The Weather Today…SNOW!
We don’t get
snow that often in New Jersey. Some
years we may get a storm every week, but most years we get only one maybe two
snow falls of eight inches of more. I’ve
been in a snow storm of eight inches in North Carolina, and it damn near closed
the state down for two days. Storms are
relatively rare down south, cities don’t budget for large storms and don’t
have the equipment to handle large storms…why would they?
In New
Jersey we are equipped for storms and we are prepared. At the first sign of a flake the salt brine
goes down on the major roads and the plows start to warm up. There are a lot of plows. In fact, while the south is underprepared for
a big storm, in New Jersey we are over-prepared and storms are over-hyped.
Three days
before a storm is predicted, everyone rushes to the supermarket for bread and
milk. I think in 1952 people went
without bread and milk for three days after a storm, and generations have sworn to never let
that happen again. Hardware stores have
a run on snow shovels and salt. I’ll
never understand this. A snow shovel
lasts about 100 years, why do people get a new one before every storm; the same
for salt. A large bag of salt should
last several years. Never-the-less
everyone gets salt and a new shovel before a storm. Milk, bread, salt and a shovel all are
stocked up on in NJ before a storm.
Snow blowers
are a luxury item and are also popular for a big storm. Most snow blowers
having sat in their garage unused for a year, never start. The best advice is to live next to a mechanic
who has a snow blower. Once those snow
blower owners get them started, they proudly clear every walk and driveway on
the block.
What amuses me the most when the storm does hit NJ, is all the TV weather men having
a snowgasm. They make their predictions,
show off their maps, stand outside and tell you it is snowing and it is cold,
and they demonstrate how high the snow is…like you could not just look out your
window and see for yourself. This broadcast is virtually ALL-DAY LONG.
Ah yes, a
snow storm in New Jersey. Schools close,
and we are told time and time again, “If
you don’t have to travel, stay home!”
We are told this by hundreds of politicians and weather people who managed to go to work. If it is so bad, why don’t they just appoint
one dude to tell you the weather and the rest of the politicians and weathermen
all stay home?
In a storm
last week, one man slipped on the ice, fell hard and sadly died; the storm was
immediately labeled a “Killer Storm.”
We love to
hype a snow storm in New Jersey. TV has
its obligatory video of a car spinning its wheels, and everyone tells you to
stay home, and if you must go out wear layered clothes and a hat…duh!
My
sister-in-law grew up in Buffalo. I
asked her if they hyped snow storms in Buffalo like we do in New Jersey. She told me growing up they would turn on the
local radio and hear,
“Snow today, school is open, you know
the drill. In other news…”
Stay safe
people, it is still winter.
Why do I feel so guilty these days with no snow on the ground? It's really unusual for us to not have any that I'm getting worried that there really is global warming and it's starting in Ohio. I'm also afraid that if this continues I won't remember how to drive in it. I'm a healthcare worker and believe me, no excuses for missing work. No matter what, we have to get to the hospital and for some reason our surgical patients always make it in...no one calls in sick or sicker when a storm hits. Take care in NJ and I'll be praying for you. (I could send you a loaf of bread too if you want)
ReplyDeleteI work for a national transcription company. A few years ago I was assigned to an account that had hospitals in the New Jersey area (I have since been moved to another account). I remember when I first got assigned to that account my supervisor at the time said that the people of New Jersey panic when there is any type of drastic change in the weather and won't go to doctors. Snowstorms, they won't go. Lots of rain and flooding, they won't go. I found that to be true because when the weather was a bit severe in New Jersey, the work dried up a bit.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, those Montanans never stopped anything when storms hit. The secretary at my son's school when he was in elementary grades laughed when I asked her what number we called to see if schools were closed (mind you, we moved up from Santa Fe when they closed the schools at even the mention of snow). In her 18 years of school secretary, the schools were closed twice. Once because if was -20 and the buses couldn't start and once when Mt. St. Helen's volcano exploded and the volcanic dust was to thick for safety.
Its hard to imagine it is still winter in the majority of the country when we are having spring like and summer weather :)
betty
Stay safe and keep yourself warm:)
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the way NJ hypes up the storms, there's nothing like a bit of over excitement to relieve the dullness of a 'white-out' day.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how such hype would work here in Aus in the summer.
It's hot they'd exclaim. HOT! Take off half your clothes and sit with your feet in the fridge to keep cool! Don't go outside without hats and sunglasses and three layers of sunscreen!
I'm sending you milk, bread, a snow shovel & salt!!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have extreme weather conditions any more, gone are the days when we built caves in the ice and snow. When we do get it though the reporters and TV people go into noisy fits telling us to be careful and not to do this or that. Like we wouldn't bother if not told! Pity they can't seem to do anything about our floods!
ReplyDeleteWell, I bet Buffalo stations have changed as they have here. It used to not be news to get snow, because yeah, it's winter and we live in the snowbelt. Now, half the local broadcast is about the weather and now they're naming the snowstorms like hurricanes. I guess everyday is a slow news day now?
ReplyDeleteThey hype the (rain and thunder) storms here, too. Now i'm not saying hurricanes aren't dangerous, and that thunder storms can't spawn tornadoes (like they did last week). What i'm saying is they hype every storm and people are going to quit listening to the hype.
ReplyDeleteBuck up. I still can't reach my chicken area by way around the garage. I tried again after 3 days of temps in the 30s, hoping the snow had melted down a little. Nope..... not without snowshoes and my snowshoes are in
ReplyDeletethe garage. Oh.... the life of the pure of heart. LOL
You described the reaction of non Buffalonians perfectly. The bread and milk stockpiling is unbelievable. They should just have socks to darn, like my mom and grandmother did in the blizzard of 1950.
ReplyDeleteI'd be surprised to find anyone over 50 who even remembers how to darn.
DeleteHeh. . . In southern Michigan, where I live, the weather reports sound a lot like yours - "Oh my gosh, it's gonna SNOOOOOWWWW! Stay inside, or else you'll probably die!" But Up North, where I grew up, eight inches of snow is just a starter blizzard; they don't take it serious until it gets over a foot; and even then. . . We had 2-3 18-24-inch snows virtually every year until I finished college.
ReplyDeleteUp North, they would close schools, but the rest of life would carry on - you'd just have snowmobiles instead of cars going up and down the streets. . .
This winter has been REALLY mild, so far - I think only one measly six-incher, back in December. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I love winter - all except driving in it. But there's at least two more weeks to go (and more than that, if you believe Punxsutawney Phil. . .)
Oh yes. Here in Ontari-ari-ario we have the same superfluous jargon regarding the weather...all weather. They tell us to carry an umbrella when it's raining and to wear a coat when it's cold. They get all excited about a storm on your East coast even though it's not going to affect us in South Western Ontario in the least and will probably miss our East coast entirely. It's what they do, it's what they get paid for. I just ignore them and look out the window.
ReplyDeleteCJ has a friend who's family lives in Buffalo, New York, and the roof of their house collapsed a few years back because of the weight of the snow. I hope it isn't that bad where you are. Take care and stay warm.
ReplyDeleteIt seems everyone overreacts anymore. About everything. You have a bit of snow and for a change we've had too much rain. Everything is to the brim or overflowing. We did need the rain though.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. Happy Valentine's Day too. ☺
Hahahaha. Isn't this the truth?!
ReplyDeleteDid not know New Jersey had such normally mild winters--snow wise. Arkansas is about the same with only a few snows but all it takes is flurries to close the schools here. Stay warm and keep the power on.
ReplyDeleteAnd meantime here in Paradise, oops, I mean Arizona, it's 63 and sunny at 2 o'clock today. But in Maine, which has possibly gotten the worst of this storm I saw a friend write on Facebook yesterday "How bad is it? The DOT has just recalled all the snowplows because of a white-out!"
ReplyDeleteI also did not know New Jersey had such mild winters. Northern California mountains, get a lot of snow in the winter. We count on it. They measure it and test it for the water content. That determines whether or not, we have a drought.
ReplyDeleteAround here they hype our HOT weather. From about mid June to Sept, we never get out of the 100's. by August we're at 110-115. Very DRY. The weather news, bakes cookies in cars and fries eggs on the sidewalk and they do this every summer.LOL
I made the mistake of wearing long sleeves today, and thought I was going to have to take my shirt off. Don't worry! I didn't. I was at Walmart at the time. Somebody would have stolen my likeness for nefarious viral purposes.
ReplyDeleteWe hit 73 degrees a few days ago. I want my SNOW! We've only had two ice storms so far this winter. Missouri needs snow!!!! I'd really be mad if I was still teaching, and yearning for those snow days.
Here in the Binghamton area we don't get snow quite like Buffalo but we do get our fair share. The attitude here is kinda like Buffalo, snow is snow so just get over it. We do have a few too many Evil City (NYC) transplants who feel that it's the end of the world and they've even been adopted by one of the local news stations that plays up the storms a bit just for them.
ReplyDeleteThere is a bit of a scramble at the stores prior to a good storm but nothing catastrophic, most folks here stay stocked up a bit and the rest order out when it'e looking bad.
...bread and milk... because everybody eats French toast during a blizzard? I'll be in the wine and chocolate aisle.
ReplyDeleteExactly the snow we had in Boise this year and the city was so not prepared. They don't salt here. They put down a de-icer and then sand. They didn't have enough plows or de-icer or sand, and now that everything is melting all we hear about is the flooding. I am super done with this winter and yet. More snow is on the way...
ReplyDelete