What I do know is that today, what is being called a winter storm, with lots of snow, is what I would call a blizzard. It's been falling all day. At times, I couldn't see 9th Avenue from my perch on the 20th floor, looking west, from halfway between 7th and 8th Avenue.
Looking west over Madison Square Garden
Predictably, a lot of people left work early. We have a lot of bridge and tunnel types, so they wanted to get an early start, expecting delays regardless. A lot of people are not coming in tomorrow.
When I got home, the snow was still blowing, and I got my first taste of it with the wind - where I work, I can make it from my floor to the subway without having to really go outside. It was blowing! Making my way down the hill was a little treacherous. The snow was definitely powder, bt compress to a granular skidding texture. Everyone crouch-walked down the hill.
At the bottom, on front of my building, a cab was on the median. This is also an exit/entrance to the George Washington Bridge. I took a picture before I realized the drive was still inside. He didn't like it. I realized later he probably thought I was reporting him or something.
I've seen several snowstorms in NYC - there was 1998, or was it 1999? 2001 was big, the first one where work was canceled. 2006 had another, I think. But this one, this one is setting records, even records set by its predecessors.
What's been weird lately is we'll get a bunch of snow, it will stick, it will thaw, the weather will get bizarrely warm, and then well do it all over again. This is the third major snow we've had lately, and while it's much bigger than the rest, I have to wonder how long it will last.
