More 2011 Blizzard Stuff

Seeing the stories and photos from around the country today underlines the fact that this was definitely a rare monster storm crossing the country. I like a bit of snowfall Christmas Eve, but this is way over the top!

Lake Shore Drive in Chicago was a mess. It remains closed this morning.
------------------------Scott Olson/Getty Images

Lake Shore Drive during the storm. Some people
stayed with their vehicles for NINE HOURS!

This image, courtesy NOAA, shows the monster storm
on Tuesday, February 1, from 22,000 miles up. 

Clearing snow in Dallas. I know they're not prepared to handle snow there,
but I can only hope my driveway is this clear by March 15th!!!

Poughkeepsie, New York. I love a church with a sense of humor.

I'm hearing that up to 100 million people (nearly 1/3 of the U.S. population) were affected by this storm. I know the East Coast has had their fill of Winter's wrath; I'll bet we all have had about enough.

The Blizzard of '11

Ol' Mother Nature nailed us over the past 24 hours. What's been tagged as The Blizzard of 2011 began late Tuesday afternoon and finally settled down at around noon Wednesday.

This greeted me when I opened the side door
of the garage...15" straight out!

One local TV station says our little town got 17 inches of snow, with temps in the teens and gusts to 45 mph. We were rockin' and rollin' all night, that's for sure!

Our deck gathered over three feet of snow. 

The grill grew quite a bit overnight!

Thank goodness for teenagers and snowblowers
when it comes time to move that much snow!

For the first time in my memory, we did have a "snow day" from work today, as the office was closed. The Michigan State Police called for essential travel only, which was no problem as far as I was concerned. A nice midweek break!

We weren't alone with this storm: it began in Texas and finished up in Maine. Almost 1/3 of the country was affected to one extent or another.

I hear the large rat in Pennsylvania didn't see his shadow today, so Spring can't be far away, right?