Old Man Winter’s knocking on our door. Whether we want to answer or not, he’s going to come barging in like an unwelcome guest. Then, without fail, he’ll ruin our plans, often at the last minute, and overstay his welcome. We’ll complain, implore him to leave, and start begging Mother Nature to allow spring to arrive early. After all, surviving a Pennsylvania winter is akin to going on a roller coaster but never knowing when – or if – we’ll get off.
- Whispers of a snowstorm…
Flick/Nicholas A. Tonelli Here we go again. Local meteorologists start building anticipation with vague references about temperature drops and precipitation in the coming days, pointing to the heavy snow in the Midwest. We just shrug. We’ve heard it before. No use in ruining a perfectly good day with panic over what might happen.
- Life goes on…
Flickr/Jenni Konrad We’ve seen it all. Sometimes four seasons in one day. So, that little hint of a storm that might or might not hit us just goes in one ear and, well, you know the rest. Some of us venture out in shorts, maybe even flip flops, even when the temps dip below freezing. A little cold doesn’t scare a real Pennsylvanian.
- All that talk of impending snow isn’t going away…
Flickr/Via Tsuji Until the meteorologists all agree that we’re likely in for another Snowmaggedon. Severe weather alerts interrupt TV shows and warnings scroll along the bottom of screens.
- Panic!
Flickr/Bart Hurry! Check the bathroom. How many toilet paper rolls are left? Do we have enough milk? What about bread? If the electricity goes out, how will we survive without bread?
- Or, not…
Flickr/Pam Corey While half of PA panics, the other half just lets out a collective sigh with an obligatory eye roll. We’ve been here before. We’re not falling for it…yet.
- To the store!
Flickr/Page DeWolfe Hurry! No sightings of a snowflake yet but those warnings keep scrolling across our television screens and popping up on our smartphones. Something big is about to happen. We head to the store, piling our cart with toilet paper, milk, bread, and anything that will survive a dreaded power outage.
- Shoot – we forgot the batteries!
Flickr/Mike Mozart Well, we almost made it out of the parking lot when we remembered the batteries. Back we go.
- Here come the flurries…
Flickr/fauxto_digit Snow starts to tumble down, just enough to freak out drivers who start hitting the breaks.
- And…
Flickr/Doug Kerr That 10-minute drive from the grocery store turns into an hour-long crawl.
- The lights flicker…
Flickr/Bryan Brenneman Grab the candles. Where are the matches? Put the batteries in the flashlight. Whew. False alarm.
- Let it snow…
Flickr/Ted Drake It’s looking like a winter wonderland outside as the snow tumbles down. We wrap ourselves in our cozy blankets and go to sleep.
- Alarm buzzes…
Flickr/Nico Kaiser Ugh. There’s a text message, an email, and a voicemail, all from the school district at 4 a.m. Two-hour delay.
- Peek out the window…
Flickr/Nicholas A. Tonelli Woo hoo! We got a real Snowmageddon of, what, an inch? (Unless, of course, you live in Erie, where you’re likely snowed in for at least the next few days.)
- Repeat all…winter…long…
Flickr/Mad Murdoch Until, of course, we start getting the warnings of severe spring thunderstorms headed our way.
What advice do you have for others about surviving a Pennsylvania winter? Let us know in the comments! Then, click here to read 10 tongue-in-cheek reasons no one in their right mind visits PA during the winter.
Flick/Nicholas A. Tonelli
Here we go again. Local meteorologists start building anticipation with vague references about temperature drops and precipitation in the coming days, pointing to the heavy snow in the Midwest. We just shrug. We’ve heard it before. No use in ruining a perfectly good day with panic over what might happen.
Flickr/Jenni Konrad
We’ve seen it all. Sometimes four seasons in one day. So, that little hint of a storm that might or might not hit us just goes in one ear and, well, you know the rest. Some of us venture out in shorts, maybe even flip flops, even when the temps dip below freezing. A little cold doesn’t scare a real Pennsylvanian.
Flickr/Via Tsuji
Until the meteorologists all agree that we’re likely in for another Snowmaggedon. Severe weather alerts interrupt TV shows and warnings scroll along the bottom of screens.
Flickr/Bart
Hurry! Check the bathroom. How many toilet paper rolls are left? Do we have enough milk? What about bread? If the electricity goes out, how will we survive without bread?
Flickr/Pam Corey
While half of PA panics, the other half just lets out a collective sigh with an obligatory eye roll. We’ve been here before. We’re not falling for it…yet.
Flickr/Page DeWolfe
Hurry! No sightings of a snowflake yet but those warnings keep scrolling across our television screens and popping up on our smartphones. Something big is about to happen. We head to the store, piling our cart with toilet paper, milk, bread, and anything that will survive a dreaded power outage.
Flickr/Mike Mozart
Well, we almost made it out of the parking lot when we remembered the batteries. Back we go.
Flickr/fauxto_digit
Snow starts to tumble down, just enough to freak out drivers who start hitting the breaks.
Flickr/Doug Kerr
That 10-minute drive from the grocery store turns into an hour-long crawl.
Flickr/Bryan Brenneman
Grab the candles. Where are the matches? Put the batteries in the flashlight. Whew. False alarm.
Flickr/Ted Drake
It’s looking like a winter wonderland outside as the snow tumbles down. We wrap ourselves in our cozy blankets and go to sleep.
Flickr/Nico Kaiser
Ugh. There’s a text message, an email, and a voicemail, all from the school district at 4 a.m. Two-hour delay.
Flickr/Nicholas A. Tonelli
Woo hoo! We got a real Snowmageddon of, what, an inch? (Unless, of course, you live in Erie, where you’re likely snowed in for at least the next few days.)
Flickr/Mad Murdoch
Until, of course, we start getting the warnings of severe spring thunderstorms headed our way.
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