Fighting Talker

Last night was the third night in 14 that I have spent without power in my area after the third serious band of thunderstorms roared through the area. The weather that folks in the Mid-Atlantic suffered through this summer has included tornados, fist-sized hail, lightning strikes, and high wind (which damaged tents on the mall as seen above).

There are many reasons that living in the DC metro area is difficult:

• Staggeringly-high real estate prices
• The second-worst traffic in America
• Mass-transit that is fast becoming as expensive as driving
• Relatively mild winters that send locals into states of existential panic
• Brutal summers featuring loads of humidity and pollution

But the one thing that we could take some comfort in was that we did not have the kind of risk of natural disaster that many other places have. We rarely have serious flooding. Hurricanes never get this far inland. Earthquakes are entirely unheard of. Tornado touchdowns used to be a once-in-a-decade thing. Now, in the past five years, we’ve had two touch down in Southern Maryland and this most recent one that caused damage in Falls Church (the town where I live).

If this kind of consistent catastrophic weather becomes the norm, it will have removed one of the few pluses to living in this area. DC summer weather is supposed to be very simple. The heat and humidity builds up and then in the afternoon once or twice a week, the clouds open for an hour, there are a few claps of thunder, no wind… and the hours after the rain are the most pleasant of the week. No longer, now there’s wind, tornados, and extended power outages.

Oh, and if anyone sees me today and I am looking a bit more scraggly than usual, you can blame that on having to shave in the dark this morning.

I have no idea what happened at either the USA-Spain match or the DC-Houston matches. Obviously, I’ve read a bit about the matches, but for in-depth commentary, go somewhere else. Here’s why. (more…)

Here is the crazy, wind-blown rugby kick I mentioned yesterday to folks before the United match. You really can’t believe it’s real, but according to the good folks at Rugbydump, it is.

The Capital Weather Gang (”Bloods? crips? No, I ride with the C.W.G”) at the Washington Post have created a “Unitedcast” forecast for all home United matches. They can be accessed here.

It’s a nice feature and right now they are iffy on whether Saturday’s game will be dry one.

I’ll let Jennifer B. moan about the weather, she’s funnier.

Seriously, “meteorologists”? You’re really not very good at this. Now, how is one expected to drive to Maryland to get kosher Chinese food to eat whilst watching the Oscars in this non-accumulation of over three inches of non-snow?

An absolute utter disaster. We got caught in Arlington during the worst of it, and I could’ve smacked into another car as my Honda slid across two lanes and just missed another car.

Not good times, bad times.

I need one of those little Shockwave cartoons that lets me shoot a bazooka at Bob Ryan and Topper Shutt’s heads.

Oh, and unlike the last time - the White Death is really coming tonight! Woo!

Another Washington Snow Panic averted when… it doesn’t actually snow. A little sleet, a little rain but no snow!

Can we please have some real snow now? Please.

It’s 10:53 p.m. here in Seven Corners, and there is still no sign of the impending WHITE DEATH!!