Tag Archives: snowmageddon

Talkin' Transit
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Talkin’ Transit

Snow covers trains at Metro's Brentwood Yard (courtesy of WMATA)

Snow covers trains at Metro's Brentwood Yard (courtesy of WMATA)

Snow. You remember it, surely? Anywhere between two and four feet over the last week. It crippled our roads and sidewalks, and it’s left several small mountains in most of our neighborhoods. I’m sure you aren’t surprised that it also crippled Metro.

The bus system has to rely on local municipalities to clear snow from the roads. Many snow emergency routes were cleared fairly quickly, but the conditions on secondary streets varied wildly, leaving many buses running on altered routes, even today.

The subway system was also hard hit. Above ground service had to be shut down, and only fully came back online on Friday afternoon. By that point, the Federal government had reopened to one of the worst commutes (by car or by rail) that I’ve seen in 22 years here. So what happened and why, and what should Metro be doing differently in a storm?
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The Daily Feed
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Trees Down on the Towpath

The C&O Canal Towpath has been closed since last week between 31st and Wisconsin in Georgetown due to huge trees downed by the weight of Snowmageddon 2010. No word on when NPS plans to clean up the mess, so if your jogging route takes you down the C&O anytime soon, you might want to detour down to K or up to M for the time being.

Thanks to palkynetbab for the photos. Bigger pics after the jump. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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You Know There’s Too Much Snow When…

Photo courtesy of
‘2009 01 24 – 0892 – Mercersburg – Whitetail Mtn’
courtesy of ‘thisisbossi’

The headline of this post sounds like the set up to a joke, and here’s the punch line: You know there’s too much snow when the ski resorts are closed.

Except, in this case, it’s not a joke. Whitetail Ski Resort announced that, due to road conditions, they are closed today:

Roads in our region are snowed in. Therefore to allow road crews to dig out, we will be closed today. However, have no fear, tomorrow is going to be an awesome day on the mountain. During the past 6 days we have received over 4 feet of natural snow.

Maybe you’ll have dug out by tomorrow and be on your way to a ski-filled long weekend. Save us some spiked hot chocolate!

The Daily Feed
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Drive like an ass, just like this guy

Don't be this guy

Notice how all that snow is piled on top of this person’s car? Don’t be like that. When you can get out and drive, be sure to clean the snow off your entire car. Two things can result from this type of halfway done snow removal. First, big chunks of ice and snow can fall from your car and into traffic. Annoying, to be sure, and likely to make someone swerve. Maybe not the best reaction, but certainly an understandable one.

Second, if the snow is loose and powdery, it can blow off in traffic and blind other drivers. That’s generally bad too.

On top of this, you will just look like an idiot driving around like that. You are right, it’s not as bad as the even bigger idiots who neglect to clean the snow from all their windows (yes, the back one is important too, people), but still – are people really that lazy? A coworker made the excuse to me that she could not reach the top of her car. I told her she had a size of car to size of body ratio imbalance. If you can’t clean the car off, you shouldn’t be allowed to drive it.

Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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What Better Way To Commemorate “Snowmageddon” Than With A T-Shirt

snowmaggeddon_Thrillist_DC

Want to commemorate  surviving SNOW-MG 2010 or brag to your friends back at home about how you watched DC become something reminiscent of a ghost down during a zombie apocalypse during “snowmaggedon”?  Thrillist DC is giving you that chance.

You can rep the District all year long with their new “I Survived…Snowmageedon” T-Shirt.

Sick of snow all together? You can also show your DC pride by sporting these trendy new sealed and water resistant dog tags are made from real maps of DC. You might get lost if you ever want to use them to find your way around, but it’s a nice alternative from being constantly reminded about all this snow that just doesn’t seem to want to go away.

Photo Courtesy of Thrillist DC.

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


fling by mennyj

As I write this, the mild winter sun illuminates the pale blue Phoenix sky and warms the earth to a perfect 74 degrees.  Retired people wearing athletic gear and sun visors pass by my window in their electric golf carts, either on their way to the 1st hole or on their way home from the 19th hole.  With nary a breeze in the air, the statuesque palm trees stand tall and perfectly still.  Yet what you may be most envious of are the copious amounts of bread, eggs, and milk within a five minute drive.  Despite the circumstances that brought me here to the desert, life is good.

As you read this, your electricity may be out, your car may be stuck in a snow drift, and you may be out of milk and bread.  As you “work from home”, city workers are doing their best to clear the roads, restore your power, and keep things in order.  The city’s budget goes further into the red as more of the white stuff comes down, but what I’m most jealous of is all of the fun that I’m missing out on.  As a native Coloradan, I grew up in a blizzard and wish I could be there with you building igloos, throwing snowballs, and launching your kid into a snow bank.

The snow is always whiter on the other side of the fence, isn’t it?

The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 2/5 – 2/7/2010

Photo courtesy of
‘The Day After Tomorrow………….’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’

SNOW! Snowmageddon, snowpocalypse, snOMG, snogasm, snobama, Tai Shan’s last dump – whatever you want to call it, the frozen white stuff dominated our weekend. (And like unwanted houseguests, will linger for many more days to come.) Even with the nearly three feet of snow dropped in the DC area, many of our area photographers ventured out into the blizzard and its aftermath.

So while you enjoy your snow day, here’s some photos from the “Blizzard of 2010” for you to enjoy. Probably best if you had some warm tea/coffee/hot chocolate, a roaring fire, and a blanket while you check them out…

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The Daily Feed
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President Snowbama’s “Snowmageddon”

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Snow 1: Whiter Than the White House’
courtesy of ‘little-wings’

Blizzards don’t stop Presidents. President Snowbama (I AM hilarious) today ventured out into the frozen tundra of Penn. Ave (along with 14 other vehicles) to give a talk at the meeting of the Democratic National Committee at the Capital Hilton. But his what would normally be a short and uneventful journey riding in the luxury of the super-hip, certifiably badass “beast” limo turned into a rather eventful trip in a snow-killing Suburban that included not one but TWO little accidents. Snow induced fender bender in the Presidential motorcade before even making it out of the driveway? Check. Tree limb falling on top of a media SUV in the motorcade causing them to stop outside of Treasury? Check.

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The Daily Feed
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Soviets Can Handle Snow


Soviet Safeway by maxedaperture

I have been hearing from friends that grocery stores in the area are fresh out of the basics: milk, bread, and toilet paper.  Oh, and by “hearing”, I mean via photos on Flickr and Facebook updates – sorry, I forgot that nobody actually speaks to each other anymore.  So I decided to go to my local grocery store to see how they’ve weathered the storm.  My conclusion: the Soviet Safeway at 17th & Corcoran is stocked full of everything you need to survive.

How is your local grocery store doing?  Tell us in the comments. Continue reading →

Adventures, Fun & Games, News, The Features
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Snow Details, Snow Fun

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Update 11:52: THUNDERSNOW HAS BEEN REPORTED AT QUANTICO! You hear me?? THUNDERSNOW I SAY!

Update 11:38AM: (From NWS Senior Meteorologist Logan Johnson): This will now easily be the biggest December snowstorm on record in DC. It is very important that people stay OFF the roads and also that people report their snow totals to the National Weather Service at lwx-report@noaa.gov. Heaviest bands of snow arriving right now in Arlington/DC area so snowfall totals will pick up quickly.

On a side note, DCA is closed until at least 1pm.

UPDATE 9:25AM: We are now in a blizzard warning until 6pm this evening! This means winds over 35mph in addition to our substantial snowfall (up to 22″), as well as very reduced visibility.

Quick snow recap of the latest:

  • We could see 9″ by morning and UP TO 2 feet of snow by Sunday morning. That is kah-ray-zee.
  • Blizzard warnings have been issued for areas east of the city, including La Plata and Annapolis, MD.
  • We are all in a winter storm warning through Sunday morning. 30 HOURS LEFT!
  • There is no milk left in the DC metro area. At all. Like for real.
  • DC has issued a snow emergency starting at 7am, so MOVE YOUR CARS.
  • Nancy Pelosi had to leave Copenhagen early to make sure she could get back to the Hill before DC is swallowed up by fluffy white stuff.
  • It’s very possible that Metro may be an underground ONLY system starting tomorrow. Map and details here.
  • Virginia is already in a state of emergency.
  • DC area news stations will have up to the minute coverage starting at 2am and will give you updated reports every minute on the minute. Team coverage expected at every area grocery store and intersection.

    • By now, you know all there is to know about this #snowpocalypse #snOMG storm. You’ve read our post from earlier today with a description of what thundersnow is and how it could happen tomorrow, making this megastorm even more entertaining. And above you have all of the latest details you could EVAR want! So let’s have some fun with this snow thing. Everyone in our area is going crazy right now and it will only get worse tomorrow. Play along.

    Continue reading →