As snow blankets the northeastern United States, snarls traffic and shoves residents indoors, Yahoo News readers are sharing their storm experiences. Here are dispatches, photos and videos they shared this morning. Interested in contributing? Learn more. (All times on posts are ET.)
4:53 p.m.
Fun, not fretting, in Maine's blizzard
READFIELD, Maine?The day before a storm of any size, our area the grocery stores and gas stations get overrun with customers. Everyone trying to not only stock up on food and necessities for the possible three days of not wanting to be on the roads, but also collecting water, batteries and something for heat just in case we spend a week or so without power.
It is like a game to most of us. We all sit around trying to guess as to how many inches of snow we will end up getting and how many days we will go without power if at all. I personally love the feeling of being surrounded by snow and to be able to sit in my living room and just watch the beauty happen around me.
Oh, the work? You want to know about the work side of it? Well, with each storm, there does come a lot of responsibility, but, hey, we are Mainers. We can handle it. Have your shovels handy and your plow on and you will be fine. Make it fun. There is no need to be stressed out.
? Angela Godbout
4:40 p.m.
Bitten by Sandy, taking this storm seriously
STAMFORD, Conn.?Storm-weary residents here, once bitten by Sandy, are preparing for the worst. Store shelves were empty and lines at gas stations resulted in wait times of as long as 30 minutes last night, as residents prepared to be trapped inside their homes. Water, road salt, and shovels were in short supply. Optimistically, plastic sleds were also sold out.
The snow fall is alternating between heavy and light. It seems to fall at inches per hour, only to change to very light flakes. It's a heavy, wet, sticky snow on the ground, making shoveling a back-breaker. There's no significant wind to speak of and, thus far, no significant damage, injuries, or power outages reported.
The blizzard will continue throughout the day and into Saturday, with the heaviest snowfall expect in the evening. Connecticut's Gov. Dan Malloy is declaring a state of emergency with road closures to begin at noon.
We have adequate supplies of staple foods, gas for the snow-blower, and flashlights and batteries. We checked our property for potential problems and found none (fortunately, no trees are within striking distance of our house). The storm is finding us well-prepared, well-stocked, and ready to spend a weekend indoors.
? David J. Kozlowski
3:24 p.m.
Tempers flares, shelves stripped in central Jersey as storm arrives
MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J.?Starting Thursday, residents here began stocking up on food, batteries, snow shovels, and gasoline. Those lucky enough to have generators don't want to risk running out of gas, which may be as hard to find after this storm as it was after "Superstorm" Sandy.
Thousands of flights have been canceled at Newark and other New York-area airports. The parking lot at the local Stop & Shop was jammed, as people stripped shelves of milk, bread, and bottled water. Tempers frayed and a horn-blowing contest erupted over a parking space-- if the participants had not been senior citizens, fisticuffs would probably have taken place instead.
As of noon, the temperature is hovering around 30 degrees with a steady rain. The rain is expected to change to snow later this afternoon, with an accumulation of six to 12 inches forecast for central Jersey by the time the storm moves out.
? E. Burgin
2:19 p.m.
Near white-out conditions in central New Hampshire
TILTON, N.H.?Weather conditions are worsening rapidly in central New Hampshire, with highway visibility and road navigation a major problem even in the early a.m. commute. Thick cloud cover at this time just added to the low visibility.
The right lane on RT 93 in New Hampshire is relatively clear, as you can see in the video, but passing cars in the left lane make visibility close to zero. I commuted from Tilton to Plymouth, N.H., at 8 a.m., about 30 miles and although the RT 93 was not slick or slippery, drivers who chose to drive below 50 MPH seemed to compound the problem as other vehicles stacked up behind them, and ultimately passed them, creating a potential sliding and collision hazard.
The snow spray from the passing vehicles produced complete white-out conditions for the remaining vehicles when cars and trucks passed us.
Franconia Notch is a total white-out driving situation, as one Thornton driver reported after he turned back from his commute and returned home.
Expect back roads to be even worse than RT 93. Though the plows are out in full force, they cannot keep up with the high rate of snow falling at this time. State troopers can be seen parked along RT 93 and are closely monitoring the situation.
Main streets are already sloppy, and I was sliding down hilly side roads, or unable to drive up steep roads. I saw no accidents during this early morning commute, but I am sure that has changed by the time this is published. It was a very tense drive.
Staying at home is strongly suggested if at all possible.
? J.D. Harvey
Emptying shelves in a supermarket. (AndrewDallow/Flickr)
2:04 p.m.
The Blizzard of 2013, aka the Great Raid on Dunkin? Donuts
TORRINGTON, Conn.?I took the day off, as the predicted historic snowstorm approached in Connecticut. I decided to venture out this morning for some breakfast while the roads were still passable. My wife asked me to pick up some donuts while I was out, so I proceeded to the local grocery store where there is a Dunkin' Donuts.
To my dismay there wasn't a donut left on the shelf.
I figured I had to go to the main store where I was sure there would be some since it was only 10 a.m.
As I pulled up to the main Dunkin' Donuts store, I could see through the window that it was going to be slim pickings.
Nothing. Dunkin' Donuts does not have donuts!
I asked the girl behind the counter why a donut shop doesn't have donuts at 10 a.m. She told me that people were coming in and buying dozens of donuts at a time. Dozens of donuts? Is this some kind of an emergency staple I don't know about?
? Richard Farr
1:18 p.m.
Already drawing comparisons to 1978
NEWPORT, R.I.?Here on the coast, we're preparing for what has the potential to be a storm as severe of the great blizzard of 1978. Almost 35 years ago to the day, that storm left massive amounts of snow on the entire northeastern United States.
Grocery stores and supermarkets were bombarded overnight with people preparing for a long freeze-out this weekend. Lines are winding around gas stations here as the storm approaches. A state of emergency was put in to place at noon, so it would be best to stay off the roads unless there is an emergency.
The state was prepared for this since last night. Classes were canceled at high schools across the state. All RIPTA buses, including the non-medical ride program, were canceled at noon on Friday in anticipation of the coming storm. People who require public transportation can follow them on Facebook and Twitter at @RIPTA_RI to stay up-to-date with when service will be restored. Residents can sign up for news updates, which will update them of service changes.
? Eric Jonathan Martin
1:02 p.m.
Storm increasing pace in southern Maine
BUCKSPORT, Maine?Somewhere around 7 a.m., it started to flurry fairly hard, and the storm steadily increased its pace. There is already a few inches of snow as of now (1 p.m.), and this is not even the actual storm. That is supposed to hit sometime early this evening and continue into tomorrow.
There?s a 19-car pile-up on I-295 in southern Maine, and there have been a number of sirens heard locally in town. If you don't need to go out, I would suggest not, and if you must, please take it slow and do it soon. From what we are being told, the worst is yet to come.
? Matthew Johnson
10:58 a.m.
The flakes are starting to appear in Rhode Island
NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I.?The sky looks grey and menacing. I went to the supermarket Thursday morning (along with at least 100 other people who seemed to have the same idea) and made sure I had enough food. The woman in the checkout line before me said the parking lot was in chaos and everybody was acting like the end of the world was coming. I thought it was very funny, and also very accurate. Now I am warm and safe indoors, and there is nothing to do except wait.
There is a feeling of impending doom and my joints ache. I'm not looking forward to this, but I'm as prepared as I can get. I don't drive due to a medical condition, and ironically I have often found that it is actually faster for me to walk right after a snowstorm, since I can be downtown in 15 minutes.
That advantage goes away after the first day or so because they don't pay much attention to the pedestrians and the priority, understandably, goes to the motorists. People like me are having to deal with ice, slush, and all kinds of yuck. The plows have to dump the snow somewhere, though, and it is usually right where I need to walk. So I have to either find a way around it, or climb over a slippery hill and hope that I don't fall on my behind, or worse, fall and land in the road in front of a car.
I'm also hoping the power won't go off. Or if it does, that it will only be off for a little while. The heat in this apartment is electric, and it will get really cold in here really fast.
? Melanie Gibson
The first of the snowfall in central Connecticut. (Christa Leigh/Yahoo! Contributor Network)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/ice-slush-kinds-yuck-residents-stories-storm-210000704.html
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