Let it snow… let it snow… let it snow…biggest snowstorm since 1922, and still not over.
From the New York Times, a crippled government. Even the post office gave up.
Capital Is Crippled as Blizzard Continues
A winter storm continued its blizzard rage in some parts of the Mid-Atlantic region on Saturday morning, dumping nearly two feet of wet, heavy snow that cut power to about 200,000 residents, caused the roof of a private jet hangar to collapse at Washington Dulles International Airport and forced the nation’s capital into quiet hibernation.
All postal operations in the Washington area, including the suburbs in Northern Virginia and Maryland were canceled on Saturday.
Full story at NYT here
CBS news calls the storm “epic”. See video report below.
From NOAA/NWS
…EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS CONTINUE THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR THE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON REGION…EASTERN
PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA…AND NORTHERN SHENANDOAH VALLEY…
…BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ONGOING IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND…
…POISED TO SET ALL-TIME STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL RECORD FOR
BALTIMORE…
BLIZZARD WARNINGS CONTINUE UNTIL 10 PM FOR MARYLAND EAST OF THE
INTERSTATE 95 CORRIDOR BETWEEN BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON DC AND WEST
OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY. WINTER STORM WARNINGS FOR HEAVY SNOW
CONTINUE ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE REGION UNTIL 10 PM.
AT 11:45 AM THIS MORNING…WEATHER OBSERVERS AT BALTIMORE`S THURGOOD
MARSHALL BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT REPORTED 26.5
INCHES OF SNOW ON THE GROUND. THIS IS ONLY 0.3 INCHES SHY OF THE
26.8 INCH RECORD FROM THE PRESIDENTS DAY FEBRUARY 2003 STORM. THE
AIRPORT IS FORECAST TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 3 TO 6 INCHES BEFORE THE
STORM ENDS THIS EVENING. A RECORD REPORT WILL BE ISSUED WHEN THE
RECORD IS REACHED.
GENERALLY…24 TO 32 INCHES OF SNOW HAVE FALLEN ACROSS NORTH OF A
LINE BETWEEN ANNAPOLIS MD TO WASHINGTON DC TO PETERSBURG WV. SOUTH
OF THIS LINE TO CHARLOTTESVILLE VA…APPROXIMATELY 14 TO 20 INCHES
HAVE FALLEN.
AN ADDITIONAL 4 TO 8 INCHES WILL FALL ACROSS THE REGION BEFORE THE
SNOW TAPERS TO FLURRIES LATER THIS EVENING. AREAS SOUTH AND EAST OF
BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON WILL SEE ACCUMULATIONS AT THE HIGHER END
OF THIS RANGE…ALONG WITH WIND GUSTS TO 35 MPH CREATING BLIZZARD
CONDITIONS.
Blizzard Warning
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1002 AM EST SAT FEB 6 2010 DCZ001-MDZ007-011-013-014-062315- /O.CON.KLWX.BZ.W.0001.000000T0000Z-100207T0300Z/ DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA-HARFORD-SOUTHERN BALTIMORE-PRINCE GEORGES- ANNE ARUNDEL- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WASHINGTON...BALTIMORE...ANNAPOLIS 1002 AM EST SAT FEB 6 2010 ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING... A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING. * PRECIPITATION TYPE...MODERATE SNOW. * ACCUMULATIONS...AN ADDITIONAL 4 TO 8 INCHES TODAY WITH TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 20 TO 30 INCHES. * TIMING...MODERATE INTENSITY SNOW BANDS WILL MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. SNOW WILL BECOME LIGHTER THIS AFTERNOON AND WILL TAPER OFF BY EARLY THIS EVENING. * VISIBILITIES...VISIBILITIES AS LOW AS ONE-QUARTER TO ONE-HALF MILE ARE EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. * TEMPERATURES...TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN NEAR 30 DEGREES THIS MORNING AND WILL FALL INTO THE MID TO UPPER 20S TONIGHT. * WINDS...NORTHEAST WINDS 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 25 MPH THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE COAST. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... ALTHOUGH WIND SPEEDS WILL DECREASE THROUGH THE DAY...VISIBILITIES WILL BE AT OR BELOW ONE-QUARTER MILE AT TIMES IN MODERATE SNOW... WHICH WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY DANGEROUS. A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY.
I thought Al Gore was home in Tennessee… Who is he visiting in D.C. ? 🙂
“kyle (10:47:22) :
Once again, this is why you should be taking seriously this NWF report:
Global Warming Bringing More Oddball Winter Weather”
So how do you explain the record set in 1922?
OT – An interesting study that suggest ~80% less potential amplification of ongoing global warming here:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v463/n7280/full/nature08769.html
It is discussed more here:
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2010/02/good-news-for-the-earths-climate-system/
Does anyone knows if there is an y (sensitivity) estimate for water vapours only?
Thank you!
B. Smith (11:05:04) :
FergalR (10:34:46) :
Well, at least this Winter’s weather is conforming to NOAA’s prediction:
“The forecast for the Northeast, the world’s largest heating oil market, will have equal chances of above-normal, near-normal, or below-normal temperatures and precipitation.”
_________________________________________________________________________
LOL! You’ve got to admire someone with the cojones to go out on a limb like that, calling it as they see it.
My reply;
Well I tried three years ago but due to the long lead time I was off a day, I have this storm forecast to arrive tomorrow.
Sorry http://www.aerology.com/national.aspx
Richard Holle
We’ve had almost no snow in Toronto this winter. IT’s cold today but the ground is bare.
REPLY: IIRC last year was your snow year extraordinaire – Anthony
Douglas DC (11:43:36) :
Ditto here. NW Calif. The rains have been pouring down, but the Reservoir is still low. Why? It’s all stuck up above 3500′ or higher. When the clouds clear, I can see the incredible view of snow so thick it looks like someone iced a cake with white frosting.
The last time I remember seeing snow like that up high was in 1982-3 when an El Nino dumped snow that took 2 years to melt off.
Sounds to me like your conditions are the same as here.
This might have delivered a more forceful reminder if the people in the Mid-Atlantic region were dependent on wind turbines for power.
When I think of the DAMAGE and MALICIOUSNESS that “global warmers” want to (demand to) vest upon innocent people, Murray, I make NO APOLOGIES AT ALL
and I think it is HIGH DAMN TIME for people to speak out against the green crap
JUST LIKE THAT THERE
People can lie down and TAKE IT or they can YELL
“It snows where it wants to snow” is one of the more profound conclusions of meteorologists. I don’t mean that at all facetiously. This year it wants to snow on the Mid-Atlantic. For a snow goose in northern New Jersey, this means tease after tease. My only consolation is in understanding, at some basic level, that this southern route is a typical manifestation of El Nino.
Mets like Joe Bastardi were onto this storm a week ago, had the DC-centered bullseye figured out, and also warned that the northern edge of the snowshield would be problematic.
And so it transpired. The dry Arctic air pressing in from the northwest got as far as 30 miles to my south. How do going you get a respectable blizzard with dry bulb temps in the upper twenties and the dew point hovering around ten?
In other words, it was, relatively, too cold to snow.
Well, wait a couple of days!
seems like the “warmers” are getting tired of winter 🙂
E-mail to my senator:
With Washington DC buried under 2 feet of snow it seems like an opportune time to continue my campaign against legislation aimed at curbing Global Warming. Please don’t tell me this near-record snowfall was caused by global warming. I wasn’t born yesterday and besides if you make that case then I will have to ask what caused the all-time record snowfall of 28” in 1922. Anyway I hope this latest “Snowmageddon” has given you time to ponder the question; what’s so bad about global warming? Life flourishes in warm weather. It is abundant in the tropics and scarce in the polar regions. The current semi-glacial conditions in Washington are far more harmful to life than a rise in temperature of a couple of degrees. In the past you’ve stated that there is an overwhelming consensus of climate scientists who believe in manmade global warming. Well someone once said; “a thousand scientists can be refuted by one fact”. I think that fact is sitting outside your window right now.
“Steve M. (12:02:56) :
[…]
Don’t insult my intelligence any more than the rest of this blog already does.”
There’s always the option of stopping reading things you don’t like. It’s not like we want to insult your intelligence.
The Oregon Legislative Assembly has just commenced a special session. I wish the blizzard were in Salem, instead of this danged drizzle!
We need some snow in the Cascades.
Someone needs some nap time …
.
.
“Murray (11:48:39) :
[…]
So nasty, right wing, no useful content,editorializing is OK, but fair observation, with a slight, self deprecating liberal bent”
Do you mean this with the slight, self deprecating liberal bent?
“Steve M. (11:03:47) :
[…]
I know that the point you want to make is IDIOT LIBERALS THINK IT’S GETTING LESS WINTRY WHEN IT’S ACTUALLY GETTING MORE WINTRY!!!!1!!!!1!!!”
I thought it was some outraged screaming…
O/T Richard North is up!
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/
“FergalR (10:34:46) :
Well, at least this Winter’s weather is conforming to NOAA’s prediction:
“The forecast for the Northeast, the world’s largest heating oil market, will have equal chances of above-normal, near-normal, or below-normal temperatures and precipitation.”
http://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange
The Old Farmers Almanac Forecast for the SE is:
FEBRUARY 2010: temperature 46.5° (0.5° above avg.); precipitation 4.5″ (2″ above avg. east, 1″ below west); Feb 1-4: Sunny, warm; Feb 5-8: T-storms, then sunny, cold;
They missed it a bit for the Hampton Roads area during this time frame, but for the entire SE, Jacksonville had TSTMS as did Key West when the front went through.
Mid Atlantic:
FEBRUARY 2010: temperature 34° (1° above avg.); precipitation 3.5″ (0.5″ above avg.); Feb 1-5: Showers, warm; Feb 6-10: Rain to snow, then sunny, seasonable;
Applachians:
FEBRUARY 2010: temperature 29° (1° above avg.); precipitation 2.5″ (avg.); Feb 1-5: Scattered showers, mild; Feb 6-8: Snow, then sunny, cold;
No global warming in Washington. Nothing to see here, move along.
Steve M.
Perhaps if you posted a well structured, and rational statement of your position rather than a hysterical rant, you might develop some conversation about your point.
Yes there is a preponderance of conservatives here — if you look at the polls, independents and conservatives are much more likely to be skeptical than liberals. It is a fact of life that the liberals (Democratic party) have been hanging their hat on this issue for quite some time.
Deal with it.
If you monitored this blog consistently you would know that there are several vocal members who are also decidedly liberal in view point. Many of them very well respected in this community. Most of us leave our politics at the door, by and large but there are several primary vendors of the AGW dogma that just go way out of their way to make themselves targets of well deserved satire, and spoofing.
There are “idiots” of all political flavors, liberal, conservative, Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians. This specific topic is about the current storm not some specific scientific topic. As such it lends itself to a bit more “humor” than other threads.
Try making a rational statement instead of a rant that attacks the owner of the blog out of the blue. It will be much better received.
Larry
Snowmageddon? They just had the Snowpocalypse in December!
Today in England I even got my Triumph out of hibernation for a one hour spin, temp about 5-6C, so not too bad.
In the meantime, I’m still expecting more snow before February’s out.
Stay safe over there, take a couple of days off, and wrap yourselves around a nice single malt. Works for me.
David Segesta (12:44:47), excellent email to your senator.
“The great global warming collapse –
As the science scandals keep coming, the air has gone out of the climate-change movement”
“The global warming movement as we have known it is dead,” the brilliant analyst Walter Russell Mead says in his blog on The American Interest. It was done in by a combination of bad science and bad politics.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/the-great-global-warming-collapse/article1458206/
Just a reminder: Most storms are drug along by the jet stream, which snakes across the US from the Canadian to the Mexican border. Just because snow is falling in DC and not upper NY isn’t terribly surprising.
For a quick peek of how the jet stream is behaving:
http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display_alt.cgi?a=glob_250
Be sure to play with the controls to hindcast and forecast, paying particular attention to the configuration during the last day or so in the eastern US.
(Hat tip to a prior poster; I put this in my Favorites and found it made great sense of this last mega srorm (which I hesitate to call snowmageddon, since that’s just inviting an even larger storm IMO).)
I just bought a weather station similar to the one shown
here . It was only NOK 999 (~106 GBP or ~166 USD). Obviously not a sophisticated weather station, but not too bad with wireless to indoor unit, plus USB connection to PC. I’ve managed to write a Linux driver for it, so will accumulate my own raw data series in a database.
Of course, placing it properly is important. But we have too much snow here at the moment 🙂 so a temporary solution will have to do until spring.
Quite fun hobby project.