The blizzard of 2010 (day 6)

Bill Lantry

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Hey, folks,

It's been a while. The snow started Friday, we lost power that night. Trekked out with the boys, and rode out the storm in a hotel room that thankfully kept power. Got back home yesterday, between waves of the storm.

Now the blizzard is back, with such ferocity that the municipalities have pulled all snowplows, and the power companies have pulled their repair crews. You know its bad when even the times has a big article on it:

Blinding winds whipped across the snow-pummeled Washington region on Wednesday, causing treacherous whiteout conditions that forecasters said would only degenerate as the day progresses.

Federal agencies were closed for the third straight day Wednesday in Washington because of the weather.

With visibility severely restricted and power lines threatened once again, blizzard warnings were in effect through 7 p.m. in the Baltimore-Washington area. But because the winds were so high, Washington’s power company, Pepco, could not even fix downed wires, posting on its Web site that all crews were pulled off the streets “due to whiteout blizzard conditions.”

Federal agencies were closed for the third straight day this week. And, for the second time in a week, mail delivery and collection was suspended in Washington and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

“The wind will become the big scenario during the rest of the day,” said Kevin Witt, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Baltimore/Washington region in Sterling, Va. “We can expect gusts up to 55 miles an hour. In Washington, the winds will be 25 to 35 miles an hour all day.”

The winds began roaring as early as 7:30 a.m., where one such gust in Manassas, Va. registered 60 miles an hour. By mid-morning, winds were churning at a steady 30 miles an hour in the nation’s capital, swirling the snow sideways and kicking up the many inches left unplowed from last weekend’s storm.

In one woodsy neighborhood of Silver Spring, a northern Washington suburb, a half-dozen 40-foot fir trees had already snapped in half by early morning, with the gusty winds just beginning to reach their full power, raising the prospect of extensive new power outages. Other, smaller evergreens bowed under the weight of the heavy snow.

Near whiteout conditions were also reported from other suburban towns just at the hour when commuters typically hop in their cars for half-hour drives to town, or wait for buses to take them downtown or to the local subway stops. But today there were no buses, and Metro trains were only offering service every half hour within the underground portions nearest to downtown Washington.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/us/11storm.html
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/10/dangerous-plow-dc-maryland-governments-halt-snow-removal/

Worst February on record. And now, it looks like we're on our own...

Thanks,

Bill
 
I have been griping about the weather in Arkansas.
What we have is nothing more than an inconvenience and excuse to gripe.
What y'all are getting out east is historic and dangerous.
The news this a.m. said the snowplows in Wash. D.C. had been recalled because the snow was coming down so fast they were ineffective and risked getting stuck themselves. :eek: That is scary serious.
Prayers and thoughts for everyone affected by this terrible snowstorm.
Upside might be the Fed. Gov. and Congress are shut down.
 
As long as everyone is safe and comfortable, blizzards are just a mild inconvenience. In a way, they're almost a pleasure as they give us pause to reflect on the little things we take for granted.

I believe I'll be in Virginia in the next month or two. The urgency of my visit seems to have been put on hold a bit due to the weather.

Stay safe, and keep warm. It's a great opportunity to create lasting memories with the family.
 
Safe and comfortable just watching the storm go by. Biggest problem is keeping an area clear enough for the dog to go outside...
The Misses and the dog discussing the situation...






By the way we are now past three feet between the two storms...
Garry
 

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As long as the power stays on, we're good. No power, no heat. We had a few bad minutes this morning when it flickered off, but it came back. I guess the branch fell off the wires... :dunno:

The school systems have already given up on the week. I'm guessing the university will be closed until monday. What's the point? Professors and administrators can't get there anyway.

It's falling pretty heavy out there right now. Our roof is holding, but the neighbor's carport is near collapse. The family of Julian's girlfriend had their roof split open, so they've got snow sifting down into their kitchen.

Time to move back to San Diego... ;)

Thanks,

Bill

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-snow11-2010feb11,0,947501.story

The second fierce winter storm in less than a week walloped Washington and the mid-Atlantic region Wednesday, closing the federal government, airports and thousands of schools while bringing a mix of awe and dread to millions of snowbound families.

Blizzard warnings were posted from Virginia to New York as heavy snow and gale-force winds toppled trees, brought down power lines and created white-out conditions that turned many roads treacherous to impassible.

The storm began with sleet and freezing rain on Tuesday and was expected to add a foot or so more snow on top of the two to three feet that paralyzed the nation's capital last weekend. That monster storm -- referred to locally as Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse and Snowzilla -- already was one of the heaviest on record.

Airlines canceled hundreds of flights, disrupting air travel and cargo services across the country. All three major airports in the Washington area were closed until crews could clear the snow-clogged runways and visibility improved.

"The problem is everything," said Tara Hamilton, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. "The problem is this is day six."

Driving was so dangerous early Wednesday that Pepco, the area's electric utility, ordered its crews to stop repairing scores of downed power lines and crippled equipment that left thousands of homes dark and cold. Some neighborhoods have not had power since last Friday.

"Restoration will resume as soon as the storm abates," the utility said on its website. It predicted additional outages as more lines come down.

Snowplows and salt trucks that have worked nearly nonstop for days struggled to keep up as wind-whipped snow covered major streets as quickly as they were cleared. But as conditions grew more hazardous, officials ordered the plows to halt work in Washington and neighboring Montgomery County in Maryland at about 9:30 a.m.

State and local officials pleaded with drivers to stay indoors except for emergencies. Stranded drivers were warned to stay in their vehicles and call 911 rather than risk battling the storm outside. No one could predict when roads will be cleared.

"This is going to be measured in days, not hours," warned Charlie Gischler, spokesman for Maryland's State Highway Administration.
 
worked out good for me, had my wife off from work today so I handed her a paintbrush and got a days worth of work out of her, helped out my sore back and legs.
Some homemade pizza for dinner, maybe a TV show or two, Im not complaining.
On a good note, I saw my neurologist today, no more hospital visits. Hes going to get me home infusion for now on, wooohooooo!
its been a pretty good day so far.
 
To everyone around Baltimore and Washington I hope you stay safe and warm. My mil just called to tell us about the firehouse that burnt down on Sollerspoint rd. I grew up about 2 miles from that firehouse.
 
Funny...We just got back from the Reno/Tahoe area and visited the Donner Party's Memorial Park...having bad visions Bill...:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Seriously, Hope you're all doing well and that this is just a minor inconvenience. :wave:
 
oh, the horrors of it all (not saying it's all bad if congress can't get to work). out east, you get three feet of snow, and they call it snowmageddon, and what not, here in minnesota, we call it last thursday. maybe it's because here in minnesota, we're used to getting it a foot or two at a time, and the only reaction around here in '91, when we got 30" here in the cities on halloween was, huh, got here early this year. on the other hand, while my brother was stationed in north carolina, they once got an inch of snow, everyone was panicing, breaking out the tire chains and such, while he was in the parking lot, spinning donuts with his station wagon, laughing to beat all. :D:thumb:

(don't mind me, i know it's a rough situation out there, but it's hard to be sympathetic when d.c. reported a full quarter of their snow plows weren't ready (even with warning, shades of katrina). i just wish the newsies would keep the 'end of the world!' rhetoric down)

darren, i watched a program about the donner party the other night. i can just see it now, straight from cnn, cannibalism in d.c.!!!! :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
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As long as the power stays on, we're good. No power, no heat.

No working in the shop either, w'out power. And with all that enforced time off work too!

Seriously, this is one reason why I keep thinking about replacing the (lousy) masonry fireplace with a natural gas insert -- it'd be nice to have a secondary source of heat available.

Be safe, Bill!
 
No working in the shop either, w'out power. And with all that enforced time off work too!

Seriously, this is one reason why I keep thinking about replacing the (lousy) masonry fireplace with a natural gas insert -- it'd be nice to have a secondary source of heat available.

Be safe, Bill!
Burning natural gas in a fireplace is just a waste of money. Most of the heat goes up the chimney.

A much better thing would be to have a generator that runs on natural gas so you can run your central furnace.

We have natural gas in our fireplace and it doesn't help much. They tell us it costs about $0.50 per hour but the gas bill goes sky high when we do use it.

Mike
 
Mike, I agree with you if you've got the typical gas logs in a woodburning fireplace like I do, but some of the newer gas inserts are actually pretty efficient...about 75% efficiency on average from what I've read. Still not in the 80+% range of a gas furnace, but still better than the old gas logs and a wide open chimney.
 
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