Blizzard of 2013

While this was a significant snow for the Boston area, at dawn it looks like about a foot of snow fell overnight.  The weather service predicts another 4-6" before the storm ends this afternoon. More troublesome was the wind, which has caused some drifting of the snow.  Our parking lot was cleared this morning and I expect the plower to return at the end of the storm.  I'll get out about noon and shovel the sidewalks.

We never lost any power at HQ (I think last year's cutting down of the large trees across the road that were intertwined with the power lines was a good idea!).  It would not have affected our web site in any case, since we now run everything from the Cloud.

It was interesting yesterday afternoon, as Boston took the possible bad storm seriously and closed everything down.  Pictures on the evening news showed vacant freeways, something that NEVER happens in Boston!  That will help snow removal today, and I'll bet things will be pretty much back to normal tomorrow.

It is supposed to be clear tonight (but not good for observing, with probable blowing snow).  In Flagstaff, it was always clear after a big snowstorm, but the seeing was usually horrible as the winds came in from the north (low pressure to the east) and that caused severe atmospheric turbulence.  It usually took a day or so for the snow to slide off of the domes anyway.  One of the things I noticed when moving to Boston was how little snow this city got in comparison to Flagstaff.  However, what snow Boston gets is a real mess; usually wet and heavy and inside the city, very little free ground to pile the snow.

I hope others in the U.S. northeastern corridor fared well!

Arne