Putting it in Perspective

Snowmageddon. Snoverkill. Snotorious B.I.G. These are the names I've heard in the media to describe DC's weather in the past week. Last summer was the coldest and rainiest I can remember and I was praying that the winter would continue the trend with lots of snow. I have not been disappointed. We'll blog again later about our fun during this exciting week, and we'll post a lot more pictures (here's one for a taste or check Facebook for more). But for now I just want to talk numbers. In the last four winters DC has received 35.5" of snow total, or a little less than 9" per year. They were admittedly a little dry: DC averages about 15" per year, generally in 3-6" chunks. This winter, by late January, over 22" had already fallen at Dulles. Then in a span of of 12 days (Jan 30-Feb 10) we were hit by four separate snowstorms that dumped an additional 50.2" of snow. That's right, folks, DC has had almost six feet more snow than normal this year and two of those feet are still sitting on my lawn. The cons: LOTS of shoveling, spotty Internet, visitors and Cheryl getting stranded away from home. The pros: Five days of government closures (sorry taxpayers), and the best snowman-making conditions I've ever seen. In the above picture Ryan and the snowman are standing on an 18" base, and this was taken before the fourth snowstorm. Midway into February it's officially already the snowiest winter on record. The largest snowstorms in DC are generally in March, and I hear the groundhog predicted more winter. Are we in for another blast? How many feet this time?