# Damn, snow in the forecast for DC area! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 27, 2000, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424 "2000-12-27T20:49:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OESGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecae2f/32.png) [@OESGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OESGal)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/1 "2000-12-27T20:49:59Z")
Just my luck, this would be the only Christmas time I have to travel, when it snows earlier in the year than normal! Dammit, I have to fly to Nashville! There is a forecast for significant snow for Friday and Sat in this area. It better not cancel my flight out of Dulles Airport!! I wish I could control the weather, shit! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![OESGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecae2f/32.png) [@OESGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OESGal)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/2 "2000-12-27T21:34:40Z")
Well, I guess no body cares either :mad: ---
**Author:** ![clay\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@clay\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clay_e)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/3 "2000-12-27T21:51:22Z")
You have no idea what the hell you are talking about. I just got a foot of snow and I’m not complaining. You get a few freekin inches and you have a heart attack. Do you have a mind overload when there is snow on your sidewalk? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/4 "2000-12-27T22:05:57Z")
When did you hear this report, OESGal? This morning on WTOP, Brad Hill (or whomever is the Channel 7 weather-guy) was saying that the southern front would peter out, so we would be looking at more of a light dusting than the huge dump that Mother Nature was planning to take on us. 'Course, I suppose that a snowstorm’s a snowstorm as far as pilots go, so best of luck anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/5 "2000-12-27T22:33:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by clay\_e \* > \*\*You have no idea what the hell you are talking about. I just got a foot of snow and I’m not complaining. You get a few freekin inches and you have a heart attack. Do you have a mind overload when there is snow on your sidewalk? \*\* Try reading the damn OP, jackass. He wasn’t complaining that there was snow. He was complaining that the snow may cause his flight to be cancelled, a perfectly legitimate complaint. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/6 "2000-12-28T00:14:09Z")
Well, the models are pretty much flip-flopping all over the place on this storm, so you might luck out. There seems to be considerably more confidence that we New Englanders are going to get something. If you really want a view at ugly weather-induced angst, take a look at the ne.weather newsgroup some time. People root for storms the way that people root for their favorite team, and respond with just about the same maturity as most adolescent sports fans when their hoped for blizzard doesn’t materialize. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/7 "2000-12-28T01:51:59Z")
As the President of the DC chapter of the [SDMB Snow Lovers Club](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=51708), I can’t **wait** for the snow. It should be a beautiful New Year’s weekend. Whoo snow!!! 🙂 (p.s. **Smeghead** , **OESGal** is most definitely a gal.) ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/8 "2000-12-28T06:14:53Z")
WTF? For some reason, I saw John Corrado’s name and thought he was the OP. Sorry about that. I did check - just not very well. ---
**Author:** ![OESGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecae2f/32.png) [@OESGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OESGal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/9 "2000-12-28T14:30:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smeghead \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by clay\_e \* > > \*\*You have no idea what the hell you are talking about. I just got a foot of snow and I’m not complaining. You get a few freekin inches and you have a heart attack. Do you have a mind overload when there is snow on your sidewalk? \*\* > > Try reading the damn OP, jackass. He wasn’t complaining that there was snow. He was complaining that the snow may cause his flight to be cancelled, a perfectly legitimate complaint. \*\* I AM NOT A HE. Thank you for pointing out that clay\_e had misread my OP. Also thank you Montfort for pointing out that I am indeed a GAL. Yes, now aparently, we will not really get much snow. What is with the weather patterns around here? It is amazing how it changes so much and so quickly, the forecasters are often wrong. I wish they could be more accurate. Jeeze made me freak out, those forecasters are a bunch of assholes! ---
**Author:** ![Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/49beb7/32.png) [@Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falcon)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/10 "2000-12-28T15:02:33Z")
Montfort - It’ll be beautiful only if my parents can still catch their flight out of National to Memphis… ---
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/11 "2000-12-28T15:48:48Z")
God help us - got to leave work now to get the milk, bread, and toilet paper. Tally ho!! ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/12 "2000-12-28T15:53:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OESGal \* > \*\* > Yes, now aparently, we will not really get much snow. What is with the weather patterns around here? It is amazing how it changes so much and so quickly, the forecasters are often wrong. I wish they could be more accurate. Jeeze made me freak out, those forecasters are a bunch of assholes! > > \*\* They’re nothing of the sort. Spend a bit of time looking at the models that the forecasters are working with and you’ll develop a lot more respect for what they do. A good start is Gary Gray’s Millenium Weather site. The weather situation right now is extremely complex, so much so that even 48 hours before the event there is considerable uncertainty about storm tracks. Consider that one hundred miles east or west in a low pressure area can make the difference between a 100 year storm and flurries for DC and consider that the forecasters have been tracking the current energy in the atmosphere since it was over the Pacific and you develop a bit more respect for what they do. Would you rather hear that there _might_ be problems on the weekend so that you can make contingency plans, or would you rather hear about heavy snows on your way to the airport? The last would be considerably more accurate, but it won’t help you a damned bit. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/13 "2000-12-28T15:57:48Z")
Last I heard, the NY area should get at least a foot of snow and 50-mph winds on late Friday/early Saturday. Thank my lucky stars I don’t have to travel! I’ll pick up my cat’s pills and food after work tonight and I can stay in Sat. with some hot chocolate and gaze out the window. I’m an East Coaster from birth, so I consider anything less than a foot of snow a “dusting.” But I would NOT want to travel in it . . . Good luck, Gal! ---
**Author:** ![OESGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecae2f/32.png) [@OESGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OESGal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/14 "2000-12-28T16:17:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > > \*\*They’re nothing of the sort. Spend a bit of time looking at the models that the forecasters are working with and you’ll develop a lot more respect for what they do. A good start is Gary Gray’s Millenium Weather site. The weather situation right now is extremely complex, so much so that even 48 hours before the event there is considerable uncertainty about storm tracks. > > Consider that one hundred miles east or west in a low pressure area can make the difference between a 100 year storm and flurries for DC and consider that the forecasters have been tracking the current energy in the atmosphere since it was over the Pacific and you develop a bit more respect for what they do. > > Would you rather hear that there _might_ be problems on the weekend so that you can make contingency plans, or would you rather hear about heavy snows on your way to the airport? The last would be considerably more accurate, but it won’t help you a damned bit. \*\* Well, yes, I do think it is a good thing to hear about snow and then have to make alternate plans. I do have respect for what the weather people do, but it seems that in this neck of the woods, they are much more inaccurate than in other places I have lived. Cookeville, TN is a perfect example, I trus the weather reports there much more because they haven’t been all that far off the whole time I lived there. I rant because I am unhappy about having to plan for snow instead of having clear weather, a much better senario, that is all. ---
**Author:** ![Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/49beb7/32.png) [@Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falcon)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/15 "2000-12-28T16:18:55Z")
Oh come ON, Finagle. The DC area is famous for historically overreacting to snow. If there’s a POSSIBILITY of a flake, everyone goes into panic mode, mobs the grocery stores, and abandons their cars on the sides of 495 and 66. After living here all my life…nope, still no respect for the weathercasters. ---
**Author:** ![SterlingNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@SterlingNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SterlingNorth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/16 "2000-12-28T16:49:18Z")
You are seriously underestimating the difficulty of forcasting weather in this region. We live in between a chain of mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. A difference of 50-100 miles can change the forcast from rain, to the “dreaded” wintry mix (which more often than not tuns out to be freezing rain, gaah!), to big-time snow. It’s hard to predict ahead of time if the Atlantic Ocean air will over run the cold air and erode it, or if the artic air will be dammed by the mountains. And weather systems around here don’t have the damn courtesy to come in though the same direction everytime like elsewhere in the country. And our weather is highly dependent on which direction ‘exactly’ the system is coming from. And anyway, is it really Doug Hill’s fault (John C.'s weathercaster) that you can’t drive in snow like normal folks. You Southerners amuse us. (Doug, like me, had the good sense to leave Detroit, MI). Yeah, I have an interest in meterology. Why do you ask? Alright, I’m leaving now! I can’t delay the inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![SterlingNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@SterlingNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SterlingNorth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/17 "2000-12-28T16:53:42Z")
Oh, **Finagle** , can you email me the address to that weather site. I’m heading off to Detroit, so I can’t monitor this thread until after New Years. Anyway, I’m thinking of changing schools to study meterology. This new economy isn’t panning out like I hoped it would. [FibberMcGee1@juno.com](mailto:FibberMcGee1@juno.com) ---
**Author:** ![OESGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecae2f/32.png) [@OESGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OESGal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/18 "2000-12-28T18:20:17Z")
Well, I do agree there are many people here in the DC area who are scared to death of snow. I don’t happen to be one of them. If the drive wasn’t 9 1/2 hours I would drive. The thing is, I REALLY want to get to Nashville and I DO NOT want snow to cancel my flight there! I am just mad that the weather has to be this way when I’m trying to fly. I want to get AWAY from my parents and back to my boyfriend in TN. I realize that this area is a very hard place to predict weather for. That doesn’t mean I’m not entitled to BITCH ABOUT IT :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/19 "2000-12-28T20:12:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SterlingNorth \* > \*\*Oh, **Finagle** , can you email me the address to that weather site. I’m heading off to Detroit, so I can’t monitor this thread until after New Years. Anyway, I’m thinking of changing schools to study meterology. This new economy isn’t panning out like I hoped it would. > > [FibberMcGee1@juno.com](mailto:FibberMcGee1@juno.com) \*\* Sorry, but email would give away my Secret Identity. Here’s the link, though. [http://www.millenniumweather.com/](http://www.millenniumweather.com/) It has pointers to all the current model information, and, in the winter, forecasts of winter storms in the Northeast, including discussions of the models which are, for the most part, Greek to me. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424/20 "2000-12-28T20:27:04Z")
Sterling—Stay away from that closet (“t’ain’t funny, McGee”)! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-snow-in-the-forecast-for-dc-area/47424.md?page=2)