Snow: It Was Bound to Come Our Way

Thursday, 27 January

After all the near-misses we’ve had with snowstorms this winter season, we were due for a hit.

We wake up to an inch (2.5 cm) of snow Wednesday morning.
at least that’s what Mui says; he’s already cleared the driveway.

wet reflections

It rained most of Wednesday.  At times it was a light mist; at other times, it was a steady pour.  As I pecked away at the computer keyboard in my home office, I was glad to be indoors.  Even more so, with snow in the forecast, I was glad I wouldn’t have to deal with the afternoon commute.  The Federal government released employees two hours early, so Mui beat the snow home.  We were cozy inside the house when the snow started to fall around 4:00p.  It started suddenly, with big fat flakes sticking immediately to the ground.  It snowed without a break for the next 7 hours, falling thick, wet, and heavy.

At 8:30p, this is the scene on the back deck.

AT 9:15p, Mui decides to clear the accumulation in the driveway
even though it’s still snowing.

First he tries to use the snowblower, but the snow is too wet and too heavy.

Some manual labor is in order.

I can’t resist clicking the shutter for a few snow scenes.

at 9:45p, Mui’s still hard at work.

The bench on the back deck has a nice soft cushion.

It took him about an hour, but Mui finished clearing the driveway and came back inside around 10:15p.  I had a cup of hot tea waiting for him, but first …

MUI goes out to clear the snow from the satellite dish.
of course you wouldn’t know that from looking at this photo, would you?

We watched a bit of TV, sipped our tea, and called it a night around 11:00p.  It was still snowing, but the flakes were smaller.  The storm gave every indication of starting to taper off.

After a good night’s sleep, we were up at our usual o’dark hundred this morning.  The Federal Government was reported as being on a two-hour delay with the option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework.  Mui opted to telework.  But first, he went out to shovel the overnight accumulation.  There wasn’t much, and for that he was thankful … the knee-high snow berm the snowplow had piled in front of our driveway was enough of a challenge.

And here’s the aftermath …

We are not snowbound.

So where was I in all this?  Well, behind the camera for sure.  Being under the weather (darn cold bug), I was under orders from Mui to stay inside.  He had to deal with this snowstorm all by himself.

When all’s said and done, we received a total of 8 inches (20 cm) from this snowstorm.  Not bad; we’ve had worse (click here for last year’s Snomageddon, which came in multiple waves and dumped 55.9 inches (~1.40 m) on us).  Compared to what the northeast has been seeing this season, we certainly can’t complain.

It’s not always the quantity of snowfall that matters, however.  There were far more traffic problems this time.  People were stranded on roads around the DC metropolitan area for hours.  The road that runs in front of our subdivision is a main thoroughfare and it was a parking lot for at least four hours that we’re aware of.  We’ve never seen that happen before.  In this case, the snow fell heavy and wet, and accumulated rapidly.  Many driver’s simply couldn’t handle the conditions and abandoned their vehicles, adding to the problem.

The highway-turned-parking lot.
[taken with the blackberry; wednesday, jan 26]

I feel for those who were outside in the storm; I’m glad we were tucked away safely at home.

Snomageddon 2010 — Round 2

Thursday — February 11

We survived round two of SNOMAGEDDON 2010.

First, something pleasant ... something to remind us that spring will eventually get here.

A pair of mourning doves stop by to peck at what little snow is left on the railing after Round 1.

We only got about 11 inches (28 cm) of accumulation with Round 2. That’s not to say it wasn’t a doozy!!! With winds gusting to 35-40 mph (~55-65 kph) we had whiteout conditions throughout much of yesterday. Between the blowing wind and the wind chill, I made no effort to go out and take photographs.

February 10 — Looking out at the back deck from the kitchen.

Here are a few photographs of the aftermath that I took this morning.

February 11 — Panoramic look at the snowdrifts on the back deck.

Scenes from our impromptu fridge!

This pile is just some of the snow that the plow cleared from our street.
(the pile is about 5 feet [~1.5 m]) high)

Mui created book end piles on the left side of our driveway with a narrow path in between.

Left: A few more shovelfuls to get rid of what the plow pushed into the driveway overnight.
Right: Just to give you an idea, I am 5 feet 2 inches (~1.55 m) tall.

Left: Icicles from the window of my home office.
Right: Encased in ice!

According to the weather guys, with this latest round of snow, we've broken previous records for amount of snow in one season — total for 2010 in the DC area: 55.9 inches (~1.40 m) breaks the 1899 total of 54.4 inches (1.36 m).

Was this the last of the snow this season? Maybe; maybe not!!! I heard the words “snow Monday night” in the forecast this morning. I’ll take a page out of Scarlett’s book and not think about that for the time being.

We Have Another Snow Event

Wednesday — February 3

What do you know!!!! The driveway was barely clear of any signs of the snowstorm that hit us on January 30 before we had another “snow event” come through the area. The "white stuff" fell all through last night, leaving behind another 3 inches (7.5 cm) to shovel this morning. Thanks to a “Good Samaritan” — I’m guessing it was my next door neighbors — I only had half of the driveway to shovel. Thanks R&C; I promise Mui will help you the next time around.

Here are a few photographs from this snow event.

A Good Samaritan cleared half the driveway of the snow that fell overnight on February 2; I took care of the other half.

A narrow path has been cleared all the way down the sidewalk.

Snow steps mimic the risers.

Pristine snow in sunshine — it almost makes the shoveling worthwhile.

Just enough snow to decorate the boughs without breaking them.

My Churchill snow boots are sure coming in handy here in snowy Virginia!

The sun is out and the temperature is warming up nicely — we’re projected to hit 41F (5C) today. Even more sunshine and warm temps are expected tomorrow — that ought to melt at least some of the snow that’s already on the ground before the weekend storm hits us. Yes, that’s right; we have the potential for a storm to rival the magnitude of December’s “Snobama” starting late on Friday! Welcome home Mui!

At Least It Wasn't a Blizzard

Sunday — January 31

It never fails! Whenever Mui travels overseas during winter months, we get snow here. At least it wasn't a blizzard this time!!!

The snow started around 9:00a on January 30. By 4:16p, this is what our subdivision looked like as the snow continued to fall.

Janaury 31 dawns with bitter-cold temperatures, blue skies, and plenty of sunshine.

Here’s the obligatory photo of the back deck showing total snow accumulation.

Yes; I cleared the driveway.

There seems to be a possibility of some wintry mix next Friday. Let’s hope the current forecast holds for a light storm. Otherwise, Mui might have to sleep at the airport when he lands at Dulles!

Blizzard of 2009

20 December

Snowzilla ... Snownami ... Capital Crippler ... Snowmageddon ... Shopper Stopper ... Goreaster ... Snobama ... no matter what the name, the Blizzard of 2009 was a doozy that dumped many inches of snow in a 24-hour period. In our neighborhood, we topped off at 19 inches (~47½ cm).

According to the weather guys, we beat out the 1932 record for most snowfall in December - 11½ inches (~29 cm). What's even more noteworthy is that the 1932 accumulation was for the entire month of December. We got all of ours in one day.

For me, the record to beat was January 1996. During that blizzard, we got 17.3 inches (~43 cm). As Mui was out of the country for that one, I had to do all the shoveling. This time — he was here to do the work ... with the help of a snowblower! Not fair I say!

The snow is now over and everyone in the neighborhood is shoveling-out driveways. Mui took care of clearing the overnight accumulation earlier this morning. The sun is out; the sky is blue. Although it's tempting to go out and find some scenic spots to photograph, we're going to stay home and let the snowplows do their job of clearing the roads around the area. Besides, all those people who were planning to do their Christmas shopping or start their Christmas road trips yesterday are probably already out there. No need to add to the congestion.

Here's our story:

The snow started around 9:00pm on the 18th. Twelve hours and 8 inches (~20 cm) later this is what the deck looked like.

At 9:00a on the 19th, this was the view from my home office.

By 1:30p, my 12-inch (~30 cm) ruler was just barely peeking out; Mui put in a longer ruler.

At 2:00p; snow still falling. Mui’s morning shoveling of the driveway was in vain. Bundled up in our winter gear, we decided to brave the elements and go for a walk.

At 4:15p, we're at 15½ inches (~39 cm); snow still falling steadily.

At 4:30p, Mui decided it was time to go out for a second round of snow clearing.

Our thanks to whoever invented the snowblower!

At 5:00p, Mui was still hard at work.

At 8:00p, the 18-inch ruler was topped out. Mui put out the yardstick to find out that there was 18½ inches (~46 cm) of accumulation.

A new day has dawned. There’s a bit of drift against the yardstick, but at 9:00a on the 20th, I’m calling the snow over, kaput, finished with 19 inches (~47.5 cm) of accumulation.

A 19-inch (~47.5 cm) wall of snow blocks our way to the deck.

View from my home office. Quite a change from this time yesterday.

I’m glad that’s not our car!!!

Mui makes one last run with the snowblower.

We have blacktop success!

Sssssh! Don't wake him. Mui deserves a snooze.