Right at the moment nothing much. Calling for freezing rain tonite. Spring is just around the corner. Steve in Baltimore County.

It started here at 2:07pm...1hr and 7 mins past forecasted time. I can barely see the house across the street for all the blowing snow. The worst is suppose to hit around midnight. Im ready too...got cat food,milk,eggs,bread and cake mix.....bring it on.

We're due an ice storm which can knock out the electricity,so major loads of wood are sitting on the back porch just in case. A woodburning stove and fireplace will keep us warm.

The blizzard was supposed to start for us two hours ago, but so far, the snow is just blowing --- not falling. An hour ago I got back from the dog park where I braved the freezing temps, winds and 2"+ drifts because the prospect of being snowed in with UN-exercised dogs terrifies me. I think eight inches fell on us yesterday/last night. I've heard we're getting between eight and 20 inches tonight. I have a ridiculously well-stocked pantry and liquor cabinet. The governor has declared a State of Emergency, so I'm pretty sure schools will be closed.

My only concern is that we have to be at the hospital for Steve's rotator cuff surgery at 11:45 tomorrow and I'm really hoping there are no weather delays. Shouldn't be too bad though. Our streets are usually among the first one cleared. Of course this means I'm on the hook for snow removal for the rest of the winter as Steve's arm'll be in a sling. :-( I told him I'll cut his food, help him get dressed, and generally step up... but he's ON HIS OWN in the bathroom. ;-)

Rain and wind is our portion of the storm.
Thunderstorms tonight.

Michelle, I'll be thinking about you and Steve tomorrow.

Karen and all the rest of our GP friends please stay safe.

This seems all folks are talking about. Here we are expecting 20-30 cm, I think a bit less then our last go round but this time they say the wind and squals will cause us problems. I can't wait until spring it is still comming right? please! please!

What frogged said: weather is the only subject anyone talks about. And Marda, you are so lucky to have a wood burning stove. I've never wanted one, but how grand that you know you will be warm no matter what other stuff happens.

Knock on wood, we are on the lucky side of the storm. Just had rain,the clouds are breaking up, we have 50 degr and I just found a snail at the front door. Wonder what that thing was thinking, freezing temps are coming back on Thursday and it does not even have a house.

It's getting interesting. We've lost some siding and the plows have been ordered off the roads. We were able to coax Izzy into the yard to do her business, but Tullie decided she's peeing on the front stoop until further notice. Brrrrrrr!

So far we've had blowing snow, thunder and lightning...all at the same time. As one of my neighbors said, what's next? Locusts? lol

Karen

Well happy g'hog day all. My husband's Wednesday morning men's group cancelled their activities yesterday after winter storm warnings were issued for ice through the night, freezing rain and then snow.

I was awakened in the night by a flying object, most likely a bat or a wren (don't even ask) flying around the room. The dog and I evacuated and moved to a different bedroom and I couldn't get back to sleep. I heard the crashing of snow/ice from the roof after the rains stopped, and have been sitting at the puter most of the night, insomniacal. I glanced at the thermometer and it's nearly fifty flipping degrees outside. Hello?

Between the weather radio and the dogs, I'm not getting much sleep myself. The weather radio alarm sounded several times tonight telling us not to drive as emergency vehicles aren't able to make it out. Hwy 43 and I-94 between here and Chicago are closed (something about 10-15 gt drifts and the Natl Guard being stuck).

Tullie can't sleep because she really needs to, um, "go," but can't deal with the cold winds and high drifts. At some point I'm just going to pull her piddle pads up from the basement and let her have at it because I feel sorry for her.

I do not see how we'll get Steve to the hospital for his surgery, but don't have the heart to say anything about it yet.

Things surely changed since I went to bed last night. 50 then, 27 now, windchill 12 and a few snowflakes. Once there is daylight I have to hunt down 2 doormats, a snowshovel and 3 bowls I fill each evening for the 2 stray cats and the handicaped racoon. Just now went the trashcan, I hope it stops at the fence. Maybe I should put some lead in my sneakers, have a 8:30 Chiropractor appointment and I walk the mile.
I keep my fingers crossed that everybody stays safe.

We escaped with a gusty breeze. Just rain. Brought our mid-60 weather down to the twenties. I keep marveling at how those south of us and those north of us are feeling the effects, but not us. We really missed this bullet.

Everyone stay safe!!!

OK, this is just completely unnecessary. MORE SNOW is falling in Chicago! I thought Mother Nature was done insulting us but apparently not.

Karen

Stay safe and warm.

Here's a dumb video of what my girls had to put up with today. Steve's surgery was cancelled, so it's a pajama day...

Once again the worst has missed us... considering the number of homes still without electricity (from last week's storm), I'm sure the local utility has given a huge sigh of relief to see a slight drizzle instead of snow and/or ice. Everything is several inches deep in snow because it hasn't been warm enough to melt in the interim. Promised 50+ today, so far 39 is the high but at least that is enough to do some good.

Not mentioned on the weather news, but if this were summer they'd be going on & on about drought conditions. We began the new year with a negative figure and January was about 4" short of 'normal' precipitation. I'm seriously considering watering the perennials!

One of my Chicago friends just posted a photograph on her Facebook page. All she did was open the front door. Packed right there, in front of her, was a good 3-3 1/2 FEET of snow. Complete with imprint of the molding from the door, embedded in the snow.

And right now, because Mother Nature is apparently a female dog, the sun is shining. Great: it's freezing cold, we have feet of snow to deal with AND we're going to be snow blind. lol

Karen

I was watching a live broadcast from Chicago last night when there was a huge blast of thunder followed by lightening...the weather guy about jumped out of his skin..and someone in the background shouted "WTF" at the top of his lungs. Enough already!!!!

Most of the Mid-Atlantic region really lucked out, this time. After being scared silly wondering if we were in for another blast, ice, this time, we got RAIN!! The temps stayed at or above freezing last evening and all thru the night. Heck, it didn't even rain as much as was forecast. Now, at 3:34 p.m., a "mighty" wind has come thru, blown all the clouds away, the sun is shining and for the moment, the temp is 43 degrees. However, it's supposed to drop rapidly this evening, but cold--we can handle. Even I am ready for Spring!

Hope everyone is able to stay warm and safe.

Holy carp: my local news station is reporting that 400 cars were abandoned on Lake Shore Drive last night. Three accidents in a 3-mile span of the drive created gridlock, along with blowing snow off Lake Michigan which blocked most northbound lanes of the drive. 200 cars are still abandoned. I supposed it goes without saying that Lake Shore Drive has been closed to all traffic since late last night.

Glad I didn't have to be anywhere today!

Karen

That LSD video is amazing! And here it is, Wednesday night, and there are still abandoned cars on the Drive. Very glad my husband took side streets home, and I work from home. I think we got about 24", though the official airport counts are between 20" and 21". I have some low chairs in the garden that I can't even see!

An example of how Chicago works...when it needs to: LSD was fully cleared of cars AND show by rush hour this morning. I shudder to think WHERE the cars were taken. And this being Chicago, every official you ask will have a different answer. But big picture: a major Chicago roadway is now accessible to the hundreds of thousands of commuters who need it, side streets will probably be cleared by end of this weekend.

Karen

There are links to more pictures t the bottom of the page.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cars vs. Snow

Good luck to all you guys out there in the midst of it--no fun; dangerous and cold.
I hope the worst is over for you!

We did our 58" last year---I'm still tired from it.
That doesn't count the days of shoveling snow off the ROOF, along with 8 o 15" of ice build-up along the edges.

I hear these storms will become more common, according to climatologists.
My heart goes out to all of you who are caught up in this---hope you and your animals are all safe.
It must be frightening at times.

KJ