By Steve Tracton
A Snow Lover's Refrain
Welcome to winter, but where's the snow? From the latest (sometimes
sensationalist) news reports, it seems snowstorms are everywhere (even New Orleans!) -- except, as local
snow lovers (including myself) can attest, in the D.C metro region.
Although we've had periods of sufficiently cold conditions for snow,
almost all the significant precipitation has been rain. To me, rain in winter
is a decided waste of precipitation, and below-freezing temperatures an
unquestionable waste of cold air.
Keep reading for a detailed look at the unfavorable
odds of getting big snowstorms locally, and the difficulties predicting them...
Unfortunately, it is not unusual in this area for wintertime
precipitation and the requisite cold for snow to be out of sync. Moreover, the
characteristically narrow (often less than 10 miles wide) band of "wintry
mix" between snow and rain frequently runs up the gut of the D.C. area.
Suffice to say, getting a snowfall of consequence around here (let's say, more
than an inch or two) is no easy task, and the odds of a substantial snowfall
(say, greater than 6") this (or any) winter are a long shot.
All of which evokes what I believe is unquestionably the most apt
expression describing the sentiments of snow lovers, "Nothing takes longer
than waiting for snow" -- a refrain from a verse of the song, Waiting for
Snow, in the John McCutcheon album, Wintersongs.