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Dec. 3, 2003
snoWatch
It’s on folks. MCPS vs. Winter 2003/2004 promises to be an epic battle and we may get round one as early as Thursday night. This could be the first time this school year that Blazers get a legimate excuse to skip school for reasons unrelated to PEPCO and its inability to keep electricity running. Will there actually be snow, and if so, will Blair close? Will the Redskins ever make it back to the playoffs? Read on for answers to two thirds of those questions.
Here’s what Weather.com and the National Weather Service are predicting:
Tonight
» A winter storm watch has been issued from Thursday night until Saturday
» Snow showers and a steadier snow developing late
» Chance of snow 80%
» Low: ~30°
» Accumulation: Two to four inches
Friday
» Rain and snow in the morning becoming lighter in the afternoon
» Chance of precipitation 80%.
» High: 39°
» Low: 30°
» Accumulation: About one inch
» According to the people who know about this stuff: "We could not be more on the fence in terms of the precipitation types [Thursday] . . . a real wintry mix that could make it real tricky to get around." – Dave Lew, WTOP meteorologist
Chips' best guess: 50% chance of cancellation on Friday; 70% chance of at least a two-hour delay. While the temperature outside will probably only just barely reach freezing, meteorologists are now more certain of at least some snow. Importantly, there should be snow accumulated and still coming at the time buses head out to pick up kids. Roads will likely be a mess and schools will take some sort of action. And if snow doesn't come through in Silver Spring, one might be able to count on Damascus.
Current radar image from the National Weather Service (click to enlarge)
Check the Silver Chips Online weather page for additional information, including a link to real-time weather conditions at Blair.
MCPS weather policies can be found on their emergency information page.
snoWatch discussion: Is Ice, Ice Baby an appropriate song to use during a snow dance?
Here’s what Weather.com and the National Weather Service are predicting:
Tonight
» A winter storm watch has been issued from Thursday night until Saturday
» Snow showers and a steadier snow developing late
» Chance of snow 80%
» Low: ~30°
» Accumulation: Two to four inches
Friday
» Rain and snow in the morning becoming lighter in the afternoon
» Chance of precipitation 80%.
» High: 39°
» Low: 30°
» Accumulation: About one inch
» According to the people who know about this stuff: "We could not be more on the fence in terms of the precipitation types [Thursday] . . . a real wintry mix that could make it real tricky to get around." – Dave Lew, WTOP meteorologist
Chips' best guess: 50% chance of cancellation on Friday; 70% chance of at least a two-hour delay. While the temperature outside will probably only just barely reach freezing, meteorologists are now more certain of at least some snow. Importantly, there should be snow accumulated and still coming at the time buses head out to pick up kids. Roads will likely be a mess and schools will take some sort of action. And if snow doesn't come through in Silver Spring, one might be able to count on Damascus.
Current radar image from the National Weather Service (click to enlarge)
Check the Silver Chips Online weather page for additional information, including a link to real-time weather conditions at Blair.
MCPS weather policies can be found on their emergency information page.
snoWatch discussion: Is Ice, Ice Baby an appropriate song to use during a snow dance?
Discuss this Article
Did you know: the first day of school last year that was cancelled was the first Friday in December. So maybe it will be two years in a row.
keep it up, snoWatch gets a thumbs up, from at least one person!
No.
In addition to that, there's the problem of even getting plows out to get rid of the snow on the roads. Last year, when there actually was some accumulation, (a few feet) we were so vastly unprepared that major, state-owned roads were left unplowed and white for several days before the plows could be diverted from absolutely essential highways (i.e. the Beltway, I-95, etc.) to clean them up. Besides the fact that many buses don't just take the bigger state-owned roads, but rather smaller backroads to get to safer intersections/closer to kids' houses, and it's almost impossible to drive there - for a reason that involves the fact that we are, in reality, southerners.
See, snow in Maryland doesn't stay snow like it does in Chicago. As it has been said, it snows like crazy there, it gets cold and stays cold and you're lucky if it hits twenty degrees before the end of February. But because of that the snow doesn't have a chance to melt. However, down here, where especially this early in the season it gets warm enough to melt the stuff by noon, the snow melts. And then, overnight, it gets just cold enough to freeze it again. It doesn't go back to snow though - it goes back to ice, making the roads even more dangerous than they were before with the easily movable snow.
I've criticized the county administration on many days because they closed schools when the weather wasn't that bad. However, I've come to the realization that the fact we don't get much snow actually serves to make it worse when we do - for the reasons stated above; unprepared drivers, ineffective plowing, and the just-barely-cold-enough climate. I don't remember ever having schools closed in Chicago, and I did live there for a while, but my parents complain to this day about the horrible drivers and ice - something they didn't have to deal with in Chicago or Nebraska or wherever you want to compare us to with worse winters.
Good new feature, Chips. And no, I do not believe that 'Ice Ice Baby' is an appropriate song for a snow dance. Then again, I was taught the only snow dance I know by an old Russian lady who probably had never heard the song. So who knows.
Second, Chicago is a fun city. Don't knock it until you've been there (on the other hand, I've only seen it in the summer, I haven't the slightest idea what the winters are like.
Sure is relaxing, drinking a nice hot beverage and looking out the window towards a SNOW covered street (though slush is not quite as pretty as SNOW).
;).
on a side note the snowy windows background on the main page is cute =)
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH