It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like . . .

[h2olawyer]

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.  Started snowing about 6 this morning & it's been coming down stronger as the day goes on.  It's actually more of a horizontal snow now with winds over 35 MPH & temps are in the low 20s (single digits with wind chill).   Can't even see across the street.  It's a true, by the book blizzard.  Roads are closing, schools are closing, flights are getting cancelled, what traffic there is is moving very slowly.  Supposed to go on like this into Thursday.  Predicting more than a foot of snow before this ends.  There are already drifts that deep.  Updated forecast - now saying overr 2 feet of snow by tomorrow.

Glad I'm done with my Christmas shopping & most other errands.  Still need to go to the liquor store to get the supplies to make glogg.  It's days like this I'm happy I have a heavy 4wd vehicle!  I'll be able to get the snowblower out for the second time this year - WOO-HOO!  The squirrels & birds that are normally around eating the peanuts & sunflower seeds I put out are nowhere to be seen.  Not supposed to have any real warm days before next week, so it looks like we'll have a white Christmas for a change.

The V won't be coming out of its warm storage for a while, now.   :'(

Hope you all are having as great a day as I.  I actually like this weather!   ;D

H₂O

[YellowJacket!]

Send some of it my way.  Its beginning to look a lot more like spring here. Im actually contemplating mowing my lawn today.  The first time ever for me to have to mow in December! o:

David

[don_vanecek]

Sure, the guy who works out of his home, no kids and has a big 4wd likes this kind of weather-sure he does! One thing I am happy for is that I no longer have a school bus turning around in my driveway!

I am on the eastern edge of NE and our temps have stayed above freezing here so far, so just wet as you are getting the blunt of this storm system. Enjoy-hey, gets lots of moisture, we need the run off over here in NE! I hear Big Mac is down to like 1/4 it's size (althought I haven't been there since I last suba dived in it in the mid-seventys!)

[h2olawyer]

After living in Steamboat for 25 years, I got used to driving in this stuff on a regular basis.  Even got my learner's permit up there in January so my first driving experiences were on snowpacked roads.  Had a 62 VW beetle with studded snows back then.  Got around great but with no weight on the front tires & standard bias ply highway tread, it didn't like to stop too well.

There's lots of $&!# happening with water.  Nebraska sued Colorado for more water out of both the South Platte & Republican rivers.  That suit forced many irrigators using wells to stop pumping water.  Wouldn't have been a big deal, but after being told they would have water, they made the investment in fertilizer, seed & fuel to get it all into the ground.  A couple weeks later, their water was shut off & all those potential crops withered & died.  Major economic loss.

Colorado has been in a persistent drought for the last 7 or 8 years.  When we do get good snow, it seems we get a warm spring & the snowmelt goes downstream too fast or evaaporates before it gets into the reservoirs.  The effects are showing up in several places - not only is Big Mac low, Lake Powell was down to about 1/3 of capacity.  It will take several years of above normal snowpack to get that lake filled up again.

Mowing lawns in December - what a concept!  My lawn went dormant before Halloween.  The dry weather makes it happen even before the weather gets cool for extended periods.

Stay warm & dry!

H₂O

[don_vanecek]

It been dry here too although not as bad as you guys, and I think the farmers still did OK in my area. Man what a bummer for the Colorado farmers to be promised water, plant the crops and then get denied the water-did you end up professionally involved in some of this?

I have ten acres that over the last couple of years I try to put out about a hundred conservation program trees (usually take three days off work to plant em), last couple years it's almost a waste of time, almost always seem to get a full month of hot temps and little rain and most never make it past that first year!  And if the weather doesn't get em they grow for a few years and then bambi destroys em! Support your local deer hunters! My dreams of a ten acre forrest are not happening!

[dj]

Besides the cold weather at night and the very cool mornings it pretty much is spring time (minus all of the mud) up here in Maine.  It looks like we will be getting a green/brown christmas this year.  Not that I mind, I would prefer not to have to shovel out my driveway!

[h2olawyer]

Here's the suggested mode of transportation around here today:

[ps2/bikevision]

we had snow here a few weeks ago. we got about 8" but it only lasted about a week before it melted. now there not calling for snow again till after christmas. my buddy is really getting mad cause he bought a new sled 2 years ago and hasent been able to ride it but once when he first bought it. heck i havent been sleding in two years.

[h2olawyer]

Was outside blowing snow out of the driveway an hour or so ago.  Need to keep up with the drifting.  It was over 2 feet deep up toward the garage - where the wind deposits everything.  Closer to 14 inches everywhere else.  That's since 6 this morning.

While I was running the snowblower, I saw a guy having a blast riding his snowmobile around the neighborhood streets.  At this point, that's about the only way to get around here.

The snow keeps piling up & the wind is still blowing.  I-25 is closed from Wyoming to New Mexico.  I-70 is closed from Denver into Kansas.  Denver International Airport is closed & has been all day.  The secondary highways are all closed as well.  The Governor declared an emergency so National Guard is available to help stranded drivers & to assist emergency personnel.  Even though Colorado is well prepared for this type of storm, there's not much to do until it stops snowing sideways.  Ft. Collins won't even plow the side streets at all.  Glad I'm just a couple hundred yards from a major plowed thoroughfare & the plows have been going by quite often.  Not much other traffic, though.

Stay Warm!

H2O

[Lucky]

I usually give you guys snow reports & put the blizzard cam up, but not this year!!  ;D ;D
I'm almost completely enjoying this, just a little too cold in the a.m. to take the bike to work, but i've never had such an easy time starting it in December!

to all those of you who like it: enjoy! to those of you who don't & are stuck in it: well, there's plenty of room down here!

--Lucky

[kiawrench]

H2O - doesnt look like you are going to get any fishing done for a day or three-----
    i dont mind some snow,,, but if weather.com is right, you have way more than i want to see , for now.

     while you were digging out the driveway, i was riding my V all over the place trying to find the wife type person a polartec jacket . got lucky, found one at bass pro shop, 39.99,,,

   may be a bit late, but if anyone is in need of outdoor stuff, http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.OnlineShopping
has a lot of stuff on sale20 to 50 percent off,,, end of year thing.

as for your snow h20,, at least you know it will ease some of the water issues for a while,

[h2olawyer]

I could go fishing - the catching just might not be too good.  The ice is still too thin for sit & freeze fishing as well.

Polartec jackets are easy to find here.  I can think of a dozen stores off the top of my head that carry high quality gear - North Face, Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, Marmot, that kind of stuff.  Another great place is Sierra Trading Post.  I buy all kinds of outdoor gear & most of my clothes from them.  www.sierratradingpost.com  Always on sale - closeouts, overruns & seconds.  Since their main warehouse is in Cheyenne, WY, its only about 50 miles away.  Might as well be on the moon tonight, though . . .

I hope this helps our water situation, but it's just a drop in the bucket compared to what we really need.

In the three hours since I blew out the driveway, there's another 5 inches there.  Glad I have power tools to get rid of the stuff.  Even though my driveway will be clear, the roads won't be passable for a  couple days - at least not passable for anything but heavy 4x4s.   ;D

H₂O

[Walt_M.]

I grew up in the north, spent 34 years with snow. Heck, I used to ski but since I've been in Florida, I've never missed it. As long as it is in my power, I will never go back.

[plavix]

I am jealous H20...we lived by Lake Tahoe for several years before moving to Georgia and I really enjoyed the snow.  My first purchase upon moving there was a Honda snowblower...it was still late summer, but I couldn't wait to use it.  The first big snow, I was out blowing the snow when I noticed a purple blur in the stand of trees to the left of the driveway...I look over and my little daughter is getting PASTED by the snow from the blower...whoops!  She had snuck around behind me and was playing in the trees over there when she got pegged.  Pretty funny after I new she was OK.  She stayed out of my way after that and didn't sneak around dad...that'll teach 'er.

[Mutt]

we had snow here a few weeks ago. we got about 8" but it only lasted about a week before it melted. now there not calling for snow again till after christmas. my buddy is really getting mad cause he bought a new sled 2 years ago and hasent been able to ride it but once when he first bought it. heck i havent been sleding in two years.

Even after living in Michigan (UP) for two years, it's still funny for southerners to hear that grown men bought sleds. Until I moved to MI I thought a sled was simply a sled like you take to the top of the hill, jump on and ride down. The first time at work I heard men my age talking about getting together to ride sleds I was thinking "how immature"! Then they talked about riding them across the UP to Wisconsin on the trail. I thought, "wow, that must be one long hill". Of course I learned later these were sleds that would do 115mph off the show room floor!  :)

I almost bought a pair the last winter season I lived there. I'm glad I didn't because shortly afterward I was transfered to San Diego. I can't imagine trying to unload two sleds and a trailer in San Diego! Instead I bought a cheaper toy, a motorcycle called a Yamaha Vision.  :D

Mutt  :)

[ps2/bikevision]

actually mutt it wouldnt of been that hard to unload a sled out there. They can be jetted to run in the warmer weather. And a snowmobile motor believe it or not can fetch a nice sum in the desert. Poeple use them to build sandrails. A friend of mine has one and its a blast at the sand dunes.

[h2olawyer]

Well, the snow has stopped falling but the wind is still howling.  Clouds are lifting a bit & visibility is good.  Should even see a little sun this afternoon.  Roads still mostly impassable.  Snow total for Ft. Collins is right around 2 feet.  With all the wind, its impossible to get an accurate total.  I've seen anything from 20 to 26 inches.  Denver is calling it their 4th largest snowstorm in history.

Heading out to blow the snow out of the driveway again.  There's a drift outside my front door that's over 3 feet high.  Should give the old Toro a good workout!

H₂O

[h2olawyer]

The driveway is cleaned out.  The drift in front of my door is gone.  There's even some blue sky here & there.  Temps are in the upper 30s (F).  Even though the driveway has no more snow, I won't be able to go anyplace until we get some equipment into the cul-de-sac to get rid of the 2+ feet of snow on the road.  There's a car stuck in the nearby intersection.  I'd go out to help dig her out but there are already 7 people out there fighting for digging space.  They're all college students so they've all got more shovelling stamina than I.

There's still a bit of a breeze blowing but it's not nearly as bad as it was for the last 24 hours.  Official reports say 23 inches total but I've heard from different parts of town that it varies from 20 inches to over 30.  The depth increases as you get closer to the mountains.  As near as I can tell, there's 26 - 28 inches in my yard.  The snowbanks along my driveway are over 4 feet in places.  Will get photos this afternoon.

Got about half way through blowing out the driveway & my trusty old Toro decided to give up.  Only 1/2 the auger (front part that pushes snow into the thrower) was turning.  The other 1/2 was free wheeling.  Could easily spin it by hand.  Got on the internet & looked up the parts diagram to see how it all goes together.  Anyway, after locating a bolt & locknut (glad I have a good supply) I was back in the snowblowing game. 

Hope everyone else is warm & dry!

H₂O 

[Night Vision]

Got about half way through blowing out the driveway & my trusty old Toro decided to give up.  Only 1/2 the auger (front part that pushes snow into the thrower) was turning.  The other 1/2 was free wheeling.  Could easily spin it by hand.  Got on the internet & looked up the parts diagram to see how it all goes together.  Anyway, after locating a bolt & locknut (glad I have a good supply) I was back in the snowblowing game. 

make sure when you get a chance to replace it with a shear bolt

[Tiger]

....after locating a bolt & locknut
H₂O 

h20,
???...Is this the bolt that goes thru' the auger... ???...if so, I hope you used a "shear" bolt, or intend getting one. They are designed so that if to much pressure occurs on the auger, (solid ice, chunk of wood, brick, etc), the bolt(s), not the shaft/gearing, will snap...which is what happened I'm thinking  ;)

                              8).......TIGER....... 8)