Major Snowstorm for Mid-Atlantic back to Kentucky/Tennessee

[angus]

I will leave work a bit early tomorrow as well.
  

[angus]

If DC gets 2 feet, it will be the 2nd largest snowstorm in recorded history. 

This storm is certainly generating lots of hype.  The on-line Lancaster newspaper quotes Paul Kocin of the National Weather Service:  "...estimates at more than 2 feet for Washington, a foot to 18 inches for Philadelphia and 8 inches to a foot in New York..."

Apparently the 24-hour record for Lancaster is 30 inches, set on January 8, 1996.  Currently the Weather channel predicts 15 to 18 inches of snow over a 36-hour period here beginning this evening.  Eric Horst of the MU meteorology department reports that a thick cirrostratus shield is moving over us.  I can see it outside my office windows.  I suppose that's what it is.  I think I might have been absent the day "cirrostratus shield" was discussed.  He suggests that the snow may begin to fall in about 8 hours.  He thinks Blue Ridge will be "ground zero" with 30 inches or more.  He will update his prediction map at 11:15. I'll be in quantum mechanics lecture at that time, but I'll check the meteorology page when I get back to my office around noon.

We're buying into the hype.  Yesterday we bought lots of meat, chicken, fish, wine, vodka, beer, and cognac, just in case stores are closing.  Will probably buy some batteries on the way home for the flashlights.  The fireplace is gas, one of those with cheesy-looking fake wood, and you flip a lightswitch and--voilà!--a roaring fire magically begins.  I assume that it will still work in the event of an electrical power failure.  Meat, booze, light, and heat.  Long as you have those things, you're okay.

Hopefully the gym will stay open.  The jacuzzi is always 102 degrees Fahrenheit.  We're actually looking forward to the snow.  It'll be fun to have a snowball fight and build a snowalien.  It has been such an unusually mild winter that we haven't broken out the toboggan, snowboard, snowpants, snowboots, or even the shovels yet.  Bring it on.

[angus]

Dr. Horst's update:



It appears that he has moved the pink line about 20 miles east in this area.  Not particularly significant, but if he's right, it means that we'll have only snow, and not sleet mixed in, which means that the 40-mph gusts will make for some mean drifts, especially on my front door and garage doors, which face the direction of the onslaught.  A little sleet would have packed it down better.

Just learned that the club has cancelled the dolphin, swordfish, sandshark, and stingray level swim lessons, as well as thrive training, martial arts practice, and boxing lessons.  None of that affects me, but it means that instructors are closing classes.  If enough of their staff call in sick, they may close the club.  Or they may close the club for the safety of their staff, which would make sense.  Local public libraries have announced Saturday closings as well.

Grumps and all the Yinzers are probably calling us wimps.  A couple of feet of snow and the city closes down?  Seriously?  Actually, my son's school closes down for a couple of inches of snow as well.  We are pretty wimpy around here.

[angus]

The borough of Millersville (where I work), the township of Manheim (where I live), and the city of Lancaster (where I drive through twice daily) have all made public announcements that fines for parking on grass will not be enforced, and there's a list of public garages that will be free this weekend (normally they're about $15 per day).  I guess they're really wanting cars off the streets so that the plough can get through.  If the drifts are as big as predicted, they may not even be able to tell if there's a car under there, which might make for some smashed-up cars if they don't get moved.

[angus]

Goodness, traveling around this weekend is going to be an absolute nightmare, even if SEPTA is back up and running on Sunday.

I hadn't even thought about the trains and buses.  After I saw your post I checked:  the Red Rose Transit Authority (Lancaster public bus) has cancelled all service for tomorrow.  I suppose that the one-hour Keystone Service from Lancaster to Philadelphia will also be closed, along with all the other local trains if they're surface trains.  Maybe the SEPTA subways will run their subterranean lines.  According to their website all their buses are cancelled Saturday, along with the surface trains.  Underground trains except Broadstreet and Market-Frankford are suspended, and those two "may be suspended during the day" as well.

Funny thing was at the corner convenience store, about 500 meters from my house, there was a long line of cars fueling.  It was a really long line.  Like, each of their six pumps had about nine or ten cars snaking around in a line.  Madhouse.  What the hell?  Who needs fuel when you're going to be snowed in.  These weren't big trucks with dozer blades either, but regular sedans and suburban assault vehicles, the kind that really need to stay off the roads for the next 48 hours or so.  I could understand a mad dash for milk and eggs and such, but why go crazy for auto fuel?

[angus]

the snow started about an hour ago.  I'd estimate that the accumulation amounts to about a centimeter. 

I went out and fetched the colorful strands of light.  I keep thinking that we ought to take down the christmas tree and decorations, but haven't gotten around to it yet.  I went out tonight, not to be a hero and get our lights out early, but mostly because once the snow hits, either it'll be a bitch to deal with, or because we'll have too much fun making snowball fights and playing with the toboggan and snowboard, that it'll become a very low priority, and we'll end up putting it off till March or April.

[angus]

You haven't taken down the Christmas tree? Huh. We took it down on Jan 7th.

probably should do that soon.  It's getting pretty brown and the carpet is littered with conifer litter.

[angus]

The snow here  started around 8 o'clock last night.  I guess I was tired because I slept till nearly 9 this morning, which is about two hours later than I'd normally arise.  From the back upstairs window, I could see that the level of snow was at least half as high as the legs of the lawn furniture.  As I walked downstairs, I got a better feel for it because the stairwell faces front and has a large, hemicircular glass window.  I saw my neighbor across the street shoveling frantically, as in one of those over-the-counter cough medicine commercials, trying to cut a path from his front door to his mailbox.  I suppose the postman will run today.

Neither snow nor rain nor sleet nor dark of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.  Or something like that.

A snowplough seems to have made its way through.  At least I can see a band of asphalt ("macadam" in Lancastrian) in the middle of where I think the street would be.  When I opened the main front door, I saw that snow had piled up to the level of my knee against the outer glass door.  That's a drift, though.  I'd say we have nearly a foot at this point, and it is still falling at a good clip.  After I have a pot of coffee and my morning movement, we'll take a meterstick outside and get a few measurements. 

The club is closed.  Bummer.  No swimming today.  I guess I'll get plenty of exercise playing with the boy, and shoveling.  Definitely want to try out the snowball makers.  My son and I have developed a plan:  we'll fill fill his black toboggan with little balls of snow; as soon as we see the neighborhood children out, we'll sneak up behind the rows of arbor vitae and begin pummeling them in rapid fire, probably with war cries and lots of shouting.

[angus]

As of about 10AM, there was approximately 35 cm of snow on the ground.  I took many measurements and they varied due to blowing and drifting.  In certain places, there was only a few millimeters covering the grass.  In others, there were drifts as high as 60 cm.  The majority of measurements made in flat spots in the back yard and in the neighbor's yard showed a depth of about 35 cm, so that's my official call. 

The snowball makers make excellent snowballs.  Perfectly spherical, they are, and tough.  They don't break upon contact with polyester or leather, although they break nicely on cars and walls.  None of the other children were out yet so we just pelted each other for a while.  The snow was too deep to try to sleigh down any hills.  I got a running start and tried it, but I just got buried and ended up with snow in my underwear and sleeves. 

My wife and I shoveled half the driveway, and it took us about an hour and a half, from the garage door to the point where the driveway meets the street.  We want to be able to get at least one car out in case of emergency.  Not that we can get out yet, because there's at least a meter between the end of my drive and where the snow has been cleared.  We decided not to do any more till the big truck comes through again.  We'll probably work on the other half tomorrow, although the half we dug out will be covered again by tomorrow.  Just in the time I was out shoveling, another two centimeters or so fell on the part I cleaned.  (LNP on-line is calling it "more than a foot" as of now, and predicting at least two feet by Sunday.)  Eric posts that they're at just over 17 inches down in Millersville as of 11:50 AM.  I think it's gets worse as you go south from here.

Got a big fire roaring and gloves, hats, jackets, and boots are all hung in front of it, drying.  "Hung by the chimney, with care" as the song goes.  I might take a hike about the neighborhood later, if the wind lets up.  For now, I'm a bit exhausted from the effort, and my arms ache.  Time for some steaming hot duck soup, ginger tea, and a well-earned snifter of cognac. 

Cheers.

[angus]

Haha.  We went out again and he dug a tunnel that he could crawl through while we shoveled that portion of the drive again that we had already cleared.  During the five or so hours between cleanings, it had been covered to a depth equal to the distance from the tip of my middle finger to my wrist.   At 6:30pm it is still coming down fast.  I'd say Eric called it a little too light this time.  I measured 52 to 55 cm snow on the flat spots just before dusk, with drifts along the fence and edges over 90 cm.  

We took a short walk, but the going was slow.  Maybe two blocks visibility.  Saw no cars, only two trucks, both of which had blades on the front, in a period of half an hour.  One dude came whizzing by on a gasoline-powered personal snowcraft.  A red one with two ski blades on the front and a single tank-type tread on the rear.  A couple of people were out, but none of the usual suspects.  My next-door neighbor had his brood out clearing their driveway.  Stalwart, they were.  Cleared the whole drive.  There's really no point in clearing the driveway yet, because the street I live on is unpassable in my Mazda, and probably her Volvo would not get far either.  Mostly, it'll just make the job tomorrow a little easier.

Yinzers getting any of this storm, or is it just back East?

[angus]

Thar she blows!



Captured that a few minutes ago looking out the back door.  I like this picture for several reasons.  First, it shows that I really did put the tree out yesterday.  Also, we can see that even under the covered deck, the snow is at least six inches high.  The wrought-iron table and chair are nearly buried.  Note that the sun has finally made an appearance.  (right-click and view for a high-res immage) 

I'll go out with a meterstick after a pot of coffee.  My guess is that there was about 60 centimeters.  The local newspaper is calling it "26+ inches" of snow.  Whatever the total, there's much digging to be done.  The sun will help, but it's not enough to melt it all by itself today.