Snowstorm blossoming, some sleet south

That infrared image looks almost identical to the March 1993 storm.

Join the fan page of THE SUPER STORM!! http://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-Superbowl-Superstorm-of-2010/281160886341?ref=mf

Some website/server issues due to traffic or is it my connection?

I'm waiting for the snow bands to come in from the south and east.... and a visible radar cyclone to form in the atlantic, any ideas when that will happen?

Been taking pictures from a tripod mounted camera - I got as much snow from 6:45 to 7:45 as I did the entire rest of the day. We've got about five inches here in the northern part of Howard County, MD (just west of Baltimore, just north of Columbia).

Been taking pictures from a tripod mounted camera - I got as much snow from 6:45 to 7:45 as I did the entire rest of the day. We've got about five inches here in the northern part of Howard County, MD (just west of Baltimore, just north of Columbia).

Woot! Take that Knickerbocker!

markinva2, I think it's the site getting a tad overwhelmed.

I believe there are some traffic problems with the website tonight, it was hard to get back on this page. Really snowing hard here in Alex. Went out for a walk and the roads are very slick.

a) On NBC Nightly News, Tom Costello mentioned this snowstorm is being referred to as Snowpocalypse and also Snowmageddon.

b) for a quite a while it was very difficult to read comments, and given the problems with cross-postings, there may have been some tech issues.

Fredericksburg? It looks to me like the sleet line is darn close to Manassas! How will this affect totals in southern PW, Stafford, etc.?

How funny that the Wizards played the New York Knickerbockers on Wednesday, and lost. In light of that result, my storm prediction is 27 inches.

Shoveled out my car and sidewalk. Snow is very wet underneath, not so wet on top.

Yeah, this is all very cute and funny until power lines start snapping, tree branches falling on power line posts, and people taking care of the elderly, sick and/or infants are stuck without heat and power for days.

I sent this to the old post, so I'll do it again here...

Did I read earlier in this blog about a low offshore? where is it? The 7:39PM EST surface map from TWC still shows a big "H" right off the Delmarva (the folks there could probably even see the bottom of the "H": it's really big and blue)

Oh how I wish I was watching this storm out the window of a ski lodge rather than my apartment!

Just got back from a walk here in McLean. Still above freezing, and every time I stopped I could hear water dripping. Not so confident about record depth anymore. About 3 inches on the ground in Pimmit Hills.

Yeah, I had trouble accessing the comments section a while ago, too.

Very considerate of the impending blizzard conditions to stay on the other side of the river and not sneak over to Arlington... :-)

@Elmol1: Thanks for putting such a fun spin on the whole thing!

SO ITS SNOW SLEET AND NOW SNOW ARE THE TOTALS GOING TO BE LESS DOWN CVILE,MADISON?? LOOKS LIKE WE ARE ON THE LINE

Instead of just reporting my snowfall depth at Oakton, which is 7" at 7:46pm, I thought I'd include a photo:

http://www.weatherbook.com/snow_7_46pm_Feb5_web.jpg

I shoveled an area in my backyard this morning and mounted a yardstick so I can chart the accumulation as the storm progresses.

http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=LWX&product=NCR&overlay=11101111&loop=yes
dc about to get crushed

It's snowing to beat the band here in the City of Manassas. Shoveling the side walk is a lost cause at this point.

Just heard 66 and 95 have been closed. Has anyone else heard that?

Also, French Toast Alert is High

http://www.universalhub.com/french-toast/

2.5 inches so far here in Manassas...about to go out for shovel the steps round one.

Kim in Manassas

CWG - what's our take on the temperatures? So far it's been holding at 31.3 here in Thomas Circle - but officially DC is showing 34. Will the temperatures drop once the coastal low takes over?

Metro:

BUS service to end at 9pm, completely shut down tomorrow.

ABOVE-GROUND rail service to end at 11pm, completely shut down tomorrow.

Here in Arlington's Fairlington we lost several evergreen tree branches due to weight and ice - heard strong cracks when we arrived home about 20 minutes ago. The layer of slush made driving slippery in my rear-wheel drive. That's it for driving for hopefully a long long time. Stay warm and safe. Let it snow!

If it drops to 27 tonight won't this wet snow be frozen ice??

UNDERGROUND metro service to operate until 3am, with regular Saturday service.

BTW, I don't work for Metro -- they just announced it on Fox 5 DC.

95 and 66 are not closed per VDOT http://511virginia.org/Conditions.aspx?r=1, but they do have lane closures and shoulder closures due to multiple accidents on both. More reason to STAY HOME.

@wiredog The French Toast Alert System is sweet, crispy awesome.

Screw the Knickerbocker - we're taking aim at the Washington-Jefferson blizzard of 1772, 36" at Mount Vernon.

Band headed into DC now is rocking on radar.

Just got back walking to/from our new Green Turtle sports bar in Leebsurg - had a great dinner and the snow is flying. Rate of snowfall is much greater than when we walked over at about 5:00. Good wind gusts too. Maybe 5" on the ground. Gotta love it.

My apartment in Ballston overlooks 66, and there are still a few cars going by.

Wind picking up in Fairfaz and snow falling faster. I shoveled around 6:00, looks like at least one inch, maybe 1.5 since then.

@DR,

Thanks.

Snowing hard enough now that I just lost satellit signal...this is NOT a good thing....

*sigh*

Kim in Manassas

ready for 90 degrees and humidity

7 inches on our deck (9 if you include the two left over from Tuesday) in Gainesville.

is anyone else really worried about the temperatures? They haven't really dropped that much (or at all)

according to nws that band about to hit dc is 2 inches an hour
http://www.weather.com/weather/alerts/localalerts/20815?phenomena=TSL&significance=S&areaid=MDZ009&office=KLWX&etn=add3c7f757cca9605c1860b22ae15f5be973572d

I'm in Laurel, MD and we haven't gotten any snow in the past three hours. Looks like it might not be as bad as expected.

bring it!

6.5" in South Springfield

@Brian-CapitalWeatherGang

I'm with you. At least I'm 18 stories up and facing the District. A little bit ago, I was able to look across the Potomac at Georgetown, but not now.

I hope my little snippets are acceptable.

Excerpts from Winter Night with apologies to Boris Pasternak

It snowed and snowed, the whole world over,
Snow swept the world from end to end.

All things vanished within
The snowy murk-white, hoary.

It snowed hard throughout the month
Of February, and almost constantly

PS – Thanks for the great job you and your CWG associates are doing.

6" measured on south side of Rockville. Averaged just over 1"/hr since 7:00.

Either someone is full of it, or this storm is very localized. I am in Silver Spring and haven't seen any snow since 7 PM. I shoveled at 5 PM and it is still pretty much clear.

about 7.5 near oatlands s of leesburg

CWG (jason),
thanks so much for the "new post" heads up on the last post.

just shoveled a path from my front door to the street. this snow is AWESOME snowball snow. and it is so dense. the 3" or so i shoveled is easily as much as the 6" we got from the storm before last.

About 6 inches in N. Potomac and we are on the verge of the intense band cjespn referred to. Winds are continuing to shift from SE to E.

check out dominion's power outage map! power outages are starting to pop up! http://outagemap.dom.com/DomComFlexOutageViewer/index.html

6 inches in Olney at 8:15 pm

@gsteff I am in Laurel, and it has been coming down for hours.

Any reports from Fredericksburg of sleet?? Just heard from TWC that it was sleeting there..?..

At least 5.5" in Falls Church/McLean.

Is anybody worried about this turning into rain?

@cbvd No, unless you live in southern virginia

Mother Nature didn't stop me from cranking up the grille on the deck and cooking a New York strip here in Oakton. However, I did have to brush snow off the tongs and the aluminum foil covered platter (after all, a good steak should have the opportunity to rest).

I can't see my footprints to the grille anymore.

Snowing big fat flakes like crazy near Eisenhower Avenue Metro. The apartment complex folks are trying to clear the sidewalks and just can't keep up with it. Guy across the street building a snowman with his dog. Can't believe this is going on all night and the best is yet to come!

Metro above-ground service to stop @ 11pm tonight and not resume until AT LEAST Sunday.

http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=4285

I know TWC is animated and so not the best source but their radar is so pretty and user friendly...but is it accurate?

About 3" here near the Bay Bridge, AA county side, in a sheltered location that had no snow left from the last storm.

7.75" in eastern Warren Co. 25.9F. Storm coverage is intense with FOX5 and CBS9 going all out.

I THINK ARE POSTS ARE BEING IGNORGD DOWN HERE 6"1/2 SO FAR IN MADISON

Latest from Dumfries: 5 inches and going strong. Just got in from shoveling the driveway, sidewalk, and front walk. I put the yardstick in the front yard to remind myself not to put snow there and to hopefully track progress.

Note to Mother Nature: Is that all you got honey?!? BRING IT ON!!

Fairfax City/GMU: Just cleared 7.5" from my sidewalks and driveway. Also helped push some poor student with bald tires off my corner a couple hours ago (I hope he got home) and watched a heavy plow get stuck in front of my house (took another plow and 30 minutes to get him out). Based on where I started, I'm betting that we're getting 1-1.5 inches an hour right now.

My girlfriend and I just walked our Lab in Ballston and I took the opportunity to take a few photos. http://www.flickr.com/photos/josephdangelo/sets/72157623361060908/detail/

The snow is sticking and accumulating quite well on tree branches as you can see, and the streets here are getting good accumulation - I'd estimate at least two inches on Quincy Street (a side street) and an inch of slick slush on Wilson Blvd (a main thoroughfare).

Plows and trucks treating the roads are out and there is a noticable difference between treated and untreated roads; however, the snow is accumulating quickly and even treated roads do not look like they wil be in condition after this band passes through.

I'm convinced that there are some folks wouldn't believe it is snowing if it was falling on their face.

@samdman95 Please stop spamming with that facebook link.

Here in Columbia, MD it's been snowing for awhile, but, all that falls is extremely wet. At the current rate, there is a chance we get a foot, but, much more seems unlikely. Our road coverage practically melts away when it is walked upon.

I'm enjoying the view from 15 floors up above Rockville Pike at Montrose Rd. Traffic is very light and going very very slowly... very wisely. I'm a huge snow lover, but the lights did flicker here for a moment, and that would just be no good at all!

Heading out soon to do the first shovel in my neck of Centreville (north of 29, off of 28, on the Dulles side). It's been coming down pretty steadily since the 4pm hour. Will report back...Just had to rest from cleaning my living room carpet. Forgot how heavy that SteamVac is. Dang. I'd rather shovel, I think

Just north of Del Ray - *sigh* sometimes I wish I still lived out in Fairfax... I'd guestimate we have around 2-3 inches here w/moderate snow. Big fat flakes though. The road behind my building is covered, but not too bad. Still lots of people out driving, walking, even saw one guy riding a bicycle!

Snowfall rate and wind just spiked up here in North Arlington.

@ZmanVA: I live in F'Burg and it has been sleeting here for the last hour or so.

7.25" on the Snow Collection Platform of Science in Dunn Loring (22027) as of 8:15, so about 1" / hour since 7:00. Gonna have to break out the yardstick soon!

Everyone staying safe? Please watch out as this storm really ramps up for the next 12 hours (or more).

Old Town - still steady, dense snowfall; bigger flakes now. Surely >1" per hour now with about 3" on the ground already. Getting windier, but nothing dramatic. Temp holding steady at about 35F in my yard.

Looking at intellicast radar it appears the rain/snow line has been advancing north quite rapidly. I think totals will be much below forecast for DC south.

Nice photos, JoeThePhotographer. Thanks for sharing. Snow coming down fast & furious here in southwestern HoCo..looks like more shoveling is in order soon.

Centreville VA Pouring snow. Measured 2 inches accumulation in last 90 minutes. Temp right at 32 & steady. Some brief very gusty winds.

Close to the Vienna Metro: Just back from shoveling and it's getting nasty out there. This is heavy wet snow with slush at the bottom and the stuff the plows are churning up is going to be solid ice by morning. If you're taking one of the last trains out of the city, be careful getting home from the station.

snowing like an absolute FIEND s of leesburg

From my observations and the above posts, it looks like Prince George/Montgomery/Howard counties are getting FAR less snow than Northern Virginia.

The snow is blowing in cyclonic directions all over the place here in Reston. Get ready folks, I am prepared to finally venture forth, and stake my claim in Snowmageddon's wrath!

Yup...7" in Oakton sounds about right. I just ventured down into the backyard (where the snow from the last storm had not yet melted) to brush off the satellite dish, and was nearly up to my knees in snow. Don't quite know how we're going to keep the satellite clean once the really heavy stuff hits!

An hour or so ago, a guy was walking in slow circles in the middle of the intersection by our house. Looked pretty drunk (had a bottle in his hand). Also looked pretty happy. He's not out there now (no, I didn't hear an ambulance), but WOW, are the big, fat flakes coming down.

Snowing heavily here too in downtown DC. Around 32. Snowfall rate approaching 2" an hour. Thanks for all your reports in Virginia, folks!

dvorak9, the radar computer algorithm is malfunctioning. Ignore its depiction of rain/snow/mix line. It is not advancing north of Fredericksburg.

Large tree branch just came down in McLean.

Great pictures, JoeThe Photographer! Thanks for posting them.

Anyone else suffering from the drop in barometric pressure? My head has been killing me all day.

Just a comment...that satellite image: I used to be in charge of the generation of that image as a grad. student. Much love, CWG!

One thing I absolutely love about snow, is the quiet...
walking around for 15 minutes in the woods is just so peaceful
at 8 inches

tridentbulldog - thanks for the confirmation. Hopefully this'll not creep any closer and that it'll transition back to snow where you're at.. Keep us updated..

Thanks Snowlover :) My girlfriends been suffering a pretty bad headache all day from it too and the steel plate in my head has been throbbing (as it does with pressure drops). You're not alone...

300 sq feet:

Your 31.4 is probably because of evaporative cooling on your sensor. I'm in your 'hood and snow is now sloughing off long-parked vehicles. That means it's above freezing, and that is really eating into the District totals downtown.

about 5 in northern alex, 395 at king st... we have a 50 ft pine that is about to loose it's battle with the snow and wind and is going to snap. It's reallllllly leaning.

Heavy snow now in Herndon. Heaviest I've seen snow, I think. I shoveled the driveway an houra go and there seems to be a couple inches on there already.

LOL at those who thought this would only stick to grass and cars.

mandarb77, i love the peaceful nature of snow too :)

captmrwill, thanks for a great image--you sound like partial-inventor of it ;)

Snowlover2, I've heard people suffer from ailments in these severe storms - definitely not out of the question. Since this storm is very strong. The pressure will continue to fall.

allisondt, yikes tree branches are down already?! not good. Early in the storm too. Ugh. And Charlottesville folks have lost power I just heard. Man oh man :(

By the way, the best comment ever on these boards came from one of the CWG. During December, one of you guys said "We're gonna need a bigger boat!"

My wife and I laughed about this for the next couple of weeks. Very appropriate! (and a wonderful Jaws reference.)

Posted by: JoeThePhotographer | February 5, 2010 8:23 PM

-------------------------------------------
Mojo's a handsome dude!

31.8 with heavy snow in Sterling. Here's hoping that dry slot to the west does not reach our area.

Bombogenesis, anyone? (El Bombo?) OBX pressure reading at 29.70".

Made another pass over the driveway in Falls Church. Still heavy, wet snow. 3" last time and about 4 this time. Way I figure that's 7 less to shovel tomorrow. Pedestrians walking around....plows are out too, not a good mix. Walter should be able to sculpt an entire amusement park with this snow.

markinva2, I'm hearing lots of complaints about snowfall rate surpassing shovelling rates! While I know it seems futile, I am glad you are doing it in smaller increments versus waiting till the end of the storm when it will be very challenging and stressful to shovel.

the wife, though a little late with submission, goes for

snowtopia

because why does the name have to have a negative connotation?

....Snowhalla... with a few valkeries

6.5 inches in Kensington, MD, most of that since 4:30 pm. 30F, wind starting to kick up.

almost 5" out front here in Manassas. Just did my first shovel of the night...while listening to the neighbors argue out in front of their place with their son nad his girlfriend. (Do some folks assume that if there is a snow storm brewing outside it is OK to air your dirty laundry for the entire neighborhood to hear???) Anyhow, I digress. While the snow is "wet" it is still pretty easy to move around. I am hoping to be able to stay at least even with it enough so as not to end up breaking either my back or my shovel tomorrow.

Kim in Manassas

Snowing at rates of 2 inches per hour now. We have 5-6 inches here in upper NW DC and the winds are 10-15 mph. I expect there to be 18 inches on ground by 6am.

pmichales - The temperature on my thermometer just dropped, albeit slightly, to 31.0. Just took the dog out - no slow falling off cars, about 4 inches of fresh snow in Thomas Circle. . .

@gsteff

I don't know where you are in Laurel... here at my apartment it has been snowing steadily since around noon!

CWG- Do you expect the temperatures to drop, at least a little, once the coastal gets cranking??

I think someone must have paid off the plows, because they've been through the neighborhood twice already in McLean and it generally takes them at least two days to reach my dead end street. In other news, we have about five inches at the moment and it has really picked up in the past twenty minutes.

Does anyone know where current position of low pressure is and what MB?

Keep your reports coming! love hearing local totals.

Moderate snow in Adams Morgan, 4-1/2" to 5" so far.

Interesting. Either that was lightning I just saw in Kensington, or transformers are blowing up. (Yes, I know I would have heard a transformer blowing...)

Its been snowing in downtown Silver Spring for hours now. Started sticking 4 hours ago.

While I was out shoveling the underlayer of heavy slush just now, I'm sure I heard some thunder. I also think I saw lightning a little earlier. Riverdale, MD.

An interesting note to this entire storm, my trail camera has curiously been flashing away some lately. I noticed some deer and rabbit prints in the area after our last snowfall, and usually I see the raccoons most active when snow is on the ground. You know this is going to be a big snow when they're becoming more brazenly active to find and store food (I even found a squirrel buried underneath our December 19th snowfall, a month later after it melted. It froze to death). Maybe I'll get some nice photos of the wildlife in the snow here this time around.

so is this thing on schedule?

I live about 4 miles west of Tysons...Just came in from my second driveway shoveling...the snow is so heavy, I think I sound like Monica Seles at Wimbledon out there...so much for a quiet snowfall...

Have a bit of an odd question ( my mind tends to ponder ludicrous concepts while shoveling)...

CWG:
Is there a way to determine pounds of snowfall, if given square footage and depth (assuming we can guestimate the snow "density" for lack of better meteorological understanding?

I'm just curious if I'm getting a good workout or a slipped disk=)Thanks!

It is snowing here in Columbia, but I would not call it 'heavy'. It seems to consist of fine ice particulates and it seems to be melting.

AJ, as of about and hour ago, the low is near the NC/SC border at around 998mb, new obs will be out in about 15 minutes though

Well, we don't have that much accumulation yet - it looked like about 4 inches on most of my walkway and the sidewalk. But DANG, it's heavy, wet snow. Much, much more compact than the last big storm. I dug out the driveway, sidewalks, walk, porch: did myself proud. But it was a workout! I'm glad I didn't let the lower total snowcover fool me into complacency.

I cannot imagine we'll get more than 16 inches total, even if a foot falls tonight. And it is coming down at around an inch an hour: the half hour I shoveled saw roughly a half-inch of back fill on the walk. Definitely impressive rate of precip. But the air feels different than last time: kind of wet and laden instead of snapping cold.

I suppose I'll just have to be impressed when I wake up tomorrow! And make the spouse wield the shovel for the next pass. . .

Wow, just shoveled about 4 1/2" in Crystal City and it was wet and heavy and still coming down as fast as I could move it.

There is definitely going to be some power outages throughout the area tomorrow.

In Centreville, VA. Our driveway must be considerably warmer than our sidewalk. At 3:30 I shoveled about 1.5" off the sidewalk, but the driveway was still bare. Around 4:00 the snow started sticking on the driveway. At 8:00 I measured about 3.5" on our driveway and 5.5" on the sidewalk, so a total of 7" as of 8:00. And everything was covered with snow again within 5 minutes of clearing it.

Just came down Route 1 (Outback's still open!) in Huntington and there are quite a few cars sliding and barely making it up the hill. We were in 4WD (driven by native Minnesotians) and even we slid every turn.

Be careful. It doesn't look that bad at first glance but all that slush from earlier plus the wet snow is making it really slippery.

No sleet in north Stafford..snowing very hard at least 5 or 6 inches. Temps holding steady at 32 which is a little concerning.

Awesome photos Joe! I've put up a few that I've taken. http://www.flickr.com/photos/vcheeseman/sets/72157623361199912/

About to post another video. Snow falling in Old Town Leesburg of about 1.5 - 2 inches per hour! Wind is starting to pick up. Very wet snow!!!

wow, just had a plow come through and within 2 minutes the whole path of pavement that he'd cleared was totally white again.

May have spoken too soon for dry slot in Charlottesville. Starting to look for matches & flashlights.

Between 5 to 6 inches in Lake Ridge.. Snowing hard.

snowing hard enough to cause the outside light, funning on motion sensors, to turn on....

@Snowlover2 and JoethePhotographer -- Count me into the headache camp too. I put the advil bottle out on the kitchen counter.

Oh, and Joe -- wonderful photos!

Just took a little snow walk and it looks like 5-6 inches near Eisenhower Avenue Metro.

Now finally some heavy snow in Silver Spring. Still only 2 inches since 6 PM.

Have to have cleared half a foot in Alexandria near Eisenhower Metro. Coming down at a fairly solid pace.

@CWG: Should we expect the rate of snowfall the accelerate in the next several hours?

Just came in from sledding with my son. Heard some large branches coming down off in the woods. We're pushing a 12"+ so far in Winchester. Looking forward to seeing what 2"-3"/hour looks like later tonight. Time to settle in and watch a movie.

Really coming down hard in Bailey's Crossroads now. About 4 inches so far.

Reston - Thunder/Snow about 30 mins ago

Moderate snow in Adams Morgan has turned to heavy within the past 10 minutes or so.

Crofton MD 8:55pm

4.5" of snow. Coming down pretty good now.

2" an hour for next 12 hours would be pretty nice.

All I want is my 30" and then I'll be happy ;-)

About 5.75 inches in Chevy Chase DC. A little tree in front of my house was bending almost to the ground with the weight of the wet snow. I gave it a nice shake, most of the snow fell off, and the tree sprung back to upright. I guess I'll be doing that a few more times!

STATREP: I now have my gear on, including my snowshoes, goggles, mask, gloves, and everything else. My Husky keeps checking out the window, and running back to me with a huge smile on her face. The smaller ones are going to have to stay in until we can dig them an area to walk (My one JRT loves snow, but not if it's over her head. The other JRT Mix is from SC, and she doesn't have the undercoat to handle this weather very well, even though she puts up with it at times). It'll be VERY interesting if we manage 30" here, because that'll probably be eye-level with the Husky (Only her ears will manage to poke above the snow LOL). She hops through it like a Kangaroo though, so no worries (Without the snowshoes, I'm left falling over like a klutz while trying to keep up with her).

Also, where/how should I submit photos to CWG? Thanks.

Here in Minnesota we hate flexible sticks like bicycle flags on all of our fire hydrants so we can find them when it snows. I encourage all of you who live near a fire hydrant to go out and attach something to it so that it will stick out above the snow. When you go out to shovel start with the hydrant and be safe.

In Springfield, at 7:15pm, 4.5 inches on the back deck. At 9pm, 6.75 inches. It's heavy, wet, perfect "snow fort" snow, and the wind seems to be picking up slightly while I was out shoveling.

I'm going to go out on a limb here. I'm calling this

Look at that band forming north of 64 near C'ville - wow!

Continued heavy snow, down to 31.4 degrees.

Five inches at National so far. Temps there have finally dropped to 32. http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/KDCA.html

At least 6 inches on the ground in Upper NW / Spring Valley and snowing extremely hard. Shoveled three times and its like I never shoveled at all. However, looking at the radar, I see a potential dry slot forming west of Fredericksburg that is worrying me a bit. Thoughts CWS guys?

Got a four-and-a-half-story pine tree (or evergreen? I dunno) that looks like it's about ready to come down, having been bent over to about three stories tall.

7" in SE Loudoun (South Riding). Never saw much of a changeover to anything.

9pm update, 5.7" in NW Spotsy. 31.4.

7.5" in South Springfield

Camden; thanks for insight to radar anomalies, I'm hoping St Marys gets their share and it wasnt' looking too good. I'm watching from half way across the US but remember fondly the '79 storm and 30" in our yard monday morning!

0z NAM shows about an additional 25 inches of snow to come.

@DrewinAlexandria

What we've seen in the last hour or two is a good indication of what we should get most of the night: steady snow with embedded bands of heavy snow coming through intermittently. There is a long steady stream of moisture to the south and southwest.

Fox 5 just said that THE THUNDERSNOW IS COMING!

Yay! DCA hits 32 and reports 5! Did I ever mention prospective double digit snows make me manic-depressive?

PJM

We're at 8" now in far NW Prince William County, but I know I've shoveled 6"+ this afternoon and there's 6"+ on the driveway right now. It's blowing like mad, though.

Did anyone see the lightning around 7:30? I think I heard thunder too. Is that possible?

fat clumps of snow
falling into drifts --
dancing limbs

No headache, but I think I can feel the pressure change in my ears at ~1850ft in the Blue Ridge Mtns. Maybe this year I'll add a barometer to my weather gear.

JoeThePhotographer, great pics again!

I noticed that the DC readings are also indicating a change in wind direction from east to northeast. I assume this accounts somewhat for the movement of the storm and the declining temps?

I saw lightning about 15 minutes ago too. Are folks serious when they say they don't see snow in Laurel/Silver Spring. Other posters (including myself in Silver Spring) have been seeing snow nonstop for a few hours now.

HUGE SLEET HERE IN MADISON. THIS IS WEIRD SLEET, LIKE ICE CHIPS

Very Heavy snow here in Herndon... no signs of T-snow yet... but wouldn't be surprised considering how hard it is coming down.

Radar shows a dry spot around I-81 with moderate to heavy snow east and west of that dry spot.... is that a radar anomaly or are they really missing out around Staunton-Winchester?

Just finished shoveling 5 1/2" here in Manassas (Wellington area). Round 2 first thing in the morning.

6" here.

tbva,
been drooling/fretting about what to do with all this. when i say "all this", i'm mostly referring to the yet-to-fall bounty we've been promised. intensity is picking up here.

Snow has changed to rain or a wintry mix in Crisfield. Was that really Katie Couric in a bathing suit shoveling my neighbor's driveway, or is this the onset of the proverbial cabin fever?

It really didn't snow at all where I am (northeast Laurel) between 4:30-7:30, but has started now, though it's still barely dusting.

Just measured over 6 inches in upper NW DC with visibilites near zero.

5.7" so far in Berwyn Heights, MD. Those bands to the south look impressive!!!

Large wet flakes are falling in Adams Morgan, so accumulation seems to be up to about 1-1/2" an hour by my calculations. Six inches now.

The radar to the south and southwest is really lighting up...within a few hours, we may see some unbelievable snowfall rates.

I'm listening to the snow from the adjacent building fall on my roof. It kind of sucks.

The trees are very low around here and I fear what will happen, but at least the power lines are under ground....for the most part.

Is this storm moving "on time"? Ie - moving faster/slower etc?

Power outages on the rise...

http://www.dom.com/storm-center/images/nova_area.jpg

Out here on the Eastern Shore in Mardela, we have 5 inches and the snow is pelting down. The wood stove is churning out the heat at 900 F. So far, so good.

@crazer: I was serious at 8:15 -- we had about 2 hours with very little snow. But it has since definitely been snowing in Silver Spring.

6.5" in Silver Spring

My daughter and I just returned from taking a stroll thru the elements. The scenery is so peaceful, calm and gorgeous. Meanwhile, heavy snow continues here in the Camp Springs area near Andrews AFB. Moderate wind blowing steadily from the NE, with occasional gusts. Temperature remaining steady around 30F. And, around 9:00pm or so, there was lightning streaking across the sky. Thundersnows!! Just taking it all in, and enjoying the moment.

Hopefully the snow excitement will help distract those of us suffering from headaches :)

I am inspired by seeing other's photographs, so I thought I'd share mine. I am not as accomplished as the previous photogs, but here they are- thought it'd be fun to look back at the 12/19 storm as a frame of reference for tomorrow. These were taken in Old Town on the 19th and 20th of December '09.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035421@N04/sets/72157623236782227/

Centreville VA Continued heavy snow accumulating just under 1.5 inches in last hour with gusty winds. Total snow so far between 7 - 8 inches. Temp will not budge from 32 degrees.

Just came in from shoveling the driveway. Here in zip code 22312, I had 5-6 inches on the driveway, but the first inch was slush. What was more interesting was that the spot where I started accumulated another inch by the time I finished (about 50 minutes or so).

I thought I heard a crack earlier, but didn't see any fallen limbs when I was out. The evergreens, both bush and tree, are carrying a lot of snow, though.

Our snow seems pretty wet and dense and our temperature is still above 30 in Shepherd Park. Will this decrease the total snow predictions for the area?

Latest video update from the DAILY GREG here in the burg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsUGoLnZh7U

Greg

When is the next update?!?!

Major worries about roofs, and especially tree limbs, here in our wooded community.

Sigh, wish this would move offshore . . .

Latest radar not only shows the sleet line continuing to creep northward (and all across the eastern side of the Metro)... but also reveals a sleet area covering parts of the District. What gives?

@samdman95

Next update will be in the 10:30-11 p.m. range. For now, not much to say except we're getting rocked by moderate to heavy snow.

Jason--sure that isn't sleet? Kinda lights up the radar...

PJM

actually the mix line seems to be crashing south from west to east on all radars

@SouthsideFFX

Same here. And lights are flickering. Not looking forward to freezing tonight.

This storm has been very interesting. It was def mixing very fine snow and ice up until an hour ago in Rosslyn and then also when I went into Dupont Circle. I've seen about an inch or two on cars and an icy slush with a thin layer of snow on top of that on the roads. CWG is this due to the proximity of the potomac?

Lights starting to flicker, heavy stacks of snow on top off all the cable and power lines. This doesn't bode well. I wish I could just go out and brush them off.

Go go gadget arm!

Just swept the front doorstep and about 5 feet out from the door. By the time I turned back toward the door (maybe two, three minutes later?), that front step was already covered in snow.

Probably 5 or 6 inches on the ground right now in Fort Myer Heights in Arlington. The wires above the streets, though, have a good 3-4 inches. LOTS of snow on trees and bushes, so I wonder what the over/under is for the power going out in Arlington?

Just got back from shoveling the walk in Rockville. I measured a little over 5" on thepatio, but it's not a great measuring spot. Total on the grassy surfaces seems to be somewhat higher (maybe as much as 6").

Just went for a nice walk in the snow with my iPod blaring.

I live smack dab in the middle of montgomery county in gaithersburg, halfway up midcounty highway.

Temp is 30.9 degrees. Snowing like crazy. Grew up in NY and went to college in Vermont and this is as hard as I've ever seen it come down.

Have about 7" but that is going up quickly.

The snow is getting "dryer" -- definitely not as wet as it was earlier. And the wind has definitely picked up. Good thing I was wearing my ski goggles or else I would have to walk backwards when go into the wind.

Feels like Hoth!!! I love it.

I wonder what the record for comments is for one post... this is going to be epic and I love it!!

Just finised a 4th round with the shovel. We have about 6"(measured on the suv) here in the City of Manassas. A very wet snow, coming down at a very good clip.

About 6-8" in the Shirlington area. Negligible wind, but snow is really coming down.

Just south of Old Town Alexandri - is that lightning I'm seeing?

Ran home from Pure Praa yoga studio to Huntington. Got home at 8:15 - 8:20. The sidewalks were easy enough to run on since I have trail runners. Even the huge puddle of slush at the end of the Wilson Bridge/Washington Street Deck is all since snow. I do not anticipate this to be the case much longer. By 11, if not earlier, it will be tough to get by on even the most packed-in sidewalks, even on foot.

Just witnessed lightning here in upper NW DC - Thundersnow! Didn't hear thunder though - maybe the snow dampens the sound.

Lights flickering in Potomac. It's ominous out there. Shoveling a bear. Keep that power on . . .

Keep in mind that what is called 'Laurel' is a huge area that includes parts of AA, PG, and HW counties. Silver Spring also covers a big area.

7+in in McLean. SN+. Wind 3-5k, but power cutting in and out. Could get ugly.

Pat-- There's probably some sleet in there-- I saw a report of very heavy snow with sleet in Stafford in the last 10 minutes on another site I monitor (EasternUSWx).

8.5" on the Snow Collection Platform of Science in Dunn Loring (22027). 1.25" in an hour, so things are starting to pick up! Starting to get windy, too, which means all that pretty snow will fall off the trees... which is probably better for our prospects of continued electrical service, I guess.

People may be seeing some flashes of light from stressed power lines and other electrical issues, which is not uncommon during prolonged severe weather events. Electrical flashes look a lot like lightning, only more bluish. I still haven't seen anything on the lightning tracker within about a thousand miles from DC.

@dc_attorney, I guess Silver Spring is too big. In zip 20903, close to exit 28 off the Beltway, I've been seeing it snow since 11 am this and it's been accumulating since 4pm.

lights flickering in Oakton...

Checking in from Herndon 20170 - measured 8 inches at 9:10 pm, accum. since I brought the car back around 1:30 pm (onto a cleared driveway). It's snowing hard now, such that I can barely make out the shape of a (non-snowcovered) car 4 houses down, and starting to drift (as well as plaster the side of the house!).

If you haven't started shovelling yet, do it! 8 inches is tolerable, but I noticed it got MUCH harder to shovel the edges where there were just a couple more inches.

nice banding has been setting up from DC north..once that moves out bring on those next bands from the S/SW!!!

Wow, huge wind gusts in NW DC the past few minutes. It's really nasty out there (I've also been hearing sirens constantly for the past five hours). How are wind speeds elsewhere? Careful of those tree limbs weighed down with heavy snow...

Also, thanks for posting power outage maps. You may want to start charging up your electronics and batteries just in case.

You can post your snow and ice photos here.

The radar looks amazing, I've never seen so intense in a snowstorm:

http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=pan&prevzoom=zoom&num=6&frame=0&delay=15&scale=1.000&noclutter=0&ID=LWX&type=N0R&showstorms=0&lat=0&lon=0&label=you&map.x=400&map.y=240&scale=1.000¢erx=400¢ery=240&showlabels=1&rainsnow=0&lightning=0&lerror=20&num_stns_min=2&num_stns_max=9999&avg_off=9999&smooth=0

I'll post a photo of the snow depth in about 10 minutes.

Point is that sleet lights up the radar. You should be looking at the raw feed from the Weather Service rather than the one that is "sleet processed" (with the pink sleet), which isn't real dependable. Embedded sleet on the raw tends to show as yellow sort of cell-like structures.

Between 3 and 4 sloppy inches in Hanover, MD. Heard a rumble outside my window...the county sent a bulldozer to my neighborhood. Really. The bulldozer has been trying to clear my quarter mile street for half an hour now. Excellent use of funds, Anne Arundel! What will they send when we have two feet? A demolition team?

Seeing the strongest gusts of the night in Penrose, South Arlington.

6.5" now...an inch in 25 minutes!!

CWG guys - with the 0z NAM coming back so strong wouldn't you say that 30" totals are looking a lot more likely now?

Slight wind here in Adams Morgan. So much snow, some of it wet, has been caught in the tree branches that I agree with Ann that you'll have to be careful of mini-avalanches once the wind picks up.

Coming down heavy in Bethesda. Just spent the last 20 minutes shoveling the sidewalk and the driveway, and another inch of snow fell in that time span. Total depth is about six inches on grass and four inches on pavement.

A big problem for me was about an inch of ice in between the pavement and the snow. Going to be difficult for snowplows.

Reston - snow picking up. My light post outside is now leaning at 10 degrees. Still toward the car. As a bonus, so is the tree...

6.5" now...that's in Berwyn Heights, MD

@JamieYPotomac

Lights flickering on the Poolesville side of Potomac too, pretty ominous. PEPCO maps here:

http://www.pepco.com/home/emergency/maps/stormcenter/

My wife and I just came back from a leisurely walk from Rosslyn to Court House and back. Measured 4-1/2" in branches of pine tree and 6" on top of parked car. (Index finger, knuckle to knuckle is ~1", so I could be way off). Oh, about 1-1/2” on top of my hat :>)

Arlington County has a backhoe with front loader out clearing bus stops.

Van failed to make turn in front of Rhodeside Bar and Grill (corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Rhodes St.), bounced off a light pole and ended up 1 foot short of the front door. The driver must have really worked hard to do that, as the intersection is quite large with lots of room to stop, assuming the driver knew how to drive in the snow, which was likely not the case.

@krosseel - Nicely said.

PS - Lights just flickered three times. Better look for the flashlight.

lights were flickering here in East Falls Church...

NE Montgomery County has almost no wind. My weather station says highest wind speed today is 3 MPH. Temp is 30 degrees dropping .25 degrees per hour, barometer is 29.72" and still dropping.

About 4-5" of snow. Watching the snow didn't give me a sense of anything extraordinary, but clearly if it this keeps up until morning we'll be looking at 15" or so.

Okay, after reading all this I regret all of my past snow-hating talk. I am totally jealous I'm not there now.

My mom is reporting "fairly heavy snow" in Lake Ridge. Anyone have a total from there?

Jason, that yellow band is either going to make or break this storm. If it's snow, we're big; if it's sleet, we should be thankful for the very heavy show so far...

On Capitol Hill the winds have been picking up in the last half hour. The trees are so heavy with snow, I think we're going to have a lot of downed branches by morning. Snow accumulation seems to be accelerating too.

Blizzard Warning extended to Baltimore / Harford Cos.

Tech Note - CWG Blog still crashing.

GD1975, I believe only lightning tracker tracks cloud-to-ground lightning

What the heck do you do if you lose power without a fireplace and with two kids under 5 years of age?! That is our biggest fear here in Rockville!

@Dylan0513

Looks like NAM paints 2.0" of liquid equivalent AFTER 10 p.m., so some 20"+ totals still in play, even if that's overdone (considering most places are in the 5-9 range now). If the precip remains all snow, temps drop a little and the snow:liquid ratios go up, the high end of our range will be in play...but that's a lot of IFs

Well over 12" in Bethesda already. And still the idiots are driving.

Power outage in Wheatland, VA; in between Purcellville and Lovettsville, VA. Parents reported being without power and I think they'll be out for at least 24 hours, if not longer.

OK...I have started taking pics from the front door every couple of hours to track the accumulation:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ksrgatorfn/sets/72157623236843651/

Kim in Manassas

I'm in Laurel very close to the PG/AA/Howard line and there's quite a buildup in my neighbourhood. About five inches, I'd suspect. It's very wet though, so I'm wondering about the totals.

It's also quite heavy. Trees not looking too good. I'm glad I thought about candles.

8" in Greenbelt at 9:30, but that feels high compared to everyone else's reports.

Snowfall rates have been going up steadily for me, from 1"/hr from 4:30 - 6:30, 1.5"/hr from 6:30 - 8:30, and 2"/hr for the 9:30 measurement.

Am worried about power and trees here, too. it's sticking to the power lines everywhere, but no flickering. This storm is very impressive, I must say.

@authorofpoetry

Build a giant snowman?

We have about 4" here near the Bay Bridge (AA County side)

Sue Palka just spoke about the storm deepening quicker and more intensely than forecasted. She hinted that 30" may be very common.

BRING IT ON!

Is this a nor'easter?

Rand - Ha! Maybe tomorrow my friend, but not the heck tonight!

It's interesting the wide differences in the storm in just a few miles. NE Montgomery County, no wind, 4-5" of snow. Bethesda 12" of snow? That's only 10 miles away.

I'm amazed at that difference.

Crofton, MD 9:50 6". That's an inch and a half in an hour.

And I just did what may be my last shovel session of the night and I can tell you its falling faster than you can shovel it.

I shoveled a stretch of about 50' in about 10 minutes and when I got to the end and turned around - it was all white again.

West Springfield: 9:45pm up to 8" now.

My friend just lost power in Springfield. For those wo have to be out...be safe.

@Camden-CWG,
Thanks for that tip. So, you think we may actually be getting some thundersnow? That would be cool.

This is really sticking on the trees downtown in Dupont:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vxsarin/4333260149/

Sleet/freezing rain blowing hard against the patio doors at the Harry Nice Bridge.

Jason- isn't it closer to 2.5 considering the little red streak coming from the east that goes right up to if not includes DC?

(I'm looking here btw: http://www.nco.ncep.noaa.gov/pmb/nwprod/analysis/namer/nam/00/images/nam_p48_048l.gif)

Ombudsman1 - just sunk a 12" ruler outside my back door and it completely disappeared. This is insane. And I love every second of it.

@midanae

I would say this is a NorEaster, but a little unconventional in that it's going to largely miss the Northeast (NYC and Boston).

2 inches in the last hour at DCA. 7 inches so far. http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/KDCA.html

@authorofpoetry

I've turned up the heat a little in case power does go. Give a little wiggle room.

C'mon storm, you've worn out your welcome. Get outta here.

This next wave of snow moving into DC in the next 45 minutes will be gnarly. Brace yourselves!!!

Just north of Del Ray - went out for a walk about 25 minutes ago, it's beautiful out there. 4-5 inches and coming down pretty good now. Snow is sticking to everything:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n204/esmith22015/Snowmageddon/IMG_2868.jpg
and I mean EVERYTHING:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n204/esmith22015/Snowmageddon/IMG_2873.jpg

If folks are including only new snowfall amounts, then disparity is amazing. I know my yard already had 3-4" from previous storms. So new snow of about 5", total depth of 8-9".

weatherdudeVA - Heavy, heavy snow in Lake Ridge. I'm measuring ~ 7 inches + so far.

I swear I just heard thunder in NW DC about 5 minutes ago. Anyone else hearing thunder?

Crazer, a lot of people on here get "snow fever" and report totals that are probably a little high. Although with the banding, there is possibility for wide disparity.

Decent and solid 8" of NEW SNOW in Thomas Circle, Mass Ave and 14th St

Here's the total in Oakton, VA as of 9:47 pm, almost 10":

http://www.weatherbook.com/snow_9_47pm_Feb5_web.jpg

Here's the total 2 hours earlier:

http://www.weatherbook.com/snow_7_46pm_Feb5_web.jpg

Experiencing frequent power outages in Fairfax County (Alexandria-South). Gone off, but back on, 12 times so far.

While I don't have any direct measurements, I'm in North Bethesda and can tell we have a ton of snow coming down. It's coming down fast and furiously. It's beginning to build up against the cars in the parking lot below - in a few hours, those cars look like they will be mere bumps.

Thank you ZmanVA! Knew I could count on you :)

When is this suppose to stop again? I've filled the tub in case we loose power as I doubt we won't get back on for days at this rate.

CWG, Do you guys think this will have more snow than the Dec. 19th storm? and if so, how much more?

Centreville, VA: 2 more inches of snow from 8:00 to 10:00, total so far 5.5" on the driveway and 9" on the sidewalk.

Our power went off for a minute here in the Alex/Ft. Belvoir area, but then came back on. Am turning up the heat, cooking some food from the freezer and making extra coffee for tomorrow.

I'm shocked at the number of thundersnow reports from this storm. With no CSI to work with it means that they're all due to forced ascent. This developing low must be deepening extremely fast!

Up to 7 inches now at National. http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/KDCA.html

Jason, I can't tell if I am hearing thunder or plows.

And when I was outside shoveling, I hear sirens the entire time.,

Wind is really picking up here, as is the snow.Maybe it will blow the snow off my dish so I can see the news....

Kim in Manassas

Southeastern Silver Spring: At 8:15 we went out to shovel. I measured 3 to 3.25 inches out front on the car and driveway. It had been snowing continuously for about 10 hours at that point but hadn't really accumulated until 2 or 3 pm or later. 90 minutes later, I estimate the first places we had shoveled had about 2 inches of fresh snow. The wind has gradually been picking up for the last 4 hours or so.

What is CSI and Forced Ascent?

Bad news, now sleet & rain in NW Sposty. Based on past history, don't b surpised if this goes up the 95 corridor, so Stafford, most of PWC & Fairfax, as well as Arlington, FC, Alex. & DC could c this change over. Really doubt that we will c more than 12" in this area.

9" in South Springfield, 31 degrees

That's some low forming in NC...tornado watch up now for the eastern part of the state. Shows how much warm air is being dragged into the system down there. Some impresive T-Storms on radar.

Just recently saw tornado warnings posted for a large portion of the NC coastline.

The four-story pine came down in the courtyard of my apartment complex. Wow.

We have about 7 inches in University Park, MD, and we did get thunder and lightning around 7:30pm.

Around 6"-7" in SE FfxCo/Belvoir area, snow pace and wind picking up, with lightning and a couple thundersnows witnessed around 9:45!

9 inches at 930pm in Fairfax City.

@VaTechBob, every storm you always say there will be less than everyone else. Talk to us tomorrow morning when there is 20 inches on the ground

10 PM- 7 inches down here near Dumfries. Not a hint of rain/sleet that I've seen (and I've been out in it or watching it faithfully). 31 degrees with intermittent gusty winds.

With the tornado watches and storms along the coast, will this rob the storm of some energy up this way?

@hereandnow1

Why fill up the tub?

(not snarking, actually curious)

Jason, have been listening for thunder but none here in Adams Morgan. Keeping my ear to the ground, as it were....

Wind is picking up here in Oakton, lots of swirling snow coming off the roof and trees. The wind has become audible, and it's hard to tell what's actually falling and what's drifting. Can't believe that we have the rest of the night still to come!

Off to go shovel so I don;t have to do it all in the AM, before I have to go in to work, ugh

Anyone else in NW DC / Georgetown want to walk outside and figure out what it's doing? On my trip I could tell (a) there's about 6" on the ground, (b) it's seriuosly blowing out of the Northeast,(c) a lot of something is coming down, and (d) it hurts. Everything on the ground looks like snow - and I don't want to introduce "doubt" about the all snow scenario... but when you're in it, it FEELS like snow, sleet and even freezing rain.

Inspired by others, here are my snow pictures from East Baltimore

http://www.flickr.com/photos/990square/sets/72157623361500902/

FYI here in Georgetown, there's nothing dramatic going on.

3 to 4 inches of wet gloppy snow.

In my garden, the areas under the table and chairs haven't even been covered yet -- bricks still visible.

I'm sure it's going to get worse, but so far, this is no big deal.

Temp has also gone up 1 degree in the last hr here in NW Spotys. Hopefully there will b a change over back 2 snow. Definetly won't c more than 12" in this area.

I'm curious about the tornado warnings that are popping up in North Carolina. Can you have a tornado in a snowstorm? Is that even possible? Does the low pressure deepening more quickly than expected and the formation of possible tornadoes, does that mean our winds and snow totals will increase?

SO WHAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE, EXPERTS?

My lay sense tells me this storm is not producing nearly the accumulation in DC due to a sleet-ish snow.

Correct?

WINDS ARE PICKING UP HERE AND STILL THAT CRAZY SLEET. BUT I THINK ITS GOING TO BE ALOT LESS SNOW FOR US DOWN THIS WAY

@megamuphen

Just a guess but maybe hereandnow gets their water from a well. ie if power goes, so does the pump.

@megamuphen: Well, we used to fill the tubs during storms in New England for hurricanes, can't remember if we filled them for major snowstorms... If the power went out over a widespread area, and the water pressure dropped (or if you couldn't be sure of it being clean) you had a limited amount that you could use for a bit. Our town had pumped water from public wells, so no power, no water.

Thanks Jason for responding. Just cleaned off the car around 9:25. I was fighting a losing battle as snow built up as soon as I could brush it off. I missed the thunder, though, in New Carrollton.

Just shoveled my smallish driveway in North Arlington (Westover) and I'm pretty sure another half an inch fell in the 15-20 minutes I was out there. Guessing about 5-6 inches so far. Enough wind to make it sting when you face it.

7 inches near Eisenhower Metro. Eisenhower Avenue is almost completely covered in snow. Haven't checked Duke Street, but I may make the hike over later on.

9" in Rockville at 10:00. 1.8" between 9 and 10:00. Lights keep flickering.

authorofpoetry - In Rockville with a little one myself and have been worried about this for days. The best advice I've found is to gather up all blankets and warm clothing, seal yourself in a warm part of the house, stuff towels under the doors and cover up the windows to preserve the heat. Make sure you and the kids keep eating high-calorie foods. If it comes to this and power can't be restored quickly, I'll also check in with the Red Cross or police to see if there are any local shelters we could get to.

You can start to see some rotation in thunderstorms developing over eastern NC. Not exactly sure if that is the coastal low forming, but maybe...

Just under 10" of new snowfall in Dunn Loring (22027) at 10:15, so almost 1.5" hour right now. Almost time to abandon the ruler... where the heck did we put that yardstick??

North Centreville (28 at Braddock/Walney) update:

Made a valiant effort to clear my townhouse parking spots, and was defeated.

Observations:

1) Saw the sky light up a few times but heard no thunder.

2) Unlike other areas, the snow here is powdery and dense - packs well with very little moisture, probably excellent ski snow, the kind you can carve into perfect blocks. It's the squeaky kind of snow, if you know what I mean. It is really piling up fast. It is very dry outside.

3) Wind is also picking up a good deal.

4) I expected to find slush underneath this first batch - there is none.

5) So glad my neighbors and I got rid of those awful Bradford Pears last year in front of our townhouses.

Cannot imagine where we're going to put it all tomorrow, though. It's already a bit overwhelming out there.

Reston, VA 10" (might be more but I'm being conservative...several spots (cleared before the storm) showed 12" but I bet that's from wind/trees)...winds are gusting from time to time...took my dog for a walk and had a quick white-out moment...saw a tree branch on a car (not a good sign)...have a hard time believing 4"-5" in DC...are you measuring over a vent???

Seven inches as of 10PM here in Eldersburg. Snowing heavily; two inches in the last hour. The wind is starting to pick up.

Just finished clearing the driveway and sidewalk in Huntington. It was not snowing heavily when I came in 15 minutes ago. However, I DID see some flashes in the sky (lightning?). As for thunder, all I'm hearing is plows and emergency sirens - lots of 'em.

About 8 or 9 inches in Ballston/Arlington and snowing like mad.

I just pray the power stays on.

Was a final hashtag decided? Anyway, two shovelings are done. Very heavy and squishy. ~6-7 new inches (on top of the old snow which may be compacting) in Olney. I have a stick in the front yard with 12, 18, 24, etc marks on it so this is my best guess from inside a currently toasty house. I cannot see some of the back porch furniture. I have been shoving open the back door hard every couple of hours to make sure we have an extra escape route if needed.

If you lose power you may want to leave the fridge/freezer closed for a while, but unlike hurricanes, you can use the outside/snow as your icebox! No reason for total spoilage, at least not for a few days. Just do not cool down the house too much sticking stuff outside and bringing it back in.

Power outages still on the rise, especially in FFX County. Good suggestions dc121 as to prepping for possible loss of electricity.

http://www.dom.com/storm-center/northva.jsp

Interesting about pressure and migraine.

I had a migraine "aura" -- funny zig-zagging backwards "C" in my field of vision for 10 minutes -- earlier this evening.

Haven't had one for years, and I was wondering why it happened.

Glad I don't get the headache.

I just hiked a 3 mile perimeter within the 21046 region (Columbia MD, immediately adjacent & east of Rt 29), and found 5"-7" of new snow consistently (let's call it 6").

Regardless of whether we break the inches record, I suspect the level of tree carnage could be historic. The snow is sticking to even the smallest diameter branches at depths & weights far out of proportion to their sizes, surprisingly clinging tight even when wind gusts shake the trees with enough force that I would've thought would dislodge the snow. Evergreens in particular are bowed low with already considerable weight. (Overhead wires too are accumulating quite an impressive coating.)

Just out of curiousity, I test-bumped some boughs and branches of various diameters and tree types, to see how much force would be required to dislodge the weight on them; even after successfully discovering that threshold (dumping the majority of the buildup), they still retained a sizeable coating, which felt icy or partly iced onto the trees.

I did hear one large tree/bough break; I would guess 6"-8" diameter branch.

I suspect tomorrow we could have as much or more issues with deadwood removal than from snow.

But it sure is pretty (& quiet) out there.

8" at 9:45 in Woodbridge, falling at about 2" an hour based on the recoverage on the sidewalk while we were out shoveling and building a giant snowman. There was none of the slushy underlayer reported by other posters. Snow was still pretty fluffy and easy to move. Temperature holding here at about 31.8. No sleet seen so far. Wind is starting to pick up.

Eight inches of new snow accumulation in my part of Adams Morgan, snow intermittently heavy. No blizzard conditions yet.

Judging from the snow on the roof of my car, about 8" in Germantown.

@tsqnova, the temperatures in the Tornado Watch zone in North Carolina are in the 50s and 60s.

@ AlexBike

I'm a couple of miles south of Huntington Station, but i'm hearing lots of sirens as well.

Sky just lit up an incredible shade of green! Never seen anything like it! Also helped a neighbor get back to his house (why is he driving?)

Shoveling on the hour, and it's tough.

Was right around 9" here in Cleveland Park at 10p.. incredible evening so far.

A solid seven+ inches here in McLean. The wind is gusting and I've seen several electrical related light flashes that made the entire area around my house glow this crazy blue-green color. Power has also flickered off and on several times. Hopefully it stays on, I have several tropical birds that really shouldn't be kept in an area below 65 degrees.

@DrewinAlexandria
I don't think I'm too far from you in Alex. We have a pine tree - that lost a big branch in the Dec. storm - which I now have heard at least 4 cracks from falling branches so far this evening. Roommates and I looked out the window and determined that it's leaning closer to the building. Right outside the dining room window - at worst, it won't hit any of our bedrooms (sigh)

Snow is now swirling and generally blowing like crazy outside. Wish the pics I have been taking could truly capture what I am seeing outside right now...)

Just uploaded a few more...

Kim in Manassas

Estimating about 4-5 inches in SW DC. It's still falling as a wet mix of sleet and snow...

Some good tips from Dominion regarding power outages.

http://www.dom.com/storm-center/storm-preparation-tips.jsp

moderate sized tree limb just fell at the base of my bedroom window in silver spring. im worried about this tree making it through the night. i dont know what kind of tree it is, but it has still has its leaves on it, and there fat and thick and catching all the snow.

pretty gusty here in silvere spring with 7 to 8 inches. at one point the snow actually appeared to lift and blow upwards from the top of the trees, followed right after by lightening which made the sky look green for a couple seconds.

Question: why are the flakes are so small with this storm?

My neighbors with puny single stage 2-strokes are out there all night trying to keep the snow accumulations on the long access road under the 8" they can handle.

I have a monster tracked snow thrower that will clear it out in about 30 minutes. I just feel like enjoying the snow tonight.

If these kinds of winters are going to happen all the time, I will be getting a snow-thrower for the John Deere!

In Springfield... just measured our back deck.... looked to be about 9" @ 10:15p. Though it is soooo WINDY - so I fully expect that is not an accurate measurement.

Hubby & I shoveled our driveway, neighbor's driveway, front sidewalks and front decks... we are POOPED!

Lost power at 10PM. Generator running but I don't have enough juice to run the furnace. I can at least run water. I hope it won't get too cold to freeze the pipes. I wonder how long it will take to get power again. We saw fuzes in several cans blow. Could be out a while till they physically come by.

@dlo1975:

your wife wishes that there was seven inches in Eldersburg.

It's about 9" here in the north of the City of Fairfax, 16" in the backyard, including the old snow.

I don't get the comments about the accumulations not being what was expected. I don't know where you are, but here in Logan Circle the snow rate is absolutely intense, and there is easily between 6-8" on the ground. Considering that it's 10:30, and the heaviest snow is to continue throughout the night for at least the next 6-8 hours, with consistently moderate snow throughout the day after that, the projections of 16"-26" are right on target. We're easily on pace to hit the 16" mark here in the middle of the city, and 20" would not be at all surprising.

Not sure what all this talk of sleet in the city is all about. Here on Mass. Ave and 14th NW we've been snow the ENTIRE TIME. 8.5 fresh snow in the circle right now - CANNOT see the traffic lights 2 blocks away.

Agree about sleet in DC, at least NW -- we haven't had any since the snow started in earnest late this afternoon.

coming down hard and blowing around like crazy here in Derwood. I have heard some loud branches snapping in a row of ever greens behind my house. I can't even imagine what the morning will be like if this keeps up all night.

@ultrapop101,
I think big storms like this can skew some people's perception. It's snowing like mad and most of already have at least half a foot. We are still basically at the beginning of this storm. I guess some people were thinking that we would get 25 inches in like 3 hours???

We lost power in Montgomery Village; went out around 7:00 (just at the start of the Caps game) and came back on at 10:17. I'm quite grateful to the Pepco workers who were out in this to get us back up so quickly. I hope they are working safely tonight!

Just got back inside after two hours of shoveling. The snow turned to a wind-driven sleet hitting me the face. What an incredibly nasty night. I am thinking spring...

@murre

I should've been clearer. I know that the current temps are in the 50s/60s in North Carolina where the tornadoes are. Does the tornado possibility down there affect the probability of a more intense storm up here in DC?

My second question -- unrelated to NC's current temps -- are tornadoes even possible in snow? With thundersnow and tropical storm-force winds in a blizzard, is it possible for snow bands to start rotating?

@notdlo1975:

6 3/4 is pretty close. You have 9" inches there in Northern VA? Of snow?

about 8 inches in bethesda, md at 10:30. lights keep flickering. power line on the street is half way down from the ground. i doubt we will make it through the storm without loosing power over here. eh. HYATT ON SPEED DIAL

DONT YOU JUST LOVE THE SNOW??!!!

Our internet connection a bit shoddy so sorry if I am repeating something already stated.

My folks are in Ft Hunt area (alex) and have been w/o power since 9:30 ish. We were outside (we are in Old Town) earlier, shoveling, built the bottom of a snowman...just rolled the snow into a ball...can't tell we were even out.

Going to go pack a bag for work...waiting for the call I am sure is coming by the sound of things...

There was some definite lightning and thunder here in Crystal City at about 10:35pm. I've never heard nor seen either during a snowstorm in my life.

But oddly enough, the snow doesn't seem to be falling all that rapidly.

Capitol Hill, wind came around to the northeast about an hour ago and has been blowing moderately hard sinec. Lots of snow, almost horizontal, close to white out...very impressive storm right now. I hope it gets wilder in the next few hours. Two teenagers in the house, increasingly discouraged after two rounds of shoveling. Working their way down the block to help out the neighbors they turn around and can hardly tell they've done everything it's coming down so hard. About 1.5" per hour. I shoveled out the bus stop about 10 pm, a bus driver watched me finish, walked over, said, "Thanks, but we just shut down the buses." The only traffic on Pennsylvania Ave SE now are plows and salt trucks, occasional cop or fire truck, and wierdly, lots of taxicabs.

All you snowlovers happy now? Power outages, freezing houses, accidents... yeah, this is FANTASTIC. And it's not even midnight yet.

Gossamer beauty my butt.

@ DLO1975 In some parts of NOVA, yes...we not only have 9" but around 10-11"...of BRAND NEW SNOW...we've been getting ONLY snow so far at this point...and it is only getting more intense...of course DCA will say 5" though...making it seem like nothing happened yet.

Saw lightning in Chevy Chase, DC at ~10:45 while shoveling.

yetanotherpassword: Power outages, heating/AC outages and accidents happen even on the most beautiful of spring days, yet most people enjoy those (and even look forward to them) too. In April I hope if you ask the spring lovers if they're happy.

Fairfax County (Alexandria-South). I am seeing frequent cloud-to-cloud lightning.

9" in Oakton

Crofton, MD 10:50 - 8"

That's 2" in the last hour.

Its coming down pretty strong now.

Wrong weatherdude.

If you're referring to spring storms, they're isolated in nature. Even tornadoes are limited in what damage they inflict on an area level.

This is a winter hurricane. Widespread damage. Worst kind of storm possible.

8 inches now outside here in Manassas...which means I am averaging about 2" an hour right now. At least I am now 8" ahead in the shoveling department compared to my neighbors...

Kim in Manassas

Just finished another round with the shovel and since my last post 9:34, we have picked up 2" here in the City of Manassas. Walked out to Wellington Road to see what kind of shape it was in, not bad, but the walk back was painful since it was into the wind and the snow.

Spring and Password...why are you blaming snowlovers for this weather? It isn't like they had anything to do with it...they are just making the best out of the situation Mother Nature has dealt us.

If you want to complain, have a discussion with someone who actually makes the weather...not the folks who enjoy it.

Kim in manassas

Topper just said the storm really hasn't peaked yet. Is it slowing down/stalling over us?

New Post.

We've seen solid snowfall and heavy winds at the east Falls Church/Arlington borderline for at least six hours now. I've never seen snow fall this fast and furious! I haven't ventured out to measure, but I'd guess about 6-10 inches so far with no signs of letting up anytime soon. No power scares, but we've been eying a snow-laden tree leaning very heavily towards our car and apartment!

1/8 S+ here in downtown as the banding comes through. At least the first yellow band is OK, very heavy snow (that indeed does look like the 1983 storm at its height). See at least two others coming on the raw radar. No sleet, please! Only 6.5 inches by my best measure at 1030, certainly more now. Don't know how 300 sq ft has 8.5 just three blocks away.

300 sq ft--I'd like to see how we are getting such a difference. I'm sure it is sampling, and I'm happy to be wrong--the wind is really whipping things around and could be biasing me low...though I have rooftop sheltered area with a table that has the 6.5.

New post is up.

As of 11:16 pm in Shepherd Park, we have received 9 1/4" of snow so far, and it looks like the the fun is just beginning!

Just got done with Shovel - the Sequel.

10" on top of my car in Silver Spring (Four Corners area). 9.5" in the street. Don't have a good place on my lawn where I had cleared down to bare grass to measure.

Near blizzard conditions here in Camp Springs, MD. Gusts of wind out of the NE is significantly reducing visibility. Over 10" has already fallen in this neck of the woods. No sign of letting up anytime soon. Already shoveled once, and the snow is heavy with liquid content. I think at least 20" is a given.

Tell me Bob Ryan didn't raise the maximum snow in the Shenandoah Valley to 40 inches!

how is that globel warming working out for d.c. they need to invite al gore down for a snow cone.