El Nino...the child....wreaking havoc on our Nation's capital

Most people associate the weather phenomenon known as "El Nino" with the West Coast. But this year it is also messing with the East Coast. All of our major snow storms originiated from the South coming from the Pacific Ocean and can be tied to El Nino. And man, this "child" has it in for us! Here is the latest Winter Storm Warning for us from the National Weather Service:

... Winter Storm Watch now in effect from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening...

The Winter Storm Watch is now in effect from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening.
* Precipitation type... snow.
* Accumulations... potential for 8 or more inches of snow. There is a good likelihood of snow in excess of 10 inches.
* Timing... mid to late afternoon Tuesday through Wednesday.
* Temperatures... temperatures near freezing at the onset Tuesday afternoon. Temperatures will drop into the upper 20s Tuesday night and Wednesday.
* Winds... light southeasterly winds Tuesday becoming north- northwesterly 15 to 25 mph Wednesday.

Precautionary/preparedness actions... A Winter Storm Watch means there is a potential for significant snow accumulations that may impact travel. Continue to monitor the latest forecasts.

I'm at a loss....

James and Jes have taken a trip out of the house to run errands while I am on a teleconference. Yes, I know I have a snow day, but I am a dedicated Historic Preservation Specialist and honestly I need to be on the call to offer the security of the process and to be the critical eye.

As of right now Jes' flight is to take her back to the sandbox is on-schedule. We will make sure she is checked in before leaving the house just to be sure. Might even check her in tonight. Got to love modern technology.....

Snow day!

Breaking news.....the federal government is closed on Monday, February 8, 2010!!! I get another snow day! But there is a teleconference that I need to call into tomorrow afternoon. James is also off tonight. And Fort Belvoir is closed tomorrow too (they operate outside of the DC Region of OPM). So Chris (my brother-in-law) has a snow day too!!!

The funny thing is that I had to find out about the snow day from WTOP since OPM's website and phone line were/are swamped.

James cleaned off the truck last night and the Escape this afternoon:

This was in the morning on Friday. By last night you could barely see the windsheild wipers on either vehicle.

And now we are once again under a winter storm watch starting Tuesday afternoon....Jes is hoping that she will be able to make her flight on Tuesday morning back to the sandbox.

Lulu is really liking the snow. Go figure. We dug out a path to the gate and to the shed (including an extra area for her to use as the loo) but she has created several paths of her own throughout the rest of the yard.

We have restocked the beer. The pizza dough is rising. And Queen Latifah just sung one of the greatest verisons of God Bless America we have heard in a long time. Enjoy the Super Bowl. Go Saints!!!!

Winter Wallop 2: Revenge of Jack Frost

It has now been snowing for over 24 hours. 24 HOURS!!! And we most likely have another couple of hours left in this storm. Current totals don't really matter at this point. And we have the photos to prove it...

0730

1130...you can see the last bit of the planter

1430...the planter is gone!!!

This is the our "walkway" to the gate...

James and Lulu on the snow bank in front of our house.

Me against the same snow bank.

This is our friend Jes. And we blame her for the snow. She is staying with us while on RandR from her year long deployment to Iraq. Before she came she made the statement that she hoped it would snow while she was here. Well, she has gotten her wish. It has snowed three times since her arrival :)

The snow is to taper off between 1800 and 2100. We have kept the walkways cleared but tomorrow we will have to start on digging out the vehicles. If the federal government is open on Monday I will be pleasantly surprised....

I have no words...

So through the morning the National Weather Service upped our totals to over 20" plus. It is for certain that this storm will make the top five highest accumulation storms in DC recorded history. And now it is looking as if this storm could make one of the top two slots. It is 11:45 PM as I type this...and the majority of the snow hasn't even hit yet.....

0800...this is the left over snow from our storm on Tuesday, February 2, 2010

1200...the snow started just after 0930...

1600

2000

2330

We will have more to share tomorrow when we wake up. Lulu is snoring. The cats are upstairs. And we have plenty of beer on the back stoop.....

Hold onto your snow pants!!!!

Well, Mother Nature sure has it in for the Washington, DC area this winter! As of today we have already had four snow falls totaling over 30". And we are currently awaiting a "monster" snow storm. The National Weather Service issued the following warning for our area:

Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from 10 am Friday to 10 PM EST Saturday...

* Precipitation type... heavy snow.
* Accumulations... storm total accumulations of 18 to 24 inches.
* Timing... snow will begin mid-morning Friday... and will continue through Saturday evening. Conditions will deteriorate rapidly Friday afternoon... with heaviest snowfall occurring between sunset Friday to sunrise Saturday. The most hazardous winter weather conditions will occur Friday night.
* Visibilities... the combination of heavy snow and strong winds will reduce visibilities to below one-quarter mile... producing near-blizzard conditions at times Friday night and early Saturday morning.
* Temperatures... highs in the lower 30s Friday. Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 20s Friday night and Saturday.
* Winds... becoming northeast 10 to 20 mph Friday with gusts to 30 mph Friday night and Saturday.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

Conditions in this storm are expected to be comparable to those in the storm of 19 December. Plan for substantial disruptions to travel Friday afternoon through the weekend. A Winter Storm Warning means significant amounts of snow are expected or occurring. Strong winds are also possible. This will make travel very hazardous or nearly impossible Friday night.

Stay tuned to the blog for updates and photos!!!