work: I could watch it for hours...

Having grown up in snow country, I really like not living in the snow belt anymore. We might get a little snow in the winter, but it usually melts within a couple days.

*or was it Mark Twain? 

[Walking Cat Bed]

We just finished up a two-and-a-half hour power outage; roommate and I had both just finished making our dinners (soup!) and were comfortably bundled for the in-house standard temp of 65. We grabbed the flashlights (for moving around the house) and candles (for the living room) and each of us sat and read. And quietly hoped that the cats would use this as a time to nap, because Kitty Thunderdome and candles are a bad combination.

Roommate turned the heat up a bit so that if we lose power overnight, we'll notice and add blankets. 

[SpoonfulOSugar]

4 minutes ago, Walking Cat Bed said:

We just finished up a two-and-a-half hour power outage; roommate and I had both just finished making our dinners (soup!) and were comfortably bundled for the in-house standard temp of 65. We grabbed the flashlights (for moving around the house) and candles (for the living room) and each of us sat and read. And quietly hoped that the cats would use this as a time to nap, because Kitty Thunderdome and candles are a bad combination.

Roommate turned the heat up a bit so that if we lose power overnight, we'll notice and add blankets. 

Glad you have power back.  I usually know it goes out because the house gets too quiet.

I hope it hangs in there.  You stay safe.

[HarryPotterFan]

8 hours ago, purple_summer said:

http://www.footsforecast.org/2016/01/a-storm-of-the-first-order.html 

This is starting to get scary. We have a plan but this could be beyond anything this area has dealt with in recent memory.....

Damn. 

I'm in the DC area as well. Snowmaggedon/snowpacalypse 2010 was awful. I was stuck in my dorm and it was basically impossible to get to the dinning hall. Everyone went stir-crazy. 

The cats were looking outside meowing a while ago. I told them they really don't want to go out.

I can't believe how much snow we're getting. 

2 hours ago, 19 cats and counting said:

  I'm currently charging all my portable phone chargers (the lipstick sized ones) just in case.

That's a really good idea!! I'm doing that now.

[19 cats and counting]

9 minutes ago, HarryPotterFan said:

Damn. 

The cats were looking outside meowing a while ago. I told them they really don't want to go out.

 

Let the feline headships out (assuming they've been out before and are allowed outside).  Most of them will return in about 30 seconds.

Growing up, I had a kitty who when in the snow would shake her paws off after every step.  Very amusing to watch (and today would go viral on Youtube)

[apandaaries]

I'm not a snow storm survivor, but I do recommend boiling water and putting it in Mason jars.  You can then put those warm jars in your cold bed, your cold sofa, your cold chair...whatever.  They retain heat really well, especially with a wrap or two of fabric.  

Good luck out there, snowstormers!

[mamallama]

I'm in Northern NJ and the last time I watched the news we were supposed to get 8" but now who knows.  The bummer is I'm driving the ambulance tomorrow, so I am the backup plan.  LOL.  Worse yet I just discovered I have no coffee and my daughter took the car with the coffee I never finished unloading after Costco trip to her dad's.  Back to the store I go.

[countressrascal]

I did not make it out so I am going to spend the weekend in snowy NYC all flights are cancelled, I am looking forward to it. Hotel where I am staying is offering all kind of specials, here is the best I might get to go to see Hamilton tomorrow night because people are turning in their tickets because they can't get to the city so tomorrow morning I am going to stand in line for turn back tickets,  wish me luck.  Today I went out and brought hat, gloves, fleece lined running pants and snow boots I am prepared along with the clothing I got a flashlight, tea bags, hot chocolate, warm socks and snacks. It is an adventure for someone from AZ but lived in Min for 6 yrs so I look at this as a blast from the past. 

I love the caption that I had "green hair in color" yes I did because competitive swimmer with blonde hair. So true.

[PennySycamore]

Not too long after I wrote my last post early on in this thread, we lost power and it only came back on about 10 minutes ago.  Yep, we lost power for about 8 1/2 hours!  I read all afternoon and most of the evening except for playing one hand of solitaire (found cold hands are really bad at shuffling) and did go out to eat.  I finally got on the sofa to cuddle the dog and asked for my iPad so I could play Mah Jong.  That was when the power came back on!  Now I have lots of posts to catch up and mail to delete/read.

ETA:  I'm glad the power came back on when it did. Sense and Sensibility with Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon comes  on TCM at 10pm and I've been looking forward to it all week!