Snow storms in the north are a given. Yes. But, aside from the hype of the fact that the roads will be messed up for several days, there are other issues: A lot of folks will be missing work because of the storm. Of those folks, the hardest hit will be the ones who can least afford it: the ones who are working at jobs with minimal or non existent benefits. They don't have the option of using a vacation day, because there are no vacation days. Then there's the snow removal. Every time the snow plow comes and clears out a driveway, the home owner needs to dig deep to pay for that. In a storm of this magnitude, I expect that we will need to pay for 3 plowings. You may say... well, use a snow blower... going back to the folks who are hardest hit by a heavy storm, they don't have the luxury of running out to buy a snow blower. They are already living on a sub-standard income. So, of course, there's always a shovel. Those don't cost much money... but a storm that dumps 18 - 24" dumps TONS of snow in the average driveway. And that snow doesn't just sit there, like the pretty little post card picture. It blows, and drifts, and blows and drifts some more. Then the road snow plow comes by and socks in the end of the driveway with heavy packed snow. Now, lets look at electricity: This storm is blowing from all directions, coming in swirls. The tree trunks are plastered from multiple directions. High winds + heavy snow = power outages. We often loose power for 3 days at a time. And have lost it for as long as 13 days in a row. Loss of power in rural areas = NO WATER. But, we're blessed. We have wood heat available. We have a generator. We are young enough that we can do some of our snow removal. There are thousands of folks who have medical conditions that make it impossible for them to do their own snow removal. They can't do the labor that is required on the business end of a shovel. They can't afford a snow blower, and can't afford to pay for a snow plow. They have electric heat... or even oil heat which requires electricity to fire the furnace. They can not afford a generator. They go without water, transportation, and heat during a storm with heavy snow and power loss. So, yes... we can grow a pair. But where is the compassion for our neighbors who will be truly incapacitated by this storm???