2 feet of snow to hit DC tomorrow, again

[Lambkin]

Okay, can we all agree on this?

I never thought I would hear you sing kumbaya but you have a beautiful voice for it. Wonders never cease.

[notorial dissent]

I say lets plant some trees, restore some grasslands, reduce pollution, make homes self-supporting for heat, electrical and water. It may not do a damned thing, but things will be prettier and cleaner.

Aack, a sensible and realistic solution, no screaming and hysteria, far too reasonable and practical, it will upset the doom crows no end. Sounds like a plan to me

[Demosthenes]

Four nights without power, and the temperature in the house fell to 40 degrees or below (that's where the thermostat stops.) And then, voila! At 8 am, the power came on.

The cats are glued to the heat vents and it'll be a couple of hours for the house to reach a living temperature.

Meanwhile, we have another foot of snow coming in this afternoon, and I'm not sure where they're going to push the new stuff. Our street, for example, is currently the width of a car plus a foot or so on each side, with three to four foot snow banks. It's like driving through a tunnel. The good thing is that no one in our neighborhood parks on the street, and there are no sidewalks or curbs so the plows can push stuff on the front lawns.

My driveway is even narrower. It's about 150 feet long and snakes down the hill wth about 4 extra inches on either side of the car. Backing up is slow and slippery. Unfortunately, the four wheel drive Subaru is inaccessible through all this, since we lost a line of trees along the driveway, and the car is blocked in.

Spring is going be expensive. I live in a wooded area and we lost a lot of trees. They aren't used to this snow any more than the snow plow guys are.

So now it's time for a prayer to the gods of electricity. Please, please, please let us keep our power through this next storm. Many of my neighbors are in their seventies and eighties, and several of the homes in my neighborhood are on well-water. No power, no pump, no water.

[Imalawman]

-15 this morning made for some chilly snow-blowing of the driveway. I don't care where you live though, getting over 2 feet of snow is a pain in the ass. Even up here where we have everything necessary to handle it, that much snow at once screws everything up. I know upper Minnesota weather and upper peninsula weather - been there, done that, family live there. So what? You're full of crap if you say that getting over 2 feet in one storm was "nothing". I've seen a northern minnesota town after that much snow - things weren't exactly "normal". Such bravado annoys me. Besides, I'm not impressed at your reminiscences from before I was even born. All I know is snow sucks. It sucks even worse when you don't have the infrastructure to deal with it. I think we can all agree on that. I'm not impressed with people that have the bad judgment to live in bad weather. (ME INCLUDED!!! WTF am I thinking?!?!)

[bmielke]

-15 this morning made for some chilly snow-blowing of the driveway. I don't care where you live though, getting over 2 feet of snow is a pain in the ass. Even up here where we have everything necessary to handle it, that much snow at once screws everything up. I know upper Minnesota weather and upper peninsula weather - been there, done that, family live there. So what? You're full of crap if you say that getting over 2 feet in one storm was "nothing". I've seen a northern minnesota town after that much snow - things weren't exactly "normal". Such bravado annoys me. Besides, I'm not impressed at your reminiscences from before I was even born. All I know is snow sucks. It sucks even worse when you don't have the infrastructure to deal with it. I think we can all agree on that. I'm not impressed with people that have the bad judgment to live in bad weather. (ME INCLUDED!!! WTF am I thinking?!?!)

Amen!

I went to school in the snow belt in PA, it was not unusual to get six inches a day for a week, but there were always 6+hour breaks, and everything was cleared. The two or three times we did get a 2+ foot storm it was a mess for two or three days. I will admit that I think people in Tennessee are crazy when they buy the stores out of Milk, Bread, and Eggs, three days before a half inch storm, but I understand their fear, and don't like driving these roads when they are snow covered.

[fortinbras]

One of the problems here is there is no place left to clear the snow. We had three feet in the last week, so shoveling walkways and plowing the streets threw up embankments of as high as five feet (already crumbling in micro-avalanches). It hasn't snowed for the past two days - but it hasn't melted either, so this next blast that's expected for the next two or three days will double the snow - and we won't have a place to throw the shoveled snow. Trees are falling across roadways and/or taking power lines down. I've been through the eyes of hurricanes and would prefer them than this; they're over with in less than a day and once they're gone you can go outside and start cleaning up.

[Brandybuck]

That's what happened in Massachusetts, back in 1978. My wife and I were stranded at her mother's house for a week ... during the Blizzard of 1978.

Wait, they had global warming back in 1978 too?

[CaptainKickback]

Earthquakes are even better. A minute or two of rocking and rolling and then you can get on with your life.

And because they are so common in Cali, most places, even at the epicenter, can usualy ride out up to a 6.0 with no major structural damage and mainly things falling off of shelves and such.

And after each major quake, buildings get upgrades and bridges and such get seismic refits - like injecting epoxy into the concrete of bridges to strengthen and seal any internal cracks or spalling.

A 7.0 is going to cause problems, damage overpasses, and bring down an older building or six. But after 2 minutes or less (usually), you can begin the cleanup. Bonus, many powerlines to residential areas are buried in the ground, so as to be unaffected by falling debris and trees.

[CaptainKickback]

That's what happened in Massachusetts, back in 1978. My wife and I were stranded at her mother's house for a week ... during the Blizzard of 1978.

Wait, they had global warming back in 1978 too?

No, back then it was global COOLING and the Carter Era energy crisis.......

[fuzzrabbit]

Four nights without power, and the temperature in the house fell to 40 degrees or below (that's where the thermostat stops.) And then, voila! At 8 am, the power came on.

The cats are glued to the heat vents and it'll be a couple of hours for the house to reach a living temperature.

Meanwhile, we have another foot of snow coming in this afternoon, and I'm not sure where they're going to push the new stuff. Our street, for example, is currently the width of a car plus a foot or so on each side, with three to four foot snow banks. It's like driving through a tunnel. The good thing is that no one in our neighborhood parks on the street, and there are no sidewalks or curbs so the plows can push stuff on the front lawns.

My driveway is even narrower. It's about 150 feet long and snakes down the hill wth about 4 extra inches on either side of the car. Backing up is slow and slippery. Unfortunately, the four wheel drive Subaru is inaccessible through all this, since we lost a line of trees along the driveway, and the car is blocked in.

Spring is going be expensive. I live in a wooded area and we lost a lot of trees. They aren't used to this snow any more than the snow plow guys are.

So now it's time for a prayer to the gods of electricity. Please, please, please let us keep our power through this next storm. Many of my neighbors are in their seventies and eighties, and several of the homes in my neighborhood are on well-water. No power, no pump, no water.

Solar panels work even on cloudy days. I know from experience.

[bmielke]

Solar panels work even on cloudy days. I know from experience.

I would think a wind turbine (the home version) would work better.

[CaptainKickback]

Solar panels work even on cloudy days. I know from experience.

I would thing a wind turbine (the home version) would work better.

Depending on where you live, why not both? Solar panels and small, home sized wind turbine (or turbines). I also like the way Dubya's house in Crawford uses the naturally occurring heat of the earth itself to provide heat and hot water to his place. That technology is still probably kind of pricey.

Like most things, no one answer is the magic pill, it is a combination of things.

[Leftcoaster]

I say lets plant some trees, restore some grasslands, reduce pollution, make homes self-supporting for heat, electrical and water. It may not do a damned thing, but things will be prettier and cleaner.

Aack, a sensible and realistic solution, no screaming and hysteria, far too reasonable and practical, it will upset the doom crows no end. Sounds like a plan to me

Mods, please check online activity, I think someone must have hacked CKB's account

[Nikki]

For all you good taxpayers out there, federal government is CLOSED for the third day straight on Wednesday.

If this keeps up, given the holiday on Monday, the city will be deserted until Tuesday.

Which is probably a good thing, giving them a chance to dig out.

[fortinbras]

It may seem costly to close down the govt, but it would be even more wasteful to open up the govt buildings for business, turn on the lights and the heat for the whole building, when at least half the staff will be absent. Also very dangerous to pressure so many people to try to drive (or wait for their carpool) in such miserable conditions.

[Brandybuck]

For all you good taxpayers out there, federal government is CLOSED for the third day straight on Wednesday.

And no one noticed...

[Judge Roy Bean]

For all you good taxpayers out there, federal government is CLOSED for the third day straight on Wednesday.

And no one noticed...

Oh, but they did. Just imagine the backlog on K Street's calendars!!!!

[CaptainKickback]

Maybe these will warm you up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krl_pXXf ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE2fnYpw ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrhf_zgtmAg

[Demosthenes]

For all you good taxpayers out there, federal government is CLOSED for the third day straight on Wednesday.

If this keeps up, given the holiday on Monday, the city will be deserted until Tuesday.

Which is probably a good thing, giving them a chance to dig out.

I was watching CNN last night (electricty rocks!) and they showed that the only road in DC that was cleared of all snow was Mayor Fenty's street.

[Demosthenes]

To give you an idea of our current blizzard conditions.

News Alert: D.C., Montgomery County suspend plowing operations
09:48 AM EST Wednesday, February 10, 2010
--------------------

Montgomery County and the District have suspended plowing operations because of the hazardous weather conditions. VDOT spokeswoman says Virginia plow operators have not been recalled but would be pulled off the road if conditions become unsafe.