After the Storm

We got pummeled by snow last Thursday night and Friday.  For our family, it was a welcome sight.  We lived in the desert for eight years, and I desperately missed having four seasons.  Our daughters didn’t remember much about living with snow, so they were excited to see it, too.  And my husband and I always love a freak weather event (as long as we’re able to stay safe).  Last week, we got the mother of storms.

Here’s what our neighborhood looked like hours before the storm hit:

And that same neighborhood view a mere 36 hours (and 70 or so inches of snow later):

And, our deck at the beginning of the storm:

And at the end of the storm:

There was just so much snow!  We went out during the middle of the storm to try to clear our driveway.  We made some progress, but the snow was falling at a rate of 2 to 3 inches an hour.

We didn’t see a plow through our neighborhood until early Sunday morning, and even then, they could only plow one lane into our neighborhood.

Our yard happens to be at a turn in the road, so the snow plow deposited a mountain of road snow in our yard:

This storm might have broken the record for the fastest snowfall accumulation in New York history; it was a storm for the record books and one to talk about years from now.

I’m so glad that our family didn’t have any medical emergencies or require regular medical care because getting out was near impossible.  It wasn’t until Monday, four days after the storm started and two days after it ended, that we were able to get out.  I read on different Facebook groups about people who couldn’t get to dialysis treatments and moms who ran out of diapers for their babies.

Thankfully, we never lost power, and we had plenty of food.  Our kids are big enough that they could help clear the snow.  I’m so grateful to the workers like snow plow drivers, tow trucks, and electricians who worked endless hours to get the area functioning again.

Now, I wonder how long it will take for this snow to disappear.  Will it still be with us in March or April?  And if this was the first snowfall for the season, what do we have in store for the rest of the winter?