I'm something of a snowstorm warrior.

I grew up in the Northeast. And also in the Midwest. And I also did a stint in Central Pennsylvania, a place that is geographically in the Northeast but culturally -- well, somewhere else.

And then I went to college in Michigan.

So I know cold, and I know snow. (Note: I didn't say that I like either of them.)

And I also know this: every person older than, say, ten has a need to compare the latest storm to THE WORST STORM EVER. Of course, it's all relative. The worst storm ever for a Floridian or Californian (see Jeff Ranieri and Talia Bluth blog entries) is different than a North Dakotan's experience.

I'm no different. As the details about the winter storm approaching the Northeast trickle in, I'm already thinking back to the worst storm I've suffered through, er, seen. What comes to mind? Well, pretty much the storms that I 'enjoyed' as a child. The short list amounts to 'The Girl Scout Cookie Storm,' 'The Philadelphia Eagles Jackets Storm,' and 'The One Without Gloves.'

By the way, these are not the names the storms were given by meteorologists.

Probably the most memorable was 'The Girl Scout Cookie Storm.' Oh, you may have heard of it -- it's known everywhere else as 'The Blizzard of '78.'

My mother, brothers and I had gone to the movies that day, not realizing that by the time we got out of the flick ('Close Encounters Of The Third Kind,' to be specific), there would be several inches of snow on the ground. We had several close encounters of our own with other cars as we fishtailed our way home from the movie.

Apparently we weren't the only family caught by surprise at the intensity of this storm. Predicting the path of a Nor'easter (for that is what it was) is difficult enough, and back in the ancient times when I was a kid, it was that much tougher.

So why 'The Girl Scout Cookie Storm'? Well, given that we didn't know a major storm was approaching, we didn't have much food in the house. Except for -- wait for it -- the many cartons of Girl Scout Cookies I was expected to sell. Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Patties were our mainstay for three days.

For my brothers and me it was heaven. And due to my unimpressive sales skills, were it not for that storm I would not have earned my Cookie Badge. But for my mother, it was the kind of story she felt would have Social Services ringing our doorbell. And so, after that storm (and though my stint in The Girl Scouts ended shortly after it), we became a family partial to the Scouts motto: Be Prepared. Those winter prep kits are well worth having.

Got a good story about YOUR worst storm ever? Share it with our readership and post a comment below!