Snowstorm 1994

Last month, we had a decent snowstorm, and I thought back to another February storm in my youth. Perhaps it would make a good article to reminisce upon it. Then time slipped away, and the snow melted, so I abandoned the idea. Then not a week later, the skies opened up and dumped a record-breaking amount of snow upon us, smashing the tally set back in the Blizzard of '78. That, of course, has since melted, but I need to get something done before I move onto spring.

It is amusing having heard what an ordeal '78 was, what with the cars stuck in afternoon traffic, walkways needing to cut the snow into cubes before shoveling, and drifts up to the roof. Since we were well over a foot beyond those numbers, you'd think we'd be in a world of hurt, and life would come crashing down. Not so much. School was canceled for an entire week (as it had been then), but since most of the downfall began at night, we just hunkered down and enjoyed the time off.

That's not to say that we didn't get an insane amount. The road was more or less completely swallowed up, and there was no definition between my yard and the neighbor's across the street. I was ever thankful for my extra-wide shovel, since that made each scoop a little heavier but far fewer in number. Oddly enough, I didn't really go out and enjoy it this round. I had a lot of other things to do, which could be blamed for the omission, so let's look back on another storm where I did have a bit more fun.

As the storm raged on throughout the day and into the night, we had little recourse but to huddle around the ancient CRT TV and watch whatever was broadcasting. Usually we'd end up on UPN, and usually it would be airing Piranha II ad nauseam. It sounds boring, and indeed it was, but somehow I look back on the days when there was little to do but hang out without any pressure. I also look back and wonder why I had no bedsheets.

Downstairs, my parents were on the primo rear-projection TV, which provided a large screen in the days before flat panels. It was huge, but it lasted until well after I moved out. They were watching the news, which was broadcasting the storm as if anything else would be of interest. The radar map shows an awfully small affected area, which pales in comparison to the one we just had, but I guess everything is bigger in your memory.

My main recollection was the shoulder pads of the female news anchor and the fact that her male counterpart was apparently a vampire since he ceased to age since.

But idle hands could not prevail for long. When night fell, we were out in the driveway in a futile attempt to remove as much snow as we could to make the following day that much easier. I say futile, not because we couldn't, but because the winds were blowing much of the snow right back on, so little changed by morning.

That didn't stop the task, however. The driveway was a nightmare for shoveling, too. Being a double-wide, there was no place to dump the snow, other than to each side, which quickly grew to six-foot walls. Trying to heave blocks of snow over that once it began to grow wasn't fun. Yet snow days were supposed to be enjoyable.

And while there was still much left by the next day, the mailbox also needed digging out. This was the true structure that stood out all these years since. While the driveway created barriers that were at about eye-level, the mailbox excavation created nothing short of a fortress.

Growing up, you'd watch movies and cartoons about kids who were able to create their own private lairs out of snow, many of which rivaled true architecture. Trap doors and walkways were par for the course. Ours wasn't quite that elaborate, but it did have an archway, and that's not nothing. It wasn't large enough for me to walk under without ducking, but my sister had no problem leisurely strolling through.

"But how was sledding?" I hear myself ask you to ask me. Terrible! But that was on account of location. There was a much better spot near the old Naval Fort, but that would involve driving, and snow and snow+cars were not a great match at any point in time. Best I could do was dip down into the road. It was a glorious half-second of thrilling breakneck speed.

Overall, the storm in 1994 remained much larger in my mind than it had any right to be. We probably had several on par since, but having grown, they appeared far less impressive. At times, I wondered why we never had such snowfall, even if the video shows great swathes of bare grass. I guess it was just the time period where you could stay home and not care about either missing work or, worse, having to still try to get there and risk your life in the process.

Fortunately, I'm in a position now where remote work is a possibility and was able to telecommute to my morning meeting while out in my driveway covered in ice. And that's not half bad.