Woohoo, my return has been selected for audit!

**This is an update to my post on January 17**

So since I'm now at week 21 (and counting) to receive my first-time homebuyer tax credit, I decided to call the IRS this morning and inquire as to its status. I dialed in at 8:10 a.m., and was connected to a represenatative by 8:25 a.m. (this was a Thursday, so maybe the wait times were suppressed?). The nice representative gave me some details I hadn't gotten before: that my amended return was sent up for managerial approval on/around 28 September 2009, and on 13 February 2010, it was selected for audit. How excellent!

This means that in the next 3 weeks, I'll receive a letter asking for more information - not sure what they want, since I sent in copies of (what I thought were) the HUD forms, including the notarized form from the State of Maryland certifying that I'm a first-time buyer in this state. Then I'll return the info to the audit office, where it'll sit at the bottom of a pile for a few weeks (hopefully only "a few"!), and then hopefully it'll pass muster for whatever details they were looking for and they'll issue the credit!

Finally, and ironically, I've completed my 2009 tax returns, both Federal and State, and will be submitting them this week. I'm nearly 100% confident that I'll get the 2009 refunds before the amended 2008 refund :) Bueno, asi es el gobierno, que pueda hacer?

(Near) Blizzard of 2010

Here's a great satellite image of the storm as it wound up this afternoon off the east coast. Note the classic comma-shape structure to the clouds, and as my colleague SW pointed out, the cirrus clouds over South Carolina are indicative of a very fast 300 hPa jet streat - sampled by the 00Z MHX and CHS soundings at over 180 kts!



Also, I've been amused this past week by the antics of the couple who live across the street. The husband, like me, has been out shoveling his parking area and his "backyard" (the area enclosed inside his privacy fence) multiple times, even while the snow is ongoing. I think he's suffering from the same maladies that are getting to me: cabin fever and curiosity. When it's snowing like mad, windy and cold, you pretty much have to stay home, but who wants to spend all those hours indoors? Not me! Plus how often do we get all these blizzards and heavy snow events? Probably not very often! So the combination beckons -- I've shoveled my driveway/parking area, and the sidewalks leading from my front door all the way to the side street, at least 10 times in the past week. Why? Well, for one I'm trying to "stay ahead" of the snow, but really that's flawed logic because drifting sees to it that the pile of snow is the same size, or even larger, the next time around... so that leaves the two above-mentioned reasons: desire to get out of the house, and curiosity. It's much warmer to look at the snow while moving around than it would be just standing there. Anyway, back to the couple across the street: his wife is a nag! She's constantly yelling at him, "come back inside!", "why are you shoveling the snow?" "aren't you cold?" "it's no good to shovel it now; it'll all blow back in later!" etc etc. He just takes it like a champ, saying "I'll be in soon, honey". They are amusing... but all that nagging must get old after a while.

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Two casualties so far:

1- My snow shovel! After dutifully performing, even above expectations, for the past two snow events (the 21.5" event over the weekend, and the 8" event 2 weeks ago), I finally managed to crack the plastic end of the shovel. I really should chalk it up to "user error" because I had angled the shovel and was using it to beat against a solid hunk of ice blocking the sidewalk, and the shovel gave way. It's actually still usable, but I think its end is near...

2- My snow board! The "ideal location" that served me well the past three events has surrendered to the severe drifting that surrounds it -- it's basically caged in now by large snow mounds on nearly all quadrants. At 12 noon, I measured 5.4"; at 3 p.m., I measured 5.2", 0.2" less than 3 hours earlier despite nearly continuous snowfall. So I've punted and written in to NWS advising them that I will no longer be sending observations from Annapolis for this event. I actually got a response back from BS, thanking me for my reports up to that point.

Here are a few recent photos:



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This afternoon the snow looks to be beginning to end. I measured 5.4" of snow as of 12:00 noon, which doesn't match much with the other totals on the NWS report for Anne Arundel County. It's even curious that my two recent reports aren't even making it on the list, maybe because I include the uncertainty in my measurement. We changed over to sleet around 9:00 p.m. last night, and then to freezing rain by 10:00. We changed back over to snow early this morning and have had winds over 30 mph since about 9 a.m. this morning. The temperature has been significantly lower with this storm, ranging from 25F to 19F in Annapolis (depending on the instrument sensor... the KNAK ASOS or the ANNPS AWS via WeatherBug). The western edge of the heavy snow is moving eastward towards us in Annapolis, but the northern part of the heavy snow axis has basically stalled over and north of Baltimore (and has been there for several hours). The most recent NWS blizzard warning has significantly increased the total storm snowfall, now predicting 20-30". The relevant text is copied below. The local office specifically highlighted Anne Arundel county (along with Baltimore and points between) for dangerous blizzard conditions.

Here are some photos of the storm:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
219 PM EST WED FEB 10 2010

MDZ003>007-009>011-013-014-110000-/O.CON.KLWX.BZ.W.0002.000000T0000Z-100211T0000Z/
WASHINGTON-FREDERICK MD-CARROLL-NORTHERN BALTIMORE-HARFORD-MONTGOMERY-HOWARD-SOUTHERN BALTIMORE-PRINCE GEORGES-ANNE ARUNDEL-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...HAGERSTOWN...FREDERICK...WESTMINSTER... GAITHERSBURG...COLUMBIA...BALTIMORE...ANNAPOLIS
219 PM EST WED FEB 10 2010

...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING...

A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE...HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS...STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 20 TO 30 INCHES...WITH HIGHEST TOTALS NORTH AND EAST OF BALTIMORE. DRIFTS 3 TO 6 FT.

* TIMING...HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING.

* TEMPERATURES...LOWER 20S.

* WINDS...25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 55 MPH. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO A QUARTER MILE OR LESS AT TIMES... PRODUCING BLIZZARD CONDITIONS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE OCCURRING. DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE. THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING SITUATION FOR ANYONE WHO BECOMES STRANDED.

FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

&&

$$

Round 4 - seriously?

So, again snow - moderate to heavy - is falling in Annapolis. The forecast models have been in much less agreement this time around, compared to Rounds 1 and 3, on precip amounts - but have generally agreed on at least 0.75" of liquid-equivalent precipitation between now and tomorrow evening. The lightest model is about 0.6" for the Annapolis area; the heaviest model is predicting nearly 1.5" liquid-equivalent. The current radar image is scary, and shows a band of very heavy precipitation - perhaps sleet/snow mixture? bright-banding? - on the doorstep of Annapolis. The local NWS has predicted 10-20" of snow by tomorrow. We'll see what we end up with; my snow board is again out in the side yard, awaiting whatever comes.

A beautiful end...

Here are some photos I took at the end of the weekend "snowmagadden" event from 05-06 Feb 2010:

What a winter!!

We're 3 days out from Round 3 of heavy snow this winter. I measured 21.5" in my yard; other measurements closer to Baltimore came in close to, or even above, 30". Amazing. Here's a visible satellite image of the snow. Note the sharp edges, both north and south, with the KNAK area well-centered in the heaviest axis.

Round 3: heavy snow in Annapolis

3:15 p.m. radar image shows the event looks to *finally* be winding down. After 21.5", it should be!!



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As of 3:00 p.m.
1.7" New snow since 12 noon
19.8" Old snow 12:00 noon Friday - 9:00 a.m. Saturday
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21.5" Total storm accumulation at 3:00 p.m.

Averted a near-disaster: the first person I've seen out in my development was a 20-something girl headed toward the stadium / downtown Annapolis (on foot). She was making her way gingerly toward the side street, but happened to be making a direct bee-line for my snow measuring location (yardstick still sticking unceremoniously out of the ground, along with a convenient 2-foot tall twig I snagged yesterday to help mark the location). I was heading out to take the 3 p.m. measurement and called out to her, no doubt startling her ... and confusing her: "why would anyone not want me to walk over there?" ... "I haven't talked to this guy in several months of him living here; now he's yelling at me to not walk somewhere?" Anyway, near-disaster averted as she changed course and didn't disturb my snow measuring spot. Why is the spot so critical? Well, for continuity's sake, one, but also I have two snow boards laid out, one at the bottom of the pile and one I cleared last night around 11 p.m. and put down on top of what was then the snow depth... now it's buried again somewhere in the middle of the snow (specifically, it has 13" on it, the old one has 19", and compaction allows me to say that 21.5" actually fell). We'll see if the NWS includes my snowfall total - the two recent PNS lists haven't included my latest measurement. I'm sure it's because they're getting a tremendous number of reports.

Here are some recent photos:

*The sidewalk shortly before 1 p.m.:
The sidewalk shortly before 3 p.m. (notice the snow has filled back in!):








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As of 12:00 noon
2.2" New snow since 9:00 a.m.
17.6" Old snow 12:00 noon Friday - 9:00 a.m. Saturday
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19.8" Total storm accumulation at 12:00 noon

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**Baltimore all-time seasonal snowfall record appears ready to fall**

As of 10:27 a.m., BWI Airport measured 23.9", which brings the unofficial seasonal snowfall total for 2009-2010 winter is 59.5". This is the 2nd largest seasonal total ever since 1883 (records for the early part were taken in Baltimore proper). The all-time record set in 1995-96 is 62.5" for the season. This record appears in jeopardy today, depending on how fast the current bands move eastward. Stay tuned.

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As of 9:00 a.m.:
1.1" New snow since 6:00 a.m.
16.5" Old snow 12:00 noon Friday - 6:00 a.m. Saturday
----
17.6" Total storm accumulation at 9:00 a.m.

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8:00 a.m. update:

I took a quick walk around the neighborhood this morning at first light, and again what an amazing sight it was! Everything covered in snow; the "snow emergency" streets with at least 4" of snow on them, and that's packed down after multiple plowings. The only armada of backhoes and snow plows that I saw hard at work were clearing a *parking lot* (for the Maryland state government offices... gotta get the bureaucrats back to work a.s.a.p. ... seriously, what does the Department of Natural Resources actually do besides create regulatory headaches?? They have a huge office complex, 5 stories tall and about a city block long... not to mention a caravan of over 30 state vehicles and 10 state boats! Said boats can be found attached to said vehicles parked in said parking lot, doing lots of regulating. But I digress....) I also came across a road-closed barricade placed in the middle of Cedar Park Rd; it had blown over but the mound of ice plowed up in front of it was a reasonable signal: road closed. Considering that Cedar Park is a snow emergency route (that should be plowed and open), I walked farther along to investigate. Sure enough, about 100 meters down the road, I came upon a "nearly" downed power line - it was sagging across the road at about my head level, making it hazardous to oncoming traffic. It was actually attached to the Iglesia Emanuel (where I attend), but their power looked to still be on.

After exploring around for a while, I made my way back home to start digging out my car. I managed to dig a footpath around the vehicle, but I have no idea how I might actually get out of the parking lot, considering there's a "wall" (maybe "sea" of snow 12" deep would be a better description... it only looks like a wall when you see it next to the part I shoveled clear) of snow at least 12" high just behind my Civic that covers the entire parking lot and extends well into the street.

It'll be interesting to see how the city responds. Good thing for all of us, this storm hit Fri night and will be over by early Sat afternoon, giving 36 hrs to plow and clear the roads & parking lots for Monday's commute.

Here are some pics:























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As of 6:00 a.m.:
8.0" New snow since 11:00 p.m.
8.5" Old snow 12:00 noon - 11:00 p.m.
----
16.5" Total storm accumulation at 6:00 a.m.





The southern edge of the heaviest snow is sitting right at Annapolis, although recent radar trends have indicated some building of the snowband to our north. To get to 20" for this event, will need 3.5" more, something I'm pretty doubtful can happen looking at current radar trends. Models were consistent, however, in predicting 0.25-0.35 QPF after 12Z today, so again it remains to be seen. The 06Z IAD sounding shows very strong warm air advection and a saturated column up to 600 mb. Note all the little inversions; I'm not an expert enough to explain their causes. Finally our winds are starting to back around to more northerly, indicating the surface low (which is just east of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, east of ORF) is moving NE.





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As of 11:00 p.m.:
3.0" New snow since 9:00 p.m. (3" in 2 hrs)
5.5" Old snow 12:00 noon - 6:00 p.m.
----
8.5" Total storm accumulation at 11:00 p.m.

I'm off to bed but will try to wake at 3 a.m. to take another observation. At this rate, to get to 20"+, we'll need another 11.5", which is only possible if we avg 1.5"/hr for the next 8 hrs. I'm discounting whatever falls after 12Z as negligble, although a few more inches could fall during the day tomorrow. We'll see.

One final note: the winds really have picked up, gusting to 25KT in a recent ASOS report. The visibility part of a NWS-defined blizzard has been met for many hours now; just need the winds to pick up a little more to meet the criteria.

KNAK 060340Z AUTO 06013G25KT 1/4SM +SN FG FEW002 OVC010 00/M02 A2979 RMK AO2 PRESFR P0010 TSNO

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Here comes the RA/SN line: down at the mouth of the Potomac River, at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, moderate snow ended 25 mins ago (at 9:50 p.m.) and moderate rain began. This heavy band will move northward toward us in the next hour, and we'll see if we change over to anything besides snow. If we do changeover, the snow totals will dramatically decrease.

KNHK 060252Z 05020G28KT 4SM RA BR BKN003 OVC008 01/M01 A2976 RMK AO2 PK WND 05028/0248 RAB50SNE50 PRESFR SLP077 P0008 60019 T00061011 58068 $

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Just watched streaming video on Fox5 from Washington when the "film crew" - live, on the air - pulled up beside Senator Daschle, D-SD, who had spun out on Wisconsin Ave. in DC. They jumped out and gave him a push, and off he was. Hehe. What a snowstorm!

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As of 9:00 p.m.:
2.8" New snow since 6:00 p.m.
2.7" Old snow 12:00 noon - 6:00 p.m.
----
5.5" Total storm accumulation

The local Fox channel is trying to figure out if the "blue flashes" they're seeing in Arlington, VA and College Park, MD are due to power flashes (transformers) or thunder snow. The heavy band has really hit Dulles Int'l hard; last hour, they had a total of 9", and the heavy snow band still is sitting overhead. I've included the current radar image below.

Also, NWS has upgraded Anne Arundel County to a Blizzard Warning for 35+ mph winds and < 1/4 nm visibliity for 3+ hours. We'll see if we verify; the latest ob from the weather station out on Hospital Point (inside the campus of USNA) was:

KNAK 060154Z AUTO 07010KT 1/2SM SN FG OVC010 00/M02 A2990 RMK AO2 SLP128 P0009 T00001017 TSNO











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I'll try to live-blog this event like the 19 December 2009 event (where I measured 22" in my yard).

As of 6:00 p.m.:
2.7" New snow
2.7" Total storm accumulation

Here are a few photos I snapped around 5:15 p.m.