Thursday’s Special: Wintry
Living in New England, we typically have a lot of wintry weather. Not so much this year, but we have had some recent winters that rivaled Siberia for intensity both of cold and depth of snow. The month of blizzards here is usually February, although we’ve had blizzards as early as the beginning of December and as late as April. So far, this year has not been a very snowy year. If I want a reminder of real winter in New England, I can open any folder from February past to know there may yet be significant snow in our near future. We don’t break out the champagne until March. Garry says April, please. We don’t want to jinx ourselves.
Meanwhile, though, I am enjoying not being buried under 10 feet or more of ice and snow … and not seeing below zero temperatures and listening to the radiators struggling to deliver heat.
I took these photographs in February of 2015 during two different blizzards which hit only two days apart. Each storm dropped more than a foot and a half of snow. More than 10 feet fell in February alone. We set a new record for that winter’s snowfall, breaking the record set the previous winter. Note that these pictures are not shot in or converted to monochrome. The world during snowstorms is monochrome.
Finally, I wanted to show at least one impressionist snow scene. Not just the way it looks, but the way it feels. I should mention that the fences are five feet high and the snow, in some places goes right over them. And there were at least three more heavy snows to come in the next 10 days.
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Categories: #Photography, Seasons, snow, Weather, Winter
THE GREAT WHITE HURRICANE OF MARCH 11, 1888 
BLIZZARD ANYONE? 
SNOW – NATURALLY BLACK & WHITE 
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Your pictures are lovely especially the impressionist one but I remember what a hard winter that was for you.
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Monet in winter. Nothing better!
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I love the impressionistic snow picture! That should replace the ugly paintings in all of the doctor’s office waiting rooms I have to sit in either on mine or my Dad’s behalf….
And seeing the comment above, that reminds me that Monday is the 35th anniversary of our worst blizzard in the St. Louis area (at least in my lifetime)… which granted, only dropped about 14 inches of snow on us. But it was completely unexpected so nobody was prepare… and no meteorologist in the area has dared forecast anything but a worst case scenario for any winter storm passing through ever since. My poor Dad got stuck at work for three days due to the highways all being shut down…
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We had the Blizzard of ’78. Like yours, it hit fast and no one was ready for it. Snow fell at the rate of several inches per hour and there were hurricane winds to go with it. Thunder and lightning too. Thousands of cars were caught on the Mass Pike and hundreds of people died, buried in their cars in drifts. Most of Massachusetts was without electricity for days, some areas for weeks. Because of the proximity of the ocean, it became a nor’easter — lake effect to you, except here, it’s the ocean — and it just kept snowing. 28 inches is not the deepest snow ever — one of the pictures of the blizzard was more than 35″ — but this particular storm was incredibly destructive. Garry was a reporter then and he covered it. He said it was like being on some other planet. Boston was wiped out, literally.
1978. It was one hell of a year for snow. People still call it “the big one.”
And indeed, it changed meteorology forever … and these days, when they says “it’s going to be a big one,” people take the warning seriously.
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It is the 50th Anniversary of our worst blizzard ever. Ah, the good old days!
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I would recognise your photos anywhere. 🙂 Natural monochrome and cool impressionist. Thank you very much, Marilyn. I almost missed it cause I didn’t see a pingback. I will skip a B&W Sunday this week to spare my arm a bit. See you soon.
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May you have at least a brief thaw before the snow returns 🙂 And thanks!
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We’ve got a false spring over here… mild temps and all that. But I feel we’ll have winter back soon enough. Your pictures, as always are beautiful.
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These January warm spells are intended to lull us into a false sense of security while the winter winds build up some oomph to come! i don’t trust it.
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Mild January spells are like local loan sharks. In the end, you pay and pay.
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GOOD analogy! I’ll have to save that one!
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Me neither.
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We’ve been getting a mixture of snow and rain. I wish Mother Nature would make up her mind because this combo is miserable!
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I just know that the weather gods have shown a strange sense of humor in the past, so I’m very cautious about assuming what I see is all we will get. There’s still a lot of winter to navigate 🙂
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Neat impressionist scene, Marilyn. Let’s hope this weather continues for awhile yet.
Leslie
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I wouldn’t at all mind a snow-free winter. Not one bit.
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Me, too.
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Hay, I could go for that too!
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beautiful images! We lived up there for a while, then northern NJ for 17 years, where we still saw quite a bit of snow and cold. I must say, I enjoy looking at the snow more from my nice warm patio down here in Texas 🙂
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I’m sure I would too. Memories of snow are much cozier than the heaps and piles of it 😉
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Distant memories would be best.
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That impressionist snow scene is beautiful. The picture perfect snow storm!
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I also like that impressionist snow scene. Hidden beauty. Just be careful when you say “The perfect snow storm”.
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Garry–you notice I say that from down here in Florida! 🙂
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