UPDATED: (Monday 10th) - MAJOR STORM - ROCHESTER

ONE FOOT OF SNOW IS COMING TO ROCHESTER. It's 11:30 Thursday night. I have just listened to all 3 local weather reports on the news. This is a brief summery of them...

There is a winter storm watch in effect from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning. Approximately 12 inches of snow is coming to Rochester. We will also have some frozen precipitation in the form of sleet and freezing rain. The snow fall total is difficult to predict because the more frozen precipitation, the less snow we will get. They think about a foot. N.W. Monroe county by the lake should get more snow. This storm is similar to the one we got around Feb. 27. This will be a prolonged event Starting Friday into Sunday. Saturday will be the worst day. Actually there are two snow storms in this time period. I have post the links to all 3 local stations below, but as of now they have not updated to reflect the latest forecast.

Local Weather Links
WHAM 13 Weather
Rochester Homepage.Net News 8
News 10 WHEC

Saturday 11:30 P.M. Update-

If you can stay at home please do so, the roads are treacherous. The official Rochester snowfall as of 5:00 p.m. is 9.1 inches at the airport, 8 to 20 inches across the area. Plus sleet, and freezing rain which makes for slippery road conditions. Winds gusts of 30 to 40 mph.with whiteouts add to the problem. Dozens of accidents have been reported, including 2 teens from Henrietta that died in a weather-related car crash.

The weather caused several cancellations at Rochester airport. We have had scattered power outages. Many local events have been canceled due to the weather. And the storm is not over. We are in the beginning of the next phase, or some say the next storm.

Rochester, and surrounding areas have been hit by all kinds of precipitation- hail, freezing rain, sleet, snow, even thunder, and lightning in the gates area. It just depends what area you live in. We either got hail, or freezing rain here. I could hear it pounding rapidly against the window. There are many weather alerts out, and they are changing all the time. It's best to click the links above for the latest. The worst of the storm is this evening into Sunday morning. According to WROC ch. 8 on T.V. we should get 5 to 8 inches MORE of snow in the Rochester area, 8 to10 inches more near the lake. The storm should taper off tomorrow, but it will be colder. Due to the wind there will be white outs making driving tricky tomorrow. Use extra caution.

When it's all over snow fall totals are expected to be 12-18" in the Rochester area. 18-24 N.W. near the lake, and 8-12 towards the finger lakes. That's according to WHEC news 10. Wow!

SUNDAY UPDATE: 15.7 inches is the official storm snowfall total at the Rochester airport. (Wolcott 15", Hamlin 21", Gaines 24"). Yes, it's over for now, but they say that another storm is coming Friday. UG!

STORM AFTEREFFECTS:
~16,000 in central and eastern N.Y. still without power. "Power has been restored to some areas. The situation is still bad." "Warming centers" are open.

~ Winter weather clean-up begins.

~ Students at Rush-Henrietta deal with loss of two classmates. Their deaths are thought to be related to the storm.

~ Tow truck driver encountered "quite a few accidents", ..."very, very, busy non stop."

Personal note- I've been very fortunate this winter. I have only had one power outage, and that lasted only a few hours. You might wonder why I'm so interested in storms. On March 3-4, 1999, Rochester had a blizzard. We had 24.3" of snow within 24 hours. It was the second greatest snowfall here within 24-hour period. The blizzard was not forecast. I went to work, and was snowed in at work for 36 hours. The facility was good to us, but I much rather have been home. It was no picnic.

cartoon credit

CBS "Early Show" reports from Rochester, NY (Weather)

Dave Price from the CBS Early Show broadcasted the weather live from downtown Rochester this morning. He also talked live with News 8 Now at Sunrise. If you missed it, you can see the video. He summerised our situation by saying that we got "6 inches of snow, and expect 6 inches more". The rest of todays forecast- windy, gusts up to 30 mph, high18. Anchor Harry Smith kept saying, "Ra cha cha". It was Surreal seeing my city on a national program.

The weather made for a tricky morning commute with some accidents. The snow is likely to keep piling on. Parents were surprised to find that Rochester schools were not closed. Maybe snow days have been used up. It has been a difficult winter. I'm sure that some parents kept their children home.

The snow fall as of noon today is 9 inches at the airport. The storm is expected to continue until tonight, bringing another few inches of snow. About a foot of snow in all. The worst is over.

I talked with a woman who lives in Bushnell's Basin. She said that every time there is a storm her power has gone out, four times so far. And that was before this latest storm. It has been a difficult winter.

Well, it's time for me to get my shovel, and dig out my car like Mr. Dararaksmey in the photo. Hot cocoa will be my reward when I come in. ;o)

The Photo - Rich Dararaksmey of Rochester shovels to free his car from a heavy overnight snowfall on Morningside Park on Wednesday. Photo from D & C.

Rochester, N.Y - More Storms - UNCLE!

We had another storm starting Tuesday into today. It was another mixed precipitation storm that left a coating of slippery ice over everything, with snow on top. We had about 4 to 8 inches of snow in the area. We still had ice patches over everything streets, side walks, and lawns from the last storm. Now we have more of it. During the last storm, it took me an half hour to dig my car out of the ice, and it broke my ice scraper. We have had more of our share of these crazy mixed precipitation storms. I heard on the television that another storm of the same type will arrive Sunday night into Monday. It might be a big one. OK, I'm officially sick of Winter. UNCLE! Enough is enough!

Wednesday wintry mix- tricky commute

Sidewalks impassable for wheelchairs

By the way that is not a photo of me. It is an online photo that looks a bit like me, and my poor ice encased car.

(UPDATED) National News - Accident 36 Car pile up in Rochester, NY

I was sleepy, and had just closed my eyes when I heard the name of my city on the National news. "Rochester, NY, 30 plus car pile up." My eyes opened wide, I went to the internet. I am reading about it now with tears in my eyes. You can read about the accident in the links. This is a terrible tragedy!

Roads, and side walks are still very icy with snow covering them from our last storm. We had high winds today, white outs. A very dangerous mix.

My heart goes out to my neighbors. My thoughts, and prayers will be with those injured, family's of the injured and dead, and the other survivors.

News Blowing Snow Blamed for Chain Reaction Accident

UPDATED ON FEB. 11 ...

Democrat & Chronicle: 1 dead, 24 injured in I-390 pileup

Rochester Video: 36-car accident on 390, one dead

CNN Video: Snow causes 36-car accident

In the mist of it all, a man warned others. Flagging down on-coming traffic, warning them of the disaster in front of them. A search is on to find this man.

390 accident good samaritan

Folks this is like a mini 9/11 to Rochester. Please pray for the family, survivors, and the 5 people still hospitalized. One has a broken neck, and is in critical condition.

390 Pileup Could've Been Worse but for Good Samaritan

Added 2/12 - They found the Good Samaritan. Thank you Christopher Playford of Irondequiot, N.Y.!

Five remain in hospital after 36-car pile-up on 390

City school student killed in car pile up 17 year old Le Ngo died. Le was an aspiring musician, a volunteer at Highland Hospital and a honor student.

10 Tips On How To Prevent The Flu

Its flu season again. As a C.N.A I work with nurses, and have received some advice from them. Some of these suggestions are from the nurses.

1) Wash your hands often. (This is always stressed in the health care field).

2) If you work with people who have the flu. When you get home wash your clothes, take a shower, and wash your hair. Germs can get on your clothes, hair, and skin.

3) Don't touch your hands to your face, use your knuckle if you have to. Your hands can easily carry germs. Touch them to your eyes, mouth, nose, and you could transfer the germs.

4) Eat garlic and onions. Both work similarly to antibiotics.

5) Get some ZZZ's. Make sure to get lots of sleep.

6) See your doctor as soon as you have flu symptoms. Doctors can give your medication that may lessen the severity, and duration of the flu.

7) Eat properly. Eat foods that are good for you, like fruits and veggies. Try to stay away from junk foods, highly prepossessed foods, high sugar, and salt.

8) Drink 8 cups of water. Water flushes the body of impurities.

9) Be careful of door and faucet handles. They are handled by numerous people, and are a breading ground of germs. Touch them, and consider your hands to be full of germs. In the restroom, you can use a paper towel to turn off a faucet, and to open the door after you wash our hands.

10) Telephones are also loaded with germs. Not only are they touched often, but people who have the flu can cough, or sneeze into them. Use your cell phone if you can. If not, take a minute to clean a public phone with a disinfectant if you can.

Related Post: Flu season expected to get worse


More tips... CDC- Preventing Seasonal Flu

WebMD: 12 Natural Tips to Prevent a Cold (and Flu)

Reader's Digest- Prevent Colds and the Flu 23 ways.

BBC- Health Flu (Good basic overview)

NYC Health- This great site can lead you to many other links about the flu.

Yet Another Storm In Rochester

Good golly miss molly! Rochester had another storm Friday. It wasn't as bad as the one on Wednesday. We had mixed precipitation, snow, rain, freezing rain, and sleet. It was just below freezing so it became a mixture of ice, and slush on the roads. Treacherous driving. Some power outages, but not so bad. Mostly the roads were affected. It still looks icy out now, so I am staying put unless called into work.

Troopers reported more than 200 accidents along the New York State Thruway . concentrated along the stretch between Syracuse and Kingston. Unfortunately 4 deaths occurred.

USA Today: 4 Killed as storm brings ice, snow to N.Y. state.

13Wham News: Icy Roads Mush Up/Delays at Airport

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas by Bing Crosby

Cold As Ice !

BRRR!

Oswego NY Pounded: 1 to 4 Feet of Snow!

The County of Oswego NY is getting pounded with heavy snow. 1 to 4 feet of snow is expected to fall before it's over. Police in Fulton have declared a snow emergency, towing cars, and offering shelter to stranded motorists. Snow emergency has recently been lifted.

* Fulton has received 18" of snow since midnight, with more on the way.
* Fair Haven in Cayuga County received 26" of snow.
* Hannibal 14" of snow.
* Martville in Cayuga County reported 12 " of snow.

Numerous cancellations were reported. See first link below for details.

It's not over. The National Weather Service says that several bans of heavy snow are yet to come. The heaviest could hit Tug Hill region in northern Oswego County, leaving up to three feet of new snow by sunrise Monday.

The National Weather Service snow forecast for Oswego, NY is as follows...

Sunday night- Snow showers could be heavy at times. Low around 10. Wind between 13 to 20 mph. Total snow accumulation of 11" to 17" possible.

Monday- High near 22. Breezy, winds 16-23 mph. New snow accumulation 1 to 3 inches.

Note- Oswego and Cayuga Counties are near Syracuse, about 75 miles east of Rochester. I hope that you stay home, and stay safe!

Read more at... Fulton Daily News: Winter Comes Back Hard

And..... WSYR Syracuse: More Heavy Lake Effect Snow Tongiht

And.... National Weather Service

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Today will be the coldest day so far this year in Rochester, and many other places. The high will be 13 F, low tonight will be about 5 degrees. Windy, with gusts up to 45 MPH. Frankly I'm disappointed. We get this kind of cold just about every winter. No big deal. Only about a trace to 2" inches of snow, and up to 4" on the lake shore. 4 to 8 inches of snow in Wolcott.

By the way the cold comes from Siberia where it will be as low as minus 67 degrees F! Several deaths have already occurred. Some schools have closed. See link below for more.

Read more at... Deep Chill Sets Across U.S. From Fargo to Florida
And... Siberia Braces For Cold

Here's a wonderful song- "Baby It's Cold Outside", song by Doris Day & Bing Crosby.