Snow and More Snow

Hi Lynlych,

I did because we suppose to talk about snow and its consequences. The story is acceptable but nothing to do with the blog. Here is the "confusion"!

I am surprised that one word or small sentence can create so much turmoil and emotional discomfort? My style is the trouble! Who knows?

When I receive the free newspaper from Washington, I will be without confusion or be not confused, Gil.

Why don't you try the Internet? I'm sure the Washington Post has a web site and more than likely it's free. Why should anyone from down here waste the time or energy to mail some to you for your curiosity?

The post contained wording with relationship to the thread subject...

Gill

Neither Michigan (where the pictures were said to be from) or Alaska (where the picture are from) are on the east coast. Plus the picture was taken in Spring time thus no snow.

Washington DC is having a hard time because: one they have never received this much snow average snow fall around 6" a year, and two lack of equipment, supplies, and trained personnel. Most of the plowing was done by non-union private contractor.

Why worry about the US doesn't Canada have enough of it's own problems to worry about?

Hi John,

So nothing is true! Sorry to touch you somewhere you don't like. Don't react, it will be funny for many.

Why do you refuse help? I was in your country and found people lovely. Why you don't put yourself at the right place?

If you don't like other people and Canadians, don't tell to nobody. Just for your information, the lovely people called and accepted others to help Oppenheimer to participate to the Manhattan Project, which allowed to be here today as we are. I am happy to be as I am, and you have learn to love others too, Gil.

Hi Gil

OK. I just have a few questions concerning your statement:

What's not true? What didn't I like? What will be funny?

When did I refuse help? Right Place?

Where did I imply I didn't like Canada or Canadians or any other group of people?

What does the Manhattan Project have to do with snow removal in DC?

Are you on drugs? Are you off your meds? You really need to see someone. With your health care system it should be free to recieve mental health care right? Maybe you should look into it.

With Concern John

Hi John,

Thanks for the single "l". Makes a big difference between man and woman.

You already explained to us that the pictures were no relation to DC snowings.

When is 25" or more snow falling within 24 hours, is creating hard time to everyone. I agree with you but I never complained about it. We do what's necessary and possible to do. Point "a la ligne". Someone already said that in the past the same place was invaded with so much snow, and people survived. It's only frozen water with some inconveniences.

I answered to help people need to clean steps. I suggedted to use showel. Also, you want everyone to be perfect and ready to everything. If it happens the same in Toronto, we have the same trouble than you. When you use "non-union private contractor"s, the work is done but takes time. Be patient!

Your attitude indicates.

You have to accept others, this is what I want to tell. If you read my comments, I don't criticize the person. I disagree with her/his opinion. It makes a big difference, isn't it? If you don't catch the "Manhattan Project", read all participant's life and contributions.

Again, you are furious and treat me as you would like to see. Forget your wants and needs and be realistic with your comments, recommendations, and corrections. My mental health is find and I have others are laughing and falling down from their chairs. John, it's good to talk to you, Gil.

NB: Thanks for the last and careful sentence, about "with concern". Well done, you improve yourself. Thanks again!

Hi Gil

The use of "I" was to refer to myself since that is who you where talking to. I'm a little confused and concern that you can't figure out that I'm a man. I don't know of any women name John but I guess you never know.

I never said you complained. Again I confused and concerned where are you pulling this from.

Again what snow? It was an interesting number pictures of moose on some one yard in the early spring time.

Still confused. How do you determine attitude from a blog? I feel I've been pretty neutral and little bit concern because of some of the none sense you have been telling us. Next time I'll use the smiley faces.

I have read you comments and most are way out of here. Still missing the reference about the "Manhattan Project" and snow removal problems in DC. I know the "Project" supposedly took place in Philly on a naval ship and it had to do something with time travel during the late 40's. I don't see the connection. Please explain.

I'm "furious" again how can you tell? I didn't put adown or anything. At first I was just making neutral statements, but after your replies your blogging has really gone over the edge I've become confused and concerned.

I sure hope no one been laughing at your odd behavior but I guess to each his own.

With Concern John

Wire - have you got that for real ? If so, I hate you so much. Would more or less kill to see that in the morning. Dammit...that is so cool. You lucky, lucky ******* ! If it's a friends, please go and kill them - fit of jelouasy going on in Britland.. Way cool.

Ya see that mother moose dead eye stare, reminds of Clint "feel lucky" "make my day

Just think of Yul Brynner in Westworld......run, wire, run !

Bwire

Take a look in the back ground you'll see geraniums flowering in pots.

About the only place in the US that would have flowers in Feb would be the deep south Florida Keys, etc.

Beside Moose drop ther young in early spring mid-May early June.

Neat picture though.

Maryland is my home state not now but I was birthed and raised there and I remember this type storm once and having a thirteen foot deep drift in the backyard a little bit north of Baltimore between the Big and Small Gunpowder rivers.

I live 50 miles north of Philly. In the Lehigh Valley by Allentown PA. It still amazes me with just 50 miles how much difference the weather can be. The last two storms we received less then Philly. Normally we are the ones that get clobbered. In the city they have 13ft snow piles from stacking the snow.

Ohhh wooowsers, there's Mrs. CaptMoosie and our BABY!!!! yuukk yukkkk

Ain't he cute??????!!!!!!!

Signed, a "PROUD PAPA"

You are not entitled to your own theory.

Absolute rubbish!

bwire is entitled to whatever theories he likes.

In fact, he even has evidence for his.

You persist in the appeal to authority rather than scientific fact.

In 1972, the Club of Rome published their paper "Limits to Growth". The world's premier scientists confidently predicted that the world's population had reached it's limit and that mass starvation would occur sometime in the 1980's.

Not only did it not happen, but world food supply expanded at an unprecedented rate and famine only occurred when politics caused it, not limits to the food supply.

In 1972, your reasoning would have clearly stated that no one had a right to come to any other conclusion than that of the Club of Rome's one.

Science progresses by people challenging the majority view and the current trend to try and suppress dissent is worrying and definitely "anti science".

Hi Sceptic,

Don't worry! Everyone has an opinion, only an opinion, and not necessarily the truth. Everyone and every organization wants to be a prophet. Many people predicted the "End of the World". Everybody knows that "it will occur" but nobody knows the date. We are lucky, we will be here tomorrow!!! Please, laugh! For every predictor, the date is the most important because any other way, there is no punch in the prediction! It's simple!

So! Everyone has a theory or two, depending of the will to create some or a major mental or psychic turbulence. Also, everyone defends its theory but there is no harm to learn about others' theories, judged good or bad. Again, it's just an opinion, Gil.

Hi Roger,

I just read the comments and swallow certain direct observations like "cyclic climate changes". Bwire was there, already two or three times. Bwire measured the temperature everywhere, km by km or mile by mile. How long ago? About 7 to 10,000 years ago! Also, Bwire has the complete knowledge about the cause-and-effect situations, each time and why occured such ways.

One side all measurements are wrong or non credible, and the opposite side everything is realistic and exact. What kind of opinion we create with those affirmations?! The whole world is reading these illusions to roar with laughter.

Today we correct "physical" blindness but we cannot and never will be able to correct "mental" blindness.

Inquisition existed for centuries and I believe that certain people, including you Bwire, want it today. Poor Jordano paid his "scientific" knowledge with his life. What kind of "error" was it!? The reality came out anyway, just little bit later!

Stay on the science side up to my last day, Gil.

typical argument with a plethora of detail but no smoking gun...tell the whole story not just the part that supports your theories

I use science, I like it but I don't like false flags or intellectual perversions...

Show me the evidence regarding mankind's influence of the climate and how it relates to CO2 and specific of CO2 detail the testing models used and the equipment to produce same...Don't use equipment designed for measuring heat of Terra firma to measure gases instead do it right this time.

or

go back to the calculator; the one that makes the information read how you want it to.

Hi Bwire,

Congratulations! You handle the English language extremely well, and this is your problem. You tell us a half of a page of explanation without nothing in, just accusations that no one knows except you what's happening around the world. This is not to tell that I am right!

First, answer to my question. Did you visited Baffin Island or Antarctica in two different times, in the 50s or 60s and now, and what was your observations?

Your answer will determine what's around us and why is that way!

Wait for your response, Gil.

You didn't read post #233 eh?

Seems these very observations have been recorded but no suprise the evidence doesn't support your view

Hi Bwire,

You just confirmed that "you are right and everyone is wrong". My question rest without answer, so we have nothing to tell each other. I let you with yourself, Gil.

Hi Bwire,

I already suggested but it's good for you too: visit Baffin Island in Canada, in the North in July and ask a picture of the same area 50 years ago, and compare. The Canadian government has this images. It's very eloquent if not devastating to see about the today's lack of ice compare to the old picture.

Also, when you are in the big North in July, ask the innuits: How they like the today's weather? In January, ask them: How is the today's fishing?

They will surprise you! They cannot walk in July because the permafrost melting and everything getting soft. In the winter there is not enough snow to build an igloo. It's amasing the change, which is not a change for "many" because the "many" do not stay on the right place to see what must be seen, Gil.

Hi Roger,

I just tell "Mica Who" that he force others to tell words we never us between us. I hope he will understand!? Again, he votes aginst the logic. He helps people don't need help and don't want to help epople around who really needs help.

The life of people is a constant war, just inside but never outside to show people she/he is valueable with this opinion. I would like to see his involvement later on, let say in 5 or 10 years down the road, when we have difficulties with crops because the higher temperature, less clean water availableor invasion of funny insects eating green nature before we can.

Your explanations are perfect but don't try to convert him to your stats. He is a resistant to higher level of education, Gil.

Mean temperatures are rising

We have the medieval warm period warmer than now (Grapes in Eastern Canada, vineyards in England, Melt water from the Tibetan glaciers greater than now etc).

Middle of the millennium (roughly) there is a mini ice age.

Temperatures would be expected to rise during the 20th and early 21st centuries.

This has no bearing on anthropogenic warming.

Ice is receding everywhere on earth

Actually, it is increasing in Antarctica and the Greenland glaciers are thickening.

It should be noted that the North West passage was open in 1903/4 when it was sailed by Amundsen. It has only now got back to that.

Every major scientific association says global warming is real and man is the cause

This is a factual, scientific proof?

In Galileo's time, almost the entire scientific establishment believed the sun rotated around the earth. The inquisition banned Galileo under pressure from the scientific establishment. They had previously been mildly favorable to a heliocentric view.

NASA has been precisely tracking temperatures for 4 decades now and the trend is getting worse

Look at the raw data and a different picture emerges.

The atmosphere should heat up ahead of the surface if CO2 is the cause of global warming. It didn't. Instead it has usually lagged surface measurements.

The stratosphere cooled during this time. If this is due to increased CO2 absorbing energy before it gets to the stratosphere, then it is absorbing to extinction or nearly so. In that case increased CO2 will only shorten the extinction distance, not increase the total amount absorbed.

The UN IPCC says global warming is real and man is the cause

The IPCC also include dissenters as "contributors", without any indication that they dissented.

This is a dishonest and a misuse of peer review.

The IPCC report is a political document.

Many scientists who have participated are very critical of the IPCC procedures and the resulting reports.

An appeal to authority, while it may be psychologically satisfying, does not constitute either scientific evidence or a scientific argument.

Climate models predict stronger hurricanes and we're seeing stronger hurricanes

Prior to Katrina, the US weather service stated that increased hurricane activity and strength had no relationship to global warming. I don't know their current position, but if different it is a recent change.

Then AGW climate models did not predict the increased cold weather activity now being experienced and required hurried modification after last year to try and accommodate this. I'm not sure how good they have got it.

Ocean levels are rising

Really?

Selected tidal stations show rises, but they all seem to be in subsidence prone areas.

World wide, there is no net sea level rise. In fact, many 18th and 19th century low water marks cut into rocks are now above sea level at normal low tide. This could, of course, be to land having risen, but there seems no indication that that is the correct explanation.

Of course, this evidence is not popular with Pacific Island nations who see the truth removing subsidies they are trying to get both the UN and the developed world to give them as compensation.

http://www.climatecooling.org/globalcoolingdocuments/NilsAxelMornerinterview.pdf

According to Nils Axel Morner (an acknowledged expert in sea level rise), not only are levels not rising, but outright fraud and interference has taken place to make it look as though they have.

In addition:

The base for world CO2 levels is taken from Moana Loa - an active volcano, within spitting distance of several other active volcanoes.

Does this seem like sound practice to you? Especially when there are many other station readings available.

Not only that, but when the ice core readings from Siple didn't agree with Moana Loa, 83 years was added to the ice core dating to make them fit! Is this sound science? It isn't in my book.

No satisfactory justification for the Siple correction has ever been advanced, apart from the necessity to make them fit Moana Loa.

If other stations agree with Moana Loa, why isn't one of them used as base? In fact examining the records from other stations, they don't fit the hypothesis as well as Moan Loa, so that is the base.

Have CO2 levels increased steadily from pre industrial times?

Figure 2

The above from http://www.warwickhughes.com/icecore/

a paper by Dr Zbignew Jaworowski, is self explanatory.

Measured pre industrial CO2 levels average over 350ppm, not the less than 290ppm used as a base by the anthropogenic global warming fraternity, who prefer to use proxy measurements, but then cut them out at 1960, because they start to go the wrong way relative to measured values.

As the climate-gate papers show, there is no indication given in the papers where this is done, the proxy data is simply left out, because it is an inconvenient truth. This is not sound scientific practice.

This sort of rigging is actually at the heart of Michael Manns "hockey stick". It has very poor agreement with historical records of climate and climatic effects.

With "science" like that, there is no wonder people are suspicious of AGW.

I could go on, the anomalies in the quoted evidence are many and the general answer when challenged is this meaningless appeal to authority - "Most scientists believe it" - rather than a factual response.

To the theory of AGW. It only exists in computer models which have been written on the assumption that AGW is fact (climate-gate source code demonstrates this), but where is the actual science? Only in a carefully selected collection of evidence, not in the full picture.

Hi Micahd02,

The word "idiot" was mentionned only by you. Just you can adjust your critical point of view. Second, the word "imbecillic" doesn 't exist in the English language and sorry for your French accent.

Forget any scientific document from us. If you need one: Contact your local government office, division about climate change, wait for two to three months and I don't promise a correct answer or answer at all.

Don't push people around on any subject to satisfy your needs because your needs ans wants - very personnel - will be not for the general public and never will be exhausted.

If you want to see climat change, call the Canadian government and ask for a picture in July of the same place in Baffin Island today and 50 years back. I think your opinion about Al Gore and other cranks will be little bit different, Gil.

NB or Post Criptum: With all goivernments you need to be patient and wait, wait, and do it again. Don't forget to use very soft words with them!

If you want to see climat change, call the Canadian government and ask for a picture in July of the same place in Baffin Island today and 50 years back. I think your opinion about Al Gore and other cranks will be little bit different, Gil.

Not if research 1050 years though...

If you want to see climate change, call the Canadian government and ask for a picture in July of the same place in Baffin Island today and 50 years back

If yo go back about 100 years to when Amundsen sailed the NW passage, you will get something similar to today.

Hi Sceptic,

The NW passage and the glacier are "two different things". The few metres of ice on water melts rapidly compare, you can add El Nino, the a few hundred metres of ice when is a glacier. We have on Earth changes. Temperature, CO2 containt, acidity level, and other pollutants causing variations. You think that in year 1050 the pollution make sick millions of people. The human killers were different from today's difficulties we have. Tabacco, overeating, taking pills for everything, and using chemicals everywhere. In those years we don't have these things but other natural calamities took place to control the numbers, plus the constant wars everywhere.

Concerning the subject of too much snow around the US capital because we in Toronto, we don't receive snow for years or just a touch. What was the situation in the 50s or 60s? We have lots of snow in Toronto at that times. Let us know, Gil.

Hello Bwire,

I understand that you don't want to involve the Earth's population, the human part of the Planet because you are part of it and you want to be clean and not guilty. It's a good human value but we are the cause of everything happens good or bad on this Earth, isn't it? We harvest on the surface to survive. We scratch deeply to get what we want to give something nice to our girlfriend or sometimes the wife. Yes, I talk about pressed "Carbon", well polished. Why we dont let there wher they are? Someone kills someone else to get what the other possessed. This is good too. Yes, we do these things, you can read in the newspapers every day. These are the human activities and many others I don't want to relate. On these words, wish you a good reflection time and let us know the results, Gil.

Hi Rodger

I asked about how to get rid of it not it's cause. While were on the subject though if the same scientists had lived through the molten ball of the earth creation, the trees of Antarctica, freeze of the last ice age they would most likely be in agreement that the earth is cooling. Is the Earth subject to climate change of course it is. We have data that shows those changes over the span of billions of years. What the big question is are we responsible for the change we see now? Or is it some other yet to be unidentified cause. We are what they believe to be a period leading up to in which the magnetic poles swap. There was also a report on the increase of Mars temperature. We as a specie have only been here a short while. Records of what time we have spent are even shorter. I agree we should be concerned about the amount of pollution we dump in our environment. We do have to live here. I question though the media on trying to sell their goods, some politicians in using it as a platform and some of our scientist for their own recognition on what I see as a scare tactic to motivate the mankind to do some thing about it.

You Wrote:"I question though the media on trying to sell their goods, some politicians in using it as a platform and some of our scientist for their own recognition on what I see as a scare tactic to motivate the mankind to do some thing about it."

Of course you do. What you don't seem to understand is the reason you believe that has more to do with your own deficiencies than it has anything to do with reality. I mean, your paragraph was barely coherent, how in your right mind do you think you know what your talking about?

And my name is Roger, not Rodger.

Which are you the media, the politician, or the scientist looking for recognition. Because my statement on them hit a cord that now you attack my ability to reason. Sound like you have been getting good at defending your conclusions with character assassination.

You Wrote:"Which are you the media, the politician, or the scientist looking for recognition?"

I'm the Scientist who has now spent decades learning his craft and still is humbled on the regular by what he doesn't know. So when I see fools blabbering on self confidently about something they have only a superficial knowledge of, while at the same time denouncing the majority of the scientific community and their findings as "biased", I am motivated to speak.

I speak because you need to know that you have no idea what your talking about.

You are right about one thing though, you and your ilk do strike a nerve with me. I can't stomach you "entitled" people.

You believe simply because you're self-aware and conscious that your opinion should mean something, whether it's informed or not. Such a foolish, unwarranted sense of entitlement drives me up the wall.

"I'm the Scientist who has now spent decades learning his craft"

So that gives you the right to think for everyone else and no one is capable but you? You sound like the angry and mad scientist who has worked for decades to have his work ignored. Don't think your going to find the recognition your looking for here.

"You are right about one thing though, you and your ilk do strike a nerve with me. I can't stomach you "entitled" people."

That as I see it from your many posts is every one that can't agree with you. Can't handle anyone opposing your mind set. So you turn to belittling them. Seems to me you have a problem maybe you should have it checked by a professional.

"You believe simply because you're self-aware and conscious that your opinion should mean something, whether it's informed or not. Such a foolish, unwarranted sense of entitlement drives me up the wall."

Fits you very well don't even like yourself.

So to recap. I think you're an idiot because you don't believe in Global Warming despite scientific consensus and overwhelming evidence. You think I'm a self loathing jerk because I think you're an idiot for not believing in Global Warming. Fair enough.

No what would be fair if you cut all the belittling of those that do not agree with you.

Your wholly then thou attitude is unbecoming of any one in any station of life no matter what they do. If you criticize people too much they will not want to listen when you do have something to say of importance.

Nothing in what it wrote said whether I believe in Global Warming you made that assumption. What I did say is I question the motives of those that have brought this to the worlds attention. Are they trying to help us or themselves?

Whether your a self loathing jerk is not for me to agree to only you can answer that.

As to what you think of me I could care less.

If someone told you tonight the sun was gone because it was night time, and you tried to explain to them that it would be back the next day and tried to explain the rotation of the earth and all that, and he refused to believe you, you would tolerate his "opinion"?

Of course not. The problem isn't me here, it's that you don't understand how ridiculous what your saying is.

Your making it me vs you. It has nothing to do with me, I'm just the messenger. It's you against NASA, APS, ACS, AMS, IPCC, etc.

Do you think by belittling him and calling him names he will be more acceptable to reason? With that attitude you will never get him to see reason because he will not be listen. You can't read his mind. As soon as someone opposes you go belittling them. As soon as you do that you loose them because they shut you off. That is what you are doing. It is you its not NASA, APS , ACS, IPCC, etc. It is your tactics in question in putting forth the information not them.

Hi Roger,

What the heck is talking to us this human being from "down under"? They have excess of burning threes every year. Excess of animals with some pocket in front of their bellies and jumping here and there, and I can talk about crocodiles too. They are invaded by people coming from immerged islands, and they don't like them. They have problems with aborigen people and probably with Chinese immigration. There are many problem in his country and he suggest to us, to a smooth and no proble continent, to tell someone knowledgeable to keep it silent. Man, in your "down under" make some clean-ups and then come to tell us what you would like to do for us. Measure the temperature and the level of your ocean every week and compare the variations, yes in Melbourne or best in Darwin. Also, check the temperature in every capital of every country and compare the measurements for at least for 5 years. We have to compare our findings, Gil.

"The threat of environmental crisis will be the 'international disaster key' that will unlock the New World Order." -- Mikhail Gorbachev

Sticking to the party line...?

Here in NW Pa, where we almost never see the 30" snows, but get 1" to 4" nearly everyday from Dec.1 to Mar.1 thanks to lake Erie, we do just what you suggest on the side roads. (major US highways are treated with salt until they uncover) Unless we get a short thaw, as we did mid January, the road surfaces stay covered and are coated with some sand/gravel. We run on them just fine. I have a 1 mile 20% grade hill to transverse to get to and from work, and have had to go another route only three times so far this season. However, we seldom get above 28 degrees F during that time period, and spend many, many days below 20 degrees. Statistics show we have less sunny days here than Seattle. Where you are, I suspect the temps get a bit higher and you get a lot more sun during the winter. This will cause a problem with the snow slushing up and not staying packed. Once the sun finds a thin spot in the snow, the melting starts, even at 20 degrees F.

I just got to work on 4 miles of side road, all packed snow covered. I'll go home that way tonight, maybe. We are expecting some sunny periods today, which may melt off enough snow to give us a "two track" road.

Hi Phys,

You have to understand nature, staistics, and what's around you. You never should say; "We almost never see". When you put the word "almost", that means to everyone that it already happened but you personally could be under influence or absent of your place at that time but it happened already. Do you catch me? Fine! So, now you and me, and I am not involving other people to our differences, we are knowing that 30" snow was already there. Was 32" the last time that happened? It's fine for me. For the rest you are very precise. It's very good! Go home slowly because inpredictable slipping situations could happen. Be safe, Gil.

Okay - substitute "it seldom happens here" in lieu of the "almost never see". Oh, and I wasn't there.

Before I moved to this area of PA there were some 40" plus snows. (back when the storms came up the coast much more inland then they do now - back when Toronto got a lot of snow every year - back when central PA got at least 3 storms over 24" each year). In the last 10 years, I have seen accumulations well in excess of 30" here during a week, but more than half the total did not come directly from the storm. It came from good old Lake Erie not being frozen over. (lake effect snow or lake defect as I call it). I certainly see 30" plus accumulations in my yard every year here, except this one at this time, from the lake defects over the course of the winter. (we average 82"/year and there is possibly as much as 6 more weeks where a 30" accumulation could occur)

Going slowly to my home is not a problem with the latest generation of "traction assist" installed on cars. The auto engineers now have the processor limit the maximum engine RPM when the tires start to spin too much. This creates a wonderful situation when you get half way up a hill and the engine is only turning 750 RPM with the accelerator pinned to the floor. Have you had the (dis) pleasure of driving one of them in poor traction situations?

Quit you're sniveling

Hi Phys,

Before you reach the hill, pot your gear on low, and the trick is done. You will arrive peacefully and secure without pushing the accelerator's pedal to the floor. Try it! It's much easier than you think. Let me know your experience, Gil.

God must have a sense of humor- Global warming- sorry some one else rules the weather. And well Washington keeps giving us snow jobs- about time they got a snow job back.

Hi MSsteel1,

Call Obama's office and they have to hiring individual workers, give them a shovel and designate each in a specific location to eliminate snow from roads and walkways. This is a good, if not an excellent (I wait for the "Nobel Prize" of individual suggestors in snowy conditions) idea to eliminate jobless people from situations that is not convanient for many. If the government can supply snowblowers, it fine and the job will done faster, Gil from another snowy place but without any problem with that situation.

Up here outside of Toronto, when there is great volumes of plowed snow to be disposed of, it usually will get trucked to an open field of some sorts, parks, dumps, even some large parking lots.

Getting snow is not "lucky". Once you get beyond 3rd or 4th grade the thrill of getting out of school for a snow day pales in comparison to the cold wet misery brought by that crap. Give me warm weather, sunshine, a nice beach, a cool drink with a little umbrella...

Hello Guest,

If you get your wishes for 365 days a year, your life will be boring and you will ask for 31 and half inches of snow. Your dream is accepted but someone else decides different way and you will call us to change again. This story will continue and never ends. Let the water come down the way is decided, vapour and we are sweating, liquid and we use umbrellas, or solid we handle showels. Choose but don't tell me that no one is convenient for you. With love from a snowy land, Gil.

DC and North seems to get all the news but here in the Shenandoah Valley we've had an aggregate 60"+ since mid December. Fortunately we had a short thaw between two major storms so figuring out where to put the stuff has not been much of a problem so far.

The last year I lived in Nashua, NH, circa 1992 I think, we had record snowfalls and our snowblowers couldn't blow far enough. We ended up as a neighborhood shoveling roadside and driveway-side piles into open areas to make room for more. The city dumped snow into the Nashua and Merrimack Rivers.

Our roadside mailboxes were totally inaccessible so we went to the hardware stores and bought 2x4 studs and rural metal mailboxes. After securing the boxes to the boards we would shove them into the snowdrifts nearby the buried boxes. As the snow built up or melted we could adjust them in and out to accommodate the mail carriers. We could also take them in during snowstorms so the plows wouldn't take them out.

Unfortunately, here in the Valley, I don't have the snow moving equipment I had in NH so I've moved most of that 60"+ of snow by old fashioned snow shovel. Oh, my aching back.

Hooker

My sympathies, Hooker. I live in Fairfax (you know where that is, I'm certain) and we've only had about 36 inches of snow (ONLY?) (So far!) (This is a record winter, for us!) but I've always wondered how much worse you folks over toward the Harrisonburg - Winchester line got it. And I wonder how an old city like Staunton is dealing with it? I was pretty sure that you folks over nearer God's country got more of it, but of course, when its like this, I don't venture over into your neck of the woods to look, either. Thanks for the update.

BTW, one of my neighbors, up the hill, went out and bought an electric snowblower. THAT"LL sit for a long time after this winter! And my wife commented that we should have bought a truck with a plow before the storm, and we could have paid it off. I replied that I wouldn't have done that till after the storm, at which point it would be like "market timing" the stock market. I would have got it AFTER the need, when the price was on the way down, because the demand was on the way down. And with my luck, next winter would be balmy.

Nope, I shovel mine by back labor, also. Not as much, but then, I sit at a desk all day, so I'm probably not in as ready a shape as you for doing it. But my sympathies (I CAN sympathise, having been there!), and I hope you get out and around soon.

Me, my wife, my daughter? We're all suffering cabin fever. Farthest we've been able to go between storms is to WalMart. And there's just so much Wallie World I can take at one time!

Heya Micah, yeah I know Fairfax fairly well. I lived in suburban Maryland for a bunch of years. Even during the President's Day blizzard of Feb, '82 I believe. We didn't get out of the Rockville neighborhood for almost a week on that one.

I live in the little town of Grottoes, in the shade of the Blue Ridge about 10 miles SE of Harrisonburg. The town has done quite well on the plowing considering its size. The counties in general have done very well, IMO. Harrisonburg and Staunton are whining about budgets and equipment breakage but they're getting along.

The schools have mostly been closed for the last week or two. I learned that the school districts have their own plowing equipment!!!!! It's mostly light duty crap that constantly breaks down and is unavailable. So they close the schools because they can't get their own parking lots cleared.

Winchester got more than us in the latest storm but we gots lots more than them in the previous two storms. Now, it's the western slopes of the Appalachians that are really getting clobbered. As pretty as it is, I'm glad I don't live on that side of the Valley.

I sure wish I could figure out which pile of snow my motorcycle is under!!

Hooker

"I sure wish I could figure out which pile of snow my motorcycle is under!!"

I lived 5,000 feet up on the Western Sierra Nevadas as a kid and WE never had this problem

We just waited for the big snow augers to come through and find it. You knew they had when you heard the loud clang and the grunching sound that followed, before it fell out on top of a pile of snow!

Wasn't worth much after that, though. Never did understand why they rode so weird afterward.

Hooker,

When did you move over to the civilized side of the valley? I used to live up by Island Ford (Now, there's a thriving metropolis!).

Hi Hooker,

Put your shovel in the basement of your house as historical object and go to buy a John Deere snowblower on which you can sit, smoke a cigar or other mouth filling and burning pleasures, and do the cleaning work without endangering your back.

So many things to help the mail carriers. Finally, he will ask for salary increase because the people around the town do too much things, so she/he will exploit this volonty to turn into a personal advantage.

No thanks for the suggestion, it's your money and I want only to help people without ideas, Gil.

Good day Gil. Can you explain how to get that John deere to clean those steps?

Hi Bob,

Your public opinion, the comment, will force me to meet John Deere and company to elaborate to satisfy the needs of some people in desire to clean there steps. I will suggest to the mentionned company or others to add an element or component to be able to clean what they want. Forget the cost! We, you and me, don't pay a cent for it! It's their needs and their costs, Gil.

We do steps with a skid-loader an rotary brush...

If a rotary brush were used with those articulated arms which allow mowing on embankments more steps could be reached and the equipment year round service...

Hi Bwire,

Please, talk to your local John Deere representative and organize a meeting with top marketing and technical people and solve this problem: How to clean steps?

All the best, and if you need help, just contact me, I will be vigilant and try to suggest some genial idea, Gil.

I suppose if one was VERY careful one could clear snow from steps with a Hydra-mower, but.... be very very careful.

You can always truck it to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, where they have no snow and 50 F weather. Global warming in all its glory.

Hi John,

Don't worry! We, Canadians, are smart people and can talk with higher authorities to get what we need. If satisfaction doesn't come, we comtact our friends in the South, and Obama will send us everything we need because we supply gas, oil, lumber, and other thing for just little, and snow is just cold water. You see: We get our "Gold Medal" like you get the day before. It's question of time, Gil.

I used to live in Amsterdam New York, which is along the Mohawk River about 30 miles east of Albany, the Capital. Amsterdam is a relatively small old industrial city with many narrow streets. It also has some very wide streets, but the houses sit quite close to the streets and have relatively small green space, hence no place to store excess snow once you've plowed the street. Then, to compound things, the City Ordinance requires residents to clear the city sidewalks. And if you have off-street parking you usually clear the driveway as well.

Amsterdam gets a lot of snow practically every Winter....well in excess of 75 to 90-inches per winter if I remember correctly. So when the city gets a lot of snow in a short time due to repeated snow storms, the result is piled-up mountains of snow along the streets, with a lot of it encroaching on the carriageway. To compound the problem residents usually throw the snow out into the street, which was made illegal by municipal ordinance the year I because the City Engineer there.

I remember the first year I was the City Engineer we had a horrible Winter, with repeated large snow storms occurring every 3 or 4 days apart for period of a month and half!!!! My Dept. of Public Works crews couldn't keep up the pace after a while just doing snow plowing and clearing the streets as best a s we could.Many of the DPW crews were pulling 19 or 20 hours a day. Now, that's a lot of OT! If fact, some guys were told to go home and rest, otherwise they'd work 24/7 just to make the huge amounts of OT money

which they called "Pennies from Heaven" whenever it snowed. It was so bad that winter, even I was working over 75 to 80 hours a week....aminly by being out with the DPW crews or driving around in my City vehicle making first hand condition surveys of the streets, usually at night. During that winter I rarely saw my first wifeand my kiddies because I was working so much. Heck, I was even down to the DPW garage in the morning to take report and give the crews their daily work assignments! And on top of all that, I had to run the City Engineer's office as well as report to the powers that be. Anyway, the snow usually reached 20 feet or more on huge streetside piles along some of the wider streets that had housing close to the curbside. It was quite unbelievable! And to compound problems was the spacing of the storms in short cycles that prevented much needed truck and plow repairs not to even mention snow-chain replacements. During this period of heavy snowfall in 1995, our ancient 1970 Sno-Go truck kept breaking down, especially the one-piece auger. Usually took 3 days to get a replacement auger from Syracuse if the auger got bent. Sometimes we got lucky and the auger just riped open and could be welded....thank God for a great bunch of mechanics! Once we got the Sno-Go up in running, even for a small period of time, we could cut and clear the snowbanks along the major thoroughfares first. Usually that didn't last long because of another snow storm or the equipment broke down again and again and again, or the DPW crews were just wiped out from lack of rest.

Next problem was where to put all the snow removed from the street??? We did have areas in the City where we could dump the removed snow. They were state owned lands along the railroad tracks and NYS highway that paralleled the Mohawk River, but soon those areas filled up too. And New York State would not permit us to dump the snow directly into the Mohawk River for obvious reasons: 1). Chlorine content from the rock salt was too high, (2). oil-based contaminants picked-up off the street surfaces was too high, (3). sand, gravel and other soils from street surfaces would increase the river water turbidity levels, and (4). household garbage always got left out in the snowbanks and buried and then found its way into the snow removal.

Following that year's storms I proposed to the Mayor and Aldermen that the 1970 Sno-go truck be repaired as best as we could and place it in a Reserve equipment capacity. I also asked them to allow me to go out to bid and obtain an airport sized gas-operated self-contained snow-thrower with quick-disconnect + a fairly large front end loader that would be solely dedicated to the snow-thrower unit during winter months. It's been nearly 15 years since the City received the equipment and as far as I know they're still using it (I haven;t worked for the City in many years). I do know that when I was with the city the new snow-thrower & CAT front end loader was a huge success in regards to snow removal efforts after we received it. Heck, even the DPW crews loved it, which says a lot when you're dealing with union employees that love to complain and grieve everything under the sun. Also, the residents were very happy since the DPW could remove snow from the clogged streets like nothing else before it......it was roughly capable of chewing up and removing some 15,000 wet/icy tons snow per hour!!!!

Just a short story how to really handle snow "up north"!!! *LOL* Hope this helps.......really, proper snow removal involves proper snow clearing and removal plans in place and properly implemented by the community's highway departments. Helps to get cars and other vehicles off dedicated "Emergency Snow Removal Routes/Corridor"....where if they don't remove the vehicles X hours after the beginning f a storm then they get towed at Owner's expense. This takes a lot of coordination between the DPW and the local Police Dept. Also, it helps to have "Odd/Even day parking rules" n affect and a part of a written municipal ordinance. Finally, you need to have the proper equipment at hand or in reserve + proper training of DPW crews on how to use the equipment and e-icing compounds, but more importantly, where and when to use equipment....to think outside of the box! Other than using large trucks for plowing, install plows on your fleets pickup trucks nd garbage trucks (like they do in NYC) and use your front end loaders and graters too!

Make sure your community has enough stockpiled sand and road salt on hand for the worse of winters. I've always argued this with politicians who are budget savvy, but I always argued that if you ordered too much and didn't use it during that winter, then it's available for the next winter, etc etc etc.

Have a great sunny day!!!!!!

Hello CaptMoosie,

What's happening? Many people are crying that it's too much of snow. You tell me that it's occuring often. Who tells the trouth here? I try to help them, those desperate people from the North.

Finally, I get out of ideas.

For your town of Amsterdam (Good name for beer!), you have to attack your town's promoters and construction permit distributors. The streets are not enough wide? Who is responsible for that? Attack them and with the money you can organize to equip your town with snowplowers and other toys.

We have horrible winter when the winter is horrible. Other way, we have good or just bad winter, for sure without excessive snow.

Here is the last idea! The name of the town is excellent for beer manufacturing. Beer is composed of more than 90% of water. Snow is water. Put into beer production and you can eliminate large part of the incinvenient snow! I am fantastic with this idea.

Hi Moosie,

To solve those problems you have to call Frederic Taylor to reorganize the workers schedules. When you don't do the right thing, nothing is done the correct way. Think right and do right! Absolutely, cal now and frederic will help you and everyone to do everything without effort or fatigue. Snow is snow everywhere, and I cannot catch why they have difficulties do the work without overtimes? This is too much to displace water from one area to another. This is my best suggestion for today, Gil.

Part of the problem is the folks running the equipment. I'm not knocking them personally, but they don't know how to plow snow. I grew up in New England and these last two storms we had would have been an inconvenience not paralysis. I was driving down I-97 this past Tuesday and couldn't help but notice the snow banks have not been pushed back. There were places where the snow banks were still intruding into the travel lanes, let alone the shoulders. And there were no obstructions to pushing the snow back. They just hadn't done it.

The early passes have to include the breakdown lane and the extreme left shoulder. If you don't do that, you won't have any place for the rest of the snow. But nobody has properly trained these operators. The first big storm of the season just before Christmas clearly showed the lack of experience in the operators. I was on the road late Friday and the roads were abysmal. And there was plenty of hardware on Rte 50, they just weren't doing it right. Another thing is, they drive too slow. You watch snow plows on the highways in New England, and they run them 35-40 mph. The folks down here were lucky if they were going 15-20. At the slower speeds the snow has no momentum and piles up closer to the side of the road. Once you reach a certain mass of snow, the trucks can no longer push it over or higher. Then you're done.

I did note that the operators seemed to be improving by the third storm yesterday. There is no substitute for experience and they seem to be improving. I can't help but think some training on heavy/deep snow removal would have helped.

In order to get rid of these volumes of snow, you need special equipment which these areas apparently do not have.

Off to the right of the main plow blade, but vertically above it, is a smaller wing blade. As the truck moves along the wing is raised and lowered by the passenger riding shotgun. The blade base must be raised and lowered to keep above guard rails, signs, and so on that abut the right edge of the road shoulder or breakdown lane.

By using this equipment, the roadway can be plowed right up to the limits of the paved surface thereby avoiding the problem of no place to put the snow.

You will see such equipment everywhere in New England.

It is important to stay ahead of the storm. Snow cannot be allowed to accumulate more than a few inches between passes. When it does, the apparatus cannot break through. You will see convoys of six of seven big time rigs riding along on all major interstates.

The other problem is that a 2 inches per hour, the exit ramp becomes impassable after a few hours. There is no way to keep up with the windrows that form when two travel lanes intersect.

The other problem, perhaps the biggest contributing factor is poor winter drivers (lack of experience). It only takes one because when he spins out, everyone else is stopped.

During the Blizzard of 1978, Route 128 (Interstate 95) between Waltham and Needham, MA was rendered completely impassable for over one week. People caught there slept in their cars until the National Guard finally dug them out.

Only about three feet, but the problem was car volume in this very busy stretch of roadway.

I agree, but the trucks I saw on the freeways during these last two storms in the Annapolis area were plenty big enough and they didn't need a side blade to push back the snow banks. The snow banks never got high enough. They just didn't push them back. I remember the Blizzard of '78. I was 15 yrs old then and learned to drive a 10-ton dump truck with a big blade plowing snow with a five speed manual and split rear axle. My older brother was an owner/operator and he and I did 48 hours straight working as a contractor for my hometown of Hingham. We would get a little catnaps in while in the shotgun seat. We had 33 inches at my house for that storm.

Yeah, but the plow operators in the Maryland, Virginia areas have never had to push the snow as far off the road as the more northernly plowers do. In an area where we get snow nearly daily for many weeks on end, every few days a really good cleaning of the berms is necessary, and the weekly build up must be pushed over the previous weeks build up. Our plow truck drivers around here (lake effects country) know what is along side the road to avoid and how far one can push before an unexpected 6" steel pipe some good old boy drove into the ground in front of his house for a combo mailbox/paper box/reflector support is struck. They've been there and done that. The plowers below the Mason Dixon have not memorized their limits since they probably have never been there. Danged if I were a plower if I'd want 100 people calling the state highway department because I'd cleaned off all mailboxes on a stretch of road. Doesn't happen to the north, cause our plow jockies know the edges of the roads. Land owners to the north also have learned not to put pipes/angle iron/concrete forms/whatever too close to a highway. Not so down there. Heck, a lot of the residents along our roads get out with their snow blower equipped tractors several times during storms ahead of the state plows and get the sides cleaned up while doing their driveways before it gets too deep. You can bet there is no such help down in Ma/Va/Del.

Was a little hard to get that experience around here until now.