front yard at 3:30 – over 12 inches had fallen at this point

We had our first major snow storm of the winter today – it started snowing last night around 9:00 and continued through this evening. As the snow fall decreased, the wind began to pick up so we have a blizzard warning until midnight tonight.

The snow was heavy and wet this morning so it was a pain to clear the driveway even with a snowblower. I think when I buy a new snowblower in a few years I will spend the extra money and get a two-stage one. My single-stage works fine but it requires me to push it pretty hard in these kind of conditions. Still, I can’t complain – it’s a lot easier to push a snowblower than it is to shovel.

Most schools in the area canceled classes for today – some even made the call last night before any snow had fallen.  My employer chose to keep the office open, though I spent the day working at home (when not pushing the snowblower). It just would have been smarter to close the office – the advice from local governments was to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.

this was the second time today that I had cleared the driveway

back yard view – i won’t have to ask the neighbors to trim their trees next summer

view from the front yard as the storm begins

Today we had our first snowstorm of the season. We wound up with over 3 inches of snow before it turned into rain. Many places to the north and west had much more snow – we caught only the southern edge of the storm. It was kind of a mess, especially with the fog we had in the morning. Traffic was snarled in a few places at the peak of the storm, as people have forgotten their winter driving skills. The snow turned into light rain by the middle of the afternoon, so it was a heavy mess by the time I got around to shoveling. But we really can use the precipitation because it’s been such a dry year.