Valentines Igloo Takes the Cake.

Recently downtown it was spotted that there is an igloo.

We stumbled upon an igloo! ❄️❄️❄️ #valentineigloo #yaleuniversity

A post shared by Karine Indigo 🖤 (@karindigox) on Feb 14, 2017 at 10:48am PST

It's a fairly legitimate structure, of about 8 to nine feet in height. It was clearly built by students in their spare time, above Bass Library on the Cross Campus lawn in front of Sterling.

8' tall igloo in front of #SML.

A post shared by #NHV: New Haven, Connecticut (@nhvorg) on Feb 16, 2017 at 7:28am PST

Snow structures are not new to New Haven. There are a number of other happenings, particularly the structure known as "SnowBama" that appeared as far back as 2014. And the trend continues into this year, with new edifices constructed in town, such as "Snow Buddha" (another David Sepulveda creation)

Aside from this winter being warm, towards the beginning, we did get a fair amount of icy precipitation in the month of February. California has received record amounts of precipitation.

NHV TTP Discusses Storm Preparedness

Douglas Hausladen, Director of Transportation, Traffic and Parking hosted a live chat event.

"We've bought 8 new trucks so that our 21 out of 22 snow routes have heavy machinery on their routes. What we did last year was we had taken our small trucks and put them on the 'big truck' routes in order to accomplish that. So what we have this year is we have 21 out of 22 snow routes that are filled by DPW heavy machinery equipment. The one remaining snow route is going to be covered by a contractor. In addition to that, we've stepped up our communications of course, you're actually witnessing part of that communication.

"Just Friday night, when this storm was supposed to be light rain on Tuesday, I was talking with the head of our evening supervisors, and he said that he was receiving a lot of positive feedback on Grand Avenue, and Whalley Avenue from our businesses. Tonight, the early indication is that Whalley Avenue is clear of cars and we are doubling our efforts in our PA system in our notifications to make sure that Grand Ave and Ferry St. and other snow routes know that we're coming."

You can stay in touch with when these events are happening in the future by keeping tabs on the official Twitter account from that department.

Tweets by @NewHavenDOT

How Our City Plows Snow (+PlowGame)

Here's a fun game you can play.  

Have you ever wondered what goes through a plow driver's mind when he skips your street?

Have you ever fully examined your local neighborhood to identify not just the overlooked streets, but the exact reasons for why they seem to be ignored by the city when it's snow time?

The temporary answer is the Snow Plow Game, which uses Custom Google Maps to plot points on the map. First, you should learn some things about the way that the city plows their snow before you play this game. Then, you can play.

How does our city snow response measure up?

Calculations involved in Data Acquisition.  

City Hall in 2014 is experiencing the aftershocks in the wake of the shakeup of the 20-year long DeStefano administration, with the election of Toni Harp, the area's long-standing state Senator who took the helm on Jan 1st (see inauguration). In addition to a new mayor, we also have a new director of Economic Development Matthew Nemerson (who at the time of Night Rainbow was a candidate for mayor himself), and a new Traffic and Parking director, Doug Hausladen, formerly Alderman in the City of New Haven. In 2013, we also saw the departure of PublicWorks dir. John Prokop with the appointment of Douglas Arndt.

There are many new faces to the crowd of people in the best positions to lead the charge against snow accumulation with the dispatching of snow removal vehicles throughout the city.

Admittedly, you can't please everyone; side streets get overlooked and issues are not addressed for days as the laundry list of tasks surmounts into a queue that is unmanageable.

In order to assist, Nhv.Org writer Ian Applegate has the following suggestions to make, with regard to the approach of snow removal, for a better system:

Coffee Pedaler: Open

If there's a snowstorm, feel free to swing on by the Coffee Pedaler on State Street. One of the most economical things is to pick up a carafe of coffee for six bucks. It makes like 8 cups of coffee and that's more than enough for you and a couple of friends. Comfortable ambient atmosphere and friendly staff make this coffeeshop the only five-star rated on Yelp in the area, and the best place for you to get some work done, and be semi-sociable in the process.

It's more than worth it. I found myself surrounded by birds, with highway traffic on the Interstate in the background. Not many souls dared to trek to the pedaler this afternoon, but it was an acceptable tour of the neighborhood for myself and Willowbee, my dog, this morning.

I suggest you get some fresh air and enjoy the global warming happening out there too.

Snow Awesome Today

You can add your photo to our map.  

Local residents have been privileged in recent years with record amounts of snow. 2011 was one of the all-time record years for an entire season, while 2013 broke the record for a single snowfall.

This year, we're experiencing nearly record-breaking cold temperatures and are on track to have another decent year of sledding. While some experience the cold and snow as remittance for not choosing a better climate, others accept it as a part of the seasonal change in New England. Without bitter cold, would we be able to appreciate the initial warmth of springtime with the same fervor? With nothing to compare it to, summer would run the risk of being taken for granted, which is why it's good to be glad about snow.

Ben Saves Day for Veterinarians

Snowstorm Recap.  Ben Berkowitz, founder of acclaimed website SeeClickFix, essentially skipped the "Click" part and simply saw and then fixed a situation during the aftermath of the snowstorm on February 8, 2013.  The scenario?  A parking lot of veterinary clinicians was rendered immobile, due to one vehicle blocking the entrance of the driveway.  The SUV had become so completely stuck that no amount of pushing or shoveling would help, and none of the other cars could leave the lot.  (See vid).

Enter Ben.  With his son Oliver wrapped around him in what appeared to be some kind of cloth, he flagged down the first pickup truck he saw.  That truck happened not only to be already an acquaintance but also had a rope in the truck, particularly for the purpose of pulling out cars. (See vid).

Within moments, the red pickup truck had towed out the white SUV blocking the driveway, and all of the veterinarians were then able to return to the roads and get back to their homes.  Some of them had been stuck there since earlier the previous day.  (See vid).

Check out more cool SeeClickFix Videos or check out Instagram.Com/BenBerkowitz

Snowstorm Review

It landed on Friday, and shut down schools for the entire week.  The greatest snowstorm in #Nhv History, except perhaps the one that Robert S Greenberg was referring to.

I took to the streets and walked downtown with local legend Bruce D. and Alderman Doug, as they re-assured everyone that everything was going to be alright.

We saw everything from backyard broomstick snowball baseball, to sled-riding down the staircases of the Yale School of Art.  There were hum-vee's and National Guard, doing nothing military but more like the kind of work you'd expect to see from Americorps.

Highway entrances and exit ramps were completely blocked with snow that was waist-deep to short people, and knee-deep to everyone over the height of 6'.

Note:  This video contains a song by a New Haven music group known as "The Butterflies Of Love," and you can get to know more about them on Wikipedia or on the New Haven Local Scene website.