Photo by Brad Lhotsky

What do you call back-to-back blizzards? "Snoverkill," say the wags on Twitter. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. And yes, I am aware that it's premature to call the storm being forecast for today and tomorrow a blizzard, but at this point any more snow is too much. Straw, meet camel's back.

How are you preparing? Has anyone taken desperate measures to get snow out of their neighborhood so there's space for Round Two? Have you moved your car somewhere else entirely in hopes of not getting stuck?

Did you ever see a plow?

I'd also like to hear how your life has been affected by all this snow. Did you manage to make it out of your neighborhood? Have you had to delay important things? (Anyone have to put off a real estate settlement?)

Commenting on this post about the digging-out effort, Pete from Highlandtown said a big storm brings out the best and worst in people. He saw the former on his block, where residents worked together to clear the street -- by hand.

Thus, "EVERYBODY on the block can get out. On other blocks people only thought of themselves. They only dug out their own cars and threw the snow into the middle of the street. Now NO ONE on their street can get out. Co-operation works a lot better than selfishly trying to look out only for yourself."

Can the cooperative spirit survive another big storm?

Can the combined might of 5.6 million people wishing the same thing affect weather patterns?

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Neighborhood and neighbors, Weather
        

Here's a photo taken by Brad Lhotsky, showing Linwood Avenue through Patterson Park.

I'm offering it up as the silver lining to all this darn snow: It does have its beautiful moments.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Neighborhood and neighbors, Weather, Your name in lights (well, newsprint)
        

Photo by Jamie Smith Hopkins

A few of your responses to the "so where should the shoveled snow go?" question:

Beth said, "We're about to head out to shovel our alley street near Patterson Park. I think we're going to put the snow in the alley (the part where the trash truck doesn't go). I know it's not an ideal solution, but we already have five foot high drifts in front of all of the houses on our block just from shoveling a walkway (not the whole sidewalk, just an 18 inch path!)"

From Gina: "We live in a townhome community - very tight when it comes to where to put snow. We ended up filling a wheelbarrow and taking it to one of the few grassy spots in the community and then throwing the snow there."

Kate wrote: "We only shoveled a path on one sidewalk on my narrow street. Snow from the street (shoveled, not plowed...even in regular snowfalls the city plows don't make it here) went on the other sidewalk. The drifts are taller than me."

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Neighborhood and neighbors, Quote of the day, Weather
        

Photo by Jamie Smith Hopkins

Here's a question being pondered by anyone living in a neighborhood without a lot of spare space: Where on earth do you put the snow you're shoveling?

The Baltimore police department's Facebook page says where city residents shouldn't be putting it: "PLEASE DO NOT shovel snow back into the roadways."

Some residents were flummoxed by that. Wrote one Facebook user, "it's not as though we have yards and driveways -- other than the street or the sidewalk, where are people supposed to put the snow??"

Have you found a good answer in your neighborhood?

One city resident responding to the police's Facebook posting made this recommendation: "Put the snow that you're shoveling down the storm drains on every corner."

Wonk reader BigDragon, who measured 28 inches of snow outside his garage door in Glen Burnie, offered a photographic suggestion:

And to think, we're supposed to get MORE snow on Tuesday.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Neighborhood and neighbors, Weather
        

Baltimore real estate agent Jamie Mason, who took the photo below, offers up a caption that made me laugh:

"New feature to market in city home sales: the rooftop luge."

Here's a harbor view she snapped:

Frequent commenter BigDragon sent in photos of the Snowpocalypse in his Glen Burnie neighborhood, including this one that answers the question, "So where exactly can you put the shoveled snow?"

Continue reading "Snowpocalypse: More of your photos" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Neighborhood and neighbors, Weather, Your name in lights (well, newsprint)
        

Photo by Jamie Smith Hopkins

My condo association offers a simple rule for getting through snowstorms with neighborly feelings intact: Never park your car in a space you didn't dig out yourself.

It works pretty well when you've got a parking lot that has space for everyone, and no one from neighboring communities has any reason to horn in. It's trickier in a place that has only street parking, plus businesses attracting car-driving people.

That's why Baltimoreans often resort to setting chairs in shoveled-out spots to save them from interlopers, as Gus Sentementes reported after the December storm. (It's not legal on public streets, he said, but city officials tend to turn a blind eye to the practice.)

Where do you stand on the parking-space issue?

What other rules do you abide by (or wish others would) in the name of snow etiquette?

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Neighborhood and neighbors, Weather
        

Rob Walshe shared this snapshot of his Waltherson neighborhood, in Northeast Baltimore:

And here's another photo from Rob, to show how high the snow got today:

Jennifer Feinstein took this photo of son Zachary Feinstein, 6, outside their Westminster home:

And here's a street view from Westminster, also taken by Jennifer:

Continue reading "Snowpocolypse, Day 2: More of your pics" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Neighborhood and neighbors, Weather, Your name in lights (well, newsprint)
        

Photo by Joe Heisler III

Thanks to all who have sent in photos to show just how much snow you've gotten. Keep 'em coming.

Above, Joe Heisler III gives us a visual report of the situation in Glen Rock, Penn. Wife Kathy said just before noon that they had 27 inches there and the stuff was still coming down.

Here's what greeted Laura in Baltimore when she opened her door this morning:

And here's James Harry's photo of the Baltimore neighborhood of Idlewood (below):

Continue reading "Snowpocolypse, Day 2: Your pics" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Neighborhood and neighbors, Weather, Your name in lights (well, newsprint)
        

"Flat roofed buildings are extremely susceptible to collapse from the weight of large accumulations of heavy snow," he said in a statement. "In the interest of public safety I urge citizens to take the necessary steps to remove snow from flat roofs in order to avoid the increased danger of collapse."

It probably goes without saying, but be careful if you're going to take those steps.

Do you have a flat-roofed home or business?

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Home maintenance, Weather
        

Thanks, all.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)