Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Plow Truck

Monday with the blizzard on our doorstep, everyone in the state was asked to stay indoors and off the roads to facilitate emergency vehicles and the plow trucks. Most obliged. The first of the trucks came over our hill at about 4 AM and continued for the entire day. I'd say it made about 15 passes by the house until about 9 PM and counting. Basically around these parts, they are calling it a cold weather hurricane. All day there were but a few sounds: TV weather reports blaring in the den,  the rumbling of plows passing the house, and the non-stop howling of the wind. I must say, I've witnessed blizzards through my youth and right up until the big one that dropped 34.5 inches in 2013, but I don't think I've ever observed a Big Blow like all day yesterday. Sitting in the kitchen, next to the woodstove that was fully loaded, the wind was just howling down the chimney and the driveway was truly a classic whiteout all afternoon.
The cleanup begins this morning.
All schools are closed again.
By late afternoon yesterday, my guesstimate was 18-20 inches.
Still snowing.
Final total?
Are you a good guesser?
* This is a photograph of one of the many plow trips past our house yesterday. Front door open amid snow and wind. 
Click!

17 comments:

  1. Amazing Birdman.. So much snow, and here's me getting all excited about the possibility of 1mm of rain :)

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  2. "A cold weather hurricane"? Wow!
    Such a totally different life from my boring-weather desert existence.
    Good luck!

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  3. Ah, good! You're still there. It's the howling wind that gets to you. 8-)

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  4. I had read you might get 16 inches, so was keeping you in my thoughts yesterday. The worst, though, seemed to be the wind - in some places well over hurricane strength. Glad to hear you came through unscathed. And at least they were out plowing so you can get out - maybe?

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  5. i saw the national news refer to it as a cold weather hurricane. just brutal!

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  6. Judging from the photo, that snow was quite heavy and coming right at you. All I've heard about on the news was snow levels. I hadn't heard much about wind. It must have felt quite isolating to hear the wind howl in white out conditions.

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  7. It sounds like you exceeded the storm from 2013, so 36 or 37 inches?

    It looks like you got hit harder than New York City.

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  8. Not a good guesser, and absolutely not in this kind of weather!

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  9. It's the wind that gets to you and is so scary! Plus it keeps filling in what you have cleaned up. Good luck!

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  10. The wind can be the most brutal part of a storm. Yours sound particularly nasty and your wood stove sounds like a perfect haven. Stay warm!

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  11. Sounds like good hibernating weather to me!

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  12. A perfect view of your weather. It missed us. Our two wood stoves make all the difference when it's cold out there.

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  13. Your photo tells the story better than anything I've seen on the news!

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  14. I'm glad to hear that you still have electricity.

    It's only recently that the government made everyone stay home during blizzards, isn't it? A few years ago if you had a four wheel drive vehicle I bet you would be out in this.

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  15. Great storm photo, Birdman. I read that Portland got smashed by the storm. So, when you coming south?

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