The "Snowpocalypse!!"

Kristine: That's what they were calling this storm before it even arrived. The Snowpocalypse. Also affectionately known as Snowmaggedon. I laughed and laughed. DC really doesn't know how to handle snow. They don't clean the streets well. Nobody knows how to drive in it. So they just prefer to wait until it melts and take a day off.

So when the weather forecasts kept giving bigger and bigger estimates of the snowfall to hit us this weekend, I figured it was just more scare tactics so people would be justified in getting out of work. Last weekend we got about 6" from a very constant snow on Saturday that wrecked all the busy people's grocery runs and shut down most public transportation. Back in December, it was about a foot that got the entire region a snow day inside. So, having lived through the "blizzard of '09" when Dave and I came down to finalize the housing arrangements, I knew that the entire DC metropolitan area was sure to come to a screeching halt at any sign of oncoming snow. The huge estimates of 24"-30" was honestly a bit irrelevant. It all meant we would be spending the day inside.

When it started snowing on Friday, I was a little skeptical about the overall panic this storm had caused. The snow was light and fluffy and didn't look all that menacing. But, once the sun went down, it started snowing en force. We accumulated about 2 inches an hour, and woke up to more than a foot deep outside our front door. My roommates were brave in taking turns shoveling, but I sincerely doubted it would be worth the pain as the snow kept coming down.

I finally made a break outside to get these pictures when McArthur needed some help to save one of the heavily burdened trees in the back yard. She had run out twice to shake off the heavy snow and try to liberate the poor pine tree, but to no avail. It was drooped at almost a 90 degree angle and destined to crack in half. So, armed with a big broom for leverage, I leaned into the tree and McArthur got around the back to tie it to the fence. We were both about frozen by the end of the 10 minutes it took to get it aright, but it's a much happier tree now. Plus, I took advantage of the fact that I was already wet to venture out and get a few pictures of the neighborhood.........

I still can't figure out why the storms are ONLY coming on weekends though! Seriously, aren't you supposed to get snow days to get a day off from WORK?? I guess it works out though, I was supposed to speak in church last Sunday and it got canceled. DEFINITELY no church tomorrow either....

Yesterday this was my car. Today it's a driveway ornament.

Right next to the tree (I couldn't get a good picture because the car was in the way) is a metal sculpture McArthur made...it used to be a lot taller and now it kinda looks like it grew a hump.

This is the front of the house...and what used to serve as stairs. As a side note, these stairs had already been shoveled twice.

Looking down the street at what usually serves as a sidewalk. Just a few minutes after I took this, our neighbor got filmed by a local TV station as she attempted to dig herself out. I was THIS CLOSE to getting on TV!

I really like this picture. Almost picturesque. Oh wait, those mounds are cars on the side of the road. And, yeah, this is supposed to be a thoroughfare used for getting places. But not today!!

Admittedly ironic--I left Syracuse this semester to get away from the winter. I've decided that either Syracuse misses me or the weather gods have refused my request. In any case, I'm witnessing an historic series of snowstorms here in the nation's capital. If you want to see more, we made BBC top headlines. And some great local photos from the Washington Post. But, so far, I'm happy to say I'm surviving just fine inside my room.