<p>3 years ago (almost to the day) when my dad was hospitalized and ultimately passed away the NE, the blizzards just kept coming and coming back then. Made it impossible to travel to/from the area and to deal with the funeral. People had trouble getting to the house and the mounds of snow prevented parking. Sounds like it smore of the same now</p>
<p>We have rain, lots of it in southern NJ. I am relieved it isn’t more snow , although I hear we are likely in for it with the next storm to come Sunday . I’m tired of it, like everyone else who’s had a rough winter. Life just comes to a stand still, and I really don’t want my daughter to have any more snow days</p>
<p>I ventured out to see if it was worth trying to make the 2 hour commute to and from school for one class.
After a trip around the block my answer is “LOL NOPE!” </p>
<p>Have been running outdoor on weekends since Jan 4th. Most of the the runs are done starting 7:30 AM. </p>
<p>There are snow, several inches deep at times, on the street. So what. </p>
<p>Not sure where you are Consolation, but my sister in Pennsylvania has just had her kid’s spring break canceled entirely due to the number of missed school days due to weather this year – and school will additionally go one day beyond the scheduled end-of-year. How often does that happen?</p>
<p>I enjoy your complaints, it’s like reading alien monologues. I’ve rarely seen snow in person. I just wish there was a way for you to pack all that snow into big trucks and barges and ship it out to California where it can melt into that wonderful, fabulous, rare thing we like to call … water. Send rain!!!</p>
<p>Reading this thread makes me grateful we haven’t had your winter weather! But the cold has returned to the Pacific Northwest and the wind along with it. It was 19 this morning but that bone chilling wind is brutal. Forecasting ice or snow for the weekend. I’ll take snow any day over ice. </p>
<p>DadII. The roads here were covered with 10 inches of fresh snow at 7:30 a.m. today. Where it WAS plowed, there were HUGE snow banks at the corners and on the shoulders. Ours is a semi rural area, and I can tell you, running this morning would have been senseless and dangerous. </p>
<p>This winter hasn’t been as bad snow-wise as it was 3 years ago. That’s when we had snowstorm after snowstorm, the temps stayed below freezing, and snow just kept piling up. There were roof collapses, snow had to be trucked away to make roads passable, snow banks at corners made it impossible to see crossing traffic.</p>
<p>This winter has had brutally cold weather, but not as much snow as we’ve had in other winters. </p>
<p>D2 is a junior in high school. All students have Macbooks. Today is her 10th snow day of the year. The state changed the snow days this year from 5 to 9 to help accomodate the terrible weather. Her school however has still decided to make up 3 of the first 9 days by taking away a couple other scheduled days off (only one at spring break). </p>
<p>For today, the school is implementing “Calamity Day” work - apparently an online option the state has set up guidelines for. Teachers are required to post homework for each class by 8am. Students must check it and are responsible for the work to be done for the day to “count” as a school day. These are some of the guidelines below:</p>
<p>The state-approved guidelines for this program are as follows:
The time spent per class should be equal to the amount of instructional time the student would have received during the missed school day.
If the student does not complete the lesson, the student will receive an incomplete or failing grade for the assignment.
Students who do not have access to the Internet should contact their teacher upon return to school.</p>
<p>I think this is a great option. With all that is available through technology - their books, email, assignments, podcasts, etc. they truly can keep MOSTLY up on these occasional days off. A snow day is fun - until you’ve had 10 of them. Then it really starts to affect productivity. It’s hard to feel engaged in a class/subject when you’ve been gone more days than you’ve had class! </p>
<p>Provided that there is a way to guarantee that every single student has both a computer and internet access in their homes, I think that is a GREAT idea, abasket. </p>
<p>My S’s resolve to go back to school is certainly being tested. headed out for half mile walk in four inches of snow being covered by icy sleet and freezing rain, leaving early cuz trains delayed. Got train into city, found out subway line was down because of signal failures. found another route which meant about another mile walk from station. About two and a half hours all told.</p>
<p>Then seven hours of class (no breaks) and turn around and do it again. </p>
<p>They all definitely have computers - it’s a requirement. There may be a very small % without internet access, but truly it must be VERY small because much of their work requires access. There will always be some excuses and at times, legit connection problems. These people would be given other options to make up the work I’m sure. But for the vast majority it’s a great way to teach responsibility and to keep pace in the classroom. Again, a day or two off? No problem! 10 - you start to have issues. </p>
<p>I got to work easily today now that I have my AWD-- I hit some slick spots but nothing unmanageable. But it took me 45 minutes to get 2 miles. It sounds like the freeways around here were better than the side streets I have to take… my boss who lives 25 miles away got here in about the same amount of time it took me to get 2 miles.</p>
<p>My coworkers are all gawking out the window at somebody who slid in the parking lot and got stuck halfway up a snowbank, practically sideways in a parking space. You can imagine what he did to the car next to him trying to get out. Our bosses ordered pizza for everybody who made it here today, which was still a lot of people… I think I saw 12 pizzas.</p>
<p>Our schools were not closed today, and I am sure they would have been had they not already had to have so many snow days. When I left, the elementary school bus looked to be at least 30 minutes late. I saw a lot of shivering kindergarteners and felt sad for them. 
I saw a couple kids fall on ice walking to their stop. This is a crummy winter. We didn’t get enough snow to make the roads undriveable but it was close and some areas are worse than others.</p>
<p>^^^That’s just wrong. Making a decision based on “too many snow days” as opposed to safety is irresponsible. Hopefully, the reason was justified in that there wasn’t enough snow to cause travel problems. We do have to remember that we CAN still go to school/work in snow, but that at some point, when it isn’t safe or manageable, THAT’S when we cancel…</p>
<p>87% of my county is currently without power. The roads aren’t too icy today but virtually every route has downed trees. </p>
<p>We ran out of heating fuel a few weeks ago for the first time ever. We are on the auto refill plan but the company could not get around to filling all their customers. </p>
<p>But the real hardship is several Wawa stores are OUT OF POWER AND COFFEE! (Those who live in Pa, DE, MD will appreciate)</p>
<p>I would <em>love</em> to be in a place that had just “some snow” so that I could run. Unfortunately, everything here is caked in ice beneath the snow. </p>
<p>Ema, I-94 and M-14 are an absolute disaster zone.</p>
<p>I fell in a U of M parking lot a few days ago and banged up my knee pretty good. My thighs have hurt for a few days because of how I managed to fall. Running? HA! </p>
<p>ETA: I’m dying of laughter. My parents just texted me a picture of their bird feeder that is about 5 ft off the ground. A squirrel is standing on the snow and eating out of it like it’s no big deal. The snow is up to the bird feeder! </p>
<p>I-94 and M-14 always are, if I lived anywhere near Ann Arbor I’d hide in my house until Spring. Where I live, it is bad but not undoable. I guess unless you’re that guy in the parking lot.</p>
<p>In our district, I think today was a day where it was technically physically possible to get the kids to school but it really would have been better if they hadn’t gone. But the reality is that the whole state is in a scramble and I don’t think anybody really knows how to handle it. It looks like most of the local public schools were open today. My coworker who lives a normal 45 minutes away took over 2 hours to get to work today. The streets weren’t plowed or salted yet at all at 9am.</p>
<p>I might ask my neighbor what time her kids actually did get picked up this morning, I am curious how late the buses really were. </p>
<p>Romani…that pic would make a good…avatar!</p>
<p>I’m on it, thumper! </p>
<p>ETA: Best I could do. It’s a long picture so I had to cut off a lot of it </p>