vastateofmind

Wow, @H2O, @GATECH, @mattie g, @WeatherShak -- SEFfxCo and Burke is suddenly "snowtown" this week. Suck it up and enjoy, gentlemen...

I hear you, friend -- I have a similar concern in reverse in spring/summer, when we have kickass thunderstorms here, that then cross the river, pick up even more steam, and tend to put down tornadoes in your neck of the woods... :/ Amen! Hoping that greater chances for snow this week inspire you to post some new snowy pics!

Yeah, that was an impressive drop since ~11:45am-ish. And smoking meats on a winter day = HEAVEN. I know it has, I'm just poking fun...and yeah, it IS nice to see big, fat flurries here and most places this afternoon!

Yep, we got 'em now too! Of course, we "lowlanders" don't get the feet of snow that they do up there in them thar Union Bridge mountains...but we'll take our piddling portion and be happy.

Something wicked this way comes...someone earlier mentioned that this snow squall line coming through resembled the onset of summer storms and that's a spot-on assessment. Was 48 degrees out there when I took these pics about 10 min ago...now down to 42, with very dark and overcast skies overhead. Still haven't seen the snow many of you have, but, hey...it FEELS like winter all of a sudden.

The annual resolutioners were (are) the absolute worst. Clogging the equipment. Preening in front of the mirrors (when/where available). Taking (hogging) valuable space in the locker rooms, and extra minutes in the showers. Absolutely couldn't wait until most of 'em abandoned their resolutions by, as you mention, March...or early April, latest. Until NEXT January, of course...

I love to see that cloud action/behavior on GOES. For the smarter folks on here...what causes that? Is that the gravity wave thing factoring in here?

So...it IS actually fun and interesting, at least to me. I did the requisite 15-min Google search-and-skim on the geodetic systems that you, @H2O and @Random Chaos were discussing on this page and the last page in this discussion. It's fascinating to read about how/when standards are updated, and how the new standard compares to the old ones. While I am...WAY...beyond being able to change careers at the dinosaur stage of my current professional life, I wish I'd had the interest and ability to learn more about surveying and GIS far earlier in my career. I love how it holds the possibility to get you out and away from an office desk/chair and out in the field...

Really appreciate these inputs. Of course, I have a manual bilge pump, but as you infer...I gotta BE there shortly after the power fails on the sump pump. Have read several recs for water-powered backup sump pumps, if one is attached to municipal water (which I am)...a pricier option, but works for some. I usually pride myself on being pretty tech savvy...but then some of y'all come along and have these conversations that make me realize what a techtard I really am...

Sorry to hear this, and even if the losses were not great by your estimation, it still sucks. Our sump pump is ancient...we've lived in our home for 22 years, and it had already been installed for years before THAT. It works well and sounds the same as the day we moved in...really only gets a good workout (e.g., popping on every 20-30 min) maybe 4x-5x annually depending on how many biblical rainstorms we get, but I feel like we're beyond living on borrowed time there. If anyone has any good recommendations for a sump pump with battery backup, would love to hear them. In related news...the wind is really picking up again this A.M. We're still under a couple flood warnings but I don't see any wind advisories for here yet,..wondering if they're going to creep eastward from the Shenandoah Valley.

Y'all are at that stage (e.g., the oh-dark-thirty, after school and weekend sports and other extracurricular activities for the kids!) that my family was at about 10-12 years ago. But it also sounds like you're each smart enough to enjoy the rare weeknight off...even if it's due to weather...which is great. Sometimes you need that little slice of downtime as a family. So glad to read this...and soak it up tonight. Yep...same here, and we rarely get flickering lights. Just a tad worried from the sump pump standpoint...but on the plus side, all of the cell phones in the house are charged up!

Oh, geez...your tix would have to be TONIGHT, wouldn't they?? So, my thinking is that there won't be quite as many folks out on the roads tonight...and speaking for myself, I'd probably just drive all the way into the District to park as close to Arena Stage as possible. Any walking involved (tonight!) would involve you and y'all getting 500% soaked between the Metro and Arena. Sidebar: D.C.'s Arena Stage is such a unique venue. It will always hold a special place in my heart, as a long-ago friend passed along an unused ticket to me in September of 1990 for Closer Than Ever at the Arena, a song cycle of cast-off and unused songs from other musical projects upon which Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire (a prolific partnership, apparently) collaborated upon. I went to the show on a whim...and I (one rarely "moved" by anything that combines staging and music) was completely blown away. There is an original Broadway cast recording of Closer Than Ever from that era, and I encourage anyone and everyone to listen to it. The songs are little "pop operas" all on their own...each tells an interesting, howlingly funny, or poignantly sad story each on their own. Maltby and Shire are modern-day Gilbert & Sullivan's...and arguably the most talented musician/lyricist combo I've heard in my entire life.

Yeah, THIS. Rain has kicked in again, but man...the overall sound of the wind right now is impressive. There's just a general "light roar" outside my home office window right now. Geez.

Haven't seen ponding like this IMBY for about a decade. And yeah, REAL worried about a power outage...as I'll be right there with you, @09-10 analogy, manually baling out my 2 foot deep sump pit for however long the power is out. Rain is forecasted to die down around midnight, but knowing my sump pump and seeing the standing water already, it'll be doing overtime for the next 24 hours.

Does Huntington area next to Cameron Run and the Beltway still flood so badly? I haven't heard about flooding there in some time...

Wow. So, I think I've found somewhat reliable webcams for Annapolis and National Harbor...does anyone have any cam links for Old Town Alexandria waterfront and/or DC waterfront(s)? I've searched on the latter two areas to no avail.

I will be curious to read/hear wind reports later from those of you living on the mid-upper bay...

LOL. Just saw this, AFTER replying to @North Balti Zen. I'll admit that, having grown up "enduring" 22 (usually) bone-chilling, snowy winters in the northcentral PA mountains, I'm a little biased as to what the kiddies can or should handle in terms of getting to/from school. True story...my school bus skidded off the road in the aftermath of a morning ice storm on the way to HS in my senior year. Driver told us to unload the bus and we were instructed to trudge -- Uphill! And in ice/snow! -- the final 1/4 mile to the HS. Oh, the humanity. Told my parents about it when I got home and they were all, "Okay...but you sure as hell better NOT have flunked that calc test today!" Having said that....it does get a little wearisome that Fairfax County Public Schools close schools for things like a high UV forecast. Okay, they haven't done that (yet) but just give it time. I'm astounded they haven't made a call yet for early dismissal today.

So, I'm always that crochety dude yelling about how kids get a day off from school due mainly to a HINT of bad wx. (Sometimes @mattie gwill join me in the chorus!) I started to think that about these early school dismissals this afternoon, but after reading about potential conditions ON and NEAR the bay later today and other analyses here, I think the early dismissals are warranted (esp in terms of potential flooding). For us big people commuting to/from work places...based on the timing, I do believe evening rush will be impacted if the worst scenario of wind/rain materializes. Just cushion it with "There's a good chance that XXXX scenario will materialize..." and gently encourage the early dismissal. You're lucky to have a boss (like my own!) who will even consider such options!

Step right up, pick yer favorite watch and/or warning, we've got 'em all today...

Oh, @CAPE. That sounds so good in my period of thirst. I was going to ask you earlier today what awesome beers you might have queued up for this evening...primarily because my 28 and 26-year old sons just returned to their homes in TX today after their two-week holiday break staying with their mother and I, and after completely cleaning out and leaving us bereft of ANY decent beer choices in our fridges. I'm stuck with splitting a bottle of wine tonight with my wife...but I'll gladly do that, as she's still crying about her sons abandoning her. To ME.

LOL...yeah. There's a part of me that just wants to skip ahead to severe spring/summer season.

Perhaps...but I can always use the refresher(s) for "piece movement" on the winter wx chessboard...

My wife breathlessly reported to me this past Sun/Mon (based on what the media was feeding her) on a "major winter storm" incoming for NoVA this weekend. I just grinned at her and said, "give it time...you'll take your 33 and rain on Sat and enjoy it." She scoffed, I shrugged. Knowing that I'd get much closer to a realistic forecast discussion here, I forced myself to wait until late last evening to check in for some closer-to-showtime truth. Some good analyses as always, and the usual few bouts of back/forth sniping -- likely borne out of frustration with a retreating rain/snow line. My LOL "gut" forecast shared with my wife was correct, at least for SE FfxCo. Maybe we'll get an hour of snow TV on Sat, but whatever. A decade or more ago, I'd be one of the folks here having a meltdown...but I just can't get upset about this stuff anymore.

So pretty...and since I'm always late to the show, happy belated birthday, friend!!