Howdy Snowbunnies!
Well, I'm back at work--the Fed. Gov't was closed for two days, and I have
school on Thursdays. I was supposed to be in school on Tuesday and
Wednesday, but ol' Mother Nature had other ideas for the DC/Mid-Atlantic
area.
On Tuesday, it started snowing around 3 am and didn't let up until 10 pm
that night. Of course, we didn't know it was coming until around 9:50 that
night, when the NOAA Weather Radio alert went off with the Winter Storm
Warning. I suspected it earlier in the day, watching Intellicast's radar,
but none of the local meteorologists picked up on it until around 6 pm or
so. On the 11 pm news was the first confirmation that we were about to get
socked.
Watching it on radar, and watching the Weather Channel, and local channels,
the storm looked like a white hurricane, and I heard several forecasters
mention the same thing. It looked like it was sort of following Floyd's
path north, only with snow instead of rain. I couldn't keep up with things
on the computer, as it crashed a month ago, and I haven't gotten my new
system yet. I will get the new system on Sunday, so I hope to be back in
business soon thereafter.
Lanham, MD received a grand total of 15 inches--not including drifts. Hubby
and daughter were home as well, so we stayed warm and toasty, as temps
outside were in the low 20's, with negative wind chills. There ain't been
much melting going on, as it hasn't gotten much above freezing during the
days, and there's so much snow!!
After driving through Montgomery County (MD) yesterday on my way to and from
school, I've reached the conclusion that they have better snow plowers than
we in Prince George's County (MD) do!! I saw some really crappy plowing in
my 'hood and local environs. I also did see some really terrific snow
drifts--the sculpting the wind did with them was fantastic--too bad I was in
traffic and couldn't stop to take photos!!
I sent my daughter (age 14) out on Tuesday to shovel the already accumulated
8 inches off of our walk and our neighbors (he usually does ours--thought
I'd return the kindness), so that it'd be easier to shovel the rest the next
day. Also had her clear away snow from our patio door, so that any melting
wouldn't come under the door into the house. Ha Ha. When we got up and
looked out the front door, there was a clear area right in front of the
door, and the rest had filled up with the rest of the falling snow--another
7 inches--and the drifts. Looked like she hadn't done a thing!! Had to
clear away snow from the back patio doors again, too. Fortunately, a couple
of hours later, the snow removal crew for our community came through with
snow blowers and actually did everyone's front walks for them, as well as
the community sidewalks. Now, they're just icy in spots, where they've
melted a bit and re-frozen.
Of course, we filled the bird feeders and boy, were they busy!! The birds
were really hungry!!! During the storm, because the snow was coming down to
beat 60, and with the winds whipping it around, we had quite a few
whiteouts. I observed 30 Mourning Doves hunkered down in my little Black
Gum tree in the back yard, hanging on for dear life during the heavier wind
gusts. Poor things!! That's why we filled the feeders, to give them some
food to help them stay warm.
Hubby and daughter went out on Wednesday afternoon to dig out the car so
hubby could make a quick trip down the road to the grocery store. When he
got back, some schlemiel had parked in our dug-out spot (no courtesy these
days), so after they brought the groceries in for me to put away, daughter
dug us back into another spot and let hubby sit in the car while she
shoveled. It's nice to have such teenage energy to put to use--kept her
from having cabin fever--thank goodness for Pay-Per-View and Nintendo as
well--kept us all from going stir crazy. I DON'T get out in this mess
unless I absolutely have to--messed up my left knee years ago from too many
falls, as well as my back, and I didn't want to be laid up in bed for the
next week. I swore off winter sports after I totaled my sled against a
fence when I was 16 (and almost killed myself in the process--ended up with
a hairline fracture of my leg). I only do the occasional snow ball.
Well, last night it got down to 16 degrees at home, with wind chills below
zero. Ain't gonna warm up much more today, either. AND, they're now
calling for SOMETHING on Sunday and Monday--possibly a mixed bag on Sunday
and more snow on Monday. Should be interesting, to say the least.
My folks live just west of Wilmington, NC, and they got 6 inches on Tuesday.
Stay warm and don't hurt yourselves with too much shoveling!! :-D
Sharon Kimbleton
Lanham, MD (an eastern suburb of Washington, DC)
kimbleton_s{at}bls.gov
-OR-
skakim{at}mindspring.com
URL: http://polaris.umuc.edu/~skimblet/
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