Well, the great Nor'Easter of February 2010 has come and gone. It lasted about 30 hours and dumped roughly 24 inches in Arlington, VA, which is equivalent to 3 inches of rain.
Dr. Jeff Masters posted this description on Weather Underground:
"Today's blizzard is the second major snowstorm of 16+ inches to affect the Washington D.C./Baltimore region this winter--the other being the 16.4" storm of December 19 - 20. According to the National Climatic Data Center, the expected return period in the Washington D.C./Baltimore region for snowstorms with more than 16 inches of snow is about once every 25 years. Thus, a one-two punch of two major Mid-Atlantic Nor'easters with 16+ inches of snow in one winter is something that should happen only once every 625 years. Such an event has not happened since the beginning of the historical record in 1870. The numbers are even more impressive for Philadelphia, which has had two snowstorms exceeding 23" this winter. According to the National Climactic Data Center, the return period for a 22+ inch snow storm is once every 100 years--and we've had two 100-year snow storms in Philadelphia this winter. That should happen only once every 10,000 years. Of course, the last ice age was just ending around 12,000 years ago, so this probability number has to be viewed with a some skepticism. Still, the two huge snowstorms this winter in the Mid-Atlantic are definitely a very rare event one should see only once every few hundred years."
Nice. School closed before the snow even began on Friday which was a great disappointment because school was also closed on Wednesday for a little bit of snow. It's very likely that school will also be cancelled on Monday because the plows are not expected to reach residential streets until 48 hours after the snow stops. What?? GIVE ME A BREAK! I am missing Vermont more than ever. Somebody please take me home where they don't let this sort of thing paralyze the entire region for days on end!
More snow and rain is expected Tuesday. Please, please, please let my kids go back to school! Or at least let me get out of my driveway so I can take them to the library, Grandma's house or out to lunch.
Maybe I'm just not cut out for Southern winters.
6 comments:
yes, I remember feeling like that too. My friends and I figured that the school system needed to rethink the closing idea and that if they would just have schools open, for whoever could get there with no penalty for not attending if you live far away, then the local mothers ( me) would carry their kids to school on their backs one at a time to get them there.
I totally agree!! I would do the same. We have had 6 snow days here in NW Arkansas and 2 sundays of church cancelled so far this winter and more snow coming today.:P (Apparently we are having a very unusual winter here as well) There are a lot of back roads and NO snow plows (does one road grader count?) so school gets cancelled for things I have considered to be very silly. of course, living three blocks from all the schools I wish I could just send my kids out the door even if no one else showed up! Other times...snow days can have good memories, but who's looking on the bright side? I'd rather grumble a little more and hope for spring. :) Hope your mounds of snow clear sooner than you think or at least that the snow plows drive faster...:D
Actually, I love snow days because, being a homeschooling mom, I get a day(s) off to sew, bake, watch movies or whatever. Today we are playing a new game Aaron brought over called "Small World". If you can get out, come on over and we'll have a great time.
Wish I could! They only plowed the bottom half of our hill - and not very well. We watched several cars get stuck trying to come up today. Looks like it will be next week before we can get our cars out to a main road and back into the driveway again. How do you get out of your long driveway??
Lots and lots and lots of shoveling...or this time around with the help of two borrowed snowblowers from the neighbors.
The standing joke is that my parents had 11 kids so there would always be help shoveling that 500 foot obstacle.
Wow, I love being snowed in. Except that I'm running out of baking supplies. But other than that it is a dream having no appointments, deadlines, schedules, nowhere I have to be. It might have something to do with being so big and preggo and not wanting to be seen in public (and takes the pressure off the what-to-wear each day). It was especially nice having church cancelled so I don't have to wear my only maternity skirt that fits (and not that well) and showing my cankles. But I think it's mostly really that I'm a homebody. And LUCKILY my kids don't mind too much either. Yet. I just heard school is cancelled until Tuesday. That might be pushing all of us to our limits.
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