Blizzard 2010!!!!

So, despite the forcasts, the weather reporters were pretty accurate in that they weren't sure on if we were going to get slammed with the snow, or if we would have been slightly slammed. It all depended on the pressure system. So, in the end, like the Blizzard of '93, we had horrible heavy snow bands, which Pittsburgh was oh so forunate to be in.

The state of Pennsylvania is now in a state of emergency. The snow is about thigh-high. But let me tell you about my adventures so far.

Last night, I had to work. We all hoped and prayed the mall gods would close early because they had said it would start to get bad around 7pm. Well, we had about 5 inches at 4pm. They finally closed the mall at 8pm. There was probably about already a foot of snow on the ground in ohhhh 6 hours or so since it started.

I couldn't get my car out of the parking lot at the mall. My manager was nice enough to help me and push me out so I could get some momentum going. I made it to the road which I live off of in about 30 minutes. Mind you, I live 4 miles away from the mall. The road is called Cemetary Lane. It is about 1.5 miles up a windy hill. Here are my attempts to get home.

Attempt 1: Stupid people in front of me stopped 1/2 way up the hill to turn around. I lost my momentum so had to turn around. Stupid people in 4x4 almost side swiped me while I was turning around. Made it down the hill, to try try again.

Attempt 2: Was going GREAT up the hill. Thought to myself - yeah I'm finally going to make it!!! All of a sudden, tail lights. Apparently some people going up/down the hill were stuck. Cars everywhere. The municiple building brough out a bulldozer to block off traffic until the people could get the area cleaned up. Would have been fine, turn around and try another way. However, stupid people in 4x4 trucks decided that all of us people in the line up the hill MUST just be stuck, let's pass them. Needless to say, 2 lanes of traffic going uphill, on a 2-lane road. Sucks if anyone was coming down. Turn around option...gone. Here are some pictures.






So I finally got turned around and said, okay, I'll go the long way home.

Attempt 3: Went the long way home. People with 4x4's don't understand that us people in front-wheeled drive sports cars need as much momentum as we can to get up a hill. So I almost didn't make it but I did. Went to make a right-hand turn up a road called Ivory Ave. BUT a bus was stuck and blocked the whole road. Turn around again. By this time, I was at a loss of what to do. I decided to try Cemetary one more time, and if I didn't make it, park at the bottom and walk up.

Attempt 4: Hit the hill going about 40mph...all over the road but I needed as much momentum as I could to make it past the one sticky point which I found 2x earlier. I was cruising!!! Then, I caught up to a civic in front of me who was only going like 15mph up the hill. SOOO we were at the sticky part and I knew I wouldn't make it if I slowed down. So I pulled up beside him, and went back behind him after the sticky part was over. Needless to say everyone probably thought I was stupid, but I MADE IT!!!!!!!! And I was finally home. 1.5 hours to get 4 miles. :)