Wacky things you've done for snow

[KamuSnow]

I've seen a few posts touching on things that could jinx potential snow, mostly humorous while playing at being a superstitious snow weenie. Such as "don't buy that new snowblower"  "ok now you've done it", lol.

Most of mine are low risk short term, like being outside at 7pm blowing leaves or debris off the lawn the night before an expected accumulating snow. It's a pretty reliable indicator for the neighbors.

Then there's the snow piles after the fact.

If I did get a new snow blower I might keep it under my hat so I wouldn't get blamed for a bad pattern, lol.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I have had wooden snowman decoration measuring stick thing that goes in the ground. I dont put it out often because I have had it 7 years and it has NEVER snowed at any point that it has been out and in the ground. It is currently outside on display. I will be removing it Friday with the rest of the decor so you can expect a better pattern shortly after.

[KamuSnow]

22 minutes ago, Ralph Wiggum said:

I have had wooden snowman decoration measuring stick thing that goes in the ground. I dont put it out often because I have had it 7 years and it has NEVER snowed at any point that it has been out and in the ground. It is currently outside on display. I will be removing it Friday with the rest of the decor so you can expect a better pattern shortly after.

Lol - if we had a better chance of snow tomorrow night would you take it up tomorrow?

[JTA66]

We certainly have a few superstitions here at American WX -- no radio shows, don't start a storm thread too early, some members are banned from starting storm threads, etc. Of course when we were kids, you better do your homework the night before a storm or it would bust and you'd have school the next day.

Hope everyone has a great 2019!

[zenmsav6810]

A stupid dance... in public....

 

As a skier you go to all sorts of lengths. 

[Birds~69]

On 1/1/2019 at 10:46 AM, JTA66 said:

We certainly have a few superstitions here at American WX -- no radio shows, don't start a storm thread too early, some members are banned from starting storm threads, etc. Of course when we were kids, you better do your homework the night before a storm or it would bust and you'd have school the next day.

Hope everyone has a great 2019!

I got screwed on that many times. (Not doing homework) The next morning I would listen to KYW1060 announcing school closings and they would skip right over my number while talking 100 miles an hour. Went to catholic school who were hard asses about giving us a snow day. Meanwhile my friends went to public school and had a snow day with just flurries...   

[jwilson]

2 hours ago, Birds~69 said:

I got screwed on that many times. (Not doing homework) The next morning I would listen to KYW1060 announcing school closings and they would skip right over my number while talking 100 miles an hour. Went to catholic school who were hard asses about giving us a snow day. Meanwhile my friends went to public school and had a snow day with just flurries...   

I went to private school (Phil-Mont) and we had off for just about anything.  I remember one day it straight rained and our school closed (the threat of snow was forecast, but it never materialized).  My brother was stuck in public school and rarely had off the same days I did.  Heck, we got off a whole week for '96.

[Hurricane Agnes]

6 hours ago, Birds~69 said:

I got screwed on that many times. (Not doing homework) The next morning I would listen to KYW1060 announcing school closings and they would skip right over my number while talking 100 miles an hour. Went to catholic school who were hard asses about giving us a snow day. Meanwhile my friends went to public school and had a snow day with just flurries...   

I was in the Philly public schools except it was mostly during the snow drought years.  I only remember a handful of actual "full" closings. And yup, we all did the KYW ritual...  although that has ended since many school districts do phone/email/text blasts of closures directly to parents and/or report the closures to the local news outlets to add to their school closing webpages.  The rest of the time we had some 1/2 days where we were promptly let out to stand fruitlessly on corners waiting for SEPTA buses that either (1) never came so we had to start walking to a connector bus or train or (2) were so packed that people were jammed on the steps up against the closed doors forcing the bus to drive by our stop. One of the buses I used to use would make people get off and walk up a hill to the next stop due to the bus being unable to get up the hill.

In high school, the winter of '76/'77 had that bitter cold and glaciers (and where we lived in Mt. Airy, that meant many bus detours), with ice that was a nightmare to walk on when the bus didn't come... And then the drought ended in the winter of '78 (February) - that biggy was entirely unexpected.  Back then, I believe the Philly schools used to build 6 snow days into the calendar.  Now I hunted around and found they are down to 5 built-in and then after that they juggle spring break days and extend the end of the school year.  In any case, the criteria requires a 6" or more forecast for full closure (although if there was an ice storm, I expect that a closure would be in the cards too).

 

4 hours ago, jwilson said:

I went to private school (Phil-Mont) and we had off for just about anything.  I remember one day it straight rained and our school closed (the threat of snow was forecast, but it never materialized).  My brother was stuck in public school and rarely had off the same days I did.  Heck, we got off a whole week for '96.

That school is not far from where one of my sisters lives (I drive by it quite a bit).  She is in Wyndmoor and I think technically that school is in good old Erdenheim!  Very very hilly there so I can see why they would close, although Springfield Township is top notch getting the streets brined/salted/plowed (as opposed to Cheltenham township ).

I expect the biggest jinx here on the forum is hugging those day-10 Lucy storms.

[JTA66]

Let's channel George Costanza and do the opposite of every instinct we've ever had. Let's start a thread now for PDIII -- maybe that will jump start our winter.

[zenmsav6810]

4 hours ago, Hurricane Agnes said:

I was in the Philly public schools except it was mostly during the snow drought years.  I only remember a handful of actual "full" closings. And yup, we all did the KYW ritual...  although that has ended since many school districts do phone/email/text blasts of closures directly to parents and/or report the closures to the local news outlets to add to their school closing webpages.  The rest of the time we had some 1/2 days where we were promptly let out to stand fruitlessly on corners waiting for SEPTA buses that either (1) never came so we had to start walking to a connector bus or train or (2) were so packed that people were jammed on the steps up against the closed doors forcing the bus to drive by our stop. One of the buses I used to use would make people get off and walk up a hill to the next stop due to the bus being unable to get up the hill.

In high school, the winter of '76/'77 had that bitter cold and glaciers (and where we lived in Mt. Airy, that meant many bus detours), with ice that was a nightmare to walk on when the bus didn't come... And then the drought ended in the winter of '78 (February) - that biggy was entirely unexpected.  Back then, I believe the Philly schools used to build 6 snow days into the calendar.  Now I hunted around and found they are down to 5 built-in and then after that they juggle spring break days and extend the end of the school year.  In any case, the criteria requires a 6" or more forecast for full closure (although if there was an ice storm, I expect that a closure would be in the cards too).

 

That school is not far from where one of my sisters lives (I drive by it quite a bit).  She is in Wyndmoor and I think technically that school is in good old Erdenheim!  Very very hilly there so I can see why they would close, although Springfield Township is top notch getting the streets brined/salted/plowed (as opposed to Cheltenham township ).

I expect the biggest jinx here on the forum is hugging those day-10 Lucy storms.

Talk about the decline of public radio on the air!! Its kind of sad, it was a good way of knowing how impactful and widespread a winter storm was. I think I was pretty much the last hurrah for this tradition. My high school implemented robo-calls my freshmen year. 

[Hurricane Agnes]

5 hours ago, zenmsav6810 said:

Talk about the decline of public radio on the air!! Its kind of sad, it was a good way of knowing how impactful and widespread a winter storm was. I think I was pretty much the last hurrah for this tradition. My high school implemented robo-calls my freshmen year. 

One thing that they transitioned out of (and/or never really used) years ago was referencing the "number" assigned to the entire Philly school district, which was "100".  They would report it (when including the Catholic schools) as "All Philadelphia public and parochial schools are closed"... which more recently became "All Philadelphia and Archdiocesan schools are closed".  And as a note, the colleges have numbers too. I *think* that numbering thing started in the '60s.

With the internet and weather apps, etc., folks can easily see storm impacts nowadays although I think many of us seasoned folk miss channel 6's Jim O'Brien and his "Bad Guys" and "Good Guys"!

 

[Birds~69]

14 hours ago, Hurricane Agnes said:

I was in the Philly public schools except it was mostly during the snow drought years.  I only remember a handful of actual "full" closings. And yup, we all did the KYW ritual...  although that has ended since many school districts do phone/email/text blasts of closures directly to parents and/or report the closures to the local news outlets to add to their school closing webpages.  The rest of the time we had some 1/2 days where we were promptly let out to stand fruitlessly on corners waiting for SEPTA buses that either (1) never came so we had to start walking to a connector bus or train or (2) were so packed that people were jammed on the steps up against the closed doors forcing the bus to drive by our stop. One of the buses I used to use would make people get off and walk up a hill to the next stop due to the bus being unable to get up the hill.

In high school, the winter of '76/'77 had that bitter cold and glaciers (and where we lived in Mt. Airy, that meant many bus detours), with ice that was a nightmare to walk on when the bus didn't come... And then the drought ended in the winter of '78 (February) - that biggy was entirely unexpected.  Back then, I believe the Philly schools used to build 6 snow days into the calendar.  Now I hunted around and found they are down to 5 built-in and then after that they juggle spring break days and extend the end of the school year.  In any case, the criteria requires a 6" or more forecast for full closure (although if there was an ice storm, I expect that a closure would be in the cards too)

Believe it or not I still remember my grade/high school closing numbers from 30-35 years ago.

St Joseph 766

Archbishop Wood 761

On the flip side, someone could tell me their name and 10 minutes later I would forget and feel like an idiot. I always sucked remembering names...  

[sibbley]

On 12/31/2018 at 10:54 PM, KamuSnow said:

I've seen a few posts touching on things that could jinx potential snow, mostly humorous while playing at being a superstitious snow weenie. Such as "don't buy that new snowblower"  "ok now you've done it", lol.

I you go by the Snowblower jinx, I wonder if I buy my new Lawn Mower now instead of mid March, will that get us snow?

[Hurricane Agnes]

5 hours ago, Birds~69 said:

Believe it or not I still remember my grade/high school closing numbers from 30-35 years ago.

St Joseph 766

Archbishop Wood 761

On the flip side, someone could tell me their name and 10 minutes later I would forget and feel like an idiot. I always sucked remembering names...  

And you really know you're a junky when you ALSO know the numbers for the schools of nieces and nephews and you make sure to search to see if they are closed or not (despite the fact that many of the schools use robocalls now).

[KamuSnow]

27 minutes ago, sibbley said:

I you go by the Snowblower jinx, I wonder if I buy my new Lawn Mower now instead of mid March, will that get us snow?

That sounds like a good play! You have my vote, lol.

[Birds~69]

1 hour ago, Hurricane Agnes said:

And you really know you're a junky when you ALSO know the numbers for the schools of nieces and nephews and you make sure to search to see if they are closed or not (despite the fact that many of the schools use robocalls now).

I remember when I was in grade school we had this thing called the "phone tree". One or more parents were notified by the school that they were close. Those parents called other parents who called other parents and so on. It was a joke of a system because one missing link (parent) would screw everything up...

[sibbley]

2 hours ago, KamuSnow said:

That sounds like a good play! You have my vote, lol.

With all the rain we've had I'd better opt for the Ariens 4x4 garden tractor, lol.

[KamuSnow]

1 minute ago, sibbley said:

With all the rain we've had I'd better opt for the Ariens 4x4 garden tractor, lol.

Nice! Take a look at the Simplicity Legacy XL too - you can get a loader for it :-).

[Physicsteve]

Like wearing my Dawkins jersey, or at minimum something green during Eagles games, I’ll wear certain clothes the day of or before to influence the Universe. For example, today at work I wore gray pants, white shirt, blue sweater, and blue tie with white dots. Overall cold color pallette and snow-looking shirt and tie. I’ve done all I can. Your turn, atmosphere. 

[KamuSnow]

12 hours ago, Physicsteve said:

Like wearing my Dawkins jersey, or at minimum something green during Eagles games, I’ll wear certain clothes the day of or before to influence the Universe. For example, today at work I wore gray pants, white shirt, blue sweater, and blue tie with white dots. Overall cold color pallette and snow-looking shirt and tie. I’ve done all I can. Your turn, atmosphere. 

Your efforts are appreciated!

[Ralph Wiggum]

I'm removing my snowman chochki from the garden, my huge Welcome Winter flag, and putting the snowblower back in storage in the far rear of the garage today. That should do it.

[sibbley]

I ordered my new mower yesterday. Will we see snow on Tuesday? Probably not, the mower won't arrive till February 19! I figured if I'm ready for spring, maybe winter would want to hold on longer.

[ChasingFlakes]

On 1/3/2019 at 5:03 AM, Hurricane Agnes said:

One thing that they transitioned out of (and/or never really used) years ago was referencing the "number" assigned to the entire Philly school district, which was "100".  They would report it (when including the Catholic schools) as "All Philadelphia public and parochial schools are closed"... which more recently became "All Philadelphia and Archdiocesan schools are closed".  And as a note, the colleges have numbers too. I *think* that numbering thing started in the '60s.

With the internet and weather apps, etc., folks can easily see storm impacts nowadays although I think many of us seasoned folk miss channel 6's Jim O'Brien and his "Bad Guys" and "Good Guys"!

 

Great videos, I had never heard of Jim O'Brien but he seemed like an interesting character.

 

In regards to snowdances, I normally check the weather models and apps on my phone every six hours and hope and pray I can get out of work when and if it finally does snow.  This year I drove from Philly to Northern VT for 39 inches in 4 days between Jan 8th-11th.  I wouldn't call that crazy, just committed. 

 

As a kid I remember obsessively checking the "weather on the 8s" on everybody's favorite weather TV channel, the weather channel...  I'd see the snow forecasts and add up the 1-3 and 5-8 and 3-5s to see the possible totals.  I'm basically the same way now with slightly more weather knowledge (not much) and just as much enthusiasm.

[Hurricane Agnes]

2 hours ago, ChasingFlakes said:

Great videos, I had never heard of Jim O'Brien but he seemed like an interesting character.

 

In regards to snowdances, I normally check the weather models and apps on my phone every six hours and hope and pray I can get out of work when and if it finally does snow.  This year I drove from Philly to Northern VT for 39 inches in 4 days between Jan 8th-11th.  I wouldn't call that crazy, just committed. 

 

As a kid I remember obsessively checking the "weather on the 8s" on everybody's favorite weather TV channel, the weather channel...  I'd see the snow forecasts and add up the 1-3 and 5-8 and 3-5s to see the possible totals.  I'm basically the same way now with slightly more weather knowledge (not much) and just as much enthusiasm.

Jim O'Brien was one of the local "top jocks" (DJ) on WFIL back during the '70s spinning "Top 40" records. WFIL was both the radio (560 AM) and TV (channel 6) station call letters (and both stations shared the same building for broadcasting). O'Brien eventually ended up on channel 6 doing weather presentations (as a non-Met) and certainly made it entertaining.   Eventually the TV station call letters were changed to WPVI.  And sadly, as an avid skydiver, one of his jumps became his last after his chute failed to deploy. Dave Roberts ended up taking over that duty. He kept the "good guys" and "bad guys" -

And back when this site was "Eastern Weather", the head honcho StormTracker (Randy) and a bunch of snow wienies... err... chasers from the MA forum drove up to the Tug Hill, NY area to experience a major lake-effect snow event and they "live blogged" the experience, complete with pictures, so no you are not alone.

I think most of us (at least those who had/have cable) know about the old days of the Weather Channel.  They have gone through some wild gyrations of management and content but I know I and many others remember their awesome coverage of the 1996 2-day snowfest here in the Philly area and surrounding burbs.  I still have the images in mind when they had to keep adding colors to their snow map because the forecast totals kept increasing.  Now that I'm older, I don't know if I can deal with that much snow (or even close to it) anymore.

[famartin]

I snow chased cross-country a couple times back when I lived in Elko

[KamuSnow]

2 hours ago, famartin said:

I snow chased cross-country a couple times back when I lived in Elko

I seem to remember at least one of those, but I don't remember if it was successful for you.

Closest thing to that that I've done is to rent a bobcat for a day last March to clear the driveway. We had been on the cut-off edge model-wise between 2" and 10" for a Thursday event, and after the 12z Euro run on Tuesday had us into the deeper snow I called the rental place and scheduled it for delivery Wednesday pm. It worked out well, lol, we got about 8".

[famartin]

Just now, KamuSnow said:

I seem to remember at least one of those, but I don't remember if it was successful for you.

Closest thing to that that I've done is to rent a bobcat for a day last March to clear the driveway. We had been on the cut-off edge model-wise between 2" and 10" for a Thursday event, and after the 12z Euro run on Tuesday had us into the deeper snow I called the rental place and scheduled it for delivery Wednesday pm. It worked out well, lol, we got about 8".

I was looking for a foot plus storm, but never managed to find one. I did find a historic storm with the October 2011 snow, so that was worth it, even tho it wasn’t that much in total.

[FPizz]

I remember as a kid I would wear my totes toasties that had little snowflakes on the bottom and my NY Giants pjs if it might snow.   Now as a 40 year old with 3 kids, I put on these blue pajama pants with snowflakes on them.  My wife hates them, but oh well! 

Being CNJ, my brother and I would put on 1450am for the school closings in the 80s listening on this little radio we had in our kitchen.  I think they still actually do it, but the robo calls and text messages is what my district sends out now. 

[ChasingFlakes]

46 minutes ago, frankdp23 said:

I remember as a kid I would wear my totes toasties that had little snowflakes on the bottom and my NY Giants pjs if it might snow.   Now as a 40 year old with 3 kids, I put on these blue pajama pants with snowflakes on them.  My wife hates them, but oh well! 

I have a red knit sweater with two big snowflakes on the front.  My girlfriend says they're supposed to be poinsettas,  but I'll happily retain my ignorance and wear it whenever it snows.