Tips for Getting Snowed in

With the upcoming blizzard which a lot are dubbing "an epic proportion,"  one needs to be ready and prepared. So here are some tips.

• Stock Up on Food and Water - this is probably the most important tip. You will need to make sure you have enough food and water especially if you get stuck at home for a couple of days. And you don't need any fancy food - granola bars and snacks will do. But the most important is water, you need to make sure you are hydrated all the time.
• Batteries - you need batteries for your flashlights and radio - unless you have one of those crank radios. 
• Charge up your electronics - with this kind of blizzard, there is a big possibility of power loss so make sure your phone, book reader, laptop and other electronic devices are charged up so you won't get bored in case there is no power.  And you will need your phone in case of emergencies.
• Thermal blankets - thermal blankets will be put into greater use when you don't have power and you will need to sleep in the cold. Your body can only take enough cold before hypothermia sets in. 
• Don't venture out - especially during the heart of the blizzard even if you have a all-wheel drive. You don't want to be stuck out in the cold and you might end up getting buried in a pile of snow. 
• If you need to be driving - make sure you have essentials in your car. Make sure you have food and water, thermal blanket, first-aid kit, flash lights and charged up phone. Also, if you need to be out, let someone know. 
• First-Aid Kit - no need to explain this.

This are just some tips to get you by the impending snowpocalypse. Good Luck, stay safe and keep warm

First Snowstorm of the Year

Last January 7, New York experience its first snowstorm of 2011. New York did not really get as much as the one we experienced during the holiday season, which dump almost 20 inches. Anyway, here are some pictures after the snowstorm.

We got another snowstorm today (Jan 12), hopefully its the last one (which I doubt it)...

Two-day Snowstorm

Stuck again at home and have to use another personal day from work. This is probably the worst snowstorm I have experience for awhile.

There were a lot of conflicting forecast about how much accumulations we were going to get. Forecast predicted from 6 inches all the way to 20 inches. So it was hard to decide what to do on Thursday.

It did start on Wednesday night with misting rain by five in the afternoon. During that time, forecast only calls for rain on thursday then changing to snow in the afternoon and night. But when I woke up on Thursday, it was already a full-blown storm with snow, sleet and rain combining making the roads wet, slushy and slippery. Wet snow means heavy snow which equals to dangerous road conditions - not to mention, fallen objects from above. Tree branches break, widespread power outtage due to fallen power lines. I was lucky that we weren't affected by the power outtages especially during Thursday night when the winds were howling and the winds gusting to around 40 - 50 miles per hour  (almost a Nor'easter). I did manage to clean out my car yesterday afternoon when it started to rain. Sure was getting heavy but had to do it or else, it would have been heavier if I waited.

This morning, I went out to white background - trees, roads, cars - everything was white. The accumulation didn't look much but its the ice that's underneath the snow that made it treacherous to go anywhere. I would have gone to work but from the looks of it, the major roads are not even cleared yet. It basically took me an hour to clean my car up due to the blanket of snow and ice. And had to turn the heat up so that the ice would melt making it easier to scrap everything off my car.


So yeah, two days of no work but I was stuck at home due to the snowstorm. I did managed to do some cleaning and catching up on some reading. I do have some friends who have about two foot of snow in their area so I should be happy. The storm is suppose to leave by tonight but the temperature will be staying low so it could be icy roads tomorrow. In any event, if you get bored - go outside and make snowman like what I did.