Antarctica Starts Here.

If you haven't heard by now, the National Weather Service has predicted another blizzard headed for the DC metroplex, this time with up to twenty inches of snow in store for us. Yesterday afternoon the federal government called another code red, meaning that all non-essential personnel weren't supposed to drive in. Of course, in our infinite wisdom, Lyssa and I called up Hasufin (who owns a four wheel drive SUV) because we had to make a run to the supermarket to get a few things that we'd run out of (the stuff that spoils soon after you get it). Wholly unsurprisingly, everyone else and their backup had exactly the same idea judging by the carnage at our local supermarket. People were packed in there like sardines in a can and the shelves looked like a plague of locusts had blown through and eaten everything but the enamel on the shelves. Interestingly, you can tell how many people in the area care about eating healthy: the produce shelves were stripped almost bare, the skim, 1%, and 2% milk were entirely gone (but whole milk was left behind), there was no turkey or chicken left but pork products were still in the chiller cases, and there was practically no bottled water to be found. It was so absurd that I couldn't help but snap a few pictures with my smartphone while waiting for the crowds to thin so I could walk another couple of steps.

This morning I got up early to drive Lyssa to her dentist's appointment on the other side of town. I hadn't realized until then just how practical Hasufin's SUV was in this weather: while the roads are technically clear (which is to say that plows have been over them) if you're in a low-mass vehicle you're going to have a hell of a time getting anywhere. For starters I discovered the hard way that the runoff's been alternately thawing and freezing around the front wheels of my car because I had to chip the ice away this morning to back out of my parking spot. Second, the roads are technically clear due to all of the trucks that have been driving over them but not so much the plow blades. Unfortunately, all of the other vehicles have compacted and polished the snow into a slick not-quite-icy surface which affords sweet frag all for traction. A little over halfway to her dentist's office we stopped at a stop sign and discovered that we couldn't move forward again. Two guys jumped out of their trucks to give us a push through the intersection - thanks, guys. You saved our bacon.

Simply put, we're not going anywhere else today unless it involves a loss of power or some other emergency.

Here's a collection of photographs from last night.