Scarlet Pimpernel

Wait, didn't the Astros get all kinds of sanctions for cheating??

Oh man...you're like ready to be holed up for awhile with all that stuff! Even the top shelf is bulging under the weight! I'd be glad to help you lighten the load there...

Pretty much...if you've got many years before retiring, you can withstand even some big market drops and swings. I'm a fed. employee myself, actually put everything into one of their "L" funds which sort of "automatically" adjusts the investments as your projected retirement year approaches. I'm not exactly the most knowledgeable on these things other than basic stuff, so I don't tinker much...and yeah, kinda lazy (I've heard some refer to the "L" fund as the "lazy fund", haha!).

Hey supernova...I hope you get better, and take good care of yourself OK!! Stay safe...

Oh, I agree...and I wasn't trying to get overly political, sorry. This country has done much better before with other crises for sure. But it doesn't help to have mixed messages from the top (or at least near the top), people defying what experts are saying, or flat out stating things that aren't true. That doesn't help anyone. It is true that sometimes, we manage in spite of poor leadership, so maybe you're right in some ways that it might not matter so much who's in charge (up to a point!). There's an element of "catch up" with anything...hell, just look at major weather events for one thing. But we'd hope to refine that over the years. As for the Swine Flu thing...from what I've heard that was more like an actual flu virus, so there was some more "familiarity" (for lack of a better word), and perhaps easier to gin up a vaccine. I remember getting the vaccine at some point shortly after they came out with it. I guess my main point (or one of them) in my other post is that I don't have much of a problem with these cancellations and postponements, advice to avoid big crowds, etc...even though on the surface it seems like "overkill" perhaps. Better to be inconvenienced by that rather than have something worse happen. Now, as I write this, I found out that Gov. Hogan just ordered all MD schools to close for two weeks starting this upcoming Monday. My daughter is in MoCo, and this has been a possibility for a little while now...so not overly surprising. I know many schools have been planning some online stuff, at least to mitigate some of the lost time. A friend of mine in the Atlanta area just told me they closed Cobb County schools for the rest of the school year! I'm sure many, many locations will be having summer classes to make up at least some time.

Meh...I've been to Cleveland Indians games in the late 70s and 80s. That was essentially like playing with no fans!!

Ha! So many people stocking up on water and TP...I say stock up on booze!

Totally agree with this. The main reason for all the "social distancing", postponements, cancellations...is perhaps not so much to try and stop the spread at this point (though it may help with that, as well), but to keep emergency facilities from being overwhelmed all at once. Anyone who's seen that "flatten the curve" graphic should immediately get that. And even if one isn't necessarily in a high risk group, you cannot be certain that you won't require some form of professional medical care. This isn't about panic, this is about common sense. Thanks for this. While for a large majority it may be relatively mild (not sure the exact definition of what "mild" constitutes, but I'll take that to mean not needing to be hospitalized), a significant number of people have and will be really adversely affected. Out of 100+M, that would be a lot of people, and I'm sure we all know someone who might be in the higher risk group (family member, friend, co-worker, etc.). Like I said above, there's a difference between panic and common sense...this is common sense what the experts are saying and warning about. I'll take a few weeks or couple of months of "inconvenience"...like not going to some event or travelling...over things getting potentially very dire. And in the end, if we get lucky and it ends up being not as bad as thought...then great! I still think hedging on the side of caution is far better. As for the Swine Flu a decade ago, yeah, I remember that. Not to get overly political here, but in that case, we actually had some competent leadership listening to experts, etc., which quite possibly kept it from being even worse (plus a vaccine was developed...though I think it was maybe "easier" in that case because it actually was a somewhat familiar flu. Coronavirus isn't really a flu and is quite different in many ways). And the exponential growth is something people should pay more attention to (as you mention), rather than saying "oh, there's only a couple thousand, and it's not all that bad". I'd also wager that the current number of cases is far more than being reported, simply because probably a lot of people may already have it, or had minor symptoms and didn't need to go in for treatment, etc. Add to that the fact that one could be walking around with no symptoms for nearly 2 weeks, but still be contagious. That's one of the more sinister things about this virus, as opposed to the "normal" flu or a cold.

Nice shutout for February! A "T"...that's like getting no-hit instead of a perfect game thrown against you, I guess. IAD and DCA also recorded a trace, I believe. I think I saw a flake or two at some point during the month, so yeah...a trace for me as well. So, in the time I've been here (since 2001), this winter now stands as the worst for snow (though not sure if necessarily the warmest, but must be close!). I measured maybe 2.0" total I think, the biggest event being 1.5" in January. 2011-12 had been the worst (closely followed by 2001-02), but this one...just a stinker all around, gate-to-gate and no letup. Now of course, we'll get a slushy 2" sometime in March to mess that up, right?!

That should get us into early December. I'm all in!! Start a thread!

Very cool, @WxWatcher007! And like I said before, great photos/videos...what an event to experience! Now...get back home safely! (ETA: I particularly liked the "Park Farther Walk More" sign, buried in snow!! Just seems a bit ironic somehow, haha!)

Yeah, Jan '77 was absolutely brutal state-wide (hell, for a wide region outside there too!). Even for someone who likes cold and snow, it was a bit much! I recall Cleveland did not go above freezing from about the last week of December through the first week of February. I think that was true for the entire state pretty much. And several below zero days/nights through that time for sure. We didn't get an excessive amount of snow, but whatever fell collected and stuck around for a good, long time. Average temperature at KCLE for that January was 11 degrees! That's still their coldest January and coldest month on record. Lots of days off from school too, I remember. They were putting sand and crushed coal on the roads simply because it was too cold for regular salt to do any good, and at least that gave you some traction.

Yeah, with the right wind, those Lake Michigan streamers can get all the way to southwest and central Ohio! Cool to see on radar when it happens. I would doubt Lake Erie froze over this year, and would not be surprised if it had far less ice than usual. I don't recall the stats, but it doesn't always freeze completely even most years, but a good percentage of it typically does (it's the shallowest of all the Lakes!). Of course, I remember back during the record cold January 1977, a couple bozos decided to "walk across the lake" from Ohio to Canada, as it was definitely frozen over that year. What they didn't realize is that even frozen over and record cold, the ice is still thin in the middle part of the lake and they got trapped. I think an ice cutter had to go in there to rescue them, maybe they were the wiser for it afterward! Oh, and then there's the annual Polar Bear Club that picks what normally is one of the coldest days of the year...and these guys jump into Lake Erie with only swim trunks on. I'm sure tons of alcohol beforehand kept them warm enough, hahaha! Those crazy Ohioans!!!

Yup, the relative warmth this year certainly has kept the lake effect machine running more than usual. Lake Erie nearly always gets decent ice cover at some point, I think this year was very little if any? Growing up, I distinctly remember a "lull" in lake effect snows in the Cleveland area from about the 2nd week of January through most or all of February, due to ice on Lake Erie. Then it would start back up again in March during cold outbreaks when the ice began to let up (November-December were also good for that!).

Awesome stuff, @WxWatcher007!! Great photos and videos, it's really cool you were able to "chase" that remarkable event. Thanks for sharing!! But dayum, does that ever make me miss lake effect snows!! Grew up with that in northeast Ohio, lots of fun and some of the most amazing snow rates I've seen.

March 25, 2013 comes to mind. Now, that wasn't as bad as this winter has been, but it was loaded with disappointment (especially when we got screwed earlier that month).

Let's just take p02 or p19 and be done with it!

Well, it actually did snow in Oz, you'll recall...when Dorothy et al. were on their way to the Emerald City, Glinda the good witch made it snow to wake them up. Enough to cover the grass and stick to the pavement (yellow brick road) even, I believe!! I don't know what the sun angle was, however. (ETA: The Emerald City itself got fringed by that event!!!)

Thanks, appreciate that...

Well, to be fair, I myself also look back fondly at April 1982 and that winter in general (I'm assuming you mean Apr. 5-6 that year). But that's from the perspective of northeast Ohio, not NYC, and nowhere near this place. KCLE got ~12". That was a great storm in the midwest, and I honestly at the time had no idea what it might have done outside there. Plus, it's the storm that put KCLE over the top for snowiest winter on record there at the time (it's since been broken), by a good margin thanks to that event.

This winter has been so bad...("How bad was it??" yells the crowd!)...it's been so bad that we even get a leap day this February just to add one more day this month that it won't snow!!

Start a thread post haste!! Maybe even a radio show! (Yeah, I used the term "post haste"!!)

That was indeed a classic rant post...bravo @Jebman! I remember that post well from the time. If ever AmWx could give some kind of literary award for top posts, this would win hands down! Oh, and yeah, that was the year we got screwed for much of the winter. Then things turned around and lined up right for us over the next 3-4 weeks, and we did really well in that time. Very true! I had actually forgotten @Jebman posted that in Panic Room that year (though I did read it at the time)! Back in the early days of the Room, when you didn't have all the fine amenities, waiters to serve you drinks, dance floors, etc.!!

Wouldn't be prudent...at this juncture!

Now to be fair, I think we may have gotten into CFS range a time or two back in late December or early January. But otherwise, yeah, not so much!!