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That title will either draw you in or make you run screaming in the opposite direction! (The story of my life!!)
Back in 2005-06 (before I found City Data Forum in mid-2007), I was living in my home town, Portland OR, and miserable as heck due to my SAD. I undertook a massive project to come up with my best place to live, and after consulting reams of statistics and piles of books and making spreadsheets so large they rivaled NASA, I narrowed hundreds of cities down to three finalists: Reno, Sacramento, and Albuquerque. I visited Reno and hated it on sight, drove down to Sacramento and really liked it, and then scheduled my visit to Albuquerque... over the New Year's Eve period of 2006-07. Remember the weather event that occurred there the last couple days of 2006? The ABQ airport closed while I was on in the air on the way there, and the plane turned back to Vegas and after a night there, I went back home to Portland. A day later I made it into ABQ on one of the few flights in that day, but it turned out to be a mistake because while Central had been plowed and was passable, most of the side streets were not and I was petrified of some sort of weather-related damage occurring to my rental car - so I was nearly immobilized except for a memorable visit to a restaurant in Old Town where I learned the answer to the immortal question "Red or Green?". So after a few days, I gave up, went back home, and scratched Albuquerque off the list because major snowstorms aren't something I want to deal with.
I ended up moving to Sacramento, then got dragged to Palm Springs by a man (ain't that always the way?), the guy left me, I got laid off in the depth of the recession, moved to TX to find work, and ended up back in Palm Springs a year and a half ago. Absolutely miserable in the heat. The 122 we had last Monday nearly killed me. I find as I get older I'm less tolerant of the one-teens. So now I'm peering over my readers at ABQ once again, wondering if I gave it a fair shake. I have friends who swear by the place, so the question I'll ask today: How out of character was that snow event at the end of '06?
That was probably a once in a hundred year snow storm.
During my 70 years I have worked/lived in much of the U.S, and when I retired I chose to return to Albuquerque.
The weather was a big factor (not too hot, not too cold) with many winter days in the 50's. Most snows are light and gone in a day; the lower cost of living; the friendly people (I've found a lot of people won't speak first, but if you say "Hi" you can shut 'em up), etc.
And, as you mentioned that you are a "GWM", Albuquerque has a growing (?) gay community (well, at least the Gay Pride Parade draws more people each year).
That said, the North East Heights seems to get the most snow.
Thank you for those replies. I recall hearing comments from folks at the time that it was the biggest snowstorm they'd ever seen, etc., but one tends to hear a lot of that while in the middle of the snowdrift.
I've been researching annual snowfall there, and the various responses seem to fall in a 9-11" range. While 9-11" all at once would be painful (badaBUM... don't forget to tip your waitress), I'm wondering how many times on average it snows during the winter to get up to that 9-11" figure. A couple times? Five? I'm reminded a bit of my homeland in Portland OR, that while being so much further north, is almost at sea level so it takes much more oomph to get snow there and it's usually a couple wet gloppy snowfalls a year that turn into slush by the end of the day.
Endless sunshine I can handle (Palm Springs has 350+ days a year of sunshine). My blood may have thinned out a bit but cold I can handle (that's why they make these things called "coats"). It's just snow that freaks me out a bit.
So now I'm peering over my readers at ABQ once again, wondering if I gave it a fair shake. I have friends who swear by the place, so the question I'll ask today: How out of character was that snow event at the end of '06?
I have been here since 1999 (This time). The wind bothers me more than the cold... You need to look through these threads:
Thanks. It appears it's not a big deal there 99.99% of the time - except on the day I visited!!! That's just my luck. I have vacation scheduled the last week of December, but I'm not tempting fate a second time by trying to visit ABQ during that week.
Last edited by Adamson865; 06-26-2016 at 05:35 PM..
(that's why they make these things called "coats"). It's just snow that freaks me out a bit.
More often than not, 'layering' is important as it may be in the thirties at Sunrise but around fifty in the afternoon.
The snow for much of the city, when we do get it, often comes in 1" to 3".
Often parts of the city (North East Heights?) may get 3" and where I live gets none. (Albuquerque = 181 square miles)
Thanks! I didn't realize Encyclopedia Britannica still existed. (When last I used them, they were available for purchase one volume per week at the grocery store with a $20 purchase. One week my mom didn't buy enough groceries and we didn't get the end of the alphabet. I was up a creek without a paddle when I had to do a project on Walla Walla.)
Dry cold doesn't particularly bother me. Having grown up in the Pacific NW, it's wet cold that gets to me. Standing at the bus stop while wearing a yellow rain slicker and galoshes with water up to my ankles while it's raining sideways and 40F... *that's* cold which permeates the bones.
I'll just make sure not to live in any place called the "heights".
I've only been here since 2008, and I remember seeing the results of that 2006 blizzard, online. Not that it concerned me since I like snow, and moved here for the dryness, not the heat (and not for a relative lack of snow).
It's pretty common for it to snow overnight here and for it do be more or less gone by early afternoon. That's more typical than substantial snow which sticks around.
Funny how it's all relative. I'd be moving to get *away* from the heat. 90 at 6 in the morning is just too much for this old body to handle. If I have to put up with slapping on the chains to get to work a few times a year, so be it!
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