# Snow Stories - Winter 2018/2019.



## sscotsman

It's November!
Winter begins in November for many of us.
(yes, I know what the calendar says about the 1st day of winter, the calendar is wrong!) :wink: 

Its already been snowing in several areas of the US and Canada..

Time to start up our annual thread for talking about snow and storms..
enjoy!
Scot


----------



## uberT

Well, the weather man says it was snowing hard on top of Mt Washington last week with 6' drifts! Nothing but balmy 65F temps this morning and tons of humidity here. 


Machines are prepped (two weeks ago) and ready to roll!


----------



## chargin

El Nino might keep posts in this thread low..


----------



## broo

One one side we have the farmer's almanach which predicts a very cold & snowy winter (yeah !)

Then on the other side we have another weather prediction which calls for a big El Nino winter. Last time we had such a winter was 20 years ago. In January 1998, we lost electrical power for 30 days due to amazing ice storms.


I'm thinking about buying a generator, just in case. I remember 20 years ago, during and after the storm, generators were marked up like crazy.


So far here we have just seen a trace of snow a few days ago. All my vehicles are either stored or ready for winter.

Snowblower is ready, gas can is full, bring it on.


----------



## HCBPH

Back on Oct 14 thought it was a precursor to what was to come and it could come early. We'd been out of state on our Fall Color Run with the Corvette Club. When it was time to head home, it started snowing. Along the way we drove through snow for some distance and in spots there was about 2" of snow on some of the farms rooftops. It made for a thrilling drive along the way.

Luckily it didn't happen as it could have but got me thinking about getting the blower out and start prepping it for this winter.

This year I'm not planning on going to work every day like in the past, this year I can do work from home as I see fit. If the roads are bad, I'm staying home and work from the house. I have a gut feeling it could be bad but then again I've been wrong before.

Prepped the Vette and T-Bird for winter storage but not truly stored yet. I plan to drive them a little more while the weather permits.


----------



## GeekOnTheHill

broo said:


> One one side we have the farmer's almanach which predicts a very cold & snowy winter (yeah !)
> 
> Then on the other side we have another weather prediction which calls for a big El Nino winter. Last time we had such a winter was 20 years ago. In January 1998, we lost electrical power for 30 days due to amazing ice storms.
> 
> 
> I'm thinking about buying a generator, just in case. I remember 20 years ago, during and after the storm, generators were marked up like crazy.
> 
> 
> So far here we have just seen a trace of snow a few days ago. All my vehicles are either stored or ready for winter.
> 
> Snowblower is ready, gas can is full, bring it on.


I recently bought this generator from Sam's Club. It gets good reviews everywhere, and I wanted something big enough to power the whole house (with judicious electrical use) but still be portable. Sam's Club had the best price and has a very easy return policy if I wind up not liking it, so I bought it from them. Here it is during its first load test.










So far, I'm happy. I haven't had to use the generator in an outage yet, but it's passed all its load tests with flying colors. It will basically power anything in the house, just not all at the same time. I couldn't use all four burners on the electric range while drying a load of laundry in the electric washer, for example; but with minimal rationing, it should allow for relatively normal life during outages.

I installed it up-to-code using an interlock in the breaker panel as documented in this blog post. More pictures of the shed I put it in can be found on this post. 

I was going to add ventilation to the shed to allow the generator to run inside of it, but I decided not to because the required venting would increase the likelihood of mice getting inside. I'll try it with the generator inside the shed and the doors and lid open just to see how it works; but if I have to pull it out a few feet onto the lawn to use it, that's okay, too.

I did make a hole in the back of the shed for the inlet box, however. Because the heavy cord doesn't bend very much, it was either that or move the shed a foot from the wall or to either side of the inlet box, either of which would slightly complicate snow removal. The way it is now, one pass with the snowblower right past the doors of the shed should make it accessible in the winter, and _I think_ the roof soffit overhang will prevent snow from building up between the shed and the house.

The shed was leveled with rocks, which are always in abundant supply in Delaware County. They're our most reliable crop.

There is a third-party mod available for the generator that allows it to use propane or natural gas in addition to gasoline. But either of those fuels will reduce the generator's output and possibly void the warranty, so I decided not to do the mod for now. Maybe when the warranty expires I'll rethink that option and pipe it into the propane system.

Richard


----------



## leonz

Do not leave the generator in the shed if you need it as the fumes will not dissipate and the carbon monoxide will remain in a very heavy concentration for a long period after you run out of fuel.

The dual fuel carburators (gasoline/propain)have been around along time and gas engines can be converted with a little work. 

It would be better and safer for you and your family to purchase a longer 220 volt clothes dryer cable to keep the generator further away from the home as your furnace/boiler will always be pulling in outside air for combustion.

You can purchase catalytic converters for your size gas engine. We have a long thread discussing them on the forum. 

I bought the catalytic converter for my firewood processor from Foley Engine Service as the GX340 honda engine made me sick every time I split firewood. 

With your system you will need to purchase the correct catalytic converter muffler for your engine and exhaust pipe extension as you have the fuel tank mounted on top rather than using a side mounted fuel tank if you decide to pursue this option as the exhaust will only be carbon dioxide and water vapor in the exhaust emmissions.


----------



## broo

I bought my generator last weekend, a 7500W continuous, 9300W surge, gas only unit made by Champion that was on sale at a local store (couple hundred $ off). I do not have anything else that uses propane, so I didn't buy a dual energy unit.


In my case, when needed the generator will be run outside the garage which is about 130' away from the house. The cable and breakers from the house to the garage can handle 100A while the generator can only produce a tad over 30A. With selective electrical use, we'll be able to live through a long blackout no problem. Our main heating source is a wood furnace, so we won't "waste" any power on electrical heating.


All that's left for me to do it install the connector outside the garage and link it to the garage's panel.


On a snowblower related story, while checking Champion Power Equipment's website I saw they now sell a snow blower. They only have one model and size at the moment.


----------



## tabora

broo said:


> All that's left for me to do it install the connector outside the garage and link it to the garage's panel.


 You need to realize that this is an illegal back-feed connection. Generator connections must be made to the main distribution panel where the generator inlet breaker is adjacent to the main breaker and an interlock device prevents both the main and generator breakers being engaged simultaneously.

If your generator were back-feeding the house circuit with the main breaker engaged, the transformer that feeds your house would happily step up the voltage and send it back out to the transmission lines multiplied to thousands or tens of thousands of volts. That's criminal negligence waiting to happen if a lineman or someone else encounters the high voltage line that should be dead...


----------



## tabora

GeekOnTheHill said:


> I was going to add ventilation to the shed to allow the generator to run inside of it, but I decided not to because the required venting would increase the likelihood of mice getting inside.


 I was worried about that, too, so I used a single 16" fan plus automatic shutters on both sides of my generator shed to keep air flowing briskly, and they close automatically and securely when the generator is not in use. I also have a wireless thermal alarm set up to alert me if the shed temperature exceeds 80F.
Intake Shutter: Dayton 5NKN4 https://www.zoro.com/dayton-damper-...js30j8b9_f_ml_XiTKvEcfsjwkWiU7_RoC-3AQAvD_BwE
Exhaust Shutter & Fan: iLiving ILG8SF16V https://www.amazon.com/Iliving-ILG8SF16V-Wall-Mounted-Variable-Shutter/dp/B01G8I7HVM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541634964&sr=8-1&keywords=iliving+ilg8sf16v&dpID=51Q9AOTiVoL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch



GeekOnTheHill said:


> There is a third-party mod available for the generator that allows it to use propane or natural gas in addition to gasoline.


 I also added a propane snorkel to the generator, which took only about 15 minutes and is completely reversible, except for the 2 small mounting holes on the side panel. It works great, and gives me another fuel option during long outages. I always have 4 or 5 20-40lb cylinders around for the grill, barn heater and my fork lift.
U.S. Carburetion Snorkel: https://www.motorsnorkel.com/motor-...propane-and-gasoline-conversion-kit-4390.html


----------



## tlshawks

We have a chance of snow tomorrow and Friday here in eastern Iowa. Maybe an inch tops, the heavier energy will pass ESE of us to roughly Indiana. But it's gonna be our first winter cold snap for sure Saturday into next week. Seems like in recent years, we get hit earlier than in the 2000's - almost a whole month earlier.

Our long range is pre El Nino so to speak, which for our area the NWS said something to the effect that it usually means a bit warmer, a bit more precip than normal but less of it being snow. However, this isn't absolute, and there have been a few out of the last 12 "matching pre El Nino's" where we've gotten massive amounts of snow.

We're sort of a tweener state weather speaking. We get tornadoes, we get rain, we get heat, we get cold, we get blizzards - every year. We could get 50", we could get 15". Just a few winters ago I used a snowblower twice and not at all past December. Last year probably 15 times and mostly February and March.

Normal is roughly 25", but last year we knocked that out of the park easily with a lot of late winter/early spring storms - which darn near killed both my snowblowers. Heck, we got a couple storms after mid March where we almost got 10" each, seemed like it snowed 2-10" every other day all March! We in Iowa also had a storm where the average snow total for every reporting station in the state was the heaviest in history (we got just short of 10", 100 miles north got over twice that amount) - hit the whole state hard, which rarely happens.

It brought up memories of the April 1973 upper midwest blizzard, The Mother of All Iowa Snowstorms. I remember it very well.

https://nws.weather.gov/blog/nwsdesmoines/2016/04/10/april-8-10-1973-iowa-blizzard/

My snowblower readiness going into this winter is better than at any time in my entire life. Naturally, we'll probably only get 10" as a result. I got 3 working snowblowers now, they arguably all will be running near perfect after today. Bring it on, Old Man!


----------



## clifish

My new Ariens 28 SHO was delivered today...can't wait to unbox it soon.


I converted my generator to tri-fuel with a US carburetor kit, now it is hooked directly to my house natural gas line when needed so I never need to worry about running out. I could still use real gas or propane if needed.


----------



## jrom

All white here today. Under an inch. 3rd super minor snowfall so far. 

Could be a good one this 2018/2019 season.


----------



## GeekOnTheHill

leonz said:


> Do not leave the generator in the shed if you need it as the fumes will not dissipate and the carbon monoxide will remain in a very heavy concentration for a long period after you run out of fuel.
> 
> The dual fuel carburators (gasoline/propain)have been around along time and gas engines can be converted with a little work.
> 
> It would be better and safer for you and your family to purchase a longer 220 volt clothes dryer cable to keep the generator further away from the home as your furnace/boiler will always be pulling in outside air for combustion.
> 
> You can purchase catalytic converters for your size gas engine. We have a long thread discussing them on the forum.
> 
> I bought the catalytic converter for my firewood processor from Foley Engine Service as the GX340 honda engine made me sick every time I split firewood.
> 
> With your system you will need to purchase the correct catalytic converter muffler for your engine and exhaust pipe extension as you have the fuel tank mounted on top rather than using a side mounted fuel tank if you decide to pursue this option as the exhaust will only be carbon dioxide and water vapor in the exhaust emmissions.


Thanks. I don't plan to run it in the shed. That was an idea I considered, but then abandoned.

The outside air intake for the HVAC is way around the back of the house and closes when the heat or air-conditioning are on, so I don't think that will be a problem. But I do have CO detectors in the HVAC system that I'll monitor. If I detect any elevated CO levels, I'll take you up on your CAT advice.

I posted an addendum to the original article on my seldom-used blog to answer some questions people have asked about the generator installation. I'll link here rather than copying and pasting: https://www.geekonthehill.com/2018/11/06/diy-whole-house-portable-generator-installation-addenda/ .

Richard


----------



## 69ariens

Last week or so there is a weather person on you tube who says the water off the coast of Alaska is warmer this year . When that happens the north east gets a lot of snow. He was saying that this winter could be like 2014- 2015.


----------



## broo

69ariens said:


> Last week or so there is a weather person on you tube who says the water off the coast of Alaska is warmer this year . When that happens the north east gets a lot of snow. He was saying that this winter could be like 2014- 2015.



Yessss ! Hopefully. We have yet to see snow here. We had some, but nothing that stayed on the ground in my area. An hour away they had to take out the plows last weekend.


----------



## tonylumps

tabora said:


> I was worried about that, too, so I used a single 16" fan plus automatic shutters on both sides of my generator shed to keep air flowing briskly, and they close automatically and securely when the generator is not in use. I also have a wireless thermal alarm set up to alert me if the shed temperature exceeds 80F.
> Intake Shutter: Dayton 5NKN4 https://www.zoro.com/dayton-damper-...js30j8b9_f_ml_XiTKvEcfsjwkWiU7_RoC-3AQAvD_BwE
> Exhaust Shutter & Fan: iLiving ILG8SF16V https://www.amazon.com/Iliving-ILG8...pID=51Q9AOTiVoL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
> 
> 
> I also added a propane snorkel to the generator, which took only about 15 minutes and is completely reversible, except for the 2 small mounting holes on the side panel. It works great, and gives me another fuel option during long outages. I always have 4 or 5 20-40lb cylinders around for the grill, barn heater and my fork lift.
> U.S. Carburetion Snorkel: https://www.motorsnorkel.com/motor-...propane-and-gasoline-conversion-kit-4390.html


I converted a 6700W and a 2000W Yamaha Generator to the Snorkel kit. Good system But I also went and bought a Firman Dual fuel that was on sale at Costcnly because of the electric start.getting to old for pulling ropes.Most of my outages are ice related.So propane has to be treated a little different.It does not like cold weather produces less gas .So i either use twin tanks Or preheat the propane


----------



## GeekOnTheHill

This was last winter, but maybe it will bring on some Pavlovian salivating.










Richard


----------



## Snowbelt_subie

Were supposed to get 2-4 over Friday through the weekend.

Even if it's an el Nino we still will get snow lake effect all it needs is water and the wind to blow a certain way.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


----------



## GeekOnTheHill

Snowbelt_subie said:


> Were supposed to get 2-4 over Friday through the weekend.
> 
> Even if it's an el Nino we still will get snow lake effect all it needs is water and the wind to blow a certain way.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Inches or feet?

Richard


----------



## Snowbelt_subie

GeekOnTheHill said:


> Inches or feet?
> 
> Richard


inches lol


----------



## topher5150

Friday Nov. 9 the whole state of Michigan is getting snow at the same time and no where else


----------



## RobertSX4

topher5150 said:


> Friday Nov. 9 the whole state of Michigan is getting snow at the same time and no where else


We got snow in Wisconsin


----------



## topher5150

RobertSX4 said:


> We got snow in Wisconsin


did your's stick or is the ground to warm


----------



## sscotsman

Currently snowing in Rochester NY!
first snow of the season..
it wont accumulate much though, and will likely be gone by tomorrow..
The snowblower will not be fired up today..



Scot


----------



## Hanky

We got 1/2 in here in Princeton , but the whole of BC is getting snow today. It should not stick around do not think the shovel will come out.


----------



## rslifkin

sscotsman said:


> Currently snowing in Rochester NY!


Yep and I'm not too happy about it. Weather made it look like just rain today and I'd be safe to swap my summer tires for snows this weekend... Depending on what the weather does in the next few hours, I might be getting a ride home from work and letting the Jeep take a nap in the parking lot until things dry up tomorrow or Sunday. Summer tires at 33*, wet and snowing is just not a game I want to play right now.


----------



## GeekOnTheHill

First actual snow of the season just began. (We had a few flurries last week, but they didn't count.)

https://vimeo.com/299948337

Richard


----------



## RobertSX4

topher5150 said:


> did your's stick or is the ground to warm


stuck at first but then melted quick in the late morning.




rslifkin said:


> Yep and I'm not too happy about it. Weather made it look like just rain today and I'd be safe to swap my summer tires for snows this weekend... Depending on what the weather does in the next few hours, I might be getting a ride home from work and letting the Jeep take a nap in the parking lot until things dry up tomorrow or Sunday. Summer tires at 33*, wet and snowing is just not a game I want to play right now.


I know how you feel, last weekend weather projections for this week said no snow, maybe rain, so I planned on switching my tires tomorrow and got to slip around like an idiot this morning


----------



## russ01915

*Has it snowed yet where you live?*

Beverly MA no snow yet


----------



## detdrbuzzard

snowed today but nothing stuck to the ground thought the grass seemed to have around 1/2 inch of snow on it this morning, all gone by the afternoon


----------



## Mountain Man

Not a flake, yet. But could be a few saturday on the northwest wind. Still a bit early though.


----------



## TomHodge

About an inch here. Changing to rain it’ll be gone by morning.


----------



## Spectrum

Inland 50 miles or so is getting more tonight 6"+. So far the ocean warmth has shielded us. The surface temp is 50F now.


----------



## jrom

I got 5" so far today and it's lightly snowing right now.


----------



## tabora

Cape Elizabeth, Maine... Nada. But 50 miles away (inland) at my cottage:

(And I was in the water a few days later, pulling out my docks.)


----------



## topher5150

Friday morning the snow stuck around fora couple of hours then melted. Saturday morning now we havea couple of inches on the ground.


----------



## jrom

5" here and it's sticking around so far. Supposed to get 1-2" today with a call for 2 or more inches tomorrow.


----------



## sidewinder

North Idaho- North of I-90. 2" fell yesterday and is still here this morning.


----------



## gregg

We got 1" last night and about 3" over Fri & Sat 2 weeks ago.


----------



## gibbs296

About an inch in Mpls area Thursday. Just enough to use the Toro Powerlite, more than enough for people to drive like idiots....


----------



## Hanky

We got almost 1/2 here but the man above took care of it only on lawn now.


----------



## nwcove

Not a flake yet on my piece of the great white north.


----------



## GeekOnTheHill

Delaware County, NY, today.

https://vimeo.com/300070910

Richard


----------



## Cutter

About 2 inches of the white stuff,and snowing now. More to come tomorrow.:surprise:


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

gibbs296 said:


> About an inch in Mpls area Thursday. Just enough to use the Toro Powerlite, more than enough for people to drive like idiots....


I'm just over the border in WI and have about 1-2 on the ground from the last two days of light snow. Not enough to take a machine to. And yes the driving has been a little scary out there. :crying:

.


----------



## Morphector

had a couple of inches of snow tonight, used for the first time my platinum 30 non-sho

Here's a video of it, don't be too rude on the cameraman, he's my 8 year old son...






Soooo much better than my old mtd 10/28 constantly clogging in that kind of wet stuff


----------



## detdrbuzzard

it was snowing Friday as I headed out the door to go to henry's. nothing stuck to the ground because it was too wet


----------



## jrom

Used the blower for the first time last night. I measured 9" in one spot and 11" in another. I didn't include my drifting areas or the EOD.

Fun to be snow blowing again, but I don't like clearing the first snowfall around here. Gravel drive not frozen up yet and I didn't get a chance to finish getting all the leaves out of the way. It had been raining just about every day for the 2 weeks before the snow.

It sure looks like winter for now.


----------



## GoBlowSnow

Got 2 or 3 inches of snow last night. Nothing noteworthy but enough to pull out the TRS-32 and give it a trial run. I have some work to do on it. Engine is fine, but need to adjust the drive cable and disc


----------



## broo

Morphector said:


> had a couple of inches of snow tonight, used for the first time my platinum 30 non-sho
> 
> Here's a video of it, don't be too rude on the cameraman, he's my 8 year old son...
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PUlQZTLFQk&t=70s
> 
> Soooo much better than my old mtd 10/28 constantly clogging in that kind of wet stuff



Why don't I ever get tired of watching snowblower videos ? Especially now when I'm eager to put mine to use.


We had about an inch this morning, but it's mostly melted down now. Forecast says 3-4 inches Friday FOR NOW. Hopefully.


----------



## broo

jrom said:


> Used the blower for the first time last night. I measured 9" in one spot and 11" in another. I didn't include my drifting areas or the EOD.
> 
> Fun to be snow blowing again, but I don't like clearing the first snowfall around here. Gravel drive not frozen up yet and I didn't get a chance to finish getting all the leaves out of the way. It had been raining just about every day for the 2 weeks before the snow.
> 
> It sure looks like winter for now.



Lucky you for your first run with the machine. Like you I have a gravel driveway and it DOES get annoying on the first few runs as the wet gravel tends to soften and let the machine catch gravel no matter how high we set the skid pads. & auger blade.


----------



## tpenfield

We are getting the 'S' word tomorrow night, according to the forecast for the Northeast USA. 3-5 inches of snow expected in the Boston area before a change over to rain.


I guess I better get the fleet ready . . .


----------



## rslifkin

We had an inch on the ground when I left for work this morning, not enough to pull out the blower. We've got about 4 inches now, but the snow stopped, it's sunny and just below freezing, so chances are, the stuff on the driveway will melt by the time I get home and I won't be using the blower for this one. We're scheduled for another few inches tomorrow night, so Friday morning might be its first use.


----------



## Cold1

I blew out my driveway this morning - the 3rd time this season. Another 12 cm yesterday and last night, -11° and windy today, still not quite the middle of November. Gonna be a long winter at this rate, really glad I bought the new Ariens last winter.


----------



## tlshawks

Hmmm. St. Louis MO supposed to get 3-5" the next 24 hours. North and south of us got snow on the ground, but not us in east central Iowa.

Had one dusting last week - gone in a day - but the ground is freezing up, overnight lows have been in the teens. It was quite pleasant today, upper 30's, little wind, sunshine. Gonna be a tad warmer the next two days, just enough time to finish up my outdoor projects and finish off the lube maintenance on the fleet. Looks like another dusting this weekend.

I'm ready for ya Old Man, bring it on!


----------



## Miles

The snow is falling here, but hasn't stuck to the roads yet. I do not think that I will get a chance to use the snowblower today.


----------



## rslifkin

Looks like we're in for 5 - 8 inches tonight, so I'll probably be getting the blower out in the morning. Yesterday's 3 inches were completely melted off the driveway and sidewalk by the time I got home from work (snowed in the morning and then got sunny), so I didn't have any cleanup to do.


----------



## 69ariens

9:30 pm snowing heavily. A good 3.5 inches on the ground and my blowers have not woke up from there summer nap. I have been to busy to play with them.


----------



## Buffalokid

Snow started to fall tonight in Buffalo but then it switched to sleet. It is supposed to turn over tonight. I wonder if I get to wake up the toro from its long summer nap tomorrow morning?


----------



## bearman49709

Had 3 " Tuesday so I used my Ford GT 85 with the plow blade to clear my gravel driveway to help it freeze.

That is all my fun for this winter, I had rotator cuff surgery yesterday and the DR told my wife it is in bad shape and he hopes I get 18-24 months out of it before he has to do a shoulder replacement on it.:crying:
I did show my wife how to start and use the Ariens snowblower on Tuesday, she has used it before but that was about 3 years ago. I also bought her a new snow shovel since my grandson broke my dads old one back in April, I feel bad that she will have to do so much this winter while I can only watch and help out here and there.


----------



## russ01915

*Is it snowing where you are?*

Got our first snow last night 2-4" Beverly,MA. It has turned to rain making it a real mess.


----------



## Dauntae

Yup, Down in New Bedford Mass is a sloppy mess of slush.


----------



## robs9

4 inches of very wet heavy snow. probably would been a for or more if dry.
New London county Ct.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


----------



## sscotsman

First snowblow-able snow in Western NY.
7 inches overnight in Rochester..
I set the alarm for an hour early..didnt really think there would be enough to need the snowblower..
(forecasters were all saying 4" to 8" for us)

got up, checked the driveway.. 7 inches. quite wet and heavy.
hmmm..that's borderline.


Snow stopped at 3am, roads were totally clear at 5am..Drive to work will be fine, only issue is getting from the garage to the street..
since I was already up, I cleared the driveway! 
The '71 Ariens performed like a champ..


We probably could have made it down the driveway to the street..
If it had been 4 inches instead of seven I wouldn't have bothered to clear it..

but its supposed to be 40F today (+4C).
If I waited until I got home from work this afternoon, it would have turned to 3 inches of very dense slush..
the snowblower wouldn't be happy with that..
then if I just left it to melt over the next few days, it would turn to ice over night..
so, doing the math on all possible scenarios, it just made sense to clear it out before work..



Scot


----------



## Miles

We had 5 inches of wet snow here and the new chute on the Honda HSS928AWD performed admirably. I did not have a clog even when going through the wet snow.


----------



## uberT

We probably got 3" before the rain mixed in. I haven't been outside yet, but I can tell it's nothing more than a big, sloppy mess with tons of leaves mixed in for contrast. Still raining now.


I'm going to watch it melt, not putting any effort into this one.


----------



## Poker4me007

Here in Western Ma. we got about 6 inches of some sticky/slush snow. The old snowaway did pretty good though, with the impeller paddle upgrade. Can't wait to see what she does in powder.:smile2: 
https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/simplicity-snowblowers/142793-sno-away-impeller-paddle-upgrade.html

I didn't take the pictures so there not that good.:surprise:

Last night, and this morning:


----------



## northeast

russ01915 said:


> Got our first snow last night 2-4" Beverly,MA. It has turned to rain making it a real mess.


I would guess we had 6 or 7 here and then it started raining. It really slowed us down felt like a 12 inch storm.


----------



## rslifkin

We had 4 - 5 inches of heavy, wet snow with some slush underneath in Rochester up by the lake. Pulled the blower out and did the driveway and sidewalk this morning. I'll still do the impeller mod on the Pro 28 at some point (being that I have the materials), but it certainly wasn't lacking without it. Throwing distance was adequate to get the slop where I wanted it (a little more wouldn't have hurt, but wasn't really needed) and it showed no signs of wanting to clog or anything. 

I'm definitely happy with my choice of wheels over tracks, as even in the icy slush it pushed through the bit of an EOD pile with no issue while climbing the steep first few feet of the driveway. I think I had more traction problems than the blower did...

And the weight balance with the battery added to it is pretty darn good. No trouble keeping the bucket down, but not too heavy to lift it when needed. And plenty of weight on the drive wheels for traction.


----------



## broo

We have 4-5 inches on the ground right now, and 2-3 more on the way according to forecast.


I'm now eager to get home and give the machine its first exercise this winter. 7 more hours to go.


----------



## tpenfield

Metro Boston area . . . November/15-16/2018 . . . We exceeded expectations with about 7" of snow overnight. changed to rain by morning, so lots of folks on my street were out with their snow blowers getting rid of the stuff before it turned into a soggy mess. This its the most we have gotten in my memory on an early season snowfall.



I used my modified Troy-Built since it has lights . . . plenty of power to spare throwing the heavy wet snow.


----------



## uberT

tpenfield said:


> This its the most we have gotten in my memory on an early season snowfall.



Think back to the Halloween storm that did so much damage to the trees. Wadda mess. IIRC, it was 2011 lain:


----------



## 69ariens

8 inches here then rain .


----------



## broo

We had 6 inches. It's still snowing lightly.


My season didn't start well. As soon as I engaged the auger, the belt snapped.

I had a spare belt, so I did finish the job.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

broo said:


> My season didn't start well. As soon as I engaged the auger, the belt snapped.
> 
> I had a spare belt, so I did finish the job.


Glad to hear you had a spare belt. Always nice to have a belt or two and some shear bolts handy. :grin:

.


----------



## broo

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Glad to hear you had a spare belt. Always nice to have a belt or two and some shear bolts handy. :grin:
> 
> .


Indeed, but I did not expect to use it that early. I replaced that belt in the 2016-2017 season. :icon_cussing_black:


----------



## GeekOnTheHill

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Glad to hear you had a spare belt. Always nice to have a belt or two and some shear bolts handy. :grin:
> 
> .


I usually replace them after three years and keep the old ones as spares. When you live in the boondocks, it pays to be proactive.

We got about six or seven inches overnight and into the morning, but by the time I got out there to clear it it has started to settle. I posted this video in another thread, but I guess I can post it here, too.

https://vimeo.com/301254274

Richard


----------



## Smolenski7

We got 7.5" of snow last night, then the ice and rain eventually came. I woke up to about 3.5" of heavy wet slush everywhere. With the exception of the end of my driveway. That was about 12" of super heavy white stuff...not sure it qualified as snow.



I powered up my Ariens 24" Deluxe and got started. By the way, it started on the first pull after sitting all Spring, Summer, and Fall in my garage. I love this machine. It didn't clog even one time, really. Not even close. The engine certainly bore down a few times, but it never stopped and just kept plugging along. The snowblower probably threw the snow/slush about 15' - 20', definitely far enough.


I can't say enough about my snowblower. I think this is the start of her 8th winter with me, it was new in the fall of 2011. The only problems I've ever had have all been caused by human error. The cables were not adjusted correctly when I first got the machine, but a wrench and a little Loctite took care of that. Then the bowl on the carb got a little deformed after I bolted it on a little too tight. And the pull cord had to be replaced a few years ago because I pulled it too hard and it became loose. It was still under warranty so I just had it taken care of at the dealer. I still haven't changed the belt, I should probably do that, but it seems to work great so I'm in no hurry.


----------



## RedOctobyr

We got about 5-6" Thursday night, followed by rain. So the snow was a wet, heavy mess. The blower started easily and performed well, though I had to lock the differential for more traction at the EOD. Snow was, again, overflowing from the side of the bucket into the cleared area, while the engine still had more to give. 

The next day I checked the auger belt and found it's somewhat loose, and there's a bunch of rubber dust under the belt cover. Perhaps the belt is slipping a bit under a load, I don't know. I tightened the adjustment, I'm curious if anything will change. If the auger belt *is* slipping, it hasn't been obvious, as I don't notice the throwing distance decreasing, while the engine speed remains constant, for instance. 

I have a spare auger belt and drive belt. Currently, I plan to hold off on replacing them, at least until I get some clearing time with the tightened belt, to see if anything changes. 


This storm got me thinking about trying to get a 4-stroke single-stage, once I get a shed for more storage space. My 2-stage can do pretty much everything, but a single-stage is quicker, easier, and clears better, in small storms. I tried a few 2-stroke single-stages several years ago, but they underperformed (the Ariens SS322 was nice, but underpowered).


----------



## tlshawks

Looks like we're gonna get our first good sized storm (for us anyway) Sunday at some point. 6-8" heavy and wet somewhere from central to eastern Iowa (my location), NE Missouri or NW Illinois, with a lot of wind pushing it through. We're still 2.5 days out and the forecast models had been all over the map - but it appears they have begun to come into more of an agreement during this afternoon's run.

And I finally finished off my last machine yesterday afternoon. Bring it on!


----------



## uberT

Minimal signs of winter here. Even though we're having record-setting cold today, gonna get very warm again next week with more rain. The rivers, streams and flood plains are crazy-full now. Just like spring time.


----------



## tlshawks

Less than 24 hrs out and they still aren't sold on a storm path. The 15 or so forecast models are all over the place evidently causing them to grab the proverbial forecasting dartboard.

Confidence high on amounts and impacts, medium on timing, low on track. One of those "30 mile wide swath will get crushed, 30 miles away might only get half, another 30 miles a dusting" type storms. But the crushed locations we're predicting now can and most likely will change".

The upcoming NWS narrative will be interesting. Hopefully they tighten things up. Supposed to move in overnight and ramp up around dawn.

Knowing my luck, I busted my butt all week getting the fleet ready for an inch or two.


----------



## tlshawks

Just as I feared, the NWS moved the forecast SE of here. 2" now is the forecast here in CR. 50 miles SE, 8-10".

I'll still have to blow it out cause it's supposed to be wet and heavy, and we got a week of below freezing temps following the storm up. Move it, or it'll freeze into solid ice.

Never thought I'd be disappointed for LESS snow. I usually don't hope the NWS is wrong, but the guys for our forecast region usually nail it right on the button.


----------



## bearman49709

tlshawks said:


> Just as I feared, the NWS moved the forecast SE of here. 2" now is the forecast here in CR. 50 miles SE, 8-10".
> 
> I'll still have to blow it out cause it's supposed to be wet and heavy, and we got a week of below freezing temps following the storm up. Move it, or it'll freeze into solid ice.
> 
> Never thought I'd be disappointed for LESS snow. I usually don't hope the NWS is wrong, but the guys for our forecast region usually nail it right on the button.



They were calling for us to get around 6" but tonight they changed it to 2"-4".
Since I had rotator cuff surgery on the 15th I hope this winter will be very mild.:crying:


----------



## GoBlowSnow

Getting up to a foot here in the mountains of colorado...


----------



## 132619

3 inches of rain here overnight, last weeks 12 inch snowfall is washed away.


----------



## 132619

HCBPH said:


> Back on Oct 14 thought it was a precursor to what was to come and it could come early. We'd been out of state on our Fall Color Run with the Corvette Club. When it was time to head home, it started snowing. Along the way we drove through snow for some distance and in spots there was about 2" of snow on some of the farms rooftops. It made for a thrilling drive along the way.
> 
> Luckily it didn't happen as it could have but got me thinking about getting the blower out and start prepping it for this winter.
> 
> This year I'm not planning on going to work every day like in the past, this year I can do work from home as I see fit. If the roads are bad, I'm staying home and work from the house. I have a gut feeling it could be bad but then again I've been wrong before.
> 
> Prepped the Vette and T-Bird for winter storage but not truly stored yet. I plan to drive them a little more while the weather permits.


winter car parking time!! , the time of year i also dread. to hard to think about putting the rods/classics to rest,
nov 10 we had the last deadmans curve cruisein/show here, it flurried all day and never went over 30,about 150 cars did show up thou


----------



## Steve70

33 woodie said:


> winter car parking time!! , the time of year i also dread. to hard to think about putting the rods/classics to rest,
> nov 10 we had the last deadmans curve cruisein/show here, it flurried all day and never went over 30,about 150 cars did show up thou


Started snowing here in early October. Of course it melted, and did so for the next several batches we got, but by mid / late October they've been salting... so realistically the car season usually ends by the 2nd or 3rd week of October. We've seen more than our share of snow by pushing it in years past. 700 HP and 14" wide steam roller tires aren't much good on snowy roads...Fall or spring. Brings out the white in my knuckles  We can get a boot full of snow right into mid May.

We just had the big melt down, but it's been snowing since last night and is supposed to snow for the next several days albeit we are well north of the big system moving through the midwest right now. 

Looking forward to a big one to test out our new machine! I'll be disappointed with anything less than 2 feet!


----------



## Grunt

They say we could get 4-8 inches with 40 mph winds which could be blizzard conditions. We'll see, not looking forward to it, if their right. Blowing snow is fun, driving in it, not so much.


----------



## tlshawks

So...we did not get a flake of snow so far today. Less than 20 miles due south of my home, 5.8" - and that was two hours ago.

Go another 10 or so miles and it's over a foot. Sharp, sharp cutoff.


----------



## topher5150

weatherman keeps talking about how we got 4"-5" I can still see some of the grass in the front yard, and there was maybe an inch on the driveway


----------



## Grunt

Grunt said:


> They say we could get 4-8 inches with 40 mph winds which could be blizzard conditions.


 
*WAH, WA*h, wah. Maybe 2" of heavy wet snow. Debating if I should use a shovel or a hair dryer to remove it before the colder temperatures freeze it. 30 to 40 miles North seen the 8"-10" stuff.


I wimped out and used the Toro single stage (421) to slowly move it off the driveway. It was like squeezing toothpaste out of the tube, but easier on this old body than shoveling.


----------



## 132619

just looking at the news with talks of chitown having been hit with 13 inches, make me bring back thoughts of great lakes NTC in nov 1964 and moving snow with brooms all during a deep snowfall ,


----------



## gibbs296

Maybe an inch of snow coming in Wednesday night into Thursday morning, That will be a big test.....


----------



## Grunt

33 woodie said:


> just looking at the news with talks of chitown having been hit with 13 inches, make me bring back thoughts of great lakes NTC in nov 1964 and moving snow with brooms all during a deep snowfall ,



Recruits in all branches of the service always get the best equipment. :devil:


----------



## topher5150

snowed pretty good last night and this morning. I didn't blow this morning because there was only about an 1"-2" and didn't seem worth it and it's about 34* now so not sure how much is going to be left to blow when i get home.


----------



## broo

Forecast calls for 6 to 8" starting tonight and continuing tomorrow during the day. So far, each time they told us there would be snow, there was, but each time they also underestimated the amount.


----------



## Zavie

5-7" of the heavy wet stuff. The Toro made it look easy and cleaned down to pavement.


----------



## Buffalokid

So far, November is a bust. I used a broom to clean off my porch once and in the city of buffalo we have not seen more than a light dusting so far. I know it's early in the year but I have yet to do more than look at the snowblower in the shed.


----------



## RedOctobyr

We had ~6" of snow a week and a half ago. But we've been having a VERY rainy fall, here in MA (I think the news today said Boston is 7" above the average rainfall, since September 1). 

If the precipitation keeps up, as the temperature drops, we could get hammered with snow.


----------



## GoBlowSnow

I know it seems strange but please be grateful for the moisture you guys are getting, be it rain or snow. We need as much of it as we can get here in the west.


----------



## broo

GBS, we definitely aren't lacking in term of moisture. If there was a way to upload some to your area, I'd be glad to.

We got 8" of wet, heavy snow today. I had to use the lower speeds, this stuff was so heavy. About the same forecast tomorrow. When I was done and back inside, my wife got a call from the neighbor's wife. The neighbor is on training in a remote city for a few days, he usually blows his driveway with a rear facing snowblower attached to a Kubota tractor and she doesn't know how to operate it. I don't know either and I don't really like to use other people's stuff so I offered to do it using my own machine.


----------



## broo

Another 8" during the night. Had to start up the blower again this morning and clear it at the lowest speed, this stuff was so heavy. Took a much longer time than usual. Cleared just enough so that our vehicles could get out of the driveway. Also did part of the street since the plow didn't pass yet so it would have made one **** of a EOD monster. Planning on clearing the rest of the driveway when I get back home. Still snowing right now. If this is an indication of the coming winter, it will be a busy one.

According to radars, we were at the light end of this depression. Anybody here was at the heart of it ?


----------



## Buffalokid

We got a nice 3 to 4 inches here in Buffalo last night, it was a good first outing. Put in a tank of fresh new gas and cleared my usual path of sidewalk and did the sidewalk on my side of the street. My little toro cleaned right down to the sidewalk and a new neighbors son came out with a shovel to help do some of the elderly folks steps!


----------



## gibbs296

Buffalokid said:


> We got a nice 3 to 4 inches here in Buffalo last night, it was a good first outing. Put in a tank of fresh new gas and cleared my usual path of sidewalk and did the sidewalk on my side of the street. My little toro cleaned right down to the sidewalk and a new neighbors son came out with a shovel to help do some of the elderly folks steps!


Nice, tell us more about your Toro, model etc..


----------



## Buffalokid

It's an older Toro CCR3650, for most of the snow we get this little brute clears the snow great! I might need to go out more than once when we get a really good dumping of heavy wet snow but it will cut through a foot of powder with no problem.


----------



## yoda

Got the PredaToro sorted out late last winter but not much snow. Last Sunday 11/25/18 we got 10" of wet snow. Refilled the oil after draining it last spring and aired up the tires. I found an old choke control cable I had and added a manual throttle control next to the key switch. Very handy! It fired right up on the first pull. 

Had no problem handling the wet snow. I could throw the wet stuff 20-30 ft at 4100 RPM. The Hemi loves to rev and you can control the throwing distance with the throttle. The slush at the end of the driveway looked like a stream of liquid as the Toro ingested it and pumped it out (it has the impeller mod). Did the neighbor's 12x80 driveway in 10 minutes after her snowblower wouldn't start. Helped another neighbor that had her leaf pile had blown all over her driveway apron. No problem, it blows leaves mixed with snow too. My neighbors with their little 2-cycle putt-putt machines were still out there struggling.


----------



## gibbs296

yoda said:


> Got the PredaToro sorted out late last winter but not much snow. Last Sunday 11/25/18 we got 10" of wet snow. Refilled the oil after draining it last spring and aired up the tires. I found an old choke control cable I had and added a manual throttle control next to the key switch. Very handy! It fired right up on the first pull.
> 
> Had no problem handling the wet snow. I could throw the wet stuff 20-30 ft at 4100 RPM. The Hemi loves to rev and you can control the throwing distance with the throttle. The slush at the end of the driveway looked like a stream of liquid as the Toro ingested it and pumped it out (it has the impeller mod). Did the neighbor's 12x80 driveway in 10 minutes after her snowblower wouldn't start. Helped another neighbor that had her leaf pile had blown all over her driveway apron. No problem, it blows leaves mixed with snow too. My neighbors with their little 2-cycle putt-putt machines were still out there struggling.


A 5/21 with a Pred motor must run very well. I'm sure. Nice machine. Just want to add my little 2-cycle put-put cleaned up our 2-3 inches quickly and cleanly way b4 my other neighbors with their 2 stages did this morning. It's all about having the right tool for the job. And who can really stop at just one snowblower anyhow?


----------



## yoda

I agree, a little 2-cycle is handy for less than 6" or so. I used to have one. The rubber paddles can clean right down to the pavement.


----------



## uberT

53F today, absolutely nothing on the horizon. Local flood plain looks like an ocean due to crazy rain we've had. Weatherman suggests 10 dry days ahead ...


----------



## 132619

DITTO here! our flats in the valley along the wallkill river and one main road are under water


----------



## topher5150

30* in Michigan with a light dusting, 12"+ in North Carolina....how does that work????


----------



## topher5150

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/more-nort...orms-form-125303467--abc-news-topstories.html

there may still be hope for a white christmas.


----------



## chargin

A 2 minute snow squall last evening.
Back to warm weather for the rest of the week.

So far another dull December.


----------



## Hanky

No snow here at all been here since 78 first with not a flake of snow.


----------



## broo

Nothing good coming for the next week here either. Lots of rain on forecast for Friday/Saturday, then it'll freeze again, but no snow worth talking about until the end of December MAYBE.

Season started strong with two heavy 10" snowfalls and two smaller ones in order to give my machine some exercise, but it's been about two weeks since last use.


----------



## 132619

cold with lake effect flurries amounting to nothing, a white xmas? only on our ski sloops


----------



## uberT

We're getting hosed, too, in my region. Some cold, clear weather now. BIG rain again at week's end, again


----------



## Dragonsm

I must have really made Santa upset this year.......We had a little bit of snow (nothing even remotely close to using a snowblower) but it's all gone now - Yesterday it was 47 degrees.

The outlook for the next week we slowly begin to drop from the 40's back into the mid/upper 30's.....no snow on the way....it's going to be a very brown/drab Christmas. :crying:

Either that, or it is a cruel prank by mother nature seeing I have the snowblower all ready to go....Wifey just got a new Subaru she's itching to try in the snow, and I decided to pull my snowmobile out of storage after a few years of lack of snow as my youngest has been asking to go for a ride.

Most of the people here at my work think it's great and are hoping to continue a mild winter.....they will regret that next spring/summer when the bugs come out and those little buggers are thick due to the mild winter.

Keeps up at this rate, I may have to bust out the mower here in December. :grin:


----------



## sscotsman

Today is January 15th.
Winter is half over today.. 2.5 months down, 2.5 months to go.

I have only used the snowblower twice this winter! and each time only on about 4" of snow.

We have received 37" of snow total, to date. About half normal.
I've cleared 8" with the snowblower..where did the rest go? 
It has fallen 1 and 2 inches at a time, and cleared itself..

We are in line for the biggest snow of the season soon, 12" plus forecast for Sunday!

Scot


----------



## Snowbelt_subie

it looks like the weather patterns are changing. In cleveland i only used the blower once so far. this weekend we are going to get some serious snow should be around "12 .

hope the ole Toro 3650 will be able to handle it .... i am sure it will .


----------



## tlshawks

Yep, just read the 3PM NWS narrative for the Quad Cities region. That's ESE Iowa, NE Missouri, NW Illinois.

They seem to be betting the south side of the Great Lakes for certain is going to get clobbered - but they still aren't committing for us quite yet. They are certain that this one is stronger, a lot more wind, a LOT colder behind it. Just for us, not locking in on a path or if it'll get it's act together this far west or north yet.

Seems to be a bigger system, a lot more energy with this one. And maybe a bit more of a northern path. 

It's funny. Last weekend, 3-4 days out they were giving out snowfall totals for our area for they thought we were on the northern fringe and wouldn't get nearly as much as the Ohio Valley would. They were fairly accurate all things considered, but it did tend to dump on their heavier amounts overall (said we'd get 2-4, most all of us got 4-6).

They aren't doing that this time around. The forecast models must be all over the place yet - maybe holding off on forecasting "snowmageddon" until they're sure. They know someone's getting clobbered, but don't want to yell out "Hey Rube" here until they're certain.

Oh, but that's not all the fun. Tonight's narrative is now mentioning that there might be another biggun' right behind it early to mid next week.


----------



## detdrbuzzard

we have had snow but there is nothing on the ground to even bring out the broom for


----------



## chargin

We might get something Friday night.

The Sunday storm, maybe not.


----------



## aldfam4

*Storm Coming*

I know most of us have dealt with a relatively mild winter so far. This weekend many of us from the Midwest to the Northeast will be get some "significant snow". Are you forum members ready?!!:nerd:


----------



## Dauntae

BOO I only have a low chance of getting anything but a mix and rain the next day. Only hope is if the storm changes direction.


----------



## uberT

Yeah, looks very minimal for us here in the Boston area. Sounds like freezing rain and icing will be a concern late weekend. Extreme cold on MLK Day.


----------



## WVguy

uberT said:


> Yeah, looks very minimal for us here in the Boston area. Sounds like freezing rain and icing will be a concern late weekend. Extreme cold on MLK Day.


Pretty much the same here, chance of <1" snow.:frown:


----------



## aldfam4

I was referring to the time period of Saturday to Sunday, at least for me in Buffalo, New York area. Hope we all get some - be safe!!


----------



## e.fisher26

Maybe 10in in central ma this weekend hopefully 


——————————————
Noma 10/29
Cub cadet 5/26 conv to 8/26
Toro 8/24
Husqvarna st230p


----------



## malisha1

I'm in NYC, this morning I checked the weather and it was 60% snow on Sunday. In the afternoon it changed to rain I almost had a heart attack and now it's showing 80% snow on Sunday


----------



## Homesteader

Report changed from 12" to 1" in the past day and a half for this weekends storm here in Boston, MA.


----------



## uberT

I had my son help me pull one of the Ariens out of the basement this weekend. Hasn't been started for nearly two years. Fired right up, lookin' for some action !!


----------



## WVguy

uberT said:


> I had my son help me pull one of the Ariens out of the basement this weekend. Hasn't been started for nearly two years. Fired right up, lookin' for some action !!


Oh great, now ya fixed it. We'll never get any snow now. Not until you drain the fuel and carb, change the oil, and put it back in the basement.

Then we'll we get snow rear end deep to a giraffe.:smile2:


----------



## orangputeh

sscotsman said:


> Today is January 15th.
> Winter is half over today.. 2.5 months down, 2.5 months to go.
> 
> I have only used the snowblower twice this winter! and each time only on about 4" of snow.
> 
> We have received 37" of snow total, to date. About half normal.
> I've cleared 8" with the snowblower..where did the rest go?
> It has fallen 1 and 2 inches at a time, and cleared itself..
> 
> We are in line for the biggest snow of the season soon, 12" plus forecast for Sunday!
> 
> Scot


same here pretty much in big snow country until last week. we got 20 plus inches in a 24 hr period.

today we have about 10 inches and it's still coming down. Another 10 inches inches tonight. Then weds-thurs dumping some more . some say 12-18 more and some say more than that. bring it on. I love pulling out this beast for the berms. an HS1132

still have these double trouble custom builds to battle anything.


----------



## contender

orangputeh, I believe you built a HS1128? Have you gave it a good work out?

I also built a HS1128, but have only seen dustings so far !%@$&#@!!!


----------



## broo

Forecast says 12-16" next Sunday. Calm down weatherman, it's only Tuesday... by the time we hit Sunday, it may have dropped to 4".

Hopefully we get the big snowfall. It's been pretty quiet after a heavy winter start.


----------



## broo

12-16" expected here next weekend. Sunday is still far away. Hopefully we get this much or more.

My machine is ready. I have 5 gallons of fresh fuel available and two sets of spare straps after my first outing's misfortune.


----------



## contender

broo, do you have your sled ready?? may have to go for more gas!!!


----------



## 132619

contender said:


> broo, do you have your sled ready?? may have to go for more gas!!!


sold my sled as it hadn't been run or used in close to 3 years, gas? got enough for this crazy report. 1 to 4 by friday am than saturday night and sunday 3 to 5 one day 3 to 5 the next, but that dirty 4 letter word RAIN and the one ice is also in the report,
o-well it's really to soon for the weather reporters to even come close to a precise report anyway.


----------



## contender

I agree on future forecasts.......... I look out the window when I get up and there is the forecast...

Very light dusting happening here with a touch of freezing rain

Use sleds twice a winter for a visit to a snow bound cabin...


----------



## 132619

being a old sailor it's red sky in the morning sailor take warning,red sky in the eve, sailors delight. seems to be more precise than the fed or the weather channel


----------



## sscotsman

North Indiana, North Ohio, Southern Lake Erie shore, Central and Western NY, Adirondacks, Northern Vermont, Northern NH and Northern Maine, are all still in line for a "Foot plus" for Sunday!
(Chicago area 6")

Forecasts aren't changing, for western NY anyway..
we'll see!

Scot


----------



## Steve70

We've been gone since the 5th. Looks like we got about 20 inches since then. My buddy, 20 miles due south has had enough winter. He just posted this. He lives in the bush.....way off the grid. He has his own old county plow for getting himself in and out of there. 

He says once he gets the bike to pavement (probably 20 miles), he's good to go. Got his snowmobile suit. He'll be 65 this year and has lived way more than 9 lives so far! I fully expect him to drop by out here after he does some visiting in FL. The bike was in his living room for the winter before being loaded up here

Check out the trailer. Not sure how this link works for people in here? I hope it does.

https://www.facebook.com/corny.corneliuson/videos/2237933909571445/


----------



## tlshawks

I read a few of the NWS forecast regional office narratives, from my Quad Cities area on east up the Great Lakes all the way to Buffalo.

In short, all the models changed yesterday to today, pretty much in unison. The offices all said pretty much the same thing. Gonna take longer for the system to come together, roughly a half day. This pushes the system farther south say 50-100 miles in all the models. The longer it takes to get it's act together, the more likely early on it moves due east rather than northeast.

They've backed off on our snow forecast as a result across the Upper Mississippi region - which makes sense if the low doesn't move as much north from the SW US early on. But they all from here to Buffalo more or less say the same thing. The low is still a LONG way off the California coast, and things will no doubt change. I did notice a lot of "stay tuned" type talk. To me, that means uncertainty rules at the moment.

Those guys in the NWS really do have a thankless job...strong system, lots of moving parts to it. California is gonna get a lot of precip both rain and snow, and it's gonna be very cold behind this in the northern US. Otherwise...who knows really. But it was interesting to see them all say the same thing regarding the models changing from yesterday to today - like a "weather curveball" got thrown at them.


----------



## orangputeh

17 plus inches yesterday and last night......bout time.

blizzard warning in the sierra and surrounding areas wednesday night to thursaday

what i love about this is all the WARNINGS and Travel advisories NOT to travel and people still do. then social media is fun to read about the weather, road conditions etc.


----------



## CTHuskyinMA

Cool trailer. Your link works fine.



Steve70 said:


> We've been gone since the 5th. Looks like we got about 20 inches since then. My buddy, 20 miles due south has had enough winter. He just posted this. He lives in the bush.....way off the grid. He has his own old county plow for getting himself in and out of there.
> 
> He says once he gets the bike to pavement (probably 20 miles), he's good to go. Got his snowmobile suit. He'll be 65 this year and has lived way more than 9 lives so far! I fully expect him to drop by out here after he does some visiting in FL. The bike was in his living room for the winter before being loaded up here
> 
> Check out the trailer. Not sure how this link works for people in here? I hope it does.
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/corny.corneliuson/videos/2237933909571445/


----------



## tlshawks

orangputeh said:


> 17 plus inches yesterday and last night......bout time.
> 
> blizzard warning in the sierra and surrounding areas wednesday night to thursaday
> 
> what i love about this is all the WARNINGS and Travel advisories NOT to travel and people still do. then social media is fun to read about the weather, road conditions etc.


I read a couple forecasts out west.

Did I read them correct? A possible FORTY EIGHT INCHES IN SOME PLACES?

Egads...


----------



## tlshawks

The 3PM narrative came out, and yeah...they changed again. Might as well get used to every 12 hours a "changing of the guard" with the forecasts and what the models are telling them.

Bumped up our snow a bit. 4+ now, maybe up to 6...and maybe more considering the track possibilities. "Assessment...high confidence on a storm. Medium confidence on timing/track of storm and amounts" is tonight's word.

What is interesting is they're now saying Sunday night into Monday a smaller storm with plenty of moisture and forcing to work with will roll by quickly. Then a day after that, ANOTHER system, with the potential for a lot more snow, will roll through the midwest that as of yet they don't have a good handle on.

Gonna be an interesting few days, Friday through Wednesday. FOUR different chances for snow now if you include tomorrow's appetizer inch or two.


----------



## Grunt

contender said:


> I look out the window when I get up and there is the forecast.



The most accurate weather forecaster, guaranteed.


----------



## sscotsman

forecast is changing a bit..
Newest predictions have the storm moving a slightly east, which if correct will downgrade Buffalo and Rochester NY from 12+ to 8 inches for Sunday. Still, not bad!

Scot


----------



## aldfam4

33 woodie said:


> being a old sailor it's red sky in the morning sailor take warning,red sky in the eve, sailors delight. seems to be more precise than the fed or the weather channel


33 Woodie - My mother, from England, used to say the same thing, just a little differently, "red sky in the morning, sailor take warning, red sky at night, sailors delight!:wink2:


----------



## broo

contender said:


> broo, do you have your sled ready?? may have to go for more gas!!!


I don't own a sled.  I can go a long way with 5 gallons.


----------



## chargin

Forecast is getting interesting.
Will wait till Friday to see what's the deal.

Might be some hope for snow in Mass finally.


----------



## 132619

might need one this weekend,downside if if johnny law gets you, it's a one way ticket to traffic court and big fines plus loose of your DL for who knows how long, 
heck cops are so bad here i got a ticket for the wind taking the snow and blowing it to the street. a full 180 degs from where it was aimed oh you can't blow it into the road, told the cop i can't control the WIND! lucky the judge agreed and dismissed it.


----------



## sscotsman

And now we are back up again, in the 12 to 24" zone! 



Map below from: https://www.accuweather.com/en/weat...inds-in-northeastern-us-this-weekend/70007165


Scot


----------



## tlshawks

Yep...they bumped us up a little. My guess is they are more satisfied the system is going to get organized quicker than yesterday and not stay south early on. What will wind up being our low pressure just now is coming on shore.

They actually backed off headlines (winter storm or blizzard watches and warnings) because they wanted the day shift to get one more model run in before firming up what headlines were truly going to be needed given the model run to run changes that have been happening. Like, "well winter storm watches or warnings, sure...but we may need blizzard mentions considering the wind" type thing.

They've pretty much blanket predicted 4-6 for the entire state, but admit, it looks like a zone right down the central to east side of the state should (key word there) form a band that has the potential to dump a lot more.

Being so far west is probably a good thing for us with this storm. By the time it really gets going it'll be past us.

They're still talking about another biggun' sometime early next week too.


----------



## bigredmf

sscotsman said:


> And now we are back up again, in the 12 to 24" zone!
> 
> 
> 
> Map below from: https://www.accuweather.com/en/weat...inds-in-northeastern-us-this-weekend/70007165
> 
> 
> Scot



I'm glad my neighbor whose a good friend asked me to trouble shoot his MTD drive problem late yesterday. Hopefully just a couple o turns of the cable! I did send him out to buy belts as well, unit is from 2003 and original belts.


Red


----------



## tlshawks

The 3PM narrative is out (early...they knew they had a complicated forecast coming). They're boosting amounts, Winter Storm Warning now in place.

We're in the 6-8 range, and really close to the 8-12 range. They're also saying, don't be surprised if this bombs out and lays down more than predicted. Drifting is also going to be heavy...light fluffies early, heavier water content snow later. 

LOTS of wind overnight.

Starts tomorrow noonish, snow goes on for about a full day. My shopping will occur probably tonight or very early tomorrow. I generally don't keep a lot of food in the house. Not panic shopping, I just don't want to go outside in the wind and sub 10 degree temps late Saturday and Sunday (GO CHIEFS!).

This is a big storm for us. We've had two already, but those hit just south of us. This one is farther north and might meander to right on top of us.

Probably gonna be a two plow event. Gasoline is on the shopping list. 

Bring it on!


----------



## rslifkin

We're showing a likely 2 feet of snow with lots of cold and wind this weekend. We're ready for it though. Garage heat is on, snowblower has a full (1.5) gal tank plus another 2.75 gal out in the shed. Snowblower battery is good and topped off, heated grips are tested and confirmed working. Plenty of gas in both cars and the Jeep and all 3 are on snow tires.


----------



## 132619

i'm ready for it blower wise,but generator wise my 16kw 2008 generac is flashing inspect battery? load tests ok, onboard charger is putting out 12.7 volts,it starts ok runs normal,just this flashing light and thought of a service call at $130.00 a hour plus travel time and miles adds up fast.


----------



## RedOctobyr

That's a bummer, sorry  I hope your issue is either a false alarm, or something simple! 

It wouldn't hurt to top off my gas supply. My 5-gallon can is mostly full, my 6-gallon external tank for the generators is about half full, and the generator tanks are full. It's supposed to be really cold (10-15F) on Monday, and windy. If the power goes out, I should be good for a few days, at least. Not a great time to be without heat.


----------



## uberT

The weather people are very excited about these storms -- sounds like a high degree of variability. Not quite sure where it's gonna settle out, lots of excitement ahead! Buying plenty of gasoline tomorrow! Be safe, everyone !!


----------



## WVguy

We were forecast one to two inches today but that petered out to a dusting which is melting as I type. Saturday maybe one to three inches according to NWS or three to five according to Accuweather. Same data, different conclusions, go figure.

Sunday, just rain and maybe sleet, too warm for snow. Oh well, maybe next time.


----------



## broo

We have been downgraded to 6 inches, boooo!!!


----------



## 132619

sitting so close to the up to 24 inch line, a tad worried, have my driveway and 2 shops to clear, one has the rhino with the bercomac blower on it as the driveway is close to a 1/4 mile long wideens to 30 feet near the doors, most is i get a few days off from working on the 64 gto restomod job. 
generator warning turns out to be a service warning going by the guys in the ziller electric forum( www.zillerstore.com) who run the supply store i get parts from for it, just need to hit the buttons on the controller and reset .


----------



## sscotsman

Were still being upgraded! 

Pretty much all of upstate NY is in the 12" to 24" zone..
and there is a 24" to 36" zone for central Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine!
anyone here in that zone?

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weat...inds-in-northeastern-us-this-weekend/70007165

Scot


----------



## uberT

We forecast to see around 9" with much sleet to follow at the end of the event. Extreme cold to follow and probably another event mid-week.


----------



## tlshawks

Got my gas tank filled, should have enough now for the rest of winter really (1.5 gallons).

They more or less didn't change much in this morning's forecast. Maybe wavered a bit on top end totals - but we're still forecasted for roughly 6 to maybe 9, depending on where the heavy band sets up tonight. Right now, they believe the heavier totals will be just north and west of us here in east central Iowa.

They are saying it's taking a little longer for the phasing (both pieces of the system, north and south pieces "phasing" together) and it might scoot out of our area a bit sooner as a result. That's what's been giving them fits all week forecasting this for us. "When does it all come together, where it's at when it does."

That will change who gets clobbered and who doesn't. So, we will see what tomorrow morning holds. I'm betting roughly a solid six (Michael Scott approved) at the very least and what I end up needing to throw depends on how hard the wind kicks up overnight.

I didn't make any tweaks to both machines' gear shift/friction disc placement, I can live with a fast reverse and slow 1st for one more storm. Just had too much going on elsewhere to want to dig into both machines at this time.


----------



## Jackmels

*Time to Use 'Em*

Looks Like It's Time....


----------



## ZTMAN

One weatherman said one to ten inches. Thanks for narrowing that down.


----------



## Xilbus

Up here in Gatineau Quebec. We got 2cm of light snow this morning so I used the shuvel. For tomorrow they are saying 15cm. I hope for a big storm cause it's my 1st winter with snowblowers and it's been lacking snow up here


----------



## The_Geologist

We had 4 or 5 inches here in NW Montana the past day or so. Enough accumulation that I finally was able to justify running the Toro.


----------



## CTHuskyinMA

Can't wait to try my new to me Ariens Hydro Pro 28 for the first time. I'm only in the 6-8" zone, though. Was hoping for a foot or more...


----------



## SimplicitySolid22

I hear ya Jack......MOVE 'EM OUTTTTTT!!!! Hyaaaaaaa!!!!! (Insert sound of Snowblowers starting here)

Let the back track of amounts begin!!!!


WBZ boston:

Coating-2”: Extreme outer Cape and Nantucket. . . mostly rain here, washed away.

2”-4”: Plymouth to New Bedford and most of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. Eventually washed away by rain.

4”-8”: Areas north of a line from Plymouth to Providence, up to the Mass Pike, including Boston. Changes to rain or rain/sleet here and totals get severely suppressed in the end.

8”-14”: Areas north of the Mass Pike, including most of Essex County, a big chunk of Middlesex County and most of Worcester County. This areas changes to sleet Sunday morning and while the snow won’t go away, it will get compacted with ice on top.

14”-24”: Ski country! Berkshires, southwest New Hampshire, extreme northwest Worcester County and all of central and northern New England. In fact, some elevated areas up north could see more than 2 feet!


ch 5 Boston:

The weekend storm is expected to start with heavy snow before some parts of the Boston region see a switch to a mix of sleet and rain. Because of that switch, snow accumulation is expected to be 6-12 inches in the city, but areas to the north and west can expect more than a foot of snowfall.

“There is a potential for a foot to a foot and a half of snow from Worcester up to the Merrimack Valley, and as you go north of Route 1, some areas may see over 18 inches of snow. There is a lot of snow coming at us before we see that changeover,” Fitzgibbon said.


Computer models for when the snow will switch to sleet aren't quite in agreement, which is why the total final snow accumulation remains difficult to predict.

Highest snow and sleet accumulations, at this stage, should be along and north of the Mass Pike. A "plowable" snow and sleet mix is also quite possible from Boston southward to the I-495 corridor. A slushy accumulation of snow and sleet may occur along the immediate South Coast and Cape Cod before a change to mostly rain and some sleet.

Behind the storm, bitter cold temperatures will move into New England, resulting in a flash freeze later Sunday night and Monday. High temperatures should not make it out of the teens with a biting cold wind chill.


----------



## Coby7

Calling for 40-60 cms for Sunday and overnight Monday plus 20mm of freezing rain somewhere in there. Should be a good mess.


----------



## chargin

There is one model that says no changeover at all other than near the canal southward.

In the morning they will have a better idea.


----------



## uberT

This storm will have so many facets that it's hard to predict what the result will be by Monday. The weather people seem more concerned than normal.


Weather looks somewhat dismal for the next 7 days.


----------



## broo

We're back at 10-12 inches here. It seems this one is most unpredictable.


----------



## tlshawks

Not quite 2" at the moment.

It began late, not really coming down hard either. Latest forecast for CR is 7". Gonna have to pick up big time, or go by slow like last weekend to make that.


----------



## tlshawks

Interesting...storm finished with a flourish. I tried to get to sleep around 11pm, and my yardstick outside the door measured 5 just before then. I got a phone call from an old friend about a half hour ago (glad she called...long story, wasn't really sleeping yet either)...so, I stuck my head out the door, knowing the radar had shown the storm has just now passed.

My screen door, when snow is shoved out of the way when I open it, that's 6+ inches on my deck. That's more than last weekend.

I know in NE Iowa, some places got 11+. I'm betting the Quad Cities rolls in with what we got if not more. Storm just came together a little north, and a little late, for us to hit the high end target (8)...but despite the late start, finished strong.

Should be a fun morning with Bill and Frank, especially if the wind picks up like they say it's gonna.


----------



## 132619

4 weather reports, 4 storm totals, than seeing noaa's map. this elevation might maybe bring my area into the 12 to 18 range not the 8 to 12 .
either way.i'm ready, 5 gallons of gas for the blower, cars all filled. 500 gallons of propane for heat and the gennie should we lose power. freezers full,


----------



## sscotsman

Snow is starting in Western NY. Rochester is due for a reliable 18 to 24 inches! 12+ from the main storm Saturday night into Sunday, then an additional 8 to 12 from Lake Effect Sunday night into Monday.

Fortunately my wife and I both have Monday off from work! We will not be leaving the house until Tuesday.

Im going to fire up the snowblower and clear the driveway twice, once Sunday afternoon, then again Monday afternoon, when its all over. Mainly to tackle the EOD twice. If I only did it once, on Monday, we could possibly have 24" on the ground with a 4-foot high EOD pile! Thats a bit much..so im going to tackle it twice, about half the total each time..

Scot


----------



## rslifkin

Snowing nicely here in Rochester (up north by the lake). Including the inch I ignored from yesterday, it looks like 3 - 4 inches on the driveway so far. I'll have to head out for a couple things this afternoon, so we'll see if I end up blowing the driveway before I head out. I figure I'll probably need to, as driving the BMW through the EOD might be an issue already. Jeep is stuffed in the back of the garage for some work, so I can't just hit the easy button and pull that out.


----------



## Dag Johnsen

*A good morning*

Good times!


----------



## sscotsman

We are now hours away..Its now safe to say these forecasts will be very accurate! 
probbaly within a few inches..

Western NY Saturday through Monday:










From Rochester's favorite weatherman, Scott Hetsko:
https://tinyurl.com/yabxhelo (Video is from Friday night)

And the whole North-East, from Accuweather: https://www.accuweather.com/










Scot


----------



## bigredmf

Just came home from work and my neighbor already plowed me once. I’m actually kind of disappointed!
Be safe!

Red


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## tlshawks

We got 5" +/- officially, but it was powdery stuff and the wind drifted it big time. I had 18-24" EOD and 12-18" over most my driveway and yard.

Had a blast throwing it all out. Man, it's nice to have great operating machines now, makes things so much easier.


----------



## tabora

Well, guess I'll go out and change the oil and put in the correct impeller shear (carriage) bolt on the HSS1332. I had put in a temporary one using an auger shear bolt. Looks like the snow will arrive here tonight.


----------



## detdrbuzzard

the snow arrived some time this morning as it was snowing when I got up. 22f and kind of windy with about four inches of snow on the ground, i'm going out in about an hour and try out the 824PT cause I've never used it


----------



## detdrbuzzard

just got back in from blowing snow, it turned into the toro 824PT vs the toro 521 in three to five inches of snow we had. the 824 had a faster ground speed and with a wider bucket threw more snow until the auger belt broke then it was the 521 all the way


----------



## Snowbelt_subie

detdrbuzzard said:


> just got back in from blowing snow, it turned into the toro 824PT vs the toro 521 in three to five inches of snow we had. the 824 had a faster ground speed and with a wider bucket threw more snow until the auger belt broke then it was the 521 all the way


Single stage for the win. We have 3-4" already in cleveland with the snow not stopping until tomorrow morning. I'm going to wait until it's over and take the little ccr3650 out and se how she does in 10+" maybe I'll take a video.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


----------



## detdrbuzzard

Snowbelt_subie said:


> Single stage for the win. We have 3-4" already in cleveland with the snow not stopping until tomorrow morning. I'm going to wait until it's over and take the little ccr3650 out and se how she does in 10+" maybe I'll take a video.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


I don't have any gas mixed up so I couldn't use the 2450 so maybe i'll use the 3650 when I get to mom's tomorrow, have fun with yours, it will go threw ten inches of snow with out a problem


----------



## RedOctobyr

There are some 3650s for sale around here, they are a reasonably-priced option for a SS. It would be cool to see a video of one in some deep snow, to get a sense of what they can handle!


----------



## detdrbuzzard

RedOctobyr said:


> There are some 3650s for sale around here, they are a reasonably-priced option for a SS. It would be cool to see a video of one in some deep snow, to get a sense of what they can handle!


I've had my 521 and 2450 in 12 ( or more ) inches of snow. the 2450 and 3650 start to become a workout, the 521 is much easier to work with when the snow gets really deep . the 2450 and 3650 get the job done but they require more effort from the operator


----------



## topher5150

Got the John Deere out today and got to finally do some snowblowing. 
Saw a guy with a sulky mower that had a snow plow on the front.


----------



## RedOctobyr

detdrbuzzard said:


> I've had my 521 and 2450 in 12 ( or more ) inches of snow. the 2450 and 3650 start to become a workout, the 521 is much easier to work with when the snow gets really deep . the 2450 and 3650 get the job done but they require more effort from the operator


Thanks. Is the 521 a 2-stage? I have a 2-stage, so it's not a matter of having something available for big storms. I'm more curious about what the SS machines can handle reasonably. For 3", SS is obviously going to be well-suited. Just not sure where they start to struggle, whether that's 6", or 12", etc. Understanding that snow can be very different, of course, 6" of wet stuff is tougher than 12" of fluffy snow. 

My last SS experiences were encouraging with little storms (say 3"), but these particular machines were underpowered, and struggled with around 6" or so. So I sold them and stayed with just my 2-stage. But a better SS would probably be more capable.


----------



## Lottstodo

Every time I see a big storm or snow event happening anywhere in the ole USA especially one that travels across several states I cant but help get a mental picture of hundreds of snow blowers with buzzards sitting on the handle waiting for that first kill. Especially since being here on SBF !! 

Have fun guys and be safe. Here in NW Lower Mi hardly anything for snow just bitter cold. As I type it is 4 deg. F expected to drop to possible -20F tonight. But lake effect is unpredictable so who knows , I'll just wait here on my handle bars.!!!


----------



## detdrbuzzard

RedOctobyr said:


> Thanks. Is the 521 a 2-stage? I have a 2-stage, so it's not a matter of having something available for big storms. I'm more curious about what the SS machines can handle reasonably. For 3", SS is obviously going to be well-suited. Just not sure where they start to struggle, whether that's 6", or 12", etc. Understanding that snow can be very different, of course, 6" of wet stuff is tougher than 12" of fluffy snow.
> 
> My last SS experiences were encouraging with little storms (say 3"), but these particular machines were underpowered, and struggled with around 6" or so. So I sold them and stayed with just my 2-stage. But a better SS would probably be more capable.


yes the 521 is a two stage I used it to compare against the 2450 and 3650 seeing that all three have close to the same HP rating. I had SS blowers long before getting a two stage so when I got the 521 it had to be equal to or better than my 2450


----------



## Snowbelt_subie

RedOctobyr said:


> Thanks. Is the 521 a 2-stage? I have a 2-stage, so it's not a matter of having something available for big storms. I'm more curious about what the SS machines can handle reasonably. For 3", SS is obviously going to be well-suited. Just not sure where they start to struggle, whether that's 6", or 12", etc. Understanding that snow can be very different, of course, 6" of wet stuff is tougher than 12" of fluffy snow.
> 
> 
> 
> My last SS experiences were encouraging with little storms (say 3"), but these particular machines were underpowered, and struggled with around 6" or so. So I sold them and stayed with just my 2-stage. But a better SS would probably be more capable.


I would stick with toro the newer 621 and 721s work well. Also any of the ccr series the 2000s with the old Suzuki engine work well but parts can be expensive. 

Also if you can get a honda hs621 for a deal I would pick one up they are great machines.

The main thing is make sure the paddles and scraper are in good condition. If not replace. Performance is drastically reduced when you start to get a gap between the paddle and pavement/ housing.

I have handled 12" of light snow with the toro"s before without much problem they could probably handle more.I would say 8"-10" of the wettest snow possible would be the max for one of the single stages.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


----------



## tlshawks

Just read a few NWS forecasts for tonight and tomorrow in the NE US.

18-24 inches in 24 hours. Yowza.

In my entire lifetime in eastern Iowa, there's been exactly one storm that dumped that much snow, the April Blizzard of 1973. Old timers like me remember it very well (I was almost 11 at the time).

https://nws.weather.gov/blog/nwsdesmoines/2016/04/10/april-8-10-1973-iowa-blizzard/

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/...time-machine-the-april-1973-blizzard-20180408


----------



## contender

tlshawks, this isn't snow fall, but Jan/Feb of 77 I spent in Dallas Texas, my school group stayed at one of the old motels by the then NON main Dallas Airport. They had an out door pool, at least once a week for the 2 months I was there, the water froze in the pool. 

One of my class mates lived in Dallas and his water pipes froze up several times in that same period.

I was and still am from Ontario I d.... near froze down there as I didn't take any winter clothes. Don't thing climate change started back then......


----------



## chargin

A 2" - 3" dud here.
Raining now.


----------



## Blackstar

Just started snowing here about an hour ago. Not sure what we're getting. Depends on which weather service you check. https://www.weather.gc.ca/city/pages/ns-25_metric_e.html


----------



## Cold1

Snow began in earnest about an hour ago here; upwards of 2 feet in the forecast for this area, but time will tell.


----------



## RIT333

About 20" so far, and more to come. Haven't gone outside yet, but since it is about 10* F, I'm guessing it will be light.


----------



## Blackstar

Cold1 said:


> Snow began in earnest about an hour ago here; upwards of 2 feet in the forecast for this area, but time will tell.


You're in the middle of the highest snowfall area. Truro will get some and then supposed to turn to heavy rain. Here's comes more floods... Good luck.


----------



## uberT

chargin said:


> A 2" - 3" dud here.
> Raining now.


Ditto. 27F or so


----------



## sscotsman

12" in Rochester. Heading out soon for driveway clear #1.
We are expecting another 6" to 12" from Lake Effect over the next 24 hours..
I'll go out for round 2 tomorrow.

Going to try the new freebie '91 Ariens first, then the '71 Ariens tomorrow..

Scot


----------



## broo

We're in the heart of the storm at the moment. Currently snowing heavily, about 12" already on the ground and -19C (-2.2F) outside.

Snow should ease a bit this afternoon and end early in the evening. I'm eager to get out and use the machine.


----------



## rslifkin

Looks like a good 15 inches or a little more in my part of Rochester. And plenty of blowing / drifting. I'd cleared the driveway and sidewalk last night because I needed to get a car out. And the sidewalk plows came through at one point too. At this point, the sidewalk is almost completely filled back in, can barely tell where it is. 

It's still snowing a decent bit, so I'm figuring I'll wait a couple more hours (nowhere to go right now) and then fire up the blower. I topped it off last night so I shouldn't have to worry about fuel today even if I'm helping some neighbors. Only put in a little over a half-gallon, which is not bad for a little under 1.5 hours of runtime (none in overly deep snow or anything) between the small snow last week and 2 runs yesterday when I needed to get a car out of the driveway. If I'd wanted, I probably could have finished the weekend before having to make a path out to the shed for the gas can.


----------



## Xilbus

Up here in Quebec. We got a few cm overnight,nothing that bad. Its 30 below 0 with the windchill right now. The craftsman started up easy. It's going to snow all day with a prediction of 15cm. So I'll go back out later this afternoon once the city plow passes.


----------



## broo

Xilbus said:


> Up here in Quebec. We got a few cm overnight,nothing that bad. Its 30 below 0 with the windchill right now. The craftsman started up easy. It's going to snow all day with a prediction of 15cm. So I'll go back out later this afternoon once the city plow passes.


Gatineau gets less snow than us in southern Qc. We already have 20-25 cm and still snowing. Those in the eastern part expect 50cm.


----------



## sscotsman

Just got in from "round one", spent a nice 2 hours outside..
The free `91 Ariens handeled it like a champ! 

https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/general-snowblower-discussion/145047-free-ariens-score.html










(Didnt think to take a new photo today! Darn..oh well..)

We got 12" of very dry, cold fluffy snow..2 to 3 foot EOD pile..the "pure" snow is fairly light, but the EOD is still very dense, because of the salt, but the 824 had no problems at all.

Its plus 8F out! (Negative 13C)..very cold, but the wind has died down, so it was actually fairly pleasant out.
The main storm is past now, but we are supposed to get another 6" to 12" of Lake Effect today and overnight, so i'll give the '71 Ariens her turn tomorrow..

Scot


----------



## chargin

uberT said:


> Ditto. 27F or so


We were lucky having it @32F for a few hours this A.M. with heavy rain.

Now it is colder and freezing rain has started.

Hope it ends before power loss occurs.


----------



## RedOctobyr

Very nice Scot! I had a similar machine, just a few years younger, it was a good performer. 

They were talking about 12-18" for us, but we've got more like 6", and it's been ice pellets since this morning. No real changeover yet that I can see. It's still about 15F, like it's been most of the day.


Hopefully the power stays on, but the generator is ready, if it goes out.


----------



## Coby7

Here we probably received 6-8" so far, still very cold, windy and still coming down. Plows haven't ventured out yet, I see my neighbor is blowing his yard but at this point I think it is useless. I will wait an other 2 hours or if I hear ice pellets hitting the windows which would announce the upcoming rain. I really want to get it cleared before the rain hits.

10:19








4 hours later


----------



## GeekOnTheHill

Our predicted blizzard fizzled out after a mere 8 - 10 inches ( 20 - 25 cm ). That's pretty much a non-event for these parts.

It was, however, some of the wettest, heaviest snow I've ever met, undoubtedly due to the temperatures having hovered around freezing all night. I had to run the snowblower a full two gears lower than had it been more typical, fluffy snow of that depth.

The temperatures are sharply and rapidly dropping now. It's currently about 20 F ( about -7 C ), with overnight lows predicted to reach -7 F ( - 22 C ). Tomorrow's _high_ is predicted to be a balmy 1 F ( -17 C).

Richard


----------



## aldfam4

sscotsman said:


> Just got in from "round one", spent a nice 2 hours outside..
> The free `91 Ariens handeled it like a champ!
> 
> https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/general-snowblower-discussion/145047-free-ariens-score.html
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (Didnt think to take a new photo today! Darn..oh well..)
> 
> We got 12" of very dry, cold fluffy snow..2 to 3 foot EOD pile..the "pure" snow is fairly light, but the EOD is still very dense, because of the salt, but the 824 had no problems at all.
> 
> Its plus 8F out! (Negative 13C)..very cold, but the wind has died down, so it was actually fairly pleasant out.
> The main storm is past now, but we are supposed to get another 6" to 12" of Lake Effect today and overnight, so i'll give the '71 Ariens her turn tomorrow..
> 
> Scot


Sounds exactly like Buffalo area Scott. Got up at 6:15am to let the dog out - opened the door to a foot of snow - my dog just jumped right into it. I shoveled an area so he could do his business and did right in the middle of the snow that I hadn't gotten to. He wanted to play for awhile then back into the house for him. Out like you, for 2 hours plus, did sidewalks for 4 neighbors and curb areas, did my driveway and next door neighbor and its time for some coffee and breakfast. Used my backup Craftsman 1028 with impeller mod - snow flying everywhere, had to put chute extension down for better placement. Fun, now ready for today's football games.


----------



## uberT

3PM and the rain continues, temp dropped 8 degrees in the past half hour. It's going to be bad tomorrow, everything will be frozen up solid. Had a terrible time getting into the car. Tomorrow's gonna be worse 


I went out on a little storm patrol and saw lots of people attempting to shovel their driveways by hand. This is the heaviest snow (crazy water content) I remember. We barely got three inches but it's soaked with rain water. The people shoveling by hand could only take small little scoops with their shovels. Must have been hours to clear a modest area, not to mention the heart attack potential.


I ran my 28" machine today with the 16.5 ft*lb B&S engine. Based on today's experience, that engine is appropriately sized for the crap we have to deal with and nothing beyond it. My first 28" Ariens had the 254cc (??) engine on it. Simply inadequate for this region and the messes we have to deal with.


Hope everyone is having a good day !!


----------



## db130

Woke up to disappointment this morning:

What I found was ~3 inches of snow with a crusty top layer and a slushy bottom layer.

I made about 2 passes with one of my 2-stagers and gave up (it clogged early and often).

I brought out the CCR3650 that I've recently splurged on (new electric starter gear, new wheels, new primer bulb, new stainless hardware) and it even tackled the EOD stuff when i was feeding it a half bucket at a time (heavy slush content on the EOD). 










When it ran out of gas, I brought out the 722EC and found that I really liked its chute control (only takes a second to go from lock to lock) and throwing distance.










I've owned both of these for about a year but today was the first chance to do any extended testing. I really like them both.


----------



## RedOctobyr

Cool, thanks for the SS feedback! I had an Ariens SS322. I knew there was a 5hp version, SS522, but I didn't know they also made a 7hp style. My SS322 was nice, but needed more power. It also didn't have the chute control. 

Can I ask which blower you preferred? 

uberT, what displacement is your 16.5 ft-lb machine (or which model)? I don't have a good "mental cross-reference" for displacement to torque.


----------



## uberT

Red, it's the 921036 with the 342cc B&S ("Made in America") engine:


----------



## Snowbelt_subie

Cleveland we got about 12" on the ground. Storm has been gone. But we are still getting lake effect another 2-4 on the way.









Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


----------



## db130

RedOctobyr said:


> Cool, thanks for the SS feedback! I had an Ariens SS322. I knew there was a 5hp version, SS522, but I didn't know they also made a 7hp style. My SS322 was nice, but needed more power. It also didn't have the chute control.
> 
> Can I ask which blower you preferred?


Honestly, you can't go wrong with either one. The Ariens needed a quick carb cleaning to get it started today and the lower panel has a built-in access hole to for the carburetor. I was able to remove the carb jet and the fuel bowl through the access hole which I found super convenient.

I don't really need 2 single stagers, so the Toro might be for sale.


----------



## Blackstar

The storm that wasn't... Ended up with about 2 inches of light fluffy snow. The Wife and I went out and just shovelled it away, Started raining as we were finishing. About +1C and raining right now.


----------



## Markus (DE)

*1,5 meters snow, Temperature -10°C in Bavaria (Germany)*

Hi,

now we´ve at last 1,5 to 1,8 m of snow and temperatures about -10°C in the town of Inzell, southern Bavaria (Germany).
The foto of our Ariens ST832 was taken last week when heavy snowfall starts. My 13 year old son Joern is managing that first mass of snow easily with that brave old Ariens :wink2:
And after that first snow, our Ariens get´s hours of work up to the 17. of January :wink2: We spend at last 40 Ltrs of fuel in the last week only to feed the Ariens :smile_big:

The other foto shows Joern on the rooftop of our shed, helping me to remove the snow in order to prevent the construction to be damaged. By the way... that wasn´t risky because the snow nearly reached the edge of the roof. The maximum distance to fall was at last 1 m... in fresh and powder snow :smile2:

Enjoy wintertimes 

Greetings from Bavaria

Markus


----------



## bigredmf

‘‘Twas nice to run the blowers!

The 924039 performed well on this pile!

No pics from the Old Mans but the Compact 22 performed as always!

Red


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## detdrbuzzard

after going to repair clinic.com early and picking up belts for the 824pt I thought I had a day to relax. mom called so I loaded up the pt521and had some fun at her house, glad I took it too cause the mice must like handlebar bolts cause the 3650e didn't have any


----------



## tabora

How my 95 year old mother-in-law sees the forecast...


----------



## broo

What a day !

We finally got about 16" here.

While blowing the EOD, my auger stopped but engine still ran fine, like a snapped belt.

Got back in the shed, removed cover : the belt didn't snap, but somehow got out of the pulley and twisted itself all around. Had to cut it myself to get it out of there. Luckily I had a spare, but had a very hard time putting back the two halves of the machine together.

A bit later, I saw my light shaking way more than usual. My light is on a mast bolted on the body by 2 bolts which also keep the two halves together. That meant I lost a bolt. A few minutes later, the mast fell down, meaning I lost both bolts, therefore only one bolt held the body together on that side. I stopped it and brought it in the shed. Luckily I found compatible bolts in my garage and was able to finish the job. Took over 3 hours for a job that usually takes 45 minutes.


----------



## tlshawks

Welp...another winter storm is winding up for tomorrow.

6+" is forecasted for about 30-40 miles north of us. The US20 corridor is more or less the bull's eye. 

We're set to receive somewhere around 3", with some freezing rain and maybe sleet and rain during. I honestly would rather get a crapload of snow again that a wet slushy mess that'll freeze no doubt after given the later forecast.

If there's any variance, they seem to believe that the system will go farther north than jog south.


----------



## rslifkin

Still snowing lightly here. I've already put 3.5 hours on the blower since I first fired it up Saturday evening. At least this morning's clearing in 0* weather with decent wind was pretty quick. 

Of course, yesterday I spent a good 30 minutes working on the street as the neighbors often have cars parked near their house and the city narrowed the street by about 4 feet with their plowing job (didn't plow anywhere near the curb on the first few passes, so they built up huge piles they couldn't move much after, even when they came through with a grader). So I trimmed the pile back a bit on the opposite side of the street (probably a foot or so) and then cut the one on our side back to the curb in front of ours and the neighbors house. 

Finally got some use out of one of the drift cutters (plow piles were 2.5 - 3 feet above street level where I was cutting). And I was enjoying that the Pro 28 is pretty tall, as I had just enough chute height to tip the deflector all the way down and neatly stack the snow I was cutting off the front of the plow piles onto the top of them. 

This weekend also prompted me to order up a weight kit for the blower. Even with the weight of the battery on the back of the bucket (about 30 lbs, but centered between the wheels and skids) it was having trouble digging the scraper in at times (armor skids were acting like skis and floating on the packed snow). Hopefully another 10 lbs will help, as any more than that will probably make the bucket way too heavy for maneuvering (and the total machine weight will be getting up there too, as I'll be +40 lbs from stock, so about 380 lbs total weight). Drive traction with the added battery weight is awesome though, even on the steep bit at the end of my driveway.


----------



## Coby7

Wife couldn't take her car to work this morning, it is frozen to the driveway. I will need a pik to break it loose.


----------



## RedOctobyr

rslifkin said:


> This weekend also prompted me to order up a weight kit for the blower. Even with the weight of the battery on the back of the bucket (about 30 lbs, but centered between the wheels and skids) it was having trouble digging the scraper in at times (armor skids were acting like skis and floating on the packed snow). Hopefully another 10 lbs will help, as any more than that will probably make the bucket way too heavy for maneuvering (and the total machine weight will be getting up there too, as I'll be +40 lbs from stock, so about 380 lbs total weight). Drive traction with the added battery weight is awesome though, even on the steep bit at the end of my driveway.


Cool! That's a heavy machine, my 1024 is about 270. I've added about 25 lbs to my bucket, it definitely helps hold it down while going up our driveway's incline. 

I'd like to get more weight on the wheels, for added traction. Adding it on the frame adds stress to the wheel bearings. Loading the wheels themselves would be preferable, but the differential control on one wheel complicates that. I could add fluid to the tires themselves, but that can be a bit messy. Installing inner tubes would help with that, but it's a process by itself. I might be able to put weight onto the axles themselves somehow, which would be interesting. 

It would look stupid, but I've wondered about trying to attach free weights to the tire chains, since they'd serve as a crude mounting point. Or I guess a few holes could be made in the weights, and extra-long bolts used, bolting through the weights, into the axles. The bolted weights would push against the wheel, holding it to the axle. I'd have maybe 2 of the 4 wheel bolts go through the weights, and leave the others as normal.


----------



## rslifkin

Bolting weights onto the wheels sounds like a pretty good solution, I think. I'd be tempted to try it, but the only times I've had wheelspin issues were while heading into a solid bucket-height pile of plow slop at full width and a little bit while climbing the very steep bit at the end of the driveway into a similarly sized pile of plow crap (the steep bit is only about 6 feet long, so not a big issue).


----------



## Kielbasa

Well here in Connecticut between Hartford and New Haven, we got 2" of snow with sleet and freezing rain on top. Too little for the machine. So I had to shovel everything. It was so... heavy. :[email protected]: Throwing it over a 6' fence was so... much fun. :RantExplode: Very sore and on the tired side today.


----------



## RedOctobyr

Kielbasa said:


> Too little for the machine. So I had to shovel everything. It was so... heavy. :[email protected]:


Sorry to hear that. If you use a fast ground speed, to help keep the impeller more full, can that make the machine practical? Shoveling that wet heavy stuff definitely sucks.


----------



## rslifkin

Forgot to post this earlier, a quick video of the Pro 28 starting up this morning to clean up the overnight lake effect and drifting. Cold start, although that's relative considering this was less than a minute after pulling the blower out of the 50* garage. Outside temp around 0* F, 5W-40 synthetic in the engine. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jeZw2GRoERiKxtTx8


----------



## tlshawks

Went to bed last night, 1-3" forecasted. A touch of rain/sleet/frz rain rather than snow, for the temps were gonna be slightly above freezing at times. Weren't under any watches or warnings, just an advisory.

Woke up just now, and we've changed to a winter storm warning and are forecasted for 6" snow and maybe more, for the models are thinking temps aren't going to rise as much as yesterday. 

Only the difference from last weekend is this is going to be a lot heavier type snow, not the light fluffy stuff of last weekend.

Whose up for the next round?


----------



## chargin

We got rain and 40s coming Wed/Thurs.

Still waiting to tell a real snow story this winter.


----------



## tpenfield

Winter storm 'Harper' left us with about 7-8" of snow, then rain/sleet on top forming about a 2" thick crust. I happened to be away during the storm, but came home to find that a neighbor had cleared the driveway. :smile2:

I went to clean things up a bit, but by then the arctic cold had set in turning the crust into 'concrete'.


The Troy-Bilt 2410 was no match for these conditions and would not 'dig in' to the crust. The Toro Powershift 824, being about 2 x heavier, and with the axle 'shifted', was able to get some of it, but not all.


My Troy-Bilt could get into some of the deeper/less 'crusty' areas, but then the impeller started slowing down. . . I think the belt is slipping. :sad2: So, I'll have to take a look at that issue.


Temps are supposed to be warmer towards the end of the week, so maybe I'll be able to clean things up some more.


----------



## tlshawks

It's like a bad dream. Well, a troublesome combination anyway.

We're getting a thin but heavy enough layer of freezing rain before the snow hits, which will slick things up on bare pavement surfaces like my driveway. And, they are now putting out indications that the heavy line is setting up still further south to where Cedar Rapids may wind up being right in the thick of it.

I'm going out soon to warm up the vehicles, get the 1st payer of crust off - and lay down some ice melt.


----------



## RedOctobyr

We got just a dusting overnight, enough to have to brush the car off this morning. It was 3F when I went to start the car, it was reluctant, but willing, fortunately. Decided to quickly go over the driveway again when I got home, to clear off the snow that blew around during the day. 

It's supposed to be close to 50F on Thursday, with rain the next 2 days. I'm hoping the 6" on the deck will mostly melt, vs just turning into a big solid block of ice. Probably not, but hey, I can hope.


----------



## WVguy

Nothing here either, it was cold this morning (5°F) but tomorrow we're supposed to get rain/freezing rain so the roads that are frozen will ice up, then we'll have ice with water on top. Oh joy, I've seen that before and it ain't pretty. We'd like to go out tomorrow but if I fall on my butt in the driveway getting the newspaper I'm sure not gonna try driving in it.


----------



## zandor

We might get a real mess in Chicago tonight. It's supposed to snow for the next couple hours, then turn to rain, then back to snow. After that it gets cold. If we're lucky it'll mostly be rain, melt all the snow off the pavement, and stop before it turns back to snow and I'll wake up to nice clear sidewalks. Or we end up with ice with snow on top, or just ice. Good thing I have sand and "salt" (that not sodium chloride ice melting stuff... forget what's in it).


----------



## SnowH8ter

zandor said:


> Good thing I have sand and "salt" (not that sodium chloride ice melting stuff... forget what's in it).



Sand = good! Sodium Chloride: NaCl = table salt = rock salt. Toxic to fur kids. Takes forever to work. Ineffective below -10C. Corrosive as heck to vehicles and the environment. What were we thinking?


----------



## topher5150

had a couple of inches last night. This morning it's 35* and kind of rainy icy. Debating on blowing the driveway, or at least the end of it so my wife can get in. Tomorrow it's supposed to start snowing again until all of next week


----------



## Xilbus

Morning everyone.

Got a few cm's overnight and it's going to keep snowing for the day. May turn to rain later this afternoon.

I took out the craftsman to empty the gas tank and then took out the ariens.


----------



## tlshawks

Got roughly 6" overnight, snow is just now ending. EOD just got plowed in, hooray. 

Coffee's brewin'.


----------



## Natty Bumpo

Winter Storm "Indra" hammering us right now in far NW Lower Mi. A couple of inches of light, fluffy stuff last night, but now coming down like 1+ inches/hr. Probably will end up with 6-8' before its done tonite. My wife has an important Dr's apt this afternoon, so we need to go. Happy the Honda 828 in the garage is all gassed up, Snow Jet refreshed and GTG. 


Glad we aren't around Chicago this morning , heard that over 2000 flights have been cancelled or delayed due to severe icing. Same conditions in Detroit.


----------



## tlshawks

In our forecasts...

Thursday overnight = lows roughly -15 to -20
Friday = 1-3" of more snow, clipper system flying through
Saturday = another shot of cold air, not quite as bad as Thursday night
Sunday night to Monday = another much stronger clipper system, roughly a 6" incher track depending

After that round...the coldest Arctic system in quite a few years. There may be a night or two where -30 degrees air temps are in play.


----------



## Kielbasa

Absolutely not. For us here... this was the worst kind of storm mix and amount that we all... dread. Another 2" and more of snow would have helped. It would have allowed the machine to cut through and grab it. It would not have thrown too far and with having to get it over the fence, it would have made every next row of clearing a little bit harder. 

If some one would like to come to my house and come up my driveway and plow my neighbors fence right down with a truck, I would gratefully appreciate it... :grin: 



RedOctobyr said:


> Sorry to hear that. If you use a fast ground speed, to help keep the impeller more full, can that make the machine practical? Shoveling that wet heavy stuff definitely sucks.


----------



## tlshawks

Ahhh, crud.

NWS 3PM narrative, Quad Cities region...

"Sunday night and Monday: Next in the hit parade is a significant
snowstorm with the potential for accumulations of 6+ inches and
strong winds. There is the potential for a foot of snow but too soon
to tell the axis of the heaviest snow band."

The prior 3 systems these past two weeks, their narratives 3 to 4 days in advance have wound up being darn near exactly spot on correct.


----------



## Steve70

The month of January has given us about 3 feet of snow so far with more snow predicted 4 of the next 6 days including whiteout conditions. The highway along Lake Superior from Marquette to Munising just reopened a couple hours ago. It typically shuts down several times a winter from whiteout lake effect stuff. In addition, like those west of us have said here, we've had -20 to -30 temps / wind chills. The temp forecast for the next several days is for a high of below 0F. Such is the norm for UP winters. Schools close much easier these days, but this weather doesn't really stop anything else. Stores open, people go to work, and most don't bat an eye lash. 

I wish I could have exercised my new Pro 28 a little more, but on the other hand, I'm happy to play a round or two of golf and read about it. I get to watch our local news with my Roku app out here. This pic was at my buddy's place a few blocks away from our house yesterday.

1/26/19 -35F at at 7AM at a friend's house a couple miles from us. That's getting down there for us. The coldest temp reading I ever remember was -46F back in the late 70s.


----------



## Steve70

From a friend yesterday morning. Never thought to do this myself, but here's what a pail of water does at -38F. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j7C9B-_4YlL-U9B05JyLEbfQkzW7FOn2/view?usp=sharing


----------



## chargin

We might have something coming Tuesday night.
Too many unknowns at this point I guess.


----------



## detdrbuzzard

we got just over an inch of snow last night, I broomed the porch and stairs then shoveled the walkway and driveway, all but one of the neighbors I blow snow for had already cleared their snow and I shoveled the one neighbor that wasn't home


----------



## 132619

looks like maybe??( if the reporters can get it right ) i'll get to use the rhino/berco.tuesday


----------



## WVguy

We might get some sleet/snow Tuesday but only an inch or two. Whatever comes down is gonna be there a while because the cold front is right behind it.


----------



## tlshawks

Got 2" Friday thru Saturday. Just began snowing with the latest upper midwest storm. The forecasts the last few days have been all over the place. First we'll get 6-12", then they progressively moved north with the heavy stuff. Looks like Minnesota and Wisconsin are finally gonna get their share of these recent storms.

Yesterday, the forecast was 2-3" here. This afternoon, "models leaning farther south" but hard to say where the line ultimately sets up. We're in the 2-4" band now, maybe with some freezing rain on the tail end. What we get, who knows. All I know is if we get 2, I'm running blowers tomorrow morning given the ominously cold forecast coming. If I don't clear it out, it won't get cleared out - especially with liquid laid down on top of it.

All things considered, a 3 incher is fine by me. Enough to "honestly throw" the 3 day's total given there'll be wind and drifting involved too.

My gawd, it's gonna get cold by Wednesday. Forecast high of -17 degrees.


----------



## zandor

Work is sending me to NYC tomorrow morning so I'll dodge the -whatever we're supposed to get in Chicago in the middle of the week... if I get out. We're supposed to get 5-8" starting around midnight and I have an 8:30am flight.

As far as snow stories go, we got maybe an inch and a half last night. I just shoveled most of it. One of the neighbors had already gone down the sidewalk with a single stage and my walks aren't worth blowing unless it's pretty deep. I used the blower on my driveway though and oops... fumbled with the deflector lever and managed to stick some snow on my neighbor's second floor window.


----------



## broo

12" on the way for Tuesday here. Just like last year, I definitely won't have to fill up the pool next Spring, there'll be more than enough melted snow.

Just like December was disappointing, January doesn't give us much break here.

Our pool has a 4' fence around it, but right now only the upper 6 to 8" are visible. There are "better" places where snow levels are higher, but this is something I rarely see here.


----------



## Dag Johnsen

*10 inches this morning, and 10 inches yesterday*

Good times in Norway:smile2:


----------



## tlshawks

Welp...finally a storm that didn't hit the target snowfall totals. We got maybe 2" tops. Minnesota and Wisconsin, parts there finally got some decent snows though.

The storm never really got organized down here though.

The arctic front has passed into western Iowa. 50 mph winds with it, blowing snow will be just as much a problem as if it were snowing unfortunately. And the temperature forecast Tuesday and Wednesday nights are...ominous. If they're accurate, we're going to break our all time low records...maybe twice.

The good news in the forecast is this arctic system is gonna clear things out for us. Early next week, low 40's in the forecast.

EDITED TO ADD - I may have had only an inch on my deck and vehicles, but my yard and driveway had 5+ across the board. Drifts were up to nearly a foot on the fringes.

And I can hear the wind howling above the tree line now. The next 3 days are gonna be BRUTAL. It wouldn't surprise me at some point I'm plowing again with no snow falling.


----------



## detdrbuzzard

by the time I got out to blow snow we had somewhere between five to eight inches and the temp was going up. with a new auger belt on the powerthrow and it being closest to the garage door it got the nod over the 521's plus I really wanted to use it again. even as the snow got heavier the powerthrow had no problem handling it, guess the impeller kit helped there


----------



## yoda

The PredaToro is running great. Starts on the first pull. Adding a manual throttle control has been very useful. Gives me more control of throwing distance. 3600 rpm for normal use, bump it to 4000 rpm for deeper snow. 

Got 7" of powdery snow yesterday. Handled it no problem including the 2 feet of compacted snow left at the driveway apron by the village snow plows. Throwing snow 20-30 feet is a lot of fun.


----------



## chargin

Looks like less than an inch and then rain for me.

Only positive to this snowless winter is snowblowers should be getting clearanced out of the BigBox stores soon.
So if one needs a cheapo keep your eyes peeled.


----------



## detdrbuzzard

with the powerthrow already loaded on the van I headed over to mom's after leaving henry's. the snow at mom's was anywhere from an inch to eight inches deep because of blowing and drifting plus the ice coating on top. I couldn't clear the side of the yard in the pic that still has snow because the asphalt is broken up real bad and my skids won't clear the broken pieces. 7f by the time I got home


----------



## Buffalokid

We started off the day with about 6 inches falling in about 3 hours, it has been lightly snowing as the wind has started to pick up. Overnight we are supposed to get another 5-8 and then another 5-8 tomorrow. Our temperature will not plummet like Chicago, but we get a little protection from the lake, which is unfrozen still. But that is also what is going to give us the snow!


----------



## RedOctobyr

I thought we just got a dusting overnight, but then realized it was maybe 3-4". Oops, so quickly cleared the driveway, I didn't want my wife's car to have trouble getting up the driveway's incline. 

I at least got to clear a lot of it in 6th gear, which was kinda fun. I'm easily amused, I guess. But a single stage would have been a nice tool to have available for a storm this size.


----------



## Miles

broo said:


> One one side we have the farmer's almanach which predicts a very cold & snowy winter (yeah !)
> 
> Then on the other side we have another weather prediction which calls for a big El Nino winter. Last time we had such a winter was 20 years ago. In January 1998, we lost electrical power for 30 days due to amazing ice storms.
> 
> 
> I'm thinking about buying a generator, just in case. I remember 20 years ago, during and after the storm, generators were marked up like crazy.
> 
> 
> So far here we have just seen a trace of snow a few days ago. All my vehicles are either stored or ready for winter.
> 
> Snowblower is ready, gas can is full, bring it on.


In 2011, I got a small Honda generator, an Eu2000i plus a torpedo propane heater that just needs a little electricity. This combination kept my pipes from freezing after an ice storm that knocked out the power for three days.


----------



## chargin

Got to use my blower for the first time this winter today.
Backpack Leaf Blower that is.

We had a cold front come through with some squalls last night.
Got about 1/4 - 1/2 an inch.
Super cold air equals light and fluffy snow which blew away quite easily.

It will be back above freezing for the weekend.


----------



## WVguy

Once again the forecast for tomorrow is 1-3 inches. Promises, promises. Last time it fizzled to a dusting.


----------



## chargin

Here are the 25 snowiest cities so far this year.
Current Top 25 Snowiest US Cities | Golden Snow Globe National Snow Contest Snowiest US City Pop 100,000+

Boston not among them.
Boston has a chance to have the least snowiest winter this year, eva !
https://www.wcvb.com/article/is-boston-on-track-for-least-snowy-winter-ever/26101460


----------



## RedOctobyr

Ugh, yeah, it's been a kinda lame winter around here so far. But in the record-breaking 2014/2015 winter, we got very little snow until right around the end of January, then we kept getting hammered. So hopefully we can't count the winter out entirely just yet!


----------



## Steve70

I'm watching our weather from a distance, but in my lifetime I don't remember the extreme swings of temp in the dead of winter. The variable we've not seen in these extremes is the rain and ice coming in the dead of winter. Snow and cold, no matter the excess, cause little concern. The biggest issue we have with extreme cold is frozen water/sewer lines which, while quite inconvenient for those impacted, are an accepted part of life here. 

Much of this same weather came from west to east, but in the past 2 weeks, we've gone from -30/40F to a temp swing into the 30s in just over a day or two. Even in the cold, we still got 6" of snow. The rain/ice storm we had this past Monday did damage. 1.2 inches of rain in a day. Lots of power out all over the county. Huge trees, not just little ones, bowed over and taking down power lines. Monday night after the rain / ice the temp dropped back to low single digits Tuesday morning. Now we're getting back to some normality with temps in the teens and 10-15" of snow predicted across the region tomorrow into Friday.


----------



## uberT

The weather people are selling hard on the fact that we're supposed to get some freezing rain overnight followed by the "possibility" of a couple inches of snow in a week  Wadda joke.


----------



## tlshawks

Big storm (for us) rolling in later today. We're in the 6-8" band depending on the track. Big wind following it up also.

Looks like SW MN, W/SW WI gonna get the most out of it.

And I got a freshly fixed up snowblower to play with...


----------



## Steve70

Here's a street I just saw posted about 3 miles from us yesterday. The pic with the little girl is from our 3rd week of April storm last year. The official tally this year is 131 to date, but we're typically a tad higher of late. Maybe 10 inches higher. 

High of 14F yesterday. Low of -2F. Here's what rolling in tomorrow. We'll likely be on the 14 plus end of this.

Weather Updated: Feb 11 4:27AM
Issued by the National Weather Service
For Marquette County, Michigan
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 9AM EST TUE UNTIL 7AM EST WED ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM TUESDAY TO 7 AM EST WEDNESDAY... * WHAT...HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED. EXPECT TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 9 INCHES, EXCEPT 10 TO 14 INCHES OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN FROM THE HURON MOUNTAINS TO ISHPEMING, NEGAUNEE AND SKANDIA. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING ON TUESDAY. * WHERE...BARAGA AND MARQUETTE COUNTIES. * WHEN...FROM 9 AM TUESDAY TO 7 AM EST WEDNESDAY. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...TRAVEL WILL LIKELY BECOME VERY DIFFICULT TUESDAY. PATCHY BLOWING SNOW COULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE VISIBILITY. THE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS COULD IMPACT THE MORNING AND WILL IMPACT THE EVENING COMMUTE. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL, KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT, FOOD AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. &&


----------



## broo

Big one coming towards us starting tomorrow night. Biggest one this season.

Usually, forecasts start with a big number then lowers as we get closer to the D-day. This time, it's the other way around, as we get closer, the numbers get BIGGER.

We started at 8-10 inches, but now 14-16" are expected.


----------



## tlshawks

Gotten about 5 so far today. Right now, sleet is creeping in. Either way, a bit of a snow globe outside, can barely see across the street.

More sleet we get, less snow. The NWS is sticking with it's 6-10" though via the latest narrative. LOTS of energy with this system.


----------



## tlshawks

According the the NWS, we got 8". Just stepping out onto my deck...heavy, wet stuff - and usually because of the lay of my neighborhood, I usually wind up with a bit more snow than the official amounts.


----------



## uberT

We're expecting 3" - 4" starting this afternoon. The weather people are in the "SELL SELL SELL" mode. Trying to make the most out of nearly nothing.


----------



## sturgissteele

Mixed percip last night into rain this morning. Lots of ice on the trees; looks pretty, but sure is weighing heavy. Warming up to 38°f today. Still under an advisory till tomorrow. Doesn't look like we're gonna get the white stuff for a while.

Here's a pic of a tree with the branches getting closer to the road.









Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk


----------



## uberT

Geez, I doubt we even have 3" so far and the sleet is mixing in already  Supposed to get some serious rain overnight, 45F tomorrow


----------



## WVguy

uberT said:


> Supposed to get some serious rain overnight, 45F tomorrow


Same here, we're even getting flood warnings.:surprise:


----------



## chargin

About 2" before the switch.
A little thunder & lightning also.

Waiting for a real storm ..............


----------



## sturgissteele

SW Lower Michigan, got some mixed precipitation last night, then turned to rain this morning. Late afternoon, turned to light snow. The weather guessers calling for 1-3 inches overnight. I suspect school will be called off once again because of very slippery roads. Windy too. Gust's up to 45mph tonight.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk


----------



## snowblowed

chargin said:


> About 2" before the switch.
> A little thunder & lightning also.
> 
> Waiting for a real storm ..............



Yeah this storm sucks. I gotta do something as the wife leaves for work at 6 am and the driveway will be a slushy mess if I don’t clear it. Heading out now to **** off the neighbors. At least Itll be quick


----------



## guybb3

*WOW heavy stuff*

We had about 5 inches last night soaked down with a TON of rain. I went out @ 3:30 this morning to do my driveway and 2 of the neighbor's as well. I basically have 120 ft. of EOD because of being in a cul de sac and how my neighbor's mail box is set up. My TORO with the Briggs 1450 342cc engine was working so hard on the 1 1/2 ft. of compacted slush that the muffler was actually glowing red for a little bit. :surprise: When I saw that I slowed down and tried not to push it tooo hard but GD, that's working hard.


----------



## russ01915

Went out last night at 10PM before the turn over to rain. Glad I did.


----------



## sscotsman

Yep, we had it in Western NY too..
about 4" of very wet dense snow, then turning to rain, freezing rain and sleet.
it was concrete..I didnt do the EOD, our cars can just plow through that.


Normally I wouldnt even clear 4", but its going to be around freezing for the next week, so its going to melt slowly,
and turn to ice..so I cleared it out..

Scot


----------



## JLawrence08648

guybb3 said:


> We had about 5 inches last night soaked down with a TON of rain. I went out @ 3:30 this morning to do my driveway and 2 of the neighbor's as well. I basically have 120 ft. of EOD because of being in a cul de sac and how my neighbor's mail box is set up. My TORO with the Briggs 1450 342cc engine was working so hard on the 1 1/2 ft. of compacted slush that the muffler was actually glowing red for a little bit. :surprise: When I saw that I slowed down and tried not to push it tooo hard but GD, that's working hard.


Buy a Gravely Convertible 12hp. It will bury a tunnel in a 12' plow mound.


----------



## rslifkin

I had the same snow as sscotsman to deal with. Cleared it around 5:30 last night, so it had been sleeting and lightly raining, but the heavier rain hadn't hit yet. The Pro 28 had no trouble at all with it, although the 8" of heavy, wet EOD slop combined with the last few feet of my driveway being a pretty steep grade almost forced me to park on the street and blow the driveway before moving into the garage. That much heavy, wet snow was pushing the limits of what it's possible to drive the BMW through, especially uphill from an almost stop.


----------



## Homesteader

I didn't really blow snow this morning. It was more like pumping slush. Might be the wettest - heaviest 2" storm I've come across. I'm so glad to have an impeller kit and fresh paint on the interior of the housing and chute. Moved the slush around without coming close to clogging, not once.


----------



## Xilbus

We got 5 foot drifts here. My craftsman is a tuff little guy lol


----------



## Steve70

The official tally early this AM was 26.5 inches the last day or two. We could be a little more or a little less. We were running 5-10 inches higher than the official tally earlier this season. It's still lightly snowing. Then we get a day off and more snow forecast for Thursday / Friday. 

My friend's deck dog path from last night. He lives in the snow belt of our area so I'm sure he's more than 26.5"


----------



## Jackmels

Was Checking the Weather Map to see when it was going to change to rain/sleet, and then went out with the Trusty '76 Ariens 1032. Did the drive and walkways. This morning, went out and found new Frozen EOD Piles. I quickly went over the drive and walks, but left the frozen Piles until late this Morning when they thawed. I decided to try my ST824 Repowered with 11hp Briggs, Tall Chute, and Fresh Impeller Seal. Was Happy to see it Threw the Slush Piles and Shot Water Out as Well!


----------



## RedOctobyr

guybb3 said:


> My TORO with the Briggs 1450 342cc engine was working so hard on the 1 1/2 ft. of compacted slush that the muffler was actually glowing red for a little bit. :surprise: When I saw that I slowed down and tried not to push it tooo hard but GD, that's working hard.


Have you checked your valve clearances? That could be a symptom of the exhaust valve not closing fully once the engine gets hot, due to the clearance being too small.


----------



## tomlct1

Here in coastal CT, I cleared the snow with my 2 stage, & it was getting heavy from the sleet. This morning, I used my single-stage on the sidewalk, and it did a really good job of clearing the starting-to-melt slush all over the place. This was the type of storm where it was nice to have both a 2 stage and a single stage snowblower.


----------



## guybb3

RedOctobyr said:


> Have you checked your valve clearances? That could be a symptom of the exhaust valve not closing fully once the engine gets hot, due to the clearance being too small.




I will do so.


----------



## uberT

Stats from this morning:









​


----------



## tpenfield

About 4" of snow in the Boston suburb area Tuesday night into Wed AM; first snow then rain set in turning everything into slush. I did the driveway and walks just before the change over to rain. Then early Wed AM I was out 'slush blowing' to get the remaining stuff up before the next freeze would set in Wed night.


The Powershift 824 was throwing the remaining slush, which was basically water about 20 feet. :grin: No clogs, nothing . . . Love this machine :wink2:


----------



## Steve70

The calm after 26.5 inches in 24 hours. Our friend on the county road by his house. 6 more 'heavy lake effect' coming today / tonight. The official tally is 157.4 at the reporting station. 46" depth.


----------



## RedOctobyr

tomlct1 said:


> Here in coastal CT, I cleared the snow with my 2 stage, & it was getting heavy from the sleet. This morning, I used my single-stage on the sidewalk, and it did a really good job of clearing the starting-to-melt slush all over the place. This was the type of storm where it was nice to have both a 2 stage and a single stage snowblower.


I cleared the actual storm with my "new" single-stage. 

Then last night, I decided to use it to clean up the partially-frozen slush as well. It did a great job, and cleared the driveway down to pavement, which was pretty cool (the slush had gotten firm already, though it wasn't solid ice). Then as a test, I tried it on the EOD, and the stuff the plows crammed next to our mailbox. This was now soaked with rain, and partially melted. It did it, though it struggled more, and stalled once (in the stuff the plows had packed in). 

I'm sure the 2-stage would have handled it fine (and was really the better tool for the job), but it was encouraging to see the SS at least manage to get through it, despite it being wet, heavy, and compacted. 

uberT, yeah, the winter has been pretty boring so far. I'm hoping for some decent snow before the season ends.


----------



## WVguy

Pretty boring winter here too, even though we're quite a bit more south than most on the forum. We would not have struggled a bit if we didn't even own a snow blower, let alone two. (Sacrilege, I know, on this forum!)

The most snow we had all winter was last November a week before Thanksgiving when we got five inches of wet snow. The weather immediately warmed up and it was melted from all paved surfaces within a couple of days, on grass in the shade in a week or maybe less.

If we get hammered at all it is usually around mid to late February and the forecast does not look promising at all for any snow, let alone an amount justifying use of a snow blower. If we don't get any snow by mid March the winter is pretty much over around here, by April things are starting to sprout and bud. It is then safe to drain the fuel and carburetors, change oil & lube, and put winter gear away pending next fall.

So it's looking like this winter is a bust.:icon_blue_very_sad:


----------



## Steve70

We got another 8-10 yesterday putting us at 168 for the year at the closest weather station to us. The Keewenaw Peninsula, just NW of us, has really been hit hard since Christmas with Calumet now at over 260" to date. Our son works in Calumet.

https://www.facebook.com/funintheUP/video


----------



## chargin

Looks like we might get another 2" powerhouse over the holiday.

Burlington, VT: 81.2”
Portland, ME: 44.7”
Manchester, NH: 31.6”
Worcester, MA: 25.6”
Hartford, CT 24.2”
Providence, RI: 11.2”
BOSTON, MA: 4.7”
https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/02/16/boston-third-least-snowy-season-february-snow/


----------



## chargin

Nice snowfall overnight.
About 4".
Plows are out..


----------



## Hnxtr24

I'll get out there' But I need my coffee and constitutional first!


----------



## Kielbasa

We received only about 1" but it was the frozen type and a real SOA_ to remove. You needed a metal blade to remove it. :icon_cussing_black:


----------



## Biketrax

*Current Snowfall!! Whats the condition? & Amount*

What are you Ohio and Eastern PA experiencing? 
Just curious if this is being followed by wet conditions where you have to time it just right. At least for me it was tough even though. the following days or rain and freezing still iced the driveway.
Good luck to all!:smile2:


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

I don't know about you eastern guys but it's still coming down pretty good here in western Wisconsin. We are forecast for 6-10 and I'm pretty sure we already have 6" of dry stuff from the looks of my driveway.

.


----------



## WVguy

We're all done here in northern WV. It started about 6:00 AM and snow ended about 1:00 PM followed by sleet and then rain for a while. We ended up with ~5" of heavy wet snow. Tomorrow's high temp is forecast for 49° F and Friday 45. For the rest of the forecast all daytime highs are well above freezing so what we have won't be around long.


----------



## chargin

Got an inch and then some freezing rain.
Extended looks bleak.
This will be another lame February barring a change.

We will look to March now.


----------



## vmaxed

Got an 1/2 inch and then some freezing rain.


----------



## RedOctobyr

Yeah, we had about 2.5”, with a crusty layer of freezing rain on top. Not much, but I got a chance to use the single stage, which handled it nicely.


----------



## DennisCA

Well.... It snowed like heck here so I bought my first snow blower. But then freezing turned to thaw and one day we had a deep layer of slush in the yard... I thought I'll take care of it when I get home! 

Well it froze over the day while I was at work and even multiple days of thawing temperatures haven't helped after the slush turned to compacted frozen ice.. It has snowed some more now but I am scared of taking the blower out on this uneven icy landscape, I am afraid it'll catch in the ice and break something. It's a Toro and has a bolt instead of a shear pin. This sucks.


----------



## Steve70

6.2" yesterday. 44" snow depth. 182.5 to date from the NOAA stats for our area. Snowing a little now and in the forecast for 5 of the next 7 days. We're 40 inches above the historical normal, but not near the record years of the mid late 90s where we hit 320.


----------



## uberT

Just a couple of crusty inches over night. Things were slick this morning! Supposed to be up around 52F later in the day. I didn't bother to clean anything except the car.


----------



## Steve70

On the way...


----------



## bearman49709

*Blizzard Warning*

We will be under a blizzard warning from 10am Sunday until 7am Monday.
Freezing rain later tonight, high of 42 tomorrow with temps dropping during the day. 2"-4" of snow with winds gusting 40-60 MPH with 18" of snow on the ground now they are calling for whiteout conditions and significant drifting.
High of 14 on Monday and -1 Monday night.
I filled one of my 5 gal cans yesterday and I'll have to fill my other two latter today in case I need my generator.


----------



## HCBPH

Sorry to hear than, maybe one day spring will have sprung.


----------



## aldfam4

bearman49709 said:


> We will be under a blizzard warning from 10am Sunday until 7am Monday.
> Freezing rain later tonight, high of 42 tomorrow with temps dropping during the day. 2"-4" of snow with winds gusting 40-60 MPH with 18" of snow on the ground now they are calling for whiteout conditions and significant drifting.
> High of 14 on Monday and -1 Monday night.
> I filled one of my 5 gal cans yesterday and I'll have to fill my other two latter today in case I need my generator.


I live in Western New York, Buffalo area, we are under a wind warning with snow later. Winds will be gusting upto 75 mph. Those winds will be traveling straight across Lake Erie from Cleveland to Buffalo. There will most likely be property damage with downed trees and wires causing power failures. I have everything put away and cars away from trees. I plan on taking some pictures today and then tomorrow - before after shots of the waterfront. Winds this high will push ice on Lake Erie toward Buffalo shoreline causing damage to the harbor areas. Right now things are calm but winds will be picking up shortly. Everyone seems to be getting something from this storm. Stay safe.


----------



## Digger 66

aldfam4 said:


> I live in Western New York, Buffalo area, we are under a wind warning with snow later. Winds will be gusting upto 75 mph. Those winds will be traveling straight across Lake Erie from Cleveland to Buffalo. There will most likely be property damage with downed trees and wires causing power failures. I have everything put away and cars away from trees. I plan on taking some pictures today and then tomorrow - before after shots of the waterfront. Winds this high will push ice on Lake Erie toward Buffalo shoreline causing damage to the harbor areas. Right now things are calm but winds will be picking up shortly. Everyone seems to be getting something from this storm. Stay safe.


Ha Ha , I'm in L.A. too .
I work downtown along the waterfront .


----------



## tlshawks

That system is currently kicking gusts up into the 50's here in eastern Iowa. We are very fortunate we were in the warm sector - but northern Iowa, southeastern MN and western Wisconsin I bet are in the mother of all snow globes at the moment. They got anywhere from 3 to 10 last night.

You don't see the term "bombogenisis" thrown out by the NWS very often, but this storm generated that term. Good luck out there to those north and east of us here.


----------



## carterlake

That was us yesterday. We ended up officially with 8 inches but my neighbor had 3 foot drifts from the sustained 35+mph winds.

I went out last night just to see if I could put a dent in it and I must say I struggled. It was a heavy wet snow. Very hard to make headway in and my Toro 724 qxe never seemed to have enough power. From what I'm hearing from others in town, even bigger two-stage machines had a hard time with it, especially clogging. I didn't have issues clogging just that first cut was really really hard. Going out this morning to clean up.


----------



## Honda1132

Wind warning here too.15 to 20 cm in the forecast here.


----------



## RedOctobyr

Good luck everyone! Here in MA we are supposed to get high winds (55-65 mph gusts), tonight into tomorrow. But no snow. Hopefully the lights stay on.


----------



## plowed in

tlshawks said:


> southeastern MN and western Wisconsin I bet are in the mother of all snow globes at the moment. They got anywhere from 3 to 10 last night.
> 
> You don't see the term "bombogenisis" thrown out by the NWS very often, but this storm generated that term. Good luck out there to those north and east of us here.



Yup we were in the thick of it here at I35/I90 crossover and 10+ inches.I was listening to the scanner and was surprised the Interstates weren't closed sooner the 2am. Too many people traveling are now stuck when they should've stayed home. 

Took me an hour and a half to clear driveway, dog run and deck as all was well over bucket height(half way over the chute as a matter of fact). EOD was thick, heavy and just less than waist height. County hasn't been through for the final passes to the curb(they've only plowed to within six feet of the curb so I'll have another mass weaponized eod of destruction. The tough part is over just the cleanup of drifting remain. 
To those just starting any cleanup, take it slow, steady and stay warm.


----------



## detdrbuzzard

just a wind warning here in the metro Detroit area


----------



## Steve70

Just watched a live TV6 weather clip from our area. We're now in a blizzard condition till tomorrow with winds potentially gusting to 60 MPH on the west end of the UP. We have 53 inches on the ground and 75.5 for the month. Could get another foot by tonight after 8" through 6 AM this morning at the station. I'm sure the Keweenaw will outdo all that we get.

This video is in Marquette which is typically a little less than just west of there where we are. My neighbor just told me his light pole in his front yard is totally under snow and visibility close to zero. 

My good friend just posted this picture ...and this is the beginning of the day. I grew up a couple hundred yards from her

https://redirect.viglink.com/?forma...ww.facebook.com/mlive/videos/299720424023311/


----------



## uberT

I ready to write this "winter" off  as a complete loss.


----------



## RedOctobyr

It has admittedly been pretty lame so far. I don't think we've had anything greater than 6", and around 4 storms total, maybe 5, most of which were more like 3". 

But I'm trying not to count it out entirely. Last year we had the blizzard in mid-March. And a long time ago there was the blizzard on April 1st. So there's still hope.


----------



## uberT

Red, I hope you're right. I think you're about 30 miles north of me, you've probably had more snow than us.


----------



## Bear007

We broke January's all time record, as of the first of February 111", 16" a week ago and 10" last night, the all time record was around 198" for the season, I think that will be shattered. Yesterday was the third time this season I've had to shovel off the roof, the banks are higher than the windows.


----------



## sscotsman

Western NY has average snow for the season so far.
Buffalo is above average:


GoldenSnowball.com | The Golden Snowball Award is a contest between 5 cities in CNY ? Upstate New York. The contest is based on which city receives the most snowfall for the snow season. The cities that compete are Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, Roches


If they put Oswego in that contest, Oswego would win every year! 


Scot


----------



## tlshawks

The storm when it rolled through west of our area...the video out on it is astonishing. It's amazing what a 3-12" of snow can do when it has 50 mph winds behind it. If a person went from Iowa to Minnesota yesterday, chances are he used a snowmobile to do it.

The good thing about this storm is a lot of times in the upper midwest, big storms like this last one often signal a regime change with the weather. Yes, we're apparently gonna be cold for the time of year the next couple weeks - but it also looks like the pattern of a major snow every 2-4 days might be somewhat over.

What's bad about "a couple weeks of abnormally cold air" is it puts off the early spring melt - which means the melt may occur all at once. If rain joins that abrupt warm-up, flooding becomes a major concern. The soil moisture is mostly all high...we're ripe for major flooding this spring unfortunately.


----------



## HCBPH

Pretty sure this month set a record since 1962. Most of the snow we've had has been fluffy stuff, easy enough to move with a snow shovel. What's been bad is what the snow plows leave on the sidewalk and alley, that's heavy and hard enough to require getting the blower out. Had to do it again this morning in front and back. Front was able to shovel but out back required getting the Searsasaurus out to move the 2' pile.

South of here, heard they had blizzard conditions and a lot of cars stuck on the highways, had to get the National Guard out to rescue people.

The news this morning had an interesting video: a guy took a single stage blower on his roof and was blowing off the snow. No idea how much damage he did to his shingles doing that but at least he didn't fall off the roof.


----------



## Steve70

HCBPH said:


> The news this morning had an interesting video: a guy took a single stage blower on his roof and was blowing off the snow. No idea how much damage he did to his shingles doing that but at least he didn't fall off the roof.


Where we live, this is not uncommon. I've seen small blowers put up on flat/low pitched roofs in the fall before the snow comes and covered....waiting for the snow load. We're over 200 inches now. 87.2 this month. More coming this week.


----------



## RedOctobyr

HCBPH said:


> The news this morning had an interesting video: a guy took a single stage blower on his roof and was blowing off the snow. No idea how much damage he did to his shingles doing that but at least he didn't fall off the roof.


I'm sure it's effective, but wow, I'd be worried about tearing up shingles. Raise the handles a little too far, and you could presumably do some significant damage. I've already stripped up some frozen grass with mine, from getting a little too close to the edge of the driveway.


----------



## broo

Very busy winter since January.

It snows a lot, then some melts down, icing everywhere, then gets colder and snows again. Rinse and repeat.


----------



## Steve70

RedOctobyr said:


> I'm sure it's effective, but wow, I'd be worried about tearing up shingles. Raise the handles a little too far, and you could presumably do some significant damage. I've already stripped up some frozen grass with mine, from getting a little too close to the edge of the driveway.


A friend of mine has a construction company at home. His roof shoveling crew right now is 5 guys and 2 single stage machines with rubber paddles. They are completely booked as is every other roof shoveling service in town

-15 to -20F this AM across our region. One day off and more snow coming tomorrow. From yesterday: The 1st pic is the back door of a Italian supper club / bar we go to at home. It's the door we normally enter by summer and winter. The wind gusts were clocked between 50-60 MPH during the storm causing big drifting. Several roofs have caved in. The 2nd pic is looking the other direction from the car in the pic above I posted....after the blizzard came. It's his front sidewalk to his door (see small peak poking up above the snow). The wind was swirling in all directions during the storm...like campfire smoke. Many furnaces knocked out (ours included...never before) when the intake air pipe sucked up snow from the weird wind conditions. We're no strangers to lots of snow and storms, but this kind of load in one month....90 inches so far....along with the cold temps is straining the system some. 50 some inches on the ground now according to NOAA stats.


----------



## Lottstodo

*Flash FREEZE*

Well the last storm ( Blizzard) had been preempted by near 40F temps that brought heavy rain 1"+ less than 3 hrs prior to the 40+ temp drop with 60mph+ winds and snow. 
The next morning we found that the flooding rain laid beneath the snow that needed to be blown, about 3" of slush with an additional 6-8" of snow on top. Temp was near 5F . The area to be blown was 60x 120'. What happened is that as the blower exposed the edge of the slush it froze in less than 3 min. The blower acted like it hit a brick. what got thrown instantly became ice where ever it landed.

The Ariens 28 dlx+ did a great job, however even the augers rotating through the slush then as well picking up the powder drift on top, became Ice encrusted, I mean 2" thick, you could not see any metal, the teflon coating made it easy to remove by tapping with a hammer on the edge but did not prevent build up. this was occurring every 3-5 minutes.
This by far was the worst crap to clean up that I have seen. But when all was done only 1 section of about 10' x15' could not be blown and had to be shoveled in to a sled and hauled off the area. This was where the slush was the deepest 6" with 14" drift on top.

Neighbor down the street with a kubota tractor and 5' blower could not blow his drive he believes he took the gear box out. He spent the entire day cleaning up with a back blade scraper.

Another round coming for Thurs. YIPPIE!!!


----------



## RedOctobyr

WOW. Steve70 and Lottstodo, good luck to both of you! Those pictures are crazy. I like to think I'm prepared for snow-removal needs, but slushy stuff in 5F conditions sounds like it would be a real mess. 

We just got the high winds yesterday, but no snow along with it. Our power stayed on, which was nice. Sounds like we've got a little snow coming Wednesday night, but just a few inches.


----------



## grantd

I gotta ask, you guys that routinely get 100+ inches of snow in a season where do you put it? I'm in the minneapolis area (first ring suburb so we have 1/4 acre lots.) and we're around 50 inches right now and we're seeing a lot of the city streets narrow drastically. When the roads/walks/drives do get cleared the piles on either side make it feel like you're walking in a tunnel. I can't imagine trying to lift a shovel full of snow to chest height for very long.


----------



## Steve70

See the last page of the "how much snow have you gotten" Last post by tadawson. Maybe this will do it

https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/1656405-post49.html

So huge snowblowers and trucks to haul snow away are pretty common in this country. Both cities and counties have them. On the highway they use this method too, but also sometimes use big road graders with a blade set up perpendicular to the bank at about 3-4 feet to peel the height down when they get to high and provide more space on top for the big plows to do their job


----------



## tabora

I used to be part-owner of a 65,000 square foot building with membrane/gravel roofing here in Maine. We kept a 2-stage Toro snowblower right up on the roof to keep it clear all winter. The building maintenance guys put custom oversize skids on the front to prevent damage to the roof; there were 20+ HVAC units and antennas, etc. up there that had to be avoided, and the snow had to be blown a couple of times each way starting in the middle to get it all the way off the roof. They would have enjoyed a modern tracked Honda up there!


----------



## tadawson

Steve70 said:


> See the last page of the "how much snow have you gotten" Last post by tadawson. Maybe this will do it
> 
> https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/1656405-post49.html
> 
> So huge snowblowers and trucks to haul snow away are pretty common in this country. Both cities and counties have them. On the highway they use this method too, but also sometimes use big road graders with a blade set up perpendicular to the bank at about 3-4 feet to peel the height down when they get to high and provide more space on top for the big plows to do their job



Such as:












I guess I haven't posted photos here (perhaps links) but a lot of the older Oshkosh truck integrated SnoGo units are in use as well. As Scott noted, you kick the bank back with this, knock it down with a grader wing to a manageable height, and blow it back again if needed. Once that is done, the bank isn't high any more . . . . If no clear area to blow into (rural, these beasts can throw hundreds of feet) they use the chute and truck pack it and haul it out . . .


----------



## chargin

A few inches of fluffy powder coming tonight.

More importantly they are hyping the potential for several storms over the next ten days.


----------



## tadawson

Copper Harbor, MI, blizzard of 2019 . . . not ignored, this was a 48 hour snowfall . . .


----------



## detdrbuzzard

tadawson said:


> Copper Harbor, MI, blizzard of 2019 . . . not ignored, this was a 48 hour snowfall . . .


looked like this when I was there


----------



## detdrbuzzard

not much snow so I used the ccr 2450 which has the ccr 3000 motor. still fine tuning things


----------



## tadawson

detdrbuzzard said:


> looked like this when I was there


Brockway Mountain drive - truly beautiful up there, but one of few roads that is not maintained in the winter . . . 

And easy to tell the seasons apart! :grin::grin:


----------



## chargin

We got about 4" of fluffy stuff.

Waiting to see if there will be "March Madness".


----------



## Bear007

tabora said:


> I used to be part-owner of a 65,000 square foot building with membrane/gravel roofing here in Maine. We kept a 2-stage Toro snowblower right up on the roof to keep it clear all winter. The building maintenance guys put custom oversize skids on the front to prevent damage to the roof; there were 20+ HVAC units and antennas, etc. up there that had to be avoided, and the snow had to be blown a couple of times each way starting in the middle to get it all the way off the roof. They would have enjoyed a modern tracked Honda up there!



Our local roof contractor has two tracked Honda's he booms up to do flat roofs, they just use them to kick the snow out further from the building, it keeps it off the windows. 



the town has a couple of those big loader mounted blowers that they use to fill dump trucks to haul it away with, right now it very dangerous to back out of the driveway, you can't see who's coming till you get out on the road.


----------



## uberT

Yeah, we had about 5" overnight of incredibly dry snow. You would have been able to use the leaf blower if there hadn't been so much.


They are starting to suggest something exciting for Sunday night into Monday


----------



## Bondo 287

uberT said:


> Yeah, we had about 5" overnight of incredibly dry snow. You would have been able to use the leaf blower if there hadn't been so much.
> 
> 
> They are starting to suggest something exciting for Sunday night into Monday


 Yeah, over here in PA we're going to see some starting into the week, as well. 

Plus a smaller front is supposed to hit tonight. 2"-4"
But looks like we dodged the first part of it, because it was supposed to start an hour ago.


----------



## chargin

uberT said:


> They are starting to suggest something exciting for Sunday night into Monday


Indeed.
Words we haven't heard all winter like "Northeaster" and double digit snowfall totals.

We will see.


----------



## Steve70

chargin said:


> Indeed.
> Words we haven't heard all winter like "Northeaster" and double digit snowfall totals.
> 
> We will see.


Maybe you'll get lucky like this. A few miles from our house going down US41 into Marquette a couple days ago
Local car dealership lot behind the snow bank


----------



## uberT

I don't hear the local people committing to amounts on the Sunday/Monday storm. People in NYC are talking about 6 - 10" ??


----------



## uberT

The weather people seem to think it might be too warm on the Sunday/Monday event to get that 10" snowfall we want


----------



## chargin

Figures.

Maybe the forecast will change again before then.


----------



## chargin

Decent little snowstorm right now.
3-5" today.
5-7" for Sunday night/Monday as of now.


----------



## chargin

Nice little storm.
About 4" even though it snowed till about 5PM.

On to the next one !


----------



## RedOctobyr

Lucky you!  They'd said 3-5" for us, but we really just got a coating. Hoping for some decent snow Sunday night.


----------



## WVguy

From late Sunday morning to early Monday morning they're forecasting totals of four to eight inches. Hmmm, heard that story before and it fizzled. We'll see.


----------



## chargin

We are getting slammed.

Waiting a few more minutes before the blower gets fired up.

I though this would be a dud @midnight it was so light and about an inch.


----------



## uberT

Yeah, we're well over 1' now. Seems like all schools in my area are closed.


----------



## chargin

15" here and looks like it is winding down.

Must have exploded overnight as I don't believe anyone predicted this much.


----------



## chargin

Putting my drift cutters on for this.


----------



## RedOctobyr

We got less than a lot of folks, but still pretty respectable. We had 7-7.5" of wet sticky snow. It's our biggest storm this season, sad to say. 

I finally got to try the Toro 221 SS in some decent snow. It did pretty well, but it was working harder than in the light & fluffy storms. 

The biggest challenge was needing to help push it forward at times. Going up the driveway incline didn't help, and areas that previously-thrown-snow had landed in were tougher. It was all packed together in those. 

It also sometimes left a layer of snow on the driveway surface. I'd have to go back and do a second pass to get down to pavement.

I think both problems would have been reduced if I raised the handle more. Putting more weight on the paddles, to pull forward, and to clear down to the pavement. At some point, snow will start spraying under the scraper bar, of course. But live and learn, next time I'll try it.

It did pretty well for power. It struggled with the deep EOD, even when taking narrow cuts. But the rest was ok. I will use the 2-stage tonight to finish clearing around the mailbox. 

I think less-packable snow would have been better. Still, I cleared everything down to pavement in a half hour, which is probably quicker then the 2-stage.


----------



## uberT

I'm wiped. That was a LOT of snow and it was heavy/wet. Much of my clearing time this morning was at the machine's lowest speed. The bucket kept over-flowing and I had to keep pausing. I wonder how many tons of snow I moved today. I know we had more than a foot, maybe close to the 14" mark? End-of-drive was a bit challenging as they made several passes trying to widen the street after the snow stopped. As many know, you can never have too much power with snow like that!


----------



## WVguy

The promised four to eight inches fizzled to at best maybe 3/4 of an inch, more ice than snow. We did get a strange visitor last night guarding the end of the driveway though, I suppose to keep that evil plow driver from leaving a big pile at the end of the driveway. There's a pond about 1/4 mile away where he usually stays and I have no idea what brought him down here. I figured I'd have to haul the body down to the woods in the morning but he was gone by daylight.

Oh, and I didn't even use a snowblower. My wife had it all shoveled by the time I woke up.


----------



## Honda1132

30 cm (12in) here. It was pretty fluffy so it was easy to move. Got part way through the driveway and could smell rubber burning so I had to fix the blower after supper as one of the belt guides was crimping the auger belt. Finally got the blower fixed and the driveway done but it made for a long day.


----------



## chargin

I used my roof rake for the first time since I bought it in 2015.
Worked good.


----------



## Kielbasa

This last storm was pretty good size. I had 8.5" in front of the garage doors and then about 12" along the house and down the rest of the driveway. The snow was on the heavy size so it made clearing a bit harder. My fence gave me the usual problem but all in all I thought it was going to be worse then it was. We had to wait for the plows to come by to clear the gutter portion of the road to finish up, but once he came by, I cleared the apron out in no time with no complications. I was expecting it to be a lot harder. 

I did have a little problem with the chute staying in place so I have to do a little adjustment with tension and other then the snow being on the heavier side and not getting the normal throwing distance, my machine ran almost flawlessly.


----------



## tlshawks

I'm glad I don't live in southern Minnesota. The forecast there for tomorrow is ominous west and south of Minneapolis.

We in east central Iowa are going to be near or above freezing days for about a week straight and are going to get a lot of rain apparently out of the same system. Our snow piles will finally be whittled down and our streets and roads will finally return to their normal widths. My neighbors may finally be able to see oncoming traffic when exiting their driveways.


----------



## UNDERTAKER

*COUNTDOWN is ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

* 17HRS And Counting Till The 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse. Come Riding FULL BORE ON Into Town. To Rain Down upon the Masses. 12-15 Inches of ELL Fire and Misery to the Good Townsfolk of The Paradise City. I have been in this game now for 35 plus years. I have seen everything, Regret only a Few Things and I Fear NOTHING!!!! "SR" is Fully Fueled and operational and is on the flight Deck. Ready and Waiting to lay down His very own path of Destruction in His Wake!!!! So my BROTHER OF DESTRUCTION and I are once again Ready to Play THE GAME!!!!!! 



 *


----------



## cranman

I'm betting on you and Senior Todd....let the GAME BEGIN!


----------



## Lottstodo

Hey Powershift why dont you just keep it all on your side of the big mishagami , truly you dont have to share. This is March and our white flags have been out for sometime.
We are in the process of extraditing one Ground Hog for fraud and conspiracy as to weather forecast, how ever he is now claiming that he got all his weather intel from CNN, so says his Lawyer.


----------



## sscotsman

For a second, I actually thought Powershift's post was about attending an upcoming Motörhead concert! 
but then I thought: wait..Lemmy died. :frown: there can't be Motörhead without Lemmy.
then I read more carefully. 


Scot


----------



## WVguy

Lottstodo said:


> We are in the process of extraditing one Ground Hog for fraud and conspiracy as to weather forecast, how ever he is now claiming that he got all his weather intel from CNN, so says his Lawyer.


Ha! Nevermind the lawyer, give that groundhog a fair trial and then hang 'im! He's guilty of perjury, insubordination, lying under oath, making false reports, among other crimes against humanity.


----------



## contender

WV, as a Canadian, I have to clarify, is this fake news or real stuff?? Our Ontario, Wiarton Willie, sometimes misspeaks....


----------



## WVguy

Oh no, I was referring to the Phil, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.


----------



## skutflut

contender said:


> WV, as a Canadian, I have to clarify, is this fake news or real stuff?? Our Ontario, Wiarton Willie, sometimes misspeaks....


Wiarton Willie drinks too much


----------



## contender

WV , ya I have heard of Phil, he used to visit Wiarton in the summer....

SKU, thought that was the White(albino) version, didn't he retire???? or d??


----------



## Bondo 287

WVguy said:


> Oh no, I was referring to the Phil, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.


 Speakin of crooked rats.., this guy is full o' carp too.


----------



## leonz

The other seven ground hogs/weather prognosticators should be prosecuted as well if that is the case.

Me, I would just as soon have the snow hip deep and fluffy so the pups can play and use up the energy they have.


----------



## chargin

Under an inch today before changeover to rain.

Extended looks bleak for the rest of the week.

Winter nears the end.


----------



## UNDERTAKER

* Well the Weather Monkey's blew this 1 BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!!!! Only ended up with 4 inches of water logged cement. but underneath that cement was where all the Rain Froze to the ground. so now we have 1 big giant ice rink out there. so the weather charts from here on out are calling for all rain and above freezing temps. so hopefully by next weekend most of this slop will be long gone. REST IN PEACE!!!! Winter of 2018-2019.:smiley-shocked033::smiley-shocked033: 



 *


----------



## detdrbuzzard

just rain here buddy and that stopped some time this morning, the wind died down too. I think my snow blowing days are done for this winter


----------



## UNDERTAKER

detdrbuzzard said:


> just rain here buddy and that stopped some time this morning, the wind died down too. I think my snow blowing days are done for this winter


* How much snow did you get all year up there in the MOTOR CITY??????????????????*


----------



## broo

We got about 8" today and it's still going as of almost 9 PM.

The amount of snow we got this year is absurd. At some places I have put the chute as straight up as possible and it still isn't high enough...

After the blower workout this evening, I opened the fuel tank to check how much fuel was left and saw that my cap's vent system broke. The metal part is in the tank somewhere. I'll fish it out tomorrow.


----------



## tadawson




----------



## sscotsman

Live from Home Depot, Gates NY: Snowblowers are gone, none on the floor. replaced with riding mowers and BBQ grills.


----------



## uberT

I was at Tractor Supply yesterday, lots of unwanted/un-loved snow machines there. Quite a few at Home Depot a week ago. I think many retailers are still waiting for the "big one". I sold one of my machines last week.


----------



## RedOctobyr

uberT said:


> I think many retailers are still waiting for the "big one".


I think some of us are too!


----------



## detdrbuzzard

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> * How much snow did you get all year up there in the MOTOR CITY??????????????????*


right around 25 inches


----------



## bearman49709

41F here today, I did a little clean up with the snowblower and my Ford GT85 with the 44" plow since the snow was soft.
We got just over 100" so far with around three feet on the ground with rain called for tonight thru Friday. Its going to be a real mess as there is already ice on my road and driveway under the snow.

While snow blowing today I headed to my garage for something and got on my 10' sidewalk took the 4" step down and landed on my back right on the 4" step and my right shoulder hit the deep snow on the wife's flower bed. Wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't had back surgery on Sept. 25 2017 and March 22 2018 and rotator cuff surgery on Nov. 15 2018. Lucky for me I'm just sore, Later today I start PT for my shoulder.

All in all not a bad winter, no record snow or cold for us, and the first real snow after surgery was Dec. 31 so with the help of three of my grandsons everything got done on Jan. 1.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

Ouch bearman. I think it's going to be yesterday you were sore, today you'll really be sore. Always seems like the day or two after I've done something hard it hurts a lot more than during or right after.

.


----------



## Xilbus

Got around 5cm of good sticky snow late this afternoon. I pushed most of it towards the front of my driveway and took care of the rest with my old craftsman


----------



## GoBlowSnow

The "Bomb Cyclone" of 2019 here in Denver. it was a snow storm with a bit of wind is all. Drifts up to 2 feet high but mostly 5-9 inches. The JD TRS-32 at home did ok but failed in the end when a rock was ingested and jammed up the auger. 



The Deluxe 30 at my church building near my house did good, but I went thru 2 sheer pins hitting things along the walkway that should not have been there. Bent the auger rake again too but it still works for now. GRRRRRR.


----------



## broo

Well, looked like the season was at an end here, yet we're in for another 6 to 12 inches (depending on sources) tomorrow. Storage of the machine will have to wait.

According to long term (14 days) forecast, this should be our last snowfall as temps will rise starting Sunday.


----------



## sscotsman

Today will likely be the last real snowfall of the season for Western NY.
2" to 4" forecast for this afternoon and overnight tonight..
No need to use the snowblower though, it will melt away naturally within 48 hours..


Scot


----------



## chargin

At least you got a final snow.
Dud city all March since the Blizzard.

Current Top 25 Snowiest US Cities | Golden Snow Globe National Snow Contest Snowiest US City Pop 100,000+
Boston wont make it into the top 25 snowiest cities this year unless the extended forecast changes.


----------



## RickDangerous

Getting 6-12 inches up here in Vermont right now. Have only needed my snowblower about 8 times or so this winter? Maybe a few more or less? I'm down by the lake not in the mountains so I only get snow if the rest of the state is. Winter two with the Cub Cadet, zero problems, but of course it's getting light use.


----------



## Xilbus

broo said:


> Well, looked like the season was at an end here, yet we're in for another 6 to 12 inches (depending on sources) tomorrow. Storage of the machine will have to wait.
> 
> According to long term (14 days) forecast, this should be our last snowfall as temps will rise starting Sunday.


Yeah. I'm in Gatineau and I thought this was over. My area could get 10-15 cm overnight. It's raining right now.


----------



## broo

Xilbus said:


> Yeah. I'm in Gatineau and I thought this was over. My area could get 10-15 cm overnight. It's raining right now.


It rained here too, but it started snowing heavily from 4 PM and still going as of 9:30PM. About 5-6 inches on the ground right now of heavy, wet snow.


----------



## Xilbus

broo said:


> Xilbus said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah. I'm in Gatineau and I thought this was over. My area could get 10-15 cm overnight. It's raining right now.
> 
> 
> 
> It rained here too, but it started snowing heavily from 4 PM and still going as of 9:30PM. About 5-6 inches on the ground right now of heavy, wet snow.
Click to expand...

Well I got nothing. Not even a cm. I was really happy to have chance to take out my ariens one last time 😪 but nooo.


----------



## broo

This morning I got outside to clear this probably last snowfall. Well, the shed's door is completely stuck in ice...

Hopefully no more snow until it thaws.


----------



## chargin

Saw them hauling away the plow blades from the local mall.

I guess that is the end of Snow Stories around here till the fall.


----------



## uberT

Yeah, feels like a wrap at this point. I never ran my single stage machine this season. Another complete disappointment in terms of snow fall.


I was Patriots' Place a couple of days ago. There were a couple Bobcats scurrying about, trying to break up signficanct snow piles in the main parking area. I think the first cruise night of the year is this week.


----------



## Honda1132

15cm in the forecast for tomorrow


----------



## RedOctobyr

uberT said:


> Yeah, feels like a wrap at this point. I never ran my single stage machine this season. Another complete disappointment in terms of snow fall.


That's a bummer, not getting to use the SS. 

Yeah, this winter was pretty boring, in the snow department. I got my SS at the beginning of February, I didn't really use the 2-stage again after getting the SS going. Sadly, we didn't get as many storms as I'd hoped for, to let me test it more. 

I do kinda wish someone made something like an 8+hp SS. The Snow Master is maybe the closest thing, but it adds other aspects like a transmission. Sadly, it's tougher to change engines on a SS, given how shrouded and compact they tend to make them. They also tilt the engines sometimes, I think, which would probably complicate things, especially for a 4-stroke. 

I do think it would be cool to put a 212cc Predator in something like an inexpensive used Toro. Of course, finding a good off-season deal on a PowerClear 721 would be a heck of a lot simpler, and probably more successful.


----------



## GoBlowSnow

Snow in the forecast here in Denver next week. It aint over yet, folks.


----------



## tlshawks

Yep. Heck, the NWS is starting to yell out their Hey Rube's for mid-week in the upper midwest. Right now it appears southern MN and central Wisconsin is the target.

Could be a heavy rainmaker with snow farther north to the border areas, could dump an "April 1973" type event across similar areas as that storm. The southern end of it might get quite stormy too.

Wisconsin/Minnesota - I wouldn't put the machines away for summer quite yet!


----------



## broo

6 to 8 inches tomorrow. I was finally able to enter my shed today, the ice had melted enough.


----------



## sscotsman

We basically got the exact average this year! (Rochester NY)
average is 100 inches, and we got 96.8.


Buffalo wins the Golden Snowball award this year:


GoldenSnowball.com | The Golden Snowball Award is a contest between 5 cities in CNY ? Upstate New York. The contest is based on which city receives the most snowfall for the snow season. The cities that compete are Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, Roches


Scot


----------



## aldfam4

sscotsman said:


> We basically got the exact average this year! (Rochester NY)
> average is 100 inches, and we got 96.8.
> 
> 
> Buffalo wins the Golden Snowball award this year:
> 
> 
> GoldenSnowball.com | The Golden Snowball Award is a contest between 5 cities in CNY ? Upstate New York. The contest is based on which city receives the most snowfall for the snow season. The cities that compete are Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, Roches
> 
> 
> Scot


Thanks for the mention Scott, Syracuse competes for this award also. I still have the snowblowers ready for action here in Buffalo, will probably put away during Easter. We got 63 inches of snow during the last week of January which probably secured this much esteemed award:wink2:


----------



## Steve70

Here's what's coming our way. The NOAA shows 17" still left on the ground

Winter Storm Watch for Marquette County, Michigan
From 2:00am EDT, Thu Apr 11 until 2:00am EDT, Fri Apr 12

Action Recommended: Make preparations per the instructions
Issued by: Marquette - MI, US, National Weather Service,
...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT... * WHAT...WET HEAVY SNOW AND LIGHT FREEZING RAIN POSSIBLE. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO ONE TENTH OF AN INCH POSSIBLE. WINDS COULD GUST AS HIGH AS 35 MPH. * WHERE...PORTIONS OF CENTRAL UPPER AND WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN. * WHEN...FROM LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...TRAVEL COULD BE VERY DIFFICULT. PATCHY BLOWING SNOW COULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE VISIBILITY. THE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS COULD IMPACT THE MORNING AND EVENING COMMUTE ON THURSDAY. THE COMBINATION OF WET SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS MAY LEAD TO SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW, SLEET OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS. &&


----------



## GoBlowSnow

This is what we have in store.. 



https://kdvr.com/2019/04/09/record-highs-today-snow-by-wednesday-pinpoint-weather-alert-day/


----------



## broo

We got 8" today. I had to bring out the blower once more. Quite unusual in April.


----------



## Dag Johnsen

*X-mas memories*

Trying to capture a good memory from this winter in black and white:smile2:


----------



## Steve70

We're at 222" so far at the weather station. We're west of there so I think we have a few more. Can't say we're done yet as we've some big snows in May. This was our driveway on 4/9 before the 6 inches of slop came a day or two later. Lots of rain and potential flooding here and there now. Should be gone by 5/9 when we get home. Marquette did break a record for days below 60F

U.P. breaks 49-year-old weather record
Updated Apr 19, 2019; Posted Apr 19, 2019
27
0
shares
By Mark Torregrossa | [email protected]

MARQUETTE, MI - There’s been a lot of snow in parts of the Upper Peninsula. But the weather record broken yesterday is for cold temperatures.

The National Weather Service in Marquette reports it has been 197 days since the temperature hit 60 degrees at the National Weather Service office in Marquette. The last time Marquette topped 60 degrees was October 3, 2018.

The old record was 196 days between 60 degrees back in 1970. The stretch of days below 60 degrees will likely end tomorrow in Marquette.


----------



## tlshawks

So, I have planned going to Guttenberg IA today, where my cabin is. Was planning on staying through Sunday. I've put this trip off for one weekend and have items to both drop off and pick up.

There's now roughly 4-7" of snow forecast, with isolated higher amounts. It'll be April 27th on the calendar tomorrow.

It will melt fast, but still...


----------



## paulm12

yep TLS. I fired up the string trimmer, lawnmower and tiller yesterday. Hope there's gas left for the snowblowers, same amount forecast here.


----------



## Steve70

5" so far today and still snowing at home.

Ended up with about 6 at our house. A friend nearby had 9 and went xcountry skiing again on his own groomed trail

The Copper Country broke their 78-79 record. 355 to date was on the news...maybe more in some places. Snow can still fall in the UP for another couple weeks yet.


----------



## Steve70

Another 3-5" predicted for Thursday (homecoming day for us)..probably gone in a day or two. Sun is high. Ground warming. 

update.....6+ now for our area and further north

....what little snow we got was all rain when we got home


----------



## zergarush

broo said:


> I bought my generator last weekend, a 7500W continuous, 9300W surge, gas only unit made by Champion that was on sale at a local store (couple hundred $ off). I do not have anything else that uses propane, so I didn't buy a dual energy unit.
> 
> 
> In my case, when needed the generator will be run outside the garage which is about 130' away from the house. The cable and breakers from the house to the garage can handle 100A while the generator can only produce a tad over 30A. With selective electrical use, we'll be able to live through a long blackout no problem. Our main heating source is a wood furnace, so we won't "waste" any power on electrical heating.
> 
> 
> All that's left for me to do it install the connector outside the garage and link it to the garage's panel.
> 
> 
> On a snowblower related story, while checking Champion Power Equipment's website I saw they now sell a snow blower. They only have one model and size at the moment.


Those guys are monitoring the champion models equipment, and if there is any sale, they can notify you via e-mail, I found it very convenient and useful :wink2:


----------



## topher5150

Got about an inch last night they're calling for another 3" today snow tomorrow into Wednesday.


----------



## sscotsman

You're in the wrong thread. 
please see the new thread here:


https://www.snowblowerforum.com/for...n/150109-snow-stories-winter-2019-2020-a.html


Scot


----------

