breakthesky.neti'll break the sky, for you and i are going nowhere.

This is the view that I woke up to this morning:

Those giant white splotches are clusters of snowflake that have clumped together on my window. That brown box thing in the distance? That used to look like a building. And those big green things in the middle? Yeah, they’re trees, but it’s a question of how long they’re going to remain upright before they break and collapse underneath the weight of all the heavy snow on the branches. You can compare my photo from last weekend’s Snowpocalypse/Snowmageddon to this week’s Snoverkill storm to get a better idea of just how much snow there is outside.

There is a blizzard warning in effect until 7pm tonight and the government has halted snow removal because it is simply too dangerous for the workers to continue plowing the roads. Snowmageddon/Snowpocalypse dumped almost three feet of snow and Snoverkill is due to dump at least another two feet in the area. At minimum, there is going to be four feet of snow total – and that’s not even calculating the amount of (sometimes black) ice underneath the layer of snow.

I haven’t had class all week and I definitely won’t have it tomorrow. Class on Friday is looking pretty dicey at this rate as well. While it’s been nice to have an unexpected break in the middle of February, I’m starting to get a bad case of cabin fever. I’ve been trying to occupy myself by reading, surfing the web, and watching TV (until the satellites go down because of the blizzard). But there’s only so much that can keep you occupied when you’re shut up inside with friends who are feeling just as antsy as you are…

ETA: Someone made a time lapse of last weekend’s Snowmageddon. Now, take that and multiply it by about 100 to take into account Snoverkill’s blizzard status, and you should have some idea of what it’s currently like in DC.

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Washington, DC is currently taking a beating from a blizzard this weekend. It’s been snowing heavily for over 24 hours now and it is predicted to continue snowing for at least another 12 hours. The total amount of expected snow ranges from 20 – 30 inches (that’s about 50 – 78 centimeters for those using the metric system), with some areas even exceeding 30 inches. A blizzard warning is in effect all weekend and residents of the area have been told to stay inside unless absolutely necessary.

I know Canadians (and Scandinavians, and Russians, etc :P) are scoffing about how DC has freaked out about this storm. I’m from Chicago and even I am a little skeptical about how the city has whipped itself into such a frenzy about the blizzard that one would think it was the end of the world! However, this city is not equipped at all to deal with such intense winter weather. Schools were closed yesterday and offices either operated with a bare skeleton staff or no staff at all. And when the snow started to fall, all-out panic began to ensue.

My friend and I went to the grocery store yesterday in an attempt to buy some non-perishable food items on the off chance that we got stuck in our dorms due to the snow. And my God, what a scene there was at the grocery store! Our local Whole Foods had lines that wrapped all the way around the store, customers clutching grocery carts filled to the brim with enough food to feed a third world country. There was even police there for riot control, because tensions were running very, very high. The nearby Safeway was the opposite – its shelves were stripped bare because customers had cleared it out of any and all stock.

One can’t really blame everyone for panicking, though. When the blizzard is described as “the heaviest snowfall in nearly a century,” people are most definitely going to panic! As for me, I am going to spend my day curled up in bed, watching the snow steadily fall outside my window. I already ventured outside once to see how deep the snow was for myself – I sank my leg into the snow and it’s already higher than my knees!

ETA: Final snow accumulation amount for my area is 27.5 inches. I fell waist-deep in a snow bank :(

Given the tragedy that has happened in Haiti, I think it is only appropriate to skip the mindless rambling about my life for today and link to Chris Sacca’s article “Six Ways You Can Help in Haiti” and Huffington Post’s list of ways to help the Haiti earthquake relief to promote awareness about all the different ways one can help those affected by the earthquake. Melissa and Stephanie also have posted links to information about ways to help in Haiti. Additionally, the LiveJournal community Help Haiti is hosting a fandom auction to raise money for aiding the region.

Personally, I am texting “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10USD to the Red Cross relief fund¹. It’s backed by the State Department and is an effortless way to donate and make a difference in the relief efforts.

Please keep all those affected by the earthquake in your thoughts and prayers.

1. This is only for those in the US but there are many other ways to help Haiti if you live in another country. [↩]