Friday, February 05, 2010

“It’s beginning to look a lot like ...”

They announced it as early as yesterday afternoon; Federal government employees in the DC metropolitan area would follow an "unscheduled leave" policy today. Then this morning, down came the other shoe; four hours early dismissal. The snow is already starting to come down just a little, but they're expecting 18 to 24 inches in the next 36 hours. That means it will look as bad, if not worse, than the image below which Paul captured, of uptown DC back in December.

We went to the supermarket last night. Official reports have warned people to be prepared to hunker down for three to five days. The lines at Costco were well into the aisles, as people stocked up on two week supplies of toilet paper and white bread. (Personally, I'd go for hot cider with a dash of Irish whiskey. That's my plan.) I hope the snow plows are more vigilant than they were on Tuesday night, when we had a white Candlemas. Even as it was accumulating on the roads, I saw VDOT trucks just driving around without doing anything. It's possible the management wasn't sufficiently clear.

Of course, there are those who will see this as an opportunity to recapture their lost childhood (see above). Or maybe revel in the prospect of a climate that has all four seasons, which is a novelty in some parts of the world. If the power and the high-end cable hold out, the rest of the world can watch the Super Bowl in complete confidence, and maybe I can get caught up on my writing.

We'll muddle through somehow, I guess.
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3 comments:

Paul Zummo said...

Last night was hell at the grocery stores. I had to multiple ones just to get everything I needed. Didn't even bother going in at all to work. And the best part - more snow predicted for next week! What a crazy winter - by far the most snow since I've lived here.

Dad29 said...

18-24 over 1.5 days and you call that SNOW?

David L Alexander said...

Dad, you have to remember that this isn't Wisconsin. The area is home to people from all over the world, many of whom had never SEEN snow till moving here, much less know how to drive in it. And when you have diplomatic plates, why the hell should you care what happens? 24 inches would put everything at a standstill here. I'm seriously considering 4WD for my next vehicle, even though I'd only need it two or three months out of the year, and it would be a gas hog the ENTIRE year.

It's not the snow itself, it's people's ability to cope with it.