The Blizzard of 2005
It is being called the Blizzard of 2005. It is expected that by Sunday noon, as much as 24 inches of snow would be dumped in Manhattan, more in Long Island and Connecticut. So far it has been a snowless winter, with barely a dusting each time. The M.O. jokes that the weather just had to wait for me to return from my vacation before it got ready to bring us some snow - knowing well how much hate winter and snow.
My first and last blizzard was in Valentine's Day 2003 when I spent it in the city with an ex-boyfriend who was visiting from LA. The day after, it was beautiful at Central Park where people were skiing, snowboarding and sledding.
Blizzard 2003 at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park
This is my Blizzard 2005 journal.
11:30 AM
News flash and alerts come on TV every 5 minutes, warning people about the coming storm. A slight flurry has started to fall outside, graceful snowflakes lightly falling from the heavens and billowing with the wind. It looks beautiful, fragile but I'm sure it will bring with it much more in terms of snow volume in a few hours.
I am watching Nick Jr's "The Backardigans" and wishing my niece Gabrielle was here. We'd have fun doing the sound effects of "da-dahdah" and "gasp" sound effects in this spy episode. Hahaha!
1:00 PM
Still a dusting, no plows yet until an inch of accumulations so very slippery!
An hour and a half later, the snowflakes give way to heavier and bulkier lumps of snow. Not the wet kind of snow but still, accumulating fast on the avenues. The humidity is high and that is often a bad sign for more precipitation (yeah, just heard the weatherman speak the lingo - hahaha!).
4:00 PM
Same street four hours later. More snow.
The snow has been falling steady - sometimes almost unrelenting, sometimes turning light flurry but the snow plows have started their rounds which means it has reached an inch in depth on the streets already. The streets are almost empty. The news on Tv warns that people stay indoors for their own safety. The sidewalks, though constantly shovelled by the apartment supers remain slippery, with the shovelling not able to cope with the downpour.
The sidewalks are slippery and filled with snow. And it is also almost empty.
A friend travelled from Scarsdale to stay with me. We plan to go out tonight and see a movie. A perfect activity on an evening such as this. And since the car had been parked afew blocks away, we now have to walk about 10 block to see either Leondardo DeCaprio or Brad Pitt. Tomorrow we will go to Central Park to enjoy the fresh fallen snow.
I realize this is the weekend we had planned to be in Vermont. We cancelled because we were afraid the snowstorm would clog the highways coming back Sunday and honestly, we weren't ready to extend. I for one, have just returned from a month-long vacation and I'm sure it wouldn't be appreciated at work.
11:00 PM
My friend and I struggled through knee deep snow. The movie theatre is about 10 blocks away and that is often nothing more than a 10 minute walk. Toight though, 10 minutes brought us only as far as a Starbucks. We can in and got capuccinos and latte's and then sat on a table next to the window. we watched very few people on the streets. The limited-stop buses are running local but there aren't that many passangers. The few people who came out were parents dragging their toddlers on sleds or having their dogs go for walks - shivering dogs in snow almost thir height. I don't think the dog enjoyed it as much.
After an hour we decided to go to Blockbuster and take out "Bourne Supremacy" and "Calendar Girls". Ended up watching the tagalog movie "Milan".
At a little before midnight, the streets are still being battered by snowfall and remain empty except for the snowplows that continue to clear the snow from the streets. I heard they will run 24 hours until the snow stops.
Nice and toasty in my apartment....goodnight. More tomorrow.
My first and last blizzard was in Valentine's Day 2003 when I spent it in the city with an ex-boyfriend who was visiting from LA. The day after, it was beautiful at Central Park where people were skiing, snowboarding and sledding.
Blizzard 2003 at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park
This is my Blizzard 2005 journal.
11:30 AM
News flash and alerts come on TV every 5 minutes, warning people about the coming storm. A slight flurry has started to fall outside, graceful snowflakes lightly falling from the heavens and billowing with the wind. It looks beautiful, fragile but I'm sure it will bring with it much more in terms of snow volume in a few hours.
I am watching Nick Jr's "The Backardigans" and wishing my niece Gabrielle was here. We'd have fun doing the sound effects of "da-dahdah" and "gasp" sound effects in this spy episode. Hahaha!
1:00 PM
Still a dusting, no plows yet until an inch of accumulations so very slippery!
An hour and a half later, the snowflakes give way to heavier and bulkier lumps of snow. Not the wet kind of snow but still, accumulating fast on the avenues. The humidity is high and that is often a bad sign for more precipitation (yeah, just heard the weatherman speak the lingo - hahaha!).
4:00 PM
Same street four hours later. More snow.
The snow has been falling steady - sometimes almost unrelenting, sometimes turning light flurry but the snow plows have started their rounds which means it has reached an inch in depth on the streets already. The streets are almost empty. The news on Tv warns that people stay indoors for their own safety. The sidewalks, though constantly shovelled by the apartment supers remain slippery, with the shovelling not able to cope with the downpour.
The sidewalks are slippery and filled with snow. And it is also almost empty.
A friend travelled from Scarsdale to stay with me. We plan to go out tonight and see a movie. A perfect activity on an evening such as this. And since the car had been parked afew blocks away, we now have to walk about 10 block to see either Leondardo DeCaprio or Brad Pitt. Tomorrow we will go to Central Park to enjoy the fresh fallen snow.
I realize this is the weekend we had planned to be in Vermont. We cancelled because we were afraid the snowstorm would clog the highways coming back Sunday and honestly, we weren't ready to extend. I for one, have just returned from a month-long vacation and I'm sure it wouldn't be appreciated at work.
11:00 PM
My friend and I struggled through knee deep snow. The movie theatre is about 10 blocks away and that is often nothing more than a 10 minute walk. Toight though, 10 minutes brought us only as far as a Starbucks. We can in and got capuccinos and latte's and then sat on a table next to the window. we watched very few people on the streets. The limited-stop buses are running local but there aren't that many passangers. The few people who came out were parents dragging their toddlers on sleds or having their dogs go for walks - shivering dogs in snow almost thir height. I don't think the dog enjoyed it as much.
After an hour we decided to go to Blockbuster and take out "Bourne Supremacy" and "Calendar Girls". Ended up watching the tagalog movie "Milan".
At a little before midnight, the streets are still being battered by snowfall and remain empty except for the snowplows that continue to clear the snow from the streets. I heard they will run 24 hours until the snow stops.
Nice and toasty in my apartment....goodnight. More tomorrow.