SurfDogII

Most of you know, I live in the Washington DC area. Snow days over the last few years have been, well, almost non-existent. Our area gets mostly rain or sleet. Don't know why, I am not a meteorologist. The only thing I know is NEVER trust the Weatherman, or Weather Channel, when it comes to predicting the weather. There is only one true source for predicting snowfall in the DC area:

Bob Ryan.

Bob Ryan is the chief meteorologist for WRC-TV, the NBC affiliate here in DC. All I can say is this in predicting our snowfall: Well Done, Bob!

In most of the cases here in DC, the forecast for the county I live in, which borders DC to the north, was quite different, depending on who you listened to. Anywhere from "2 to 5 inches" up through "Could see 8 to 10 inches".

I listened to them. I took heed. Then I listened to Bob Ryan

"The storm most likely will begin before 9:00 pm on Friday. This band SHOULD (not could, SHOULD) bring 16-20 inches before 3:00 pm before tapering off and peaking at around 24 inches by around 9:00 in these areas (pointing to my house on the map) before all is said and done. "

Friday: 7:00 PM. There is no "smell of snow". For those who live on the East Coast, you know what I am talking about. There are some clouds, but not what you would expect from a snow storm forthcoming.

Friday: 8:00 PM., Still no smell of snow, but the cloud cover has blanketed the evening sky.

Friday: 9:00 PM. It's starting to fucking snow. (Bob Ryan is a God). However, STILL no SMELL of snow.

I get home around 9:25, and there has already been an accident, because in that first half an hour there is already half an inch on the street. Not the grass: The STREET!Two accidents in the three miles it takes me to get home from the theater. Not a fun night

Saturday, 3:00 PM. 20 fucking inches of snow. Granted, there were drifts of 3-4 feet in my back yard, but where it counts, where I do all my measuring (middle of front yard, and on my car, it was right around 20 inches of snow on Saturday. By the time the snow stopped at 8:45 (Bob was off by 15 minutes, he is only a DemiGod here) we had 24 inches of snow.

Now, while the snow was piling up, around 11:00 AM on Saturday, I went to the neighbor's house and asked to speak to the neighbor kid. I asked him how much he would charge to shovel my car out, and he said "I'll do it for $20." I told him I would throw in an additional $10 if he dug my car out first thing in the morning, before 9:00 AM Sunday morning, but only if the plows came by.

Not only did he dig me out first, he was done by 7:30 AM. He paid his brother $5 to break up the snow the plow buried in front of my car. He came by at 6:45 (Yes, he knew I would be up) and asked for my car keys, so he could start my car and warm it up.

When I had to go to the theater that morning, my car was bone dry, there was no snow on either side of my car, and my parking space was dug out all the way to the middle of the cul de sac.

So, to recap: 24 inches, called by Bob Ryan, and I didn't have to shovel my car out, and all it cost me was $30. Bob Ryan is a weather God, my next door neighbor is VERY industrious, and I got to stay dry all day Sunday.

Then things came crashing to a halt on Monday when the Redskins forgot to show up to FedEx Field for Monday Night Football.

But that is another blog, altogether...