Enough with the snow already

[ny biker]

Forecasts for this weekend are still vague but they're saying a "major snow event" is very likely. I just got an Arlington Alert email saying to be prepared to shelter in place for 3-5 days.

I went to the grocery story tonight because I thought I would beat the pre-storm pre-superbowl madhouse. I was totally wrong. It was mobbed. And Wednesday is usually their slowest night.

I am so not into this. Damned el nino.

Edit: Forecasts are getting more specific. Just got this from a neighbor:

http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/wwd/day3_psnow_gt_12.gif

NOAA & NWS are projecting a 70% chance that we'll get 12+".

[7rider]

I heard 12" to 20" Friday into Saturday. Hoo BABY!
DH and a friend were at the fitness center tonight, plotting to head to Whitetail (http://www.skiwhitetail.com/)on Saturday.
If you can't beat 'em...join 'em.

[ny biker]

And once again, I need a haircut the same weekend we're getting a blizzard. I only get haircuts every 6-8 weeks, so you'd think I'd find a nice day to do it. I made my appointment for 12:15 on Friday, taking a long lunch and hoping the real snow doesn't start until later in the afternoon.

On the plus side, I just bought all the ingredients for my first attempt at lasagna, so that's one project to keep me busy (and fed!) while I'm stuck at home. Bonus points since the oven will help warm up the house.

[Cataboo]

I heard 12" to 20" Friday into Saturday. Hoo BABY!
DH and a friend were at the fitness center tonight, plotting to head to Whitetail (http://www.skiwhitetail.com/)on Saturday.
If you can't beat 'em...join 'em.

Let me know where you guys end up and if you want to try a cross country trip. I told my sister I might bail on her husband's whitetail birthday trip. 'cause I'm a shitty sister.

[tulip]

I'm really getting tired of the snow and winter. Usually I like snow, but Enough Already is right! I don't have XC skis or snowshoes. But I do have nice winter boots--first time in years, and what a great year to get some, finally.

And I haven't been to the grocery store yet. Tomorrow will be a madhouse.

I have studded mountain bike tires, but I have no mountain bike!

[Cataboo]

I'm loving it... For once I've got 4wd, snowshoes, and cross country skis and SNOW... Not to mention, I only live about 5 miles from Gambrill state park, so there's a lot of forested mountain park for me to explore in the snow.

The last couple years of having snowshoes and cross country skis for absolutely no reason (other than that I saw 'em really cheap in an rei clearance sale) were kind of annoying, but this year is redeeming my obsessive compulsive purchasing habits.

The downhill skis are also getting a bit more of a workout because this is the best mid-atlantic east coast skiing that I've ever had.

I do have a mountain bike, but can't say I've been out on it this winter. I have seen bike tracks in the snow up on Gambrill...

[Zen]

WOOHOO!

XC skis, a Jeep, and bean soup fixins!

[Kathi]

We'll take it if you don't want it. I'm sick of skiing groomed runs, want more powder and fewer rocks. This El Nino year is messing up the Central Rockies (Vail, Breck, Copper, etc) ski resorts. This area is at 76% normal snowpack. Could eventually affect our water supply for the summer if it doesn't start snowing. :(

Hopefully, spring will bring the snow!

[Selkie]

Wish we could send it to you, Kathi.

I'm with NYBiker, I'm sick of it. You can't get anything done --- normal errands, etc. Can't even walk the dogs because the sidewalks get icy (some people won't shovel, despite the county "rules."). The clean up takes a long time. We JUST got rid of the last of the December storm old fossilized snow boulders in the road.

At this rate, local governments will have to raise taxes and/or cut services because most have gone through their snow clearing budgets. And the kids will be in school until July, making up snow days.

Those of you going skiing, you'd better get a head start. Remember what happened this past weekend on the beltway.

Hopefully, here, spring will bring warm days, crocuses, and lots of fresh green.

[7rider]

We'll take it if you don't want it. I'm sick of skiing groomed runs, want more powder and fewer rocks. This El Nino year is messing up the Central Rockies (Vail, Breck, Copper, etc) ski resorts. This area is at 76% normal snowpack. Could eventually affect our water supply for the summer if it doesn't start snowing. :(

Hopefully, spring will bring the snow!

Dang. That's just where DH and I are headed on Saturday the 13th. :mad: Breck, Keystone, A-Basin........
Mickchick....I got a mtb, but no studded tires. We should talk! ;)
Last saturday on the beltway was chaos. DH and I were returning from Chantilly and saw some ding-dong in a Maserati, fishtailing, spinning and going NOwhere fast on the hill approaching the American Legion Bridge. Lots of big ol' SUVs with 20" spinner wheels that don't really have what you'd call "winter tires." Better to be stylin' then safe, I suppose. :rolleyes:

[sfa]

I'm loving it! I just wish all the snow would stop hitting on weekends so I could get an unexpected day off of work.

Another bad thing about weekend storms: they're having to pay all the road crews overtime to get it cleared off. They've long since blown through the snow removal budget in every county in the state and it's going to get worse.

Sarah

[Kathi]

A-Basin has a 29" base, Keystone 30 ish and Breck claims 54". Snow is predicted all the rest of this week but no totals mentioned. Breck and Keystone are ok but without fresh snow we're avoiding many of the off piste areas.

Mostly we're getting onesy, twosy's in snowfall.

We have the same problems with drivers here, crews keep I-70 as clean as possible but drivers in those big SUV's, or sports cars, think they can blow everyone away. Many times they're rentals without 4wd but even with 4wd driving in snow is a different animal.

Our streets in Lakewood don't get plowed, except the street by the school. Kids rarely get snow days and life goes on as usual. We still have snow in our backyard from the 2 feet we got back in Dec. but are begging for moisture now. We don't get the rain like you do in the east and midwest.

Enjoy your snow! :)

[ny biker]

Dang. That's just where DH and I are headed on Saturday the 13th. :mad: Breck, Keystone, A-Basin........
Mickchick....I got a mtb, but no studded tires. We should talk! ;)
Last saturday on the beltway was chaos. DH and I were returning from Chantilly and saw some ding-dong in a Maserati, fishtailing, spinning and going NOwhere fast on the hill approaching the American Legion Bridge. Lots of big ol' SUVs with 20" spinner wheels that don't really have what you'd call "winter tires." Better to be stylin' then safe, I suppose. :rolleyes:

Was it a yellow Maserati? If so I know where he lives.

My brother-in-law used to work in an autobody shop. He said that the day after any snowstorm, the shop was always filled with SUVs. 4WD does not help you stop.

[7rider]

Was it a yellow Maserati? If so I know where he lives.

My brother-in-law used to work in an autobody shop. He said that the day after any snowstorm, the shop was always filled with SUVs. 4WD does not help you stop.

No, it was silver. Or a very dirty white. I think silver.

And big, low profile summer tires don't help at all....4wd or not. Look da bomb, and lots of stick on hot, sticky, dry asphalt. Not so hot on 4 inches of slush.

[Cataboo]

4wd doesn't allow you to keep driving at 60 mph in slipper conditions either.

I didn't go more than a few miles last Saturday before the roads were clear, and my subaru wasn't doing great at turning.

I kept off the roads mostly though.


Breckenridge typically grooms really well, so there will be great groomer skiing there. I didn't go by keystone in Dec when I was out there, but it's usually icy at the best of times.

[ny biker]

I am mentally preparing myself to shovel out this weekend. But this is what I'm worried about:

My sister's birthday is Feb 10. My father and I have often commented that we usually get snow somewhere between her birthday and Valentine's Day. And every few years we get a blizzard somewhere between her birthday and President's Day.

But this next storm is coming on Feb 6!! So is the traditional blizzard just a bit early, or will we get another one in a week or two????? :eek:

[Selkie]

I am mentally preparing myself to shovel out this weekend. But this is what I'm worried about:

My sister's birthday is Feb 10. My father and I have often commented that we usually get snow somewhere between her birthday and Valentine's Day. And every few years we get a blizzard somewhere between her birthday and President's Day.

But this next storm is coming on Feb 6!! So is the traditional blizzard just a bit early, or will we get another one in a week or two????? :eek:

The final indignity: I turn 47 on 6 February. Yes, one of the most anti-snow people in the DC area will have a BLIZZARD (and not the DQ kind) as her birthday present! :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(

Let's hope this is IT.

[Zen]

i think I heard something about a second storm...

[Cataboo]

I'm gonna be sleeping with my pj's inside out to try to get a 2nd storm.

[Selkie]

Just got an email from the milkman---they are starting Friday delivers tonight! Thank goodness because I was afraid we'd miss out on our weekly "moo juice fix."

Just keep your fingers crossed that you don't lose power because it's supposed to be a heavy snow.

[spokewench]

I'm feeling for you all. After the 5 feet in 5 days, we got all shoveled out except for the roof. It's been almost 2 weeks now since the last storm, but we've only got about 1/2 the roof shoveled off. 1/2 to go.

More snow to come this weekend too, but I'm hopeful, it doesn't look like it will amount to much.

spoke

[Selkie]

Oh Spoke, that's the pits....

Believe it or not, OPM has already announced "liberal leave" policy for Friday. You betcha I won't be going in---hit the pool bright and early for a loooong swim, then home to batten down the hatches before the "white madness" arrives.

[ny biker]

I have the benefit of working only 4 miles from home and not having to leave Arlington County all day. My commute includes a couple of big hills but they are always well-tended in winter storms. So I will be at work tomorrow.

However since I won't be able to get my haircut at Tysons on Saturday I scheduled it for lunchtime tomorrow. If the forecast is accurate, the snow will still be light then. They're saying conditions won't get bad until late afternoon-evening.

Depending on how things develop, I will probably not stay at the office for a full day. I can go home early and work from home if necessary. Regardless, I am expecting to work from home on Monday. I suspect the govt will be closed that day. I would be very happy if accumulations were not too great and they are able to get all the roads clear in time for Monday's morning rush, but I will bring work home just in case.

BTW I cannot imagine having 5 feet of snow on the ground -- I've never lived anywhere that got hit that hard.

[tulip]

We got socked with a foot last weekend, now you DCers are going to get just as much if not more. We're supposed to get 5-6" today, then it turns to rain, then to sleet, then to snow again tomorrow for another 6"...sounds like it will be a real mess.

Last weekend it was light and fluffy and beautiful (and very cold). Right now it's snowing hard, and it's beautiful. I'm not going anywhere, though.

I wish I had bought some Yak Trax, though. They are really helpful in icy conditions (walking).

[owlice]

Just as with the December storm, it seems that every time I look at a severe weather alert, the total accumulation is higher. A foot... 18"... 20-28"... and this morning, 20-30", "WITH SOME LOCATIONS IN EXCESS OF 30 INCHES," as the alert says. Yee-haw!

My Giant closes at 11 PM, so last night, I left at 10:40 PM to pick up cat food and, the obvious companion product, cat litter. I'd stopped earlier at Trader Joe's; I didn't need much (which was good, because they were out of soooo much!), but did want a few things. Got blood oranges, chocolate croissants, salad stuff... just a few things.

Last weekend, I slipped on the snow in my (very steep) driveway; I unfortunately missed landing on all the heavily padded parts of my pelvis (so bony parts hurt) and haven't been able to ride all week. I just could not stand it anymore, so took my bike to work today and got in a very short, easy ride around the Mall before showing up at my office. My drive home was s-l-o-w, but now I'm home, cozy and warm and with dark chocolate, so bring on the snow! (It gives me an excuse to stay home and put away the Christmas stuff! :eek:)

[ny biker]

Here are my first pics of the storm, taken around 9:30 pm on Friday night. It started snowing ~10 am, so this is after almost 12 hours. However it didn't really start to stick until 3:00ish.

http://picasaweb.google.com/bowmandj626/SNOMAGEDDON

I will update this album with more photos as the weekend progresses.

p.s. An epic storm needs an epic name. Which do we prefer:

snOMG
Snowpocalypse
Snowmageddon

[Zen]

Super Mega Snowfall

Just came in from taking the hounds to pee.
The wind is really whipping. I sure hope I don't lose power, I'll be one of the last to get it back, densely populated areas get first priority.

[Possegal]

I've been going with Snowmageddon myself. I do like watching to see what the different TV stations will call it, and what logo they will give it. I like CBS with "super storm" and there is a football in the corner of the logo. :)

I loaded up a few pics, hope I link it right. Never used picasaweb before but seemed easy enough.

http://picasaweb.google.com/thekidscienitst/Snowmageddon2010#

[Cataboo]

* PRECIPITATION TYPE...HEAVY SNOW...ACCOMPANIED OCCASIONALLY BY THUNDER OVERNIGHT.

* ACCUMULATIONS...WIDESPREAD STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 20 TO 30 INCHES...WITH SOME LOCATIONS RECEIVING LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS ESPECIALLY ACROSS WESTERN MARYLAND AND THE EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE.


Thunder snow????


My Mom lost power about 2 hours ago, she was pretty impressed that it only took them about an hour & a half to get power back. Va power sent out 5 trucks.

The BF didn't listen to me & leave work early today - kept telling me that the snow wasn't sticking in Columbia... I was doing the... erm, well, it's sticking in Frederick & your Passat sucks in the snow... So guess what happens when he gets about 1 mile to my house?

He couldn't get his car started again, so I drove over to help him - efforts to try to pry his hood open with a piece of rebar just bent the rebar. He had some webbing in his car, so we just tied it to the hitch of my subaru and first pulled it across the intersection into a parking lot, but then decided that worked well enough that we just went ahead and pulled it all the way to my house. GEICO is supposedly sending out a tow truck to get it tomorrow.

Some couple in a pickup truck stopped to offer to tow it across the street to the parking lot for $20 when we were still attempting to see if we could push it (not enough traction). It was a little bizarre. Not that we wouldn't have offered them money if they'd volunteered to do it. I'm just not used to people stopping and offering to help only if you pay them.

Gonna go out and play with the cross country skis now, I think.

[owlice]

I love thunder snows!!! SO cool!!

My power lines are heavily weighted with snow and the power blipped off for about 30 seconds just a few minutes ago.

I'd fallen asleep on the sofa, woke up about an hour ago, and WOW! to the snow that had fallen while I was sleeping! VERY impressive!! I took several pictures of the patio, then looked out the side door at the car -- can still tell it's a car, but probably not for much longer -- and then opened the front door to look at the street... and woke up one of the feral beasties, who'd been sleeping in a box on my porch. Said feral beastie is now under my bed. The resident beasties are not amused. I'm afraid to go to sleep, lest full-scale feline warfare break out, or the feral beastie need to pee and I sleep through the walking-around-looking-for-a-pee-spot moment.

Catronia, bizarre indeed about the couple in the pickup truck! I'm glad the webbing worked well and you got your BF's car all the way home. Did you really go cross country skiing at midnight??

I was out on my porch for a bit (petting the feral beastie) and it's not nearly so cold as it looks like it should be; checked the temp, and was surprised to find it's a very reasonable 32F.

[Zen]

I've never seen Wolfsville look like this. Very pretty. The power is still on for now.
Rednecks are seizing the opportunity, up and down the road on snowmobiles.

[HillSlugger]

Did anyone hear thunder? I sampled one spot on the patio at 17" but I don't think it was in the deepest spot. I'm gonna need a bigger ruler!http://home.comcast.net/~nicole.thomas14/Ruler18-P2060191.jpg

[ny biker]

I took more pics this morning but can't get my laptop to recognize my camera when I try to upload them. I don't know if the problem is with the camera or the laptop/operating system or what. Oh well, try again later.

I briefly lost my cable access last night (TV and internet both went out) but fortunately it didn't last long. It made me really glad that I didn't switch my phone service from Verizon to Comcast.

They closed I-66 last night around 11:30 pm. The Postal Service is closed today in DC, NoVa, parts of Maryland. Delivery and retail services will resume on Monday.

[owlice]

Pictures here (http://s861.photobucket.com/albums/ab178/owlice1/Blizzard%20January%202010/).

[HillSlugger]

http://home.comcast.net/~nicole.thomas14/Nicole2-P2060195.jpg

I measured 23"

[owlice]

Nice pic; you look like you're having fun!

I haven't tried to measure yet. Maybe I should get out of my pajamas and go do so!

[HillSlugger]

Nice pic; you look like you're having fun!

I haven't tried to measure yet. Maybe I should get out of my pajamas and go do so!

I wish I had snowshoes!

[Zen]

I'm considering getting dressed too.
If nothing else, this is a great excuse for sloth :)

Does Puddems have a dry place to go? When I had a stray, I had a box in the carport with heating pad and blankets.

[HillSlugger]

Pictures here (http://s861.photobucket.com/albums/ab178/owlice1/Blizzard%20January%202010/).

Why were you up at 4AM?

I love the picture of the snow in the end of your railing.

[Zen]

I was up at 4 too. I don't sleep well.

I hear of a XC skier on 395

[owlice]

Zen, Puddems was not out for very long; the snow's novelty wore off very quickly!! Of the three ferals I feed (all of which have boxes out front should they want them), I haven't seen two of them since yesterday afternoon, so I'm worrying about them. They often sleep in my neighbor's bushes, so I may call my neighbor, ask him to meet me at the fence, and give him some cat food to toss under his bushes. This assumes he can get out his front door, however.... dang. This means I should probably wade through the snow myself to look for these beasts.

MDHillSlug, I fell asleep on the sofa shortly after 9 PM, and woke up just before 2 AM -- the sofa's not all that comfortable! -- was up until just after 4, and then went back to sleep (in bed) until 8.

[Possegal]

some of my neighbors have been digging out their cars. I joined in, figuring better to get a start on it now. No intention of going anywhere though. Then I see one guy with several people in the car, heading on out, in his 4-dr Ford sedan. I thought - really? That doesn't look too smart. Moments later, he comes walking back by me, then again carrying a shovel, then another guy does the same. Then I notice, they are stuck, about 100 yds from the street. And now they are blocking the road and having to dig themselves out. Very bright, dude! Earlier today, the gigantic plow/salt truck got stuck there. Another truck had to come and try to pull it out from the snow drift it was stuck in.

I think I messed up the previous link.
http://picasaweb.google.com/thekidscienitst/Snowmageddon2010?feat=directlink

[Zen]

Really? It's gotten that bad that you're just throwing your vodka bottles out the door?

[Catrin]

Pictures here (http://s861.photobucket.com/albums/ab178/owlice1/Blizzard%20January%202010/).


Wow! I have never seen so much snow in my life outside of pictures and certainly helps me to look at our paltry 6 inches of snow quite differently. The shots of your patio furniture, and the final shots of the cars are just amazing! Enjoy your time at home!

[owlice]

Catrin, that wasn't the end of the snow, either; I'll be uploading the final shots later. Heck, the last pictures there were 5 or 6 hours ago! It stopped snowing here 35 minutes ago (not that I was counting the minutes or anything...). I measured in various places; measurements ranged from 24"-27".

Possegal, your neighbor is a yutz!! I have the news on, and they are imploring people to stay off the roads, now that the snow has stopped, so the plows can get out there to clear. Great pictures, and oh, how smart to attach the yardstick to something; I wish I'd thought of that!

Zen, lol! No need to put vodka in the freezer to keep it on ice!

I went out to clear some, not to try to get my car out -- can't do that with the wires across the driveway -- but to make a path from my porch to my neighbors' tree, under which the ferals hang out sometimes. The neighbor husband came out, too, to look under his trees for the cats, digging around them from his door to my driveway. (I have the sweetest neighbors!)

My path is crooked because of the wires, but at least my sidewalk is walkable!

[Possegal]

Really? It's gotten that bad that you're just throwing your vodka bottles out the door?

My cousin said to me - now I see why you were doing so much shoveling! I told her it's like my own version of a Kong. Hide some treasure to encourage the shoveling. :)

[ny biker]

They've plowed the parking lot in our courtyard and now some of my neighbors are out shoveling around their cars. I'm waiting until tomorrow to shovel. I just showered and changed into fresh pajamas. Now I'm gonna eat cookies. :D

[Zen]

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/LevitationDog-1.jpg
Rox has been studying levitation.

I got plowed out for $10.00!
Photos here-
http://picasaweb.google.com/zencentury/SuperMegaSnowfall2010#

[HillSlugger]

Snow Angel!

http://home.comcast.net/~nicole.thomas14/SnowAngel-IMG_0036.jpg

[Zen]

I thought of doing that but have no one to help me up :o

[HillSlugger]

I thought of doing that but have no one to help me up :o

Actually, neither did I; wasn't easy getting up!

[aicabsolut]

I cleaned my bike. Again. Put on new bar tape. I'm supposed to be racing next weekend. I'll look ready, but my body definitely won't be. Haven't been able to ride 54 miles (my race distance) but a handful of times, at best, this year (can't make it that long on the trainer...and I hate the trainer).

[Zen]

Snow Angel!


Deck Dive! (http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/offbeat/video-the-deck-dive-blizzard-2010-020610)

[Possegal]

My brother and sister in law, back in pittsburgh, have been without power since 10:30 last night. Their road was finally plowed enough that they could get out and go to a hotel to try and get warm. 30 minutes after checking in, power goes out at the hotel. I will not be buying any lottery tickets with them. :) They need to try and get to one of our sibs houses who still have power. UGH.

My niece here lost power earlier, she told me she was reading a book by her bike LED light. :)

[Cataboo]

There's already a wiki on this storm:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_blizzard_of_2010


My power went out for a couple hours this morning, but that was it. I heard from 7rider this morning - she wasn't going to whitetail (or anywhere) and her power had gone out at 6 am and still wasn't back on. Hopefully she's got power again, but she hasn't posted since.


My nice neighbor nextdoor with a snowblower did the sidewalk in front of my house & in front of my car, so I couldn't very well sit inside and be lazy during - so shovelled the walkway from my front door & along side the car.

Then we went out with cross country skis and got quite a workout (definitely not a good idea to fall over, cause even with poles it's hard to get back up) and came back and finished digging the cars out even though the road isn't plowed.

[HillSlugger]

My mom was without power from about midnight until around 4 this afternoon.

[dingster1]

WE had power bumps Friday night at the Emergency Center but kept power. I fell in a snow bank walking home from work on Saturday. We've been bundled up till my son shoveled out the car. Good times!!!

[Selkie]

I think the folks in Monty county had it the worst---all those power outages!!! And the roof collapses...

Fingers crossed that OPM shuts us down tomorrow. There is no way we could get our cars out---no plow has been through yet and the county anticipates not hitting the neighborhoods until 48 hours after the snow stops (tomorrow pm).

On our slog/walk through the neighborhood yesterday, we saw a neighbor with a snowblower who had cleared off his entire cul de sac! Of course, the road to which it connects was impassible, despite the plow having gone through earlier (that one is a secondary road).

DH just went out on foot to get the NYT and the Post, since there is no way the paper delivery guys will make it. Hopefully, the Safeway will be open.

[owlice]

http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab178/owlice1/More%20Blizzard%20January%202010/P2060060.jpg

That's on the patio table.

One of the missing ferals has shown up for food, the sturdy one; the other was the very skinny, very decrepit cat. These two are always together, and to have one show up without the other... :(

The rest of my blizzard photos are here (http://s861.photobucket.com/albums/ab178/owlice1/More%20Blizzard%20January%202010/).

[Cataboo]

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs161.snc3/18845_301804491864_624946864_3531488_7652435_n.jpg

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs161.snc3/18845_301805011864_624946864_3531496_5215536_n.jpg

This front bump is a vw passat wagon. back bump is my subaru.
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs161.snc3/18845_301867146864_624946864_3531601_5617_n.jpg

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs261.ash1/18845_301804681864_624946864_3531491_6136906_n.jpg

[Cataboo]

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs261.ash1/18845_301804821864_624946864_3531493_1286632_n.jpg

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs161.snc3/18845_301804911864_624946864_3531495_1234408_n.jpg

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs261.ash1/18845_301866816864_624946864_3531595_2195426_n.jpg

[owlice]

Wow! Catriona, did you measure? You got LOTS!! And what's with the "front bump" and "back bump"? All I saw was bump, with no front nor back!!

I should probably go shower and then get to shoveling.... right after I call the phone company about the stupid sagging lines!

[ny biker]

Just found this snow plowing map for Arlington County:

http://gis.arlingtonva.us/maps/standard_maps/snow/CountyWide_Snow.pdf

Interesting. I know our condo maintenance people plow my block (which is in the "other" category), but I wouldn't be surprised if they also do the roads in our neighborhood that the are considered secondary roads for the county to plow.

I'm getting ready to get out there and shovel now. I was worried it would freeze overnight, but some neighbors are out there now and they don't seem to be having trouble, other than with the sheer quantity of it.

[HillSlugger]

Wow! Catriona, did you measure? You got LOTS!! And what's with the "front bump" and "back bump"? All I saw was bump, with no front nor back!!

I should probably go shower and then get to shoveling.... right after I call the phone company about the stupid sagging lines!

Shovel then shower or you'll need to shower again! ;)

[HillSlugger]

We just did almost 2hrs of shoveling and we're not done. Cleaned off both cars, dug out both sides of mine, driver's side and all of behind Michele's; still need to do some real heavy lifting behind mine and the stuff between M's car and the neighbor's.

[tulip]

We got "only" 6 inches down here, but it was really snowing hard yesterday. I went out anyways to a University of Richmond basketball game. It was lots of fun.

On Friday night we had lots of rain, then it snowed all day on Saturday.

Looks like fun! Reminds me of 2003 in DC. That was a good one (although this one appears to be bigger).

[divingbiker]

I'm all dug out here in Takoma Park, waiting on a plow.

I talked to 7rider, and they've been without power since yesterday. But they've got a wood stove and a gas stove and gas hot water, so they're doing ok.

At least there won't be much shoveling required tomorrow, so I can enjoy my day off doing taxes and laundry. :rolleyes:

[ny biker]

Shovel then shower or you'll need to shower again! ;)

Oh yeah, that hot shower works wonders on the sore muscles after shoveling.

[Tuckervill]

Usually I get to slide casually through winter being glad I don't live in the northeast or the midwest. Normally I'd be looking for sprigs of daffodils under the leaves by now. But this year, I get to participate in the snow games! Six to 8 inches expected tomorrow! Highly unusual for Arkansas. I heard yesterday that our school district hasn't had a full week of school since the new year (MLK day was in there, too).

No ice expected, so I'm thinking the power will stay on.

Karen

[owlice]

Oh yeah, that hot shower works wonders on the sore muscles after shoveling.

But I really, really needed a shower; I couldn't stand my own stink!! :D

I did go shovel, for 2.5 hours. I have more, oh, so much more, to do, but need the lines hanging over the driveway to be fixed before I can finish, which will likely be just in time for Tuesday's snow, dangfraznabbit.

[Selkie]

Sorry to hear that 7 lost power---heard that Silver Spring was hit pretty hard w/power outages. Hopefully, they will have it restored soon.

Our street remains untouched by a plow, but that's understandable given the conditions of many of the main roads... I might go out and shovel out the road in front of our house. Five to ten more inches expected tomorrow pm into Wednesday morning, unfortunately. I'm not sure when I'm going to make it back to work (thank goodness, OPM gave us today off).

Hope everyone is safe. I feel really bad for the folks who have to go in to work today.

[HillSlugger]

We got out for a short drive over to the grocery store. Georgia Ave was awful up here, still snow covered (especially at intersections) and not even open full width.

I don't know how the area will cope with another 6-10" :eek:

[bmccasland]

Quoted a friend at the Super Bowl party last night, who was trying to figure out how to fly INTO Washington D.C. for a scheduled meeting today. Umm, the federal government is shut down, the airports are shut down, have a beer and enjoy the game. She finally confirmed that there are no available flights, her meeting is cancelled - and then she could have that beer or two or three - especially after the Saints won!

It is confirmend, Hell has frozen over, the Saints won the Super Bowl. :D

Sorry you're snowed in. :o

[Possegal]

My niece lives on a cul de sac in silver spring - plows never get down there. She said her new neighbor apparently hired a guy off Craigslist to come and plow. Sounds good so far. Except he plowed only as far as the neighbor's house, and dumped ALL THE SNOW, right in front of my niece's driveway. She is furious.

Several of us have suggested hiring the guy to come again, and move the pile back over in front of the neighbor's driveway. ;) This guy could make a fortune just off this street!

[sfa]

We're now officially dug out, just in time for the next batch of snow. We got 32 inches up here. We're lucky that we live on a street within sight of the beltway and with a county homeless shelter and hospital at the end of the road, so they keep our street plowed (well, within reason--there's still a few inches of slop on it, but it's passable) and once we're off our street it's nothing but main roads and highways. Time to run out to the grocery store for milk and hummus!

My poor dog, though. He's agreeing now to go OUT in the snow, but won't walk very far--the narrow paths with high piles of snow on each side freak him out. He's going a bit stir crazy in here. My kids are going to hit that point soon too--school is canceled through Wednesday.

Sarah

[Cataboo]

They're now saying up to another 16 inches on Wednesday???

[owlice]

I just came in from spending three friggin' hours shoveling the rest of the driveway, checked Yahoo! weather, and saw this: ACCUMULATIONS...POTENTIAL FOR 8 OR MORE INCHES OF SNOW. THERE IS A GOOD LIKELIHOOD OF SNOW IN EXCESS OF 10 INCHES.

If I could pack up and go elsewhere, I would.

On the feral beastie front, they have all now turned up, even decrepit cat.

[Selkie]

On the noon news, the weatherman said 3-8" for this next storm tomorrow, but I think north and west of DC is going to get more.

All morning, snow was dropping off in clumps from our roof, thanks to a bright sun. Still no sign of a plow....

Owlice, be thankful you have a driveway. We have street parking only, and I have a bad feeling that neighbors who haven't shoveled out parking spots will steal cleared out spots (this happened during the December storm).

[tulip]

It's common practice to set out chairs or cones with a broom between them once you have shoveled your parking space out. Of course, your neighbors might not get it, so a sign might be in order, too.

Or just don't drive--that's the best policy. The busses will be running soon, and if you have studded tires (or can get them), then you can bike to work and get there alot faster than anyone else. I have studded tires if you want to come to Richmond to get them! But that, of course, would mean that you would have to dig out your car and drive, and your neighbors might take your space, defeating the whole purpose.

[Possegal]

NWS just upgraded for the area

WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY ... ACCUMULATIONS... 10 TO 20 INCHES.

[Tuckervill]

It has died out in my neighborhood. It's a wet gloppy mess, but no icy roads. Yay!

Karen

[Zen]

One product issued by NWS for: Frederick MD
Winter Storm Warning

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
304 PM EST MON FEB 8 2010

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA-WASHINGTON-FREDERICK MD-CARROLL-
NORTHERN BALTIMORE-HARFORD-MONTGOMERY-HOWARD-SOUTHERN BALTIMORE-
PRINCE GEORGES-ANNE ARUNDEL-LOUDOUN-FAIRFAX-
ARLINGTON/FALLS CHURCH/ALEXANDRIA-JEFFERSON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WASHINGTON...HAGERSTOWN...FREDERICK...
WESTMINSTER...GAITHERSBURG...COLUMBIA...BALTIMORE...ANNAPOLIS...
LEESBURG...FAIRFAX...ALEXANDRIA...FALLS CHURCH...CHARLES TOWN
304 PM EST MON FEB 8 2010

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 7 PM EST
WEDNESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY
TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN
EFFECT.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE...SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS...10 TO 20 INCHES.

* TIMING...MID-AFTERNOON TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

* TEMPERATURES...TEMPERATURES NEAR FREEZING AT THE ONSET TUESDAY
AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WILL DROP INTO THE UPPER 20S TUESDAY
NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY.

* WINDS...LIGHT SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS TUESDAY BECOMING
NORTHWESTERLY 15 TO 25 MPH WEDNESDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. THE COMBINATION OF SNOW AND STRONG WINDS
WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS.

[ny biker]

Several of my neighbors have put chairs in the parking spaces that they were parked in to prevent anyone from taking them while they're out. But our condo association's parking policy prohibits reserving spaces. If I come home and find the only open space has a chair in it, I'm moving the chair and parking there.

But then I have done more shoveling in this parking lot than anyone else over the past 10 days, so I will laugh if someone complains to me if I take "their" space.

I spent 4 hours shoveling yesterday and 3 hours shoveling today. After I cleared my car out yesterday, I worked on some of the common area of the lot. It was plowed but there are still large areas of packed snow and ice. I worked on it more today.

I can't even think about getting 10 or more inches again tomorrow. It's overwhelming. There is just no room for any more snow.

[Selkie]

I just saw the updated forecast. The good news, the snow will be drier. The bad news, more wind, drifting, etc. More potential for power outages.

We couldn't drive, even if we wanted to, because the street has not been plowed. If they don't make it in for a pass before this next one hits tomorrow, I might just start to shovel out the street and see if anyone joins me. People are getting desperate enough that I think a few folks will help.

DH and I will be hoofing it to the grocery store tomorrow morning to replenish a few supplies.

[Zen]

On the feral beastie front, they have all now turned up, even decrepit cat.

That's good news.
Poor decrepit cat, can't you give him a better name? How about Grampa or something?

[tulip]

That's good news.
Poor decrepit cat, can't you give him a better name? How about Grampa or something?

or just "DC"

[Zen]

Good one!

[ny biker]

I am mentally preparing myself to shovel out this weekend. But this is what I'm worried about:

My sister's birthday is Feb 10. My father and I have often commented that we usually get snow somewhere between her birthday and Valentine's Day. And every few years we get a blizzard somewhere between her birthday and President's Day.

But this next storm is coming on Feb 6!! So is the traditional blizzard just a bit early, or will we get another one in a week or two????? :eek:

I would like to make one thing perfectly clear: when I wrote this, I was not asking for yet another ****ing snow storm!

My sister will celebrate her 50th birthday during our next storm. Apparently Mother Nature has decided to make it memorable for all of us.

[owlice]

The decrepit cat does have a name; he regularly hisses at me (though I've been feeding him for a few years now), so his name is Alger Hiss. That's one thing -- the name -- that my someday-will-be-ex-husband left behind that I don't mind holding on to!

I spent over seven hours -- seven hours out of my life that I will never get back -- shoveling over the past three days. I.hurt.EVERYwhere. I was able to back my car ever so carefully down my driveway without dragging the sagging phone lines with me. I went to the store because I absolutely, positively had to buy cat food. And chocolate, because I ate the very last of the chocolate when I came in from today's first shoveling foray.

I usually like snow, but I DO NOT WANT ANY MORE! THERE IS NO MORE ROOM IN MY YARD, ON MY PATIO, OR ON MY ROOF FOR MORE SNOW!

[ny biker]

I will say this: experience doing 3+ hour bike rides is helping me spend 3-4 hours shoveling snow. Not helping physically, but mentally.

BTW I just read that the federal government will be closed again tomorrow. I haven't decided yet if I will go into the office for a few hours or if I will just work from home all day to save my parking space.

If they're closed tomorrow, I can't imagine they will be open on Wednesday. But then how can they be closed for 3 days in a row? Crazy.

[Zen]

Oh, they can. I'm guessing you weren't here for the last blizzard in 97 or when Clinton was in office, the budget conundrum.



the decrepit cat does have a name...his name is alger hiss.http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-laughing002.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)

[Possegal]

If they're closed tomorrow, I can't imagine they will be open on Wednesday. But then how can they be closed for 3 days in a row? Crazy.

The blizzard of '96 started late Saturday evening. The federal govt was closed Monday and Tuesday then reopened on Wednesday - even though metro was still only running underground so most of us weren't able to get into my place of work. Lots of people tried to get to their places of work though. The local governments then had a fit and said that their ability to clear the roads was hindered by so many more people back on the roads on Wednesday. The federal govt then shut down Thursday and Friday. And then Monday was MLK day so we were closed then too.

Ah, the blizzard of '96, I remember it well. :)

[HillSlugger]

I can't believe how bad Georgia Ave is up here in Olney, barely even one lane wide in many places with intersections being a foot deep and rutted, with no visibility. I worked from home today and there's no way I'm going to try that road when it's busy tomorrow.

[divingbiker]

I've shoveled for six hours since Friday, and surprisingly I don't hurt at all. I have, however, been hitting the chocolate quite heavily also.

And I've got a whole Lindt dark chocolate bar and tons of clif chocolate brownie zbars (deliciously decadent when heated in the microwave) to get me through the next storm. :)

[divingbiker]

The blizzard of '96 started late Saturday evening. The federal govt was closed Monday and Tuesday then reopened on Wednesday - even though metro was still only running underground so most of us weren't able to get into my place of work. Lots of people tried to get to their places of work though. The local governments then had a fit and said that their ability to clear the roads was hindered by so many more people back on the roads on Wednesday. The federal govt then shut down Thursday and Friday. And then Monday was MLK day so we were closed then too.

Ah, the blizzard of '96, I remember it well. :)

And that was after three weeks of being furloughed, wasn't it?

[Possegal]

And that was after three weeks of being furloughed, wasn't it?

The second furlough didn't affect my job. The defense dept had a budget passed by that point. (As did a lot of other agencies, I do believe.) So my memory of how widespread that furlough was is not very good. Because mostly, it's just all about me. :) My work was shut down (other than the military folks) for the week in November of '95, but I was at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego. I was, of course, all bummed out I was missing out on days off. Co-workers were quick to point out that I was in sunny San Diego and I should quit my complaining. I do remember folks from the NIH being told to come home and that their travel wouldn't be reimbursed if they stayed. So we all panicked that the same would happen to us, but it did not.

[ny biker]

I lived in NYC back in '96. They plowed every street in all 5 boroughs twice before DC had plowed their streets once. Not that NYC and the suburbs wasn't greatly affected by the storm, but the recovery was much better.

[7rider]

I'm Back!!!!!
We got power restored today at 4:15 -- about 60 hours of no lights. :eek:
48 hours from the last snow fall to see a plow.
But still, we had it easy compared to some: we have a wood stove that kept the house around 60 degrees (except when we overslept and it got cold overnight), a gas range for heating food, and a gas water heater that allowed us to clean up. We're both exhausted after days of heavy shoveling. The berm created by the plow when it finally showed up was the straw that nearly broke this camel's back. I'm glad the microwave is back on line so I can heat up my heating pads!!! :rolleyes:
In my area, we measured 27 inches of snow. It was a trying weekend for many of my neighbors. Some hiked out through thigh-deep snow to get to a nearby plowed church parking lot so friends and family with heat and lights could take them in for a while. Down the street, an elderly neighbor lives alone. On Saturday afternoon, we saw her son and DIL trekking down to check on her. By Sunday morning, we saw he had returned with a posse of friends...one carrying an armload of shovels, another carrying a folded wheelchair, and then, later, about 8 were dragging the woman up the snow covered street on a plastic sled. It was absolutely impossible for any vehicle to get through. This morning, emergency vehicles tried and failed to get down our street. DH and I helped one get out from the snow. It was a crazy weekend. And more to come tomorrow. Oh, joy. :rolleyes:
Here are some pix and a video of our backyard (I hope these work...I have to re-learn Photobucket everytime I sign on....they keep changing it):

The truck is buried, but the driveway is clear.
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Blizzardof2010/th_IMG_1278.jpg (http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Blizzardof2010/?action=view&current=IMG_1278.jpg)

The house:
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Blizzardof2010/th_IMG_1282.jpg (http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Blizzardof2010/?action=view&current=IMG_1282.jpg)

Our unplowed street:
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Blizzardof2010/th_IMG_1284.jpg (http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Blizzardof2010/?action=view&current=IMG_1284.jpg)

When you reeeeeeally need coffee, and your grinder doesn't work, you get creative!
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Blizzardof2010/th_IMG_1296.jpg (http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Blizzardof2010/?action=view&current=IMG_1296.jpg)

I highly recommend a hand-crank/solar radio to keep you up to date on news and weather....and to listen to the Super Bowl:
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Blizzardof2010/th_IMG_1298.jpg (http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Blizzardof2010/?action=view&current=IMG_1298.jpg)

I hope this "embed code" works for a video - a 1-minute tour through our back yard:

http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/?action=view&current=MVI_1288.flv

I suppose by clicking on any of those pics, you can scroll through any/all of the pix in the album, too.....

[HillSlugger]

Hi Regina!

I'm glad that you and Tom made it through pretty well. Sounds like your wood stove was a life saver.

[ny biker]

Snowtorious B.I.G.

Snoverkill

Snowfecta

[owlice]

7!! Welcome back!! How long are you here for? :eek: :p :)

I'm glad you're okay, and hope you stick around through the next storm!

As I drove home from the grocery store today -- the long way, to take advantage of plowed roads in the other county -- I saw that one of my neighbors has it pretty tough. Not just all the snow, but a Bradford pear tree split into two, and the half that fell... landed on one of the cars in the driveway. (The one closer to the road, of course.) This is one time I wish I had a chain saw; they can't go anywhere until the tree is moved, and they don't have all that much time to get out if they need to to restock.

[owlice]

ny biker, how about "Friggin' Pain in the Arse"? That's what I'm calling it!

[ny biker]

Capital Weather Gang is now calling it Wintergeddon.

I'm not attempting a trip to the grocery store. I should be able to make it until the weekend, although I might have to start rationing diet coke before then.

I hope everyone makes it through this next chapter without major incident.

The next time I'm melting during a long bike ride on a super hot day, I will say to myself: at least I don't have to shovel any snow today.

[7rider]

7!! Welcome back!! How long are you here for? :eek: :p :)

I'm glad you're okay, and hope you stick around through the next storm!


Thanks. I certainly hope our power stays on for Round 2. Although I thought 68 degrees in the house would feel like an oven (:rolleyes:), I actually got used to it again very quickly!

We did venture to the store yesterday. Hugely crowded. Got milk, salad for Noah (keeping the priorities straight, see?), cheese, and fruit (okay..twist my arm...and cookies and chips!). Then, we splurged and joined 1,000 strangers in line at Chipotle for a monster-sized burrito that I managed to eat nearly all of and not feel guilty. I think I burned plenty of calories this weekend, between shoveling and just getting around! Snowmaggedon, indeed!

Oh, and happy belated b'day, Mickchick!

[7rider]

I'm glad that you and Tom made it through pretty well. Sounds like your wood stove was a life saver.

The stove is an insert into our old fireplace. It has a powered blower that means the unit can (when the blower works) heat a 2,000 square foot space. Our house shape is not ideal for full heating with it, but it can keep the living area pretty toasty otherwise and keep the furnace from kicking on regularly. However, with no power...we had to rely on radiant heating...which was pretty impressive nonetheless. Still, it had Tom thinking up ways to create an alternative power source for it in the event of future outages. I think a generator really moved up the "gotta have" list for our house!

[Selkie]

My name for these storms is a long string of profanities. Enough said!

Glad you're OK, 7.

On Channel 7's 6pm news yesterday, they featured my neighborhood as one that has not seen a plow. That changed around 10:30pm---subsequently, the County has made several plow passes on ours and adjacent roads, down to pavement in a skunk strip down the center of the road, put down chemicals. Thankfully, the first pass was an "uphill" one, pushing all of the snow on to the other side of the street, creating the dreaded Snow Wall over there (usually, our side gets it). All in time for round two, so we likely will be back to square one tomorrow evening. DH took advantage of the temporarily passable conditions to hit Whole Foods and Harris Teeter.

During the 96 blizzard, we lived just south of Quantico and worked up here (a bad commute in good weather, even before the mixing bowl re-do). Wasn't that the storm when people drove in to work because OPM didn't close the govt until mid-morning, then were stuck for hours on the beltway?

Everyone can be assured that plenty of Federal employees, who have the unfortunate designation as "essential personnel," are likely working double shifts, sleeping on cots at work because they cannot make it home safely, etc. OPM did the right thing---this is serious stuff---even this morning, the news is filled with reports of accidents. Sorry if I sound sanctimonious but OPM doesn't close the Govt down on a whim.

I, for one, would have preferred no snow at all :-) I hate snow. Can't wait for things to return to some semblance of "normal," so we can go back to work and resume our lives. Even the dogs are tired of it, which is good since it's no long a PITA trying to get them back inside! :-)

[aicabsolut]

Just because I'm in the private sector and the only one within walkable distance to an underground metro, I have to go to work. Had to go in yesterday too. It's a complete waste of time. I can do everything I need to do this week from home. No one else is in the office. Some sidewalks (SOME) are shoveled. All of the sidewalks lead to a huge pile of snow and slush at the crosswalks. Then I get to wait forever for metro. At least the Circulator was free yesterday...took that most of the way home and stopped for dinner out.

Oh, I also have no kitchen at my office, nothing nearby is open, and I am running out of brown bag food.

I can't wait to take Friday off to go to NC for a race, even though I am completely unprepared since I haven't even ridden the trainer in 1.5 wks.

I remember that 2003 storm, but I was living in NC then, and it was a massive ice disaster down there.

[tulip]

2003 was a bad one, too. My aunt and uncle were out of the country and so I trudged 3 miles to their house to shovel the sidewalk in front of their house (no neighbors had done it--unbelievable!!) and shovel the snow off their addition, which has a flat roof. I borrowed my aunt's XC skis and skied back home. For work (private sector--we were open) I ended up skiing to the Metro and then skiing from the Metro station to work. My office was 10 miles away, which was too long for my skiing abilities (or lack thereof). I got some smiles from other folks on the Metro.

We're supposed to get less than an inch down here--there's still time to escape!! Head south, head south!

[owlice]

:: herds five warring felines into the car and heads south ::

[tulip]

:: herds five warring felines into the car and heads south ::

I'm very allergic to cats...sorry!

[Zen]

It's a complete waste of time. I can do everything I need to do this week from home. No one else is in the office.

Would anyone know if you were at work or at home?

[owlice]

:: packs Benadryl ::

[Selkie]

Why the H won't they let you work from home? That's nuts.

I feel really bad for anyone who had to go into work yesterday.

Ironically, it's not that bad today, so we have been able to run some errands. We shoveled the stripe of snow/ice between the cleared pavement and our cars, then shoveled out a neighbor's car (it was parked on the "throw" side of the plow blade and was really packed in. They are older--in their 60s).

I have to admit that I enjoy the physical labor. Probably a good thing since it's looking like there will be fresh snow to shovel by tomorrow am.

[7rider]

Our neighbor's kids just lucked out big time.
They finally got out to shovel out their van and driveway. Hadn't touched it since the storm (they were one of the families to evacuate).
So, the two boys are out there, shoveling and picking away at the big berm in front of the driveway. A bucket loader has been working up and down the street, clearing out the intersections (surprised as HECK to see that! :eek:). The driver must've taken pity on the two, as he dropped the bucket right at their driveway and cleared away the snow pack for them! He saved them about 2 hours of back-breaking labor. Lucky kids. Phew! :rolleyes::p

[ny biker]

As someone who live 275 miles away from parents who are in their 70s, I would like to thank everyone who helps out neighbors who are older or otherwise limited in their physical ability to clear snow. My parents' neighbors helped them a lot with the blizzard in December, and I really appreciate knowing that they've got someone looking out for them.

[Biciclista]

Are you guys getting more snow? :confused:

[Cataboo]

My older neighbors have snowblowers, so I left them to their plowing - they were happily plowing anything & everything, just to be able to use their toy. But I don't think they're much older than 50-60?

there is a handicapped man who lives across the street with either a family member or a caregiver? I didn't see any signs of life at their house (no lights, etc.), so i didn't go over to shovel, even though I thought about it. 5 guys with 3 snowblowers showed up yesterday and dug out the house within about an hour. I'm still not certain if anyone was in the house or not (the next door neighbors to the house weren't sure, because we were discussing whether to go over and dig out the house... but we hadn't seen anyone so much as peep out the front door, and that house usually fairly quickly has a team of men that arrive to shovel or mow the grass or do any maintenance.

My 60 year old mother shoveled out the 75 year old couple that lives across the street from her - I'm not sure what all the younger neighbors were up to that they couldn't have helped.

It' been snowing here about 11:30 or so? It's not yet sticking to the roads, but it's sticking to any snow there is. I had to go out and shovel my driveway clear again because the plows came through. The first time they came through, they only plowed one lane and did that about 10 feet or more from my driveway - so everytime they come through, they plow it a bit wider and shove it in front of my driveway and I have to go dig an opening out again. This time they managed to move a huge hard packed snowboulder in front of my driveway. Only 7 more feet or so till they reach the curb and stop filling me in.

[tulip]

Are you guys getting more snow? :confused:

Yes--another 12-20 inches in DC to Boston. I'm not, as I'm 100 miles south of DC. We're getting a bit of rain and sleet, but not until this evening. Maybe one inch total of snow tomorrow.

[divingbiker]

My older neighbors ... But I don't think they're much older than 50-60?

Ahem!

[tulip]

Ahem!

My thoughts exactly!!

[HillSlugger]

Our neighbor's kids just lucked out big time.
They finally got out to shovel out their van and driveway. Hadn't touched it since the storm (they were one of the families to evacuate).
So, the two boys are out there, shoveling and picking away at the big berm in front of the driveway. A bucket loader has been working up and down the street, clearing out the intersections (surprised as HECK to see that! :eek:). The driver must've taken pity on the two, as he dropped the bucket right at their driveway and cleared away the snow pack for them! He saved them about 2 hours of back-breaking labor. Lucky kids. Phew! :rolleyes::p

I lucked out with a front end loader like that on Sunday.

[Zen]

Hazardous Weather Outlook

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
331 PM EST TUE FEB 9 2010

MDZ003>005-009-010-501-502-VAZ021-025>031-036>040-042-050-051-501-
502-WVZ050>055-501>504-101000-
WASHINGTON-FREDERICK MD-CARROLL-MONTGOMERY-HOWARD-
EXTREME WESTERN ALLEGANY-CENTRAL AND EASTERN ALLEGANY-HIGHLAND-
AUGUSTA-ROCKINGHAM-SHENANDOAH-FREDERICK VA-PAGE-WARREN-CLARKE-
NELSON-ALBEMARLE-GREENE-MADISON-RAPPAHANNOCK-LOUDOUN-ORANGE-
CULPEPER-NORTHERN FAUQUIER-SOUTHERN FAUQUIER-HAMPSHIRE-MORGAN-
BERKELEY-JEFFERSON-PENDLETON-HARDY-WESTERN GRANT-EASTERN GRANT-
WESTERN MINERAL-EASTERN MINERAL-
331 PM EST TUE FEB 9 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA...
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA...AND CENTRAL AND WESTERN MARYLAND
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF GARRETT COUNTY.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE AREA. PLEASE
SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE FOR DETAILS...INCLUDING
ACCUMULATIONS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

A WINTER STORM WARNING CONTINUES THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

WINDS WILL INCREASE FOR WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. NEAR
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE WASHINGTON DC METRO
AREA NORTHEASTWARD WEDNESDAY MORNING. A WIND ADVISORY MAY BE
WARRANTED FOR WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH. THIS WILL LEAD TO BLOWING
AND DRIFTING SNOW AS WELL AS LOW WIND CHILL VALUES.:eek:

PROLONGED UPSLOPE SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE
WESTERN SLOPES OF THE APPALACHIANS INTO THURSDAY. ADDITIONAL
ACCUMULATIONS CAN BE EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. SNOWFALL
TOTALS WILL BE APPRECIATED LATE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY.

[ny biker]

BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE WASHINGTON DC METRO
AREA NORTHEASTWARD WEDNESDAY MORNING. A WIND ADVISORY MAY BE
WARRANTED FOR WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH. THIS WILL LEAD TO BLOWING
AND DRIFTING SNOW AS WELL AS LOW WIND CHILL VALUES.:eek:


I think the National Weather Service should incorporate the use of :eek: into its warnings and advisories.

Also sometimes :mad: and :( would be appropriate.

[ny biker]

BTW I just noticed that the fire hydrant across from my building looks pretty near inacessible right now. I was planning to not do any shoveling today but I think I will take a closer look and maybe try to clear the snow around it.

The first flakes of Snoverkill just started to fall...

[7rider]

Haz

.
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE WASHINGTON DC METRO
AREA NORTHEASTWARD WEDNESDAY MORNING. A WIND ADVISORY MAY BE
WARRANTED FOR WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH. THIS WILL LEAD TO BLOWING
AND DRIFTING SNOW AS WELL AS LOW WIND CHILL VALUES.:eek:


Great.
Tom and I just took a prolonged cruise through our neighborhood (but not before giving the name of the tree service who delivered our firewood to a desperate neighbor. Good luck getting a delivery now! :o).
Spoke to one neighbor (an avid cyclist we know). He's pushing back as much snow as he can from the end of his driveway - topping the piles - to make room for the next onslaught. Smart man.
Asked another neighbor "Do you have power yet?" Nope. Not down that side street. :(
Saw another woman, walking down the street. She flagged us down. "We just got power, minutes ago!" She was thrilled and could barely contain herself. From the sound of this advisory, she may not have it for long! :eek:
Crazy. The main drag outside our neighborhood was a parking lot. Tons of cars. The post office (where we were headed, ultimately) was a zoo.

[owlice]

"Snoverkill"

Oh, that's great!!

The name, I mean... not the need for it.

It's snowing here, too. Little flakes, fast flakes. Just measured the snow on the patio table so I can figure out how much more snow today and tomorrow bring. (Current measurement is 21.5".)

I was out for a bit this afternoon; took the lull between the flakes to visit my mother (in a nursing home), look for D cells (none anywhere), get onions (SuperFresh comes through! I hate that store, but do admire their ability to be so well-stocked), yell at someone parked in a firelane (as if there's enough room in the snow-mounded parking lot for that yutz to be there), and get Q-Tips. You know, the essentials. :D

(I got chocolate yesterday....)

Before that, I dug out a path to my shed to get the camping lantern (which requires D cells), a flashlight (which requires one of those big, honkin' rectangular batteries which aren't sold anywhere, apparently), a platform bird feeder, and another shovel, as the handle broke on one I was using yesterday -- snapped right in half. Also dug out my side door, so I can use that until it's snowed in again, and thought about bringing in one of the sleeping bags but didn't.

[HillSlugger]

My 24" of snow has reduced itself to 17"; I'm all ready to figure out the new accumulation.

[Cataboo]

Ahem!

That's why I said older, not OLD.

But I could be really bad at judging the age of chubby bald old men. They could be older. I just haven't asked ;)

And if someone decides to shovel your walk because they think you might be older - I think you should sit back & let them :)

Owlice, I never measured my snow that first day - it had sunk down some by the 2nd day. So I'm not sure what I'm at.

[Zen]

When someone makes a riding snowblower I'll get one

[7rider]

Are you guys getting more snow? :confused:

Yes. Want some???

[ny biker]

This is coming down faster than I expected. There's already almost 3 inches on top of my car.

[HillSlugger]

When someone makes a riding snowblower I'll get one

I'm pretty sure you can add a snowblower attachment to a ride-on tractor/mower

[aicabsolut]

After spending 9 hrs in the office today, I think everything has been done that needs to be done for the week (actually, all of the essential stuff due this week I had done a long time ago, but my boss reviews everything literally at the last minute).

Unfortunately, he calls me on the office phone only and gets pissed when I don't pick up (once we had a fire drill in the building and apparently, he flipped out b/c I wasn't there to get the phone). Easy for him since he is NEVER THERE. I haven't bought groceries in almost 2 weeks. Should be interesting.

Anyone have a better job for me? I can tune derailleurs. And train horses. And do some lawyerly things.

[7rider]

I'm pretty sure you can add a snowblower attachment to a ride-on tractor/mower

John Deere has one (http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/HO/servlet/Attachment?prodNmbr=SKU20398&tM=HO&attNmbr=BM21549) for a paltry $1400.
Tire chains for your tractor are extra.

[Zen]

I don't want a riding mower with an attachment. I want a snow blower with a seat on it. And where's the jet pack they said we'd all have by now?

[Selkie]

That's why I said older, not OLD.

But I could be really bad at judging the age of chubby bald old men. They could be older. I just haven't asked ;)

And if someone decides to shovel your walk because they think you might be older - I think you should sit back & let them :)

.

Your day will come (age is the great leveler).

DH and I---both of us closer to 50 than 30---helped a younger neighbor shovel out her minivan yesterday afternoon. She was desperate to get out of the house and escape her two sons!!

DH and I are native Pennsylvanians and are strong, efficient shovelers. We enjoy the physical labor. DH has an ice chipper that works like a champ---now all our neighbors want one!
;)

[tulip]

They say we're only supposed to get 1-2 inches today in Richmond, but in the past hour my car has gone from grey to all white with about 2 inches already. And it's snowing so hard that I can barely see the house across the street!

[7rider]

DH and I are native Pennsylvanians and are strong, efficient shovelers. We enjoy the physical labor. DH has an ice chipper that works like a champ---now all our neighbors want one!
;)

Sounds like us (DH is pushing the big five oh this year..shhhh...don't know if you noticed that AARP mailing in the picture of our mortar and pestle to grind coffee a few posts back).

DH is a native New Yorker, I'm from Connecticut. We both seem to have acquired a rep in our neighborhood as the crazy shovelers...Out there several times during a storm, not content until the driveway is bare pavement. Our neighbors (Texans, Columbia, India, and who knows where else) are content to brush off snow and drive over the piles, leaving the driveway(s) uncleared and ultimately, icy and treacherous. We have new neighbors from New Jersey who seem to be kindred spirits....at least in snow removal. Our friend John (a native of HI) has a son in college in Colorado. The son has learned the hard way the necessity of adequate shoveling after a storm this year!

[owlice]

Maybe next time he needs to pee, he'll use the litter box....

[HillSlugger]

The last time I looked we were up to 6.5" of new snow.

7, where in NY is Tom from?

[Biciclista]

Maybe next time he needs to pee, he'll use the litter box....

oh POOR KITTY!

and YES! SEND SNOW to SEATTLE ! PLEASE!

[pfunk12]

You haven't heard from me at all since the weekend storm and I have a reason for that. I had a special friend visiting from Texas this past weekend -a guy I met on my recent trip to Mali. Yes, I met a guy in Mali. How cool is that. :D So I was "stuck inside" all weekend with a wonderful guy. How could I complain about the first blizzard? :D And...he helped me shovel my snow. But he left on Monday afternoon.:( So now I will say - this snow, these blizzards, the cold weather...:mad::mad::mad::(

[tulip]

I guess you didn't notice the snow and cold, huh?;)

[pfunk12]

I guess you didn't notice the snow and cold, huh?;)

Didn't even realize it was snowing outside. :p It was a blast for him. He hadn't seen snow like this in 25 years - since he lived in Iowa.

[ny biker]

Sounds like us (DH is pushing the big five oh this year..shhhh...don't know if you noticed that AARP mailing in the picture of our mortar and pestle to grind coffee a few posts back).

DH is a native New Yorker, I'm from Connecticut. We both seem to have acquired a rep in our neighborhood as the crazy shovelers...Out there several times during a storm, not content until the driveway is bare pavement. Our neighbors (Texans, Columbia, India, and who knows where else) are content to brush off snow and drive over the piles, leaving the driveway(s) uncleared and ultimately, icy and treacherous. We have new neighbors from New Jersey who seem to be kindred spirits....at least in snow removal. Our friend John (a native of HI) has a son in college in Colorado. The son has learned the hard way the necessity of adequate shoveling after a storm this year!

Is that why I'm one of the few people in my courtyard who clears snow down to the pavement? I thought it was just a snow-specific form of OCD (snOCD).

BTW it only took me about 5 minutes to clear the snow away from the fire hydrant yesterday, but 5 minutes could be life-or-death in an emergency. So don't forget your local fire hydrants when you head back out with your shovels.

[Cataboo]

My driveway seems to be filling itself back in with snow. The deck is now chest high with snow.

[ny biker]

Snow plows have been told to pull off the roads in Montgomery, Prince Georges and Frederick Counties due to white-out conditions.

Everybody stay home! It's too dangerous to be out in the roads, whether in vehicles or on foot.

[Zen]

I told you there was gonna be a second storm:rolleyes:
I'm afraid to go outside for fear Jack Nicholson will be out there chasing me around the yard with an axe.

Owlice, what's going on in that photo? Did the cat freeze to something (like Ralphie's friend)?

[aicabsolut]

It is really blowing out there! I hope I can make it to NC on Friday. At least one of the exits from my garage was mostly cleared after the first snow. I am missing my 4x4. It got me through one snow storm about this bad and one bad ice storm. AWD is nice, but the low gear 4WD was better.

[Cataboo]

I got my sidewalk down to bare concrete - my driveway, I know my car has all wheel drive, so I wasn't ocd about getting it down to the bare pavement. Especially when I knew the snow plow was going to be coming through and burying everything I dug out repeatedly. There was a couple icy patches, but not really.

[Cataboo]

I'm debating going out with my cross country skis and seeing how the trail I broke the other day is doing - I'm a bit worried I won't even be able to see it and will have to start another one. Not to mention, if I fall and can't get up, I'm thinking I'll die out there.


http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs138.snc3/18551_308303581864_624946864_3552787_5012237_n.jpg

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs138.snc3/18551_308304316864_624946864_3552795_6829131_n.jpg

I tried to get a pic of the visibility:

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs158.snc3/18551_308303931864_624946864_3552791_2683606_n.jpg

[Zen]

I love my Jeep more than ever. Low4 is a mountain goat.

[owlice]

Owlice, what's going on in that photo? Did the cat freeze to something (like Ralphie's friend)?

Zen, that's the back of a peeing Puddems.

[Selkie]

It is scary out there. When the wind started, ice cicles (sp?) took flight and were hurled into the windows. Fiona and Margot were enjoying themselves out back and pointedly ignoring our pleas to come inside until something scared the H out of them. They both promptly ran up to the stoop. Chickens in thick golden fur! Maeve, the elder, promptly did her business and came inside.

Although I'm tempted to go out and start shoveling, it would be an exercise in futility. It's drifting like mad out there. Fortunately, it looks like a light snow this time.

[Cataboo]

I went to check on R's house yesterday - he had most impressive icicles. Apparently, there's barely any new snow over there and hardly any wind right now (he's in Burtonsville)

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs158.snc3/18551_307647276864_624946864_3551563_6075142_n.jpg

[7rider]

Tom and I went for a walk just now. :eek: He said "If you hear a pop and a crack, be prepared to run like h***." Cables to houses were sagging low, but most seemed to have power. We lost power around 10 a.m. for about 5 minutes, but it's back on (so far). It's crazy. Sometimes, the wind blows so hard, you can't see the neighbor's across the street. On the roads and driveway, I can feel a layer of ice about 4 inches beneath the surface powder...and then another few inches of snow beneath that. So it appears as if the snow turned to sleet at some point during the night, and then back to snow.
We're not attempting any shoveling just yet. It can wait. :cool:

[ny biker]

I'm afraid to go outside for fear Jack Nicholson will be out there chasing me around the yard with an axe.

Word.

[Selkie]

You got it right, 7. I heard on the news that it was sleet/rain for several hours during the night, but turned to all snow around 4am.

[Selkie]

Word.

It would be someone whose parking space was stolen by a lazy SOB who didn't clear their own!!

[divingbiker]

I just finished my second round of shoveling this morning (after one about 9 last night). I have to keep up with it or my front and back doors won't open, and it's easier to lift 6 inches of snow than a foot. The piles on the side of the sidewalk are so high I can hardly throw the snow up there, and of course the wind just blows it back. But for now, the sidewalk, driveway, and deck are clear. Kinda makes me feel useful, and gives me a reason not to start in on my taxes.

I broke my favorite shovel Monday, so how I have to use the POS ergonomic one that doesn't clear down to the pavement as well. I hate that shovel.

This is like Little House on the Prairie.

[Selkie]

DB, maybe I will go out and make a start on the shoveling.... The puppy is starting to get on my nerves (wants to go outside every five minutes to eat snow).

[divingbiker]

Yeah, I've been doing a lot of ball-throwing to try to tire Sammy out. For the moment, he's sleeping beside me, so there's a bit of peace.

[7rider]

Our birds have drained the feeder three times in the past 2 days. We're going to run out of seed soon at this rate. Poor things. There's a Carolina Wren on our screen right now, pecking at it, just below the suet feeder. I think he's telling me they need more food! :D

[Zen]

This is like Little House on the Prairie.

Don't forget to tie that rope around your waist when you go out to the barn.

[Selkie]

I'm not brave enough to go outside and take pictures. Perhaps later.

The pictures of Margot and Fiona are from today. The one of Margot alone is blurry but it captures her spirit. The picture of the snow pile is from the December storm (our front yard). It's a lot deeper out there now....

[7rider]

7, where in NY is Tom from?

Hopewell. At the junction of the Taconic and I-84. His dad was an IBM-man.

Just tackled some of the driveway. Too much and too heavy to push, so it's grab a shovel full, walk to the side of the driveway and heave it over the berm (5' and growing). Walk back. Grab another shovel full. Walk to the side of the driveway and heave. And on and on. Stopping only to cover our faces when a gust blows snow up our noses and into our eyes. I'm taking a break. My fingers were too cold. DH is still out there. I'm gonna refuel on Medjool dates and Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies! :p

[ny biker]

The other day I was hoisting the shovel onto my shoulder so I could catapult the snow onto the berm. It was kind of fun.

[owlice]

From the current "Severe Weather Alert":
ACCUMULATIONS...STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 20 TO 30 INCHES...WITH HIGHEST TOTALS NORTH AND EAST OF BALTIMORE.

The White Witch has moved from Narnia to the East Coast.

[Cataboo]

This is what the deck looked like this morning:

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs138.snc3/18551_308303426864_624946864_3552786_3407607_n.jpg

This is what the deck looks like now :

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs223.snc3/21045_308647186864_624946864_3553567_4907505_n.jpg

I can barely see the condos across the way:

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs223.snc3/21045_308648006864_624946864_3553572_455637_n.jpg

[Cataboo]

erm.


There's snow in the forecast for Monday, Tuesday, and next Friday.

Feb 15 Monday
Chance of a few snow showers. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the low 20s.
Feb 16 Tuesday
Cloudy with flurries. Highs in the mid 30s and lows in the low 20s.
Feb 17 Wednesday
Sunshine. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the mid 20s.
Feb 18 Thursday
More sun than clouds. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the mid 20s.
Feb 19 Friday
A few snow showers. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the low 20s.

[ny biker]

erm.


There's snow in the forecast for Monday, Tuesday, and next Friday.

Feb 15 Monday
Chance of a few snow showers. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the low 20s.
Feb 16 Tuesday
Cloudy with flurries. Highs in the mid 30s and lows in the low 20s.
Feb 17 Wednesday
Sunshine. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the mid 20s.
Feb 18 Thursday
More sun than clouds. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the mid 20s.
Feb 19 Friday
A few snow showers. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the low 20s.

And every time there has been "snow showers" in the forecast this year, it has turned out to be at least 6 inches.

[ny biker]

It's official! This is now the snowiest winter ever in the DC area!

We're #1!!! We're #1!!!

They're at 54.9 inches at National Airport. Dulles has 72", as does BWI. And counting...

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2010/02/winter_2009-2010_likely_snowie.html

[Zen]

Six inches seems like a summer day at this point.

I sure could go for a Snickers bar.

[HillSlugger]

9" and counting in Olney.

[Cataboo]

Six inches seems like a summer day at this point.

I sure could go for a Snickers bar.

I was pretty psyched to find some brownie mix in my cabinet.

[kmehrzad]

Being snowed in is giving us all an opportunity to go through our cabinets and use cake mixes and the like that we've overlooked or pushed to the rear of the cabinet. Coming across a box of brownie mix is a real treat ...

[Selkie]

Shoveled out the front stoop & walkway, steps down to the road, and cars. Also cleared the pavement around the cars. After that, we went out and shoveled out our elderly neighbor and his wife. The wind was whipping like a mofo, but I had on my Dr. Zhivago hat, Patagonia fleece jacket, tall fleece-lined boots, and toasty warm LL Bean mittens. And, of course, a Patagonia Wool4 baselayer top! Worked up a good sweat. The kids in the neighborhood are annoyed because DH shoveled a path across the street so we could put some of our shoveled snow into one of the established piles. Now they can't sled down the road (trust me, they have alternatives, as the block over is a similar steep hill that also hasn't seen a plow)

Tomorrow, I'm going to try the NY Catapult Snow Launch Move!

7, my dad was an IBMer (retired after 30 years). For a couple years in the late 60s, he worked at IBM/White Plains. We lived in Yorktown Heights at the time; Dad ended up getting transferred back to IBM/Pittsburgh because my mom was homesick.

[Possegal]

7, my dad was an IBMer (retired after 30 years). For a couple years in the late 60s, he worked at IBM/White Plains. We lived in Yorktown Heights at the time; Dad ended up getting transferred back to IBM/Pittsburgh because my mom was homesick.

My brother worked for IBM for about 30 years as well, in the 'burgh. :)

[owlice]

:: has cookies (Mint Milanos), chocolate (Hershey's and Dove), cupcakes (chocolate with buttercream frosting), and chocolate pudding ::

:: has makings for fudge brownies, fudge, chocolate chip and/or oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and yellow cake with chocolate frosting ::

:: will share ::

:: admits there is a theme here.... ::

[tulip]

:: has cookies (Mint Milanos), chocolate (Hershey's and Dove), cupcakes (chocolate with buttercream frosting), and chocolate pudding ::

:: has makings for fudge brownies, fudge, chocolate chip and/or oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and yellow cake with chocolate frosting ::

:: will share ::

:: admits there is a theme here.... ::

HEY! I thought you were coming to my house!!:mad:

[SadieKate]

No, come to mine! :p

[Zen]

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/Blizzard%20of%202010/StilllifewithNutella.jpg
Still Life With Nutella

Carport
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/Blizzard%20of%202010/DSC_0998.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/Blizzard%20of%202010/DSC_1000.jpg

From the front porch-
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/Blizzard%20of%202010/DSC_0989.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/Blizzard%20of%202010/DSC_0995.jpg


http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/Blizzard%20of%202010/DSC_0991.jpg

[7rider]

Oh, for Pete's sake....this is getting re-donk-u-lous.
We lost power -- again -- at 4:00 until 6:30 p.m. I suppose I should be happy that it was ONLY for 2.5 hours....but geez. I'm a little tired of cooking dinner by candlelight. "Hmmm...is that pot simmering? I can't see." And worrying about how long it will take for the now cold fireplace to ramp back up with the heat output. I guess older, "established" neighborhoods with mature trees have their drawbacks around here. Above ground power lines and big trees means frequent power outages. I'm afraid to sign on to my email, as I'm sure the neighborhood listserv is humming with rants. Sent from Smartphones, of course.....cuz no one had power for the computers! :rolleyes:

e.t.a. Oh...Fudge Stripe cookies dipped in peanut butter....post shoveling treat. Mmmmmmm.....

[Zen]

Don't you have a headlamp?

[7rider]

I do, actually, and that's what I ended up using to see if the pot was simmering. I found a flashlight shining directly in was obscured by steam!

[pfunk12]

I'm a little tired of cooking dinner by candlelight.

But it sounds so romantic! :rolleyes: Okay, I'll stop. :D

Another day off tomorrow. The last day that I worked was last Thursday and I'm not due to go back until Tuesday. This is not the type of vacation that I would have planned.

[ny biker]

Harris Teeter is having a sale on nutella this week. Just sayin'.

[7rider]

But it sounds so romantic! :rolleyes: Okay, I'll stop. :D

EATING dinner by candlelight: romantic
COOKING dinner by candlelight: not so much. :rolleyes:


Another day off tomorrow. The last day that I worked was last Thursday and I'm not due to go back until Tuesday. This is not the type of vacation that I would have planned.

Same here - was sick on Friday - not confident we'll be there even this coming friday. And I'm on vay-cay next week. :rolleyes:
I promised my boss a draft report before I left. I'll be working tomorrow, regardless. Assuming power stays on...cough, cough.

[pfunk12]

I promised my boss a draft report before I left. I'll be working tomorrow, regardless. Assuming power stays on...cough, cough.

I've been checking e-mail all week but there's not much going on because our primary partners are universities and they know that if they contact us, we will not respond. :p

[Zen]

I shoveled the carport once and it's covered again. Resistance is futile.

We have officially set the record for the most snowfall in one year.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/


Harris Teeter is having a sale on nutella this week. Just sayin'.
We don't have a Harris Teeter. I'll just have to pay full price. You stock up, though.:)

[Possegal]

One of the news weather guys said - don't even go out and shovel, don't bother until tomorrow, it will all be covered back up. :) I did shovel my walk, but you can barely tell.

[HillSlugger]

I've been checking e-mail all week but there's not much going on because our primary partners are universities and they know that if they contact us, we will not respond. :p

I've been doing as much work from home as I can (company policy: no work, no pay) but the people at the other end of my pipeline apparently are not on the job. I guess they will be busy when they get back.

[owlice]

I was trying to work today, and had at least a dozen power blips -- off, then back on. Kind of hard to stay connected when the router keeps rebooting, ya know?

Zen, great pics!

(It's the Nutella...)

pfunk, ah-HA! It was you! I knew someone was having fun over the weekend!

(Good job!! :D )

I went out to feed the ferals; only two showed up, Alger Hiss and Clipear, the tabby. The nameless black cat, constant companion of Alger Hiss, did not appear.

It was so bitter cold, and the cardbox boxes so snowy because of the drifting snow, and did I mention how cold it was with the wind whipping along?, that I just couldn't stand it. I cleaned one litter box completely (as in scrubbed out), put in what was left of my "spread on the sidewalk" litter, and put it in a different bathroom. Went outside and grabbed Clip, who is a pretty well socialized cat. He's now locked in a bathroom with the fresh litter pan, food, water, and an old flannel shirt.

I went out and tried to bring in Alger Hiss, which meant picking up the cardboard box he was in, but he clawed his way out before I even made it to the door. I feel awful and hope he came back to one of the boxes, that he's not so spooked he is going to forgo even that meager shelter.

I wanted to bring in all three cats. :-(

[7rider]

Oh...and we haven't gotten mail since Friday.
So much for "neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night will keep these couriers from their appointed rounds."
Huh.

[HillSlugger]

Oh...and we haven't gotten mail since Friday.
So much for "neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night will keep these couriers from their appointed rounds."
Huh.

From Wikipedia:

The United States Postal Service has no official creed or motto. Often falsely cited as such, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" is an inscription on the James Farley Post Office in New York City, derived from a quote from Herodotus' Histories (8.98), referring to the ancient courier service of the Persian Empire:

It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed. (trans. A.D. Godley 1924)

[aicabsolut]

I ordered some more Defeet wool socks and stuff for the race this weekend. Didn't get it shipped rush because I thought today's snow was going to be on Tuesday instead and not that bad. so, they aren't here :(. Rescheduled the delivery for.... sometime.

At least you all have cake mixes and stuff. I had some leftover meat from eating out the other night. Made up some random BBQ sauce recipe from my pantry tonight. Wasn't bad. I think I'd rather have brownies :p

My boss is finally letting me stay home. (no work no $ for me either) But tomorrow I have nothing to do, either at the office or at home. The other end of the pipeline (my boss) has done pretty much nothing all week. Oh well. I am getting a little upset by the people who are posing on facebook and whatnot that they're "so bored." Uh, yeah. I wish I was bored instead of working. I wish I'd been able to go to the grocery store when my sidewalk was clear enough and everyone else had the day off. Today was the first time I snuck in some trainer time all week! I really hate the trainer, but I have to do something occasionally.

[ny biker]

Oh...and we haven't gotten mail since Friday.
So much for "neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night will keep these couriers from their appointed rounds."
Huh.

We had mail delivered yesterday. My most excellent new iamnottedking t-shirt arrived!

http://cutawayclothing.bigcartel.com/product/i-am-not-ted-king-t-shirt

http://www.iamtedking.missingsaddle.com/2010/01/babies-are-like-totally-chick-magnets/

[7rider]

From Wikipedia:
)

If it's on wikipedia, it MUST be right! :p
JK.
Geez. Party pooper. Just let me grouse, will ya??

[Zen]

Perspective.

Today we broke a record that was set in 1898.
Imagine what this was like in 1898.

Our lives are pretty good.

[Cataboo]

Just 'cause I'm sure you guys are wondering what my deck looked like at like 5 pm:

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs133.snc3/18045_309184866864_624946864_3555698_7950520_n.jpg


And then I opened the back door:

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs133.snc3/18045_309193201864_624946864_3555749_6411209_n.jpg

[Selkie]

Just heard that they shut down 270 out by Frederick (Zen-land). Hope everyone out that way is ok.

[crazycanuck]

Hmm...I don't think Catriona's going very far for a few days...:p

Keep safe everyone!

Be thankful you're not dealing with something more drastic like a massive bushfire...Snow's not as frightening in my mind.

[softthings]

We had mail delivered yesterday. My most excellent new iamnottedking t-shirt arrived!

http://cutawayclothing.bigcartel.com/product/i-am-not-ted-king-t-shirt

http://www.iamtedking.missingsaddle.com/2010/01/babies-are-like-totally-chick-magnets/

the guy that makes cutaway clothing lives just up the block from us. my boyfriend rides with him a bit. nice guy.

[Selkie]

Snowy sunrise in Arlington. Here are some pictures of my house.

[HillSlugger]

Snowy sunrise in Arlington. Here are some pictures of my house.

OMG do you need to deal with those stairs every day?

[Cataboo]

OMG do you need to deal with those stairs every day?

Sledding down could be fun.

[owlice]

Catriona, I just sent those pic links to a friend who had to shovel off her deck after the last storm, yours in the "it could have been worse!" category. Holy smokes, that's a lot of snow!!

I was able to open the side door a few inches this morning, just enough for the (insane) tuxedo cat to slip out. My morning entertainment -- watching him trying to negotiate his way through the snow. :) At least he is smart enough to use the tracks he's already made for the return trip.

Almost the first thing I did this morning, even before making coffee and showering, was shoveling. Just my porch, and only part of it, but hey I was out there! (Not as far out there as mickchick, who obviously made it out to her street to take pictures, but I did pass through the door to do more than put food out for animals!)

aicabsolut, I would absolutely share brownies with you if I could! I'd have to bake 'em first, but I can do that, I can do that!

Might make pumpkin bread today, as I'm almost out. I made whole wheat-oatmeal-honey bread yesterday and had some of that for breakfast this morning. That's my favorite homemade yeast bread. Yum yum!

[Selkie]

OMG do you need to deal with those stairs every day?

Yes. It's the only way down to the street. DH and I have a theory that's why the original owner, from whom we bought the house, was a spry, alert, independent lady of 90 years. She decided to sell the house after the blizzard of '96 and moved into an apartment!

There are two long staircases inside the house, too. :)

Some good news: DH cleared out the downspouts and water is coming out!! We're a bit concerned about our gutters/roof, as we have a couple ice dams. Hopefully, that situation will resolve itself now that the water can drain properly. New windows ($$$$) ordered before the storms, so we've made one significant investment in the house already this year. We are hoping the roof holds up for at least another five years......

[divingbiker]

I think I'm going to have water down the walls of my house, since there are icicles between the gutter and the outside walls, and of course ice dams. Oh well, I've got lots of towels.

And what is up with people who shovel the snow off their cars into the already-plowed street? Do they think the plow is going to come through again? What a slushy, dirty mess for those of us who have to walk our dogs through it. Idjits.

[ny biker]

I think I'm going to have water down the walls of my house, since there are icicles between the gutter and the outside walls, and of course ice dams. Oh well, I've got lots of towels.

And what is up with people who shovel the snow off their cars into the already-plowed street? Do they think the plow is going to come through again? What a slushy, dirty mess for those of us who have to walk our dogs through it. Idjits.

The condo maintenance people shovel the sidewalks where I live, along with help from outside contractors. In other words, we pay for this service. But I'm amazed at how many of my neighbors clear off their cars by dumping the snow onto the sidewalk.

Over the weekend most of my neighbors did a thorough job shoveling out around their cars. But today they're back to their old lazy selves. Since we don't have reserved parking, they will take any space that is clear and leave the snowy one they left behind for someone else. So once again I will be spending my afternoon shoveling out every space in the lot.

[aicabsolut]

GAH weather.com is saying there will be snow showers in NC on Saturday! I CAN'T WIN!!!!

[HillSlugger]

The shoveling wasn't nearly as bad today as last time.

[7rider]

The shoveling wasn't nearly as bad today as last time.

No, and the sun is really strong today, so it helps with the clearing efforts. We cleared the driveway and walk earlier, and there are many dry spots already. DH and I are going to head out - despite the fact that our street is unplowed, many have driven down it, so it's passable. The Audubon Nature Center is open - we need to stock up on birdseed! They done cleared us out! :eek: My afternoon conference call has been postponed. Yay! I get to procrastinate on my report and more work related items a little longer. It is going to be SOOOO hard to wake up at 6 a.m. tomorrow!

[Zen]

I don't even know what day it is anymore.

[Biciclista]

go to Google and type in "today's date"

[Selkie]

Zen, it sounds like the Tuesday/Wednesday storm really socked you up there! Hope you are doing ok. The sun is working some magic here but we have yet to see a plow.

[Cataboo]

I've dug out the sidewalks and the car and the driveway and the deck. On to the back door and the downspouts. I knocked some snow off the roof while I was on the deck. Maybe I could leave the backdoor - but somehow I just think that 4 feet of snow melting against the back wall of the house & door might be asking for it.

I guess my break is almost over.

[MM_QFC!]

... And I'm on vay-cay next week. :rolleyes:
...

I hope that you're able to get out safely and enjoy your vacation; think I remember you posting that you're going skiing...so, it may be strange to say this, but I hope that it's snowy whereever you're going too!

[pfunk12]

I spent 2.5 hours shoveling earlier. I dug out my car and then helped 2 neighbors dig out their cars. As I was helping my one neighbor, 7 and her DH drove by. They stopped to chat but since my 2 lane street is now only one lane, there was a car behind them so they had to leave.

I am tired. I have that foggy head feeling - where I feel as if I cannot focus. Maybe I should get off of my work e-mail for fear that I send out an e-mail that I may regret later? :p I'm going to hop on the trainer for a while. What else is there to do?

[pfunk12]

It's either time for a glass of wine or time to hit the trainer. I just snapped at my 13-yr-old daughter when she asked me why I hadn't mailed the Netflix DVDs. "UH...BECAUSE I JUST SHOVELED SNOW FOR 2.5 HOURS AND...I FORGOT."

[Cataboo]

I hope that you're able to get out safely and enjoy your vacation; think I remember you posting that you're going skiing...so, it may be strange to say this, but I hope that it's snowy whereever you're going too!

All my facebook friends in Colorado, Washington state, Utah, and Idaho are asking me to send them my snow so they can ski.

[Zen]

Mr. Bobcat plowed me out again :)
So I drove down to the local store and bought a cafe mocha and a twix bar :):)
I'm just fine but I'm wondering who these fools are that are stuck out on the roads around here:confused:

Ima get me one of these-
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=13061980&findingMethod=rr


It's either time for a glass of wine or time to hit the trainer.

Go for the wine. Drink it in the bathtub, preferably with bubbles.

[7rider]

I hope that you're able to get out safely and enjoy your vacation; think I remember you posting that you're going skiing...so, it may be strange to say this, but I hope that it's snowy whereever you're going too!

Yeah, thanks. We're heading to Colorado on Saturday for a week of skiing. I'd love to send them some of our snow!!! Chalking this up to one of life's little ironies.

Pfunk...I vote for wine, too! 2.5 hours of shovelling is plenty of exercise! We stopped by the LBS to say "hey." It was a quiet place there.

[pfunk12]

Pfunk...I vote for wine, too! 2.5 hours of shovelling is plenty of exercise! We stopped by the LBS to say "hey." It was a quiet place there.

I ended up doing over an hour on the trainer - some intense hills. Why? Because my kids are driving me crazy. They are both mad at me and the dog (female) isn't happy with the snow so there's a lot of tense estogen in this teeny, tiny condo! :p Next time you drive by, 7, can you pick them up? Based on what I saw, Noah has plenty of space for 2 skinny, scrawny girls. :D

I stopped by the shop the other day - after I sent that smart arse e-mail about them being closed on Sunday. The entire gang was in the back and they were thrilled that someone was coming in the shop - until they saw that it was me :p. Pepper jumped up and said, "We only opened the shop for Pfunk (both first and last names) and you don't even have the decency to bring your Madone in with you?!" It was noon and I was the first person to walk in the door.

[MM_QFC!]

All my facebook friends in Colorado, Washington state, Utah, and Idaho are asking me to send them my snow so they can ski.


yes, it's a light year out here...and, what with the winter Olympics starting tomorrow and all...:eek:

[kmehrzad]

Ima get me one of these-
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=13061980&findingMethod=rr

Zen, come summer you'll be able to get rid of your weeds with that torch. Now isn't that a nice thought?

[ny biker]

I shoveled for about 4 hours today. There is so much snow and slush in the middle of our parking lot, plus 3 parking spaces full of giant snow piles. I'll be out shoveling again this weekend.

And now there is water leaking in at the top of my bathroom window. Which is kind of disturbing since I live on the 2nd floor of a 3 story building and the outside of the building is dry all around the window. We've also got a broken downspout.

Time for a shower. I ache.

[Cataboo]

So my back door was up to my nose on one side:

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs152.snc3/17945_310997516864_624946864_3560353_369213_n.jpg

Deck was up to my shoulders.

i probably spent 5 hours or more shoveling today.

There's one gutter downspout that is under the 4-5 foot drift outside my back door that I've yet to find the end of and dig out.

I think I'm making that box of brownies instead of eating dinner.

[ny biker]

I think I'm making that box of brownies instead of eating dinner.

Go for it. I ate half a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies after I finished shoveling the other day.

[Zen]

I have water dripping inside my window too. And an elaborate system of tarp and storage container to catch the drips. Can't get to the downspout because it empties out into the creek.:(

I suppose I'll try to dig out the mailbox tomorrow.

[HillSlugger]

So my back door was up to my nose on one side:

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs152.snc3/17945_310997516864_624946864_3560353_369213_n.jpg

Deck was up to my shoulders.

i probably spent 5 hours or more shoveling today.

There's one gutter downspout that is under the 4-5 foot drift outside my back door that I've yet to find the end of and dig out.

I think I'm making that box of brownies instead of eating dinner.
That's just awesome!

[Zen]

So my back door was up to my nose on one side:

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs152.snc3/17945_310997516864_624946864_3560353_369213_n.jpg


You were only doing all that so you could get in the hot tub (http://www.livevideo.com/media/playvideo_fs.aspx?fs=1&cid=F67BCB8D1BC04B0BAA4730A0B6D213E9)

[Selkie]

Catriona---That's incredible. Is that primarily from drifting? You'll have to document it in photographs as it evaporates/melts.

NY, I bet there's an ice dam on the roof---wonder if your downstairs neighbor has water, too? Is it a flat roof? I'm pretty sure homeowners insurance will cover this if there's real damage, since the water is moving from top to bottom.

Neighbor brought us homemade cookies to thank us for shoveling them out...DH ate most of them for dinner last evening!

[Cataboo]

Catriona---That's incredible. Is that primarily from drifting? You'll have to document it in photographs as it evaporates/melts.

NY, I bet there's an ice dam on the roof---wonder if your downstairs neighbor has water, too? Is it a flat roof? I'm pretty sure homeowners insurance will cover this if there's real damage, since the water is moving from top to bottom.

Neighbor brought us homemade cookies to thank us for shoveling them out...DH ate most of them for dinner last evening!

It's from drifting. That back of my house has a deck & sunroom added on - no snow was underneath from the first storm. The back door's underneath the deck part.

So the snow blew across the park next to my house and then I guess the deck and the fence on the edge of my yard trapped it. So the wind blew all that stuff under there.

My front yard wasn't so bad, most of that snow blew into my next door neighbors front yard - it's head height around their cars. Just above the knees in my yard.

I made the brownies because it sounded like what I wanted, but then I remembered I've never actually cared much for brownies.

I still suffered and ate a bit of them :)

[Cataboo]

You were only doing all that so you could get in the hot tub (http://www.livevideo.com/media/playvideo_fs.aspx?fs=1&cid=F67BCB8D1BC04B0BAA4730A0B6D213E9)

Hottub didn't have water in it. Otherwise i'd've totally spent these storms sitting in it watching the snow fall. It did have a kayak on top, for what that's worth.

[Selkie]

I shoveled for about 4 hours today. There is so much snow and slush in the middle of our parking lot, plus 3 parking spaces full of giant snow piles. I'll be out shoveling again this weekend.
.

We went ahead and did the "lawn chair in our cleared spaces" option so no SOB would park in them.

The guy up the street has created a huge wall beside his car---in the ROAD. The damn thing is 3 feet high.

As I started typing this, a county plow/salt truck went up the hill, followed by a FRONT END LOADER! This is the first plow visit since blizzard #2. Made my day. I gotta go watch this!

Update: they are doing a great job clearing the road. I think I'll drive to the pool instead of walking there (it's about 3/4 of a mile or so away, and probably not everyone has shoveled out sidewalks).

[owlice]

My street has still not been plowed, not for either storm, not even once.

[Biciclista]

My street has still not been plowed, not for either storm, not even once.

boy, where do you live? this sounds like Seattle! (where it is 46 degrees and raining)

[ny biker]

We went ahead and did the "lawn chair in our cleared spaces" option so no SOB would park in them.

Someone did that in my lot. When my neighbor the cop came home yesterday, he parked in that space, even though the space next to it was empty.

Driving to work this morning was generally okay. Not slippery because the roads were clear down to the pavement, but slow because lanes are narrowed due to snow piles. The worst was the S-curve at the top of the hill leading out of my neighborhood. Only one lane open and you can't see oncoming traffic.

I have lots of errands to run but I'm going to postpone them to another day instead of driving all over NoVa this weekend. We need more time for melting.

[Biciclista]

but there's a new snow storm coming! my friend in Georgia is all freaked out about it.
No kidding, are none of you in that path?!?

[Zen]

That one looks like it's going to be all south.
We don't have anything predicted until Monday and the current forecast is only 50%

[Zen]

there are about five pages, some good , others not so much.

I thought I saw someone hanging out of that helicopter yesterday.

ETA the link!
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/media/slideshows/snowrecovery021210/index.html

[Selkie]

NY--It's like that in North Arlington, too. N. Glebe seems ok, as does Lee Hwy and N. Quincy. In the neighborhoods, forget it. The front loader and plow/salt dumper that did work in our neighborhood cleared one lane so you really have to be alert for oncoming traffic. Tell you the truth, I'm grateful for it. Getting out of the house today and going somewhere in the car was wonderful.

It's beautiful outside, despite the snow. The sun is bright, the sky is so blue, and it feels warm... Really, you can tell that spring is around the corner (I hope we don't miss out of the crocuses--they should be making an appearance in a couple weeks)

The clipper on Monday is supposed to be minor---not much moisture associated w/it. Let's hope it dies out...

[ny biker]

The sun was really warm yesterday. I'm so happy that spring is getting closer.

[owlice]

Biciclista, the roads in my community didn't get plowed in our December snowstorm, either. Well, actually, SOME roads got plowed.... ones on the Montgomery County side. On the PG side? No. One main road, a huge hill, has one lane plowed out, and that's it; everything coming off that road hasn't been touched.

I hear big equipment out there now and one of the neighbors said she'd seen a front-end loader in our 'hood. Another day of this, and I'd have called the media; almost did that today.

I did get out today (it's my mother's 87th birthday; duty, you know); another driver and I had to push someone's car out into an intersection because it was stuck on the side street. Our "potholes" are places where snow has melted -- perhaps because people have been spinning their wheels there -- with snow and ice 8-10" high around the "pothole." I may need new shocks after this.

Heard someone on the radio talking about Fenty's (the mayor of DC) snow removal program; he referred to it as "spring." His street hasn't been plowed yet, either; I feel his pain!

[Cataboo]

One of the Frederick county commissioners posted this on facebook to demonstrate some of the challenges they've been facing in their plowing efforts:

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs173.snc3/20040_341629515409_15197950409_4896140_895803_n.jpg

My grocery store was well stocked with food tonight. But it had ice cream, so all was good in the world.

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs154.snc3/18145_313099341864_624946864_3567213_2997619_n.jpg

[Zen]

I missed that FB photo.
That must be out towards Adamstown.

I went to Weis today and it was fully stocked. I'm not much impressed with Bloom. It seems to be more of a market than a grocery store.

[Cataboo]

Meh. Weis always seems ghetto when I go into it, and I hate where it's located. Bloom's convenient for me and I like it.

He said it was Steiner Smith Road, whereever that is.

[Cataboo]

Oh, that heads down to Legore Bridge road, which means I've probably ridden on it.

Now to figure out where Adamstown is

[Zen]

Past the Bike Doctor towards Sugarloaf.