Live Blogging the Snowpocalypse

This morning, we woke up to the news that the Winter Storm Warning had been canceled, only to be replaced by a Blizzard Warning, which is the National Weather Service equivalent of "you people are screwed."  The forecast expects 12 to 18 inches of snow.  GULP.

As soon as JT headed off for camp parenting time, I hit the gym.  The snow wasn't yet upon us but I take forecasts like this seriously and I figure that 18 inches of snow might prevent a trip to the gym tomorrow.  As I drove home, some tiny flakes had begun to fall.  As of this writing (12:30 pm, EST), there's a steady fall of snow, though the flakes are tiny.  My shovel and ice melt are on the front porch, I've got a pot of popcorn set to pop, the cats are napping on their favorite radiators, I've got a stack of books and an afternoon of football, and I'm ready for Old Man Winter to bring it on.

Updates as warranted.

1:34 pm
The snow is falling; but still a rather light affair. The National Weather Service is still predicting doom and gloom...but no one from the township has driven by with the megaphone to warn us to get our cars off the street, which around here is the usual precursor to a serious snow event.  So I feel perfectly safe in ordering up a nap.  Yawn.

3:59 pm
Post nap (a nap which demonstrates again the value of the new sofa) snowfall total is about an inch and a half. The north wind is steady and fierce; I'll be sweeping snow off the porch before the night is over.  The wind chill at the moment is 14 degrees, so I'm delaying the trip outdoors. My neighbors, who usually snap-to for in-storm snow removal, all seem to be in hibernation. So I'll follow their lead and check in with the widow in my Trollope book.

4:29 pm
Wrapping up and heading out to turn on the Christmas lights.  Aren't I the brave stupid one?

4:45 pm
Damn, that was cold.  About 3 inches of snow have likely fallen.  The wind and drifts make it awfully hard to tell for sure.  I shoveled my way to the lights, plugged them in, admired the effect.

And then went back inside because, as I believe I mentioned, it's cold outside.

6:45 pm
Thanks to the wind and the drifts, it's hard to be certain how much snow has fallen.  I'd hazard a guess that there's a good 6 inches in the backyard as of now.  The forecast suggests another 12 inches could fall overnight.  The wind has covered the back windows with snow flakes and it's piled snow on the tabletop on the back deck.  There's a fairly steady blowing wind moving at 10-20 miles per hour and fairly often I hear some impressive gusts that leave me hoping all the tall, heavy trees in my immediate vicinity have deep, strong roots.  In sum, winter is not messing around.

8:40 pm
Easily a foot of snow on the ground and still falling at quite an impressive clip.  Winds seem reduced, but for how long?

10:00 pm
Someone in my neighborhood has fired up their snow blower and hit the streets of Sassafras Town.  WTF?  Normally, we all snow blow together but there is more than a foot of snow on the ground, it's still falling, and the temp is 22 degrees with a wind chill of 9 degrees. This girl is headed to her flannel nest. 

Updates in the morning.