Let it blizzard! Let it blizzard!

There's a reason I always doubt the weather report. Winchester is located in a unique space - the Appalachian mountains are placed just so that they deflect clouds away from the town. Big storms with big promises often end up bouncing to the north or south. There was one year when a blizzard dumped a foot of snow to the north, south, east and west of us. We didn't even get flurries. It's a horrible fate for a school-age kid who had a habit of not doing his homework. Salvation ruined by a barely-passes-for-a-mountain! If you're a kid in Winchester, you learn quickly you can't count on mother nature to give you a break.

This current storm began the same way. Last night I checked the radar and noticed it was dumping snow everywhere around us - but there was a tiny hole in the storm directly over Winchester. Same old, same old. I went to bed when an inch of snow was on the ground, assuming we'd get a nice moderate snowfall while the rest of the state was smothered.

I was wrong! Overnight and this morning, the storm overpowered the mountain and caught us up with the forecast. There is a LOT of snow outside right now - and more to come? Dang. As you can see in the picture, the snow shovels used this morning are about to be lost as the snow keeps coming and coming. I guess this is the yearly epic storm after all.

Of course, I am well beyond school age at this point, so much of the fun of snowfall is lost on me. Now I have to worry about how long it'll take for the roads to clear up so I can make contact with friends again. I am bound to go stir crazy here after a few days. C'mon, VDOT, do your thing and clear a path to my door!