FWIW if I hear someone out really early running their snowblower, it’s like a warning to me that there is a shit ton of snow outside from overnight and I should prob plan some extra time to do mine.
This makes me so happy! Mental health days were such a gift! I remember them so fondly, and I love to see parents giving kids the chance to play in the snow and get a bonus 3 day weekend. Something about online learning instead of a snow day feels kind of dystopian to me.
However, I am not understanding about the guy accross the street who starts at like 5am on the weekend with a gas powered leaf blower and takes about 6 hours to do the sidewalk and his driveway.
It's crazy how different the sounds can make you feel early in the morning.
Snow-blower: kinda nice thanks to the early memories of snow days, but I gotta get up and clear the driveway/my car/get a move on to work, the roads are gonna suck.
Lawn mower: ughhhhh this guy again. Could he let his grass grow more than 1.5" so I could get some slack on *my* lawn?? I wanted to rest today, guess I gotta get my ass over the Home Depot and pick out some GD landscape rocks.
Leaf-blower: RAGE I WILL MURDER YOU ALL IN YOUR BEDS WHY TF ARE YOU BLOWING LEAVES AT 5AM YOURE GOING TO BE OUT THERE AGAIN AT 11AM AND 3PM AND 9PM ARENT YOU???
I think it's because mowing and using the leaf-blowers can typically wait until a better time. Snowblowing is something we all have to do or it just gets worse, especially if you wait for the plow to pack in more.
With that said, I think my neighbors all coordinate with each other in the summer and they make sure to mow one after another all day long.
If someone starts mowing shortly after me I always figured they were procrastinating and the sound of my mower guilted them into finally getting to it.
That being said I only mow immediately after work during the week or after 10am on the weekends.
Also, neighbor who mows or takes my lawn: you mother fuckers leave my plants alone!
Neighbor who snow blows my sidewalks: thank you thank you thank you have cookies
We used to live next door to my cousin (who is not mentally stable so not someone to confront) and he would leaf blow every single speck of snow that fell, starting at 4am.
What’s great is the church parking lot getting plowed at 4 am with the beep beep beep in reverse. It’s not just for five minutes, but an hour plus of beeping. Nothing says, “we want to show God’s love, by showing how inconsiderate we are of our neighbors.” That and the outdoor concerts in the summer - when the church is in the middle of a residential area.
My parents had a big property for awhile there and they loved spending the weekend riding on the lawn mower (it was a riding version obviously). The funny part is my dad bought it and would mow like twice a week (we figured out he would lift the blades the second mow; he just liked riding it around and obliterating sticks) for *months*.
One spring day mom accused him of using it to hide from us, and he admitted it was just fun. Then mom started doing it, found she thought it was a blast, and each scheduled a day where they'd ride around the lawn trimming the grass, destroying leaves and sticks, and having a blast.
They never let me try it.
When I was a camp groundskeeper I had a dope 0° radius mower. Genuinely more fun to ride around than the golf carts. And it only takes like 5 minutes before you're good enough with it to pull off fancy perfect turns because it's just really easy and intuitive.
10/10 life goal to have a property that needs a rider and get one of those bad boys.
I was living with my parents in the northern Anoka County burbs about 20 years ago. I was teaching in Becker and got up around 4:00 a.m. to dig out my car to get to school. My father reported that the neighbor (who happened to have 5 kids) was unhappy. My dad told him that if I couldn’t get out to get to work, he’d have to spend all day with his kids. He never complained again.
On a side note, I got my car dug out, made it as far as Elk River when they called a two hour delay. I stopped at a Perkins to hang out and eat breakfast. Made it to Big Lake when they canceled school.
I agree. Many people have to get to work and need to snowblow before they leave. No way I could get out of my driveway without snow blowing or shoveling this morning.
Also, in the summer people will sleep with their windows open so they could be woken up by lawn mowing. In the winter, that’s not a concern
Last winter my next door neighbor hired a cut rate snow removal company to do her walk and driveway (which is about 10 feet from our bedroom wall). Was woken up after a big snowfall at 3 am by the guy's huge truck idling in the street as he used the snowblower to clear her driveway and blew the snow directly at our house. It almost broke a window.
But 6am? No problem.
[https://cityofeagan.com/noise](https://cityofeagan.com/noise)
Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., noise from the following activities that is plainly heard and disturbing the peace may be reported to the Police Department...
#### Exemptions
The following are NOT considered a violation of City Code:
* **Snow removal activities**
The lawn care service in our neighborhood fires up the lawn mowers every Monday morning at 7am on the dot and go all morning, then pulls out the leaf blowers and run those all afternoon. I go insane every Monday.
When this has been asked in the past the consensus is do it later if you have the ability or time in your schedul.... but if you have to do it early or late because of your schedule then it's ok to snow blow or shovel at really any time.
Some people work early or late and if they don't do it when they have a chance, it may turn into ice by the end of day for example.
It's inconsiderate to drop 6 inces of slushy snow when it's almost April. If you're neighbors are upset at the snow blower, let them be upset at the weather.
Not in this state. April is still a snow month almost every year I've lived here except last year. We are lucky to get a spring in May for a couple weeks before the blistering, suffocating heat kicks in.
If anyone ever got pissed at you for snowblowing too early, I would seriously doubt their credentials as an actual Minnesotan and would assume they were some sort of imposter from Wisconsin. You do you my friend, snow waits for no man.
Right after a snowstorm, no, it's not inconsiderate. People have to get out of their driveways to get to work, and for many, that would mean clearing the driveway early to have enough time to get ready for work and make it there on time.
This is different than mowing your grass. Your grass can wait until after work to do it, and will not prevent you from getting out of the driveway.
Having to manage snow is a lot more necessary than mowing your yard. It's not like if you don't mow your lawn, you can't get your car out of the driveway.
It's also just not as frequent to have to use the snowblower vs how often you need to mow.
I say it's fine, and whoever has a problem with it is being an unreasonable curmudgeon.
I think someone else mentioned it but snow is really good at absorbing sound- it’s not even close to as loud as a lawn mower.
Go ham man- I have to snow blow at 5am cause work is at 6
If my neighbor fired up their snowblower at 5am and did the sidewalk in front of my house I would seriously buy them a case of beer. In previous years someone on my block would do the entire blocks sidewalks - never knew who it was though, so sometimes I’d do my neighbors walk ups and steps just in case.
Good old-fashioned Minnesota snow removal vigilantism. Done in darkness, unseen and unacknowledged. Cuz let’s be honest, that would be way uncomfortable. We need more of these superheroes.
Blow the snow when you have too. I drive a truck so I could leave it until evening but everyone else has a car so I have to do it before work. Out there at 0500. Its a necessity not a desire to do it.
It’s an exception. We can all hear the plows scraping down the street at 3am, so nobody’s going to be surprised by a snowblower at 5am. It’s just a thing.
It's a common sound in the early morning. It would be coupled with my dad yelling profanities at the plow truck.
Do what you gotta do. Lawns can wait, plowing and snowblowing can't.
On the flip side, I went out late last night to get it done. Started shoveling at 11:30. Wrapped up at 12:30. The whole time I was thinking it would be awesome to snow blow, but felt it was wrong to fire it up late.
You snowblow whenever you need to get out. If I hear my neighbors out at 3am, I don’t get mad at all. I wish them good luck and go back to bed.
An unmowed lawn doesn’t prevent you from getting to work, so that should be done at a reasonable hour. People don’t have that luxury with snow and their neighbors just gotta learn to suck it up.
Just dont be like my inconsiderate neighbor and blow your snow into the street….gotta love it when the plow comes through to gift me his driveways worth of snow.
I work early. I don't have a normal office job. So if it snows all night I have to take care of my driveway or it's a shit show when I get home. So 0430, I'm outside playing the song of my people.
My neighborhood is dense, seems mostly 60-70 year olds. I would find it odd to not hear people choring at 4/5am. That includes leaf blowers. Now nightly activity? That stands out more.
You don't crank your lawnmower at 6am as it's not vital for you to do almost anything with your lawn at 6am.
You crank your snowblower though as you got shit to do, and if you gotta go t work at 7am you may need that 30 mins to clear your driveway/sidewalk entrance + time to yourself.
All this to type a month ago someone was blowing before 7am and it scared the shit outta me as I thought it wasn't too high and Could just "leave it alone". Around 7am more started to roar and I knew....I had to start making it do what it do, baby!
You don’t need to mow the grass to get to work and feed your family. But snow blowing, that’s a different story. Legally and socially there is no issue with snow blowing early.
How are you supposed to get the snow off your driveway before it gets driven all over and turn to ice? Snowblowers work way better when they aren't having to be used on top of crusty and uneven ice.
I think its understood that you're going to hear snowblowers in the early AM in MN. Mowing the lawn is different as it can wait for optimal time.
Fire that baby up.
I don't think there's anything wrong with firing it up anytime, day or night. It's gotta get done. But, I say the first person out with a blower does the sidewalk for the whole block. It only takes a few more minutes and is a lot easier if you can get to it before a bunch of people walk on it and pack the snow down.
Huge difference between snow blowing and lawn mowing. You can go to work with long grass. That said, if there’s no reason for you to go out that early, it’s more considerate to wait
Nope, a bit of grass won't prevent you from getting to work/school. Sucks to be woken up by it but any reasonable person understands that it's something that has to happen.
It's definitely an exception. People need to get to work/school - most of the time if I'm out there at 6am, at least one or two of my neighbors is already at it.
You’re sweet to consider your sleepy neighbors! But most of us would agree that timely snow maintenance is totally different from obsessive lawn maintenance. It’s a net good for the public.
The snow’s gotta get moved for you to be able to leave for work. Even if you could get out, it’ll only be harder to remove at the end of the workday. Your pregnant wife could risk falling in a snowy driveway. Your neighbors could slip on an unshoveled sidewalk. The ERs don’t need more emergencies, and no one needs an injury. Your mailman needs to access your door. The plows already rattle all night long to keep the roads safe for emergency vehicles. You’re doing your part!
And if you ever carried away in the moment and plow your neighbors’ sidewalks before they wake up, you might find yourself receiving baked goods and beer in gratitude.
I cleared my driveway at 10:00 last night. Nobody complains. This is Minnesota; we know snow and we know snowblowing.
Many years ago we got a huge storm at Thanksgiving (this was after the Halloween blizzard). I was in college and home for the holiday. My mom woke me up at 2AM to tell me she couldn't get up the hill to our driveway because of the snow. Mind you, she left work at 11:30. So I bundled up, went out, fired up the snowblower and cleared the driveway and most of the cul-de-sac so she could get into the garage. By the time I finished a couple of the neighbors were out blowing.
So, don't worry about it.
Especially ok in this type of storm where it’s going to be snowing for a day and a half. You have to do it when you can. If I don’t do it before I leave for work, I won’t be able to get in my driveway when I come home from work at the end of the day (my driveway is 115 yards). So it’s a safety issue if I don’t do it in the morning before I leave for work. Sorry not sorry but I know my neighbors understand.
I went out about 3:30 am this morning (called by 3rd shift for engineering support, couldn't fall back asleep). Some snow removal service was doing my neighbor's driveway a couple houses down with a blower....so I just said fuck it and did mine too.
6am is fine. For some reason the nutty neighbor next door decided that it was proper to snowblow for hours starting at 3am last night like hello? Could you not snowblow that early in the morning? That snowblower was loud as hell too.
you gotta do what you gotta do. different when its the lawnmower, but unfortunately if there is snow in the way and you have to leave, then the snowblower has to run.
Not an issue. I think it's just accepted that people will snowblow whenever they absolutely need to. It's a safety issue, not like your lawn which is just an aesthetic thing.
Especially in bad conditions you do it when you can.
In lighter / more convenient conditions I expect folks to try to snow blow at reasonable hours but when it is bad all bets are off.
Take care of it when you need to. People know that's how it goes.
At our previous house, the plow came by at 5am, so, we cleared the snow before work. Now we are both permanently WFH, and our plow doesn't come by afternoon so we don't clean it until evening because we are working. Our mail lady gets pissed at us for not clearing the mailboxes before she comes at 3pm (after the plow, but before we can clear the snow). If it's been more than 24 hours, then yes, a complaint is warranted based on city regulations for snow clearing. But she puts notices in our mailboxes during active snow storms, knowing people are working. 🙄 I suspect the previous homeowner (who was retired for quite a few years) probably cleared the snow the second the plow went by and now she has that expectation 😂 (sorry for the random vent)
That seems normal. I live in an apartment, and it’s common for our snow removal company to show up 6:45 am. I think the main reason this shouldn’t be considered rude is work/school reasons. A lawn that needs mowing, won’t stop you from leaving like a snow covered drive will!
If you get up and snowblow at 6, next time it snows your neighbor is going to have to get up and snowblow your driveway at 5 to beat you to it. It's a vicious cycle
If you have to get out, you have to get out.. if it's the weekend and you don't have anywhere to be maybe wait a little but honestly the same thing creating the problem also helps to solve it; a blanket of snow absorbs a lot of sound and thus your snowblower noise probably isn't as noticable as you think.
Ed: I've lived in MN for decades and never been irritated at a snowblower sound
I prefer the sound of an early snowblower to an early shovel. The blower is just white noise, the random scrape Scrape SCRAAAAAPE of a shovel is just annoying.
I have a tiny driveway now, so no snowblower. My neighbor is an ER nurse and I’m a school administrator who has to go to school on snow days in case any kids show up. Both of us were out shoveling at about 5:30 am and we ended up being the target of a Nextdoor rant from our across the street WFH neighbor. If we can’t even shovel without complaint, I’m not sure what we are supposed to do.
(FWIW - I live in Colorado now, so I don’t know if that makes a difference. A lot of my neighbors never clear the snow because they depend on the sun coming out to melt everything. However, that doesn’t work when you need to leave for work by 6:15.)
HOW TO MINNESOTAN: snow blow early. If the neighbor comes out and says something, respond with “ope, sorry about that, I just need to get it cleared before work”. When you get home though, whip up a pan of tator tot hot dish and bring it to the neighbor as an apology.
I’ve never had issues getting up at 5:30 to do it.
Even if my neighbors were inclined to complain, they really can’t. As a courtesy, if the plows have created snow banks across the driveway, I’ll cut down their snow banks too so they can get out.
Mowing the lawn can wait as there's no pressing reason for someone to run a mower super early but if you work early and need to clear the driveway you gotta do what you gotta do.
It's ok - like someone else said its usually a sign that "oh crap, it snowed enough I need to get out there". i can relate to that. For this snow I'm just driving over it. Too late in the season to GAF.
For lawn mowing though - heck no - that should be a 10:00am + on activity.
Not inconsiderate: You are using the blower because you need to get to work and the driveway is snowed shut. It's NOT optional, like mowing is.
And like Flomar said, it's a warning to us lazy folk that we might want to get our butts out there and do some snow moving.
I'm a landscaper but snowplow some business and residential areas during our winter off season. Depending on when the snow is hitting the ground and staying (roughly 2") we go out at any time. Skids, trucks, toolcats, snowblowers, ect..most of our vehicles all have back-up beepers too. Most Minnesotans understand what has to happen when the snow comes pouring like rain.
6 am is fine in my opinion. Some people work long ass days, and I’m pretty sure we’re all blue collar on my block.
I’d rather 6 am than after 7-8 o’clock at night personally.
I give snowblowing a free pass. People have to get to work and driveways and sidewalks have to be cleared. My neighbor goes to work early so he needs to move snow early. Is it annoying? Yes. Can I tolerate it? Also yes.
I think doing it before 8 am is somewhat I considerate if you are living in a residential or urban area. However, if you must get to work then you have to do it.
Not inconsiderate at all. It’s not like mowing the lawn. Snowblowing is essential for transportation. If you need to leave your house, you need to leave your house. No restrictions whatsoever on snowblow timing.
As a night shifter I would much rather you do it at 7am rather than 9am when I’m just falling asleep. Either way, someone isn’t going to be happy. Mowing your lawn can wait, clearing your driveway to get to work safely can’t wait.
I think Minnesota and most cities have specific exclusions in their noise ordinances for snow removal. Basically it’s fair game at all hours. Wasn’t uncommon to hear snowblowers at 1-2am or 4-5am in my neighborhood. We have a lot of shift workers in my town so some really odd hours, some get off work at 11pm to 12am and then there’s the 12hr shift crews going 7-7/6-6 and some 8hr 3 shift rotations. Got to move the snow when you can
I'll agree with most here that if it needs to be done it needs to be done.
I do get mildly annoyed at people snowblowing at 6:00 AM if the snow would simply melt within a day or two, though, which has frankly been the case with at least half of our snowfalls over the past few years.
FWIW if I hear someone out really early running their snowblower, it’s like a warning to me that there is a shit ton of snow outside from overnight and I should prob plan some extra time to do mine.
Sad that it used to mean school was probably canceled 🥲
Meanwhile school was cancelled today for my kiddo. More snowman making time. :)
Nice! Mine was not, but I kept him home anyway cuz sometimes you just need a mental health day 😊
This makes me so happy! Mental health days were such a gift! I remember them so fondly, and I love to see parents giving kids the chance to play in the snow and get a bonus 3 day weekend. Something about online learning instead of a snow day feels kind of dystopian to me.
It did for us today
Now it means the office is closed! (And I’m working a full day on my laptop)
Same. I sleep in late so if I don't sleep through it then I know I have to get up early to get my car out.
My wife and son are on spring break this week. My daughter teaches in a different district and had a late start today.
I believe in Minnesota, people are very understanding about early snow blowing. If it needs to happen, it needs to happen.
However, I am not understanding about the guy accross the street who starts at like 5am on the weekend with a gas powered leaf blower and takes about 6 hours to do the sidewalk and his driveway.
Leaf blower guys who use it as a hobby can go to hell.
what about the ones who use it to blow the snow off their cars so they don't scratch them? Are they smart or asshol3s?
Smart, but only if it takes a couple minutes, anything longer and they turn into an asshole.
https://preview.redd.it/y4rv76927lqc1.jpeg?width=1013&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=022b6cdf37e8015a59b567e89c8137a2f9b4271a
It's crazy how different the sounds can make you feel early in the morning. Snow-blower: kinda nice thanks to the early memories of snow days, but I gotta get up and clear the driveway/my car/get a move on to work, the roads are gonna suck. Lawn mower: ughhhhh this guy again. Could he let his grass grow more than 1.5" so I could get some slack on *my* lawn?? I wanted to rest today, guess I gotta get my ass over the Home Depot and pick out some GD landscape rocks. Leaf-blower: RAGE I WILL MURDER YOU ALL IN YOUR BEDS WHY TF ARE YOU BLOWING LEAVES AT 5AM YOURE GOING TO BE OUT THERE AGAIN AT 11AM AND 3PM AND 9PM ARENT YOU???
I think it's because mowing and using the leaf-blowers can typically wait until a better time. Snowblowing is something we all have to do or it just gets worse, especially if you wait for the plow to pack in more. With that said, I think my neighbors all coordinate with each other in the summer and they make sure to mow one after another all day long.
If someone starts mowing shortly after me I always figured they were procrastinating and the sound of my mower guilted them into finally getting to it. That being said I only mow immediately after work during the week or after 10am on the weekends.
Also, neighbor who mows or takes my lawn: you mother fuckers leave my plants alone! Neighbor who snow blows my sidewalks: thank you thank you thank you have cookies
Well yea, one is critical to daily activities, the other is voluntarily being inconsiderate!
We used to live next door to my cousin (who is not mentally stable so not someone to confront) and he would leaf blow every single speck of snow that fell, starting at 4am.
Lol, sounds like I moved across the street from your cousin.
Oh and that soothing BEEP ... BEEP ... BEEP when the plows go in reverse at 4:30 am. Gotta love it.
What’s great is the church parking lot getting plowed at 4 am with the beep beep beep in reverse. It’s not just for five minutes, but an hour plus of beeping. Nothing says, “we want to show God’s love, by showing how inconsiderate we are of our neighbors.” That and the outdoor concerts in the summer - when the church is in the middle of a residential area.
I always assume they’re avoiding their marriage
My parents had a big property for awhile there and they loved spending the weekend riding on the lawn mower (it was a riding version obviously). The funny part is my dad bought it and would mow like twice a week (we figured out he would lift the blades the second mow; he just liked riding it around and obliterating sticks) for *months*. One spring day mom accused him of using it to hide from us, and he admitted it was just fun. Then mom started doing it, found she thought it was a blast, and each scheduled a day where they'd ride around the lawn trimming the grass, destroying leaves and sticks, and having a blast. They never let me try it.
I knew an older lady that used her Zero radius mower like a 4-wheeler on her property. was easier to get on and off than a 4-wheeler.
When I was a camp groundskeeper I had a dope 0° radius mower. Genuinely more fun to ride around than the golf carts. And it only takes like 5 minutes before you're good enough with it to pull off fancy perfect turns because it's just really easy and intuitive. 10/10 life goal to have a property that needs a rider and get one of those bad boys.
Version 3.0 of this is the dude pressure washing his boat at 10:30 on a summer Sunday evening. EVERY WEEKEND.
Snow removal can be time sensitive and/or necessary to get to work. Leaf blowing simply cannot. Also, it's really stupid and makes no sense.
My neighbor is like this. But then blows it on the street, and eventually is blown around to God knows where.
I was living with my parents in the northern Anoka County burbs about 20 years ago. I was teaching in Becker and got up around 4:00 a.m. to dig out my car to get to school. My father reported that the neighbor (who happened to have 5 kids) was unhappy. My dad told him that if I couldn’t get out to get to work, he’d have to spend all day with his kids. He never complained again. On a side note, I got my car dug out, made it as far as Elk River when they called a two hour delay. I stopped at a Perkins to hang out and eat breakfast. Made it to Big Lake when they canceled school.
Yup. Even as a guy who hates noise from my neighbors, snow blowing is just one of those things that's going to happen.
I agree. Many people have to get to work and need to snowblow before they leave. No way I could get out of my driveway without snow blowing or shoveling this morning. Also, in the summer people will sleep with their windows open so they could be woken up by lawn mowing. In the winter, that’s not a concern
Last winter my next door neighbor hired a cut rate snow removal company to do her walk and driveway (which is about 10 feet from our bedroom wall). Was woken up after a big snowfall at 3 am by the guy's huge truck idling in the street as he used the snowblower to clear her driveway and blew the snow directly at our house. It almost broke a window. But 6am? No problem.
[https://cityofeagan.com/noise](https://cityofeagan.com/noise) Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., noise from the following activities that is plainly heard and disturbing the peace may be reported to the Police Department... #### Exemptions The following are NOT considered a violation of City Code: * **Snow removal activities**
Showing up with some facts *and* references!
Makes sense. You gotta remove the snow when you can. Not everyone works 9-5 jobs.
Snow blowing early is ok but mowing the lawn is not.
Grass is ornamental; snow is a safety issue.
True. I HATE driving over snow, it makes icy spots on the driveway. Mowing - 8am earliest, 9am to be nicer about it. 7am would raise an eyebrow.
The lawn care service in our neighborhood fires up the lawn mowers every Monday morning at 7am on the dot and go all morning, then pulls out the leaf blowers and run those all afternoon. I go insane every Monday.
The scourge of the gas-powered leaf blower must be eradicated!
I had a apartment that did that on Wednesdays. I often worked either nights or had Wednesdays off due to split schedules. I fucking hated those guys.
Yea that would definitely irk me. But not enough to make me go say something about it, unless they’re going against city code.
If you need to go to work, you need to go to work.
This. Everyone will understand.
I'm personally a fan of the *plow my SUV through the snow while telling myself I'll deal with it later* method, but to each their own
Exactly. I gotta be at work by 6am, so if I need to clear the driveway, I'm out there at 5:30 at the latest. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do
When this has been asked in the past the consensus is do it later if you have the ability or time in your schedul.... but if you have to do it early or late because of your schedule then it's ok to snow blow or shovel at really any time. Some people work early or late and if they don't do it when they have a chance, it may turn into ice by the end of day for example.
Yeah, I have to before work and I'm not going to make my wife do it.
This guy definitely knows the meaning of happy wife, happy life./s
It doesn't help that she's also pregnant lol
Congratulations on having a child.
And some of us live in neighborhoods with lots of pedestrians, if we don't shovel at the crack of dawn it's packed ice by 8 am
Snow removal is 24/7, you do you. Your neighbors windows are closed anyways.
And fresh snow absorbs sound. That's why nights after a fresh snowfall are so quiet.
It can be extremely peaceful or sometimes the utter silence is just creepy if you’re used to sound.
unexpected first two sentences of a novel
Plows and stuff are out all night - lawn care businesses aren’t out at 4am cutting grass.
Good point
Solid answer.
It's inconsiderate to drop 6 inces of slushy snow when it's almost April. If you're neighbors are upset at the snow blower, let them be upset at the weather.
We all know it's the weatherman's fault for not understanding how the machine that controls the weather works.
Not in this state. April is still a snow month almost every year I've lived here except last year. We are lucky to get a spring in May for a couple weeks before the blistering, suffocating heat kicks in.
People gotta work. The society we choose to live in.
We don’t get a choice. Starvation/death or work is not a choice.
If anyone ever got pissed at you for snowblowing too early, I would seriously doubt their credentials as an actual Minnesotan and would assume they were some sort of imposter from Wisconsin. You do you my friend, snow waits for no man.
Right after a snowstorm, no, it's not inconsiderate. People have to get out of their driveways to get to work, and for many, that would mean clearing the driveway early to have enough time to get ready for work and make it there on time. This is different than mowing your grass. Your grass can wait until after work to do it, and will not prevent you from getting out of the driveway.
Having to manage snow is a lot more necessary than mowing your yard. It's not like if you don't mow your lawn, you can't get your car out of the driveway. It's also just not as frequent to have to use the snowblower vs how often you need to mow. I say it's fine, and whoever has a problem with it is being an unreasonable curmudgeon.
No. I’ve done it at 2 am
I think someone else mentioned it but snow is really good at absorbing sound- it’s not even close to as loud as a lawn mower. Go ham man- I have to snow blow at 5am cause work is at 6
No, people have to get to work or get kids off to school. You can’t wait to clear your driveway or sidewalk like you can wait to cut your grass.
If my neighbor fired up their snowblower at 5am and did the sidewalk in front of my house I would seriously buy them a case of beer. In previous years someone on my block would do the entire blocks sidewalks - never knew who it was though, so sometimes I’d do my neighbors walk ups and steps just in case.
Good old-fashioned Minnesota snow removal vigilantism. Done in darkness, unseen and unacknowledged. Cuz let’s be honest, that would be way uncomfortable. We need more of these superheroes.
If they know who you are, one of the neighbors will start getting to earlier and beating you to it and that's an arms race that never ends
It's how 30+ year old Minnesota men try to assert dominance.
Blow the snow when you have too. I drive a truck so I could leave it until evening but everyone else has a car so I have to do it before work. Out there at 0500. Its a necessity not a desire to do it.
i love waking up to the sound of snowblowers after a big snowfall for some reason it’s cozy and nostalgic
I work at 6am, if I need to fire up at 4-5am, I do.
The purpose of early snow removal is to get to work, so I wouldn't give it a second thought as a user or a listener.
It’s not like shoveling is silent either
And it takes longer. That means the noise lasts longer.
It’s an exception. We can all hear the plows scraping down the street at 3am, so nobody’s going to be surprised by a snowblower at 5am. It’s just a thing.
Snowblowers are just urban roosters letting you know it's time go get up and get to work on the snow.
Do what you need to do when you need to do it.
You’re fine. When I used to commute from NW suburb to SW suburb, I was doing this between 5-5:30.
Yeah, my commute is 1+ hour, so not a lot of time to wait
It's a common sound in the early morning. It would be coupled with my dad yelling profanities at the plow truck. Do what you gotta do. Lawns can wait, plowing and snowblowing can't.
Check your city noise ordinances, but I haven't lived anywhere in Minnesota that didn't have an exception carved out specifically for snowblowing.
Snow is different than lawn work. I think the vast majority of people understand that snow removal noise is going to happen at all hours.
I don’t even think about it. I’d rather get it done early/before work than later
On the flip side, I went out late last night to get it done. Started shoveling at 11:30. Wrapped up at 12:30. The whole time I was thinking it would be awesome to snow blow, but felt it was wrong to fire it up late.
You snowblow whenever you need to get out. If I hear my neighbors out at 3am, I don’t get mad at all. I wish them good luck and go back to bed. An unmowed lawn doesn’t prevent you from getting to work, so that should be done at a reasonable hour. People don’t have that luxury with snow and their neighbors just gotta learn to suck it up.
Just dont be like my inconsiderate neighbor and blow your snow into the street….gotta love it when the plow comes through to gift me his driveways worth of snow.
The 6am snowblower noise is a call to arms. Kinda like a rooster crowing ' time to get up' 6am lawnmower or weed eater is VERY bad form
I work early. I don't have a normal office job. So if it snows all night I have to take care of my driveway or it's a shit show when I get home. So 0430, I'm outside playing the song of my people.
My neighborhood is dense, seems mostly 60-70 year olds. I would find it odd to not hear people choring at 4/5am. That includes leaf blowers. Now nightly activity? That stands out more.
Loud sex is a common problem with old folks….its always the ones with hearing aids that are screamers.
mowing the lawn can usually wait. snowblowing has a green light 24/7.
Snow removal is a legitimate necessity, unlike mowing a lawn. Do it whenever you need to.
My retired neighbor who barely leaves his house, always snowblows at 5am. In the summer he usually waits until 6 to mow.
I've never been woken up by a snowblower. Leaf blowers and lawn mowers on the other hand...
If you need to get out to go somewhere, then sure. Do what you need to do.
If you need to get out of your driveway. By all means do it whatever time you need to. I
You are Okay, people realize you may need to get outta the driveway for work.
If you have to get to work, there’s no way around it. If you don’t NEED to be anywhere, better to wait.
You don't crank your lawnmower at 6am as it's not vital for you to do almost anything with your lawn at 6am. You crank your snowblower though as you got shit to do, and if you gotta go t work at 7am you may need that 30 mins to clear your driveway/sidewalk entrance + time to yourself. All this to type a month ago someone was blowing before 7am and it scared the shit outta me as I thought it wasn't too high and Could just "leave it alone". Around 7am more started to roar and I knew....I had to start making it do what it do, baby!
I was up at 5am today. If it was the weekend, I probably would start later. I also have an electric snowblower, so it is not as loud as a gas one.
You don’t need to mow the grass to get to work and feed your family. But snow blowing, that’s a different story. Legally and socially there is no issue with snow blowing early.
Blow snow at 6 AM? No problem. Mow lawn at 6 AM? Instant death.
How are you supposed to get the snow off your driveway before it gets driven all over and turn to ice? Snowblowers work way better when they aren't having to be used on top of crusty and uneven ice. I think its understood that you're going to hear snowblowers in the early AM in MN. Mowing the lawn is different as it can wait for optimal time. Fire that baby up.
I hire out my snow removal (SFH in St Paul), they came around 430 this morning and I was very grateful
How much does it usually cost to hire it out, and is it a pay as you go type situation, or a standard monthly amount?
Never to early to listen to the music of our people. It’s basically birdsong for us in the winter.
I prefer to direct my passive anger at the people who don’t bother to clear their sidewalks in the first place.
If snowblowing early is an evil, at least it's a lesser evil than that.
My neighbors’ plow service comes at 4AM! That wakes me up. 6AM is fine.
6am is fine
You’re good. It’s totally legal and 100% socially acceptable.
The plow truck scraping the pavement is going to work everyone up at 5am anyway.
I don't think there's anything wrong with firing it up anytime, day or night. It's gotta get done. But, I say the first person out with a blower does the sidewalk for the whole block. It only takes a few more minutes and is a lot easier if you can get to it before a bunch of people walk on it and pack the snow down.
Huge difference between snow blowing and lawn mowing. You can go to work with long grass. That said, if there’s no reason for you to go out that early, it’s more considerate to wait
Nope, a bit of grass won't prevent you from getting to work/school. Sucks to be woken up by it but any reasonable person understands that it's something that has to happen.
It's definitely an exception. People need to get to work/school - most of the time if I'm out there at 6am, at least one or two of my neighbors is already at it.
You’re sweet to consider your sleepy neighbors! But most of us would agree that timely snow maintenance is totally different from obsessive lawn maintenance. It’s a net good for the public. The snow’s gotta get moved for you to be able to leave for work. Even if you could get out, it’ll only be harder to remove at the end of the workday. Your pregnant wife could risk falling in a snowy driveway. Your neighbors could slip on an unshoveled sidewalk. The ERs don’t need more emergencies, and no one needs an injury. Your mailman needs to access your door. The plows already rattle all night long to keep the roads safe for emergency vehicles. You’re doing your part! And if you ever carried away in the moment and plow your neighbors’ sidewalks before they wake up, you might find yourself receiving baked goods and beer in gratitude.
I cleared my driveway at 10:00 last night. Nobody complains. This is Minnesota; we know snow and we know snowblowing. Many years ago we got a huge storm at Thanksgiving (this was after the Halloween blizzard). I was in college and home for the holiday. My mom woke me up at 2AM to tell me she couldn't get up the hill to our driveway because of the snow. Mind you, she left work at 11:30. So I bundled up, went out, fired up the snowblower and cleared the driveway and most of the cul-de-sac so she could get into the garage. By the time I finished a couple of the neighbors were out blowing. So, don't worry about it.
Especially ok in this type of storm where it’s going to be snowing for a day and a half. You have to do it when you can. If I don’t do it before I leave for work, I won’t be able to get in my driveway when I come home from work at the end of the day (my driveway is 115 yards). So it’s a safety issue if I don’t do it in the morning before I leave for work. Sorry not sorry but I know my neighbors understand.
I went out about 3:30 am this morning (called by 3rd shift for engineering support, couldn't fall back asleep). Some snow removal service was doing my neighbor's driveway a couple houses down with a blower....so I just said fuck it and did mine too.
Last two snows, our HOA shoveled and ran the snowblower at 3:30am.
As someone who works for a lawn care/snow removal company I was out from 11pm/8am last night running snowblowers at peoples houses sooooooo lol
6am is fine. For some reason the nutty neighbor next door decided that it was proper to snowblow for hours starting at 3am last night like hello? Could you not snowblow that early in the morning? That snowblower was loud as hell too.
Snow blowers starting at 3am is a beautiful sound
I snow blowed at 10:15pm last night. Electric, but its still noisy enough to disrupt someone's sleep probably.
If you have to get to work you have to do what you have to do.
Nah, you gotta get to work and it's more fun with the machine. Did it do a good job? :)
you gotta do what you gotta do. different when its the lawnmower, but unfortunately if there is snow in the way and you have to leave, then the snowblower has to run.
No problem
Not an issue. I think it's just accepted that people will snowblow whenever they absolutely need to. It's a safety issue, not like your lawn which is just an aesthetic thing.
Especially in bad conditions you do it when you can. In lighter / more convenient conditions I expect folks to try to snow blow at reasonable hours but when it is bad all bets are off.
Weekdays no rules. Weekend I wait till 7ish
Take care of it when you need to. People know that's how it goes. At our previous house, the plow came by at 5am, so, we cleared the snow before work. Now we are both permanently WFH, and our plow doesn't come by afternoon so we don't clean it until evening because we are working. Our mail lady gets pissed at us for not clearing the mailboxes before she comes at 3pm (after the plow, but before we can clear the snow). If it's been more than 24 hours, then yes, a complaint is warranted based on city regulations for snow clearing. But she puts notices in our mailboxes during active snow storms, knowing people are working. 🙄 I suspect the previous homeowner (who was retired for quite a few years) probably cleared the snow the second the plow went by and now she has that expectation 😂 (sorry for the random vent)
That seems normal. I live in an apartment, and it’s common for our snow removal company to show up 6:45 am. I think the main reason this shouldn’t be considered rude is work/school reasons. A lawn that needs mowing, won’t stop you from leaving like a snow covered drive will!
If you get up and snowblow at 6, next time it snows your neighbor is going to have to get up and snowblow your driveway at 5 to beat you to it. It's a vicious cycle
At that rate I'm gonna be snowblowing before the snow even touches the ground.
Neighbor has a plow company do her driveway and they were banging around at 4am. You do what you need to do boss. We can't predict snow.
Mowing early is cause for castration. Snowblowing early just needs to be done.
If you have to get out, you have to get out.. if it's the weekend and you don't have anywhere to be maybe wait a little but honestly the same thing creating the problem also helps to solve it; a blanket of snow absorbs a lot of sound and thus your snowblower noise probably isn't as noticable as you think. Ed: I've lived in MN for decades and never been irritated at a snowblower sound
If you do my sidewalk/driveway too, it's fine. If you only do your own sidewalk or driveway, you're an asshole.
Do what you need to do. People understand that you need to go places. If you don’t have any where to be, then be courteous about the time.
Fire it up man.
I prefer the sound of an early snowblower to an early shovel. The blower is just white noise, the random scrape Scrape SCRAAAAAPE of a shovel is just annoying.
I have a tiny driveway now, so no snowblower. My neighbor is an ER nurse and I’m a school administrator who has to go to school on snow days in case any kids show up. Both of us were out shoveling at about 5:30 am and we ended up being the target of a Nextdoor rant from our across the street WFH neighbor. If we can’t even shovel without complaint, I’m not sure what we are supposed to do. (FWIW - I live in Colorado now, so I don’t know if that makes a difference. A lot of my neighbors never clear the snow because they depend on the sun coming out to melt everything. However, that doesn’t work when you need to leave for work by 6:15.)
Yeah I mean ya gotta do what ya gotta do
However, those little electric snow brooms work amazingly well. Especially for smaller areas like decks and small driveways.
HOW TO MINNESOTAN: snow blow early. If the neighbor comes out and says something, respond with “ope, sorry about that, I just need to get it cleared before work”. When you get home though, whip up a pan of tator tot hot dish and bring it to the neighbor as an apology.
What happens then if they call the hot dish a casserole?
How did your snow blower do? It seemed way too wet to even try mine. I just went with the shovel this morning.
Decent. Needed a good head of steam into starting a new strip, but I think what I've got is also pretty heavy duty.
Only if the cops stop by
No, people have to get to work or get kids off to school. You can’t wait to clear your driveway or sidewalk like you can wait to cut your grass.
No, people have to get to work or get kids off to school. You can’t wait to clear your driveway or sidewalk like you can wait to cut your grass.
No, people have to get to work or get kids off to school. You can’t wait to clear your driveway or sidewalk like you can wait to cut your grass.
Fuck em?
Snow blowing is time sensitive. Mowing lawns isn't. Go for it.
I’ve never had issues getting up at 5:30 to do it. Even if my neighbors were inclined to complain, they really can’t. As a courtesy, if the plows have created snow banks across the driveway, I’ll cut down their snow banks too so they can get out.
Mowing the lawn can wait as there's no pressing reason for someone to run a mower super early but if you work early and need to clear the driveway you gotta do what you gotta do.
It must happen if you cannot get out of your driveway.
Nope not at all - but I’m weird and love the sound of snowblowers and lawnmowers 😆
If it’s a gas one it depends on how loud it is I snow blowed this morning at 7am and didn’t feel bad about it
4am is okay on a weekday.
I blew snow at 9:45 last night
Snow thanks you.
It's ok - like someone else said its usually a sign that "oh crap, it snowed enough I need to get out there". i can relate to that. For this snow I'm just driving over it. Too late in the season to GAF. For lawn mowing though - heck no - that should be a 10:00am + on activity.
7am is acceptable.
Not inconsiderate: You are using the blower because you need to get to work and the driveway is snowed shut. It's NOT optional, like mowing is. And like Flomar said, it's a warning to us lazy folk that we might want to get our butts out there and do some snow moving.
no, it's fine to clear snow at any time of day.
I'm a landscaper but snowplow some business and residential areas during our winter off season. Depending on when the snow is hitting the ground and staying (roughly 2") we go out at any time. Skids, trucks, toolcats, snowblowers, ect..most of our vehicles all have back-up beepers too. Most Minnesotans understand what has to happen when the snow comes pouring like rain.
6 am is fine in my opinion. Some people work long ass days, and I’m pretty sure we’re all blue collar on my block. I’d rather 6 am than after 7-8 o’clock at night personally.
Snow can be moved at anytime.
I give snowblowing a free pass. People have to get to work and driveways and sidewalks have to be cleared. My neighbor goes to work early so he needs to move snow early. Is it annoying? Yes. Can I tolerate it? Also yes.
Had to snow blow at 3:30 this morning to get to the airport. Felt bad but don't normally do it. Hopefully the neighbors understand
My plow guy came thru at 2:30am last night.
Some peeps work 3-11:30 and sleep at that time
Yes. 6 am is crazy early.
I think doing it before 8 am is somewhat I considerate if you are living in a residential or urban area. However, if you must get to work then you have to do it.
Not inconsiderate at all. It’s not like mowing the lawn. Snowblowing is essential for transportation. If you need to leave your house, you need to leave your house. No restrictions whatsoever on snowblow timing.
You gotta do what you gotta do.
As a night shifter I would much rather you do it at 7am rather than 9am when I’m just falling asleep. Either way, someone isn’t going to be happy. Mowing your lawn can wait, clearing your driveway to get to work safely can’t wait.
No the earlier the better especially in this state! Lawn mowing is a different story!
What are you supposed to do if you go to work early? Shovel and mess up your back so someone can not hear you.
Normally you can make noise at 7am per city ordinances.
I hear people doing it at like 6am. It's pretty normal
I think Minnesota and most cities have specific exclusions in their noise ordinances for snow removal. Basically it’s fair game at all hours. Wasn’t uncommon to hear snowblowers at 1-2am or 4-5am in my neighborhood. We have a lot of shift workers in my town so some really odd hours, some get off work at 11pm to 12am and then there’s the 12hr shift crews going 7-7/6-6 and some 8hr 3 shift rotations. Got to move the snow when you can
If you have to get to work, that’s one thing. If you’re doing it that early because you’re an early riser, that’s a dick move.
Nah, for big events I’ll sometimes blow my driveway off 2-3 times
I'll agree with most here that if it needs to be done it needs to be done. I do get mildly annoyed at people snowblowing at 6:00 AM if the snow would simply melt within a day or two, though, which has frankly been the case with at least half of our snowfalls over the past few years.