h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you are lucky, then you don't.
Monika is a snow storm that hit these corners here yesterday. Actually we are still being hit. I know most of you have nasty weather right now, but still...
Here's what we have got:
My door was blocked this morning by snow. Luckily enough a friend of mine came to dig us out. The snow drifts are up to my nose. Schools are closed (well, they don't really send kids home if they made it there but there's no lessons or anything), which just doesn't happen here. I mean, we are used to snow. But there's a limit to everything.
There's a lot of cars stuck in all places. The worst case is on one of the two international roads here (having sea on two sides kinda limits the number of those roads), where the trucks are stuck in a valley and can't get out. The road is blocked for 7 hours already, small cars are in the snow pretty much up to the roof.
We have been laughing at Western Europe where life goes standstill at 10 cm of snow. At 100 cm of snow we seem to lose the fight here. The government advised people to stay at home. That doesn't happen too often here.
In my hometown most of the public events are cancelled. But then, we are in the center of the storm.
And the storm is still going on, for about 24 hours more or so. Lots of snow, wind 20 m/s, temperature -6C, relative air humidity 95-100%. Doesn't feel good, yet it's very exciting.

Just don't send her over here, whatever you do!

Must be quite some snowstorm to earn a name of its own

You're safe. It'll go toward NE.

They have sent (para)military to evacuate people from the cars. About 11 000 families are without electrickety (and without much hope to get it back any time soon, as the roads are blocked with snow). The number is impressive, considering that the number of the population in total is 1,3 millions.
Chaos.

One man got lost in the storm, one got killed when his Land Rover got stuck in the snow and he stepped out of the car. He was hit by another car since the visibility was merely couple meters.

Here's a pretty good news link:

http://news.err.ee/fbb2a29d-8c6b-4212-b655-ab63a8bb013b

And the storm is still at full blast.

You have my sympathies. I know our snow isn't much but it's all impacted so yesterday when I ventured out if was like walking on glass. Car parks are like a skating rink.

We may be in control of our own lives and to a certain extent our destinies, but no-one can compete with the weather.

Keep warm, Hati

I am busy heating the house.



Some photos: http://www.virumaateataja.ee/?id=355218
Click on the photo to see the next one.

& Indeed, when Mrs Nature does what she wants, we can merely comply....

That's bad, even by your standards! It's all melting here, so maybe it'll do the same there soon...

But as an aside, you gave me quite a fright there - we have a hootooer with the RL name of Monika, and before I clicked this and saw what it said, I thought something had happened to her

This snow is not going to melt. We expect -20C on Monday.

There's 600 people sitting in this one jam, waiting for escape. Quite some people are stuck in other places. The valley has been blocked for at least 14 hours by now. Actually the whole NE corner is cut from the rest of the country.
And in all northern part of the country there's no trains, buses, taxis, some ambulances are in snow, accidents happen.
Havoc. Chaos.

And still exciting.

And my house is warm, I have food for few days, candles, matches (and cigarettes). Maybe I should store some water...

.. I guess it's all my fault I've been asking for ages "what's new in EEKland" .. now there's something new: Eekland submits to the snow.

I always assumed this would not happen east of the border with Germany. So I was wrong here

600 people locked in ..on a motorway.. miles from nowhere.. sounds rather desperate. Cold is one thing, water and food is another. this is what nightmares are made of.


of course we can organise a Hootoo search and rescue party Tallinna Lennujaam has only about half the flights cancelled ..

http://www.elu24.ee/?id=355325

Photos from the snow-hell.

Meanwhile I may organise a -party. I have been making and with no end. Few good reasons - it keeps the house warm (stove that works on firewood. ), it keeps me warm and it keeps warm the people who very casually walk in saying that they were in the neighbourhood.

By now there's 2 frozen to death and one still missing (since yesterday). There is some traffic in the town but the roads are blocked in almost all directions. The army is on the roads and streets, cleaning snow.
And the municipalities bravely march towards bankruptcy. Messing with snow is a very expensive thing to do. No wonder some countries just ignore it.

Sounds a lot like the 'snowstorm of the century' we had in Gävle in 1998:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIOFWHdFIxs

mm .. the and parties sound good

but I don't think I'll be able to come over for a cup

the pictures and the youtube news look rather .. white.

Titania, the video is very good. And indeed, it feels like home. Except that people don't on the streets here.

Btw, Ti, I got a free ferry ticket to Stockholm in January. I am not really sure that I'll use it, but if... How busy are you?

Depends on when in January - closing the books for year 2010 and moving head office. But I'm sure I could squeeze in a mini-meet at least.

we used to be able to cope with here, but the last few decades we barely had any

but even so, the amounts of snow and heavy winds we had at the end of november would have closed up our islands anyway

like you say, hati, there is a limit to everything

thank bob we didn't have any serious casualties and most of the snow vanished last night

so now there is room for some more

the snow is gone here too ..

we did have a good five centimetres

ok ok ok ok .. not much .. not much compared to UK .. or Germany .. and also less than in EEKland
still we did have snow early December