Hmmm, never tried to embed multiple YouTubes before, I guess the software doesn't play along. Here's some AP text, for those who are interested.
'Snowmageddon' blankets Mid-Atlantic in heavy snow
WASHINGTON – Mid-Atlantic residents were buried Saturday from a likely record-setting blizzard the president jokingly dubbed "Snowmageddon," and those brave enough tried to clear a path through the wet, heavy mounds of thigh-high snow.
The snow was falling too quickly in the nation's capital for crews to keep up, and officials begged residents to stay home and out of the way so that roads might be cleared in time for everyone to return to work Monday. The usually traffic-snarled roads were mostly barren, and Washington's familiar sites and monuments were covered with nearly 2 feet of snow.
Tihana and Jarrett Blanc had given up on digging, instead taking their dog, Hector, for a walk through northwest Washington during what forecasters said could be the biggest storm for the nation's capital in modern history.
"Our car is stuck. We're not even trying," said Tihana, 36.
The storm toppled trees and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers in Washington, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The situation was the same in West Virginia, where some 400 National Guard troops were helping with snow removal.
Shoppers picked store shelves clean Friday in anticipation — Tihana Blanc mused it was like people preparing for Armageddon. Nearly two feet of snow had fallen by noon Saturday in cities across the region.
Hundreds of car wrecks were reported across the region, though only two deaths were reported — a father and son who died while helping another motorist in Virginia. By Saturday, most people couldn't drive anywhere because their cars and roads were buried.
In Ellicott City, Md., Christine Benkoski said she was trying to dig out from at least 2 feet. As she tried to clear her driveway, she said she uncovered how the storm had transitioned from snow, to ice, then back to snow.
"I feel like an archaeologist," Benkoski said.
"I've been out here for an hour, and my only goal is to get to the street."
And President Barack Obama, a snow veteran from his days in Chicago, didn't have a smooth day. He walked out of the White House midmorning to find the South Lawn, his backyard, looking nearly like an untouched wilderness. Instead of the familiar scenes of manicured lawns and clipped hedges, snow had piled on every shrub and the backyard was almost colorless.
First, there was a small fender bender on the White House south lawn. Then a tree branch, overcome with snow, cracked and fell on a motorcade vehicle with press inside when the president was coming back from a speech at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting in town.
Instead of a presidential limo, Obama rode in a black SUV covered with presidential seals.
Obama thanked Democrats for "willing to brave a blizzard, Snowmageddon."
Noting the president's hometown, DNC chairman Tim Kaine said "It's like an April day in Chicago."
After all that, the White House announced Obama would have no more outings for the day.
Meanwhile, Shawn Punga and his wife, Kristine, were making plans to move to a hotel if the power was not restored to their house in Silver Spring, Md. They were concerned for their 2-year-old daughter, Ryder, who was bundled up in thick pink pajamas and slippers.
"I have just been watching the thermostat. If it hits 60, that's when we're going to pack up," he said.
Airlines canceled flights, churches called off weekend services, and Amtrak and commuter trains ground to a halt. Some people wondered if they would be stuck at home for several days.
At Dulles International Airport, part of a hangar roof collapsed and damaged some of the private jets housed inside, though no one was hurt, said Courtney Mickalonis, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Snow crews worked overnight, but "it's coming down faster than we can keep up with it," she said.
The snow comes less than two months after a Dec. 19 storm dumped more than 16 inches on Washington. Snowfalls of this magnitude — let alone two in one season — are rare in the area. According to the National Weather Service, Washington has gotten more than a foot of snow only 13 times since 1870.
The heaviest on record was 28 inches in January 1922. The biggest snowfall for the Washington-Baltimore area is believed to have been in 1772, before official records were kept, when as much as 3 feet fell, which George Washington and Thomas Jefferson penned in their diaries.
Despite the onslaught, some embraced the chance for a little peace and quiet. Carolyn Matuska was loving her morning run along Washington's National Mall.
"Oh, it's spectacular out," she said. "It's so beautiful. The temperature's perfect, it's quiet, there's nobody out, it's a beautiful day."
There was an epic snowball fight in DC earlier today that I was part of. Thousands showed up. Basically, it was supposed to be north vs. south, but it ended up being a massive outer ring of thousands vs. the inner ring of about a hundred around a fountain. I was in the inner ring and will be paying for it tomorrow, but it was great fun!
"I'm going to die anyway, and therefore have nothing more to do except deliberately annoy Lemur." -Orb, in the chat
"Lemur. Even if he's innocent, he's a pain; so kill him." -Ignoramus
"I'm going to need to collect all of the rants about the guilty lemur, and put them in a pretty box with ponies and pink bows. Then I'm going to sprinkle sparkly magic dust on the box, and kiss it." -Lemur Mafia: Promoting peace and love since June 2006
Originally Posted by TosaInu
At times I read back my own posts [...]. It's not always clear at first glance.
Actually at my school there was a massive snowball fight too in the Quad (imagine gothic architecture surrounding a large area housing about at least 4000 students)......
"I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." - Issac Newton
At least 2,000 people took part in the Official Dupont Circle Snowball Fight on Saturday afternoon. It was a flash mob with cabin fever, a giggling, hollering, exuberant crowd that spent more than an hour aggressively, chaotically and noisily lobbing snowballs across the circle's park. It was the largest of a scattering of organized snowball fights throughout the city, including one that attracted at least 100 people on the Mall.
The Dupont Circle battle began with the burst of an air horn, then snowballs began raining in every direction. Hundreds watched from the perimeter of the circle, standing on park benches and snapping pictures with their phones. Others coordinated mass launches of snowballs toward the circle's fountain, which a thick mass of people seemed to be trying to defend. People shrieked, bellowed, ducked, ran and laughed -- a lot.
I got about 20 inches. Power was out for a few hours Friday night and again for most of the day Saturday. Got the driveway clear today, awaiting the plow that will block me in again. Apparently we are looking at another 5-8 inches Tuesday night. I've had 3 races up north canceled so far due to lack of snow, and each of those weekends we have had enough locally to run. Go figure.
edit-> They say Dulles airport (about 10 miles away from me) got 32", so I guess that's my official snowfall amount, but sticking a yardstick in the snow in my yard got me 18". For what it's worth...
Last edited by drone; 02-09-2010 at 17:35.
Reason: updated totals
If I werent playing games Id be killing small animals at a higher rate than I am now - SFTS
Si je n'étais pas jouer à des jeux que je serais mort de petits animaux à un taux plus élevé que je suis maintenant - Louis VI The Fat
"Why do you hate the extremely limited Spartan version of freedom?" - Lemur
lol, they would all die in Wisconsin. :P Toughen up you East-coast sissies!
Lol you Wisconsinites would all die in Russia... Why, just two weeks ago it was -45 Celsius back in my hometown... And no, I do not live in Siberia. In there, the temperature is measured by the number of storeys it takes for saliva to solidify into ice while it is flying at terminal velocity towards the ground... Y'know, they do not even use mobile phones in Siberia - the cold literally destroys the fragile electronics.
We got a ton of snow here in Gettysburg too. It was awesome. We organized a big full-contact football game in 1.5 or so feet of snow on one of the quads. I'm still paying for it, but so are the people I played against. And it was definitely worth it. Oh and us East Coasters aren't all sissies, it's just the people down this far South. If you go up to Vermont or Maine people will be going nuts for the snow, not going nuts because of the snow. We love the stuff up there. These near-mason dixon liners just happen to have winters where they get a total of an inch or two, so they haven't a clue what to do with the stuff.
"A man's dying is more his survivor's affair than his own."
C.S. Lewis
"So many people tiptoe through life, so carefully, to arrive, safely, at death."
Jermaine Evans
Got 25" at my house. The snow is currently piled up about 5' to 5'6" high on every non-road or walkway surface in my community. The major roads aren't too bad as of this morning, but anything beyond them is a total mess, with many minor residential streets totally impassable. And now we've got this thing coming:
THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING.
* PRECIPITATION TYPE... SNOW.
* ACCUMULATIONS... POTENTIAL FOR 8 OR MORE INCHES OF SNOW. THERE IS A GOOD LIKELIHOOD OF SNOW IN EXCESS OF 10 INCHES.
And to think people used to be send there to their most likely death, horrible. Freezing to death seems like a brutal way to do go brrrr
No, actually it is the most humane way to die before they invented the concept of using various inert gases to slowly put you to sleep and let you die without feeling a thing.
I am what is called a morzh, or a 'walrus' in Russia. During the dead of the winter, I go outside in swimming trunks (I prefer Speedos actually) and take a snow&ice bath. Or run for a few klicks in nothing but shorts. Or swim in the freezing water. Either one of the three. I enjoy doing this, it builds my physique, and I am entirely immune to discomfort from intense cold (since I live mostly in Pensacola when I do this, my running is usually done in -1 to -5 Celsius and I take ice baths only in the morning - no ice during the day; swimming in water that has frozen over is quite normal though, as we have a pool)
What I can tell from my experience is that even if you have to concentrate your mind away from the pain the first few times you do this, even during those first times when it still hurts, you hurt for a little bit and quite soon, you do not care at all. Your body temperature falls low enough to where you stop feeling all pain. As I am told in Russia (and as I readjust about anywhere), after the loss of sensation the person begins to feel sleepy and after they do fall asleep, they peacefully die with no pain. Not even lethal injection has come to this, as it frequently causes pain and other distress.
P.S. And please do not tell me that I am at risk for hypothermia, I know that, and although a morzh feels symptoms from all three grades of hypothermia, the symptoms are not complete enough to even constitute as much as mild-going-on-moderate hypothermia.
Also, strangely enough, when the cold is severe (anywhere between -1 and -30) I never feel uncomfortable, even if I just got out of a warm house without time to re-adjust. But when it is slightly chilly (between 5 and 10 Celsius), I may feel uncomfortable at first, in light clothing. Rather peculiar... Like I said, this does not happen because it is so cold I freeze over immediately. It is almost as if the body knows it will have to take the punishment and senses no pain, but when it is only a bit chilly, it is reluctant...
I am what is called a morzh, or a 'walrus' in Russia. During the dead of the winter, I go outside in swimming trunks (I prefer Speedos actually) and take a snow&ice bath. Or run for a few klicks in nothing but shorts. Or swim in the freezing water.
Here we have the new years dive. No way I am ever going to do it but there are good reasons to do so,
Dunno, I used to be about normal for all my life, and then, one day I ran outside during a hard freeze at night. I had to do something in the backyard, and it was winter in Russia. I was wearing shorts and a tee shirt in addition to the obvious briefs. This alone was a bit crazy, but then I suddenly noticed that the cold did not hurt, so I proceeded to take off the shirt; still feeling nothing, I picked up ice and smeared it over myself. It was a stunning, amazing sensation. I never understood why I changed. But I did. From then on, I did not feel cold - on the contrary, the cold felt good. It felt comfortable. I did not shiver or experience any other uncomfortable sensations other than numbness and purple skin. And from that wonderful day, I became a morzh.
Shoot, reading this makes it seem a bit as if I am lying, but I assure you, it is true. I never trained or did anything of that sort. Well, I did practice sort of semi-meditation (I would never do that yoga/meditation crap or anything of that sort - it is an insult to the Indian peoples to practise the rubbish most training centres offer, since it could not be farther from the authentic, and so I cannot say what real meditation is like) to cancel sensation of pain I received from cold for a very long time, subjecting myself to uncomfortable scenarios by not wearing adequate clothing. But it did not help. Two years went by, and no change. And then it happened, all the sudden. Strange. No physical training either - what I did for those two years was discomfort, not gruelling, torturous cold...
EDIT: Lemur, the chance of me being similar to the Pugh bloke is close to nil... I have not done long-distance swimming in freezing (+1 Celsius) water. The article specifically mentions that there are numerous people around the world the likes of me, but Mr. Pugh is extraordinary even among us. Cold does not make me uncomfortable, but it could hypothetically induce hypothermia. If I swam as Mr. Pugh does, that 'hypothetical' will be 'almost without a doubt' - my body is no GM/alien superman. Feeling and being cold are two different things. I may not feel cold, but my body will freeze in such a circumstance.
But of course, you could have been only partially serious.
EDIT2:
Originally Posted by Megas Methuselah
Well, AP makes me feel soft now. Whilst I'm shivering in front of the heated oven during the -50's C, he's out swimming in the ice.
How unsurprising of you to make such wild exaggerations and untruths . It is -20 Celsius right now at Regina, Canada - according to Google Weather. The real temperature cannot be that far off. You forgot that I have the Internet and that I can use it better than a cat (yes, I know, do not post those things). But once again, this is far from the first time when things that you say do not quite fit... *whistles innocently whilst staring at the ceiling*
Originally Posted by Megas Methuselah
EDIT: Wow, that girl has a nice rack.
Lol, Lemur should cut and paste the picture into Babe thread, that is where it belongs
Last edited by Aemilius Paulus; 02-08-2010 at 22:51.
Lol you Wisconsinites would all die in Russia... Why, just two weeks ago it was -45 Celsius back in my hometown... And no, I do not live in Siberia. In there, the temperature is measured by the number of storeys it takes for saliva to solidify into ice while it is flying at terminal velocity towards the ground... Y'know, they do not even use mobile phones in Siberia - the cold literally destroys the fragile electronics.
Nah, we could tough it out. -45 C is about -49 F. We have had -40 F+ before with windchills bringing it to -46 F. I think we could survive, though yeah, it would be a lot harder in Russia and Alaska than out in our little snowy paradise. With our conditioning for cold though, it would only be a small adaptation.
Siberia and Alaska...two places I never want to live. :P (yeah, I think I would be the equivalent of a Virginian in Wisconsin in either of those places. :P)
Hammer, anvil, forge and fire, chase away The Hoofed Liar. Roof and doorway, block and beam, chase The Trickster from our dreams.
Vigilance is our shield, that protects us from our squalid past. Knowledge is our weapon, with which we carve a path to an enlightened future.
Everything you need to know about Kadagar_AV:
Originally Posted by Kadagar_AV
In a racial conflict I'd have no problem popping off some negroes.
With our conditioning for cold though, it would only be a small adaptation.
Ha, you are joking, right? -45 Celsius was something I mentioned casually. I know for a fact that temperature did occur, but it was not special enough to surprise anyone. -30 Celsius is standard winter temperature. I suppose the lowest we ever had would be about in the low 50s, but I have no idea, to tell you the truth. I just know what is considered low in my place (about -40 to -50) and what is record low (anything beyond that - by how much I do not know). Anyhow, it is just that I do not believe that continental, 48 states can be considered on average especially (not I did not say very) cold places.
My main problem with your claim is the latitude of Wisconsin. I mean, latitude is far from a good indicator of temperature, as mountain ranges and oceans/seas have momentous effects, but still, you cannot ignore latitude. Southern France, Northern Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Southern Romania, Southern Ukraine, Don Steppe, Southern Kazakhstan - none are especially cold (especially cold as in the temperatures reaching to -40C are not uncommon). All the countries I listed run along 45th parallel, about in the middle of Wisconsin.
It might be that cold in your state, but I do find it a tad unlikely.
Yeah, most days in the winter out here are usually in the -30's. Oddly, though, it's been a very hot year thus far. We've only had a couple cases of heavy snowfall, and most days that I remember are actually in the -20's C.
I'll be sweating on my walk to work. Again. And those global warming fools will never let me hear the end of it.
Government is closed again on Tuesday. With the next storm on Tuesday night, I doubt it'll be open on Wednesday either. This is getting ridiculous...
Obama is having the urge to procrastinate, the school-fashioned way . Y'know those times back in your teenage years when you have an enormous, difficult group project, with uncooperative jerks for team members? Those times when all you are wishing for is the school closing due to a snowstorm/hurricane? When you keep putting off things? Yeah, I feel for the government.
Ha, you are joking, right? -45 Celsius was something I mentioned casually. I know for a fact that temperature did occur, but it was not special enough to surprise anyone. -30 Celsius is standard winter temperature. I suppose the lowest we ever had would be about in the low 50s, but I have no idea, to tell you the truth. I just know what is considered low in my place (about -40 to -50) and what is record low (anything beyond that - by how much I do not know). Anyhow, it is just that I do not believe that continental, 48 states can be considered on average especially (not I did not say very) cold places.
My main problem with your claim is the latitude of Wisconsin. I mean, latitude is far from a good indicator of temperature, as mountain ranges and oceans/seas have momentous effects, but still, you cannot ignore latitude. Southern France, Northern Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Southern Romania, Southern Ukraine, Don Steppe, Southern Kazakhstan - none are especially cold (especially cold as in the temperatures reaching to -40C are not uncommon). All the countries I listed run along 45th parallel, about in the middle of Wisconsin.
It might be that cold in your state, but I do find it a tad unlikely.
lol, I never said it is average, but it usually gets down to -40 most winters for at least a few days. My point was that we are not unused to cold temperatures. I am not lying to you, seriously, ask Lemur.
Hammer, anvil, forge and fire, chase away The Hoofed Liar. Roof and doorway, block and beam, chase The Trickster from our dreams.
Vigilance is our shield, that protects us from our squalid past. Knowledge is our weapon, with which we carve a path to an enlightened future.
Everything you need to know about Kadagar_AV:
Originally Posted by Kadagar_AV
In a racial conflict I'd have no problem popping off some negroes.
No I believe you, it is just that I thought you were misrepresenting the frequency of temperatures below -40C. It is impossible that Wisconsin has regular (multi-week long) -30 to -40 freezes - something that is no less common than snow from where I come.
Last edited by Aemilius Paulus; 02-09-2010 at 03:46.
Um, yeah, -30 C is -22 F, which is pretty darn extreme for Wisconsin. We're cold, but we're rarely that cold. Remember, the people who settled here were Germans and Swedes, not Laps and Mongols.
I don't care if you can pick your nose at -50 C, When High Winter comes here I Prefer hibernation, hot cocoa, and sharing blankets with my female counterpart.
Government is closed again on Tuesday. With the next storm on Tuesday night, I doubt it'll be open on Wednesday either. This is getting ridiculous...
Haven't had school since Friday morning. Won't have it tomorrow, I don't have class on Wednesday anyway, and Thursday is up in the air. Can you say "cabin fever"?
"I'm going to die anyway, and therefore have nothing more to do except deliberately annoy Lemur." -Orb, in the chat
"Lemur. Even if he's innocent, he's a pain; so kill him." -Ignoramus
"I'm going to need to collect all of the rants about the guilty lemur, and put them in a pretty box with ponies and pink bows. Then I'm going to sprinkle sparkly magic dust on the box, and kiss it." -Lemur Mafia: Promoting peace and love since June 2006
Originally Posted by TosaInu
At times I read back my own posts [...]. It's not always clear at first glance.
East Coast Snowpocalypse
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Re: East Coast Snowpocalypse
Originally Posted by Lemur
- Horseman of the 
. It is -20 Celsius right now at Regina, Canada - according to Google Weather. The real temperature cannot be that far off. You forgot that I have the Internet and that I can use it better than a cat (yes, I know, do not post those things). But once again, this is far from the first time when things that you say do not quite fit... *whistles innocently whilst staring at the ceiling*
. Y'know those times back in your teenage years when you have an enormous, difficult group project, with uncooperative jerks for team members? Those times when all you are wishing for is the school closing due to a snowstorm/hurricane? When you keep putting off things? Yeah, I feel for the government. 
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