The "Blizzard of 2015"

HI!
The second snowfall of the season was dubbed "The Blizzard of 2015." The news was predicting anywhere from 8" to 16" of snowfall in our area and more in the areas to the East of Denver in the open plains.

Here's a pic of the South deck during the snowfall with about 10" on the table and more still falling. It snowed softly until about noon and finished with around 14" total.

The areas to the East of Denver in the open plains got hit the hardest. Snowfall continued into the evening and, in places, the totals were near 2 feet.

But that wasn't their biggest issue. The winds kicked up and topped out at over 100 miles per hour gusts with sustained winds in the 60 to 80 mph range. I heard on the news that these sustained winds qualified as Cat 1 or Cat 2 hurricane force.

At one point, I-70 was closed down as several over-the-road trucks fell over in the wind and blocked up the freeway; at one point, 100 cars were stranded. Wouldn't you know it, the day of The Blizzard of 2015, Deb had a scheduled 7:00AM flight from Denver to Chicago for a knee checkup. That means we have to get up at 4:00AM to be at the airport by 5:00AM when the snowplows don't hit the road until 6:00AM to make things right for the morning commute. What normally is a 1 hour trip turns into 2+ hours on the road at 40 miles per hour in snow 10" deep. Thankful for good tires, full gas tank and 4-wheel drive!

As is usual here, after the storm the clouds disappeared, the sun came out and it warmed up (slightly). When the sun appears, the snow disappears .... but only on South facing surfaces. Our driveway faces South. I watched my neighbor using his snow blower to clear his driveway, manhandling the thrower around for about an hour. The other neighbor is low tech, using a snow shovel to clear his driveway. After about two hours, he had the snow piled where he wanted it.

Last year I too chose a low tech solution to snow removal and, using a shovel, moved the snow when it approached 3" deep. Clearing my driveway takes nearly two hours. Had to do that a couple of times when the storms dumped over 10". This year I went high-tech and used solar power to clear the driveway. Lots easier on me, but somewhat slower, the sunshine taking close to two days to melt all the snow away!

Here's what makes the snow worth having around. At sunset this evening, around 4 PM, the air was crisp and clean, the clouds pink with the setting sun, the deer were resting in the back yard, and winds were calm.

We went up on the top deck this afternoon and cleared a little snow, but mostly sat and warmed ourselves, looking out over the snowy landscape. Really nice to get a sunburn in the Winter!