Also the leaves still on the trees.  That could be a problem if it keeps up.  The leaves have turned, but haven't dropped yet.

 

Realize first that I mowed the lawn 2 days ago.  This mess was unexpected, and very unseasonal. Usually we don't get anything like this for another month.

 

 

 

Strangeness- http://weirdnj.com/stories/jersey-devil/ - http://weirdnj.com/stories/jersey-devil/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wind has settled down enough to allow the Balloons to be used at the Macy's Parade.

 

"God rest ye merry merchants may you make the Yuletide pay".

 

 

Actually, it's only been in the last 5-6 years that you could expect this time of year to be cold.  I managed garden centers for years.  Here, that bus. also sells Christmas trees, natural garlands and greens, etc. I would always rent a refrig. truck to store them, as it was always too warm to keep them out, and you would end up with a bunch of dead stuff.

Certainly there were exceptions.  Thanksgiving 1990, I had to get my butt out of bed and go plow 4-6 inches of snow.  But that was unusual. [profitable, but unusual]

 

 

It's not even freezing in the Netherlands yet, which makes me glad because when the streets get slippery I will be in trouble because I go everywhere by bike.

And even if it snows it won't be much. Seasons here are always a mild version of the stereo-type.

Props for the pun.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Kirsten (not a very old man) (the opposite actually)

 

I just kicked the fire some and brought in some more wood, so it can do what it wants, I"m good.

[TUBE]5kiNJcDG4E0[/TUBE]

 

 

I have never seen a football game played in 8" of snow, I have now.  It was snowing so hard you couldn't read the numbers on the Jerseys for most of the 1st quarter.  The Eagles won, that's good.  What's bad is, our dusting turned into about 6 inches.

 

 

 

De vorige NL winter was anders aardig wit. Welkom op AE

 

( The last Dutch winterseason was pretty white, though )

 

 

Most of the snow that fell sunday melted off yesterday.  However, it's snowing again and accums of 4-6" are forcast.  Another storm is expected for sat.

 

This much snow before January is very unusual.

 

 

 

The big problem has been the ice on the rivers.  The CG had to bring in an ice breaker to break up the Ice Dams just south of Trenton.  Above Trenton the Army Corp of Engineers were using explosives to break them up.

 

Right now we are getting freezing rain.  Everything is glazed over.  Many main roads are closed.

 

This is some of the whackiest weather I have ever seen for this area.  The Highway Depts have used more salt so far than in both of the past 2 years, and winter isn't over.

 

 

 

From last Sat. to this morning, I burned a 1/4 cord of wood. [A cord is 4x4x8] just to supplement

our central heating.

 

And the best part,  the weatherman said we may get to do it all over again on Sunday.

 

To put it into perspective, 2 winters ago we had a total of 7.5 inches for the season.  Last winter we had 2.5.  This year we have had a total of 34", and it isn't Feb. yet.

 

 

 

This was supposed to be "light flurries", a "dusting".  The main roads are good, but the sidestreets were still covered with a layer of compacted snow which has iced over.  2 inches of dry powder on compacted base may be great for skiers, but driving on it can be exciting.

 

 

 

Those folks are just not equipped to handle that kind of stuff.

 

Here it's just the cold now.  Yesterday it got up to 46F. By 10pm it was 18F.  This AM it was 5F with a windchill of -10.

The Barnegat Bay is frozen over for the first time in 40 years and the Delaware is more frozen in than it was last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ron, the towns down where you are don't own things like snow plows and truck mounted salters. They usually don't have need of them.  If you have to melt the ice and can't find Rock Salt or Calcium Chloride, call your local farm or garden supply and ask if they have "prilled urea" or some other high Nitrogen fertilizer.  Urea works best, but any high nitro fert will do the job.  If it has a gravel carrier, it will help with traction.  I've used in very heavy winters when all other sources and supplies are gone.

 

 

I was aware enough to go pick up another truck bed of firewood, before this stuff hit.  If it's heavy enough and freezes on the power lines, could be a mess.

But I have our trusty 5,000 watt kicker and a full load of firewood, so it can do whatever it wants.

 

 

According to the weather channel, we are expecting more by about 5pm.  The local news says it may be a "mixed event". Swell.

Another major storm is forcast for Sat. into Sun.  I can't wait.

 

 

 

Our climate does not include snow in low lying areas. We have no Tropical Cyclones and have a moderate rain fall. We are not Earthquake prone and have no active volcanoes.

 

Our lowest temp in residential areas is about -1 C in Winter(overnight) and in Summer can go as high as the mid thirties.

 

And if at first you don't like the weather, just wait 20minutes (joke).

 

The state population is about .5million people, the crime rate is about the same as a US village. We have some of the finest natural scenery in the world.

 

And the people are the friendliest in the world.

 

This latest storm is turning out to be an all ice event.  Up to a million are without power.  In my town, trees are down all over.  2 main roads are closed due to huge trees having come down over them.

But now they are issuing flood warnings.  The ground is frozen, there was 10-12 inches of snow covering it, and now we're getting freezing rain.  There's no place for the water to go. 

 

But if it's not snow, it's cyclones ravaging the countryside, or bush fires, or floods, and it seems that no part of continental USA is spared.

 

I do really feel sorry for all of those people who are still suffering from Katrina and the other natural disasters which have befallen the US in recent years. And I'm a bit pissed off that people are still basically homeless while trillions of dollars are being spent on Space Exploration and warfare.