It’s been awhile since the last post, and I have some time to kill until we get out and shovel some more snow (I hope the worst is over) so maybe a little something to show I’m still here.
We’ve been lucky here in the Chicago area so far, the snow has been light and powdery since it’s been below freezing when it snowed. Temperature is important, snow near the freezing point may be wet and heavy. That puts a strain on both man (who may suffer heart attacks while shoveling) and machine (snow blowers will tend to clog up with wet snow, not so much with the powdery snows). So, having it colder and dryer is actually a considerable help when it comes to moving snow from the driveways.
Colder and dryer isn’t so much of a help on the open road though. The wind picks up the dry snow and blows it across the road, a ground blizzard can close the road faster than the road crews can open them. That’s one reason you see gates on the Interstate highways out West, they close the Interstates because the wind sweeps the snow across the road and you can die out there real easy. Lose control and go into the ditch, and it can be hours before anybody knows you’re in trouble.
I’m at home today though, so the job today is to keep the driveway clear– and to while away the time in between moving snow.
You guys have been having one brutal winter. My sister (in Niagara) and a close friend (in Buffalo) have described for me the bone-chilling winter days and I have to admit to being glad I’m currently living on the west coast. Be careful while shoveling, Michael. My sister managed to tear a tendon in her shoulder and now she’s paying dearly for it. 🙁
Niagara and Buffalo. They’re on the East tip of Lake Erie, so they get tons of lake-effect snow dumped on them. Here where I live, it’s mostly storm snow, I live far enough West of Lake Michigan that I don’t see much lake-effect snow here. Lake Michigan seems to save its efforts for Northwest Indiana and Southwest Lower Michigan. They get hit with lake-effect snow pretty regular. Buffalo is on tap to get 90 inches of snow from this season, much of it courtesy of the Lake Erie snow machine.
When I wrote the post above, the storm had dumped most of what we were going to get out of this one. What little was left wasn’t worth the bother of shoveling, and it will get warmer in a few days.