5 Things You Wouldn't Expect During Winter Storm Stella

PHOTO BY ERIC STEVENS INO
       This is essentially a rant post about my experience as a Northeasterner during a Nor'easter winter storm, specifically, this year's Winter Storm Stella. Now, as a native Syracusan, I am no stranger to large quantities of snow falling from the sky. We even have a film based in my hometown about the sheer amount of snowfall that we get. Therefore, I knew that Rochester would have comparable conditions, but would most likely have nothing I didn't prepare for or expect. However, after living in Rochester for a full year now, I definitely have been surprised by a few things which I hadn't regarded. Thankfully, I am here to relay some things to remember if you find yourself in the middle of a blizzard.

       As a preface, Winter Storm Stella began with a terrible windstorm after a mid-65 degree Fahrenheit day at the beginning of last week. This windstorm, as I have noted in my first blog post, received upwards of 60 mile an hour wind gusts, some even reported 80 mile an hour gusts at our airport. The storm knocked down many trees which caused hundreds of thousands in the region to lose power, many of whom I work with. Shortly after the windstorm, and after about half of those households regained power, the temperature began dropping. Soon it was about 11 degrees Fahrenheit and blustery with snow.

       Tuesday night I was let out of work an hour early as the snow started. I went to my friend's house that night for a delicious pizza party and to watch Pulp Fiction on Netflix since I had never seen it. This idea was concocted primarily because I had, in fact, not recognized many Samuel L. Jackson films after watching the recent video from The Late Late Show with James Corden. And I am definitely a fan of Samuel L. Jackson. The movie was great, by the way.


It snowed all night and by 9:30pm I received an email from my workplace announcing a Snow Day. By morning we had over two feet of snow. Below is what I had learned from my Winter Storm Stella Snow Day experience.

1. Garbage collectors can be part time snowplow drivers. This is just a little reassurance that I was actually surprised by. I was out on the morning of my Snow Day and two garbage trucks whizzed by fully equipped with giant plows secured on the front. As I blinked my eyes in disbelief, I had so many unanswerable questions. Do the garbage collectors get excited by having a new role for the day, or would they rather solely collect garbage? When it's summertime, do snowplow drivers also collect the trash? Also, do the snowplow drivers and the garbage collectors get together for drinks and wings sometimes like a small club? And do they invite the construction workers along? Wednesday was also garbage day, but I suppose that was postponed.
   
   
2. Have the day off? Don't do laundry in a snowstorm. Trust me, it may seem like the most opportune time to spend all day sorting your whites and your darks, but so many things could go wrong that you wouldn't expect, myself included. I started the day by cleaning my entire apartment by dusting, vacuuming, and using my beloved Swiffer. Around 8pm, I decided to lackadaisically start my laundry, which had already been postponed for too long. I waited an hour for my clothes to be done in the dryer, only to find out that they were still damp. Not a big deal, I thought, I'll just put them in one more time overnight and they will be dry in the morning. I was wrong. Apparently, the snow can cover dryer vents rendering the dryer unable to blow warm air into the machine. I had to lay my clothes all over my apartment floor to dry. It's a good thing I had just cleaned the floors! Beware, however, I later learned that some dryers can expel carbon monoxide gas if the dryer vent is covered; thankfully, that was not the case for this dryer.
   
   
3. Walk to work? Don't expect the city, neighbors, or nearby businesses to shovel and salt the sidewalks for you, like, not at all whatsoever. Now, Rochester isn't typically good at clearing the sidewalks for pedestrians, which I have complained about many times before. During my daily commutes to work, I've sometimes had to literally skate with my boots across inches and inches of ice on the sidewalks. The day after my Snow Day, I was up to my hips trudging through unmoved snow. At one point, I had to scale a small hill of snow in the middle of the sidewalk that was taller than me. If you're wondering why I didn't walk in the road, you'd be surprised by the answer. The snowplow drivers, as good of a job that they do, do not often return to plow after the snow has stopped. All of the cars parked on the shoulders of the road during the storm had moved and left their snowy mess behind. The only clear areas were the parts of the road that the cars could narrowly drive through. Leaving me to scale Mount Rochestermanjaro by sheer will and strength without witnesses.
   
   
4. If you find your car buried by the storm, you may consider some unconventional ways of removing it. I took one look at my car on Thursday afternoon, needing to drive to a meeting, and an idea came to my mind. Instead of using a car brush, what if I simply shovel out my car? And so I grabbed a small snow shovel and began shoveling and pushing the snow off my car, even the roof, which I normally can't reach. This was probably the best idea I've had for dealing with snow. As long as you are careful with any mirrors or windshield wipers, I highly recommend taking a shovel to unearth your vehicle during the next blizzard.
   
   
5. Have food on hand, but nothing you don't need for more than a couple of days. This is just the most hilarious tip I could give, but unless you're in a state that hasn't had snow in the last five or so years, the snow will probably be fully removed by the next day or two. I always see people in New York State running to the store for water, milk, and eggs right before a storm. What are you doing? Will you really run out of food in one day? Relax, New York. Seriously, maybe take a breather on this one.

Thank you for reading this far. Really, good job. Be sure keep an eye out for more articles like this by following my Twitter or my Instagram for post updates!

All opinions are my own and images are mine or were obtained with permission.