Comments on the new ‘Byways’ page, The "Big Snow" of '04

The snow started just after 8 0’clock on the day after Christmas. And it just kept on snowing. It snowed for about 10 hours. By the time it stopped, we had between 14 inches in Northampton county and 12 in Accomack county. And it was beautiful. Most of us just relaxed and enjoyed it. Some folks had to get out in it and that was tough. You have to remember - 2 inches of that stuff will lock up the Eastern Shore. I mean, PLEASE, it’s 60 degrees outside today. We’re just
not used to it.

One of the things snow does here is blow and drift. By the next day some of the fields had half an inch and the little roads (we call ‘em ‘neck’ roads) had four feet in places. And that’s a problem by anybody’s standards. A snow plow turned over. There were people whose fields were clear and they still couldn’t get out their drives or lanes. Look at the lower picture with the rising sun in it. It was taken through the paper carrier’s front windshield. Between the sun and the window - well, that’s the road, not a field. It made for inconvenience to people who wanted to get out. And it made for danger for necessary trips like ambulance calls. And at one point, six people were trapped in their car for five hours.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures. The snow is gone now. It was beautiful, but didn’t hold up well to 60 degrees.