January 28-29 snowstorm February 1, 2022

Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Personal, Photography, Weather.
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***THIS IS MY 600TH BLOG POST!***

It took three weeks for the next major snow event to affect Long Island, and it was major. As in February 2013, Wantagh was west of the worst snow (and blizzard conditions), but this time, I measured 17 inches in the driveway. It’s possible I measured a drift, rendering my reading inaccurate, but I don’t think so. Still, the official total for “1 WNW Wantagh” – according to the National Weather Service – was 14 inches. Their full snowfall report can be viewed here.

The main storm was preceded by a lesser system Friday morning and afternoon with mere non-accumulating snow flurries. I took two photos of that, one at 8:47 AM:

…and another at 3:58 PM:

The real deal began Friday evening. I took this photo at 7:20:

I also took a photo around 8:15 before going to bed, but I accidentally deleted it.

I awoke to heavy snow, a stiff breeze, and much accumulation. Whereas the January 7 snow started powdery, this was all powder as air temperatures hovered in the low 20s for the duration of the storm. The photographic timeline starts at 6:47 AM:

As the snow fell, I carried on with indoor tasks: a treadmill run (and shower), drafting the March 23 Instrumental Invasion talk break script and then recording its first hour, and watching content on my streaming services. Underestimating the accumulation, I took out the garbage from the kitchen trash can, getting snow up to my knees, requiring a change of pants.

By 3:45, snow was tapering off:

That meant it was time to break out the shovels and snow blower. My dad Bill shoveled initially, and I took it from there. I cleared the front porch, walkway to the driveway, in front of the garage, and a path to the oil burner fuel cap on the left side of the house. It took Dad 45 minutes to clear the driveway and sidewalk:

He asked at one point if I wanted to use the snow blower, but I declined. I did try it after last year’s blizzard.

When Dad was finished, I shoveled what was left. I had to quit while working on the west end of the driveway due to muscle strain. By 5:06, I sprinkled rock salt on the porch, driveway, and sidewalk, then photographed the aftermath, just as the setting sun shone through the breaking clouds:

The setting sun:

One last Saturday photo from bedroom window at 5:11:

I ate a hearty pasta dinner (as usual), then lied down (after taking ibuprofen) to watch more streaming content. I started feeling tired around 7:00, so I went to sleep. I must have gotten close to ten hours of sleep, getting up for the day at 6:15 AM Sunday. My muscle aches had diminished enough that I went back out to shovel. The snow plow hadn’t come up our block until evening, so I shoveled what had settled onto the edge of the driveway and sidewalk up to the property line. I also gave the west end of the driveway another try. Here’s how it looked back in my room at 6:46:

I still felt well enough to carry out my daily exercise routine, including a treadmill run. I photographed the backyard and deck at 8:16, before the run:

When Dad left for his office, I shoveled whatever wasn’t frozen in the center of the driveway. This is the last aftermath photo, taken at 1:19 PM:

As you can see, there was some melting, thanks to the rock salt and the sun, but temperatures were still only in the 20s, so whatever melted froze overnight. Warmer weather is expected in the next few days with rain on Thursday and Friday. Below freezing temperatures return Friday night with a slight chance of snow.

Until the next storm, thanks for reading my 600th blog post!