So far, this has been a very, very strange winter here in Upstate NY -

[hedgehog]

We really haven't had more than a day of snow cover, and it's going to be above freezing for the next 2 weeks! This in an area that had 247" last year!

http://www.tsforecast.com/seasonalsnowfall.html

I love not having to deal with the snow, but I'm getting really nervous. I expect a spectacular snowfall at some point, and hope our old barn can take the load. What really worries me is the threat of an ice storm!

[Renew Deal]

1. The only snow we had on LI or in NYC was on 10/30

Other than that, nothing. It was over 60 on Sunday!

[UnrepentantLiberal]

6. I guess we got so much last year

the weather is taking a break.

[RebelOne]

2. I am in North Georgia and we have an ice storm at least once a year.

I don't mind the snow, but the ice can be deadly. We are not equipped to deal with the ice. But after last year's ice and snow storm, the Atlanta metro area is ramping up its equipment in case we get socked with ice and snow again this year. Since we Georgians don't have snow or ice but once a year, no one knows how to drive on it especially me. I moved up here from South Florida in 1989, but I still have not learned to walk or drive on ice and have had many bad experiences with it.

[hedgehog]

3. No one can drive on ice. You can get going, but you

can't stop and you can't even steer. I can recall driving to work one Spring Day when atmospheric conditions were such that at sunrise, every single bridge deck in Onondaga County flashed over with black ice. There were a lot of terrible accidents that day. I had the interesting experience of crossing the Seneca River facing the river rather than the road!

"Knowing how to drive on the snow" is a mandatory skill where I live. You have to be able to handle wet snow (almost as bad as ice, IMO), dry snow, packed snow, fresh snow over old pack, etc. Still, the main roads here are usually scraped and salted down to bare dry pavement shortly after the snow stops.

[MattBaggins]

5. 481

God I hate that road. Who thought it would be a good idea to build a major road that follows a natural wind tunnel?

[hedgehog]

10. I tell tales of 481 - I commuted on it for a year,

going to work at 3PM and coming home any time from 2AM to 6AM. One time we were literally bumper to bumper creeping through a whiteout. I nearly ended in the ditch when the wind pushed the car. Another time I was astonished to see a stream of fog rolling across the highway from west to east.

[MattBaggins]

4. It's my fault

I live up in North Country and this is the first year I actually got my snowblower
out and PMed before Christmas. I usually wait until the first big Nor'easter with lake effect and then bitch when it won't start.

[MorningGlow]

11. And here I was thinking it was all my fault

I bought a kickass down jacket from LL Bean that I really didn't NEED...but it's incredibly toasty. Therefore: no cold temps this year.

[distantearlywarning]

7. Same here in Pittsburgh, PA

We don't get nearly as much snow as upstate NY, but we usually get 8-10" a month from Dec to March. This year: nada, zip, zilch. And I mean NONE. We got 1" on Halloween, and literally nothing since then. And the temps have been in the 40s to 60s all winter. January is typically a bitterly cold month for us, highs in the teens at best, and we've had maybe 2 days so far below 45. It's a little disturbing. And like you, I'm scared of some impending snowpocalypse. The last time we had no snow until January, we got 5 fucking feet in February (like the entirety of winter had to happen all at once over the course of 2 weeks) and it totally paralyzed the city.

[NewJeffCT]

8. We had a blizzard right before Halloween

and, not a flake since.

[hedgehog]

9. Now, be honest, was it a blizzard or a heavy snow storm?

Calling every snow storm a blizzard is akin to calling every tropical rain storm a hurricane!

[NewJeffCT]

12. yes

we got upwards of 18" of snow and most of CT was out of power for about a week.

[hedgehog]

13. Here's what the Weather Service has to say:

Officially, the National Weather Service defines a blizzard as a storm which contains large amounts of snow OR blowing snow, with winds in excess of 35 mph and visibilities of less than 1/4 mile for an extended period of time (at least 3 hours). When these conditions are expected, the National Weather Service will issue a "Blizzard Warning". When these conditions are not expected to occur simultaneously, but one or two of these conditions are expected, a "Winter Storm Warning" or "Heavy Snow Warning" may be issued.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/fgz/science/blizzard.php?wfo=fgz

So, you can actually have a blizzard with no new snow fall! I think I've seen other definitions that include a certain combination of low temperature and high wind (wind chill)ind chill as part of the definition.

I recall the bad storm that came up the East coast this fall; depending on location people got snow, ice or rain. As far as I know, it wasn't actually a blizzard. I've lived in heavy snow fall regions (Lake Erie and Lake Ontario snow belts) for most of my 58 years. I can tell you, a heavy snow fall can be inconvenient and can take down power lines, but a blizzard is an entirely different magnitude of nasty. Still, I'd take a heavy snow or blizzard over an ice storm every time!

[NewJeffCT]

14. winds got up to the mid 60s

during the snow storm.

[hedgehog]

15. Yep - that's a blizzard!

[Doc Holliday]

16. Where in "upstate NY" are you?

There are folks (I'm sure you're not one of them) who refer to anything outside the City as "upstate." Places like Binghamton, for example....or the Finger Lakes region. I personally don't think that anyplace south of Syracuse qualifies as "upstate", but that's just me.

My mother lives in the Massena/Malone area, near the res. That's about as "upstate" as it gets; any further north and you're in Canada.

She agrees with your assessment of the winter so far-- very weird indeed. Lots of rain, not so much snow. When I lived up there you had snow up to your buttcheeks for months on end. Damned ol' global warning.

[hedgehog]

18. Oswego County on the Oswego River -

overlooking the beautiful Fulton sewer plant! (although, to be honest, all you can see from here are glimpses through the trees!)

The eastern and northern parts of the county really get the snow - that's where the Tug Hill starts. But as far as the western part of the county, we're smack dab in the maximum snow belt since we are just the right elevation from the lake.

[progressoid]

17. 61 degrees here yesterday.

My neighbor mowed his lawn.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002150127