December 4, 2007
Winter's First Snow Dead Ahead
If you don't have your milk, toilet paper and candles, Washington, you are so screwed. Why? 'Cause it's (probably) gonna snow.
The local weather prediction deities at CapitalWeather are calling for a 70 percent chance of snow in the area Wednesday, with a 50-50 chance that we'll get more than an inch of snow. And as we all know, just like a child can drown in three inches of water, Washington can work itself into a frantic death spiral over an inch of snow.
The snowstorm comes courtesy of an Alberta Clipper, which will be more prevalent in this La Niña year. The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for the region, saying that most of the snow will fall north of I-66 and west of the Blue Ridge.
Both CapitalWeather and the NWS say the snow will start early in the morning and last through sunset. Accumulation will speed after sundown when temperatures are expected to dip into the 20s. It doesn't appear that any schools are planning to shut down (though they do like to leave these decisions to the most inconvenient moments, when it's too late to plan otherwise), but CapitalWeather says there might be some schools (probably west of the Metro area) which close early.
To put this storm in perspective, it was 50 years ago today that Washington received 11 inches of snow. Here's some science (PDF) of that storm for you weather nerds out there. You should opt to Metro anyway, since tomorrow's National Repeal Day. More about that tomorrow. Enjoy the snow, everyone!
Photo by fortes
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Since most predictions for snow seem to be wrong in this area, I'm sure we'll get a dusting on the ground.
Although, it may be a White Hanukkah this year. Screw you Christmas!
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Since most predictions for snow seem to be wrong in this area, I'm sure we'll get a dusting on the ground.
Although, it may be a White Hanukkah this year. Screw you Christmas!
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what's up with the double commenting? i've seen it on two seperate entries by different people today, so it can't be user error . . .
as for me, i could live without the snow for a little while longer.
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I'll second ces12's doubt: precip predictions around here are usually way off.
If it does snow appreciably in any way, I'll be pleasantly surprised.
If it does, you can bet some — particularly those of us with white collar jobs who can telecommute — will stay home "because the weather."
I'll stay home because of the folks who don't stay home and have annual amnesia about how to walk or handle vehicles in snow, slush or ice and because the very real Metro bus snafus that usually ensue. I'll enjoy the show — the snow and the irate, careening tracking — from my window.
But I'm fully prepared for a letdown.
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Wake me for the Class 3 Kill-storm
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All year long we Midwesterners get laughed at... now it's our turn to laugh when everybody here shits the bed when they're faced with the prospect of .002" of snow.
"Oh noes! This rain is hard!"
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Fifty bucks says metro area schools will announce their closing tonight.
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I just heard on WTOP that all schools are canceling all classes, sporting events, holiday gatherings and are commencing a scorched earth policy by destroying all school assets before the snow starts. Students are informed that whatever skills they have learned so far should be put to immediate use for employment.
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Students are informed that whatever skills they have learned so far should be put to immediate use for employment.
...for jobs they won't be able to get to because the Metro and all buses will cut service for the day.
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All year long we Midwesterners get laughed at... now it's our turn to laugh when everybody here shits the bed when they're faced with the prospect of .002" of snow.
"Oh noes! This rain is hard!"
fo'shizzle.
I don't understand the DC "ohmygoditsgoingtosnowwehavetomakesurewehavebottledwaterandmilkandtoiletpaperbecausetheworldmightend!" syndrome.
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To be fair, it affects the whole South. Basically these are places that don't experience the weather enough to have developed the proper infrastructure (salt domes, plow trucks, etc) to accomodate the snow when it does hit. Add to that the media excitement around it, and people naturally go bonkers...
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It's not just the South. When I lived in Boston I lost count of the number of false alarm Nor'easters. The news stations would always stick a reporter out on some suburban highway and every five minutes they'd check on him and he'd be all, "okay, so it's only a little bit of snow at the moment, but any minute now it's going to be chaos!" And then the whole night it'd be light flurries and you'd end up with like 2 inches on the ground.
Yeah, they're so not as hard in Beantown as they think they are.
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Sensationalist reporting on a Nor'easter != sensationalist reporting on simple snow. Replace "Nor'easter" with "Hurricane" and "simple snow" with "slight drizzle", and you'll see what I mean.
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But I was planning on not getting snowed on tomorrow. Who do I see about this?
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Geez DCfist, you and your logic. Takes the fun out of everything.
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dc cant handle snow.
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Those of us from places where real things happen are so special! You dont get it? You had to be there, losers.
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Hey, it's our one time of year to be proud when the rest of the time we're blamed for everything from Red Line troubles to DC United falling short this season.
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yeah this is definitely not only DC, this happens everywhere below the mason dixon line. i went to high school in georgia, and my senior year they had to close some schools because it got too cold outside (mid to low 20s).
personally i'm grateful that it EVER snows here, AT ALL. just doesn't feel like real winter without snow. also i never outgrew sledding and snowball fights.
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Yet more evidence of vast Supermarket Industrial Complex, more casually referred to as the Perishable Triangle.
The major brands get together with the supermarkets and the media to whip everyone into buying frenzy so that the stores look like scenes from 24 Days Later.
Then, regardless of whether it actually snows (see, Historic Trace Preciptation of 2000, generally), it's back to trying to make news out of kiddie car thieves running people over, WMATA bus drivers running people over, and the OTR scandal numbers that seemingly double every two weeks. You know, the kind of infotainment that allows steady sales of toothpaste, adult diapers and hand cream, although to a lesser extent than the promise of frozen Armageddon that lends itself to poor driving condition (not so funny) and snowmen/snowwomen posed in compromising situations (ALWAYS funny).
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I'm losing faith of getting snow in this city. Global warming?
We haven't had squat worth of snow since 2003, and this winter is starting out like each of the last 5. We get cold when it's clear, and precipitation when it's warm.
I highly doubt we'll get any significant snowfall this entire winter. If I'm wrong I'll eat my hat.