scrubbedexpat099

No snow here either, but if we got 2 ft then everybody would be going on about how we need the moisture.

At least the East Coast has seen the (white) Elephant, the coverage did cause some amusement in fly over country.

robin1234

It's odd that people would be amused by other people's misfortunes. But, nowt so queer as folk, I guess...

scrubbedexpat099

As I said a couple of feet of snow may be annoying but overall would be considered a major plus.

It was just funny how every news broadcast led off with it as if it as it was some sort of major disaster.

Just wondering what you expect in the middle of winter. Boston is a fair way north compared to where I am.

The only way a few feet of snow would have hit the national news if it happened in Colorado would be if it coincided with a Monday night game.

robin1234

Some places (not Boston) had major flooding and winds up to 85 miles per hour, leading to widespread power outages. Hundreds of thousands of people in the northeast still have no electricity, and may not get it back for a while.

scrubbedexpat099

Depends on your perspective but high winds only make the news when they close the road due to Semis being blown over.

Losing power is an interesting thing, certainly where I am it is not the wind per se but the distribution system being effected by trees being blow over. There does seem to be much more strung wire than buried wire in the US.

The last time we lost power was 4 years ago and that was a planned outage, and we get winds a lot more than 85 mph. Now they have redone the main distribution line and they cut back the trees so I guess that is why.

Bob

The levels of snow usually isn't so much of a problem. It's getting that level in a day that usually is.

High winds and floodings aren't great for folks with no power where sumpumps don't work. Especially when freezing rain is capping things off, which always makes the power situation even worse.

robin1234

Well yes, that is what I was referring to. That is why much of Cape Cod is still without power. They have trees down and lines down.

scrubbedexpat099

When I re did the Electric I did put in provision for a Generator, I thought power loss could be a big deal. A friend who lives off grid was using a Lister Diesel Genset, brought tears to the eyes.

Now gone PV.

$300 would buy a HF Genset, enough for a sump pump, lights, not for a cooker, dryer etc.

Nutmegger

Population density: Colorado 49.3 sq. mile (37th in US), Massachusetts 840 sq. mile (3rd in US). That makes a bit of a difference to logistics when 36 inches of snow falls in one day and people need to get to work, store, hospital, etc.

scrubbedexpat099

That is certainly one of our problems outside the Front Range, a lot of mileage to be cleared, small populations = small tax base = limited resources.

The longest I have had cut off is 3 days, but then I can see a main State Highway from the back window, if you live in the boonies it can be a lot longer.

Jerseygirl

The company who ploughs our driveway is trying to charge us for an extra 9" of snow...that's an extra $90. Good luck with getting that out of this Yorkshire lass.

scrubbedexpat099

Do you pay be plough, or plow, or is it an annual contract.

Jerseygirl

Contract. The landscaping company who take care of the garden...plough snow in the winter months.

scrubbedexpat099

Here, if you have a contract, then it does not matter, they would have been quids in this winter as we have had so little snow.

If you agree a rate per plow then usually there is an up to amount. Otherwise some people will let it stack and it becomes a real challenge.

WEBlue

We didn't lose power but had some MAJOR digging-out to do. The wind plus the snowplows have made giant mountains everywhere. We shovelled a narrow pathway from our front door to the street, a distance of maybe 25 paces at most, but it took the husband & me the better part of an hour. The snow on either side is chest-high.

Ours is a town where not all the roads were fully plowed even today, so you have to drive a roundabout way to get anywhere. The snowplows are still working on clearing all the lanes of the motorway. The next town over got 38 inches.