Snowpiles from shoveling would be easily 6 or 7 feet high, if not more. 1996 was very bad, BUT

I did some research recently. Some recent years up here have been just as much total snowfall for the season....but they haven't SEEMED as bad. I can think of 2 good reasons for that.

1. Perception. When I was growing up, I was shorter AND we lived in the city. Lot's of houses, lot's of streets and sidewalks, not nearly as much grass. So the snow piles just got larger than they do now that I live outside the city and the snowblower throws the snow further and therefore ito smaller piles.

2. A "global warming" reality. In 1976, it would snow and stay, then snow more and stay, then snow more and stay and so on and so on. So if you got 140" for the winter, well, yeah, it compressed down some due to weight and some sunlight effect, but essentially, if you got snow, it stayed and kept piling up through the winter. Now? This last winter was similar in total snow to many years in my youth, but instead we got 4 inches...then the temps went above 32 for a few days and most of it melted, then we got 12, then 3...then some warmer weather melted a bunch...and so on and so on. So now it snows just as much, but getting some warmer days mixed in even during winter means it doesn't just keep stacking up.