Scarlet Pimpernel

Do you mean SE with the "main" low (that rains on us), or are you referring to what apparently might be a trailer that gives us some good snow? I thought the general idea is that we'd get rain around the 19th and then possibly snow with a follow-up wave. But I've only paid vague attention to the details here.

Nope, the movie "Casablanca"!!! Nothing like Twilight Zone!

LOL, no! It's from the movie "Casablanca" with Humphrey Bogart! Famous scene where Rick (Bogart) rigs the roulette table so his friend can win the money needed to fly out before the Germans marched in. Capt. Louis Renault (of the French police) "shuts down" Rick's place due to gambling. The other part of that scene is after he says the "I'm shocked!" line, someone comes by and says "Your winnings, sir!" To which Renault says "Oh, thank you!"

(moving to Banter...) Definitely a high-impact event! What you describe is more or less what I got at my place at the time in Silver Spring. There were a couple of inches on the ground early morning on the 26th, then the snizzle for several hours, then WHAM! late afternoon and evening. It was unreal. I got home just in time when the main part hit. It started quite literally like small chunks of ice for a short while (not the standard sleet balls, probably icy flakes), which quickly turned into heavy, wet snow. As I said in the other thread, we received 8" in about a 5 hour period, a total paste job. Very picturesque and stunning from a scenic standpoint. But also quite destructive as well, with the power outages and downed tree limbs. I lost power for almost 3 full days and it was pretty miserable to be honest. It actually got down to like the mid-upper 40s in my apartment by the time power was restored. If the power didn't come back when it did, I was giving serious thought to finding a hotel...though a lot were already full since many people were grabbing rooms for the same reason. I was able to go into work the next day and beyond, so was able to be in a decently warm building much of the day while my power was out! You're right, a lot of people initially kind of shrugged even after the NWS hoisted the warning, because it looked drizzly outside and not much happening. I recall OPM did finally send people home. Can't recall exactly how that went down but I think it was something like granting 2 hour early dismissal, but everyone leaving NO LATER than 3PM. I left around or just before 3PM. Fortunately my commute wasn't bad and I'm not far away from work. In hindsight, they should have let everyone out at like noon or 2PM. Plus, a lot of other businesses, etc., didn't close up or allow people to cut out early to avoid the inevitable mess, or they only did so very late. So at 3PM and beyond, nearly everyone in the metro area was out on the Beltway and other main roads, and that's about when things started to get ugly out. Lots of people stranded, with a several hours long commute well into the night in many cases.

Yeah, Commutageddon on Jan. 26, 2011. Also known as the "PSU Hoffman Storm" (@psuhoffman alluded to this above with his early call about that event...I even remember the thread for that event, it was labeled with his name!). I got 8" snow in about 5 hours from that, it was amazing...thunder snow even. It started as literal chunks of ice falling in the late afternoon that quickly turned into large flakes. I wouldn't exactly say that LWX "downplayed" the event so much. There was a sort of predecessor event in the pre-dawn and early morning hours that some areas did well in, prior to a lull, and then the main snow later. LWX as I recall actually upped the advisories in the area to winter storm warnings by late morning on the 26th, and even highlighted the potential commute issues (since it was to start right around then). I think most of the problem is that a lot of people figured it won't be too bad by the evening commute, so not many were sent home early. Or, they were sent home only a little early, but by then it was kind of too late...everyone was out on the roads. I know of a couple of people who lived a bit north of the DC metro area who were stuck on the roads until like midnight or 2AM!

Mel Brooks agrees!

Mmmmm, venison edibles (pairs well with Doritos)!

So this is like a folks(!!!) then!! Very low-key! At any rate, that was an interesting development and progression on the GFS. Looked like a wave forming along a front that passes through, perhaps similar to what happened in March 2015, sort of?

What was the famous "snowplow game" where the grounds crew came out during a snowstorm and plowed the field that allowed the game-winning field goal? New England vs. ??? I think? Can't recall details offhand but it caused a controversy.

Oh my, that's like a blatant @ravensrule bat signal right there!!!

Actually in all fairness, that's not really true. We had a cold clipper go through in early January 2010, before a bit of a thaw over the following couple of weeks. But even before that was over, indications were pretty clear we were heading back to a cold/blocky pattern.

It'll be enough of a disaster as it stands now, no matter the weather! (skating the political line there, I know!). But on a weather-related note for the medium range, one does have to like how the overall setup looks as advertised right now. No, we may not get the first wave (is that the one near the 20th?), but after that...looks like possibilities are good!

Wow...that's a beautiful scene and shot, Bob!! Love the transition from the blue sky, to the whiteish-gray snow/ice, to the green more in the foreground! And yeah, I see that hawk! Hope you score some good snow from this event.

Yup...that kind of reminds me of an event in Feb. 2015. It was extremely cold that whole month, there was an event around mid-month that everyone "assumed" would be high ratio fluff (so lots of excitement). But it wasn't. The growth rates and growth zone weren't ideal. We still got a solid amount to be sure, but it was more like thin ice crystals or pixie dust, not the huge flakes like we saw last night.

Actually, in all seriousness, I don't even know what method is used to compute the Kuchera ratios. Maybe it's good in some situations, but I've heard so many mixed things about it. Seems almost better to show 10:1 and go from there, fudge as needed.

Can't hate that, really! Though I though the use of Kuchera ratios was perhaps not the best. Still, that is a nice advisory-level event in these parts (warning level in some others).

Damn. Was hoping you'd be at the bar drinking complimentary tequila shots again, while doing the PBP!

Thank you...so kind! I actually really like that one as well. As I said, black and white just works so well with snow scenes many times!

Eats, shoots, and leaves... Eats shoots, and leaves... Eats shoots and leaves!

And...one more (file sizes required multiple posts)...

Photos (continued)...

Photos from today's snow (a couple are black and white...snow just facilitates itself to good B&W shots!)

Always good to hear from you, Bob! I hope the new digs are working out well...those photos you've sent over the past few months are amazing! Agree...another winter weather event is likely going to affect us this upcoming weekend. Details, as you say, TBD (as always!). I feel reasonably confident or at least hopeful that a decent event for many of us is a good possibility. Doesn't even have to be a bomb, really.