Mary and All, I can relate to what you said in your e-mail. We are originally from Pa. We were transferred to Az. We went thru all kinds of weather for the 40 years we lived there. I want to clear up the impression that we in the Southwest are not able to handle snow, ice and floods. The Phoenix area is well equipped to handle excessive rain. There are pumps installed in the underpasses in our Freeway system. People can get sandbags given out by the fire department. If necessary the Red Cross opens up shelters .. You can't stop water from flowing, you have to go with the situation. As far as the high country, The highway department has all the plows, cinders and salt they need. When there is a lot of snow, as in this last storm, they simply close the roads until the plows can do the plowing that is necessary. Because of all the dry washes in the desert it is dangerous when they start run. Flash floods come on you before you know it. We have the stupid motorist law in effect. If someone tries to go around the barricades and cross a flooded area and gets stuck and has to be rescued, they are liable for the cost of the rescue. The fee can run as high as $2,000. So you see Arizona is not as backward as some people think. When we moved here and went back to visit family in Pa. We had to explain to my MIL that the Indians do not live in Tepees along side the roads anymore. I will leave you with that. Anna in AZ In a message dated 1/25/2010 10:09:11 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, marysaerie@stny.rr.com writes: Anna, I can relate to some of what you say. I've had to shovel snow off my roof in past years. Not a fun job. Of course, we are used to it up here in the north; and we have equipment to deal with all that yucky stuff. I hope you are high enough in the valley to escape the flooding. I'm not sure that there is anything worse. I went through a flood when I was young; and they scare the be-Jesus out of me because you cannot get away from the water. I don't swim well, either. I'd rather deal with fire, wind, or anything else than water. I've been through hurricanes; temperatures way below 0° for weeks on end; loss of power for days; even been snowed in for several weeks at a time with choppers dropping supplies where needed. While I have not had the pleasure of being in a tornado (they have all missed us by a couple of miles so far), an earthquake, or a volcanic eruption, I still put flood at the top of my list of things I don't want to go through ever again. My heart reaches out to those of you in the warmer climes who don't have the equipment and may not be prepared for the cold and the snow that can cripple a whole area in the blink of an eye. Hugs, Mary -----Original Message----- From: padutch-life-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:padutch-life-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of abenn5630@aol.com Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2010 4:59 PM To: padutch-life@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [PD-LIFE] Weather Mary and All, What Don is neglecting to tell you about is the snow that accompanied the rain that fell with storm that went thru. The high country in AZ is blanketed with not inches but feet of snow. I guess the news reports talked about Flagstaff, AZ, but the Rim Country is blanked with snow. The Ski areas are rejoicing with added inches that fell on runs. We, who have cabins up on the rim, are worried about our roofs collapsing from the weight of the snow laying on them. We had major highways closed because of the snow, Here in the valley, where I live, we had urban street flooding. and the washes and streams were overflowing their banks. Hopefully you will be spared some of the "added attractions" of the storm. Stay Dry. Anna in AZ In a message dated 1/24/2010 11:58:26 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, marysaerie@stny.rr.com writes: We have flash flood warnings out through Monday night. We are supposed to be getting the rain storms that you already had. I haven't looked at the weather report to see what is behind it....... I'm being an ostrich. Mary in Vestal, NY -----Original Message----- From: padutch-life-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:padutch-life-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Don Churchfield Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2010 1:56 AM To: padutch-life@rootsweb.com Subject: [PD-LIFE] Weather We are starting to get some snow tonight. We are supposed to have from 1 to 4 inches by morning. That may not sound like much to many of you, but that is a lot for our area. We may wake up in the morning to seeing everything white. Don in AZ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PADUTCH-LIFE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PADUTCH-LIFE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PADUTCH-LIFE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PADUTCH-LIFE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message