Snow ??

Pandot

Scout
Sep 30, 2008
98
0
Sweetwater
This will be my second winter in South Jersey. I thought winters would be easier in these parts... I thought wrong. Apparently, we've come down here just in time for some quirky weather systems to play out and take hold. The forecast I use zeroes in on Elwood, and so far, I don't believe the Weather Service has been wrong with our snow amounts- well, let me clarify that- we've gotten at LEAST as much as they've predicted!
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
We now are under a blizzard warning. On the map below, orange is blizzard warning. That sure came on quick.

4330523911_50e2141f0c_o.jpg



...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM FRIDAY TO 7 PM EST
SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM FRIDAY TO 7 PM EST
SATURDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

A STORM SYSTEM DEVELOPING OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO TODAY WILL PASS
OFF THE CAROLINA COAST FRIDAY NIGHT AND THEN CONTINUE TO THE
NORTHEAST ON SATURDAY. SNOW FROM THIS SYSTEM WILL OVERSPREAD THE
REGION FROM SOUTH TO NORTH FRIDAY AFTERNOON...THEN CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH
OF SATURDAY. SNOWFALL TOTALS OF 12 TO 18 INCHES ARE EXPECTED NEAR THE
DELAWARE AND CENTRAL NEW JERSEY COAST WITH UP TO 24 INCHES
POSSIBLE OVER SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY AND THE CENTRAL DELMARVA.
STRENGTHENING WINDS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY WILL CREATE BLOWING
AND DRIFTING SNOW WHICH WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO UNDER ONE-
QUARTER MILE AT TIMES.

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR
VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. CONTINUE TO
MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS FROM YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
That blizzard warning just makes work for me. This storm is shaping up to be an historic nor'easter, which means I have to get up into the attic and board up the north facing gable vent or else we get a winter wonderland in the attic. Found this out the hard way one winter storm when a drip-drip-drip woke me up at 2 in the morning. Shoveling 6 inches of snow into garbage bags balancing on the rafters in an attic is no fun. :argh:
 

gipsie

Explorer
Sep 14, 2008
547
67
55
atlantic county
That blizzard warning just makes work for me. This storm is shaping up to be an historic nor'easter, which means I have to get up into the attack and board up the north facing gable vent or else we get a winter wonderland in the attic. Found this out the hard way one winter storm when a drip-drip-drip woke me up at 2 in the morning. Shoveling 6 inches of snow into garbage bags balancing on the rafters in an attic is no fun. :argh:

For me...

Balancing on rafters = FUN!

Shoveling anything = NO FUN!
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
For NWS fans, snowfall estimates. I really can't see how they can be so specific, down to the tenth of an inch.

StormTotalSnowFcst.png
 

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,551
2,809
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
Well the numbers are going up. This morning it was showing about 12" in Philadelphia and now it shows about 18". My home was showing between 19" and 19.5", now it shows between 21" and 22".

It started snowing lightly here about 5:00PM. Nothing is sticking yet.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Last one deleted.

If anyone has a high efficiency heating system that vents out the side of the house, might want to keep an eye on it so it doesn't get covered with snow. Ours is 24" high by code and drifting snow could be a problem.
 

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,551
2,809
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
Haha.. that brings back some memories 46er! I was an early adopter of that technology ~1985 when I lived in upstate NY. The company hadn't installed them before and put the vents too close to the ground where they got covered with snow drifts regularly (it wasn't unusual to get 3 feet of snow at a time up there!). First time that happened it really freaked me out when the heat shut down during a blizzard. After I figured out what was happening, I built a little "roof" over the vents and it pretty much fixed the problem.

That was a Ruud 90%+ efficiency unit, and the heat exchanger rusted out after a couple years. The warranty paid for a new furnace since it had a recall. Then about two years later they replaced it again on another recall. They must have really lost their shirts on those early models. :)
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
The bigger problem is the exhaust side. Most retrofits exhaust out the side since the air is not hot enought to go up the chimney. Could wake up dead if that gets covered.

Our cabin had a Buderus hydronic system, exhausted out the side with a power vent. The cabin had a basement so the vent was about 4' off the ground. Still had to watch it depending on the wind direction.
 

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,551
2,809
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
Yes, my system had PVC piping for both intake and exhaust that went out a basement window. If the intake sensor wasn't satisfied by the amount or quality of air coming in, the furnace wouldn't light. I don't ever remember a problem with the exhaust, but I see your point.

I have about 2 inches of snow here now BTW. :)
 

lakesgirl

Explorer
Jan 3, 2010
133
0
collings lakes
Last one deleted.

If anyone has a high efficiency heating system that vents out the side of the house, might want to keep an eye on it so it doesn't get covered with snow. Ours is 24" high by code and drifting snow could be a problem.


thanks for posting this....i wouldn't have thought about the heater vent. our's is near the "L" of our house and would get covered by a drift......thanks again!
 
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