love it love it!!!very nice pics. Mr. Brad out there doin the work nicely!!! ;) the snow is incredible here i cant believe it we have upper 50s in a few days almost 60s also! just VBs crazy weather!!! post again soon- Justin in Vb

Hey Justin...Yep, need to get my son out there...but he and his friends are making ramps for snowboarding....so I guess that it will be me and the hubby outside again..

Here is the most recent pic...it is still snowing like we are in the snowbelt section of NY!!!

I guess that I have my Christmas Picture for next year!!!

Laura in VB

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Looks like y'all got into the heavy stuff for sure, according to the radar it's about over with here & a couple of inches for a total. West of here amounts were higher. Look'in for spring already!!!

About 11:20 am
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About 8:20 am
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Really great snow pics everyone! If this is what the snow did to the south then I cant imagine what its going to do here! The wind is really picking up now and we might get some whiteout conditions soon (and maybe some blackouts!). Pics will be coming soon, but not of snowcovered palms since I have them all covered up in their protection! Usually the protection gets a few degrees warmer when their is snow on the ground so they are probably enjoying the warm temperatures!
Stay safe!
-Alex

Hey Alex,

Be careful up there...the wind is whipping up here causing some whiteout conditions...then it seems to be pretty quiet...pretty strange weather...Batten Down the hatches!!!

Stay safe and warm!!!

Laura in VB

Thanks Laura! Same here. Its windy for maybe 20 minutes and then it slows down for a half hour and starts again! We already have about 2 and a half inches on the ground with a lot more coming overnight. I took a few good pics and will be posting soon!
Good luck everyone!!
-Alex

Hey Alex and Laura,
We got about 4 inches of snow yesterday.It actually snowed in Atlanta on Christmas.First time sine 1833,that actually accumulated.It's been snowing off and on all day today.Sometimes big flakes with wind that feels like it goes straight through whatever cloths you have on.We provably got another inch today.We've broke records last winter and now this one.It's gonna get down to 18 degrees Monday night and 19 Tuesday night.

Good luck with all your palms Laura.

Good luck to you to Alex.

I always wandered what a white Christmas is like,now I know.It can go away now,LOL.

Good luck to all of you up north.
Randy

Great pics you guys! Maybe the new pics for a Jimmy Buffet Christmas cd cover lol.

Laura, what kinds of temps have you been dealing with?

Congrats on the snow butiaman! Definitely must have been a memorable christmas! Hope it was a great one!
Right now there is 15 inches of snow on the sidewalk by me and officially 9 inches not counting the snow drifts! Still 5 to 8 more inches to go!
Stay safe everyone! Ill post some pics soon and am taking some now!
-Alex

temps here in Va Bch most of the day were 34*F then as approx 2pm im guessing started dropping and now at 10:30 pm we are around 28*F. This snow is crazy we are not used to this its a blizzard!!! I see Dixie you got a very light nice dusting with some rain mix. i will post pics in a few of some i took today...-Justin in Vb

Hey Alex,

We have at least 14 inches and it is still snowing...
They say this is the biggest snow storm in one hundred years for our area... I can't believe that you have that much snow so far..and they are forecasting more? Be safe and good luck to you...I will be watching for your reports!!!

Islandbreeze...thanks, I would love to have Jimmy use my pictures!!! Have any connections? LOL...

our temps here are right at 32 degrees with them dropping overnight into the mid 20's...last week, we had temps down into the 20's during the day...now next week they are predicting day time temps into the low 50's.

Hi Randy!! Sounds like you all are really having a hard freeze...I hope all of your plantss are protected..I'm sure you have them all tucked in and safe!!! Hope you had a great Holiday!!!

Still snowing... It's wonderful...but I have had enough!!!
LOL.....

Take care everyone!!

Laura in VB

frozen water fountain in front of a neighbors yard.

sorry for blue hard to see pics. it was evening time and snowstorm with my phone camera... i will have many more pics tomorrow. beautiful pics Mrs. laura and Dixie keep those plants safe and hope to hear from everyone soon! -Justin in Vb

Wow, the south was hit again. For us this looks like the worst combo of H. Snow, wind in a 12 hour period. So far 17 inches in Brooklyn and still snowing at 2" an hour. The wind is up the 70 mph on the coast.

Hey, I was thinking last year we already had the big storm for the decade. Humm .. where's global warming?

Laura, you do have your Christmas Picture. Hope the palms are OK. They are predicting a warm up to the 40s by Fri.

Great photos everyone!

Here are some of my photos from Smithfield VA. For those that do not know, Smithfield is on the west side of the VA Beach area. Basically the western edge. Once you get past there its alot of open country, farms and forests. Anyway These were taken in the height of the storm when it was snowing 2-3" per hour with 50+MPH wind gusts. There was about 12-13" on the ground in this photos, and Smithfield ended up with 15". THe drive home back to Northern VA was also fairly crazy. It was like driving through Siberia. 6-8foot snow drifts, 50+mph winds, ground blizzards, and much of the highways were recovered with snow. The ground blizzards were so bad in places we had to slow to 10 mph, and they blocked out the sun! I have not seen anything like that since the 70's when we lived in the open country in Central VA. It was a sight to see for sure.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos!

Really amazing photos guys/gals,thanks to all of you that
take the time to go out and document storms like these
for the rest of us to enjoy from out warm houses!

I won't bother with the little tiny storms we get here (-;

Great pics!

Great stuff jim you always make me chuckle. Im amazed to see other people react to situations we deal with every year. Dont get me wrong I dont want anyone to loose any of there palms. People on this board are very nice and well informed when sharing infor and pics all year around. Everyone on the east coast is ok through the new year and hope for a very globaly warmed 2011.

Great pics Novaplantguy! Looks like somewhere in Northern Canada in those shots! Hopefully the snow melts soon. Some parts of my yard already have a lot of melted snow, but most of it barely melted at all!
Good luck!
-Alex

LOL @ Jim. Well, up north this is NORMAL. You guys are covered in snow, and rather deeply for months and months on end. This was the largest storm for the Va Beach metro area in over 100 years. 12-15" of snow is still a considerable amount no matter where you are. However, in a place that it rarely snows, and when it does its usually more like an inch or so, not a foot, its a BIG DEAL. They almost never even get a foot in an entire winter, or even several winters in a row. The Va Beach area is NOT equipped to deal with this type of snowfall / blizzards. Noreasters there are usually more rain and wind, and almost never ALL snow like this one was.

They only have a few hundred (if that) trucks / snow removal equipment for a metro area of 2.5 million people. They were forced to call in back up equipment from Northern Va (where I live) in order to even attempt to deal with this amount of snow, let alone blizzard conditions, blowing and drifting snow and snow drifts of several feet.

A quick word on Global Warming. Just because the global climate is warming, does not mean everywhere will experience "warmer" weather phenomena. The warming climate causes more EXTREMES in weather. Larger, more severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, noreaster's, weather fronts, droughts, floods...etc. This also includes winter time extremes in terms of cold, ice storms and snow falls. Keep in mind that the United States Navy predicts that the polar ice cap (arctic) will be completely GONE in the summer months by the year 2050.

In all seriousness,we really don't see the kind of snowstorms that
you guys see from Washington up to the north.

I don't think I have seen one storm of more than 6-8" here in ten years living here in southern Iowa.

We are right on the edge of where the snow stays almost all winter and should see it all disappear by Thursday-this makes for quite a temp swing across the state-
some places were down around 0(F) while here we were around 20(F) last night.

When I lived in St.Louis we had 2 storms of 18" and 20" with thunder and lightning.

I have a feeling we will finally get a big snow here as we are overdue,have you guys had enough yet on the east coast?

(-;

Below is an interesting blog on recent snowstorms,global warming and some other blogs.

41(F) here in town right now,our weather station,at the airport is in a field of snow......

Here is a link that might be useful: Blog

Alex,

Thanks! It is a pretty area down there for sure, and is very similar, if not almost identical to eastern NC. TONS, and I do mean TONS of water all around you. Every where you go is water/ marsh / swamp. It is one of the places I am considering moving to in fact. It is warm enough to support palms, live oaks, spanish moss, and many other southern species, yet cool enough that it still can support some northern conifer species. Basically its *almost* the best of both worlds. Home prices and the cost of living down there is nothing compared to how expensive it is up here in the D.C. Metro. Granted, for certain jobs / lines of work the wages down there are also much lower, but for us, we probably would not take too much of a hit. We would most likely end up with a pretty big net gain in terms of income vs COL. Same is true for the Tampa / St. Pete area.

Jim, you really dont get big snows like that? I thought you were kidding and you got much bigger snows / worse storms.
One of the things about those southern storms is that they are rather warm. Last winter up here when we had our 3 blizzards, it was in the low to mid teens, with 50 mph winds and thundersnow. Down there it was about 29F. Noticeably warmer, at least to me. I was able to go "gloveless" for extended periods of time in the storm down there. Up here I can go gloveless for a couple minutes before your hands start to sting and go numb.

Don't forget to check out the photos I posted in This Thread for my pics of Va Beach the day before the storm. Palms and Spanish moss in those photos! =o)

Novaplantguy, it looks like a really beautiful area and probably pretty mild because of all the southern pine forest. Also noticed a few horses in the pic that dont look too happy to be covered in the snow! Ill check out your other pics in a few!
Jim, Im really surprised at how little snow you usually get! Usually we dont get a lot of snow here and 6 inches is the worst that a storm usually brings, but this storm is really one for the record books! We have NEVER gotten this much snow in my area (29 inches!). The side streets are still dangerous and their are cars stranded in the middle of the roads. Some streets arent plowed and only the main roads are safe from ice. I really hope that their isnt any snow for the rest of the winter. 29 inches is already more snow than we get on average for the entire winter and I never thought I would see that from just one storm! I have now realized how much I really hate the snow!
Good luck!
-Alex

Hello Everyone,

Jim you are correct that we do get very excited about our storms...but like Ken ( which was well said!!) talked about, we are not prepared for these extreme snow storms.
You all are more prepared for ice storms, extreme low temps and are better prepered for them. That making you all more tolerant with these "snow storms". However, when our city spends our annual budget in one day due to our "blizzard" that should let everyone know that we are not use to these conditions...I know that others probably think we are alittle to excited about these storms...but we are Beach people...so we may get excited about this...but we haven't had these totals in snowfall for a very long time...

Thank goodness that you have the equipment to take care of your storms...as I remember from your other post...that beautiful picture of that ice covered tree. That must cause other problems for you all (power failures etc). Thank you for your great pics...

Ken..I love those pictures...what a beautiful place. I love Smithfield...great farms, good people, great hams!!!
I thought from the first picture of that beautiful poem by Robert Frost.."Walking Through The Woods On A Snowy Evening"
How beautiful..peaceful...I bet you really had a wonderful time!! I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to see each other...Hopefully next time! Are you thinking of moving down here? I certainly hope so...

Those horses looked very cold, to cold to be outside!!

Thanks for the kind words about how the beach isn't prepared for these storms...I know people in the snowbelt must think we are overreacting a bit..but the feelings are genuine and real!!! Thank you...

Take care everyone...

Laura in VB

I also like icicles...here are a few pics...

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Thanks everyone...stay warm!!!

Laura in VB

I LOVE ICICLES TOO!!! Those are fantastic photos of them!

Well, in all honesty, I think that the Va Beach metro area handled that blizzard WAY better than I expected them too, especially for a city that gets almost no snow. We left on Monday, and really the only place that was still very problematic (for cars anyway) was the neighborhood we were in. Even route 10 in Smithfield was mostly clear and wet. There was one small section of 17 right off of 64 up in the Hamption area that was solid ICE and looked as if it was untouched but it was only for about 10 blocks.

We are considering Va Beach as one of the places to move yes. Of course it is going to depend on lots of things, not the least of which is selling the condo that we own up here and being able to make at least a modest profit from it. I suppose if we broke even then we would just start over again with another VA loan for a home down there. We also do not live in the condo, we rent it out, and live in a house, so we would want to buy a house. Another big consideration is the temptation of how inexpensive the houses are in St. Petersburg, FL is really something we have to consider. a 150K home in St. Pete is usually much bigger / nicer than a 150K home in the Va Beach area. Generally speaking, your dollar goes considerably farther in St. Pete. That said, there are still some nice properties in the Va Beach area in that price range. Over all I think Va Beach is a pretty nice and livable area. I cant wait until The Tide Light rail opens, and I sure hope that after the extension study is done next fall they opt to extend The Tide all the way out to the ocean front. Rail is so much a better way to go than buses. Norfolk seems to be FINALLY starting to recover from its blight. I really honestly wish they (the government) had never torn down most of the city in an attempt at "urban Renewal). I cant imagine how beautiful all those historic buildings ( which are now gone) would have been, and how it would have bade downtown Norfolk much more of a destination than an industrial center.

Icicles really are great for pictures! A sign of snow finally melting! Thanks for sharing!
-Alex

wow!what a storm, im glad to see everybody's doing good,we got 8 to 10 inches down here in central NC,so i wanna join the artic palm gang and share some of my pix.

my daughters in front of my 3 yr old windmill on christmas day at noon.

Great pics! At least its nice to of had a white christmas for the first time in so long! Cool snowman too! You know your in the south when you use spanish moss on a snow man!!
Thanks for sharing!
-Alex

Everyone has such clear great pics. I have to post some soon too. Nova, I am surprized how bad the storm and winds got in VA. You cought the winter mood well, and Laura's shots are so clear that they are fun to scroll thru and see over again.

Justin and ncpalm, I am surprized you guys did not cover the palm buds for your recent plantings. Its finally melting some here, but i would cover them while I still had a chance to minimize any damage.

Hello Everyone,

Alex...If I had my choice between Va. Beach vs St Pete...I would have to go south my friend!!! Even though I was born and raised here...I love the St. Petersburg area!!!

It willl be great for the Light Rail to connect Norfolk to Va Beach...but the cost is so high for the taxpayers...not many here are real excited about it...If I worked downtown like I did years ago, I would hop on that rail prettty quickly. A great way to avoid the traffic jams on the interstate!!!

NcPalmZone,

Great pics of the snow...love the one of your kids...How cute they are!!!

Hello Greg!! How have you been? Lets see some pics..I know that you have some...or else you are still baking lemon squares from that Huge lemon!!! LOL....What was the name of that lemon tree? I am thinking Ponderosa...but I might be wrong... My brain is still freezing from this snow!!LOL...

Alex...the icicles are even longer...I ill take another pic and post it later for you...I would hate to be under one of those daggers!!!....hmmm...My hubby better watch out!!! LOL...Only Kidding of course!!! : )

Great pics and comments everyone!

I would be excited about a 10-20 or 30"+ snowstorms too!

No doubt I will post a million pics(when/if), so be forewarned!

They do have the equipment here to deal with it for sure as
these events are frequent here...just not in those amounts (lately?).

Like you guys on the east coast,when there is enough moisture pulled up
from the gulf(Atlantic in your case) we usually get a lot of "warmth" pulled into the storm too,
we missed the last big snow because of an inch of rain
wrapped up into the system.

So,these are somewhat rare events but they do happen,just mostly west are north (or even south of here)
I have a feeling this could be the year(he says that every year!),enjoy the snow while it last you guys.

Looks like a big(if only short lived)warmup the next few days,then we actually get
normal temps around here with no snow cover for a change!

those icecicles are much larger than they look on here are some about 2' in length Mrs. Laura? very very nice as i drove my mom around yesterday to look for icecicles haha. very very nice pics ncpalm zone super with the kids and snow everywhere your palms look great! -Justin in Vb

Looking forward to that warmup! Day 3 here and some streets still arent plowed or are a mess. We can definitely handle normal amounts of snow, but nothing like this! I wish that the warm up coming was as strong as the cold air we have been getting all December! That would mean a warmup with temperatures 20 degrees above average which would be temperatures in the 60s! Instead we will be at or just above average with sunshine and temperatures in the mid 40s for a day or 2.
Good luck!
-Alex

Nova, the reason these types of record-breaking snows are more common near our coasts is that we are closer to a source of abundant, deep tropical moisture--the Gulf Stream. It's the interaction between the tropical air masses and the arctic that create these types of deep snows. True arctic climates are also desert climate and all forms of precip are much lower. The thing that's been unusually about last winter and this winter is how FAR south the arctic air masses have invaded. All the biggest snowstorms in the Northeast are basically southern, Gulf of Mexico storms that eventually ride the coastline. PS., Your pics are gorgeous and come as close to paradise as any issue I might imagine!

Hi Laura, I guess your fist comments were in fact for me since I commented on the light rail. haha! It may be a tax burden now, but the benefits of mass transit for such a large metropolitan area (34th largest in the US I think) are far worth it, especially in the future.

St. Pete is fantastic isnt it. It is very beautiful there. The only thing for me is that it is so incredibly just flat down there, and almost too warm year round. The closest alpine environments are flights away too. Since I have a thing for conifers and boreal forest as well I like to see it and do my hiking / backpacking in high altitudes (over 4,000 feet) and it just simply is not a an easy drive. A place like Va Beach it is an easy drive. Va Beach is also cold enough to support some conifer species that I just simply could not grow down in St. Pete at all.

Justin, It may not be as long as March until I come back. It may be sooner. like late Jan / Feb. I'd like to take a few trips down there this year, including in warm weather. I also want to visit Lake Drummond, as well as the Back Bay area, and NE, NC.

NJ Oasis, thank you for the compliments. Yeah, I know all about the gulf stream, arctic air masses and the noreasters they create. But snow is a pretty rare thing in Va Beach, let alone 12+ inches all at once! That happens maybe once every hundred years or so. Most often those bad noreasters are rain down there. The Gulf stream does alot more to warm the climate there than any other factor involved. This time they got lucky. (or unlucky as it were.)

Hey Ken...sorry, I called you Alex!!! Brainfreeze still in effect...yes, that was for you.. : )

You make a great point about what you like to do, hike etc.
Here you have the best of both worlds...Mountains only 2 1/2 hours away...Ocean at your back door...and the four seasons..especially fall with the colors so vivid in the mountains...My son goes to Va Tech, and loves to come home to the ocean, then go back to school and head back to the mountains...He just loves it!!! GO HOKIES...ps Va Tech plays in the Orange Bowl on the 3rd...(can you tell I a proud Mom!! LOL)

Take care everyone!!!

Laura in VB

Hello Everyone,

Justin...you are so right!!! You made me go outside and measure those icicles...Guess how long they are? 49 Inches or 4feet one inch!!! That is unbelievable, so I had to take another shot and here they are...

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Take care everyone!!!

Laura in VB

Hi Laura,

Is photography your hobby? I have to post my wreath pic after the blizzard:)

Its interesting to see my palm houses covered in such deep snow 4-5 feet in some spots. I heard it insulates them and I am counting on it... lol

Had some 12 footers last year,the combination of constant cold and sun melting the snow
off the(very steep roof)created some seriously over achieving icicles!

awww thank you ms.Laura and mr Justin for kind compliments.Both your sabals look like their taking a beating but sabals are known for their toughness so no worries 2 more months till warmer weather!

Hello everyone!!!

Hi Greg!!! I have always enjoyed taking pics...I would love to take a class sometime...but I just love looking at things from a different angle!!! I really miss the old cameras...35mm where I could manually work the camera..I do love the digital cameras..but I feel that I had more control from the old timers!!! "trying not to show my age!!!" LOL...

Jim..I would love to see pics of those icicles...I find them quite fascinating...I especially love the ice covered tree too! There is a pic when I sign onto the photobucket page...there is an ice covered tree that look like yours..check it out!!! It;s a beauty...but yours was more massive than this one...

ncpalm...I wish that it will be 2 months...more like 3 for us...The sabals are very hardy!!! But I'm not going to take a chance on the weight on the fronds...My hubby helps alot...when he needs help tying up the boat during hurricanes...I don't complain...because I know that he will help and paybacks are great!!! LOL...

Take care everyone...Happy New Year!!!

Laura in VB

I'll take some pics next time,luckily none around now
after upper 50s yesterday and 50s today!

No snow on the ground...Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Laura,

Yeah I think I really would miss the high Appalachian / Allegheny mountains and seeing the high altitude alpine sphagnum / cranberry bogs, sub alpine / boreal forests and the Red Spruce, Balsam Fir in their native habitats. It is such a beautiful and very rare environment up there, and I really do enjoy being close enough to do day and / or weekend trips to it.

Fantastic icicle photos!!! Maybe you can get some photos of how the snow has melted and what things look like now for us? I hope everything is going to be just fine and bounce right back. Another thing I love about the southeast coastal areas aside from the mild climate is the huge southern pine forests. I've always loved the sound the wind makes coming through the pines and spruce trees in both areas. =o)

Happy New Year Everyone!

Hi Ken.

I will do that for you tomorrow!!! Great idea!!

Laura in VB

Hello Ken,

As of this post...rain has been steady falling and there is no trace of any snow left!!! I am very pleased, but kind of sad at the same time...

Hope all is well up north!!

Laura in VB

I should've took more pics, it got insane here too, we also got 15 inches with drifts higher than 6 feet, some parts of the metro got 30+ inches. This is easily the worst snowstorm I experienced in NYC/LI/NJ. Even when there was just 3 inches on the ground it was serious.

It's been in the 50's for like 3 days straight and it's melting at a rapid pace, even before that it was melting.

The grass went from green to "winterish" (it looks extra muddy and nasty), and it's now January and I saw the last green leaves on a tree turning brown yesterday, never saw leaves stay "alive" that long.

The 7 to 9" of snow is almost completely melted here, except for piles. This is the first winter for this Dunstan grapefruit. Pics taken Monday.

Here are various things on the SE side of the house; pomegranate, trachys, minors, louisiana, Choisya ternata, and a variegated Distylium racemosum.

Hey Steve,

Everything looks great!! The Grapefruit tree looks like it weathered the snowfall fine...

Lets hope that we have a reprieve from the large snowfalls and hard freezes...

cfa li....You are so right about this being one huge snowstorm...one that will soon not be forgotten!!

Did you take any pics of the snowfall? It happens so fast..then you blink and then its gone!! I know how you feel...always wish that I had my camera..after the fact!!

Sorry to hear about the last of the green leaves...winter has finally shown his big cold breath!!!

Take care everyone!!!

Laura in VB