"I was left with two neat piles of snow either side, and thought I could do something with them, " she said.

BBC: Gargoyle snowmen

She describes herself as "not an artist by any means" and said she printed a picture of a gargoyle before returning to her piles of snow.

BBC: Gargoyle snowmen

Shoveling piles and piles of snow?

FORBES: How Would I Behave If I Were Happy

In Colorado, the U.S. Forest Service planned to take advantage of the snow to burn piles of dead trees on federal land.

NPR: Winter Storm Blankets Great Plains With Snow

The match will be remembered in American soccer for the elements as much as the 1967 Ice Bowl is in the NFL. As the snow increased, it made the field resemble a cake topped with piles of sugar, and players' hair turned white as snow stuck along their scalps.

WSJ: Americans Beat Costa Rica 1-0 in Snow

"I am worried about flooding my home with all those piles there, " said Mr. Steiner, 59, an environmental consultant who estimates he has shoveled 150 tons of snow off his roof and driveway since last fall.

WSJ: Winter Seems Eternal in Anchorage, Alaska