okay

 

I based my decision on what the near term weather is supposed to be. Wind, rain, colder, warmer, and of course, what is on TV.

 

It seems like where I am you always get the damn rain at the end!
Sure is a lot easier, especially if it is a big storm to get out there before the rain comes and makes it just a big pile of slush.
I watch the reports and try to time it before the rain comes.

 

Unless you only have a single stage machine that taps out at 8" or so.

 

i dont mind going out several times with a single stage . so much easier and faster than a 2 stage. I can do my drive , which is about 250 square feet in 10 minutes or less with a SS

 

Due to how they plow and salt our road non-stop during a big storm, I've had two storms so far that it was most certainly worth going out twice.

One storm dropped 28" and the other which was recent dropped 32". After plows you're looking at something awful even doing it twice.

 

When the plow goes by and ruins my freshly-cleaned driveway by leaving a wall of stuff, I don't bother using the blower. I get the snow scoop. Just walk forward, push it in, walk backward and pull it out loaded with slush, ice chunks, etc. Then I push it over to the ditch and push it forward. It dumps just like a dump truck, no sweat no strain.

 

I can't picture the situation you have but it sounds very different from mine. I often have to lift the stuff 4+ feet up. I have no other place to put it.

I'm on main street in a very old town and not much room.

 

During the week, I always clear the snow regardless of how much falls in the morning because there is a lot of foot traffic. I'm a bit of a snow angel I guess and try to get the whole sidewalk stretch cleared (three houses 1500 feet or so) before the kids and their parents walk by to the nearby school. A plow usually clears the sidewalk but doesn't come until after the morning rush, and sometimes not until very late in the day following a snowfall, and the plow also buries both sides of the circular driveway.

 

There are also some of us that are more on the, well...rotund side of the body type. I like the exercise I get from going out several times. At 57, I just can't get into weights and gym stuff anymore; I need to feel like I am doing or achieving something with my time. Snowblowing does this for me. I'd much rather use my equipment to help out the neighbours than any other form of exercise—including non-impact stuff like swimming.

No one, and I can't emphasize this enough—NO ONE—wants to see me in a Speedo. I include in that both myself and blind people.

 

I totally base my clearing on what the storm will bring. If there is any chance of rain at the end I always make sure to get out and clear before the transition. Almost every time though I wait until the end so that it doesn't just all fill back in with the wind and have to do the same job twice.

 

If it`s during the day I will go out as many times as it takes because I have tenants in my house. If it`s night time I wait till the early morning so they can get to work.