Thursday, February 25, 2010
Getting snowed on a lot!
For the 3rd week in a row, I am heading home tomorrow. Weeks 1 and 2 were spent in Arlington, Virginia (across the river from Washington DC). This week was spent in Montreal, Canada. There were very few weekdays in the last 3 weeks where I didn't get snowed on. Pretty unusual for a Southern California boy!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Heading Home
The sun has been shining for the last two days, so the roads are at least somewhat usable. People obviously returned to work today because there was a LOT of traffic on the roads this morning.
My flight is scheduled to leave on time direct back to Southern California, so no problems there. I am headed to the airport right after I post this entry. I am returning next week just as a new snow storm arrives. No one is sure, but it looks smaller than the last one.
Here are some follow up photos from my hotel room window from yesterday and today. The car that I was watching is slowly starting to melt out from under a pile of snow!
My flight is scheduled to leave on time direct back to Southern California, so no problems there. I am headed to the airport right after I post this entry. I am returning next week just as a new snow storm arrives. No one is sure, but it looks smaller than the last one.
Here are some follow up photos from my hotel room window from yesterday and today. The car that I was watching is slowly starting to melt out from under a pile of snow!
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.
