Vermont Snowstorm was the Anti-Disaster

Up here in Vermont, we had a big snowstorm yesterday. It dumped 10 to 20 inches of snow on huge swaths of the state, including pretty much all of the ski areas.

People in downtown Burlington, Vermont
enjoy a big snowstorm on Thursday.

It was the same storm that had been crossing the nation since Christmas Eve, unloading tornadoes, floods, ice, power failures, snow, traffic crashes, zillions of flight delays and various other woes and crises.

For almost everybody, then, the storm was an unmitigated disaster. Here in Vermont, we do things differently.  To us, the storm caused basically no harm, and was a major cause for celebration.

Last winter, it didn't snow much. We didn't have so much as one statewide storm that could be classfied as a big dump of snow. No powder days on the mountains. The snowshoeing sucked. So did the cross country skiing.

So when this storm hit, nobody could contain themselves. Virtually nobody complained that the roads were icy, that they had to shovel their driveways, that it was cold.

Instead, I haven't seen more people in a good mood in a long time.  Myself included, I'll note.

Despite continued heavy snow that made travel slow, people headed for the hills to ski, ride, sled.

Those that couldn't make it out of town during the storm because they had to work made sure they took the time to walk around in the dense veil of falling flakes, as if they had to confirm this storm was real.

It was real.

Watch this brief video I took at how wonderful downtown Burlington, Vermont looked during the storm,  and how people were really enjoying this:



The elation at the snow even created a newspaper blooper that got people laughing nationwide as it went viral online. The Brattleboro, (Vt.)  Reformer had a banner front page headline heralding the storm. It read. "Let Is Snow, Let Is Snow,  Let Is Snow."

Oops. But we get the sentiment anyway.

The storm hit during Christmas break. It was well-publicized. Which mean that no doubt, people throughout the Northeast U.S. loaded up their skis and boards, piled into their cars and headed north to the mountains of Vermont.

I'm sure the folks at the Vermont Department of Taxes are happy. Like every place else in the nation, Vermont is struggling with balancing its budget. All the sales and rooms and meals taxes this storm will generate will surely help.

Yes, the state spent money on overtime pay sending their plow truck drivers out Thursday, but I'm sure the state will recoup its expenses many times over this weekend.

The unfortunate Brattleboro Reformer headline
announcing the big snowstorm. 

I haven't had a chance to go out and play in the snow very much yet, but I will. I haven't even finished shoveling my large driveway,  but I'll get to it. (I'm too cheap, and I need the exercise from shoveling too badly, to buy a snowblower)

Tomorrow, lo and behold,  another storm is coming in tomorrow.  It's a bit of a surprise because they had been forecasting just flurries. Now, they're saying we'll get 2 to 5 inches of additional snow, with even more than that in the mountains.

That's not a big storm, but it will add to the fun most Vermonters are having.