And it has begun. This is supposed to be the biggest snow storm since 1967. I've even heard it referred to as "Snowpocalypse '11." Kinda reminds me of all of the "Stormwatches" we had in California any time we were expecting more than 1 inch of rain in any given day!
Here is the scene as I went to bed last night.
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| I know it looks like stars and the moon, but it's really snow! | | |
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| Looking out across the street. |
Today the snow really picked up. You can't tell from these pictures but it has been snowing sideways. It's even snowing upwards! Kinda like a snow tornado.....School has already been canceled for tomorrow.
Here's a picture of the kids coming home from school.
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| Note how high the snow drift is |
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| The dogs loving running around in the snow! |
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| "That's right. I ain't afraid of no blizzard! Bring it on!" |
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| Here you can get a better idea of how hard it's snowing. You can hardly see the houses across the pond. | |
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| See how the snow is blurring sideways? Click on the picture for a larger view. |
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According to the Northwest Herald:
A blizzard watch issued early today warned of a "dangerous," "multifaceted" and "potentially life-threatening" winter storm to hit the area Tuesday afternoon....
Commuters should be warned of lots of blowing snow, white-out conditions, wind gusts between 25 miles per hour and 40 miles per hour, accumulations of 2 to 3 inches per hour, and possible thunderstorms throughout the metro area. There will be wind chill values as low as -4 degrees.
The heaviest snow will come Tuesday night and will make traveling very dangerous, especially in rural areas. Travel will become virtually impossible at times...with extremely poor visibility and snow falling so heavily that plows will be unable to keep up. Side streets and untreated roads will be impassable.
Heavy snow still will be falling Wednesday morning and more than a foot of snow is expected to accumulate by the afternoon. Flooding may occur along Lake Michigan shores Tuesday night and Wednesday morning with widespread blowing snow after noon.
Some areas may get inches in the mid- to lower 20s, [sic] likely making it one of the top 10 biggest snow storms the area has seen. There is also some potential that it could be the biggest snow storm in recorded history. Currently that chilly title belongs to a snow storm right around this time in 1967, when 23 inches fell on January 26 and 27 at O’Hare International Airport.
But the weather service meteorologists are weary [sic] to speculate, citing many factors that could alter or completely change the outcome of inches.
A swath of Illinois...could see 22 inches or more of snow between this Tuesday and Wednesday.
“With a high-impact storm like this that will affect parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan, we’re telling everyone to prepare for it.”
...A total of 18 inches is expected to cover most of northern Illinois.
Crazy, eh? I'm not much into hype but it's definitely building up to be a nasty storm.
So now we are settled in for the next 36 hours or so. We have plenty of food, endless water (thanks to the snow piling up outside), our gas fireplace and lanterns and batteries in case the power goes out. Most importantly, I have the receipt to return said lanterns and batteries when the storm turns out to be not such a big deal after all. LOL!
