If I was a betting person, I wouldn't have taken that bet.
My first winter in DC is marked by the city's largest snowfall in 90 years. Yes, I said 90 YEARS. We got about 2 feet (60 cm) of snow. And guess what? They're forecasting more snow for Tuesday and Wednesday. This might actually stick around for a while, unlike the snowfall I missed in December. And Washington doesn't have the capability to remove it quickly like St. John's/Mount Pearl does. Looking out my window, the streets still - 24 hours later - look pretty hard to navigate.
I've been a bit of a snow grinch. Some people are positively giddy about it, perhaps because it is so rare here. About 1,000 people descended on Dupont Circle yesterday for one huge snowball fight (hopefully no cops pulled guns at yesterday's fight). Snapshots of "Snowmageddon" - as President Obama termed it - are going up on Facebook as fast as people can take them.
I don't know - maybe 29 years of this has made me a bit fed up. I thought I was moving to a place that got at most a few inches of snow every year! I'm also not at all prepared in terms of "winter wear". When I packed my suitcase last year, I never would have dreamed I should pack winter boots. Even the winter jacket I have here was reserved for "not too bad" winter days at home. At least I no longer have a car to shovel out. And for what I'm paying for my apartment, they'd better do a good job of keeping the entrance clear.
Take my complaints with a grain of salt! Obviously, what the mid-Atlantic is experiencing is nothing compared to what is happening in other parts of the world - notably Haiti. This is a novel experience - I was part of one of the worst snowstorms to hit DC in a century. And you know what? In August, when the mercury approaches 100 F and it's too hot to be outside, a snowstorm might not seem like such a bad thing.
Some pictures taken from my apartment:
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