Blizzard 2005

We have most definitely had a blizzard. With thunder. No kidding. A crack of thunder lifted me right off my chair last night. The whole house shook and it felt as if something had slammed into the house. The sudden gusts of wind that wanted to take us right off the foundation were making me a little jumpy, too. Our winds are hovering around 35-40 miles per hour with higher gusts. Down on the Cape, they have the hurricane flags waving. The weather persons called this a wintercane.

So this morning, the grocery store was opened and when the lad called to inquire they said, “Just do your best to get in.” So he did. Dug out the driveway and the car. Then watched the plow go by and shovel a huge pile back in the driveway. And by the time he had that cleared out, the car was drifted in again.

I went out and helped. Let me tell you, there is a lot of snow out there. The wind is wicked and visibility is almost nil. I couldn’t even see to the end of the street. But persevere we did.

Since there wasn’t another living soul on the roads (except plows), it wasn’t all that bad. Relatively speaking. My car is good in snow, so aside from getting stuck in a drift once, it was manageable, though completely nuts.

As long as I was at the grocery store, I took the liberty of parking on one of the several handicapped parking spaces close to the store. There wasn’t another soul to be seen. I bought a few comfort food items....chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, and a bag of swiss cheese cubes. I didn’t need anything else, but figured as long as I was there, comfort food sounded good. The lad was one of three cashiers who made it in. Others there had stayed all night. The manager was on the phone with one employee after another. He started in on how if the ones who were there could make it in, the rest could, too. I gently explained to him that only crazy people and snow plows are out there this morning. I got stuck in a snow drift and if not for the lad to help me out, I’d still be there. Not everyone has a huge 4 wheel drive vehicle. It is a terrible morning to be out and the streets are drifting full almost as soon as the plow passes. He settled down. I’m sure he must have noticed that I was the only customer in the store and the only reason I was there was because the lad had to work.

A stop at Dunkin Donuts and then I was on my way home. Uneventful trip. Saw lots of neighbors out shoveling. They waved and grinned.

So, how much snow do we have? Well, the last official measurement I heard was 23 inches. Since then, I’m positive that we’ve received a few more inches. We were in a heavy band of snow that was dumping 4 inches every half hour as of about 7:30. It was coming down at a rate that I have NEVER seen. At times, visibility was about in the hand-in-front-of-the-face range. But it’s a powdery snow, so at least it is easier to navigate in than heavy wet snow. Still, a 3 foot drift of powder can get you as stuck as any other kind of snow.

The wind still howls. The house shudders every now and then. It’s really quite unbelievable out there. The fence is buried in spots. But we still have power. Amazingly enough.

But my considered opinion...the supermarket manager needs to have his head examined. Still, it was kind of a fun adventure. But, if we lived out in the country or even outside of village limits, I’d have definitely said forget it. Too dangerous unless there is a mass of humanity lining each and every street.

Next problem on the horizon...high tide later this morning will be a foot or more above flood stage. Waves are coming in at around 9-12 feet. And it’s almost full moon which means higher than average tides, too. It’s going to be awful for the coastal residents. And for the beaches, themselves. By the end of today, the landscape along many portions of the coast may be greatly changed.