Snow? or how much?
 

Living up here in the Michigan snow belt we've had a lot of snow. We got another large amount that started yesterday morning and petered out this morning.
After hearing on the news about drops in temps in Missouri, rain in California, or snow in the Northeast and how people were reacting, almost in shock, I just have to ask...

Do you normally get much snow?
How much snow have you gotten this year so far?
How much did you just get of rain or snow?
How cold is it by you currently? and is it normal?

Before our last snowfall we had already gotten 77" of snow this season. This last snowfall dumped about 12" MORE. Temperatures have been quite nice... around 20-30F and not too much wind. But this morning we had -21F and the windchill was -30F. Right now it's only -10 but still way too windy.
It just sortof seems to me like the whole country could do with a little of our weather to give them a little bit of a reality check. I just have to roll my eyes at the "Oh that's too much snow. I can't take my kid too school!" when it's only 6 or 7" of snow. Our kids had school today, AND a Christmas program TOO. The gym was PACKED with parents and family despite the weather.

We have about 2 inches on the ground right now where I am. Accumulations around town range from 1-2 inches, with more in higher elevations. It's also really, really icy. This is actually abnormal for us--it doesn't snow much in our part of Oregon. Rain is the norm, especially this time of year. Green Christmases are typical. It usually snows about once a winter, if that, and it usually doesn't accumulate much beyond a couple of inches. We've had a couple of really bad snowstorms in recent memory, though.

We aren't wimpy about it, we're just not used to it, and as such, don't have experience with it. People here don't know how to drive in snow because usually there is no snow. Usually it's in the 40s and raining.

Oddly, the forecasters are calling for more snow on Wednesday and it seems there may be another big system in the works for next week.

I adore the snow. I'd sleep in snow if I could. It's the one thing missing from San Jose.

It has been relatively cold here over the past few days, and we have had precipitation, but unfortunately there's not been snow. And even if there was, I doubt it'd stick.

I'm suddenly struck with the impulse to drive to snow.

Snow? Every few years will get a couple of inches. Many years ago we had a foot. Almost every year we'll have flurries at least once.

We usually have plenty of rain, but last year and this year we have been experiencing a severe drought. Average rainfall is 50"/year. This year we are about 3" below normal, but it seems much worse. In 2007 we had 36" of rain.

Temperatures today were around 68F. We will be in the mid 70s the next few days. We've had a few hard freezes so far. Dec - Feb is predicted to be below normal temps and above average rainfall.

I have similar opinions that you do when I hear other parts of the country complaining about their heat and humidity. Ha.

Some snow flurries here...a little bit of accumulations up north. We usually have one bad snow/ice storm a year. Schools don't usually close unless it's "treacherous", but people get stupid and can't drive if it even starts sticking.

It's currently 18F wind chill of 7F. Pretty cold for us.

I love snow, too. But I don't think I'd like to permanently live someplace that gets a lot of snow or someplace much colder for longer than it gets in Philly. I like the change of seasons plus a moderate winter. I can drive a couple hours north to the Pocono Mts. if I want to see more snow or go skiing, snowboarding. Too bad the closest ice racing (cars on frozen lakes) is up in NY State, but it doesn't get cold enough down here.

This year so far in the Philadelphia area we've had only a very light dusting of snow, literally a fraction of an inch, like about a week ago. Today it was 65F out. It's starting to rain now as the Eagles are kicking Cleveland butt in today's Monday night football game. A few days ago it was just below freezing in the low 30's. I'm pretty sure that soon we'll be getting some normal snow fall.

It seems like a pretty typical weather pattern this year, nothing really unusual as far as how it seems to me, though I haven't looked at actual weather statistics for this Fall/Winter.

I HATE the cold. I hate bundling up and still feeling the wind. I hate having to step gingerly on ice and snow. I hate people who drive in it, petrified and stupid or acting like their SUV is a snow plow (but laugh when I see them skid).

We used to get a lot of snow, but the past few years, not so much. It's unpredictable, which is fine by me.

Roll your eyes all you want, but after 50+ seasons of it, I've had it and if I could, I'd be out of the Northeast and be one of those Damed Yankees.
Even Missouri, with its weird storms, at least doesn't get cold as early or stay around as long.

Snow is beautiful. There's a quiet about it that's peaceful, but one day and I want it gone because after it's made its beauty, it's just gray slush and ice and a pain in the ass.

Some years we get buried all winter long, others we hardly get any at all. No happy medium. I'm looking forward to the first big storm of the winter so long as its a cold one, not one of those storms that dumps 6" of slush on the ground. Shoveling slush is never good for my back.
So far this year, we've only had a dusting to an inch. Its been raining for a good bit of the past month. The cold seems to take a bit longer to get here each year and hangs around a bit longer each spring.
Right now its a very abnormal 57F outside right now. Probably be in the low 30's within a few days, if not tomorrow.
I like the winter. I am one of those few that prefers the colder weather. I don't do well in the summer heat.

This year we were late getting snow. We usually get our first snow in late September or early October. We didn't get any until mid November, almost setting a record for the deepest into the season without any snow. We have been making up for it the last month getting snow at least once a week during that time it seems. We generally get it 2 or 3 inches at a time and it melts quickly, within a day or so. We were -19F this morning, breaking the old record for this date by 12 degrees. I hate cold weather. Anything colder than 30 degrees and I am just miserable. I enjoy driving in snow though.

We got blasted pretty good last week but it warmed up this weekend and rained. Now there's just little piles of snow here and there.

none! It's summer time here, and even in winter snow just doesn't fall here :)

No snow here and no chance of snow for the foreseeable future. Three degrees off the equator and all that stuff...

I miss the first snow but am happy to do without the late winter, early spring doldrums of snow.

Near same as Snowy. We're a bit north and ended up with a little more snow than she did. Freaking cold out too! We've had 2 days of no snowfall, only freezing weather and existing snow. My days off work, so I was happy it held off. Tomorrow is my Monday, and we're expecting a big snow/ice storm to blow through here tonight/tomorrow. Ugh. I hate driving in snow and ice. Especially ice. In January I slid on ice and put my car into the guardrail on the highway. That hurt.

I remember the pictures from that incident. I hope you stay safe tomorrow.

I may or may not have work tomorrow; this work constitutes walking a mile roundtrip over icy sidewalks. Depending on how bad the weather is tonight, the university may close tomorrow, and if it does, I won't have work. The sun today helped a lot. I had to drive to another job tonight, luckily I made it both ways without any trouble.

I love the snow, I love the cold and I couldn't have waited for it anymore. I think we got about 30-40 cms or 12-15" or snow. Its blistering cold too, to the point where if your skin is exposed, you can feel the cold air burning it... aka frostbite. I think we're back to normal now, it was in the plus weather earlier this season. The smartest thing I could have EVER done was get snow tires on my car, now I can zip around and not be one of the suckers who's stuck spinning their tires at a light. Who needs 4 wheel drive, when you're got a beast of a car like mine (97 VW Golf). The red ferarri definately holds up to its name in the winter!!!

Lotsa respect for ya yooppers. Don't know how you do it. I live in NW Indiana and we've had a snowy winter so far. First snow was 11 inches a few weeks ago, straight off of Lake Michigan. But nothing like the 'real' snow belt gets.

Each year gets harder and harder to take the cold and snow. I just drove 80 miles across the south Chicago burbs this evening. Took me 3 hours and 40 minutes.

I fucking hate snow.

It snowed today. It blew. Ass.

Well that changed. We got hit with about 3 inches last night and more to come today.

Yeah, we were warm and rainy a couple of days ago.

We just got dumped on last night.

This thread reminds me of my daughter's first experience with snow.

One morning, during winter, when my daughter was 4 (she's 8, now), she looked outside the living room window and noticed for her first time the falling of snow and the frosted landscape of our backyard. "Look! Snow! SNOW!" she said, jumping and clapping her hands in delight. She would've ran outside in her pajamas, if my wife hadn't intercepted her and dressed her in outdoor-winter clothing. Then my daughter ran outside to greet the falling snow, with face upturned and hands upraised.

Only, as it began landing on her cheeks and lips, it turned out to be icy and stinging. Her beaming smile became a frown of surprise and hurt. She was, like, "Ow... Ow! Hey... ! Ow, ow, ow. It hurts!"

She came running back, inside, and declared, "I hate snow!"

I didn't care much for snow once I moved from Washington State as a kid and lost the awesome sledding hill we had there. Despite its name, Hillsboro, Oregon is not full of hills. It is, in fact, mostly flat. There are few places to sled.

But now I'm learning to appreciate other activities in the snow, such as snow hiking, snowshoeing, and crosscountry skiing. Corvallis has a few hills, but no really good places to sled. I've been excited all week about the snow we're getting here, because a couple of inches in the lowlands means a couple of feet in the mountains. Plus, living where I live now, I'm not completely stuck when it snows. The bus runs right in front of my house and connects me up with anywhere I need to go in town.

Yup... 8 cm of the fluffy white stuff on my car this morning. My 20 minute drive to work was tolerable in an expanded 40 minute format that allowed me to listen to more sports on the radio... like Jason Blake's spin-o-rama shootout goal to give the Leafs a win over New Jersey.

It depends on what the city can deal with. If it snows even a few inches in Memphis it becomes treacherous to drive because the city has no real infrastructure for clearing the roads since it snows so rarely (budget for road-clearing = small). We do get ice storms that leave the streets incredibly dangerous; and I don't care where you're from icy road are scary. Snow ... not so much.

Michigan on the other hand get's lots of snow and therefore presumably cities in Michigan have a budget for ways to keep the streets clear quickly and efficiently.

It also has to do with the fact that it takes practice to feel comfortable driving in snowy conditions. I grew up in a fairly rural part of northern Missouri. I learned to drive on black ice and through snowstorms along winding country roads. It doesn't bother me as much to be out driving in snow. But I'd rather people in Memphis stay home if they are afraid to drive in the snow because a fearful driver makes questionable driving conditions even more dangerous.

So there's no need to roll your eyes at the way other people in other parts of the country react to driving conditions to which you have grown accustomed.

I love snow and I miss it terribly.

Black ice is by far the worse. I really don't mind driving in snow, but black is an entirely different matter. I dealt with that last week for about 10 miles. Drove no faster than 25 mph.

Had flurries last week. Thanks about it. Never get snow but hey It's Texas what do you expect.

It's not snowed in the last 2 years, there were flurries this december but that's about it.

I suppose we all could use a little taste of the other's 'grass'. I hate it in the summer when it gets too hot and humid. (Though when I was in Colorado I found the heat MUCH more bearable because it wasn't humid as it is up here when we get hot.) As for the snow, I think everywhere you go there are plenty of people who forget how to drive in snow and ice, even just over a summer. The worst drivers up here though are the SUV's with Illinois plates. I've seen as many Illinois plates in the ditch so far as I've seen any other license plate this year. Some people just need to learn to drive more carefully no matter what the condition is.

We got about 10cm yesterday, and they're calling for 20cm more on Friday and another 15cm on Sunday, so we'll have about 1.5 feet on the ground by the start of next week.

I'm in Seattle and it's been a white week and will continue to be. We just got dumped on HARD and will again this weekend and possibly through next week too. I absolutely love snow, but not when it affects my college schedule, because it runs off the Seattle school district for snow closures/delays. We've had a total of 1 day of school this week. I am getting restless at home.

The TTC is going to be stupid tomorrow. I'm not even going to try to take a bus. It's subway or walking.

It snowed a little bit again but it was the cold that got me today. -22 C with a -35 C windchill and it was an experience to work outside in it. I love it!!!

I hate the damn snow. I used to like it when I was a kid but now that I have to drive in the stuff to get to and from work I hate it. Nothing like watching idiots in SUVs skidding out of control and hoping they don't hit me. Then when I get home after a stress inducing drive that takes an hour instead of the normal 25 minutes, I can look forward to shoveling the driveway and the sidewalk for the next 30-45 minutes. Give me hot (even hot and humid) weather any day of the week. Its always easier to cool off than it is to warm up and I don't have to shovel humidity off the sidewalk.

The weather forecast is calling for 4-10 inches of the white stuff over the next 16 hours. :grumpy:

We're supposed to get 9-11 inches here between now and when I leave for work in the morning. Here's hoping I can make it in.

I'm sick of snow like we get it here. I want to move to the Pacific Northwest, where they get some snow, but not 8 feet of it every winter.

If I can't ski it, board it or snowmobile on it, I don't want it. So my preference is 6' deep or nothing at all.

I view snow as a colder version of sand. It's great fun to play in, but the rest of the time it just it too easily finds it's way into uncomfortable places.



..

I'm the opposite. I am always warm. I'll be outside shoveling away in a t-shirt and jeans when the temp is 25F. Heat and humidity kill me.

I just popped into the gas station to get my jerry can filled. I'll definitely need my snowblower this weekend!

we have a metric shittonne of snow here near Detroit right now. Would anybody like some of ours?

Dude, there's not going to be any room.... :orly:

If there were ever 7" of snow in Phoenix, people would die. Lots of them. We don't even have the infrastructure to deal with rain--our roads all flood. I've seen snow on the ground exactly one time in 25 years, it melted in 30 minutes, and was probably really just mostly hail anyways.

On the other hand, a couple of weeks of 115° in Michigan would probably have a similar fatality level. I've been in Ohio when it's 100°--the whole city shuts down, and people start dropping like flies.

Hell no, we ain't had shit. It has been raining constantly for the past 2 weeks here and the temps have been waaay above average. We would be swimming through snow right now if the temps were regular but nooo. It just HAS to be 70 degrees instead of 30 today for no apparent reason. If you couldn't tell, I love snow and hate when it rains instead.

It snowed about 3-4 inches last night. I was supposed to work all day today, but I called in. My car is not meant for driving in snow, period.

If only the university would close campus, then my whole house would have a snow day!

the first significant snow of the season is to arrive here in tiny town this afternoon.
i will soon go to the tiny town annual gentleman's lunch to begin bracing for this eventuality. for the event itself, i am armed with a bottle of single malt and a stack of books. bring it on, i say.

predictions are for somewhere between 7" to a foot of snow.
the other prediction involves shoveling snow with a hangover.
on that i shall say no more.

I missed this one by going to Montreal. I think i spent a good chunk of the last week shoveling. Snow wouldn't be such an ordeal without cars. Shoveling the walk is easier than shoveling the driveway(s).

I also think it would be better to have the city handle the sidewalks rather than making it individual responsibility. I don't mind shoveling, but it gets to be a bit of a hassle for older people. Even if they can afford it, it's not always easy to find someone to do it. I sometimes end up driving down to Whitewater to shovel for my parents because their shovelers were booked or didn't show up. That's really kind of goofy.

What i'm trying to say is that our experience of 'snow' is more than simply meteorological; it's very much conditioned by our social arrangements.
-----Added 19/12/2008 at 12 : 15 : 20-----
Gentleman's lunch? What's that?

I think we're at about 10cm here right now but it's hard to say as it is blowing around a great deal. Some drifts are much higher, but there are also patches that have very little.

It's still coming down, expect 15-20cm when it is all done.

Here in West Michigan we just got dumped on overnight. The news is saying we've only gotten 10" but we are also getting 2" an hour falling. In my backyard I have an empty flower pot that's a foot and a half tall and it's full and mounded about 4" on top. I'm sure the wind has blown a lot around. We're supposed to get more Sat and Sun and then again next week, no worries for a white Christmas this year.

This winter seems to be shaping up to be much snowier than we've had in recent years. Last year hubby and I managed to handle clearing the walk and driveway all winter by shoveling and we only had to get it plowed once towards the end. So far this winter, I've cleared the drive twice and my neighbor snowblowed it once but today I'll be lucky if I can shovel just a spot at the end of the drive for my husband to park in. Even if I could find someone available to plow, we can't afford it right now.

I love the snow and winter is so beautiful here in Michigan with all the conifers we have but I absolutely dread driving in it. I worry all season long about my husbands hour drive each way to work. I think drivers here are so used to snow that they just can't be bothered to drive safely for the conditions. It's an annual experience to have some jackass (usually an SUV or truck) flying past on the snowy highway, only to end up in the ditch a mile down the road.

We've been blessed with some snow in the pas few days. There's about 5+ inches of snow accumulating outside. Everything is winter white. The sun is showing its ugly face this morning, but the forecast says there's going to be more snow in the next couple days. I'm crossing my fingers for my FIRST white Christmas.

The snow is just starting here. Shovels are ready. Found all the gloves and hats. Expecting a foot by morning. Got a couple good movies to watch between shoveling details.

Second round of shovelling just completed - I'd say 25cm (about 10 inches) total but some drifts much higher.

Same as highthief. We're supposed to get another 5-25cm early next week too.

way too damn much here for me.
It set a single day record with 19.4 inches up in Spokane and we had something comparable down here 80 or so miles south
used to the Willamette Valley where it snows at most 2-3 inches every 2-4 years and lasts no longer than a few days. Icy roads are a bigger problem there. Moronic drivers plague this area, helped by the large college crowd.

well, it turned out to be a genuine nor-easter here.
the wind's been screaming off the ocean all night.
this morning finds about 10" of snow out there apparently.
i can't really tell because the wind has blown most of it somewhere else.

We never get snow in Florida. :/ Although this morning there was some crazy fog that has since cleared up.

NOT TRUE!!! :D

Somewhere I have a picture of my dad on his skis out in front of his parents' house in Clearwater in trace amounts, hamming it up. It was in the late 70s, I think.

it made to the Guiness book of world records when it snowed in Orlando back in '77

I saw your snow report above, Speed_Gibson, and the regional weather report on NWCN has mentioned your neck of the woods a few times--I do not envy you.

I know about that Guinness record. :P

I'm just saying I've personally never seen it, and I've lived in Florida all my life. It would be nice if we got some snow though, the heat can get old.

Three snow 'events' ago, (as the weather people call them)

I was standing in line at the grocery store listening to an ancient couple
arguing.

Mildred was vehemently insisting that it was too cold to snow.
Earl was determined to convince her otherwise.

The temp that day was 7 degrees Farenheit.

We received 5 or 6 inches of snow that evening.
It reminded me of the faux snow I used to see in store fronts,
that waxy, soapy whatever they used back in the 60's

The street lights and then the morning sun, made
that dry snow sparkle like mica diamonds.

You could see the flakes as individuals, yet all nestled together.

Today the wind is having fun do its sculpting bit.

We had our first snows in the valley this week with about a foot Friday and another 6-8 inches today. This seems a little early for large snowfalls here. The exception was Christmas day 2003 or 2004 where we had a major snowtorm with maybe 2 feet of snow. I ended up driving home from my in-laws in the storm. The normal drive is about an hour. It took me about 2 hours that Christmas and no sign of snoplows anywhere. We get most of our snow in January and February most years.

So pictures after this week's snow here dec_20_2008 Photo Gallery by David Wootton at pbase.com

I remember that year. We were living in Michigan and my dad was working on a project in Orlando for the winter. My mom and I flew down to visit him thinking we would get away from the snow. Needless to say it was a shock seeing snow there.

We just got 7 more inches in the last day. This gives us a total of 92 inches or 7.67 feet of snowfall this season. We are fortunate that the snow we receive is lake effect snow, which is very fine and dry. It is not as heavy to shovel and we have not gotten much wet/freezing rain that causes the snowbanks to become icebanks. The snowbank across the street from our driveway is taller than I am (5'5") and the kids are using it for sledding even. The snow does seem to compact after sitting for a couple days. It makes it seem like less, until you try to shovel it. It's so dense then that you can almost cut bricks out of it. The ski hills here are GREAT. This kind of snow makes a smooth surface that isn't quite a bruising to fall on as other places where the surface turns to ice. I'm loving it so far. The average is around 300" each winter. We're a little ahead of schedule so we may go over that. I'll have to report on my feelings on it after we hit the 200+ mark.

We got about 12-14" over the course of 36 hours. This was immediately followed by a steady rain for several hours and topped off with temps around 12F.

We have well over a foot now, plus ice from the freezing rain mixed with it.
I took the shovel to clear a walkway yesterday, and sort of measured it.

Bottom: 1 inch solid ice
Middle: over a foot snow
Top: 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch ice

Sounds like our last 2 days. Getting the ice chopped off the windshield was tricky this morning. Walking around outside at work was a chore. Just trying to keep my footing was hard, let alone carrying stuff.