Sunday — February 7
We survived SNOMAGEDDON 2010.
Mui made it home from Turkey before the worst of the storm hit; not sure we’d be in such great shape otherwise. Our driveway is down to blacktop; the streets in the subdivision are down to just a thin layer of packed snow. Though the power flickered several times over the past couple of days and the fridge conked out this afternoon (at least that’s when we noticed it), we didn’t lose power and were, therefore, warm and cozy during the height of the snowstorm. (We’ve got enough snow on the back deck to serve as an impromptu fridge until the serviceman gets here on Friday.)
The aftermath!
Our impromptu fridge!
The snow started around 10:00a on Friday, February 5. It was light, but it was steady. Not once was there a break in the white stuff coming down. Luckily, the ground was “warmish” from two days of temps in the low 40F (4C) range, so not much stuck for several hours. I went out twice in the afternoon and shoveled about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of heavy, wet snow each time, praying all the while that Mui would make it home before the worst of the weather hit us.Mui was overseas for both the 1996 and 2003 blizzards that dumped about 20 and 25 inches (50/62.5 cm) respectively in our neighborhood. The snow piles got so high that after a while I just couldn’t lift the shovel high enough to remove all of the snow. I certainly didn’t want a repeat of those experiences again! Luckily he made it home in time — not that it was easy. His trip ended up being a “plane, train, and SUV” story and went something like this: fly out of Ankara, Turkey on time; arrive in Munich, Germany to find flight to DC cancelled; switch to a flight to Philadelphia; take the 5:05p Acela to DC; car pool with strangers in a 4WD SUV taxi to get to Northern Virginia. (By the way, my thanks again to internet/blog friends who offered to put Mui up if he got stuck in Philadelphia; luckily we didn’t have to take advantage of their generous offer.)
Mui’s tale of woe didn’t end there — no rest for the weary, I'm afraid. We fed him a hot meal that mom had prepared and off he went into the cold, dark night to clear the 10 inches (25 cm) or so that had accumulated by then. Sure he used the snow blower, but the heavy, wet snow wasn’t that easy to get rid of. He earned a good night’s sleep for his efforts.
The snow fell non-stop overnight and we woke up to a white world on February 6. The snow was still coming down strong and heavy and the news reports said it would continue all day. At that point, we were all glad that mom had flown in from Massachusetts Thursday instead of waiting until Saturday as originally scheduled. After a quick breakfast, Mui and I went out to clear another foot (30 cm) of snow. It took us two hours of concentrated work and all we had to show for our efforts in the end was a lighter accumulation from the snow that was continuing to fall. Mui then went on to help our next door neighbors — our turn to play good samaritan!
Nice to look at, but not easy to get rid of!
Let the second round of clearing begin!
After a third round of clearing snow after lunch, Mui and I walked through knee-deep snow to get a few things from the supermarket down the street. We didn’t really need anything desperately, but it was a good excuse to get out for a reason other than to shovel white stuff!
Stranded!
With the snow starting to taper off around 4:00p, the last bits of clearing went more quickly. By 5:00p, the snow was over, the skies were brighter, and we even had a few patches of blue showing through the clouds. At that point, we called the total accumulation at 27 inches (67.5 cm), give or take an inch or two.
Left: Mom takes Mr King out to play in the snow.
Right: Mui’s still smiling after the last round of snow clearing!
Snomageddon comes to an end, leaving us with piles of snow everywhere.
The brightening skies as the day drew to a close on the 6th gave us hope that we would have nice weather on Sunday. That’s exactly what we got — beautiful blue skies; brilliant sunshine. It was quite cold, but that did not stop us from going out to enjoy the winter wonderland that was outside the door.
Scenes like this almost make having a blizzard worthwhile — I said almost!
After a hearty breakfast, we all bundled up and went for a 1½-mile (~2½ km) walk around the neighborhood. There was plenty of snow on the ground, but that worked to buffer the ice that lay underneath, making it easier for us to walk. There was hardly any traffic, which was a good thing — the side roads were a mess of broken up chunks of snow that had hardened overnight. By no means were we the only ones out and about, but it certainly looked like we were the only ones out for the sheer joy of taking in the snowy landscape. Everyone else was hard at work digging out. What can I say; we paid our dues by shoveling and blowing throughout Saturday.Here are a few scenes from our morning stroll in winter wonderland.
Visit my online gallery for more photographs that tell our story of Snomageddon 2010
And, to commemorate the storm that added to the overall 44.9 inches (112 cm) of snow that has fallen this winter season (3rd snowiest on record), Mui prepared a short video clip for your viewing pleasure.
If you think we've had a pretty tough winter, you'd be right. If you think we're going to get a break from Pachamama — better known as Mother Nature around here — you'd be wrong. The next storm is expected to come through on Tuesday night. Forecasters say this one won’t be as bad. It’s all relative, of course!!!! We could certainly do without the projected 5-10 inches (12.5 – 25 cm) on top of what we already have piled up!
I am so ready for spring!!!!!


























































