Snow story
Bill Cuningham, Roebling
The snowstorm hit Jan 11 and it distributed about 12 to 15 inches. Whether you appreciate it or not fresh falling snow does evoke a sense of awe and wonder. Everything on the landscape seems refreshed and newly painted but in this instance it had rained the day before. The awesomeness of the newly arrived snow soon vanished with the recognition that the weight of the rain soaked snow required a Herculean effort when shoveling and clearing a path or releasing a snowbound car in an ice wedged barrier.
The snowstorm lasted about seven hours dispersing snow as much as 2 inches per hour at times. For those who thought they might mitigate the deluge and shovel at intervals every three hours they were met with an ice covered surface on the area that they had recently cleared so diligently. The innovative individual who thought he could outwit Mother Nature with his snowblower was soon to recognize that he was a puny match. Moving only 3 or 4 feet his snowblower became clogged with crushed ice and rendered ineffective. This was a merciless storm showing complete disregard for the shut-in and those needing routine medical hospital visits.
The snowplow trucks were somewhat effective but you could see the frustration on the face of the person who had finished digging out only to have his path walled in again by an unmindful passing snowplow truck. If this storm had been a prizefight it would have been stopped with Mother Nature being declared the winner. In truth, there were small victories but it is now days later and the side roads still have ruts of ice and patches of snow that are a concern. The biggest problem of all is what to do with all this snow? The solution seems to be to find a field to pile this grimy, grey, dirt incrusted mess with the hope that it will melt away by spring. You won’t find a snowman or an igloo made of this mess. Truly the landscape has been changed for now.