A Snow Day In Niskayuna

Last night I was driving home from the grocery store around 9 O'clock and stopped for gas. With the forecasted snow storm I decided I should fill my tank. Make the car heavier and, well, you never know. That is when I saw it. The first flakes of snow hitting the ground in Niskayuna.

To this point I had heard a number of different accumulation predictions. 3-6 inches! 8-10 inches! As much as 18 inches predicted! As with many weather events I have learned to wait and see.

The alarm sounded at 5am and simultaneously I heard the seasonal hum of snow blowers up and down the street. By 5:20 I hit the road. Actually the ride in felt like a flight, with a fair amount of turbulence and occasionally steering through drifts as if they were clouds.

The neighborhood roads were a mess with thick snow as I tried to keep within the tracks of a previous traveler. I'm thinking this is more than the 3-6 inches and more like 18 inches one prediction called for.

As I pushed along what I saw most were the trucks removing snow from driveways and snow blowers clearing the way. I did pass by a few stranded vehicles that were stuck in a drift. Asking each if they needed help and each saying "no, I'm good." Then I thought well, if I stopped all we would have had was 2 stranded vehicles. I even saw an 18 wheel tractor trailer wedged in the middle of a busy intersection. With no way around I backed the car up to Balltown Road and trudged on.

My 10 minute commute was doubled today but I made it safely and I hope you made your journey safely as well. I do know that if not for the snow blowers and plow trucks I might have been able to leave home at all. So thank you for doing what you do. Your work does not go unnoticed.

There is something special about a snow day in Niskayuna and the people that live here in the Capital Region. By the way the unofficial snow total for Niskayuna was 30 inches. Here are some others: