March Madness In Northeastern Pennsylvania. A Record Breaking Snow Storm.

For those of you following my blog, you have been reading the reports in my posts on how mild the winter was here in Northeastern Pennsylvania this year . That changed when  arctic cold plunged into our area last weekend.  And we got a real taste of Winter with a record breaking snowfall this past week.

The snow storm began in the early hours on Tuesday morning. When I awoke and went for my morning walk. there was were about six inches of snow on the ground. I will have to admit, that, while not easy walking the snow covered roads, it did look pretty.  I didn’t have my camera on that first walk but, later in the day, around noon, I did venture out again, this time with my camera. I now  found almost 15 inches of snow on the ground. 

The roads were not yet plowed because of the intensity of the falling snow and so I struggled along following the tire tracks of the few brave cars that ventured out in the storm Walking was not easy. . 

I took my usual route  past my mom’s house,  on, appropriately named, Winter’s Avenue, past the large drifts of snow covering cars and most everything else in a blanket of white. 

I walked past Kresock’s hill which, when I was a child would have been covered with youngsters sledding down it’s steep incline.

I had a hard time walking on the un-plowed road and decided to head home when I reached the Mountain View cemetery.

The snow was still falling at the rate of  an inch an hour so not many folks were out shoveling or snow blowing. But there were a few brave souls  challenging the storm and getting an early start on the unwelcome task of snow removal . Here is a link to some more photographs from my second walk the first day of the storm. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-2017/nggallery/photographs-2017/Morning-walk-blizzard-March-14-2017-

I made it home and spent the rest of the afternoon  watching the snow fall and photographing the many birds that showed up at my feeders and on my deck. Please check out my previous posts for some more photographs and comments about  the birds. Here is a link to the photographs. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-2017/nggallery/photographs-2017/Birds-in-backyard-March-14-2017-

The snow finally let up later in the afternoon, leaving a little over of 20 inches on the ground, an all time one day snowfall record. I took another walk to see how the storm impacted the neighborhood. 

This time, with the main roads having been plowed, it was much easier walking. I also found a lot more folks out shoveling or snow blowing their sidewalks and driveways and shoveling their cars out of the snow drifts. 

I walked up to the main street in West Hazleton, Broad Street, and found it to be passable but those who ventured out were driving slowly .

I made my way back, walking into the  northeasterly, and cold,  wind, which meant the storm was ending and  that there would be a lot of drifting overnight. Here is a link to some more photographs from my afternoon walk.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-2017/nggallery/photographs-2017/Snowstorm-Tuesday-evening-walk-March-14-2017

The next morning I awoke a snow covered and cloud shrouded world as I took my daily morning walk. 

The roads were plowed and, for the most part passable, but still did not provide for not the best of driving, or walking  conditions. The schools and many businesses were closed. 

Most of the cars were still covered under drifts of snow. 

I again walked up to Broad Street and, although the roads were passable there were still some spots that drifted over with snow and hard to get through.

Snow removal was going to be difficult because of the strong winds, and frigid temperatures. It was 12 degrees when I left on my walk. I found my office was still not shoveled out.

I walked home, into the wind, chatting with some of the folks digging out from the storm. I learned when I returned home that there was a state of emergency declared and we decided to close out office for the day. Here is a link to some more photographs from my morning walk.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-2017/nggallery/photographs-2017/Snowstorm-Wednesday-morning-walk-March-15-2017-

I sat and again watched the birds that visited my feeder and my nephew Mikey who came over and did  a good job snow blowing my drive way. I wasn’t going to sit in the house all day, and after checking out my office and having lunch with my nephew Charlie I again went out for an afternoon  walk  to see how the community was digging out form the storm. 

A lot of people were still waiting for the local municipalities to finish up the difficult task of plowing and opening up main streets before they began shoveling out their own houses and automobiles. 

Some youngsters were taking advantage of the snowy conditions to use their recreational quads to help plow the snow. 

As I walked through the snow covered streets, observing how nature, with one storm, could upset our well organized modern lives.  I realized how insignificant we really our, as short term visitors on this beautiful planet we live.  

I returned home, after having been inconvenienced for two days, with an even deeper appreciation for the beauty of nature, even when it is at it’s worst. Still, I looked forward to the approaching Spring and the warm weather it will bring.  And this welcome sight assured me, that despite this setback, and return of Winter, the days of cold and snow are ending, Spring is almost here!  Here is a link to some more photographs from my afternoon hike. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-2017/nggallery/photographs-2017/snow-storm-Wednesday-afternoon-wlak-March-15-2017-

“The snow doesn’t give a soft white damn whom it touches.”
― E.E. Cummings