A reader asked about this in one of yesterday’s comments but I thought it was worth a separate post. At one point should we start to freak out about our roofs? If we get another 20″ are we in trouble? If the roof is slightly pitched will it be ok? Anyone know roughly how many inches of snow our roofs can support? I feel like I hear 18″ somewhere. It is not possible for many of us to shovel our roofs, if that is the case do we just drink and hope for the best?

I guess lots of folks are thinking about this because I just received the following email:

“I live in one of those two-story mini-houses discussed here with some frequency. It’s 13-feet wide, 30-some feet deep and two stories tall without a basement.

My question is this: Should I shovel my roof? My adjoining neighbor just did so to explore a leak that developed on Sunday and he must have pushed tons of snow off the edge. I wonder if all that weight could breach the roof or cause it to fail? Now there’s more snow coming — more than this house has seen in years — and although my roof has never given me any trouble, it is more than a decade old. If anybody is wondering, my roof has a slight pitch back from the street, probably less than 10%.”

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Not sure if the National Guard was deployed but this Humvee was spotted on Taylor Street in Petworth on Sunday.

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I didn’t think it could get better than an igloo (see below) but a reader writes:

“I just thought I would share a few pictures from up north in Silver Spring Saturday evening. My husband and our neighbors decided to forgo the traditional snow fort in favor of a snow bar. It wasn’t long before we had about 20 neighbors and friends of friends showing up to enjoy the crisp snowy evening. It’s a rare occasion when our city-friends are jealous of a night in Silver Spring and this was certainly the night!”

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At first I thought it was a good looking snow fort but they were actually building an igloo. Not sure if they ever got the roof up but I respect the effort!

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Thanks to a reader for sending.

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Looks like they haven’t opened it in a bit…

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This one’s all about the window in the third floor:

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Thanks for all the tips on this. I just came back from the scene at 6:45pm Monday evening. I’ve never seen this many emergency response vehicles. Dozens of firetrucks, police cars, ambulances and the big black special operations vehicle can be seen around Illinois Ave and Webster with 7th Street, NW closed off.

Word on the street is that a man has barricaded himself inside a home near 7th and Webster Streets, NW. It is not clear if there is a weapon and it is not clear if there are people being held against their will. But given this size response something serious is clearly going on. I’ll update with more info as soon as it becomes available.

UPDATE FROM MAYOR’S OFFICE: 12:50 am – Tues., Feb. 9

“MPD has informed us that the barricade incident on the 4300 block of 7th Street NW has ended without injury. MPD has custody of the person who caused the incident. Grant Circle area streets are being re-opened.”

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Photo of mural in the snow by PoPville flickr user faucetini

From Alert DC:

“National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for D.C., effective noon tomorrow to 7PM Wednesday. All parts of the forecast that were just sent remain the same, except the projected snow totals HAVE BEEN INCREASED TO 10-20″.

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Photo from PoPville flickr user mkw4114

“Dear PoP,

I think an award should be given to the first snow clearing of Snowmeggedon.

Property management at 1500 Massachusetts NW (recently acquired by William C. Smith). Today, almost as soon as the last snowflake fell, they had a full crew and equipment out clearing the sidewalks. This property, which occupies an entire city block, as of 7:30PM already has all of its sidewalks and driveway cleared, all the way down to the pavement. Now that’s diligence!”

Now that it’s Monday what’s your assessment of how the city’s sidewalks and streets have been cleared? Is it thumbs up or more sidewalks/streets of shame?

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Photo from PoPville flickr user D©Bloom

As you may have guessed this week is going to feature snow photos from the blizzard. I thought the last storm featured some good shots but the ones uploaded to the flickr pool are jaw dropping. So thanks to everyone who uploaded and emailed photos from the storm. Like I said, there are so many that I’ll be featuring them all week.

Submit your photos via email or to the PoPville flickr pool here.

Photo from Suse_dc

Lots more photos after the jump. More… »

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Photo by PoPville flickr user dullshick

“Dear PoP,

I wonder if you’ve heard from anyone else getting “snow route emergency” tickets after the storm. We parked our car in front of our house in Columbia Heights Friday right at 6:30p.m., as we often do on weekends, and it’s good on that side of the street until rush hour on Monday morning. This weekend, some city government ass literally tunneled a hole through the snow bank in which our car was buried in order to place a $250 ticket on our windshield. The ticket was time stamped just before 3a.m. on Sunday morning. My first question is, WTF? My second question is, is a ticket enforceable if the car was parked legally prior to the declaration of an emergency, and while the car is parked legally the spot suddenly becomes illegal due to weather? Our entire side of the street was lined with cars, as it pretty much is every weekend, but I haven’t confirmed if everyone got the same ticket. As far as we can tell the jackasses doing the ticketing made no effort to tow anyone, so it’s hard to see any point to it other than just a shameless effort to capitalize on the fact that people were immobilized by the storm in order to generate extra revenue. This strikes me as wrong on several levels.

I’d appreciate any insight from you or your readership. We do intend to dispute the ticket, but are still trying
to figure out the best angle.”

Well, I think you may be out of luck here. If a snow emergency has been declared it doesn’t matter if it is a weekend or weekday. (Snow emergency was lifted at 9:30 this morning.) I’d be sure to check the sign on your street. If the sign says snow emergency route then you have to pay. It is brutal to move one’s car in these situations but that’s the law.

What do you guys think am I missing something here?

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Ojo Latino is a series by Néstor Sánchez Cordero. Nestor writes, “So this nieve storm has been a blast!!! I went out downtown Friday night and then to Malcolm X park yesterday. PS: Nieve is snow en español…”

Four more great shots after the jump including a horse throwing a snowball… More… »

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I recall there are a bunch of Saints fans in PoPville so congrats on your victory!

A few snow reminders for Monday. From WMATA:

“For Monday morning, Feb. 8, commuters should expect limited underground Metrorail service to start at 7 a.m., and very limited Metrobus service from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., as icy conditions on roadways and Metrorail tracks continue to be a barrier to providing safe service.

Limited service will be established tomorrow on the following bus routes in the District of Columbia: the U8 line (Minn. Ave – Capitol Heights), the 64 line (Georgia Ave-Petworth– Fort Totten), the 50 line (14th and Colorado Ave) the 70 line (Silver Spring – Archives), the S4 line (Silver Spring – Federal Triangle) the 30 line (Friendship Heights – Potomac Ave) and the A line (Southern Ave to Anacostia). In Northern Virginia, the 16 line (Pentagon – Baileys Crossroads) the 1C line (Dunn Loring), 2C line (Dunn Loring), 17 line (Braddock Road) and 28 line (Alexandria – Tysons Corner). In Maryland, the Z2 and Z8 line (Silver Spring), the Q line (Silver Spring-Shady Grove), the Y line (Silver Spring –Norbeck Road), the F1 and F2 line (Takoma – Cheverly), the J2 line (Bethesda – Silver Spring), the J7/J9 line (Bethesda – Lake Forest Mall), and the P12 line (Eastover – Addison Road).”

Federal Government Closed.

DC Public Schools Closed.

DC Government Open.

From DDOTC – “FREE parking at DC USA garage extended another 48 hours. Exit by 12pm on Wednesday to avoid paying fees.”

What are you going to do with your snow day?

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And in non snowsanity related news – a burger joint is coming to the Old Garden District space located at 14th and S Streets, NW. This is the space that was gonna have a creperie for a hot second. Thanks to all the readers who sent in the word. One reader writes:

“The old garden district at 14th and S will be re-imagined as a beer garden (I’ve always said DC is sorely missing this!) Apparently it will be started by a twenty-something Bates College grad.”

The liquor application says:

“New restaurant serving hamburgers and french fries with 15 seats. Occupancy load of 170. Request a sidewalk cafe with a seating capacity of 67 and summer garden with a seating capacity of 63″.

Sounds pretty sweet, yeah?

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