Snow Is Going to Get Bad
This just arrived from Alert Montgomery (a service I strongly recommend, by the way, I get it sent to my email and my cell phone):
Earlier this afternoon:
Washington DC offices of the federal government are closed tomorrow (Tuesday). OPM's web site has crashed under the pressure of all these federal employees and contractors wondering if they're going to work in the morning, it's one of those government things that only works when you don't need it. But WTOP carries the announcements, too.
This is ten to twenty inches of snow on top of 24 inches or more that is still on the ground. We finally got our last car dug out today. The sidewalk is clear in front of our house, but the plows piled snow higher than the top of my head at the end of the block, so though you can walk on the sidewalk you can't get to it, or get off it.
I was able to rescue the trash and recycle bins along the street, where they were when the storm hit -- the trash can was visible, I had to guess which peak in the snow mountain range was the recycle container, I poked the shovel around and there it was! Even on major roads you are driving on a crust of snow, and people are walking in the middle of the street. There are potholes and places that have not been cleared, cars are jumping from lane to lane to avoid the messes, your brakes might stop you and they might not and that goes for the guy behind you, too. It's beautiful, trees highlighted in white, all things wrapped in a serene blanket, but it will definitely make you live an alternative lifestyle, so to speak, one where you stay indoors a lot.
Have you been in a grocery store? It's funny but it's not funny, empty shelves.
Look out for your neighbors, and don't try to go anywhere, okay? You can't drive in this stuff, and there will be serious emergencies, the fire department doesn't need to be pulling your twisted-up wreck out of a snowdrift just because you were stupid. Plan on the electricity going out, know where a flashlight is, put batteries in it now.
This looks like it could be a serious event, a big storm coming in on the back of a really big storm. If you're ready for it, if you're cool, if you stay indoors, you'll be fine. It's just snow. Some trees will fall, some roofs will collapse, some cars will run off the road, we can handle that. Let's take it seriously and help each other out as the weather forces converge to bury us in white stuff again.
Winter Storm Update from Montgomery County
Since early Monday, all Montgomery County efforts have been fully focused on 4,128 miles of neighborhood roads – divided into 140 plow routes – with workers and machinery laboring around-the-clock to clear the snow as soon as possible.
Thousands still remain without power and hundreds of trees are down. The County continues to work closely with PEPCO to provide them with the snowplows, tree crews, and other assistance they need to restore service.
The shelter at Richard Montgomery High School, 250 Richard Montgomery Drive in Rockville, remains open. Transport to the center is being handled by County volunteers with 4-wheel-drive vehicles and by Maryland National Guard members. Medical emergency calls continue to be handled by Fire & Rescue.
Montgomery County government will be open tomorrow, Tuesday, February 9, for normal operations, with liberal leave for employees.
Ride On buses will operate on an “S” schedule on Tuesday. Parking enforcement in County garages and parking lots will remain suspended through Thursday. County liquor stores will be open. The Solid Waste Transfer Station will close at 5 PM on Tuesday.
Given piles of plowed snow along streets and at intersections, County officials urge motorists and pedestrians to continue to exercise extreme caution. Residents should continue to check in on friends and neighbors to make sure they are all right.
If there is an emergency, County residents should call 911. Please do not call 911 with snow plowing questions, as that delays responses to emergency calls. For snow calls, call 240-777-6000 or email highway@montgomerycountymd.gov. To volunteer with a 4-wheel drive vehicle, call 240-777-2600.
Earlier this afternoon:
Another major winter storm expected tomorrow [Tuesday] with 10-20" of snowfall possible. This amount of snowfall may cause roof collapses in some areas. Roads will become extremely dangerous and travel should be discouraged. Additional power outages are likely. Event onset is around noon tomorrow and travel may become extremely difficult if not impossible tomorrow.
The National Weather Service has upgraded the Winter Storm Watch to a WINTER STORM WARNING. This Warning is effective until Wednesday.
A WINTER STORM WARNING means that significant amounts of snow, sleet, or freezing rain are expected or are occurring in the warned area.
Travel disruptions within the County and region are likely as roads quickly become snow covered and icy. Caution should be used during any travel and please remain alert for ongoing plow/salt operations. Deteriorating weather conditions are now imminent in the next 24hrs
Please visit http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgtmpl.asp?url=/Content/PIO/emergency/snow.asp to keep updated on county services, traffic information, and school closings.
Washington DC offices of the federal government are closed tomorrow (Tuesday). OPM's web site has crashed under the pressure of all these federal employees and contractors wondering if they're going to work in the morning, it's one of those government things that only works when you don't need it. But WTOP carries the announcements, too.
This is ten to twenty inches of snow on top of 24 inches or more that is still on the ground. We finally got our last car dug out today. The sidewalk is clear in front of our house, but the plows piled snow higher than the top of my head at the end of the block, so though you can walk on the sidewalk you can't get to it, or get off it.
I was able to rescue the trash and recycle bins along the street, where they were when the storm hit -- the trash can was visible, I had to guess which peak in the snow mountain range was the recycle container, I poked the shovel around and there it was! Even on major roads you are driving on a crust of snow, and people are walking in the middle of the street. There are potholes and places that have not been cleared, cars are jumping from lane to lane to avoid the messes, your brakes might stop you and they might not and that goes for the guy behind you, too. It's beautiful, trees highlighted in white, all things wrapped in a serene blanket, but it will definitely make you live an alternative lifestyle, so to speak, one where you stay indoors a lot.
Have you been in a grocery store? It's funny but it's not funny, empty shelves.
Look out for your neighbors, and don't try to go anywhere, okay? You can't drive in this stuff, and there will be serious emergencies, the fire department doesn't need to be pulling your twisted-up wreck out of a snowdrift just because you were stupid. Plan on the electricity going out, know where a flashlight is, put batteries in it now.
This looks like it could be a serious event, a big storm coming in on the back of a really big storm. If you're ready for it, if you're cool, if you stay indoors, you'll be fine. It's just snow. Some trees will fall, some roofs will collapse, some cars will run off the road, we can handle that. Let's take it seriously and help each other out as the weather forces converge to bury us in white stuff again.
posted by JimK at 10:49 PM
36 Comments:
So Jim you are still up.
So am I.
I had 5 teenagers here for 3 evenings straight (my daughters friends) and when she realized today (after blowing through 100 bucks of groceries) I wasn't going to the grocery again they all took off for another Mom's house...
Now I just have 2 teenagers (my son and his friend). He was missing during the past 3 evenings camped out at his friends house (hey what goes around comes around..)
I seriously want an answer to my earlier question.. does it help to knock the snow off the trees... I have at LEAST 10 large over 40 foot pines... does anyone know ? I have been googling and the only thing I see is don't get near snow laden trees because they could fall on you... okay I get it.. but does it help to knock the snow off ? I am willing to go do this if it helps... the snow falls all over you and the trees seem to pop up more, but of course the top branches are still loaded.. so it might make it worse.
I have 5 pines down already, one branch took out a beautiful 10 foot rhodendron (sp)...
I would like to try and help keep more from coming down if possible !
Okay at first this was fun but now this is getting a bit ridiculous.
Tuesday morning, still no snowplow on my street. The surrounding blocks got plowed overnight, but that doesn't help us get our cars out of the driveway, or prepare for today's storm and another five days of immobility.
What search terms were you using? I found this Examiner article in about a minute.
The pros and cons of snow in the garden
It seems that snow has blanketed the Maryland landscape almost every week this winter. While there are drawbacks to snow, it can benefit your garden. Snow can provide both protection and moisture for some plants. However, trees, shrubs and lawns can become damaged by heavy snow. A few precautions will ensure that the snow does not damage more plants than it helps.
A layer of snow protects the garden by insulating the ground and keeping the temperature close to the freezing point. This will protect spring bulbs and the roots of perennials from extreme cold. A consistent temperature is important because a repeated cycle of thawing and freezing will injure the root systems of plants. While ice is bad for plants, snow tends to be lighter and full of air, which helps to hold the heat in the ground. Snow also provides moisture, but not as much as the same number of inches of rain. A light, fluffy snow actually carries little water, due to the amount of air in the snowflakes. A foot of heavy, wet snow is equated to about an inch of rain. Though, a blanket of snow can help preserve moisture in the ground and keep plants from drying out in the harsh winter winds.
Heavy wet snow can damage trees, shrubs and lawns. If a tree branch looks overburdened, go out and shake the snow off of the endangered limbs only. Use a rake or a broom to reach up. Stay out of the way in case the branches break or heavy snow comes cascading down and only do this if it looks like an important limb is destined to break. If snow has pushed over shrubs, position them back into place with ropes once the snow melts. While sledding is an exciting winter activity, avoid walking on or sledding on grass if you are concerned about how your lawn will look once the snow melts. Such activities can damage the turf and it will look unsightly during the early muddy days of spring. Otherwise, enjoy the snow, as it will protect some plants even if it damages others.
For more info: Please subscribe to receive new articles regularly by clicking on the “subscribe” button at the top of this article. Contact the Baltimore Gardening Examiner by emailing baltogardener@gmail.com. Follow baltogardener on Twitter.
I do have to say... it is nice living in a Cul du sac with very butch lesbians with snow plows :)
What would we do without them!?
Andrea- not anon
The plows came to us late last night and today we went to the Giant- where we were able to get milk and eggs and some vegetables- things we actually use.
My daughter, living in always snowy Wisconsin, called to see if we were ok- given the news stories about DC snow and her knowledge of our street being the last to be plowed.
another column in the Obama temple crumbles:
"Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform.
The emerging consensus among critics in both chambers is that Emanuel’s lack of Senate experience slowed President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.
The share of the blame comes as cracks are beginning to show in Emanuel’s once-impregnable political armor. Last week he had to apologize after a report surfaced that he called liberal groups “retarded” in a private meeting.
While Emanuel has quelled that controversy by meeting with advocates for people with disabilities, on Capitol Hill he’s under fire for poor execution of the president’s healthcare agenda in the Senate.""
Sarah Palin proved today to be a defender of political correctness no matter which side of aisle the assault comes from, ripping Rush Limbaugh for his use of “retard.” However, while the former Alaska governor, and mother of a special-needs child, “believes crude and demeaning name calling at the expense of others is disrespectful,” a staffer tells Greg Sargent, she doesn’t want Limbaugh fired—unlike White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who first provoked her ire.
What'd Rush say?
"Our political correct society is acting like some giant insults taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards" and "I think their big news is he's out there calling Obama's number one supporters f'ing retards. So now there's going to be a meeting. There's going to be a retard summit at the White House".
Snomageddon from Space
That is a cool satellite photo. And here comes the snow again ...
JimK
I just stopped by the CRC website, and noticed that most of their recent posts are libelous and slanderous (and very extreme) attacks on Kevin Jennings, the Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education for Safe Schools. They are obsessed with him, and make outrageous claims in their screeds.
I've known Kevin Jennings for several years, spoken to him many times, and have been a witness at a number of presentations he has given. I've been a volunteer for a decade with GLSEN, the organization he founded and led for quite some time.
I have nothing but the utmost respect for and liking of Kevin.
I know there's a commandment about lying, but there must be some sort of exception clause for lies about lgbt people which wasn't printed in my copies of scripture. What would Jesus do?
That's interesting, Robert. This morning we got a comment on a 2005 thread where the person said "You freaks need to put down like sick dogs. Kevin Jennings "fisting" curriculum must have been written from the personal experience of the whores who dare call themselves teachers." I deleted the comment but had not realized that the nuts are fixating so much on Jennings.
JimK
Rush was quoting Rahm Emanuel, who was calling Democrats retards.
Sarah Palin was wrong to get mad at Rahm Emanuel, as I don't think that Emanuel did anything wrong. He could just as well have said "idiots."
Sarah was also wrong to get mad at Rush, who was simply spoofing off of Emanuel, and his spoof was very funny.
If you think that a government official did something wrong, though, it's much more appropriate to call for that person's resignation, than to call for the resignation of a private citizen like Rush Limbaugh.
LIMBAUGH: Our politically correct society is acting like a giant insult‘s taken place by calling a bunch of people who are "retards," “retards.”
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_020310/content/01125111.guest.html
the whole "retard" thing is not the real story
it's that Democrats are starting to look for someone to blame for the health care reform failure, demonstrating that it has indeed failed
it's over, well over
what is CRC saying about Kevin Jennings, Robert?
currently driving anon-B crazy, our next President:
"In the past 72 hours, going from the molasses south of Opryland to the macho southwest of Texas to the gambling capital of Nevada and points in between, this crazy force of nature swept through, her zigzagging path shown live and on videotape repeatedly, her words and sounds parsed, deciphered, analyzed -- even the crib notes on the palm of her hand were subject of jokes at the White House and on cable TV and newspapers, on the evening news and in the blogosphere.
For a while there, with her speech on Saturday evening at the National Tea Party convention in Nashville (televised live by all three cable news networks) and her taped interview with Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday," where she breezily revealed she would run for president in 2012 if it was right for the country and her family, we had Palin live, Palin on tape, Palin in sound bites, Palin blithering.
Her casual statement to Wallace sent a seismic tremor across the mainstream media and across party lines.
At this premature stage of the presidential race, few prospective candidates would admit plans to run. Palin's forthright admission surprised Wallace (he said so later on his program). Apparently other commentators and pundits were surprised too, and alarmed, and discussed little else on the Monday talk shows.
Liberal pundits asked, hoping, if she would run as a third party candidate (another Ross Perot, another losing campaign), but she'd already said, in Nashville and elsewhere, that she believed that the Tea Party movement would meld with the GOP, that she didn't believe in breaking away from her party.
Palin's off-the-cuff statement to Wallace should not have been a surprise. But it is one thing to speculate about her political future and another thing to hear her declare her interest and intent on national television.
Suddenly, on Sunday, a Palin presidential candidacy was no longer just a pie-in-the-sky dream of Tea Partiers."
"That she is the leader of the most passionate and potent grass-roots movement of the moment (think Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey), there is no doubt. That she's riding a wave, there's no doubt. That she could galvanize that growing political force, there's little doubt. With a flip of her hair, the beauty queen from Wasilla could change the political field, just like that.
Polls show Palin ahead of other potential GOP presidential candidates. She is by most accounts the most popular celebrity politician in the nation, an icon to millions.
It doesn't hurt that she's got great looks and five children to boot, and that she speaks the language of the folks out there in middle America. They love it when she says things like, "How's that hope-y, change-y thing working out for ya?"
She's got that "it" factor that pundits, columnists, political junkies, and regular people go crazy trying to figure out. Now, what is it about her? Certainly only Barack Obama beats her on charisma and crowd attraction, and maybe not by that much.
Given all that, the cable news talk shows recycled the Palin weekend clips, reviewed her performance, gauged her presidential prospects (scary to most) and weighed endlessly whether the world could survive Sarah Palin.
It's bad enough that Palin resurrected herself after a disastrous vice presidential campaign and resignation as governor of Alaska last July. Her muddled explanations for quitting the governorship made her a pariah in media and political circles, and she was exiled to the silent wilds of Alaska.
Given up for politically dead, her swift and amazing comeback as author of a No. 1 best-selling memoir, "Going Rogue," and hero of the mushrooming Tea Party movement has been a shock to the system.
So there she is now, on center stage, Sarah 2.0, taking the shots.
"She's a force to be reckoned with,'' said Diane Sawyer on "ABC World News" on Monday.
But Palin's critics are legion, and loud. Going for the jugular has become fair game when it comes to Palin. The New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica slashed her bloody in a Monday column in which he said that she seems to believe that "somehow she can go from being this kind of pinup girl for her Tea Party friends to the White House." He also called her a bubble-head. "You listen to her long enough and actually feel yourself getting dimmer by the minute."
Meaner and tougher Chris Mathews, the voluble host of "Hardball," makes no secret of his contempt for Sarah Palin and her followers. Agitated by the idea that Palin might dare to run for president, he dribbled a string of jabs on his shows on Monday and Tuesday, saying, among other things, "Is she a balloon-head?" and "She's got nothing going on mentally."
Really, now.
Compare her ratings on FOX to Mathews on MSNBC."
LImbaugh - hee hee! He's a great comedian as well as a great commentator!
good news!
Bob McDonnell has legalized discrimination against gays in Virginia
that's what happens when you elect a non-compis-mentis as President and start losing state elections as a result
in the words of Karen Carpenter, "we've only just begun:
"RICHMOND -- Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has signed an executive order barring discrimination in the state workforce on grounds that include race, sex, religion and age, but not sexual orientation.
It follows McDonnell's long-standing position on the issue of legal protections based on sexual orientation. McDonnell had criticized his two Democratic predecessors for including language about it in their similar executive orders, arguing they overstepped their executive authority by extending protections to gay employees not envisioned by the General Assembly.
"This order is in furtherance of the stated policy enacted by the General Assembly, and specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation, or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities," reads the order.
After a Washington Post report appeared on the subject late last month, McDonnell told reporters that he thought the previous order signed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) remained in effect, with the exception of the portions on sexual orientation that McDonnell had formally resisted as attorney general.
McDonnell spokeswoman Stacey Johnson said in a statement that the administration has been reviewing all previous executive orders since taking office Jan. 16.
"The previous Executive Order on discrimination, minus the one addition previously found not to be in the Governor's authority to make, has been in effect this entire time," she wrote. "Upon review of that Executive Order, the Administration determined that some changes needed to be made to ensure compliance with state law. Those changes have been made, and this has resulted in the issuance of a new Executive Order on the subject.""
woo-woo!!
"Anonymous"
You are indeed a very sick puppy.
"good news!
Bob McDonnell has legalized discrimination against gays in Virginia".
Do you consider yourself a Christian?
Diogenes
Dio, gays are better off if their deviant desires aren't indulged
How does keeping gay people from getting a job or housing prevent that?
no one is talking about preventing that
McDonnell has made sure that gay don't enjoy special protections and privileges
Oh really? Do tell what law in VA protects gays from being discriminated against in the job and housing markets?
none
the governor did away with it
they don't deserve job or housing discrimination protection
anyone else can be discriminated against because of their disagreeable attributes
why not gays?
of course, it's all in the eye of the beholder
some people will actually hire or rent or sell to gays because they like them
in any case, there's no need for governmental intervention, which is actually insiduous when unnecessary
gays should take care of themselves and playing the victim card
that is, stop playing it
So should believers.
Fill the prescription or find another job.
actually, the time is coming when any doctor who performs an abortion will lose their license
no pharmacist should be required to fill anything just like 7-11 shouldn't be required to carry absinthe
Jim, that post is shocking, but I suspect it's a direct result of the right-wing campaign against Kevin.
Anonymous, CRC has said too much and in too vitriolic a vein to be summarized here. Their website is www.mcpscurriculum.com if you want to read it.
They also own www.teachthefacts.com. Apparently misdirecting readers' URL searches is not against a commandment.
rrjr
no pharmacist should be required to fill anything just like 7-11 shouldn't be required to carry absinthe
7-11 employees do not hold medical or liquor licenses, but don't let that stop you!
Medical doctors do hold medical licenses and have earned the right to prescribe medications for their patients. Pharmacists earn the right to fill prescriptions ordered by medical doctors, however, pharmacists may not prescribe medications to anyone.
Failure to do their job, filling prescriptions ordered by medical doctors, should get pharmacists fired. Failing to fill a patient's prescription can be as deadly as pulling the patient's plug.
We already have death panels at private insurance companies denying life-saving treatments by overriding doctor's orders and coming between doctors and their patients. We don't need pharmacists forming their own death panels, coming between medical doctors and their patients, too.
"Failure to do their job, filling prescriptions ordered by medical doctors, should get pharmacists fired. Failing to fill a patient's prescription can be as deadly as pulling the patient's plug."
Really?
Pharmacists aren't public employees, they are private practitioners.
Should lawyers be forced to take any case that comes along? Should accountants be forced to audit any enterprise that requests they do so?
Of course not. They make their assessment of the ethical implication before agreeing to provide services.
Pharmacists shouldn't be forced to participate in destroying life.
As a matter of fact, destroying life should be illegal.
Pharmacists have no idea why medical doctors might order prescription treatments for their patients. Blindly making "ethical assessments" to withhold doctor prescribed treatment without having all the information as to why that particular treatment was prescribed is unethical.
You would not like it if the only pharmacist in town or in the county was "ethically" opposed to dispensing your needed medication and therefore refused to do so. That's what many Americans living in rural areas have to deal with.
most of them don't have clinics to perform the murder of unborn children either
doesn't life seem like that?
every time you want to destroy a child's life, some Dudley Do-right has chased all the evil doctors out of town
if you want to enable people to take life, raise the money to open your own clinic
don't try to drag others into the abyss with you
most of them don't have clinics
That's exactly right. Pharmacists do not practice medicine or treat patients. Their job is to fill prescriptions as ordered by doctors with medical licenses, not to override doctor's decisions.
Americans are sick and tired pharmacists and private health insurance bureaucrats coming between them and their medical doctors.
"Americans are sick and tired pharmacists coming between them and their medical doctors"
no, they aren't
pharmacists are actually as beloved by Americans as the mailman
and the barber
the image of doctors has taken some hits though
the only time it becomes an issue for a pharmacist to fill a prescription is when they are asked to be accomplices in a killing by selling a pill to destroy a life
it's not on anyone's radar, though, other than pro-abortionists like the ones who looked so silly protesting Tim Tebow's superbowl ad
I appreciate the recognition and the link, but could you please remove the full text of my article about the "Pros and cons of snow in the garden" from Aunt Bea's comment? This is copyrighted material. Thank you.
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