Presidents' Day Sunrise Photo

Sunrise on the Mall on the morning of Presidents' Day, February 15, 2010.

Wow, what a February so far...

After two historic snowstorms in early February, Washington broke the 1899 record for the most snow in a single winter season. I was snowbound in my neighborhood for 6 days. On the morning of February 12, after earth movers cleared my street, I fought the metro lines for shuttle buses and made it to the Mall. Here is my favorite photo from that morning, showing the amazing snow depth in D.C. I had the Mall and Smithsonian to myself that day. A rare day indeed.

As of this writing, on February 19, we have a rainstorm forecast to put a damper on our snow cover in about three days, then a possible snowstorm to follow later to close out the month. For now, the rumors are it could be a major snowstorm, we shall see...

Weekend Snow then more Snow!

After the weather models trended south all last week, a surprise shift to the north provided us with about 6" of very powdery snow with temperatures in the high teens. I went on a quick photo shoot in Georgetown on Saturday. More snow is currently falling, about 4.5" as of this writing, and another big snowstorm is forecast this weekend. Winter has come back strong, there should be lots of photo opportunities.

More rain this weekend

After a little sleet and a few wet snow flakes on Friday, the weather has turned mild again with rain moving into the area. We're supposed to get a flooding rain tonight and tomorrow, up rainfall totals up to 1" or 2". After the rain storm, the weather is supposed to turn cold again with a good threat for a winter storm later in the week. That storm may provide the best opportunity for a good winter photo for the month of January. We'll see how the weather unfolds during the week.

Just rain this weekend

A week ago, it appeared the Washington area may be in for a big winter storm this weekend. Even AccuWeather hyped the chance for a big snow early in the week. As time went on, it became clear that it would be too warm for snow. Ultimately, we received a soaking rain and most of the snow is gone. I did capture a scene of ice flowing down the Potomac River, just south of Washington.

Tidal Basin Ice

Sunrise at the Tidal Basin, Saturday January 9, 2010.

I made a trip to the Tidal Basin early Saturday morning to shoot the sunrise. The Tidal Basin was ice-covered with wind-blown snow that fell two days earlier, small drifts about 6" deep were on the hillside facing the water. I set up my tripod on the edge of the Tidal Basin trail, facing the Jefferson, and photographed from dawn to sunrise. It got a bit chilly, my toes were quite cold. Above is the sunrise, below is dawn.


Dawn at the Tidal Basin, Saturday January 9, 2010.

The first photo could be a calendar photo for January 2011, provided we don't get any more winter weather this month. I'm looking forward to the chance of a big storm next weekend. It's too soon, however, to know if this will be snow, rain, or a miss to the south.

Clipper Snowstorm

A quick moving Alberta Clipper dropped almost 2" of snow across the area last night. This should hopefully coat the ground and any ice on the Tidal Basin for a photo shoot tomorrow morning near the Jefferson. Depending if we get more winter storms this month, this may be the photo for January in the calendar. We'll see... Regardless, it will be a cold photo shoot.