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10 Jan 2012 11:22

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U.S.: Small Alaskan town gets all the snow the rest of the country isn’t getting

  • 18′ amount of snow, in feet, that has fallen in the town of Cordova, Alaska this winter
  • 6′ amount of snow, in feet, that has fallen in the past few days alone; it’s reaching a crisis level source
  • » How bad is it getting? To put it simply, the remote Alaskan town needs help. According to one resident, “there is getting to be more snow in Cordova than people and shovels to deal with it.” In some cases, buildings have collapsed. The city’s mayor has already declared a state of emergency and called the National Guard. And they’re not alone: In Nome, in the same state but 700 miles away, they’re waiting on an ice tanker with necessary fuel — and it’s moving very, very slowly.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2011 20:58

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U.S.: Arizona State student describes recovery after going missing for 10 days

  • I am so thankful to be alive and warm. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers — they worked. At times I was afraid, but mostly I had faith that I would be found.
  • Arizona State University student Lauren Elizabeth Weinberg • Making a statement about her 10-day ordeal, in which she and her car were stranded in a remote, snow-covered part of Arizona. She survived on just two candy bars and snow water she melted in the sun. After taking a drive with no particular destination, she found herself stuck with roughly two feet of snow around her. She lacked a blanket or heavy coat to keep warm, making her survival all the more remarkable to rescuers. Good luck in your recovery, Lauren. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Oct 2011 09:34

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U.S.: Didya guys hear about all this snow in the friggin’ Northeast?

  • 22″ the amount of snow that fell in one Massachusetts town on Saturday — one of the highest points for the major storm
  • 2.3M the number of people that lost power during the storm, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (oh no!)
  • three the number of deaths reported from the storm, including an 84-year-old hit by a tree that fell into his home source
  • » A Halloween surprise? For many people, the dramatic change in weather was surprising, to say the least. “This is absolutely a lot more snow than I expected to see today,” said New Jersey resident and driveway-shoveler Carole Shepherd. “I can’t believe it’s not even Halloween and it’s snowing already.” (Edit: We’re idiots, we put a single prime instead of a double prime on the first number. Our bad. Fixed.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jan 2011 20:19

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U.S.: If there’s no snow where you are, you’re in the minority

  • 71% of the U.S. covered in snow (but not Florida) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2010 11:49

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U.S.: Rage against snow not really new thing with New Yorkers

  • 1969 Former mayor John V. Lindsay faced the kind of rage about a blizzard that Michael Bloomberg is currently facing.
  • 1996 Brooklyn borough president Howard Golden, accused the sanitation department of simply ignoring Brooklynites.
  • 2000 Rudy Guliani scored points against the Port Authority by ripping their inability to get the airports up to speed again.
  • 2001 Weatherman felt the rage of New Yorkers after a massive blizzard didn’t actually produce the pain promised. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Dec 2010 10:54

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Politics: Cory Booker’s Twitter success: Surprisingly, there’s no imitator yet

  • Booker’s Twitter tactics have raised the bar for other local officials, and beg the question: In the aftermath of the snowpocalypse, are other northeastern officials grabbing a shovel and smart phone, and following Booker’s lead? It certainly doesn’t look like it.
  • Time’s Sean Gregory • Noting the success Newark Mayor Cory Booker has had in using social media to govern his city during a major disaster. While things haven’t been perfect – Gregory notes that it’s fair to criticize Booker’s administration for being ill-equipped to handle the snow ahead of time – Booker’s work has made all the more impressive due to the fact that other big-city mayors have been unable or unwilling to use social media in anywhere near the same way. Protip to mayoral administrations: Sanitized feeds suck. (Now’s a good time to mention that Portland, Oregon mayor Sam Adams has a pretty decent Tumblr account.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2010 22:25

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Offbeat: Annoying kid: “I wanna be in Florida getting a tan on my back!”

  • We sense a meme coming on. The level of annoyance that 8-year-old Alexander Wright has about being forced to use his iPod while being stuck in the airport is epic. We want to let this kid to know that it gets better. You will get to Florida someday. (Thanks Adam Griffiths) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

28 Dec 2010 21:56

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U.S.: How many flights have been cancelled due to the NYC blizzard?

  • 9,726+ flights have been cancelled since Saturday due to weather
  • 1,335+ were cancelled today alone – which is still a freaking lot source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Dec 2010 08:47

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U.S.: How much snow fell in New York yesterday? A freaking lot

  • 29 inches of snow fell in many parts of New York state on Sunday
  • 2,000 flights were canceled; Amtrak trains were also cancelled on Sunday
  • six states declared a state of emergency after the massive storm source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Dec 2010 11:07

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World: Travelers stuck in Europe, going crazy ’cause it’s almost Christmas

Proof that Mother Nature hates Europeans – it’s the weekend before Christmas, one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, and images like this one exist. Snow sucks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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