66degreesnorth

2 hours ago, pazzo83 said:

The main issue with DCA is being right on the river - but that can keep it a degree or two cooler than the rest of the city just as much as it might keep it warmer.  The optimal site is probably like the White House or some place in Dupont/Columbia Heights.

Longtime lurker - I live in Chevy Chase DC, fairly close to the DC's highest point, and I've noticed that a blend of BWI/IAD/Tracker/BobChill's yard is always much better approximation for the actual snow we get than DCA. While DCA may be representative of people living in capital hill, it's not a good location for large chunks of the District itself, let alone the inner burbs in Montgomery and Fairfax county. Back to lurking ... 

Coming down very nicely in Chevy Chase DC -- roads/sidewalks fully caved. 

Just now, mattie g said:

Exactly! ‘96 was crazy, but it seems like virtually every storm growing up was marginal, and that the Lehigh Valley got crushed all the freaking time!

My sledding hill was one of the off-ramps of the Betsy Ross Bridge. What an absolutely blast that was, regardless of whether we flipped to mix/rain or not! I went to CCHS, but knew plenty of folks from Voorhees!

Yeah not to belabor the point or hijack this into a discussion of philly, but I do feel like SJ really had plenty more uber-frustrating "wintry mix to rain" storms than I've seen in DC (been here since 2005). I'm glad your memory jives with mine that other than '96 it seemed like virtually every single winter storm growing up flipped to rain at some point, usually after 3-5 inches of snow. Anecdotally, it seems like DC does a better job of either getting completely shafted, dry slotted, or mixing to sleet rather than heavy rain, and so I've actually been happier here  (in upper NW DC so kind of away from the urban heat island). I was really jealous of Allentown as a kid, and perhaps one day I'll move to an actual good place for snow, but now, with a 3 year old and a 6 year old, my excitement about big snow is certainly tempered with a whiff of irritation about schools/day cares closing. My 10-year old self would be very disappointed in what I've become! 

Anyway always enjoy hearing about SJ - I also knew a few kids who went to CCHS. 

8 minutes ago, mattie g said:

Out of curiosity...did you go to high school in SJ? You’re a few years younger than me, I think, but I’m always curious about folks from the homestead!

I am also from SJ, and agree with previous posters who noted that growing up it seemed like SJ always got "5 inches of snow followed by sleet and then washed away by plain rain" with almost every winter storm (1996 being the big exception). Meanwhile I would watch John Bolaris or Hurricane Schwarz talk about how Allentown would get a foot. 

Went to Eastern High in Voorhees

I'll try to sneak this question in before more of the 12Z models come in. Is freezing rain literally just plain rain that falls when the surface temperature is below 32 degrees, or is it rain that falls through sub-freezing air and thus becomes "supercooled" or something like that to the point where it is supposed to freeze on contact with the surface? I've googled this question, and annoyingly I've seen both answers given. 

Does anyone on here remember/know if DC has even recently had a storm drop 3+ inches of sleet? I vaguely recall a March storm a few years ago that was supposed to be a sleet bomb, but did that fizzle out? I guess I'm wondering what a sleetstorm accumulating at the rate of an inch/hour for 3+ hours would actually look like. 

Lurker here, who enjoys the excellent analysis offered by the top posters. Random been counting question ---- for what DC itself received in the storm, would y'all label this a SECS, MECS, or none of the above?

Will help me have some context when those terms are thrown around in the future.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Lol

Coming down nicely in Chevy Chase DC - road covered

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk