"Snow Storm"

Snow!

I can't say we didn't know what we were getting into when we moved here.  In February 2010, we visited my brother-in-law during "Snowmageddon".  That time, DC got over 32 inches of snow during a two-part snowstorm.  We were on one of the first flights into Reagan National after the airport was reopened and after the government had been shut down for an entire week - due to 20 of the 32 inches of snow.  I happened to switch flights on the way home to an earlier one and ended up escaping just before the second snow wave pummeled the capital.  We had arrived from Minnesota and North Dakota, and the amount of snow that shut down DC for a week was laughable.  So, even before we moved here, we knew that DC is filled with a bunch of wusses.

Last winter, the only accumulating snow occurred on January 9th.  For one glorious evening, we had enough snow to build a small snowman that was melted by the time we left for the bus the next morning.

This past Wednesday was going to be the next big one.  The weather channel had a name for it, but everyone in DC simply called it Snowquester, after the furlough period that started last week.  One headline declared it the biggest snowfall in two years.  By the time we left work on Tuesday, everyone knew that the next day would be a "telecommuting only" sort of day.  The government is incredibly good at shutting down the commute if any hint of weather is possible.  It is a good safety measure given that we have the worst traffic congestion in the United States.

The build-up for 5-8 inches of snow was very exciting and we scrabbled to put together a makeshift sled for Alison made out of the lid from one of our storage containers.  In the morning on Wednesday, we did actually have snow!  Maybe two inches of it, but it was also....raining?  Then it snowed, then it rained, then, well, I don't know what was happening. We went out at lunch and built the wettest snowman I've ever seen.  We tried to sled down the hill in the backyard, but couldn't go more than a foot without stopping in the mud.

Grandma & Alison Getting Ready to Play

Alison in the Snow

Snowman

Grandma's Snowsaurus

 By Thursday afternoon all that was left were lonely snowmen in every front yard with their hats and eyes strewn about and their bodies sagging.  The Capital Weather Gang summed up the whole experience nicely with their Ode to Snowquester. 

At least Alison will know what snow is as she grows older, she just won't know what it means to have a real snow storm.