It's winter in the NorthEast

[Seldom Seen Slim]

If you're up there you've probably already noticed that you're getting one heck of a lot of snow this year -- maybe way more than you're used to getting.

And just now I was looking at the forecast and see that for some of you the weather includes chances of freezing rain and sleet and slushy snow.  If you've already got lots of snow and haven't had to deal with so much in the past - -

Think more seriously than ever about clearing some/most of the snow from the roof of your house, shop, garage, outbuildings.  The snow load is more pounds than you realise -- and maybe more than the building codes required when your house/shop was built.  And even if you think you're okay -- remember that rain and sleet and such wet stuff adds WAY more weight to the snow on the roof.  Think of that snow as a giant sponge, soaking up the liquid -- and making the load on the trusses and rafters far heavier than you might otherwise expect.

Shoveling the roof is a bitch of a job.  But it's easier than calling the insurance inspector to see if you've got coverage to pay for the motel you'll have to stay in while the fallen-in roof gets repaired.  Take my warning seriously, folks, if you think there's any remote chance that the load might be too much.

[fordboy628]

x 2

Trust me, there is no mess like a collapsed roof.   Happened to my uncle when I was a kid.

[mtkawboy]

50-65 degrees in Montana the last few weeks. We were buried in snow at the start of January and its mostly all gone. We had some serious cold in December and Im sure its not done yet but its really strange weather. The poor guys in the NE are getting hammered with the snow

[Seldom Seen Slim]

And it's been a "normal" winter up here.  We had some really cold temps in late December/early January -- -10 a good handful of times, and for us, this near Lake Superior, that's cold.  Other than that we've had a few nights where it's been below zero, and a few days where it nearly hit 32F.  As for snow -- I checked the official stats yesterday.  Normal to this date in the season:  about 120".  So far in the winter of '14-'15:  118".

Yup -- a normal winter for us.  The good news is that the woodshed is still something more than 60% full.

[bearingburner]

9" of powder today in W Mass. News just said 24" in Boston.last week they set a record for 36" in 7 days however about normal for winter.

[Milwaukee Midget]

I've never been to Boston, but have made several aborted attempts to attend a Red Sox game.  Checked into tickets, flights, hotels, but never pulled the trigger.

Part of those plans usually included pulling up a map of Boston.  In a lot of ways, it's laid out like a old European city.

Which means streets that go nowhere, and traffic patterns that leave one asking, "Where on earth would they go with snow?"

I don't envy them this week.

A strange anomaly has occurred the last three Winters in Milwaukee.

All but 2 of our snowstorms have occurred on weekends.

It's made for easier clean-up in that everyone in the neighborhood has had the time to get the chore done, but the big downside is that we haven't had a decent excuse to call work and take a snowday.

9 1/2 months out of the year, I love the climate, but all I'm asking for out of living here though December, January and February is a legitimate excuse to call into work, and Mother Nature has all but foiled that plan.

The only hope on the horizon is that Pitchers and Catchers report in ~10 days - the first sign of Spring.

[tauruck]

Jon, I'll go outside and check.

How thick should the snow on the roof be before we need to worry?.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Ha!  Ha ha ha!!  Hah frickin' HAH!

If you've got to ask, Mike, then you probably don't need to know.  In general, though -- just for the sake of the discussion -- there's at least two feet of snow on our roof right now.  I recall there being maybe three and a half feet during the worst snowfall winter we've had since moving here, but the house is built well and the pitch of the roof is fairly steep, and we've never had so much as a crack in the sheetrock or drips from the ceiling.  Many folks start shoveling when the snow depth on the roof gets over 18" or so.  Your mileage may vary.

[wobblywalrus]

It is mid summer where Mike is.

[Frankenhealey]

It's been a bad winter here in Southern Blighty as well. We've had one day of 1cm. (that's 1 / 2.54th inch) of snow that lasted a couple of hours. We do envy you folks that get Christmas card type winters  .

Sadly living in an area with the second greatest concentration of nonagenarian drivers after Palm Beach we have our own particular snow hazards. When the first flakes are sighted the local seniors halve their average highway speed from 16 to 8mph, select low gear and lots of revs for all hills and close up on the car in front, just in case they lose them in the 'whiteout'.  The owners of the local bodyshops are all seen in church that day thanking the Almighty for this business opportunity.

Trying to get to work is 



Ian

[floydjer]

Just cold here...We got all of our snow in November. We did have a kayaker go under the ice last weekend. Search team found him the next day. Poor bastard.

[bak189]

Nice weather here in Gold Canyon, Arizona......84 degrees yesterday....we are in for a cold spell this weekend .......will be down to 70 degrees..................................................................................

[Elmo Rodge]

It's in the 50s today at my house. So now is the time I choose to fly to New Jersey for the extended weekend.  I travel on Thursday and next Tuesday. Both "snow days" back there. 10 degrees (F).  Wayno

[Glen]

Elmo, it was in the mid 70s in St.George yesterday

[Elmo Rodge]

Yeah Glen. It's been mid 60s here. Very nice, indeed.  I'm probably going to take a leisurely stroll down Highway 89 and spend the night in St. George tomorrow. Wayno