For days we have been preparing for the blizzard of the decade. Even as I write, I received an alert on my smartphone warning that the all non-emergency vehicles must be off the roads by 11pm tonight until further notice. All public transportation began shutting down at 8pm and as of one minute ago, the bridges and tunnels have been shut down until further notice. The snow is expected to continue throughout the night and accumulate to up to 33 inches in Manhattan.
As always happens with pending disasters in NYC, throughout the weekend, the lines at the grocery stores have been around the block and all of the shelves have been emptied of bread and milk [though I did score a 1/2 gallon of 2% at the last minute! Woo-hoo!]. Don't get me wrong, I take these things very seriously as we all should, but one would think that we are the Donner Party preparing to be stranded in the wilderness for months. I expect from the way people are reacting in NYC, that if we are not fully supplied with a pantry full of sugary (or savory) snacks at the ready, there will be city-wide acts of cannibalism by noon tomorrow!
And can someone explain to me why one needs to buy gallons of bottled water for a snow event when a) the water is still flowing right out of the tap (just fill up a few pots if you feel you need it); and b) isn't snow made of frozen water that melts into liquid water? Okay, okay, I am sounding like a Manhattan-ite and an urban snob who lives in an apartment building. I realize that outside of Manhattan, the chances of a power outages especially on Long Island where the power lines are above ground are almost certain, but come on.
So that we can all not panic too much, here are few tips to be prepared and things you should have done by now:
1. Power up all the electronics now. If you have an external battery supply make sure that is powered up too.
2. Make sure the flashlights and emergency radios have batteries
3. Make sure you have enough of any medications
4. Fill up your car and any generators with the appropriate fuel.
5. Bring your pets inside!
5. Check on elderly or disabled neighbors and make sure they have what they need.
6. If you have babies or other children...well, you know what to do.
7. Other stuff I can't think of right now
By the way, if you have a smartphone, you can get alerts through your local and state emergency preparedness office. It find it is very handy.
So, while I hunker down preparing to fight off cannibals, snow-zombies, and certain starvation, let me know how you prepare for emergencies.
As an aside: You will not hear me say this often, but Mayor de Blasio is handling this really well. He has taken control and made the decisions that are appropriate in shutting the ;ublic transportation, streets, bridges and tunnels down to all but emergency vehicles. It proves he can learn.
Another aside: On Thursday, I will fill you all in on Sheldon Silver, Speaker of our state Assembly who is the newest entry on the long list of arrested/indicted/convicted/incarcerated New York State elected officials and how Governor Cuomo may be next on the list...
As always happens with pending disasters in NYC, throughout the weekend, the lines at the grocery stores have been around the block and all of the shelves have been emptied of bread and milk [though I did score a 1/2 gallon of 2% at the last minute! Woo-hoo!]. Don't get me wrong, I take these things very seriously as we all should, but one would think that we are the Donner Party preparing to be stranded in the wilderness for months. I expect from the way people are reacting in NYC, that if we are not fully supplied with a pantry full of sugary (or savory) snacks at the ready, there will be city-wide acts of cannibalism by noon tomorrow!
And can someone explain to me why one needs to buy gallons of bottled water for a snow event when a) the water is still flowing right out of the tap (just fill up a few pots if you feel you need it); and b) isn't snow made of frozen water that melts into liquid water? Okay, okay, I am sounding like a Manhattan-ite and an urban snob who lives in an apartment building. I realize that outside of Manhattan, the chances of a power outages especially on Long Island where the power lines are above ground are almost certain, but come on.
So that we can all not panic too much, here are few tips to be prepared and things you should have done by now:
1. Power up all the electronics now. If you have an external battery supply make sure that is powered up too.
2. Make sure the flashlights and emergency radios have batteries
3. Make sure you have enough of any medications
4. Fill up your car and any generators with the appropriate fuel.
5. Bring your pets inside!
5. Check on elderly or disabled neighbors and make sure they have what they need.
6. If you have babies or other children...well, you know what to do.
7. Other stuff I can't think of right now
By the way, if you have a smartphone, you can get alerts through your local and state emergency preparedness office. It find it is very handy.
So, while I hunker down preparing to fight off cannibals, snow-zombies, and certain starvation, let me know how you prepare for emergencies.
As an aside: You will not hear me say this often, but Mayor de Blasio is handling this really well. He has taken control and made the decisions that are appropriate in shutting the ;ublic transportation, streets, bridges and tunnels down to all but emergency vehicles. It proves he can learn.
Another aside: On Thursday, I will fill you all in on Sheldon Silver, Speaker of our state Assembly who is the newest entry on the long list of arrested/indicted/convicted/incarcerated New York State elected officials and how Governor Cuomo may be next on the list...
27 comments:
Bev, People go crazy. I still recall a fist fight at a "Giant" (grocery store) in Virginia when one woman tried to remove one of EIGHT milk gallons from the cart of another woman. We got all of two inches that night.
Good luck with the zombies! Remember to aim for the heads and don't let them tell you who to vote for!
I've heard you are not truly a New York resident until you have been through 2 blackouts.
Andrew - 8 gallons of milk? Maybe she was gonna take a bath in it...
Kit - I've only been in one blackout, but they sure tax me like I'm a real New York resident! :-D
The forecast for Omaha will be unseasonably warm this coming week, with highs in the 50s Monday and Tuesday, and the chance of breaking 60 on Wednesday. Temperatures begin to dip starting Thursday, but remain mild with highs in the 40s. cooler temperatures for the weekend with highs staying in the 30s for Saturday and not leaving the 20s on Sunday. Look for steady tens in the 30s the following week.
In other words, nah nah na-nah nah!
But seriously, stay warm and cozy indoors and enjoy the snow day. The downside of rugged Midwesternism is that, come March when there's three feet of snow on the ground and wind chills of 20 below, we'll all still be trudging into work. The Donners took the easy way out.
Be careful, but apparently it wasn't as bad as expected....on another note....a few years ago when we were clobbered by an ice storm down in SwampEast Missouri; no power, roads blocked, etc,,,,hardly a mention on NYC based news...it's all perspective.
6 lousy inches of snow...6 inches. I have wasted a hunkering! But since all public transport will take about 8 hours to get up and running again...SNOW DAY and the inevitable finger pointing and blame passing. I blame the weather and how it changes. And Canada.
we had about 1/8th " in Knoxville. On a related note, I just hd to replace my heat pump after 12 years. I almost let my existing contractor get away without a second opinion, but it is such a big ticket item for a 5 ton unit that I just had to do "due diligence". Brought in another certified Lennox contractor who was willing to do the installation of the exact same equipment for about 30% less (about $4K!!) These guys are like used car salesmen ... think Wm. Macy in Fargo
“The furious hoarfrost bearing down upon us knows neither mercy nor reason, and all within the five boroughs will perish, cowering in their brittle dwellings,” said de Blasio, adding that none would find succor from the gale save those favored by providence to pass quietly in their sleep. “This shall be a tempest the likes of which has never been glimpsed by man or beast. Clutch your babes close to your breast and take small comfort in knowing that they will howl for but a few hours before death becalms them forever.”
http://www.theonion.com/articles/nyc...d-for-a,37850/
What the hell has happened to the NE and North Coast? I'm guessing too many pansy Los Angelenos have drifted further east than Colorado because we used to call slightly sub-zero temps (with or without windchill) combined with anywhere from 1 foot to 15 feet snowdrifts something else besides Snowmageddon. What was that word? Oh, yeah: winter.
I flew into Plattsburgh NY one time in the 70s and snow must have been 2 feet deep and piled 20 feet deep and everyone was going about their business....
EricP - hey, who you callin' a pansy?? We have been very, VERY inconvenienced...all of us! Do you know what it's like not to be able to get to our double-shot expresso soy chai latte, yoga classes, and 3-martini lunches? Do you? Do you? Do not judge us...because..well, it is WAY inconvenient! We had to wait...in...lines...LINES....for MINUTES!! We do...not...wait..in...lines (except for Apple products and movies). Do you even know what a "NY minute" is??? Do you have a unit of time named after where you live??? No, WE DO! WE ARE THAT IMPORTANT!!! Ugh you flyover people will never get it....;-D
Btw people in Buffalo think we are pansies too. I prefer the more generic term "delicate flowers".
Critch - but Plattsburgh is practically Canada where it always snows...even in summer, right?
We don't get much snow in Alabama so I'm sitting here in my 56 degree weather looking at you all enviously. Sometimes it comes in February or March.
Coast to coast dedication of Don Henley's "NY Minute" going out to you ASAP, Bev. ;-)
EricP - are you mocking me? Admit it...NYC rules...except when we can't get our lattes! LOL!
Kit- I am going to Dallas this weekend. It's pushing 70+ degrees...CLIMATE CHANGE...aaaahhhh!
And it gets better. The back end of this system clipped the Pittsburgh region over the last four days. Not a ton of snow, but when most of your roads are on hills, well, if you know how a Slip 'n Slide works...
We've been scraping and/or snowblowing the driveway for four days in a row. (For everyone down south, if the white stuff's either not high enough or too wet, you go back to the ways of the caveman and grab the back-breaking shovel.) And because of work schedules, we've got to be careful when we drive on the driveway or- wah-lah!- instant compacted snow. Those mounds stink to drive over (your tires, shocks, and axles will hate you), and are even worse to park on. Geez...
And it gets better. We've got a wonderful rain-and-snow mix arriving on Thursday, (regular and black ice aplenty!), and-according to the latest reports- another 8 to 12 inches heading our way on Saturday night. And I have to depend on PennDOT to clean the roads?!
What is the fastest route to Alabama again? (I'm willing to brave an inevitable stern talking-to from my native Canadian grandmother.)
Ah...Bev, can we discuss something fun? -like talking smack on the Patriots?
Rustbelt - smack away! As the Cowboys are America's team, the Patriots are the team to smack down. So "deflate-gate". Is anyone buying Brady's "I don't know nothing about balls" excuse?
We have had a series of bad winters down here and these old bones are tired of it. If I could convince the nice lady I married to move to the Redneck Riviera (The Gulf Coast) I would. But there isn't much public land down there in Mississippi and I would spend a fortune driving back up here to hunt.
Critch - Move to Texas. They love hunters and hunting and stuff and guns. And if you're lucky to hunt rattlesnakes and wild pigs. There is a real problem with wild pigs...huge wild pigs so there is almost always open season on them.
I have a Long Island Sicilian wife, Bev. For fear of waking up with cutlery in my gut, I would never mock anything New Yawk.
Do not miss da Burgh's narrow roads this time of year, not one bit.
It feels like something else is going on. Maybe I only notice it because of the 24 hour news environment,but there seems to be this breathless anticipation of the next super storm that kills thousands, etc. Al Roker out in a parka talking about how this is going to be the storm of the century (which is only 15 years old by the way) looks ridiculous. This may sound a bit conspiracy nutty, but I wonder if the global warming scare is part of it. So many especially in the meteorology field believe in it and the warnings that it will lead to bigger storms. It is like they are saying "see, we told you that NY was going to be destroyed but did you believe us?"
We rarely shut down for a pending storm because experience has showed us that it can be very hit and miss in our area. Denver could get a foot, Colorado Springs 3 feet and where I live a skiff. NY should not have shut down the public transportation. Closing some roads and bridges was ok but as soon as found to not be as bad as predicted opened up.
You actually may be on to something, Koshcat, as I learned some rather disturbing facts earlier this week. Penn State, who supplies the country with the most meteorologists in the country (1 in 4), also just happens to get the most "global warming" grant money. 99.9% I am incredibly proud to call myself a Penn Stater. Meet the .1%.
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