Major snow storm in eastern USA

[NZstorm]

which is nothing out of the ordinary for the USA but this one is a biggie and they reckon the Washington DC area may end up with a record fall.

[Willoughby]

Hmm, looks massive!

Blizzard blasts United States, Washington snowed under

* From correspondents in Washington
* From: AFP
* December 20, 2009 10:48AM

A DEADLY storm described as one of the worst in a decade blanketed much of the eastern United States overnight, grounding flights and bringing traffic to a standstill on the last weekend of the holiday shopping season.

In the bullseye of the historic storm, the cities of Baltimore and Washington - in a snow emergency - were on track to topple December snowfall records, with about 30 to 60 centimetres forecast by dawn this morning.

That would eclipse Washington's 30 centimetre December record set in 1932, and Baltimore's record 35.8cm from December 1960.

President Barack Obama, attending a heated UN summit in Copenhagen where world leaders struggled to hash out a plan to battle global warming, raced home to avoid the worst of the storm that hammered the East Coast two days before the official beginning of winter.

After snow ploughs cleared the runway at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington for the presidential jet, Obama stepped off Air Force One and into a heavy snowfall shortly after 1am (5pm AEDT). In a rare move he was whisked to the White House by motorcade rather than his traditional Marine 1 helicopter due to the treacherous weather.

As flakes poured down in the early morning hours, the White House was whiter than usual, barely visible from just a block away.

But the conditions were as perilous as they were scenic, authorities warned.

Three people died on roads in Virginia on Saturday, according to the state's department of emergency management (VDEM), whose representative Bob Spieldenner said hundreds of accidents "have shut down Virginia interstates for several hours."

"This is a very serious storm," said Maryland Emergency Management chief Richard Muth.

"The next 12-to-15 hours are going to be very hazardous," Muth added, warning people not to drive unless in an emergency.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine earlier declared a state of emergency, urging people to stay home, while Maryland's Governor Martin O'Malley followed suit.

Some areas of Virginia, south of Washington, had already received 0.6 metres of snow as of 2000 GMT (0700 AEDT) on Saturday, according to local weather reports, with more snow on the way. Parts of Maryland state had recorded well over a foot of snow.

Latest METAR:
KIAD 192352Z 32011KT 1/8SM R01R/3500V4000FT SN FZFG VV002 M03/M04 A2971 RMK AO2 SLP062 SNINCR 1/17 4/017 P0004 60012 T10281044 11028 21039 53015

Freezing fog with snow increasing rapidly, -3C and visibility to 200m. Brrr!

[gllitz]

I remember living in the DC area when I was in High School...winter of 86-87, I believe...REALLY nasty storm hit then...they ended up sending us all home early from school First storm hit on a WED or THUR, can't remember which...the forecast kept changing...2-4 inches, 4-6, 6-9, 9-12, 12-16...etc...until finally we had about 20 inches of snow on the ground...we then got another 9 inches or so the following SUN/MON...LOTS of time off school...and was a lot of fun to play in!!...but not to shovel...didn't like that at all! They (local govt infrastructure) can handle snow, for the most part, but not when the accumulations get THAT high.

[NZstorm]

The snow has affected New York also with 14inches at JFK Airport and 11inches Central Park.

[NZstorm]

This forecaster is having a laugh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpxiCxO5k0g

[David]

This forecaster is having a laugh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpxiCxO5k0g

Hehe, nice find!

[Tornado Tim]

This forecaster is having a laugh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpxiCxO5k0g

Hmm...... He certainly goes nuts, LOL
I love it how the sound had to be clipped because it was too loud, LOL

[jrj]

I'll never complain about Jim Hickey again

[NZstorm]

Dallas recorded its biggest snow fall on record today with 8.7 inches and Fort Worth 10 inches. Gulf states are in for a snow fall next 24hrs.