The Saturday video update is on the server:
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
I continue to have video capture troubles, but the audio capturing is working just fine. I grabbed a couple of images from jamesspann.com of the snow storm of 1993 just to help us reminisce. Be sure to catch Bill Murray's rememberances in the blog below.
I was working at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at the Oxmoor Road location when the blizzard occurred. I remember some brief snow showers that morning and the phone lit up with people asking if that was it. We kept telling people it was just a teaser. I was the Deputy Meteorologist-in-Charge at the time and I worked the 8 am to 4 pm shift on that Friday so went home at 4 pm. The big action began to take place several hours later and fortunately the midnight shift decided to come in early so the NWS office was well staffed for the event. Though nobody was really happy to work about 48 hours straight with only brief sleep periods on blankets and quilts in the library (using that term loosely). With the emergency generator, the equipment kept right on working along with the employees who did a marvelous job throughout unprecedented conditions.
The only complaints I remember from the staff were running out of food and smelly socks. About noon on Saturday, March 13, I called the office to see how things were going from my cozy home in Helena. A lead forecaster told me that things were okay but that they had eaten the last crumbs of food. Since I had a 4-wheel drive vehicle, I decided to venture out and found a small corner store in Helena that was open. I bought $40 worth of whatever they had, packed it in my Jeep, and headed for Oxmoor Road. It was typically a 20 to 25 minute drive, but this was not a typical situation. I knew about the jackknifed vehicles on the Interstate, so I planned a route to keep me off the Interstate. There were a number of dicey moments driving in, but I was taking it easy and not taking any chances. Two and a half hours later I arrived at the office to find a 4-foot snow drift covering each entrance to the parking lot. I finally decided to back up and take a running shot at one of the drifts. I couldn't get up much speed, so I didn't hit the drift very hard. The front of the Jeep went up and seemed to hang there for a moment and I remember thinking, "Oh great, I've come this far and now I'm going to get stuck in a snow drift." But the 4-wheel-drive had what was needed and I suddenly plunged through the drift onto relatively bare pavement on the other side. The staff was very happy to see me, er, the food!!
The other complaint occurred because a forecaster who had ventured out into the snow got his socks and feet wet. He put the socks on the radiators to dry out and created a big stink - literally. So glad the staff was civilized and didn't throw him off the roof!
Have a great weekend and luxuriate in the memories but enjoy the warm afternoon sun.
-Brian-
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
I continue to have video capture troubles, but the audio capturing is working just fine. I grabbed a couple of images from jamesspann.com of the snow storm of 1993 just to help us reminisce. Be sure to catch Bill Murray's rememberances in the blog below.
I was working at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at the Oxmoor Road location when the blizzard occurred. I remember some brief snow showers that morning and the phone lit up with people asking if that was it. We kept telling people it was just a teaser. I was the Deputy Meteorologist-in-Charge at the time and I worked the 8 am to 4 pm shift on that Friday so went home at 4 pm. The big action began to take place several hours later and fortunately the midnight shift decided to come in early so the NWS office was well staffed for the event. Though nobody was really happy to work about 48 hours straight with only brief sleep periods on blankets and quilts in the library (using that term loosely). With the emergency generator, the equipment kept right on working along with the employees who did a marvelous job throughout unprecedented conditions.
The only complaints I remember from the staff were running out of food and smelly socks. About noon on Saturday, March 13, I called the office to see how things were going from my cozy home in Helena. A lead forecaster told me that things were okay but that they had eaten the last crumbs of food. Since I had a 4-wheel drive vehicle, I decided to venture out and found a small corner store in Helena that was open. I bought $40 worth of whatever they had, packed it in my Jeep, and headed for Oxmoor Road. It was typically a 20 to 25 minute drive, but this was not a typical situation. I knew about the jackknifed vehicles on the Interstate, so I planned a route to keep me off the Interstate. There were a number of dicey moments driving in, but I was taking it easy and not taking any chances. Two and a half hours later I arrived at the office to find a 4-foot snow drift covering each entrance to the parking lot. I finally decided to back up and take a running shot at one of the drifts. I couldn't get up much speed, so I didn't hit the drift very hard. The front of the Jeep went up and seemed to hang there for a moment and I remember thinking, "Oh great, I've come this far and now I'm going to get stuck in a snow drift." But the 4-wheel-drive had what was needed and I suddenly plunged through the drift onto relatively bare pavement on the other side. The staff was very happy to see me, er, the food!!
The other complaint occurred because a forecaster who had ventured out into the snow got his socks and feet wet. He put the socks on the radiators to dry out and created a big stink - literally. So glad the staff was civilized and didn't throw him off the roof!
Have a great weekend and luxuriate in the memories but enjoy the warm afternoon sun.
-Brian-