In today’s blog, I discuss snow, mental health, and the past.
If you were lucky enough to stay home today, chances are you got to stay inside and enjoy the snow. Or, you were outside shoveling it. In my dad’s case, he was using the snowblower. Please take your time if you’re removing snow as doing too much can be harmful to your health. It was too cold to enjoy the snow and make a snowman today, and that’s how the week is trending as well. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to get to February.
Yes, it still snows in February and yes it is still cold, but we’re closer to Spring and turning the clocks ahead. You’ll read my look ahead to February later this week.
Today, Pittsburgh recorded 11 inches of snow (at the Airport). Some places got less (and that’s because there was more freezing rain in those spots) and others got more (half a foot fell in Slippery Rock!). For most of us, this storm will be as well-remembered as Snowmageddon in February 2010. That was our last big snow event. The Presidents’ Day Storm of 2003 also comes to mind. Those two are the most recent. If you really want to go back, I can include Superstorm 1993 and the Blizzard of 1996. Both winter storms were extreme.
There’s a reason why I highlighted the most recent blizzards. It’s because I also wanted to show where I was in life during those times. In February 2003 and 2010, I was at opposite ends of my 20’s and in different eras of life. During the President’s Day Blizzard, I was in my last semester at the Community College. I had aspirations to transfer to Slippery Rock that upcoming Fall. During Snowmageddon, I was working part time at WIS International doing inventory for various stores. I was going through a quarter life crisis and was posting weather updates on social media. During my late twenties, I was trying to find my direction in life.
The President’s Day Storm of 2003 started on Friday but here in Pennsylvania, it hit us on Sunday morning. I was still going to school in Johnstown, attending the local community college. They had no school the next day, but there was no way I was coming back to the dorm until Tuesday morning at the earliest. For me, I wanted to come back on Sunday, but that was out of the question too. Back in my late teens, early 20’s days, you have to know what I was going through. Why was I even eager to go back to campus? It’s a long story, but my behavior in those days was erratic. Even in 2026, I don’t think I can explain it.
It was my last semester at the local community college. I lived at the Hiram G. Andrews Center while attending the college, and it was my safe space. I don’t know what the future would hold for me after graduating that coming Spring, but I was almost certain that I would be continuing my education. I was making plans to transfer to Slippery Rock for the Fall 2003 semester. The school caught my attention at a college transfer fair the previous Fall.
Snowmageddon in February 2010 brought us our most snow over a two day period. 21 inches fell from that two day storm. It was our snowiest month since the late 1970’s as we had multiple storms that followed the big one. For me, I was working at WIS International and we didn’t cancel work often, but we did when the storm hit that first night. I think I was supposed to go down to West Virginia but I called off anyway.
I had been there about a year, and I was still dealing with growing pains there. I wasn’t working that much and my hours had always seemed to be inconsistent. That winter started early for us as we were hit with snowstorms in December, in addition to Snowmageddon. The first two years and last two years (I worked there for 13 years) were bookended and both presented their challenges. Of course the last years presented bigger challenges with a global pandemic. The first couple of years were worse though.
My mid to late 20’s presented me with another challenge, and that was a quarter life crisis. I was out of college for four years by this point but still trying to find myself. I started posting the weather on social media. As much as I enjoyed doing it, I couldn’t keep a thick skin and was easily triggered. This might have been my way to make up for what I thought was a mediocre college experience at Slippery Rock.
Stylish 🍒 