Rain after snow in NY

This is the sequel to the "Snow in NY" post - RAIN in NY. Today is one of the most messy days this season. It had snowed a bit yesterday evening, followed by some ice and today morning, it began raining. The result - a cold, sludgy commute.

The rain so far has not been heavy enough to melt and wash away all the snow. Instead, the water has mixed with ice to form a highly rarified cold sludge. The side walks were so full of this sludge and we had to walk as slowly and carefully as possible to avoid slipping. The worst part was when I had to cross a street. My route to the PATH train station has so many crossings. At every intersection, this icy sludge has formed a big pool. Being translucent, it is difficult to judge the depth. If we step into this thinking it'll be shallow, it is quite deep and the sludge comes up to the ankles. Wading through rain water is not something new. We used to do it for for fun :) But the difference is that this is an icy mix. The moment the sludge enter our shoes, it becomes so cold and the feet become numb. As it has rarely snowed in NY, I never bothered with snow boots. So, I ended up coming to office with fully soaked shoes and numb feet. :)

The weather department has forecast heavy rain for today. So hopefully all the snow gets washed off by the time I leave office. If this is the case, for a small snow-rain combo, I'm afraid to think of how it'll be in places like Buffalo, Syracuse and Minneapolis where it keeps snowing and raining all the time.

Anyways, while it was pure fun walking in the snow yesterday, it was a micro-adventure today walking in the rain & sludge. I saw a guy slipping and almost falling down while crossing a signal and a woman falling down the stairs while entering the PATH station. It was a delicate balancing act out there :)

It was quite foggy today. Most of the building just "vanished" into the low clouds. :)