NYC Area Blizzard

[DonRotolo]

Actually, tomorrow will be perfect for testing our snowblower prototype, sized for totes...

[Mark McLeod]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

Actually, tomorrow will be perfect for testing our snowblower prototype, sized for totes...

My driveway is available if you need more test space

[loyal]

Samuel Clemens once wrote " If you don't like weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes."

We are all used to this. Its nothing new. Last year the Suffield Shakedown was closed early. We had snow in Atlanta and most of the lower states. First even gave a few extra build days or something like that.
New Englanders are strong and we will use our Yankee ingenuity to overcome this like we always do. If it helps you can just remember that some one always has it worse than you. Canada

[devg29]

It's just so painful sitting at home, knowing you could have been building a robot, had the blizzard not come, and knowing that you're going to miss probably 2 more days this week, and have already missed 2

[loyal]

This is a great opportunity to work on the awards and write essay's

[MrBasse]

For a non-east coaster, can someone explain why this is such a big deal to be nation wide news. 16" is a nice amount of snow but I just don't get it.

When a storm like this happens in Michigan we just look outside and say "oh, it's Tuesday."

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by MrBasse

For a non-east coaster, can someone explain why this is such a big deal to be nation wide news. 16" is a nice amount of snow but I just don't get it.

When a storm like this happens in Michigan we just look outside and say "oh, it's Tuesday."

Well, 30" in a 24 hour period in Boston is pretty rare from what I understand.

Idk, as a fellow Michigander I just think "ah, tuesday" as well. I mean, I'm still not driving in it but it's not nearly as Snowmahgawd as people are making it out. Hoping to snag some cool footage from my quadcopter.

[mitch1399]

Welp, goodbye to a few days of building...

[dellagd]

Originally Posted by mitch1399

Welp, goodbye to a few days of building...

Hello CAD, I think we'll be seeing a lot of each other for the next few days.

[Christopher149]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Well, 30" in a 24 hour period in Boston is pretty rare from what I understand.

Idk, as a fellow Michigander I just think "ah, tuesday" as well. I mean, I'm still not driving in it but it's not nearly as Snowmahgawd as people are making it out. Hoping to snag some cool footage from my quadcopter.

As another Michiganian (and Yooper), we had one Groundhog Day where it snowed 24" in about six hours. School was already in session when it started, and they did not release us early because plows were getting stuck. Took the school bus home and had to wade through quite a bit of snow to get to my front door (there was like a 3-foot wall at the end of the driveway).

And Michigan Tech almost never closes due to weather.

[Jacob Bendicksen]

Originally Posted by MrBasse

For a non-east coaster, can someone explain why this is such a big deal to be nation wide news. 16" is a nice amount of snow but I just don't get it.

When a storm like this happens in Michigan we just look outside and say "oh, it's Tuesday."

It's all dependent on what the area is used to. My dad lives in Minneapolis, where it's business as usual when it's 10 below and snowing several inches per hour, but here in Oregon, we had a day off of school this fall where it literally looked like someone had sprinkled powdered sugar on the ground. It melted by 10 AM, but school was canceled (not that I'm complaining).

[electroken]

Originally Posted by MrBasse

For a non-east coaster, can someone explain why this is such a big deal to be nation wide news. 16" is a nice amount of snow but I just don't get it.

When a storm like this happens in Michigan we just look outside and say "oh, it's Tuesday."

It has to do with the population density of the Northeast and to explain to the folks in Iowa why there are so many Connecticut plates in the supermarket parking lot. The shelves are wiped clean here.

Apparently we need to have 10 days of provisions for each anticipated day of snow.

[asid61]

It snowed once in our area three or four years ago. Maybe 1/4"?
Most exciting weather in a decade.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Christopher149

As another Michiganian (and Yooper), we had one Groundhog Day where it snowed 24" in about six hours. School was already in session when it started, and they did not release us early because plows were getting stuck. Took the school bus home and had to wade through quite a bit of snow to get to my front door (there was like a 3-foot wall at the end of the driveway).

And Michigan Tech almost never closes due to weather.

I remember the one time Kettering closed due to inclement weather. Still had to go to the school to finish a lab... that may or may not have involved making roombas chase people around a room.

It's times like this that I sincerely miss Florida.

[MikeE]

Originally Posted by MrBasse

For a non-east coaster, can someone explain why this is such a big deal to be nation wide news. 16" is a nice amount of snow but I just don't get it.

When a storm like this happens in Michigan we just look outside and say "oh, it's Tuesday."

It's a combination of population density and the type of snow.

There are 4.6m people living within ~30 miles of Boston*, so even a 4" snow storm hitting during weekday rush hour causes massive traffic congestion and limits road plowing.
In the coastal areas of New England we get very wet snow which tends to down trees and take out overhead power lines. One day of travel difficulty is disruptive but tolerable - however a week of no power/heating followed by burst pipes is disastrous.

I couldn't easily find typical storm amounts for Michigan but I see that last winter the 3rd largest storm ever recorded in Flint dumped 17" of snow. Perhaps 20"+ isn't that typical for the more populated parts of the state.

But I agree we get it easy on the East Coast. A good friend of ours lives in Valdez, Alaska the snowiest town in the US where 40"+ storms are not unheard of.

* For comparison that's 15 times the population of Michigan's Upper Peninsula in less than 25% of the area.