A joyful headline for east coast snow-lovers -- especially those who are prepared for power outages, being stranded in the car and other potentials of a large-scale blizzard event.

Coincidentally, my new "fatbike" will be ready at the bike shop 24 hours before the storm is due to hit DC. So I'm going to be bikejoring on the Mall with Samoyeds who could hardly be happier than when snow is literally in the air.

Best wishes to everyone in the Mid-Atlantic and northeast who may be dealing with this. I also happened to be at the grocery yesterday and am well-stocked. By Thursday evening, every egg, every loaf of bread, milk, bacon, etc. will be sold out within at least an hour drive of DC.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capi...ll-time-greats/

Weather Service: ‘Textbook’ East Coast snowstorm could resemble all-time greats


"... likened the forecast snow amounts to what fell during the Snowmageddon storm of Feb. 5-6, 2010, the Blizzard of Jan. 1996 (with perhaps a somewhat smaller overall coverage), and the President’s Day Storm of Feb. 2003."


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Be safe! Sounds like you are well prepared to ride it out.

Stay safe, Dagny!

Good to be prepared and to keep in mind weather forecasts are nearly always overblown.

Time to get 5 gallons of gas for the snow blower. Anne Arundel county loves to pile up snow in the driveway. Roads are clear, but you can't get past the pile of snow blocking the driveway.

Isn't that the truth. About the time I dig out my car in DC, the plows come along and create another wall of snow and ice.

Reminds me I need to put my tire chains in the Element. It's great in the snow (Honda's "4WD") but I'm from Oregon and like the added assurance of having chains in the car, just in case.

I've never used them with the Element (an '04), just like having them along for the ride.



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The rush to stock up on vital supplies has begun. A friend just posted this on Facebook:

"The crowds were already out today. Trader Joe's in Springfield was out of milk in anything but Gallon size. Store was packed at 3:30 PM. Crowds will only grow. Giant in West Springfield was out of Gallon size bottled water except Store Brand. TP was being bought by the case."

Another:

"9:53 PM EST
Just got home from the Giant on West Broad in Falls Church. Almost out of flour. Many other supplies also picked over already."

And another:

"Tonight was nuts at the Great Falls Safeway"


Better than everyone waiting until the last second. Maybe more shipments can be delivered to area groceries before the first flakes fall... three days from now.

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I was here for the '96 blizzard which was quite a surprise since not a single weather forecast caught it. Everyone woke up to ~18 inches of new snow overnight. Yes they tend to over-estimate, but this one has the chance of doing what they say. I am going on travel on Friday so I don't get to play until late next week.

Regards,
Bill

Hey, I was there for the '96 blizzard, too! I had to get home in that snow. It was a lot of fun!

I'm tickled by the comment from Dagny's friend: "out of Gallon size bottled water except Store Brand." OMG, the storm is coming and we have to get prepared, but will not stoop to the indignity of drinking store brand water!!!

Amazon is suddenly out of certain water storage containers... Hey, at least people are getting prepared!

Stay safe, our buddies in the affected areas. Take it easy. Don't go out unless you have to!

Too funny -- Maryland/Virginia water is great stuff compared to California's. All I did when I lived in Alexandria, VA was use a Brita filter on the tap water for drinking and coffee --easy peasy and the water was great.

A single Brita filter will last a long time if you start with good tap water. The water in Virginia Beach was a whole 'nuther thing. Comparing a glass of unfiltered tap water to water from a simple tap filter you could see the contaminants suspended in the unfiltered water; it looked brackish in comparison. Those filters didn't last so long. I never used bottled water in VA or MD.

My new fatbike was ready today so I went by the bike shop to pick that up.

That's what I'll be doing in this storm -- riding the bike! Or trying to.

Went with a friend to a supermarket this afternoon in northern Virginia (inside the Beltway) and it was very busy -- think Thanksgiving busy -- but they were quite well stocked. They've seen this coming for a couple days now so are probably getting shipments into the stores.

Sounds like it is going to be an epic storm for this area. I'm so excited!


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Last night we had 1 inch of snow. Major problems on the roads, delays of 8 hours of more, and the president's motorcade got stuck in it. TV reports this morning (7am local) are that there are still cars stuck (probably abandoned).

So the practice session for Friday/Saturday's Blizzard went well.

From the local news:
http://wtop.com/winter/2016/01/minor-snowstorm-leads-to-major-tie-ups-across-region/slide/1/

Yeah, what a debacle. Sounds like transportation planners were so focused on Friday that last night's little snow -- which forecasters had predicted -- was not taken seriously. I had friends calling from their cars, flabbergasted that they were stuck for hours on the road, not moving.

This morning there are reports of people still trying to get home from last night who are now excacerbating the morning rush. Of course, last night my ETS-trained mind immediately went to vehicle winter preparedness -- always top off the fuel tank before driving in inclement weather, keep in the car blankets and other items to keep warm, energy bars, water, etc. etc.

It got down to 20 degrees in the city last night, colder in the 'burbs. Feel sorry for people who were stranded in cars without functioning heaters. What a nightmare.


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DC's traffic map at 11:00 p.m. last night -- after just 1" of snow (which turned icy on the roads).

Dagny - like you I lived inside the beltway my last (final) time in DC. I'd been stuck on the roads (301/295/495) enough the first two times and went with an old Alexandria condo rather than something newer much further out. It was great, everything I needed was within a short walk and the metro took care of the rest. My bike was set up for the Old Town cobblestones. Have fun.

It is a blessing to have everything nearby. I don't even really need to own a car but like the convenience when I want to go to Virginia (and in the interest of preparedness must have a car).

My neighborhood roads still are treacherous -- they are untreated and the puny snow we got last night turned to ice. Cars are sliding into intersections, slipping up the slightest inclines and I just saw a bicyclist crash when his bike went out from under him. I hope the sun is out for a few hours, that is the only hope for the roads and sidewalks.

This is going to impair some peoples efforts today to prepare for tomorrow's blizzard. I just realized last night that I should get more wiper fluid so that's my project.




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A friend just sent these pics from a supermarket she stopped at late last night on her way home.

These big weather events are an interesting study in psychology. I'd like to see a serious article on the herd mentality. Thanks in part to ETS, I am always -- by the standards of the general public -- extremely prepared for events like a big snowstorm. I'm not stocked up for the apocalypse, the outset of which would look something like this:

More random observations from friends and other locals:

Me LOL. There's no bread or milk here (ever). We eat lots of veggies, much better for you than the bread & cookies on those now empty shelves. YMMV I even found a great burger place that will serve your (100% Angus grass fed) burger in a lettuce wrap rather than a bun. Even the Half&Half I used years back in my coffee has been replaced.

Really though, I'm surprised so many thought ahead all of two days and stripped the shelves while there was still time to restock.

I have to shake my head. I routinely stock plenty of chow (and other goodies), a result of my career requiring me to work in isolated places - one time we were 60 miles from he nearest grocery store.

Apocalypse now! Thankfully, at least there's still some yoghurt left on the shelves.

Note that in the pictures, the wine bottles are left untouched. Amateurs. They don't know how to prepare for emergencies like we do!

LOL, trust me, they are already stocked up on wine. Priorities.

The herd mentality in this case is fueled big time by government who told some areas they needed food for a week. Hence, the wiping out of grocery stores ; ).

Some friends this afternoon encountered long lines at gas stations. And there are reports of some stations running out of gas.

This afternoon I scored a couple gallons of wiper fluid at a Pep Boys so now my to-do list is completely checked off.

Serenely waiting for the first flake to fall....


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WaPo - D.C. region braces for epic blizzard; Metro to shut down subway, bus lines According to the article the MD & VA governors and DC mayor have declared a state of emergency as of today.

Ditto. All preps done. Apparently the snow is moving in a bit faster than expected.

Gas shortages. This is why you fill your gas tank ahead of the storm. It also helps prevent condensation in the tank.

Yes, topping off became an ingrained habit after 9/11.

About to walk outside with the dogs. The storm is ramping up. But power is on, Internet and cable still work so feeling cozy.

Best wishes to everyone affected by the storm.


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Per the Washington Post Reagan Int'l reported 14" of snow and that was one of the lower counts. Hope you and the dogs are enjoying the white stuff.

Dagny, here's hoping you are experiencing an "inage", rather than an outage.

Apparently it is now legal to go sledding on Capitol Hill!

That made me LOL, Bing. Thanks for that!!

Stay safe and warm, my friends!

Having survived with both the New York blizzard of 1996 (30" of snow) and Hurricane Ike (1 week no power) I'll take a hurricane over a blizzard any time. Blizzards suck.

-Blast, laughing at the news videos.

Be careful of candles and heaters ( the biggest cause of winter home fires)
Don't travel
go slow with the snow removal/ shoveling
have real Winter gear
shovel a little patch for your dog