Evening Update: December 26, 2010

I got out of Linden, NJ at 12:30 this afternoon. It had been snowing lightly since 10 AM and the roads immediately around Mom's house were already dusted. The roads more heavily traveled were melted but with temperatures only in the mid to lower 20s there were pockets of black ice on the Parkway, I-78, Rt 24, I-287 and I-80. I slid a few times when breaking and fish-tailed a couple of times when accelerating before I flipped the switch to put the Tundra into 4 Wheel High. (Just to keep the front ...well, in front, mind you. I had no idea to increase my speed even with the 4-wheel option.) I totally lost track of the number of vehicles off to one side of the road or the other, the number of flashing lights from police cars responding to fender benders and ambulances responding to worse. There were even two places where fire trucks had been called out; presumably to handle fuel spills. And that was all in New Jersey. Once in PA the number was just one and that was just across the border. The amount of snow on the ground (or falling) decreased quickly. As I climbed up onto the Pocono Plateau there was virtually nothing happening. And, as I moved west of the I-81 intersection, the snow stopped completely...until I got within 30 miles of home.

I made the turn west on I-80 then north on Rt 15 with no more snow on the ground or in the air until I reached Fry's Turkey Farm. Then both the snow and wind started to increase. There were three inches of snow on the driveway with several inches more forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

Calling Terry--who is staying in Linden until Tuesday, I learned 1) there were already 3-4 inches on the ground in Linden and the worst of the storm was just arriving (10-15 forecast) and 2) Rick and Sandy's flight for Monday was canceled but they managed to get seats for Tuesday morning...out of La Guardia instead of JFK. I just hope for their sake that it gets off on time.