I'm so excited. It's been several years since we've had a big snow storm and nothing "epic" since '96 ("epic" being a term tossed around by some forecasters just now).

The storm is supposed to hit here Friday night and possibly go into Sunday morning.

I don't need anything but am tempted to go to the store tomorrow for kicks -- just to see the tp/egg/milk rush in person. But will probably pass on that and instead pick up a package waiting for pickup at REI.

Car's always gassed up so no need there.

Compact Black Diamond snow shovel's going in the car, along with the window scraper/brush and tire chains. Though if it's chain-worthy conditions I probably wouldn't go anywhere.

If the roads are bad local hospitals often ask for volunteers with 4x4s to ferry patients. So that's a possibility.

Gotta get the pup's booties out to avoid ice buildup in her paws. Camera batteries are charged.

Could be a puny accumulation here or could be quite significant. We'll soon see.

And apparently a second storm is brewing for next week. Would be very unusual here to have a big storm before Christmas, let alone two.

I hope everyone who experiences this storm is prepared and spared power outages. Or heaven forbid, the need to be on the highway.

Going to be a lot of travelers the weekend before Christmas.

All I gotta say is that I am happy I am working from home till after christmas

Don't get too worked up. The prediction for NY right now is just snow showers on Sunday.

I'm a bit prepared... cuz I'm in CA right now! Told my GF about it, she's up on what needs to be done in the house. Mainly, this consists of someone to check on the dog, since she's on some overnight shifts.

Looking forward to Xmas though - long range forecasts say a possibility of snow on the 24th in my area! I doubt it'll happen, but my GF would appreciate it. I grew up in Cali, so snow on Xmas is wierd.

Our forecasts this morning range from 8-12" to 10-16."

Been a long time since we had that kind of snow here.

Nope

Honest? No - my snowblower has a flat I have to fix tonight - sigh. And of course, the Memorial Service for my Mother In Law is Saturday - That's going to turn out well

OK I am in the midwest but I seriously miss East Coast Snow storms. I was in Maine and New England most of my miss-spent youth.

I'm ready. Since the snow is not forecast until later in the day and it seems that folks will have time to get home, everyone here seems excited, like little kids waiting for a white xmas.

I've been here 5 years, and if we get the 12-16" forecast it will be the most we've ever gotten.

I grew up in Michigan, in the lake-effect shadow, so I'm used to a bit more.

We're as ready as we can be here in a new home at the VA/TN border. The forecast is calling for 6-12 inches of snow by Saturday afternoon.

I am more than slightly concerned, not for myself but for my family.

My oldest daughter and son-in-law are suppose to leave Willmington, NC in the morning to head up north to here in Maryland for the holidays.

My wife and her Girl Scout trip is suppose to leave here 5am for a bus trip to NYC. The bus company said they would make a decision sometime around 2-3 am as to whether the bus would make the trip. If the bus company cancels the trip, the troop gets a refund, but the troop also purchased non-refundable tickets at $90/girl to see the Lion King. At potential loss of $900 for the tickets, there is a fair amount of apprehension as to whether some of the parents should try to make the trip if the bus cancels.

Our team has just been alerted for standby for potential rescues due to the storm, so my middle daughter may be holding down the home front for the day or so.

Fun and games-

Pete

Snow is supposed to start mid-day here on Long Island. We've moved up a proposed family gathering in Manhattan from the evening to much earlier in the day so as to avoid having to get home in snow and dark. If it looks bad as it gets closer, we may cancel alltogether. Weather Service has already issued a Blizzard Watch, but the notice states that it may be a false alarm depending on the storm track.

We always have plenty of food in the house. I'll go on a run for milk for the kids and to fill both cars with gas later today.

My biggest concern here is lack of power. No electricity and my house gets cold pretty quick. We've got good sleeping bags for the whole family, but we'd likely be using them at the firehouse where there is generator power.

Yeah, you hardly get any snow in Minnesota

Forecasts here call for 4" to 8" with possibles up to 12" at higher elevations. Preparation check list:
wood for the fireplace (in case electric goes off) - check
warm snuggly blankets - check
extra food and water on hand - check (after this evening, hope there is still some left on shelves )
survival kits in vehicles - check
snow shovel - no check, but I am pretty sure I know where it is hiding at and will have it out by tomorrow morning
ice melt for steps - check
popcorn and plenty of movies - check (as long as electric stays on )
Plenty of warm clothing for playing in snow - check
Am I missing anything? We don't plan on going anywhere this weekend, we live on a main road that gets cleared quickly anyway hence no snow shovel in the cars but have CS shovel to throw in if needed)?

Haven't had a forecast here for snow like this in years. Hope I still remember how to shovel snow

Hope I can hold off DW and Brother-In-Law as DWs employee Christmas party is tonight, she really wants to go and BIL is blowing off the forecast as another conspiracy implemented by the bread-milk-egg industry to increase sales and the media to increase ratings. I believe the fact that DS was going to spend the night with BIL tonight may have something to do with that as well but I for one am not willing to take that kind of chance. Of course DS can still stay the night with BIL tonight if DS wants to.

Pete, I would talk DD into delaying the trip if at all possible. Hope they arrive safely if they don't.

Just back from REI, which was mobbed when it opened.

Decided not to go anywhere near a grocery.

It is a difrent type of snow here and there is the ocean affect on the snow.

We get sknow but not like a good NE Blizzard. Then again the NE hasn't seen a good Blizard for a while either.

Don't mind me Ty, just another failed attempt at sarcasm.

Edit: no offense intended, hope none taken.

Good call Dagny. Don't want to get too close to those getting their "French Toast Diet." (aka, milk, eggs, bread)



Kudos to whoever first posted that, I thought it was hilarious.

A friend's report from the frontline -- Washington area grocery stores, some of which were reportedly jammed at 6:00a:

"...jammed packed, rude people rushing and pushy. But the real hoot was Balducci's -- went there for seafood. ONLY IN WASHINGTON could you catch this scene. Zero parking spaces in the ENTIRE lot and that lot is HUGE. I parked across the street. NO CARTS! It was a mob scene."

Do people really not have enough food to go a couple days or a week w/o grocery shopping? That is pretty wild. We grocery shop once a week or so, but that is just to keep fresh things in the house. If we were "snowed in" which I really can't imagine happening in this storm, I think we could easily go a week with just the canned and frozen foods we have. Sure, black beans would get old after a while, but they'd get the job done. Mmm, now I want baked beans...

Where I grew up and my folks still live they may get 10 inches, that'd be pretty neat. I wish I could go hang out down there and do some duck hunting instead of spending the day in the library watching the snow fall!

They are only predicting a max of 6" in my area tomorrow night. Nothing spectacular. This frigid cold though...not my favorite!!

There's survival and there's comfort. Comfort food for sheltering in is a big part of it.

We're approaching things a little differently. Just placed an order for Thai delivery. An extra big order so there will be leftovers tomorrow.

I have friends who eat out so much -- breakfast and lunch during the work week and often dinner -- that they don't keep much on hand. They wouldn't starve eating what's in their kitchen but these storms bring out the urge, and time at home, for a big traditional breakfast and some yummy dinner.

This particular storm is hitting on the weekend, when a lot of people normally do their grocery shopping. And it's also the weekend a lot of peops would also be buying food for Christmas.

This storm could be so substantial that people won't want to drive anywhere all weekend. So get out now. We've had so many forecasts for snow in recent years that didn't pan out that even the forecasters seemed slow to dare state that this thing likely would really be big.

"The snowpocalypse is upon us."

Reader comment on a weather blog. Pretty funny.

It's about 75F here and we aren't expecting it to get really cold until Sunday. The word I hear was that it might, just might, go below 30F. I might have to chip the ice off my birdbath. That said I hate anything below 60F and start freezing in place at 40F. So anything below 30F is bitterly cold for me and mine.

So I checked to make sure I have enough:

Old sheets and towels to cover the vegetation.

Spare propane to run the portable heater, lantern and backup stove. Also made sure I knew where the appropriate pots, coffee pot to use on the stove and mantles for the lantern are.

Double checked my reserve of extreme cold weather clothing. Poly and poly/wool long johns. Gloves and liners. Liner socks and wool overs. Bomber type hat. Coats. I'm good to the single digits with clothing I have. Just because I live in Florida and have the metabolism of a reptile doesn't mean I always lived here.

I'm laying extra water so I'm covered if the wells freeze or we lose power and the pumps don't work. Also have a good supply of dry peat moss to use as absorbent and cover in a composting toilet.

Cash on hand in case the telcom/satellite credit card system fails.

Spare heavy duty garbage bags and paper towels on hand.

Cell phone charging and backup power available.

Battery powered radio works and has spare batteries.

3 hour old Satellite Photo of Eastern CONUS

Has anyone else seen the movie 'The Day After Tommorow'.

Kind of looks like the Snowicane of '93, aka Blizzard of the Century.

Calm as can be out right now. Can smell the approaching snow. My pup's wondering where the rest of her sled team are.

Today was a good day to exercise the Bug Out Bike. It was a little cool so long sleeve jersey and tights on a nice thirty mile spin up to Ojai and back. It was just frigid enough to avoid overheating....

I will watch the Weather Channel tonight to see how you all are doing...

It started here around 2pm, and we got a quick 6" of powdery stuff. I shoveled that off the driveway to keep the job manageable tomorrow. It has slowed down to flurries, but we are supposed to get another 6-10" overnight.

Fire in the woodstove, no travel plans.

They've increased our forecast in the city to 16-24."

This is extraordinary. They're saying it could be one of our top 5 storms on record.

Dagny,

You sound almost giddy with excitement! I've driven in the DC area when it snows, a scary ordeal. I'm about 120 miles north of you just above the Delaware state line.

I wonder if this storm is Mother Nature's way of telling Congress to get out of town?

I was a teenager during the '66 storm that brought nearly 3 feet of windriven snow on Christmas eve. It completley buried our Corvair.

Have fun with the pup. I may have to keep track of my JRT by the mole-like tunnel he'll make if the snow is higher than his head.

Be safe!

Andy

Thanks, Andy. Giddy's the word, alright!

Was outside around 11:00p with neighbors and our dogs marvelling at how quickly the snow transforms the city. It's quiet, beautiful and much friendlier as its a shared experience for everyone and mostly a welcome one as it's so rare.

Convenient that its hitting on a Saturday. No commuter rush. We can walk in the middle of our neighborhood streets and there will be very few cars even attempting to go anywhere.

And it's only going to get worse/better as the day goes.

We'll be walking (snowshoeing) on the Mall later so if you see a Samoyed on the news I'm the one at the other end of the leash.

A Samoyed? S(he) must be in hog (err...doggie) heaven...

Have fun Dagny. I loved DC after a good snow and I didn't even have a Samoyed. It did tend to quiet things; besides the snow soaking up some of the noise, traffic noise was also reduced because traffic was reduced and that was always a good thing. I always walked to a local Giant grocery store so traffic itself was never an issue.

i was just over at the Antique Radio forum and a guy said there were lines into the street at gas stations and the stores were being sold out for things like TP,bread,milk,eggs.very long lines and people getting nasty in Annapolis MD.another poster thought that was not true and things were "normal".anyone here,there?..

I live not far from Annapolis and work in the city of Annapolis. Nothing surprising about this. . . A year or so ago when the gas prices first spiked, a local "cash only" gas station had prices that were about 3 cents per gallon lower than any other place. A fist fight broke out in the line to get gas.

I'd rather be in New York City. My experience has been that when things get tough in New York, people there get nicer.

We haven't been out. We are snug, generators ready with plenty of gas on hand, with adapters to power the gas fired heating system if (or when) the power goes out.

Stocks of bread, TP, milk, etc. laid in days ago. We are watching the snow accumulate in the back. About 13 inches so far.

Expect that I will have to crank up the snow blower tomorrow am.

We were out walking and playing for a couple hours this morning (see pics below), before it really started snowing hard as it is right now. It's beautiful! Very few cars on the road.

Friends and I are going to venture out on snowshoes in a bit, with dogs, cameras and thermoses of hot cocoa.

Lowe hiking boots, OR gaiters, REI waterproof pants, Sugoi espresso pants, long underwear, snowboard socks, LL Bean Rugged Ridge Parka, neck gaiter, etcetera, etcetera, are keeping me warm and dry. If you've got the gear, this is delightful.

The only deterrent to walking for miles and miles is the energy it requires. This is tough stuff to walk in for long. Hence, the snowshoes.

Dreaming of a White Christmas?

Very cool. Great photos.

Thank you all. This storm has now become the biggest on record for December here. And it has become one of our Top 10 on record.

And in all the best ways it is living up to the legacy of big snows: friendliness befitting a small town, every street transformed into a winter wonderland, dogs and children having the time of their lives. It is spectacular!

And here are some more pics from later in the afternoon:

More pics. Looks like the total in DC will be around 20" -- still have a ways to go this evening.

Wow, even better pics. Your pup looks like she's having a great time.

I can hardly get her to come back inside. She wants to spend the entire day out there. But she's asleep now.

There may be one more romp in the snow this evening with her buddies.

Definitely take her out again, it's only fair. She may not get to play like this again for a long time.

Storm slams East Coast, causes 4,000 traffic accidents in Virginia Wow -- good time to avoid driving (like we didn't see this coming, but 4000???).

Yeah, the roads were not the place to be today. My vehicle is very snow capable and I have tire chains and great tires, but decided not to contribute to impeding snow plows.

I-81 through Virginia is frightfully Darwinian on a good day, can't imagine driving it through this storm. God bless those who did. And locally, while surely many who did venture out didn't need to, there are still people who have to work in the worst weather. Some of them probably spent half the day in the car.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/19/AR2009121900741.html

Interstate 81 near Lexington was closed after a tractor-trailer accident Friday night, leaving thousands of motorists stranded in their cars for 12 hours or more, said Jeff Caldwell, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation. West Virginia authorities closed Interstate 77 at the Virginia border, and though it was reopened late Saturday morning, the road remained clogged by abandoned cars and trailers that could not make it up the hills, Caldwell said.

"I don't care if you're from Minnesota or from Maine, you shouldn't be driving out there," said Joan Morris, a VDOT spokeswoman.

I was rather shocked to see my postman today.

Merry Christmas and God bless to everyone who worked in this.

:-)

The post office will still deliver through any kind of weather, even if they still can never get mail in the right mailbox.

Just came back in from shovelling the front walkway and driveway. Heavy snow right now. Found this message from the NWS:

INTENSE LOW PRESSURE TRACKING SE OF LONG ISLAND TONIGHT
WILL RESULT IN A PERIOD OF HEAVY SNOW & HIGH WINDS ACROSS LONG ISLAND. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 12 TO 18 INCHES.WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS AS HIGH AS 24 INCHES.ARE EXPECTED. SNOWFALL RATES OF 2 TO 4 INCHES PER HOUR.ACCOMPANIED BY THUNDER AND LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM FROM LATE
THIS EVENING INTO THE OVERNIGHT. WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 50 MPH ARE
ALSO EXPECTED.

No joke, by the time I'd finished shovelling, there was 1/2 inch of snow on the ground where I'd started. The salt I'd put down on the driveway before the storm had no noticeable effect.

I don't have a dog like Dagny's, but I'll bet my three year old will enjoy the snow in the morning!

Your dog is beautiful!!! I have two Dobes but they have to wear coats in the snow. Thanks for sharing the pictures. Stay safe and have fun.

Dagny, your smiling dog looks almost GRIM when you make her stop to take a photo! I'm glad she got some rest, to build up her strength. Does she want to sleep in the snow? My friend's Siberian Husky flat out refused to come in, and would curl up in the snow to sleep... with one eye open to see if Rita was coming out to drag her into the house, then she would jump up and use her E&E tactics.

That last photo is referred to as a 'chowderbutt shot' in some circles.

Have a good time!

Sue

Dagny, those are awesome pictures, I had just got back today crossing Sams Gap up in NC and there were at least a 100+ cars all over the place coming down the mountain. I was in 4X4 High all the way from Tenn through NC (I wish I had got better pictures before the snow plows went through). We took a good snow storm up in Tenn while I was up there.You guys up in DC had a tremendous amount of snow compared to what we got. It only dropped down to 15 degrees 2 nights while I was up there but I was like a kid in the candy store. I love snow and living in Fla is a drag when you have no true seasons. Any way here are some brief lame pics of my trip (a few pics are from the old Civil War Park).

That's a great idea. It's going to take a few more three year olds than huskies to pull a sled. But we could call it day care and people would pay you to take their kids for the day. You could make even more money running your team of kids down the interstate and use them to pull stuck cars out of the ditch. The kids get all that fresh air and exercise. It's a win-win situation.

Dagny, you gotta get those DC Police Detectives to chill out . It was just a snowball fight. Some folks just can't handle the stress. I'm torn between thinking it's funny and at the same time sad. A little desk duty may be in order. . .

Yes It was messed up when the police officer pulled a gun on a snowballer. A little over reaction.

If you read the story, and see the video, no one pulled a gun on a snowballer. A bunch of whiny twenty-somethings got the story messed up in their heads.

The cop with the gun out was the one responding to the 911 call of a man with a gun. And even then, it was down, pointed towards the ground.

The guy "with a gun" was a plain-clothes detective - on the video you can see he didn't ever go for the gun.

MD -- In the video the Detective tells them his name and admits to pulling his gun because he "got hit with snowballs" -- not much room for interpretation; I don't see how the "whiny twenty-somethings got the story messed up in their heads". Bottom line for me is we all need to learn to disengage and not escalate. It's just snow and snowball fights; getting hit with snowballs goes with the territory. These guys are all getting in each others faces instead of having fun.

Thank goodness no one pushed over the copper's snowman - it could have quickly escalated into a CQB.

Well, our "storm of the decade" proved anything but. We got a whopping 3" locally-all cleaned up within an hour of it stopping. Honestly, not even enough to go snowshoeing in...how depressing! I need to mover further south, so I can enjoy the winter again!!!!

To everyone that got hit with the brunt of this, I hope you weathered it OK. I know a lot of places that got it this weekend dont normally get that much snow.

It does have a lot of that "Henry Gates" feel. Seems everyone needs a little Time Out in the corner...


The video didn't seem to show much of anything.

Merely exposing a weapon in any way is "brandishing", a felony in some areas. It doesn't matter where it's pointed. Something to consider in the self-defense firearm threads...

Thanks, Sue, and everyone. Gidget's in White Fang mode part of the time -- in her never-ending quest to stalk every squirrel in DC. Today, the day after, was spectacular. The skies could hardly have been bluer.

A few of us on my block dug out our cars this morning, many more were doing so this evening. Going to be a sloppy week around here but it was well worth it.

And some more. Major streets were in very good shape. Side streets not so much but my Honda Element did fine.

Isn't it amazing how having a dog in your photos livens them up?

The sky is so blue it looks like you painted it in. Lovely! Everything here in WA is gray, gray, gray.

Sue

Gorgeous pictures Dagny!!! Those are just post card quality! I love the red scarf and leash too, thanks for sharing. I have a similiar leash only in black.

The DC Mall has never looked so good
and your pup poses so well

I lived in Northeastern Pennsylvania for many years with a well that's wellhead that extended up about 18 inches from the ground. It regularly got down into the single digits and often below zero, dand I never had my pump freeze. One year it got buried under so much snow that I didn't see it until late April, and still no problem. Maybe I was lucky, but I never heard of anyone having that problem.


I always have some cash stashed (not much point in putting it in the bank at 0.5% interest and then paying $2.50 to get it out through the ATM). I have some cash in each of my and my kids EDC kits and BOB's. I rarely have less than $100 in my wallet. I also have a bunch of cash in my safe at home (good for paying/tipping tradesmen for emergency repairs). I didn't think about taking any extra out because of the snow. I guess if we got two feet of snow the local banks might have stayed closed for a day or two and ATM cash supplies might run out, but I don't think that would cause a shutdown of the whole system. But why would you stock extra cash just because it's a few degrees below freezing? You Floridians must really have some thin skin! ;^)

Dagny, glad you had a great time. Here it started as rain and turned to wet heavy snow, about 6 to 8 inches worth, more in some areas. Power outages everywhere, half the city (I use the term loosely as it is really just a small town) was without power for several hours and most of the county is still without power. Power company message states all customers will be restored Dec 26th. Power company is getting assistance from as far away as Michigan to help restore services. We were fortunate and only went without power for 24 hours. Heated with that stockpiled firewood through the night, we slept round the fireplace and I got to "play" with my new Doug Ritter head lamp. DS sure had a good time "camping out." Main streets all cleared but more snow expected through the week. Looks like we may get a white christmas this year.

That's sweet, please give them my regards and tell them Gidget sends a spirited "Rooooo!" their way.

:-)

Very beautiful dogs. They are truly magnificent animals.

Dagny:

AWSOME PHOTOS!!! LOL some they look like the dog is giving the "welcome to snowed in DC" Guided tour!!

Snowpalooza again today, especially for pups. Gidget was feeling magnanimous and letting her ball be stolen. But she got it back eventually and carried it home.

Power went out at the house again last night, but came back on again within an hour. Many in ours and surrounding counties still without power, emergency shelters overflowing, really taxing the local resources. Glad others are not having it so rough.