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I am not sure where you lived in the northeast shoveling 5 ft of snow 3x in 3 weeks. It sounds like somewhere in the Rockies. And while I do get snow buildup on my roof, I never had problems caused by an ice dam. And its not as if the entire Northeast sees the same type of weather everywhere.
Today was sunny here and in the upper 20s. There is a light coating of snow on the ground from Thursday and Friday, making everything look clean and fresh. Beautiful weather. We went for a walk to a neighborhood pub after the game and had a good early evening.
What are you talking about? You are pretending like it doesn’t snow annoyingly heavily in Buffalo or the Northeast. No, it wasn’t the Rockies. I lived in Boston. Shoveling 5 ft of snow is not an exaggeration when we consider snow plows creating massive snow banks on your driveway and sidewalks that you have to then clear. Jan/Feb 2015, I was easily shoveling 5 ft of that crap every week. My house got ice dams, my in laws houses got ice dams. So many houses got ice dams it took months to find contractors.
Clearly we live on different planets when you think Buffalo has great weather.
Exactly, rain won't stop you from doing anything. Especially the light misty rain in the PNW.
But get 3 feet of snow on the ground being blown around by 50 mph winds, and you are not going anywhere. The airport will be shut down, public transit will be shut down, schools and most businesses will be shut down. When the snow finally stops the real fun begins, digging out. Which can take days or even weeks.
The difference to me is like night and day. But people rationalize it anyway they want. Which is a good thing. If you like that type of stuff, enjoy your shoveling snow, frostbite and car crashes. Leave the nice climates to those of us up who appreciate it.
Average snowfalls won't stop you from doing anymore than average rain and mist in the PNW. Except you can't just brush rain off your clothing, or ski on misty hillsides, or sled on muddy rises at the park, or skate on unfrozen ponds, or snow shoe on leaf-covered woodlands. Your kids can't spend hours in the yard making rain-forts, mist-men, or water-angels. No rain-ball fights happen. Mist doesn't transform your yard and city from sloppy gray and brown to a frosty-white picture book.
What kid prefers a day of rain to a day of snow? People sing "Rain rain go away.." but when it comes to snow its "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..."
I think when people who live outside snowy areas envision snow, the see it as if it had snowed in their current town - which I agree is usually a disaster in places that don't get much snow. Cities that regularly get snow see it as no big deal - walks get cleared (in less time than cutting a lawn), roads get plowed and salted, people dress for the weather and don't get frostbite, drivers know how to drive slowly and carefully on slippery roads and crashes are less likely than on average open roads filled with intoxicated speeders.
Big snow storms certainly happen. Not every day, nor every year, and not in every place. Even in snowy places like Buffalo, not every area of the region received the same amounts of snow - nearby Rochester received almost no snow at all. And while the recent blizzard was a tragedy for many, it was a generational storm - not a regular thing - and even then most roads were cleared in less than 3 days (including Sunday and holiday Monday). Average storms are cleared as they occur. Life goes on.
Yes people get tired of snow - they also get tired of every other season as it approaches its end. Some people don't like snow at all - I understand, but many of us enjoy all four seasons and the changes each brings. The first snow of the year is an exciting event - welcomed by most people, when we all become kids again. Older people get their chance to "play in the snow" by taking out there shovels and snowblowers, meeting and sharing advice and stories with their neighbors outdoors all doing the same thing. It actually pulls our community together.
Last edited by RocketSci; 01-15-2023 at 09:10 PM..
Average snowfalls won't stop you from doing anymore than average rain and mist in the PNW. Except you can't just brush rain off your clothing, or ski on misty hillsides, or sled on muddy rises at the park, or skate on unfrozen ponds, or snow shoe on leaf-covered woodlands. Your kids can't spend hours in the yard making rain-forts, mist-men, or water-angels. No rain-ball fights happen. Mist doesn't transform your yard and city from sloppy gray and brown to a frosty-white picture book.
What kid prefers a day of rain to a day of snow? People sing "Rain rain go away.." but when it comes to snow it’s "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...".
Unlike many NE ski resorts. No one in the PNW is skiing on muddy hillsides. Skiing and snowshoeing is a big part of the outdoors culture because the mountains are close.
There is pretty good skiing within 30-45 minutes of Seattle. Places on the west side of the Cascades like Vancouver BC and Bellingham even closer. People are skiing and snowmobiling in the PNW year around even in summer on the deepest snow in North America. We are talking 600-1000+ inches of snowfall a season. Deeper snows than anything Buffalo has ever seen.
That’s not something people in the Northeast get to experience.
Buffalo has consistent snow on the ground just like their counterparts in the PNW (towns like Twisp, Winthrop, Republic and Spokane).
The weather in Buffalo is nothing like NYC. Lake effect snows usually impact a very narrow band as well. Places like NYC & Philly are lucky to see snow on the ground for even a week or two every winter. I’m fairly familiar with NY. A good portion of my family lives there. The skiing sucks compared to the PNW. The seasons are also much shorter back east. Even though per capita NY has more ski resorts than any state. They are not quality and the snowfall is not consistent.
By the end of February the ski season is pretty much done in places like Pennsylvania. By March it’s toast in NY. You can ski year around in the PNW. That makes it magical.
Most of coastal NE cities from Trenton NJ up past NYC are mostly playing in the rain and mud just as much as Seattle and PDX. Except the vast majority living along the coastal NE don’t have the benefit of living next to the snowiest region in the world.
Last edited by Thealpinist; 01-15-2023 at 10:28 PM..
Boise experiences a handful of snow events every winter. Typically, this means 3"-4" of snow, often falling overnight. My kids love these days. They grab their sleds and walk over to Camel's Back Park with friends to ride the hill. Eventually the neighbor kids come over to play and everyone makes snowmen and snow angels and plays in the snow, then eventually come inside and we get the fireplace going and have hot chocolate. The snow usually melts in a couple of days, so it's just enough to have fun and is gone before it becomes annoying. But as Thealpinist mentioned, we typically go up the mountain to ski or snowshoe because the valley is a desert and doesn't get much precipitation.
It's not just snow, which BTW doesn't always get cleared from sidewalks which makes it a PITA to walk anywhere. It's the ice, which makes it more dangerous. Drivers at least here in the Midwest are still driving at or above the speed limit even in these conditions. The PNW has this problem too but it's not as frequent or harsh, at least near the coast. Inland is a different story, but their skiing areas own anything in the northeast.
Dressing up costs money. Gloves, cleats and insulated coats(not jackets, coats) aren't cheap.
Drizzle+mist won't stop you from anything. But even a foot of snow can shut down public transit in the Northeast.
In the PNW (rainy parts), you CAN do everything in the rain, but most people don't. I hike all winter, and the parking lots at parks and trails sparse with cars on cold, rainy days, even if the rain isn't that hard. All it takes is one sunny, dry 55 degree winter day and the lot is packed full with people waiting for parking spots.
Unlike many NE ski resorts. No one in the PNW is skiing on muddy hillsides. Skiing and snowshoeing is a big part of the outdoors culture because the mountains are close.
There is pretty good skiing within 30-45 minutes of Seattle. Places on the west side of the Cascades like Vancouver BC and Bellingham even closer. People are skiing and snowmobiling in the PNW year around even in summer on the deepest snow in North America. We are talking 600-1000+ inches of snowfall a season. Deeper snows than anything Buffalo has ever seen.
That’s not something people in the Northeast get to experience.
Buffalo has consistent snow on the ground just like their counterparts in the PNW (towns like Twisp, Winthrop, Republic and Spokane).
The weather in Buffalo is nothing like NYC. Lake effect snows usually impact a very narrow band as well. Places like NYC & Philly are lucky to see snow on the ground for even a week or two every winter. I’m fairly familiar with NY. A good portion of my family lives there. The skiing sucks compared to the PNW. The seasons are also much shorter back east. Even though per capita NY has more ski resorts than any state. They are not quality and the snowfall is not consistent.
By the end of February the ski season is pretty much done in places like Pennsylvania. By March it’s toast in NY. You can ski year around in the PNW. That makes it magical.
Most of coastal NE cities from Trenton NJ up past NYC are mostly playing in the rain and mud just as much as Seattle and PDX. Except the vast majority living along the coastal NE don’t have the benefit of living next to the snowiest region in the world.
In the PNW (rainy parts), you CAN do everything in the rain, but most people don't. I hike all winter, and the parking lots at parks and trails sparse with cars on cold, rainy days, even if the rain isn't that hard. All it takes is one sunny, dry 55 degree winter day and the lot is packed full with people waiting for parking spots.
They might not go hiking but a lot of people are still out and about, just closer to their neighborhoods. It was raining yesterday and there were a ton of people walking around my neighborhood. On rainy days here people tend to run to coffee shops or brunch places on the weekends, so they are still out walking. Today was sunny though and the parks and trails were swarmed with people.
Personally I love the slight drizzle hike. Under the tree canopy, you don't even get wet. We teach our kids to go out even if it's raining out. Once you have a pair of rubber boots and a hoody, you can do everything outside. There are several fancy preschools in the woods in the city.
Also, in terms of shoveling, many parts of the Northeast haven’t had to shovel much so far this winter. So, some winters and areas will vary.
There has been zero snow in NYC this season. Although it can snow in the Adirondacks into early spring I wouldn’t count on it being very deep or consistent most seasons.
From NYC the best skiing is minimum 3+ hours away in the Catskills. Gore is nearly 4 hours (250 miles) away and Whiteface is minimum 6 hours (300+ miles) away from the city. If you like consistent snowfall with great skiing and snowmobiling you might as well skip NYC and pretty much anything along the coast south of Maine. It’s even worse in Pennsylvania. You are more likely to be skiing muddy ice with a thin crust of snow.
Driving 500-600+ miles round trip to ski decent terrain for those living in NJ/NYC is crazy. Even further if you want to drive to Vermont.
Once you get into Vermont it does improve but every location in the Pacific Northwest absolutely blows the NE out of the water for access to winter sports, consistent snowfall, length of season, and number of options.
Last edited by Thealpinist; 01-16-2023 at 08:17 PM..
I need to set a reminder in July to read this thread when it’s in the 90s and hot here in the south and y’all are talking about wearing literal CLEATS for everyday wear. Hell nah. I’ll stick to sweating through my clothes I’m not wearing death traps on my feet. But nice to come back to this when going through yet another summer in the sunbelt.
The upper 20s suck… and so does rain at 35 degrees.
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