Rant: Winter Weather

[Leroy]

Some Bismarck, ND numbers. The two highest season snowfall totals since the 1950's:

1996-1997 101.7"
2008-2009 100.6"

Those are the only two with over 100". We are currently at 47.3" with a few days left of December (the last record available is the 18th). '96-'97 is the one everyone still talks about in South Dakota. So much snow, and never got warm to melt any off until April, when everything flooded. I started work in a town 100 miles from the wife, and the drive back and forth was like driving a car through a bobsled track. At a town called Bowdle, SD, there was actually a tree strip covered with snow. You could see a foot or two of the tree tops.

We were at 2 above over noon hour on the 19th, other than that we have been below zero since the evening of the 18th, last Sunday. And Bismarck is kind of the warmer section of ND. We are looking to breakout and hit the 20's on Sunday, but with all this snow around, I have my doubts.

Just a brutal week.

[sighyoung]

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

It’s [expletive] cold.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

The storm that blew through here
1. [expletive] up my Christmas lifts.
2. Froze a pipe in my attic.

I only fixed the frozen pipe. That was enough work for me.

The Christmas lights will be tomorrow.

Ran a couple miles outside and it was miserable. Otherwise just been in the warm drinking whisky and red wine.

[haltz]

Found it! That was a fun hour after things started to thaw.

[SHOW]

[Fat_Bulldog]

This is a good rant. I hate winter. I hate it.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Looks like my wife, daughter and I are stuck in Southwests meltdown trying to get home from visiting family. Thankfully we are not stranded in an airport buy it will cost significant money and probably time in booking alternate travel.

I had no idea how far SWA had fallen in the years since we used them. I noticed our surly flight attendants on the way here but had no idea of the systemic problems with forced overtime.

Looks like this will be our last flight with SWA. Very disappointing.

[MrCrowesGarden]

Looks like my wife, daughter and I are stuck in Southwests meltdown trying to get home from visiting family. Thankfully we are not stranded in an airport buy it will cost significant money and probably time in booking alternate travel.

I had no idea how far SWA had fallen in the years since we used them. I noticed our surly flight attendants on the way here but had no idea of the systemic problems with forced overtime.

Looks like this will be our last flight with SWA. Very disappointing.

Truly sounds like they absolutely borked it and other airlines were happy to price gouge (saw a last-minute American Airlines flight from St. Louis to DC for $4500).

While it doesn't help with canceled flights, I have been reading about boarding compensation and using it to your advantage. If you're involuntarily bumped from a flight and it results in a delay of more than two hours to your final destination, you're entitled to 4x the cost of your ticket or $1550, whichever is lowest. Voluntary compensation, the airlines can offer anything. But, if you can get everyone booked on the flight not to take less than the involuntary compensation amount, then you benefit.

I should note this does not apply to canceled flights.

[Donnie Ebert]

If you live within Mendoza-line miles of Busch Stadium and have hatches, you may want to batten them before Sunday.

I promise to go home and inspect my snow shovels, find them shaved down on the edge and cracking and therefore ineffective, and then use them anyway when the snow arrives.

Also, searching for this thread resurfaced some of those epic Jim winter weather rant threads. I wonder if he moved to warmer climes.

[IMADreamer]

It's going to be a mess for sure. I really don't envy the St. Louis Meteorologist because this is going to be one tricky forecast with the ice potential and snow. I spend the day getting my plow tractor all ready to go so I can handle the alleged 15 inches we are supposed to get. I am not looking forward to it though.