It’s funny, really, the way that snow works in this town. For two days before any winter weather event, Topper Shutt and other members of the Weather Fearmongering Horde (local 404) gather together and predict gloom and doom for the DC area, always predicting somewhere between 3 and 6″ for any storm, no matter how much precip it may actually drop on the area. See, that’s the magic number that causes everyone in the greater Metro area to think that perhaps the weatherman might be right this time, and head to the store in search of bread, milk, and other necessities. Including shovels, icepicks, giant sacks of snow-melt and other items that chances are they don’t really need but will buy like Duct Tape on the government’s recommendations. Schools will cancel classes 48 hours in advance or so, citing the “Think of the CHILDREN” logic and send every parent into a “holy crap, where-ever will I find a sitter?” mode.
Instead, what happens is that the Metro area gets either an inch or two of fluffy snow, or an inch or less of compacted slush (like last night), and everyone looks around, does a collective WTF shrug and goes about their lives.
Last night was no exception, as Bobby Ryan was saying 2-4″ or so through the night and a terribly messy commute. When we left the midnight screening of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, there was a light dusting of snow on the car and the parking lot over at Hoffman Center, but Alexandria and Arlington both had their road crews out in force and the drive back to the hacienda.
More insidious, though, is the two hour delay, which is what we’re experiencing this morning. Not a full day off, not enough additional sleep to count for anything worthwhile. Just enough to piss us all off.
Thanks, Weather Gods. Can we please get some blizzard love? I think this town needs a snow day something fierce.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
