Frozen in Snow
Matt Seinberg

I feel like I'm stuck in Disney's "Frozen," and Long Island is Arendelle, where everything is turned to ice by Queen Elsa. I thought last winter was bad, but this one is getting out of hand, totally. It's colder now than it was last year, with too many days having a temperature of five degrees, and feeling like minus ten degrees, with the wind chill factored in.

Storms leave New Yorkers with six inches of snow each weekend.

It's not like we're having one or two blizzards that are leaving accumulations all over, but there's a "little" storm every weekend dropping 2-6 inches of snow on us every time. Just as we're getting out from under one storm, another comes along and laughs at us again.

Do you remember the movie, "The Day After Tomorrow," starring Dennis Quaid? His character is a climatologist that predicts the northern hemisphere was in for a new ice age. That's what we feel like here on Long Island, the other day. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little bit, but it's still bad.

We went out to dinner for my birthday this past Thursday night. Walking from the restaurant to the car, I nearly froze to death. I was shivering as if I immersed myself in a bucket of ice. It wasn't pleasant.

From Syracuse, New York, my father says his car in snowed-in until spring.

My father lives in Syracuse, New York. That city is famous for the lake effect snow. Lake Ontario is the huge body of water that affects Syracuse and the snow that it produces can be massive.

Lake-effect snow results during cooler atmospheric conditions. A cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. Warming the lower layer of air allows it to pick up water vapor from the lake. This vapor rises through the colder air above, freezes and releases on the leeward or downwind shores. Yikes!

I spoke to my father last night. He won’t see his car, again, until spring or the snow melts, whichever comes first. He's lucky that he has a restaurant and full service deli in his apartment building to take care of his food needs.

People, with kids, always say the same thing, or at least I do. I had kids to do the work around the house that I know longer want or can do. That includes shoveling the snow in the winter, which is something I will no longer do. I believe no one, over the age of forty, should shovel snow; that is the quickest way to have a heart attack and die.

Somebody must make a living off snow-driven fender-benders.

As I mentioned in the last column, we were having our Altima's bumper repaired and Mark, at the auto body shop, stated that this is their busiest time of year, because of all the snow and ice. Well, somebody has to make a living off the accidents of others.

There are some people, at work, that panic at the first sign of snow and get out of there as soon as they can so they won't find themselves caught up in a big storm of blizzard. Two co-workers have had accidents in the snow and one woman just doesn't like driving in her little car in snow, especially at night. I can't say I blame any of them, since it's hard enough to drive in it without having to fear for your life.

Water surrounds Long Island, north and south. We can get different amounts of snow, depending on location. The north shore has Long Island Sound and the south shore has the Atlantic Ocean. We also have The Great South Bay and the Fire Island Inlet, both of which can contribute to our weather.

When I was a kid, I truly enjoy snowed. As a middle-aged man, I can't stand it. That's why I have children.