A March nor’easter and its wet snow March 8, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Media, News, Personal, Photography, TV, Weather.add a comment
It’s been a trying nine days for me. It all began last Wednesday night. Meteorologists began warning of a big nor’easter for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic one week later. It would bring high winds and wet snow, a volatile mix.
In the days that followed, weather computer models from various media and meteorological organizations projected different paths for the storm to take and where it would meet up with a low moving from the Pacific to the Tennessee Valley. The center would be over Cape Hatteras or the Delmarva Peninsula. From there, it would go east, southeast, or northeast.
Meteorologists hedged their bets by making their forecasts based on what the most models were predicting at the time, but made clear that the forecast could change. It did. Long Island went from missing the nor’easter entirely, except for gusty winds, to getting its northern fringe. Worse yet, the storm was going to take longer to push east than originally expected. Thus, a one-day nor’easter became a three-day nor’easter.
March has seen its share of major nor’easters:
- The Great Blizzard of 1888
- The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962
- The 1993 Storm of the Century
- The March 2010 Nor’easter (more on that below)
The worst of the 1993 and 2010 storms came through Long Island on the same date: March 13. When the ’93 storm hit, I was living in Freeport, three blocks away from Baldwin Bay. My cousins, aunt, and grandmother stayed over while my parents were in St. Maarten. They left two days before the storm and came back two days after. A few months earlier, there was an equally strong nor’easter. At the afternoon high tide, a few inches of water came into the first floor of the house. I was too young to remember our house flooding during Hurricane Gloria. So this was traumatizing. I don’t recall if water got in during the SotC, but I do know the first floor lacked a carpet for the rest of our time in the house. I also remember we had snow that was followed by rain. And according to AccuWeather, Freeport was in the 10-to-20-inch range:
1993 SotC snowfall
For the next week or two, the backyard looked like the North Pole because the rain-and-flood-soaked snow froze over. Air temperatures were stuck below freezing for a week. So, snow didn’t completely melt in some areas until the end of the month.
My family and I moved (for unrelated school reasons) to the Wantagh Woods section of Wantagh in July 1993, over a mile inland, where I live to this day.
3/12/23 UPDATE: Tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of the Storm of the Century, also known as Superstorm ’93. To mark the occasion, I’m adding this special presentation from The Weather Channel, which I uploaded to YouTube last summer (upscaled from my 2017 VHS digitization):
Back in the present, as it became clear we were getting this nor’easter, visions of Sandy began dancing in my head as I feared the worst, even though the highest gusts would be nothing like Sandy. And the nor’easter’s duration brought me back to what began my high wind fears in the first place: a stronger nor’easter that began three years ago next Wednesday. I was without power then, due to uprooted trees, for two days. Then, in poker terms, Irene saw those two days and raised me five and a half. Sandy saw those five and a half days and raised me nine.
I also thought of a similar wet snow-producing nor’easter that came exactly one year before Sandy. New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Hudson Valley received a lot of wet snow, which weighed down still-leaved tree limbs, taking many of them down, or whole trees down, and the power out with them. The post-Sandy nor’easter also brought wet snow that weighed down still-leaved tree limbs – Sandy didn’t blow all of them off – but the ones in my neighborhood did not break off nor did they come down.
This week’s nor’easter came in under cover of darkness early Wednesday morning. The winds gradually increased, as did the gusts. Gusts of around 40 miles per hour plowed against my east-facing bedroom wall. But precipitation was scarce. As the day progressed, the wind direction shifted from the east to the north-northeast. The wind was no longer pushing against the wall, but I could still hear it.
As the night progressed, I was prepared for power to go out at any moment. I went to sleep around midnight and woke up seven hours later with the power still on. Not only that, but the wind diminished and there wasn’t any snow on the ground. Up to 6 inches of wet snowfall was originally expected for Wednesday night into yesterday, the first part of the nor’easter, but by mid-afternoon, the forecast dwindled to an inch or two. With little or no snow for Wednesday night, the concern shifted to last night into today when heavier wet snow was expected.
As you can tell by the pictures below, we didn’t get much:
More snow fell to my north and any area that received heavy snow bands. According to Newsday (subscription required), Syosset received 8 inches of wet snow and Jericho got 6 inches. Levittown, to my immediate north, received 4.5 inches.
The wet snow melted on most of my driveway, but stuck to the cars and garbage/recycling pails left at the curb for Friday pickup.
Five hours later, snow had tapered off and begun to melt.
As I publish this post, the wind has shifted to the north-northwest and is a mere eleven miles per hour. Most of the wet snow on the grass in the above picture is still there. With milder temperatures and abundant sunshine expected over the next few days, it won’t be on the grass much longer.
Whose Line is it Anyway? reboots this summer! March 3, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Theatre, TV.add a comment
Ten days after I had given up on the return of Trust Us with Your Life, I learned of wonderful news (via The Hollywood Reporter, h/t Jonathan Mangum): Whose Line is it Anyway? is returning to television this summer!
The Whose Line reboot will air on the CW, which was home to Drew Carey’s Green Screen Show prior to the WB’s merger with UPN. According to THR, Whose Line marks the CW’s return to comedy. They’ve otherwise been known for teen dramas.
As with the first American version, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady will be the lead performers. Aisha Tyler will follow in the hosting footsteps of Clive Anderson and Drew Carey. (Clive hosted the original British version.) It’ll be interesting to see which house musician(s) will be on hand for musical games like “Song Styles” (or “Duet”), “Greatest Hits,” and “Hoedown.”
It’s a 10-episode run, but could be more if renewed or less if canceled. Based on the failures of the Green Screen Show, Improv-A-Ganza, and Trust Us With Your Life, I’d say the latter is more likely. But as usual, I’m prepared to be pleasantly surprised.
Here’s part of THR’s story:
… Based on the U.K. format, which spawned the 1998-2004 ABC series led by Drew Carey, Whose Line will feature the return of Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie, who, along with a special guest each episode, will put their comedic skills to the test through a series of improv games. Prompted by ideas from the studio audience and [host Aisha] Tyler, the performers use the information and their imaginations to depict different characters, scenes and perform songs. A winner will be named at the end of each episode.
From Angst Productions and Hat Trick Productions, Whose Line is executive produced by Dan Patterson, Mark Leveson, Jimmy Mulville, Stiles and Brady. It was co-created by Patterson and Leveson. …
February 8-9 blizzard pictures, video February 11, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Health, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Photography, Video, Weather.add a comment
Coming into February, it had been two years since a major winter storm impacted Long Island. The previous winter only saw one storm in mid-January that left merely a few inches. Other than that, there were minor accumulations left by premature mid-fall storms in October 2011 and November 2012, the latter coming nine days after Hurricane Sandy devastated my region.
But on Friday, February 8, Long Island was impacted by a major winter storm; a blizzard, in fact. Most of Suffolk County got over two feet of snow. And across Long Island Sound, parts of Connecticut got over three feet.
Newsday: Long Island snow totals (subscription required)
Woodbury-Middlebury Patch: Connecticut snow totals
Nassau County was spared the worst, getting around or under one foot. Winds were gusty, but power stayed on. In my neighborhood, I heard and saw Town of Hempstead trucks come by around the clock to plow my street.
The next few pictures were taken Friday night, as snow became heavy:
By the time I woke up in middle of Saturday morning, snow had ended and skies were slowly clearing. As I looked out my windows before going downstairs to shovel, this is what I saw:
Once outside, I shot a few more pictures before getting to work:
Three grueling hours of shoveling followed. About a half hour in, my sister checked on me. I asked her to bring me a ruler to measure snow in the middle of the driveway, which I had yet to shovel. The standard 12-inch ruler measured about 10 1/2 inches of snowfall. Newsday’s official total for Wantagh was 11 inches. Another half hour passed and my sister joined me in shoveling. Then, our neighbor came by with his snow blower to finish what we started.
After shoveling paths to the backyard and an extra path to the curb, I took out my Nikon D3100 and shot these pictures:
I also shot video on my JVC Everio HD camcorder, which you can see here, preceded by video from Friday night on the D3100:
I had been outside for 3 1/2 hours, coming inside for a little while to eat eggs and bacon, and drink a glass of orange juice, for breakfast. I was relieved to relax the rest of the day. Parts of my body ached, but by the time I’m posting this on Monday afternoon, those aches have subsided.
As night came, I took one more picture:
If this is the only major storm Long Island gets this winter, it was certainly memorable. But as lucky as my area was in getting under a foot of snow, I only wish my friends in Suffolk and Connecticut could have had the same luck.
Meanwhile, there could be more than one minor or moderate winter storm before spring; this Wednesday night, for example.
Smooth Jazz for Scholars 2013 dates/lineup January 28, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.2 comments
You read the headline correctly. For the first time in Smooth Jazz for Scholars’ 11-year history, there will be two shows, both at the Parsons Complex Auditorium in Milford, Connecticut. Keyboardist Jay Rowe, the man behind SJFS, writes:
The Smooth Jazz For Scholars show will be held on [Friday] 4/26/13 and [Saturday] 4/27/13. The line-up for 4/26 is Alex Bugnon, Marc Antoine, Nick Colionne and Nelson Rangell. The line-up for 4/27 is Jeff Golub, Marion Meadows, Chieli Minucci and saxophonist Vincent Ingala. Tickets are $40 each for each night and $70 each for both nights. Tickets can be purchased by sending a check or money order payable to Smooth Jazz For Scholars Inc. to P.O. Box 3723 Milford, CT. 06460. Please be sure to include your return address and tickets will be mailed to you immediately upon receipt of order and payment. For additional info call 203-415-8878.
I will be on hand for both nights. This will be my seventh year in attendance.
Friday, April 26
Alex Bugnon (“boon-YON”)
Marc Antoine
Nick Colionne
Nelson Rangell (“ran-JELL”)
Saturday, April 27
Jeff Golub
Marion Meadows
Chieli Minucci (“key-L-e min-OO-chee”)
Vincent Ingala
Tickets: $40 each for one night, $70 each for both nights
Tickets can be purchased by check or money order payable to:
Smooth Jazz For Scholars Inc.
P.O. Box 3723
Milford, CT 06460
Include your return address.
For more information, call: 203-415-8878
Here is how the singular 2012 show went.
5/27 UPDATE: Sorry I didn’t share the links sooner, but here are recaps of this year’s first night and second night.
Riding the Staten Island and West Shore Expressways January 20, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
Picking up where Riding the Belt Parkway left off, the focus of the pictures in this post is the Staten Island Expressway and West Shore Expressway.
The pics were taken on the way to my friends’ housewarming party in Howell, New Jersey.
On the Staten Island Expressway, Exits 15S and 14:
Exit 10:
Exit 9:
Exit 7:
Exit 6:
Exit 5, NY 440 South (West Shore Expressway):
On the West Shore, Exit 8:
Exit 7:
As you saw above, two of the expressways’ exits overlap.
Exit 5:
Exit 3:
Exit 1, Arthur Kill Road (again):
The Outerbridge Crossing:
After crossing the Crossing, my parents and me were in New Jersey. In another hour, we arrived in Howell.
Riding the Belt Parkway December 18, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
This post is a sequel to my July 29 post of pictures I took on the Long Island Expressway (Interstate 495) eight days earlier. This time, the focus of my pictures is the Belt Parkway.
These pics were taken late in the morning on October 6 en route to a housewarming party in Howell, New Jersey.
We begin with Exit 24B:
Exit 24A:
Exit 23A:
Exit 22:
Exit 21B:
After Exit 20 and before Exit 19:
Approaching Exit 18B:
Exit 18B:
Exit 17N:
Exit 17W:
Exit 17S:
Exit 15:
Exit 14:
Exit 13:
Mill Basin Drawbridge:
You can see the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from the drawbridge because the Belt is heading south before re-curving west at Marine Park:
Exit 11N:
Exit 11S:
By now, the Belt is heading west again.
Exit 9:
Back when my great-grandparents (my mother’s maternal grandparents) lived in Midwood, we would get off at Exit 9 and ride the service road to Ocean Avenue. From there, we made a right on Ocean, drove north to Avenue N, and made a left. They lived between Ocean and East 19th Street.
Exit 8:
Exit 7B:
Exit 7A:
The MTA’s Stillwell Yard:
Exit 6N:
Exit 6S:
Exit 5:
Exit 4:
Exit 3:
From here, we got on the bridge and continued on our way to Howell.
Matt Marshak “Colors of Me” release party November 19, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
Other Matt Marshak show recaps: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015
Saturday night at Houndstooth Pub, contemporary jazz guitarist Matt Marshak hosted a CD release party/show for his new album Colors of Me. It made for a great present for my 31st birthday.
This is my first show recap to include grayscale (black and white) pictures.
Matt played electric guitar:
Kenny Harris was on bass:
Carl “C-Man” Anderson on drums:
…and Daniel West on the keyboard:
I was at Houndstooth for the first set. Here’s the set list:
1. Down in Delaware
2. Cadillac Kid
3. Summerfunk
4. Teddy P (audience request)
5. Sanibel
6. Time for Takeoff
7. On the Rocks*
8. Funkology*
*-Alex Bugnon sat in on keyboard.
After “Time for Takeoff,” it was time for surprise guest Alex Bugnon to sit in on keyboard…
…which he did for “On the Rocks” and “Funkology.”
“On the Rocks” featured an intense call and response between Matt and Alex:
Alex’s “Funkology” solo:
…followed by Kenny’s bass solo:
…and the C-Man’s vocal solo with audience participation:
As the set concluded, Alex and I met in person for the first time. Then, my friend Dolly Moye took this picture:
What can I say that I haven’t already said in other recaps? I had a great time, as always; another unforgettable night.
My Sandy experience November 10, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, DVD, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, TV, Weather.5 comments
The nightmare known as Hurricane (or Superstorm) Sandy was thrust upon my attention on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 24, hours before seeing pianist David Benoit perform at the Iridium Jazz Club. The first report I read about the storm had a few scenarios, which included turning east out to sea and taking a sharp westerly turn toward the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S, combining with an approaching cold front. By the second report, the latter scenario became more likely. With each passing report, until it made landfall in South New Jersey on the evening of October 29, more and more models showed that worst case scenario. And with each passing report, I grew more and more paranoid and fearful of what would happen.
Sandy was so large that its effects were first felt through cloud cover on Saturday, October 27. The following day, October 28, showers and minor wind gusts began. I couldn’t stand hearing the wind plowing into the windows and wall from my Wantagh home’s east-facing bedroom. So, I slept in the basement that night.
When I woke up early on October 29, the worst still hadn’t arrived, but the wind was still strong, around 30 miles per hour with gusts in the 50s. Somehow, the power did not go out during the morning. By 1:30 PM, the power began to flicker off and on, and at 1:45, the power went out to stay and wouldn’t return until nine days later. Back in the basement, as the wind continued to howl upstairs, now approaching sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts to 60, I used my Sennheiser studio headphones to listen to audiobooks on my CD-playing Walkman. But spoken words were unable to completely drown out the sound of wind. So, rather than waste battery power on my iPod, I used the Walkman, which runs on AA batteries, to listen to music. I took two pairs of CDs that I used for my two recent WCWP Homecoming Weekend shows and a dozen albums. When I wasn’t listening to news radio for the latest on Sandy, or sports radio to forget about Sandy, I was listening to my CDs.
My parents, sister, and I were prepared with plenty of bottled water, bags of food, canned goods, AA batteries, C batteries, D batteries, and a generator. We didn’t use the generator until after the height of Sandy, which came around 8PM, shortly after it transitioned to a post-tropical cyclone. While the worst winds pummeled the house, gusting as high as 85 mph, we congregated in the living room where an extension cord ran from the generator in the backyard to the middle of the room. There, I plugged in a power strip and we plugged in a table lamp for light, and all our rechargeable electronics. For a time, we watched DVDs on my sister’s laptop. After a couple of hours, my dad turned off the generator and we all went to sleep. I returned to the basement for that.
Outside of a tree falling in my next-block neighbor’s back yard, two shingles falling off our roof, a toppled-over garbage pail on the side of the house, and branches and leaves on the grass, I was clueless about the extent of damage in my area. But a tree fell a block east of our house, which is why our power went out, and a few trees fell one block north and west.
At around 11AM on October 30, I walked around the exterior of my house to take aftermath pictures.
I began at my front patio, worked my way around the house, and then to the curb:
The pails on the west side of the house:
I fixed the pail that blew over about half an hour before taking pictures.
The container that covered the gas cans for generator fuel blew off:
When the power strip wasn’t connected to the extension cord, either the microwave or coffee maker were plugged in.
I turned this table upside down on Sunday and removed the tiles, stacking them on the ground near the wall:
The tile-less table was moved slightly by the high winds.
There had been a tree in the center of this empty space:
Part of it fell into our back yard:
Or it may have been from this tree which fell at around 6:00 the night before:
I was in the basement listening to a CD on my Walkman and could hear my dad in the kitchen saying “Tree down!”
You can barely see a tree down up the road to the east:
To the west, a utility poll was slanted (not visible in pic):
A week later, my sister took the following pictures on our street from east to west:
As bad as things looked on our block, the absolute worst hit areas were waterfront communities. Main floors and basements were destroyed. House and building fires that started after flooding began couldn’t be contained and had to burn out. Knowing all this gave me survivor guilt. I felt guilty that my house was hardly damaged and all I lost was power, while my friends in places like South Freeport, Baldwin Harbor, Island Park, Long Beach, Lido Beach, and Massapequa lost everything that wasn’t on the second floor or higher. The Rockaways and Staten Island were hit just as hard.
An example of how hard Freeport was hit can be seen in this video of damage to the Nautical Mile (Woodcleft Avenue), via The Weekly Freeporter YouTube channel:
Guilt aside, I developed cabin fever after two days at my powerless house (outside of generated power). So, on the night of Halloween, after riding out Tuesday night in my increasingly cold bedroom, I made the trip to a family friend’s house in Rockville Centre (power had just returned after only two days). I would spend the next week there while power was out at home. Of all the times for power to come back, on the afternoon of November 7, it was as a wet snow-producing nor’easter began to affect the Northeast. Unlike Sandy, however, the center of this nor’easter was far offshore and the winds were not too strong on Western Long Island. The wet snow bent but somehow did not break tree limbs, and it gradually melted or fell off the following day.
While power returned on November 7, cable did not come back until two days later.
After experiencing the March 2010 Nor’easter, Irene, and now Sandy, I can only hope that it’s a very long time before another major storm of Sandy’s magnitude hits the East Coast.
We’ll conclude this post with a few pictures in Rockville Centre on November 7 as snow began to accumulate…
…and a picture on November 8, hours after shoveling the driveway at home:
Also:
Laura Donovan: The Domino Effect Of Hurricane Sandy: Why One Natural Disaster Changed Everything For Me (dead link as of 10/29/18)
Peter Hoare: How Hurricane Sandy Ravaged My Town (Long Beach)
11/13 UPDATE: Yesterday, I walked my street from east to west to get a close look at the cut-up downed trees, and the damage caused by them:
As I took this last shot, Town of Hempstead sanitation trucks were making their way up the street to remove debris:
David Benoit at Iridium recap October 25, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
I was at The Iridium last night to see pianist and conductor David Benoit in concert. I hadn’t seen him since his show at Tarrytown Music Hall in May 2010.
It was a cloudy and damp night outside, but the sun shined on The Iridium’s stage.
On the way to Penn Station, I shot this picture as the LIRR train I was on passed over the Van Wyck Expressway (Interstate 678):
David was at The Iridium for two nights with two sets per night. I was at the first night’s first set.
David was joined by another David, David Hughes, on bass:
…and Jamey Tate on drums:
SET LIST
1. Beat Street
Originally heard on: “Full Circle,” 2006
2. Botswana Bossa Nova
Originally heard on: “Earthglow,” 2010
3. Will’s Chill
Originally heard on: “Earthglow,” 2010
4. Napa Crossroads Overture
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
5. Feelin’ It
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
7. Sunrise On Mansion Row
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
8. Kei’s Song Redux
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
9. Every Step of the Way
Originally heard on: “Every Step of the Way,” 1988
10. Waltz for Debby (Bill Evans cover)
Originally heard on: “This Side Up,” 1985; “Heroes,” 2008
The latter arrangement was played.
11. Dad’s Room
Originally heard on: “Professional Dreamer,” 1999
12. Freedom at Midnight
Originally heard on: “Freedom at Midnight,” 1987
I kept waiting for “Moonlight Sonata,” but this wasn’t “The Schroeder Variations” version on “Earthglow.”
13. Q’s Motif
Originally heard on: “Conversation,” 2012
The tempo was slightly faster than the album version.
14 (Encore 1). Carmel (audience request)
Originally heard on: “Shaken Not Stirred,” 1994
15 (Encore 2). Linus and Lucy
Originally heard on: “This Side Up,” 1985; “Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown!,” 1989; “Here’s To You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years!,” 2000
“Electric guitar” keyboard solo on “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”:
David H. and Jamey’s “Q’s Motif” call and response:
Acknowledging the crowd at the end of the set:
Me and David after the set:
Listening to David Benoit, whether on an album or in concert, is a heavenly experience for me. I’m into every note and every measure. I usually know what the song is without David telling the audience what it is. Last night wasn’t any different. Thanks to David B., David H., and Jamey for a thrilling set.
MikeChimeri.com 
2012 in review December 30, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Commentary, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Travel, Weather.add a comment
The following is an excerpt of an end-of-year post WordPress created for MikeChimeri.com. Scroll down for my editorial.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
Click here to see the complete report.
This site began in 2012 as The Mike Chimeri Blog, but in May, I did something I should have done four years earlier: combine my blog and my original website that I created through Yahoo Sitebuilder. After two weeks of uploading files and recreating pages, the new MikeChimeri.com was born.
2012 was the year I switched to a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera, a Nikon D3100, improving the quality of the pictures you see in my posts. The first two posts featuring pics shot with the D3100 were Scenery Pictures in late June and the Brian Simpson recap in early September. The Matt Marshak recap from mid-November was the first post where all pics were shot with it. Despite the switch, I plan to hold on to my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 as a backup. In fact, my last regular post of the year, pics taken westbound on the Belt Parkway, was all shot on the Lumix.
Unfortunately, 2012 was the third year in a row where a major storm hit Long Island, knocked out my power for more than a day, and left me to relocate until power was restored. This time, Sandy was the culprit.
Whatever comes my way in 2013, there’s a good chance I’ll post about it here. Have a happy and healthy 2013, everyone.