Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful!

We’ve been talking about the “Dakotas” , North and South, so I couldn’t help but notice the weather out there. Wow! Have you seen the pictures? A blizzard hit the whole region!

Rapid City, where we went on vacation a couple of years ago, got 21 inches of snow. Temps are struggling to reach the 30’s when it was 85 last week! Here is a partial report from the AP.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — In the span of 24 hours, the scenic Black Hills in South Dakota were coated in up to three and a half feet of wet, heavy snow, one of several Great Plains states walloped by a storm system that’s caused millions of dollars in damage.

Wind gusts of up to 70 mph were recorded in the Black Hills, National Weather Service meteorologist Katie Pojorlie said Saturday morning, but the snow was expected to end later Saturday, giving people a chance to start digging out from the unusual early fall snowstorm that set records.

But wintry weather wasn’t the only thing wrapped into the powerful cold front, as thunderstorms brought heavy rain, hail and tornadoes in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. No one died in the tornadoes, reports said, but snow was blamed in the deaths of three people who were killed in a traffic accident on U.S. 20 in northeast Nebraska.

Forecasters said the front would eventually combine with other storms to make for a wild — and probably very wet — weekend for much of the central U.S. and Southeast.

Pojorlie said the historic mining city of Lead, S.D., in the northern Black Hills had received 43 ½ inches of snow by 7:30 p.m. Friday and more had fallen overnight. Rapid City had 21 inches, but 31 inches was recorded just a mile southwest of the city.

Farther south at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, the mustangs found themselves in a winter wonderland.

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Tornados touched down in near Wayne, Nebraska but thankfully there were only minor injuries.

Is the weather getting crazy or what?!

March Blizzard 2013

Oh it was tempting to skip work today but I am getting close to the end of my employment. With that deadline looming  I dragged myself out the door about 9 AM. Here’s what greeted me.

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The tree by the front door

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The decorative bench on the front lawn. Pretty clear we have a bit of accumulation.

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Along Rt 44 trees weighed down and other snowy vistas

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Christmas tree anyone?

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Can you believe it was still snowing? This isn’t Alaska. It’s Southern Massachusetts!

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It’s supposed to be 50 degrees tomorrow! Talk about weather extremes.

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But my favorite…Here come the plows.

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I got this picture of the west bound plow by holding the camera out the car  window as I drove eastbound.

Storm Stories

The  New England Blizzard of 2013 is winding down. The storm centers are starting to compare past major storms to this one. My favorite storm was the Blizzard of ’78 but I’d say this one was handled much better. With a driving ban starting yesterday at 4 pm they avoided having cars stuck on the expressway and stranded drivers which was one of the most horrific memories from ’78. The storm surges are still battering the coast with widespread evacuations but I haven’t heard too many reports of homes being washed into the sea the way they were in ’78.

I was a property insurance adjuster in 1978 so had first hand exposure to the devastation. Now in 2013 I’m a dispatcher for a telecommunication company so still on the front lines, just in a different way.

Here are some pictures from 10:30 last night.

Our Entryway door at the condo in Taunton

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Plowing the parking lot

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The tree in front of out building

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And then 9 am this morning.

Still snowing

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Nice job clearing our walk way

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And the stairs but what happens at the bottom???

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Wake me up when it’s spring.

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Where’s my car?

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