Ahh, unclosed bold tag!

I was just going to comment on how much I loved the bold. Thanks for ruining that Jason.

Much better.

Everyone, report your snowfall....

Spotsylvania schools are closed tomorrow. They are always one of the first. I'm thinking MCPS will get a 2 hour delay. But anyways... it's brutal out!

Loudon announced a 1 hr delay. How much snow did they get? I think they got less than most of us. Anyone know how much?

Wow! I remember the snowfall of March 1942. We had just moved to DC from Texas. But the one I remember most was in February 1966. We were trapped indoors for days. I'm in Phoenix now where it is almost 90 degrees, but still miss DC, even with the snow....

FFX should be in school tomorrow, albeit with a delay.

I have not ventured outside my house today in Centreville, I hate the wind! I'd say we got about 6 inches looking at my deck. The roads in my subdivision already are looking like they are turning into sheets of ice. I'll go out on a limb and say FCPS will be closed tomorrow.

9 inches in Hillcrest. Huge difference in depth between here and Capitol Hill, which looks to have about 5-6 inches and is only 2 miles away. Also, the trees here are completely plastered in snow, whereas most limbs are clear down by the river.

Could elevation have played a part? I'm about 250' higher than the river. The precip stayed all snow while Capitol Hill was raining for part of last night.

@HillcrestDC

You bet elevation can play a role. We often see substantial accumulation differences within DC...especially between the Mall/downtown and upper NW.

For climate wonks, here were the airport totals for this storm:

DCA: 5.6"
BWI: 6.9"
IAD: 5.4"

St. Mary's County schools closed tomorrow as well.

Never seen this on the NWS site before, a "Local Area Emergency"

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE ST MARYS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.

ST MARYS COUNTY WILL OPEN AN EMERGENCY SHELTER AT 4 PM TODAY AT GREAT MILLS HIGH SCHOOL. ANIMAL CONTROL WILL BE ABLE TO SHELTER PETS OUTSIDE OF THE SCHOOL. PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING FOOD FOR YOUR PET.

You guys should start an interactive map where selected volunteers, who have the proper equipment, could enter temperatures and precip totals. Maybe one per zip code. I deleted Weatherbug because of all the imbedded spyware.

But you guys would be perfect since its not a program that needs to be downloaded.

For those out and about during this evening commute- how were the roads in Arlington/Alexandria looking? The side streets around me in Alexandria are sheets of ice...

Here ya go hoya:

Montgomery Co Schools - MD - Open 2 Hours Late

WOOO HOOO!!!! 2 HR DELAY!!!! Sleep in! WOO HOOO!

Side roads are pretty brutal in Arlington.

Main neighborhood roads however are perfectly fine.

It was kinda weird that they called it so early. they usually make u wait until 530 AM! Why can't it be like this everytime. :/

HillcrestDC: I noticed that the trees in central Fairfax County were plastered with snow while down by the Capitol the trees were bare. Our elevated and colder areas had a period of wet snow yesterday evening that stuck to the trees then later froze. The temperature down by the river was above freezing at the same time so the snow never stuck to the trees. The snow that began to fall in the early morning hours occurred when the temperature was well below freezing in all areas so it did not stick to the trees.

YOu gotta admit, it'll be pretty unfair if fairfax closes annd we have a 2 hr delay haha. WHat were the snow totals for FFX, PG, and Loudon? 2 hr delay is good 4 me.

At least for FFX, the amounts will be very different. I talked to someone who lives in Chantilly and he said that they got around 4 inches. In Falls Church (FFX for all purposes), I talked to someone who measured 8 in their backyard.

Has anybody heard from SnowmonsterDC? Or seen a really big lobster?

uprufssu: I think I saw his lobster roaming around earlier, not sure though. I'll listen to the police scanners for signs of a rogue lobster...

Hoyafan-
Check out the National Weather service link in one of the other posts for snow totals. MoCo totals that are listed are lower than Fairfax (in general).

@MKadyman - Have you checked out our new interactive snow reporting map?

I particularly liked this storm because of the amount of snow and the below-freezing temperature today -- there's still a beautiful coating on the trees (at least in NW DC)!

Also, I'd be curious to know where the best sledding spots were today...I may go tonight or tomorrow, if anyone has suggestions.

When will the apples appear?

My call is 1.5 to 2 apples

Ann: can I recommend my spot of choice for 13 years, Maddux Lane in McLean, Virginia? Go about a third of a mile past the Chesterbrook/Maddux [or Tompkins Maddux] intersection, and you'll see a huge bowl of snow. My only warning is that large chunks of ice make for a precarious trip down, though you'll certainly be going fast.

re: elevation.. Last night in DC I walked from Mt Pleasant to Dupont Circle then swung into Georgetown on my way back to Glover Park. Both starting and ending destinations had a good bit more snow accumulation than the lower/downtown areas. In Dupont it was mostly wet, though it was during a lull and there had been some noticeable melting on cars at least. By the time I got back to my place there was about 3/4" on the ground with the return of snow about 20-30 minutes earlier.

My Call:

West of beltway: Loudon, MOCO, Etc....SOME TYPE OF DELAY

East of Beltway: Chesapeake bay area...CLOSED

VIRGINIA: Fairfax: 2 hr delay
ANY PLACE NEAR MOUNTAINS: CLOSED

Most people will have delays. 2 apples west of beltway and 3 for east of beltway.

JUST MY OPINION THOUGH... WHat do you guys think?

Ann, there's a FABULOUS sledding hill on the northwest corner of Fort Reno. I bet it's already all torn up from today, cause it's pretty popular. But give it a try!

TWO HOUR DELAY 4 MONTGOMERY COUNTY! WHOOHOO!!! THIS IS WHAT I EXPECTED! by the way, when do you put up the apples?

Ann: There is a hill at Springwoods Elementary School (in Lake Ridge) that is fairly popular amongst kids around here. Actually there are two parts of the hill, separated by the steps going from the school down to the playground. The half closer to Marquis Place is the best for sledding, as the other half has a large bump at the bottom that can cause you to wipe out if you go too fast. I found that out the hard way a few years ago... Only bad thing is that the sun beats down directly on the hill, so the snow doesn't last too long. All that's left by the end of the day of sun and sledding is a sheet of ice.

Apples will appear around 7:30 p.m.

Ann and weatherdude - there's also a wonderful hill at Lake Ridge Elementary (also in Lake Ridge, hence the name). That's where I always used to take my son when he was small.

New post up with SchoolCast and FedCast

"Could elevation have played a part?" wow i have been asking about this since like nov, when the nws added it in there snow forcast. but this time there was no mention of it??