Snowpocolypse

Snowmageddon

SnOMG

How about SNOVERKILL

It started snowing Friday. It hasn’t snowed continually since then but it sure feels like it. The average snowfall for my area for the last snow was 26″. We’re expecting anywhere between 10″ and 20″ more. On Saturday the power was out for closer to 20 hours than 12 I’ve been told.

The roads were almost drivable again. The interstates were cleared for the most part. The neighborhood roads were one lane and many vehicles were having trouble keeping traction. We have a 4WD SUV so we got out Monday and did some errands. We visited our friend in the nursing home (she said we got 9′, it was pretty cute), we took a meal to some friends, and we stocked up the kitchen because we knew this current storm would be coming.

I drove my husband to work on Tuesday because the rest of the world just doesn’t stop and he deals with time-sensitive stuff. The DC-area Metro buses were not running. On the way to his job, driving on I395 we have a great view of D.C. and all the recognizable buildings and monuments. The white buildings covered with white snow matched the bluish-grey white sky. Everything blended together. The Air Force Memorial, a steel structure, looked white in the light and added to the monochromatic still-life picturesque quality. The few smokestacks or fireplaces that are around that area were trying their hardest to release their smoke, at this point as thick as cotton; the smoke so heavy it wasn’t even rising, like someone had glued cotton balls to the picture.

He was able to ride a bus home after work, but they had to let him off at a road outside our neighborhood because of the narrow streets and round-abouts in here. As he was walking home he passed by a Metro bus that had tried to run the gauntlet. It was being unstuck and towed by a WMATA truck.

It snowed a little last night, but when I woke up I could still make out where the streets were. Not so anymore. As sand dunes in the desert get blown around in the wind and cover over anything in their path so is the new snow that’s falling.

Right behind that big tree in the front you can barely see a car with its windshield wipers sticking out. Behind it is a car whose wheel you can still see. Between the camera and that tree is a walkway and a yard. Those two cars flank the street. There’s  also a street perpendicular to the cars on the right side of the photo. You can see the stop sign and the street light right at the corner of the intersection.

Another shot of the intersection

Our truck. Look in front of it. See that car completely covered?!

Our front door. Dangerous!

Here is our neighbor’s backyard. That is a regular-sized deck table and grill. The house is to the right of the photo.

This is our yard. Below is what it looked like after the snow a couple days ago…

I’m praying that we don’t have another power outage. I’ll be a little bit more prepared for this one if it does happen though. I stocked up on canned goods that don’t have to be heated to be eaten and I’ve got the heat jacked up to 80 degrees! All electronics are plugged in maintaining their charge. The lights flickered twice this morning but nothing since then. The snow is so heavy though, there are numerous trees down on the edge of our neighborhood. It seems only a matter of time before a power line is downed.

We are staying positive. We have a house. We may not always have heat, but we can manage to stay warm. We have food and we have each other. We have a capable truck in case we have to go somewhere. There’s really nothing to complain about. My kids get along pretty well together and they have two friends next door and they split time between both houses.

This has actually been a blessing in disguise. I’ve been desperately wanting our lives to slow down a little bit. With this much snow all extracurricular activities have been canceled. We don’t have to be somewhere every day of the week. I’ve been enjoying that. It’s helping me to realize how to reorganize and reprioritize a little once we’re dug out and life returns to normal. We will survive and this isn’t the end of the world. . . even though it’s being called Snowmageddon and the Snowpocalypse.