Blizzard '10

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
SATURDAY EVENING.

A STORM SYSTEM DEVELOPING OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO TODAY WILL PASS
OFF THE CAROLINA COAST FRIDAY NIGHT AND THEN CONTINUE TO THE
NORTHEAST ON SATURDAY. SNOW FROM THIS SYSTEM WILL OVERSPREAD THE
REGION FROM SOUTH TO NORTH FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND IT WILL CONTINUE
MUCH OF SATURDAY. SIGNIFICANT SNOW TOTALS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES WILL
OCCUR OVER THE WATCH AREA. HIGHER TOTALS ARE POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY
ACROSS THE DELMARVA REGION. STRENGTHENING WINDS ON SATURDAY MAY
CREATE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WHICH MAY CREATE
ADDITIONAL HAZARDS.

But the main event with this storm will be heavy snow in the Mid-Atlantic States. Snow will begin in the Washington area during the afternoon and spread northward towards Philadelphia by evening. Heavy snow will continue into Saturday before winding down by evening. Travel will be hazardous, especially tonight and Saturday. By the time the storm ends, many areas in northern Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and southern Pennsylvania will have over a foot of snow. Some places may end up with over two feet of snow from this storm. As the low pushes off the coast, it will strengthen quickly and produce very strong winds, especially along the Mid-Atlantic coast. Gusts over 45 mph are possible from southern New Jersey to the Norfolk area Friday night and Saturday morning.

I saw some light flurries about 5:30PM Friday evening, but the real stuff didn't arrive until about 8:00PM. By midnight the blizzard had arrived with heavy snow and winds reaching 25mph. The temperature stayed nearly constant at 25F.

At 7:00AM Saturday it was still in full force, and if anything the winds had picked up a 'notch' with all of the snow appearing to be horizontal. It was over by 10:30AM. Its hard to tell how much is on the ground. The wind swept areas are bare with grass poking through a light dusting, but there are drifts to maybe 18 inches in some places. Of course the drift down the center of my driveway was the exception at about 30 inches. Clearly we were on the north side of the storm and not hit nearly as hard as Washington DC.

Still, some cleanup is required. It is no longer fun to play in the snow.