Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Snowed In
I am working in Arlington, Virginia this week - across the Potomoc from Washington DC. For the first time in my life, I can use the words "snowed in" to describe my condition. As I have documented, my company has sent me to some cold places over the last 2+ years. However, the snowfall here beats anything from my prior trips.
The Washington DC area is getting historical amounts of snow this year. Last weekend they were hit hard with airports and roads closed, people stuck in homes or businesses, etc.
They cleaned it up enough so that those, like myself, that don't know any better could fly in to the area on Monday. Tuesday afternoon the next storm came in. Today they are having "near blizzard" conditions.
Don't get me wrong - me and my coworkers are fine at our hotel. However, the customer has closed their office for the day and the authorities are urging people to stay off the roads. Due to that, I am working from my hotel room today. With an internet connection and a phone, I can be just as effective as I can from my office or home for most things that I need to do.
The hotel that I am at is fine, but does not have a restaurant. They had a continential breakfast, but no other meals are offered. In this weather, there is nothing in a reasonable walking distance. However, the rooms do have full kitchens. Keeping those facts in mind, we all hit a grocery store last night and brought lunch and dinner good to keep in our refrigerator. No problems there!
Naturally, I took a few pictures with the camera on my phone. I wanted to document the level of snow that we got.
The 3 pictures below are all taken from my hotel room. The first was taken today at around 8:00am, the second at around 9:30am, and the last at around 12:15pm. They are basically the same angle. In each photo, there is a parked car near the bottom of the picture. You see less of it as time goes by. Also, you can see that my room window is clear in the first photo and has more snow on it in the following photos.
My impression of my first blizzard-like conditions? Much less impressive than I expected. If I were out in it, I would definitely be miserable. That is not my point. I really expected to see heavy snowfall and more accumulation of snow on the ground. The snow is not done, but should finish by tonight. I think that the heaviest of it is behind us now.
I do take it very seriously. Here are some excerpts from the weather service winter storm warning:
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE OCCURRING. DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE. THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING SITUATION FOR ANYONE WHO BECOMES STRANDED.
FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS... MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL... HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED... STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.
PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED NOT TO PANIC... BUT TO SIMPLY STAY INSIDE... ENJOY YOUR FAVORITE INDOOR ACTIVITIES... AND RIDE THIS STORM OUT... THE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS WILL BE IMPROVING LATER THIS EVENING.
IF YOU GET STRANDED IN YOUR VEHICLE... DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO WALK FOR ASSISTANCE... YOU CAN QUICKLY BECOME DISORIENTED IN WIND DRIVEN SNOW AND COLD. THIS STORM WILL SUBSIDE EARLY THIS EVENING... SO WAIT IN YOUR CAR FOR EMERGENCY HELP TO ARRIVE.
PERIODICALLY RUN YOUR ENGINE FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES EACH HOUR FOR HEAT. ENSURE YOUR EXHAUST PIPE IS CLEARED OF SNOW AND ICE. CRACK YOUR WINDOWS TO AVOID CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING. TIE A COLORED CLOTH TO YOUR CARS ANTENNA OR WINDOW TO BE VISIBLE TO RESCUERS. FROM TIME-TO-TIME... MOVE YOUR ARMS... LEGS... FINGERS... AND TOES TO KEEP BLOOD CIRCULATING.
The Washington DC area is getting historical amounts of snow this year. Last weekend they were hit hard with airports and roads closed, people stuck in homes or businesses, etc.
They cleaned it up enough so that those, like myself, that don't know any better could fly in to the area on Monday. Tuesday afternoon the next storm came in. Today they are having "near blizzard" conditions.
Don't get me wrong - me and my coworkers are fine at our hotel. However, the customer has closed their office for the day and the authorities are urging people to stay off the roads. Due to that, I am working from my hotel room today. With an internet connection and a phone, I can be just as effective as I can from my office or home for most things that I need to do.
The hotel that I am at is fine, but does not have a restaurant. They had a continential breakfast, but no other meals are offered. In this weather, there is nothing in a reasonable walking distance. However, the rooms do have full kitchens. Keeping those facts in mind, we all hit a grocery store last night and brought lunch and dinner good to keep in our refrigerator. No problems there!
Naturally, I took a few pictures with the camera on my phone. I wanted to document the level of snow that we got.
The 3 pictures below are all taken from my hotel room. The first was taken today at around 8:00am, the second at around 9:30am, and the last at around 12:15pm. They are basically the same angle. In each photo, there is a parked car near the bottom of the picture. You see less of it as time goes by. Also, you can see that my room window is clear in the first photo and has more snow on it in the following photos.
My impression of my first blizzard-like conditions? Much less impressive than I expected. If I were out in it, I would definitely be miserable. That is not my point. I really expected to see heavy snowfall and more accumulation of snow on the ground. The snow is not done, but should finish by tonight. I think that the heaviest of it is behind us now.
I do take it very seriously. Here are some excerpts from the weather service winter storm warning:
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE OCCURRING. DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE. THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING SITUATION FOR ANYONE WHO BECOMES STRANDED.
FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS... MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL... HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED... STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.
PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED NOT TO PANIC... BUT TO SIMPLY STAY INSIDE... ENJOY YOUR FAVORITE INDOOR ACTIVITIES... AND RIDE THIS STORM OUT... THE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS WILL BE IMPROVING LATER THIS EVENING.
IF YOU GET STRANDED IN YOUR VEHICLE... DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO WALK FOR ASSISTANCE... YOU CAN QUICKLY BECOME DISORIENTED IN WIND DRIVEN SNOW AND COLD. THIS STORM WILL SUBSIDE EARLY THIS EVENING... SO WAIT IN YOUR CAR FOR EMERGENCY HELP TO ARRIVE.
PERIODICALLY RUN YOUR ENGINE FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES EACH HOUR FOR HEAT. ENSURE YOUR EXHAUST PIPE IS CLEARED OF SNOW AND ICE. CRACK YOUR WINDOWS TO AVOID CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING. TIE A COLORED CLOTH TO YOUR CARS ANTENNA OR WINDOW TO BE VISIBLE TO RESCUERS. FROM TIME-TO-TIME... MOVE YOUR ARMS... LEGS... FINGERS... AND TOES TO KEEP BLOOD CIRCULATING.
# posted by - Rob @ 9:21 AM 
Comments:
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I was going to make a snarky comment about global warming, but NOAA came out with a press release explaining the difference between 'weather' and 'climate'. So, while the weather in DC may be miserable cold, rest assured that the climate is unbearably hot and getting hotter. The oceans have risen a lot too but fortunately so have all the land masses so we're OK for now.
Two 'hotspots' I really like in the DC area, close to Metro stations, if you can get out. "The Zoo Place", (across from the zoo) good live blues music; and in Adam's Morgan there's a place called "Madam's Organ": another great live music venue. I heard something about some museums, too.
Two 'hotspots' I really like in the DC area, close to Metro stations, if you can get out. "The Zoo Place", (across from the zoo) good live blues music; and in Adam's Morgan there's a place called "Madam's Organ": another great live music venue. I heard something about some museums, too.
Glad you're safe. It's gonna be a pain to get all the flights out again.
Maybe you should do a train trip instead :)
Maybe you should do a train trip instead :)
Flights out are not expected to be a problem on Friday. My timing was almost like it was planned. I got in on the one full day that the airport was open and I am leaving at the end of the day after two days of sunshine.
As for a train, I imagine that it would be a long and expensive trip. I am surprised at how expensive train travel is - at least the trips that I have checked out.
Regarding the "...ENCOURAGED NOT TO PANIC..." quote, they forgot the part about a towel.
Regarding the hot spots in DC, I doubt that I will get any time actually in the city this week. There is just too much snow still. Maybe next week when I come back.
We literally had to dig out this morning and help push it out of the parking spot. That helped remind me of a reason that I live where I live!
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As for a train, I imagine that it would be a long and expensive trip. I am surprised at how expensive train travel is - at least the trips that I have checked out.
Regarding the "...ENCOURAGED NOT TO PANIC..." quote, they forgot the part about a towel.
Regarding the hot spots in DC, I doubt that I will get any time actually in the city this week. There is just too much snow still. Maybe next week when I come back.
We literally had to dig out this morning and help push it out of the parking spot. That helped remind me of a reason that I live where I live!
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