Stormy weather

Noah sent along this reminder of four young men who didn't let a little snow get them down.

by Ken

Here in the Northeast today has been sort of like a shorter version of the weekend we spent back when waiting for Hurricane Sandy to bear down on us. We knew it was coming, and it was likely to be bad, but in the meantime the weather, while hardly salutary, shouldn't by itself have prevented life from proceeding normally. Except that there's nothing normal when the weather gnomes are talking about two feet of snow starting to descend on us late tonight, with maybe 6-8 inches by morning and the rest continuing to amass.

The word for the day was:



Not surprisingly, the news and the e-mailbox are overflowing with announcements of cancellations of stuff scheduled for today, as the city gradually shut down. By mid-afternoon, for example, there ws word that the scheduled home games of both the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets are off. As for tomorrow, it's looking like fuhgeddaboutit! (I think it's safe to say that there won't be any trip to Brooklyn for the New York Transit Museum's scheduled program celebrating the triumphant reconstruction of the Montague Street subway tunnel under the East River, which suffered the heaviest damage of the East River tunnels from the ravages of Sandy, and just reopened in September after being closed for 14½ months.)

Meanwhile, with an entire day to prepare for the grim night and beyond, it has been a big hoarding shopping day:



With the expectation that tomorrow will look more like:



A little after 4pm Noah filed this Manhattan storm report:

Snow-maggeddon! The great sacking of the grocery store! I was in a Food Emporium and they had all the registers going with plenty of people to help. The carts were all in use, though. I saw one grown woman with one of those little shopping carts for the 4 year olds! I went to the post office to pick up a couple of packages and they had closed at 1:00 claiming "due to the severe weather." Whatever happened to neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow...? It was in no way severe at 1:00 and it still isn't, but I wouldn't want to be out once it gets dark.

To everyone who's in the path of this storm, or one of your own: Stay warm, dry, and above all safe. I'm rather surprised to be quoting my corporate HR chief (who's perched in one of our California offices):

Safety is the number one priority. People should not endanger themselves in any way and if that means leaving early or not coming in during a storm then that’s what needs to happen.

And to all those who aren't in a storm path -- well, as you were. You've probably got  troubles of your own.


YOUR STORM BONUS: NOAH PROGNOSTICATES

My storm predictions:

1. The "Blaming of de Blasio" will begin by 7:00am on Tuesday.
2. The goons on FOX will offer the storm as "proof there is no global warming."
3. Any food shortages on Wednesday will be blamed on "Teamster union truckers."
4. "Gay Marriage" caused the storm. God is angry!

DWT SCHEDULE NOTE: Next post tomorrow morning at 7am PT/10am ET

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