4000 Flights Canceled Due To Storm

Via CNN:

While the worst of the weather isn't expected to hit until late Monday into Tuesday, according to CNN forecasters, more than 2,100 flights already have been canceled for Monday and more than 1,900 for Tuesday, Flightaware.com reported. The major U.S. airlines are offering fee-free rebooking of flights to and from the Northeast on Monday and Tuesday. United Airlines has already canceled all Tuesday flights at Newark, LaGuardia and JFK, as well as Boston and Philadelphia, company spokeswoman Mary Ryan said. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged commuters to work from home Monday, if possible, because roads will be treacherous. Main thoroughfares, including I-84 and the Long Island Expressway, may be closed during the evening commute, and public transportation may be shut down.

PATH, LIRR, Metro-North, and Amtrak have all issued advisories about expected service suspensions. The MTA has begun storing some subway trains underground and some lines will see limited service today. All subway service might be suspended late tonight.

Headline Of The Day

Last night I tweeted out a photo from my grocery store and they used it.

The Top Words Of 2010

The Global Language Monitor has issued its list of the top words used in English-language media worldwide in 2010. The selections are not necessarily new words, just words that suddenly gained heavy usage.

1. Spillcam
2. Vuvuzela
3. Narrative
4. Refudiate
5. Guido/guidette
6. Deficit
7. Snowmageddon/snowpocalypse
8. 3-D
9. Shellacking
10. Simplexity

Among the top phrases for 2010: teachable moment, ambush marketing, Lady Gaga, man up, Great Recession.

UPDATE: The New Oxford Dictionary has declared "refudiate" to be the Word Of The Year.

“From a strictly lexical interpretation of the different contexts in which Palin has used 'refudiate,' we have concluded that neither 'refute' nor 'repudiate' seems consistently precise, and that 'refudiate' more or less stands on its own, suggesting a general sense of 'reject.'"

Photo Of The Day - Coping Skills

DC Set To Become Snowiest U.S. City

With today's storm, Washington DC is set to become the snowiest U.S. city this winter, a record the town has never held. But Baltimore and Philly are close behind.

Baltimore Weatherman Goes Crazy

Well, it got him on CNN. I can't wait to see his reaction to tomorrow's storm, which promises another 10-20 inches for the mid-Atlantic.

Premature Celebration

Another 10-20 inches of snow are forecast for DC over the next 36 hours. Washington's public schools are closed today, the federal government is closed too. NYC doesn't escape this one like it did over the weekend - we're under one of them there red alert blizzard watches with 12"-18" expected. I'm a bit disappointed that the NYC stations don't create original theme music for these massive storms. I can still hum the ominous Theme From Hurricane Andrew that bumped in NBC's updates in Miami.

RELATED: I like it when they say "Nor'easter."

10" Will Stop The Trains

In advance of this weekend's snowpocylpse, the Long Island Railroad has announced that service will be suspended if snowfall exceeds 10".

Meteorologists are indicating that there could be a significant snowstorm Friday evening, February 5 into Saturday, February 6. To ensure customer safety, the LIRR may suspend train service temporarily when snow accumulation reaches between 10 and 13 inches. Suspensions may continue until safe and reliable travel conditions can be restored. Customers are urged to check on LIRR service before heading to train stations by monitoringthe LIRR’s website, listening to the latest news broadcast and/or signing up for our free E-Alerts.

This change arises from a December blizzard-related incident in which 150 passengers were trapped between stations on their train for six hours with no heat, no lights, and an overflowing bathroom.

Snowpocalypse II, Electric Boogaloo

DC's grocery stores are going all Lord Of The Flies this afternoon after the National Weather Service upgraded tomorrow's snow forecast to 18-24 inches. That, on top of the five inches the city got yesterday and the 20" deluge of December will put the nation's capital within reach of breaking the all-time record of 46" in one winter. (Sorry NYC, we're only getting 3 AOL inches.)

DC Cop Draws Gun At Snowball Fight

A Washington DC police detective is under heavy criticism today for drawing his gun in a crowd of blizzard revelers after his Hummer was hit by a snowball.

The neighborhood snowball fight at 14th and U streets was advertised online. By 3 p.m., more than 200 residents converged for the massive snowball fight. "No one meant any harm, no one meant anything by -- just having fun, it's highly unfortunate," said Tisha West. "We're Washingtonians and we like to play in the blizzard." But things started to turn for the worse when the crowd -- some carrying anti-war signs and dressed all in black with masks -- began to pelt passing cars. A plain clothes D.C. police detective emerged from a Hummer -- it's unclear whether it was his personal vehicle or an unmarked police vehicle -- after it was struck. The detective began yelling at the gathered crowd. At one point, he pulled back his jacket, exposing his service weapon -- it's unclear if he did this intentionally. That's when things took a darker turn. "It was pretty fun," said Jason Mogavero. "There were 200 people exchanging snowballs non-stop across 14th Street. And then, you know, when the gun came out, it changed the tone of the thing a little bit." The gun belonged to a uniformed officer who showed up with his pistol out of the holster -- he did not point it at anyone. Assistant Chief Peter Newsham says the officer was responding to a 911 call reporting a man with a gun in the crowd -- apparently the man was a plainclothes D.C. police detective.

Two things come to mind. First, the douchebaggery of Hummer owners in general, and second, the fuckweaselry of hijacking a holiday snowball fight with "anarchist" outfits and masks.

24 Hour Forecast

I think that will be some kind of record, if it comes true. We've had relatively little snow for so long, I haven't bothered to get new snow boots. A little late, now.