I don't think anyone is used to planning for middle of the day snow...

The Washington Post:

My work:

Fire & Ice

We have been spared the panic-worthy stories for the most part, but they are starting to trickle in.

The Washington Post brings us the picture of some poor sap in Silver Spring who had more than the usual trouble driving in a blizzard.

Dr. Snowpanic Gets Results!

I noticed a Washington Post article recapping area laws about shoveling your sidewalk. DC gives you a relatively skimpy 8 (daylight) hours after the snow stops falling. The article said that Prince George's County gives you 24 hours. I know, however, that PG gives you 48 hours. This is important, because there are going to be less than 48 hours between the end of last night's inchpocalypse and the onset of the end-of-times snow we're getting this weekend. I am not throwing my back out clearing an inch of snow that's going to be buried under 3 more feet by the end of the weekend.

So I tweeted at the post (my only regret is not using the official Dr. Snowpanic twitter account). And they corrected it! I mean, they didn't mention in the article that they had corrected it, which seems a bit weird, but hey.

Closed even if there's no snow!

The University of Maryland announced that it will be closed Friday through Sunday. Even though the Post says that "it’s not out of the question the snow holds off until Friday evening."
I bet the students who are needlessly missing 8am lectures will be upset...on second thought...

More Maryland Snow

Ok the last time I made fun of Maryland for delaying schools more snow fell and it was actually dangerous but this time the closing seems a little bit excessive.

Don't Ever Change, Maryland

Some of the grass is obscured by snow! Better cancel school!

Let's be careful out there

My unofficial count has three traffic fatalities already in Maryland. Two in Landover (accident pictured), and one near Emmitsburg. So even though we joke about how people in Maryland can't drive in the snow...people in Maryland really can't drive in the snow. You probably don't want to be on the road with them unless you absolutely have to.

Dr. Snowpanic Greets the Morning

So far we've seen less "snow panic" and more "snow lull us into a false sense of security." Dr. Snowpanic greeted the dawn with a sense that the snowfall so far had been underwhelming. Looking at the forecasts, I see that the real impact is supposed to be in the coming hours, but so far, all we have is a dusting, and a bit of slush on the deck.

As you can see below, the mean streets of Bowie are pretty much clear. Note the Snowpanicmobile (four-wheel drive, of course) parked at a jaunty angle in the driveway so that the streets can be cleared -- in compliance with City of Bowie snow regulations regarding an event producing two or more inches of snow.

 

More updates to come later in the day, although once the Snowflakes (no two exactly alike!) wake up, coverage may be unpredictable.

"Mild winters gobble up snow budgets"

This story makes my head hurt. It explains that despite the fact that we haven't gotten so much as an inch of a snow on any given day this winter, the States of Maryland and Virginia have somehow used up a majority (Virginia) or all (Maryland) of their snow budgets for the season.

No, really, people like to buy bread before snowstorms...

 

Almost a week after the snow started (not counting the minor snowfall we had in the middle of last week), the bread supply at our local Giant is still depleted. Almost everything else is in good supply, but heaven help you if you want bread. (Fortunately, I bought two loaves last week, so we have more than we need.)

Not the best way to get your street plowed...

County drivers working to plow the roads in Prince George's County were accosted Thursday around 10 a.m. by several residents, who told them that if their streets didn't get plowed they were going to "throw them out of their trucks and beat them up," said Susan Hubbard, spokeswoman for the county's Department of Public Works and Transportation.

Full report, including a clarification that doesn't really clear things up, in the Washington Post.

Morning Snowflakes

As I gird myself to head out and shovel (again), please enjoy these tales of snow panic.

• Two James Madison University student have been charged with felony assault for throwing snowballs ("missiles") at a snow plow and undercover police. (Thanks to Snowpanic.com reader JG for the tip.)
  
• A falling chunk of ice dislodged a gas line, causing a leak at a NW Washington school.
  
• A Hyattsville woman joked on Tuesday, "Now would be a really bad time to go into labor." Wednesday, at the height of the blizzard, she did.
  

I Hope the Fonz's Jacket Is Safe

A Smithsonian warehouse in Maryland has collapsed.

(They say that everything inside is probably OK, but it's too dangerous to check.)

View from the Front

This was the scene around 8AM at Snowpanic.com HQ. It's only gotten worse.

Snow Crash

To use the term du jour, please, everyone, "shelter in place".  The Washington Post reports a ridiculous number of crashes in Maryland and Virginia today. 

• "A van ran into the back of a snow plow on Route 426 at Interstate 95."
• In Virginia, two men stopped to help another motorist and were hit by a tractor-trailer

Here at Snowpanic.com, we like to make light of the brouhaha, but if panic causes you to stay off the road, good.