Snowmageddon 2010

As we came closer and closer to the weekend, the snow forecast grew from 6 inches to 40, and with each retelling, Snowmageddon became more and more epic.

The final snow accumulation, as per the National Weather Service, was 13 inches. Although I have no desire to brush off my car and drive anywhere, the roads have been kept clear, restaurants and grocery stores have been kept open, and yesterday's basketball game against Wake-Forest was played. (Although they gave all students free admission at the door, and discouraged people from driving in.)

The only thing I've missed out on this weekend due to cancellations was church this morning. I guess it's just as well, since my friend and I were debating yesterday about which of us would get stuck brushing the snow off our cars in the morning anyway.

Here are some pictures from the epic adventure that has been Snowmageddon 2010. The car in the last picture is not mine, but gives an idea of what the snow looks like. I think by that point, it was pretty much done falling. Today has dawned bright and sunny.

Snow Days

One of the advantages of being a student is the ability to do tasks that are normally done when everyone else is doing them at times when everyone else is at work. Grocery shopping is one of the best examples of this. Weekday afternoons typically provide ample parking and small check-out lines.

In fact, there are very few times when weekday afternoons have crowded grocery stores (Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve pretty much sum it up). So, as I saw the snow starting to come down and recalled my previous experience with snow in Virginia (during which I just walked through the snow to the grocery store), I figured I would take a quick trip to pick up food so I would be able to simply hibernate should my car be buried under a foot of snow again.

I couldn't find a parking spot.

As someone who grew up with snow as a constant fact during the winter, the reaction of people down here to the snow is a bit of a culture shock for me. In fact, not to sound like your grandma telling woe-is-me tales, I can remember going out to start my car in -40 weather (-56 with windchill), driving to work while one lane of traffic was basically a snow drift, and running into the office. So, a dusting of snow and temperatures hovering around zero is nothing. But, as a dual degree student mentioned this morning, they only got a total of 3 or 4 inches of snow last year. So the fact that we are expecting 4 to 6 inches tonight is a big deal.

I'm hoping for a snow day tomorrow. I can't recall that I've ever had one.