I had never thought that we will get to witness the biggest snowstorm in the history of Washington DC Metro area within few weeks after being hit by a major snow storm on December 19, 2009. I guess I was wrong. Mother Nature had some more surprises stored in for us and she made us realize that she is still the supreme when it comes to taking cover from natural events.
Friday (February 5) started as a normal day with me gearing up early in the morning to go to Dunkin Donuts and buy 3 dozen bagels. It is customary in our team for every Manager to treat the team every first Friday of the month with Donuts/Bagels. It was very evident that the day won’t last long in office as media had not left even a minute warning and preparing people about the upcoming snow storm starting from mid-day Friday. I was a brave soul showing up with 3 dozens Bagels at 8 AM only to realize that it was all over by 9 AM. I was surprised that folks did show up given the snow storm warning.
At 12 Noon, the office declared the building to be shut down due to worsening weather conditions and the bad roads that are famous to cause accidents especially in this part of the world. Driving in I-495 in snow at 20 miles per hour is usually the order of the day even when smallest of areas have rain falling over. I ventured out with my 4x4 truck and a smile on the face knowing that I will be safe on the roads, yet caution first was the primary motto.
By the time I reached home (some 30 miles from office), the snow had picked up and it was clearly evident that people had realized to get back home and the intersections leading to my home road was all but blocked. Finally, I reached home in one piece (sigh….) and started the enjoyment of falling snow at 1-2 inches per hour. By evening, my backyard, driveway and the front was well covered with snow. I was however brave enough to get out every 2-3 hrs and shovel as much as I can (learning from the mistakes of last winter storm). With the night maturing and snowfall catching up pace, I slept at 11 PM only to wake up the next morning at 6 to see the entire area covered in snow. It had snowed at least 2 feet by then.
I waited till the snow stopped at around 2 PM when I along with my neighbors ventured out to clean up the mess that had completely taken over cars, driveways and backyards. It took me over 4 hours and with help from my neighbors (team work) to dig out my car from the pile of snow that was mounting now close to 5 feet from the road. As expected, roads were really bad to drive with people spinning off in their cars. Many took to their foot with shovels in hands to help others.
Federal government, schools and many offices including mine is closed today and I am waiting working from home for the next wave of snowfall that is definitely bound to bring in another 8-10 inches of snow on the already piled up 5 feet of snow hills outside my house. I am sure, my son is enjoying the sliding and sledging in snow while his parents take care of other essentials things including keeping warm and get the life going in this historical snowstorm.
Mr. Al Gore, were you wrong in predicting Global Warming? I suspect, it should be Global Cooling/Snowing at least in Washington DC Metro area for this year!
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