Heavy Snow

Have you shoveled any of your Valentine's Day snow?  Did you think to yourself, "Boy, I must be getting old, this feels like a ton."  Well, that's what I thought with the first couple of shovels that I moved.  Then I remembered that there was several hours of sleet and freezing rain sandwiched between those layers of snow.  So, that 4" of snow had a lot more moisture in it than you would think.

When all the snow and ice in my rain gauge melted, I had 1.36" of water.  By itself, that would be a large rain event.  Under the right conditions, that could have yielded over a foot of snow.  (Of course, that would be light fluffy snow.)

Okay, I am getting old, but this makes me feel better.  That much precipitation on a 12" X 18" shovel weighs just under 11 pounds.  Scoop 100 shovels and you have moved 1/2 ton.  It makes me feel old just thinking about it.  So, don't try to shovel all the way down to the sidewalk.  Take the snow off in small slices, either horizontally or vertically.