The great snowstorm isolates the Overlook

The great snowstorm that isolates the Overlook Hotel marks the point of no return for the Torrance family, transforming the hotel from a remote workplace into a prison where the supernatural forces of the building can operate without interference. The storm begins in earnest on the evening of November 7, after weeks of unseasonably fine weather, and within hours the road back to Sidewinder is buried under an even blanket of white. The family watches from the front porch as the decision to stay or go is taken out of their hands; the bridge has been crossed, and they are now cut off from the world until spring.

Causes and Background

The isolation is the culmination of the Overlook's history and geography. The hotel was built in the years 1907 to 1909 by Robert Townley Watson, and its location high in the Rocky Mountains, forty miles east of Sidewinder, means that the roads are closed from late October or November until April. Stuart Ullman, the manager, had warned Jack Torrance during the job interview that the winters are "fantastically cruel" and that the telephone lines between the hotel and Sidewinder are aboveground and go down almost every winter, often staying down for three weeks to a month and a half. The previous winter caretaker, Delbert Grady, had killed his family and himself during the winter of 1970-71, a tragedy Ullman attributed to "cabin fever" and too much cheap whiskey. Jack, despite his own history of alcoholism and violence, had insisted that his wife and son could handle the isolation, but the storm proves more severe than anyone anticipated.

What Happens

The snow begins at dusk on November 7. The sky had been completely clouded over by two-thirty, and it started snowing an hour later. This time it is no flurry; the snow falls in perfectly straight lines at first, building up a cover that coats everything evenly, but within an hour the wind begins to blow from the northwest, creating drifts against the porch and the sides of the driveway. Beyond the grounds, the highway disappears under the white blanket. The hedge animals are also buried under amorphous white cloaks. The family stands on the porch, Jack in the middle with his arms around Wendy and Danny, watching as the decision is taken out of their hands. They go inside to have supper, leaving the wind to build to a low-pitched scream that will go on all night. The Overlook faces the storm as it has for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened windows now bearded with snow, indifferent to the fact that it is now cut off from the world. Inside its shell, the three of them go about their early evening routine, like microbes trapped in the intestine of a monster.

Consequences and Aftermath

The isolation has immediate and escalating consequences. Within a week and a half, two feet of snow lie white and crisp on the grounds, with some drifts over five feet deep. The phone goes out for the last eight days, and the CB radio becomes their only communications link with the outside world. The wind constantly changes the drifts, sculpting them into sinuous, dunelike shapes. Jack snowshoes clumsily around to the equipment shed for his shovel to clear the porch, but the truly heroic drifts lie against the Overlook's west side, some towering to a height of twenty feet. The first-floor windows are covered, and the view from the dining room is now no more exciting than a blank movie screen. It snows every day now, sometimes only brief flurries, sometimes for real, with the low whistle of the wind cranking up to a womanish shriek that makes the old hotel rock and groan alarmingly even in its deep cradle of snow. Night temperatures do not get above 10°, and the steady knife edge of the wind makes it uncomfortable to go out without a ski mask. The family goes out on sunny days, often wearing two sets of clothing and mittens over gloves, but their laughter seems tinny and forced against the whooping, impersonal voice of the wind. The isolation also enables the Overlook's supernatural forces to intensify. The hedge animals begin to move, the elevator runs by itself, and Jack's descent into madness accelerates. The storm effectively seals the hotel, making rescue impossible and allowing the horror to unfold without interruption until the final explosion.