Storm Benedict

It’s about time. If you’ve been in New England awhile, you might remember that we used to get significant snowfall every year. Maybe we would not get two feet of it within 24 hours, but we’d get enough. Now, it seems that the media exploits every opportunity, which is typically a few inches of snow, at best. It’s easier to digest such hype when a storm manages to produce noteworthy effects.

The photo above is one of the panels from the Lyric Theater windows. It was blasted with snow, despite being in a sheltered area.

Sledding in Pope Park

Snowshoeing alongside the Park River.

This is quite possibly the nicest this property has looked in ages. Can we get a snow storm more often?

Looking out on Capitol Avenue from inside of Red Rock Tavern, which was open early this morning. This was rumored to be one of the more passable roadways, and most cars still had trouble using it.

Overheard some interesting commentary by military folk who had stopped over from the State Armory; the direct quotes are not suitable for publication, but the sentiment was that people who are out driving around when they have been explicitly told to stay put are not necessarily going to be helped out of their predicaments. I’d like to call this the “no bailouts for stupidity” perspective.

Some news media drive around the state (while telling listeners not to drive unless they are essential employees) to provide videos. I walked to get a glimpse at I-84. What I could tell was that more people were driving than probably needed to be, and many were traveling ridiculously close to other vehicles.

All one really needs to do is flip on the police and fire department scanner (it’s something you can listen to online for free) to get a sense of what the storm has done. Listening in this afternoon, I learned that stranded motorists are having long waits for assistance. Even when the mayor and governor have both repeatedly told residents to stay off the roads, some must believe that their vehicles are “death proof” because they ignore the advice when attempting really important trips, like heading to the mall. My guess is those are the same people who think they can ignore the parking bans and leave their vehicles on city streets, thus creating annoyance for those attempting to plow the street.

At the time this photo was taken, visibility at my low speed of about two miles an hour was impaired. I’m betting it was not improved for those traveling faster.

This photo better illustrates what I mean by impaired visibility.

It may not look like much, but this is remarkable for a few reasons. The school’s sidewalk is almost always the last section to have snow removed from it on the entire street. Today, it was one of the few places that had a cleared sidewalk. You can also get a pretty accurate sense of how deep the snow was at 12:30 this afternoon.