They've declared the 'S' word in Richmond!

[britfan1]

This one kinda snuck up on us! They’ve gone and declared the ‘S’ word in Richmond…I wake up sign in to Yahoo and, in that little box reserved for weather they have a cloud with pretty little snowflakes superimposed there-upon and the numeral ‘38’ next to ‘High’. See, ‘High Of 38’ means that it may actually reach that lofty figure for about 40 seconds at some point during the day. The Richmond Times Dispatch, my Weather Bug, and The Weather Channel all concur… We’re supposed to have rain/snow…or snow…or snow/sleet, depending on who you believe.

I was not happy…my period of loving snow unconditionally ended at about the same time I stopped having a reason to listen to the ‘School Closing List’ and started working because, you see, every job I’ve had has been one of those without the option of calling in because of snow. Every one. I am apparently considered essential personnel…I truly wish my paycheck would reflect this fact.

If this had happened on, say, the 25th of the month, which as I recall has some significance, I’d be fine with it. I’m off Christmas Day, and I love a White Christmas as much as the next guy. But being at work when it snows means several things.

(A) I will get wet and cold…we gotta go out in it to do our jobs…to do rounds we have to go to several amazing places some of which are quite lovely when covered in snow….While I work at a large industrial plant we have nearly a hundred acres of woods in the back part of the plant. I have no problem at all with Beautiful Postcard Winter Woodland Scenery. Nor do I mind being out in it because I WANT to be…I love sledding and just hiking in it when I’m off, and we don’t get snow that often, so in all honesty, a good snow when I have a couple of days off is GREAT I can either go out and play, or use it as an excuse to stay in and read.
Having to slog through it (Ok, Ok,…we may get three inches at the most, so it won’t exactly be ‘slogging’, lol) to determine that there are no intruders, Industrial spies, or wayward Abominable Snow Monsters out and about, however is a different story. Especially considering the fact that I’ll be there while all this wintry loveliness is falling. I can put on three pair of socks, shoes, hip boots and a fully encapsulated suit, and I’ll, STILL figure out a way to have wet socks before the shift is half way over. Being highly intelligent, intellectual, brilliant, and even knowing how to change the battery in my pager, I will have extra socks…this year I won’t leave them at home either!

(B)There is one transformer room I have to check that’s four flights up an outside stairway…I am truly looking forward to this in snow sleet and freezing rain! Especially if there’s wind! Closest thing we have to the Alps!


(C) The drivers door to my truck will freeze closed. . If I’m really lucky, it’ll do it both in the morning and when I get ready to leave work.
Guaranteed. No matter what I do to avoid it, I’ll have to crawl in through the passenger side, crank her up, and get the heat going so I can ultimately get the door open. I could open it every ten minutes for the entire shift and it’d still freeze. Ford Motor Company is baffled…they say this is impossible. Trust me, as I yank on the door and accuse it of despicable acts while sleet patters off of my coat…it isn’t impossible.

(D) Some brilliant individual will have washed a vehicle on one of the concrete pads, despite the oncoming freeze. The accumulated ice will be covered in lovely wintry whiteness. Being astute and alert, I will discover this safety hazard when my southernmost regions come into violent and painful contact with aforementioned snow-covered concrete pad.

(E) While I do indeed manage to navigate my way in despite blizzards, clueless drivers, ice, clueless drivers, snow, clueless drivers, and yes, clueless drivers, those who relieve me sometimes aren’t as determined to make it in. Now if we have two feet of Wintry Wonder on the roads (Or even an inch or so…it doesn’t take much snow at all to shut Richmond down) V-DOT hasn’t gotten to the roads yet, and traffic is snarled, that’s understandable. And the roads may indeed be bad tomorrow. I wouldn’t want ANYONE risking life and limb to get into work when I’m there already…This doesn’t mean I have to love 16 hour shifts, however. I actually had a fellow officer who owns a Jeep Cherokee equipped with enough foul-weather options to allow it to serve as an Artic Expedition Command Vehicle call off one morning last year when we had flurries. I was in the fifties and sunny by afternoon. This was on a Friday…he had the weekend off.

HMMMM…why do I think he wasn’t planning to come in at all…HMMMMM.

It’s supposed to be in the 60s today, so I better enjoy it! Did I mention that they’re also calling for Snow Friday???

Anyway, probably won’t be that bad tomorrow…not supposed to be that cold, but hey, I gotta complain about the snow…it’s expected! I shall update everyone on the ongoing saga of ‘The Great Richmond Christmas Blizzard of ‘05’ as it progresses!

Gotta go in at 11AM today…on my theoretical day off (That a weird shift or WHAT???)

Rob

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

I am amazed what something as small as 3 inches of snow does to those in the southern climates.

Here in New England, 3 inches of snow is a mere dusting an a nuisance, not a catalclysmic event of epic proportions!

[scfire86]

It's so cold here in SoCal yuppies are wearing two sweaters wrapped around their necks.

[EFD840]

I am amazed what something as small as 3 inches of snow does to those in the southern climates.

Here in New England, 3 inches of snow is a mere dusting an a nuisance, not a catalclysmic event of epic proportions!

Three inches? We don't need no stinkin' three inches to pull a freak-out!

This is the deep south, if it covers the grass it is practically a blizzard!

[doughesson]

I thought that there would be a gun show today and ended up spending 3 hours walking around downtown waiting for the library to open and watching snow flurries fly by my face.
Originally from Memphis where the merest HINT of snow in the forecast sends people to the store for bread and milk.
No one know why but we go to get the stuff like the supply lines will be severed and forced to choose which relative is destined for the stewpot.

[mcaldwell]

I don't even put my truck in 4wd unless we get 8 inches.

3 inches for us is barely enough to "freshen-up" the ski runs.

Here's where we are at right now. 3+ feet of solid base, and more on its way.

Panorama Webcam (if it's black, it's night)

[britfan1]

I thought that there would be a gun show today and ended up spending 3 hours walking around downtown waiting for the library to open and watching snow flurries fly by my face.
Originally from Memphis where the merest HINT of snow in the forecast sends people to the store for bread and milk.
No one know why but we go to get the stuff like the supply lines will be severed and forced to choose which relative is destined for the stewpot.

I thought Richmonders were the only ones who pulled the 'OMG, we're gonna be snowed in for MONTHS, we must buy all the bread and milk (And rent movies...gotta have movies!) number! Let the word snow be mentioned...heck, hinted at...on the weather forecast, and a panicked mob decends on every supermarket within 50 miles, completely emptying them of bread, milk, and cold-cuts. I mean, we're gonna get 1-3 WHOLE INCHES!!! We could be snowed in till SPRING!!!

Rob

[LeuitEFDems]

I am amazed what something as small as 3 inches of snow does to those in the southern climates.

Here in New England, 3 inches of snow is a mere dusting an a nuisance, not a catalclysmic event of epic proportions!

3 measily inches? Hell, I don't even break out the snow brush for 3"

[mcaldwell]

3 measily inches? Hell, I don't even break out the snow brush for 3"

LOL, True!

That stuff'll blow off in the first mile.

[Resq14]

LOL, True!

That stuff'll blow off in the first mile.

hehe, ditto

[stillPSFB]

It's gonna be a bit colder down here too tomorrow - forecast max is only 91, so I might have to put a sweater on

[firemanpat29]

What is this "snow" stuff you are talking about?? Is it like in those
glass domes granny used to have, where you shake them and white
stuff falls on everthing? They say it snowed down here once since
Ive been here(20years) but you would have needed a 5 acre field
to make a snowball.

[RadRob]

They actually mentioned snow here in Dallas too. Although, here it is more like sleet. I hate cold weather, time to move further south.

[LeuitEFDems]

LOL, True!

That stuff'll blow off in the first mile.

A mile? you drive slow...
I love it when we get people from the south (mainly FL) up here this time of year...they FREAK at the 1st sign of snow and "automatically" drive 15mph everywhere...

[skyraider]

Hey Leuit...stop talking about me like that! I thought we were friends!

Hi, my name is Sky and I am a bad winter driver. I need help. I surrender to a higher power. I confess that I drive at speeds slower than a turtle when it snows. I...

Excuse me, gotto go.... I see a snowflake out the window...I need to run to the store for water, batteries, eggs, fig newtons, and spam...then need to put chains on the tires.

[Dave1983]

A mile? you drive slow...
I love it when we get people from the south (mainly FL) up here this time of year...they FREAK at the 1st sign of snow and "automatically" drive 15mph everywhere...

Easy now, we cant help it.

But, your right, we dont know how to act. A couple years back when we went up to Pierce for our aerial, we went in January. Since Ive been here in Fla since I was 12 I had never driven in snow. It didnt start very well. I went out to warm up the car and there was a mix of snow and ice on the windshield. No problem, I just hit the wiper/washer button.

Ever try and scrape ice of a windshield with a credit card?

[LeuitEFDems]

Easy now, we cant help it.

But, your right, we dont know how to act. A couple years back when we went up to Pierce for our aerial, we went in January. Since Ive been here in Fla since I was 12 I had never driven in snow. It didnt start very well. I went out to warm up the car and there was a mix of snow and ice on the windshield. No problem, I just hit the wiper/washer button.

Ever try and scrape ice of a windshield with a credit card?

Dave-Just turn the AC temp the other way...that's why they call it a deFROSTer ...and yes, I have used a card to scrape my windshield...lost my scraper....not fun. When my ex was up here from Orlando last winter, the 1st snow she scared the crap out of me. She was driving regular speeds...her excuse..."it's just cold water..."

[Dave1983]

Dave-Just turn the AC temp the other way...that's why they call it a deFROSTer

Hey thanks! See, down here we call it a deFOGer.

[RadRob]

WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NORTH TEXAS!

We maay see som eice here, and that makes for a busy week. The first sight of ice and everyone goes to "dumb" mode. Gonna be interesting!

[CFD Hazards]

I told both of my kids this morning that whether they liked it or not, they were going to be weathergirls. What other job can you have where you can make six figures and be wrong 50% of the time and no one cares. When I went to bed last night, the local news people were saying we would be getting 3-5 inches of snow, down from the 4-8 at lunch. When I got up this morning, there wasn't a single snow flake on my car. I turned on the news and the weather woman said "well, we weren't really sure where the storm was going to go and it seems to have missed us." It started snowing when I was on my way home from the firehouse at 7, it is now 9 and has stopped. Not that I am complaining but with Doppler 100,000, how the hell can they be so wrong?