On this stormy, January morning, most of us will experience either the delight or the inconvenience of the weather, and the snow. It's 8 am and Sparta is already taking a hard hit. They even canceled church! The news has framed this as a "monster storm", but we will wait and see how it plays out. This is nothing new to New Jersey. Every 20 to 30 years we experience an epic snowstorm, one that remains in memory years later. For me, there are two landmark snowstorms that come to mind: one in 1967, the other in 1996.

February 6, 1967 - 24 inches. The snow was powdery and wind driven, creating towering drifts. I grew up on the north side of Lake Hopatcong, where the wind and snow would whip across the lake and onto our driveway. The photo is of my mother. It is one of the few times I heard my father complain about living on the lake.

1996 - historic snow totals. The winter of 1995 to 1996 ushered in the highest snow totals on record for New Jersey. High Point, NJ, recorded 122 inches of snow. The blizzard of January 7 and 8 dropped 30 inches of snow, closed roads for days, and I remember so much snow on our second-floor roof eves that I couldn't see out the windows of our two-story colonial house. The photo is of our oldest son exploring the sidewalk after that storm.

It seems poetic that two storms, nearly 30 years apart, produced the kind of snow that becomes part of a family history. The question is, will this storm be the one our grandchildren remember?

Snowstorms of the past

Lake Hopatcong, NJ February 1967

Sparta, NJ January 1996

Our dental romance members from Minnesota, Alaska, and Nebraska might not be impressed by these totals. But this once again proves that New Jersey has everything, both good and bad, from record snow totals to heatwaves, hurricanes, earthquakes, and even tornados. It is a fun place of origin for the characters in my books.

Enjoy your Sunday and a day off, if you have one, and stay warm! Until next week, best wishes - Joanne