At 6:00 this morning in the neighborhood, it was clear and cold and the moon was shining brightly. Thank God we made it through the blizzard without losing power and for the fact that the snow is powdery and relatively light, even if there is lots of it to clear away.
All told, I think we had somewhere between 24 and 30 inches of snow (61 to 76 cm), with drifts much higher. It snowed almost continuously for almost 30 hours, sometimes accompanied by howling winds that blew the snow sidewards.
In some areas of North America, that amount of snow might be a normal occurrence, but here in Northern Virginia, it is almost a record-breaking amount for the area. I live in a townhouse area, and there is simply nowhere to put all of this snow. Already I have a pile of snow almost as tall as I am.
The sun is shining now and it will soon be time to return to digging out. Normally I would be getting ready for church now, but there’s no way I can make it through the neighborhood streets that are covered still with well over a foot of snow.
My car’s license plate, however, is a constant reminder for me and a continuous prayer—I drive a KIA Soul.
Here’s what the entire car looked like yesterday during a period when the snow was falling slowly. We got another foot or so after I took this photo. It will be dug out in a short while, but I don’t think I will be driving anywhere for at least a couple more days.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
We have friends who live in Winchester — thanks for sharing, but we will take the Tucson sun.
Glad you made it thru OK Mike.. Down here in Prince William County about the same,,, and yes, so glad the power stayed on.. I can only shovel for about 20 minutes,, and then need a break… so this will take me all day!
I’m glad you didn’t lose power. Now it’s time to read a good book until the roads are cleared.
That’s a crazy amount of snow to get in one storm. No lack of exercise in your future! Enjoy your staycation.
It’s good to hear that you didn’t loose power Mike. My wife likes your license plate. Now she wants one of the “Soul” plate frames.
We have over 34″ on our deck. The birds have been seeking refuge under the deck where the snow doesn’t reach. There’s been a steady flow of cardinals, juncos, white throated sparrows, white crown sparrows, titmice, a couple of wrens, a mocking bird, chickadees, mourning doves, gold finches, house finches. The jays stayed on the upper deck. Fun to see all the activity.
We have spent all day digging ourselves out too. We are having to do it in shifts because it is such hard work. In our case, the roads have been cleared so it should be back to school and work tomorrow.
Glad to see you made it through the storm and kuddos for an original vanity plate.. 🙂
Good to hear you made through Mike. What an adventure!
Thanks, Chris. I’m still hunkered down as I wait for conditions to improve. As you know well, you can’t fight the weather–sometimes you just have to sit and wait and make the best of it.
Yes, know that feeling. Take cate of yourself.
I remember a 36 inch a now storm when I lived in upstate New York, and rejoicing that I couldn’t go anywhere without skiing there. It was fun then (in my 20s), probably not so much at this age. So take a break, and enjoy it if you can.
Yesterday I spent a good part of the day shoveling. The neighborhood roads are not yet well plowed, so I am not planning to go anywhere. I live in a townhouse neighborhood and big problem is that there are not many places to pile snow from the plows or even from shoveling. Today I plan to walk about a bit and check out how things stand.
You’re surely dug out by now, and reveling in the aftermath. I was there for the big one in February 2010 and remember it all to well.
I am dug out, Gary, but my neighborhood is not. As of 6:00 pm yesterday, we still had 18″ of snow in the street. A plow came by and made a pass down the middle of the street, leaving me with about six feet of snow between me and the plowed section. I do not plan to go anywhere today.
Wow!
The loss of power with such cold conditions is such a scary thought; thanks for the photo update.
[…] were not very good, but the experience was a lot of fun and I documented it in a posting called Jumping into Watercolor. I produced a few more small paintings during the summer of 2018, but somehow my interest […]